Sports and Drugs

Consider if steroids were legal, how much more exciting sports would be and t would be fair to everyone. Why: As an athlete and competing in a high level sport, I easily understand athletes and their reasons for doping in sports. At a high level you’re always striving to be the best you can be ad better than your opponents to win. Also, as a candidate for the Provincial and National Team for Canada I have experience in knowing what you need to know and expect while participating in these events.At a camp for team Canada, WADA showed up unexpectedly and took one of the girls’ urine test. So really this is why the topic of doping in sports caught my attention to is because I can relate to it and I’m interested in learning more about it. Why Illegal: it gives you an unnatural advantage against your opponent. Drugs or blood transfusions can provide a 5 or 10 percent advantage (Thomas Murray, Hasting report). Doping up your body and eliminating the concept of fair pla y is different from exceeding to your best abilities natural and being competitive.When participating in sports, it builds character to be determined, honest, and cooperative, but when an athlete pumps illegal performance enhancing drugs into their system it shows true character on what they would do just to win. It has a big effect on the athlete altogether. Doping also effects the psychological aspect of your morals and becoming a criminal by being dishonest and putting illegal substances in your body, it can be mentally damaging. Not only mentally damaging but doping messes up your body, the natural growth and development of it from unnatural drugs is something all athletes should be concerned about.Sacrificing your body to win isn’t a right way to compete. Most likely sport: From Peter Sullvan: The first overall highest percentage(3. 6) of positive illegal drug tests is cycling, in the 2006 tour de France( Including Floyd Landis in first) the top 5 placed athletes were al l guilty of drug use. Along with Lance Armstrong admitting to doping after winning 7 tour de France titles. Floyd Landis describes cycling as â€Å"Professional cycling is organized crime. † Coming in second not too far behind cycling is Weightlifting with a 3% average of positive testing.Seeing how these athletes need to lift mass amounts of weight, its almost predicted that this sport is top 5 for positive doping statistics. Turkey and Russia are common countries who’s athletes are accused of steroids. Thirdly, Boxing is a candidate for doping in sports with a 2. 9% average. A case in 2007 was where an anti- aging agency was distributing steroids to famous boxers such at Even Fields. Boxing requires strength and stamina and some feel the need to enhance their training with steroids to just be stronger than their opponents. Coming after boxing in fourth, is Triathlon.Athletes involved in this race are super humans, in perspective of many people. To run, swim and bike with out stopping is impressive and takes mass amounts of mental and physical strength. Lastly, Baseball makes top 5 sports in doping with a 2. 5% average in positive testing. Even though this sport isn’t in the Olympics, Major League Baseball players have been known for steroid use in the past of 1999 and early 2000’s, as well this past year 20 players got suspended for steroid use. Types: EPO (Erythropoietin): This is a method of an increase of blood oxygen.Erythropoietin is a natural hormone found in the human body. It revitalizes blood cells to have more oxygen, which then increases anaerobic activity. (Kelland, 2012). CERA(Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator): This is another form of EPO. It increases your blood oxygen level without having to inject yourself as often. Anabolic Steroids: This is a fake replacement of testosterone to help the body utilize protein allowing the athlete to train with more intensity, along with building muscle mass and strength easier. Another aspect is that it acts as an anti- inflammatory to recovery quickly.  (Kelland, 2012)Diuretics: A substance that can mask illegal substances so they wont be detected. Side effects of weight loss. (Kelland, 2012) Blood Doping: Methods of substances to enhance red blood cell mass, to move more oxygen to muscles which increases stamina. 2 types; Autologous is where you use your own blood from being put aside until needed. Homologous is where you take someone else’s blood that’s the same as yours. (Kelland, 2012) Insulin: This enhances glucose in take that helps increase endurance levels by making the storage of muscle glycogen bigger for the athlete.If not used properly it can lead to low blood sugar which leads to unconsciousness and seizures. (Kelland, 2012) Gender? : Which gender is most likely to dope in sports? Well males are a dominant factor for doping. They are much more likely to dope in sports by using steroids. Steroids effect women in a much more negative effect then it does to men. For women, steroids have side effects such as growing hair in unwanted places, clitoral enlargement, and deepening of the voice.T’s easy to tell when a women is taking steroids because of the testosterone over load in their body and manly features. Their physical, behavioural and functional part of the women’s body are out of natural sync as well. Why would women want to take steroids in the first place? other than getting very strong? Women want equality and by taking steroids they can feel equally strong as men in the same playing field. Who’s in charge? the name is WADA (World Agency of Anti Doping). This organization keeps it fair throughout sports.The Olympic committee wanted an agency like this for all countries to follow to specialize on key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti Doping Code and it was quite a success. A cool fact is that WADA’s headquarters is right in Canada, Montreal. Their objective is to have a doping free sporting environment. Consequences: As an Olympic athlete it is important to keep your body clean of illegal substances. Why? Some of the consequences are quite serious.If caught by WADA (The World Agency of Anti Doping) before the Olympics, he/she is suspended for 6 months or longer. (Freedman, 2012) If an athlete has cheated during an event, and won, their medal is taken from them and the results are re-evaluated. Conclusion: In conclusion doping in sports is a serious social issue that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Doping shouldn’t be seen as a way to make an athlete feel better. Not only are they cheating themselves, but they are unfair to their opponents and should take into consideration what mental and physical harm they are really doing to their bodies.WADA is a great service to help deal with keeping sports all around the world fair by testing athletes for performance enhancing substances in their bodies. As an athlete myself I choose to really look into this topic because I’ve dealt with WADA myself. If you are an athlete, beware of what you put into your body. Its important to train to your full potential without being artificially enhanced with chemicals. The natural way is the way to go! Most important thing learned was how harmful steroids can be to your body and mind. Always important to stay true to yourself and not cheat. Be the best you can be

Delivering Lifelong Learning Essay

Introduction. Learning is an area of our lives that we all engage in from the time we are born to the time we die. Lifelong learning is of key importance for individuals of all ages with an abundance of benefits. Learning enables the individual to be better informed in daily life and therefore the individual becomes more active in and contributes to society and this makes such individual a better citizen. Lifelong learning contributes to an individual’s personal well being and fulfillment. Lifelong learning supports an individual’s creativity and innovation and as such increases the potential for paid or unpaid work experiences for satisfaction. Quote â€Å"Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world† Unquote, and so for me to successfully be able to use inclusive learning and teaching approaches in accordance with internal processes and external requirements I would say requires some form of recognised qualifications. To complete this unit I will be focusing on my present teaching placement. I am actively involved in the teaching and learning of ESOL students at two separate women’s academy campuses. My input is over two days with two morning sessions and one afternoon session delivering entry level 1&2 basic Mathematics and English as well as level 1&2 functional skills. 1.1 Create a purposeful, inclusive learning and teaching environment. Maslows’ hiearchy of needs tells us that students will not be able to learn effectively if their safety and belonging needs are not met. As such I needed to pay close attention to the physical space and design layout of the classroom. My initial feel for the first classroom/ learning environment that I encountered was congestion by that I mean it was a fair sized room but the layout gave an impression that there wasn’t enough space for students to move about. There were five large desks seating four or five students and so moving from one a rea to the next meant that some students had to physically stand and maneuver their chairs to access passing. This was where I felt that I needed to connect with the students in such a manner that the subject being taught was of importance; that they enjoyed the learning experience  and they understood clearly what was being taught. Once I placed that into my mind I felt better as these students were here in this learning environment for a few weeks and I am the new person here. I greeted the group with pleasantness and smiles as I entered the room and the response was ever so wonderful seeing all these smiling faces made me feel very welcomed. Their personal tutor gave a short explanation of my presence and asked me to do the honors of my own introduction. I knew there and then that this was my opportune moment and as first impressions count this had to be very good after all I am the new comer. Prior to this I had already met and discussed the different groups that I would be involved with for my teaching practice placement with the Assistant Director for these campus sites and I also knew which teachers I would be co-teaching with as well as the desired days and times. I was made aware of the external requirements and the internal processes for each learner to participate in these learning programs. I knew th at each individual had an initial diagnostic assessment to determine the level of learning. I was made aware of the special needs requirements. Whilst I was happy to be given such information I wanted to check for myself and with respect I could not just accept all of this at face value I would be sure to check the validity of the information shared with me. There is the saying seeing is believing and I needed evidence. Well, as I was saying my initial greeting and purpose was a pleasant and warm one for me as well as the group. I informed them of my past work experiences; that I had a family and my country of origin and where I was educated. I also mentioned places that I had travelled to and worked in the educational arena and eyes lit up with smiles, I knew then that I had captured the attention and to a certain degree the hearts of these wonderful women who wanted to make a difference in society and to themselves by engaging in this learning program. I felt good as I detected that they were even more warm and accommodating and that I had welcomed them into my arena and they accepted me. In continuing to create a purposeful, inclusive learning and teaching environment I needed to acknowledge the diverse make up of the learning group that amounted for celebration as part of the richness in daily life and living. I asked if the group could individually introduce themselves by saying their names and with permission their country of origin. To continue on the same spirit of connectedness as I am the  newcomer who will be involved in their learning I wanted to know from themselves a little about their prior learning experiences from pre- entry level to this entry level 2/3. Amazingly they volunteered family information which I welcomed and thanked them for. Psychologically the students felt safe to share and clearly this also demonstrated a sense of belonging. I had created a safe environment whereby the students took risks and sometimes the information was not directly from the person concerned but from a close colleague in their presence. I felt that this feelings of safety will enable them to ‘have a go’ at answering questions and talking / participating in the classroom activities without fear of being ridiculed. With the above in mind I had to be quite sure that the whole cla ssroom was conducive to this settled environment whereby they all understand firm rules and routines. By this I mean that I emphasizes on the importance of orderliness and tidiness. This I made quite clear was to enable them to develop and be confident in their roles as students but not to forget that they are responsible adults also and that we all wish to be valued and in the best way possible. Making sure that the classroom is left in a manner that is welcoming for the next group of learners and that we never forget our life skills that we brought into the learning arena. I had observed that the displays in the classroom were inviting and pleasant as well as stimulating. This was reflecting a range of teaching and learning activities. I observed the attractively arranged, effectively labelled, relevant and purposeful displays and I was quite impressed wondering when and what will I be adding to this informative and interactive display. It didn’t take very long for that to happen with display from a field trip involving writing and speaking that reflected the learning process as part of the curriculum highlighting key learning points. As such the inclusive learning and teaching environment for me was not just in the classroom but out in the wider community and this was most interesting as I observed how the students interacted in a social setting. There was a wide range of reading and learning materials available for the students both in the classroom area as well as in the main library. They were well organised and clearly labelled and accessible. The resources were diverse and this was of absolute necessitity as there are different learning styles. The availability was through visual, aural and kinaesthetic for different experiences. Creating a purposeful inclusive learning and  teaching environment was not just about changing attitudes to learning. It was not just about giving all the support needed both internally and externally. It was not just about the all the activities in class and in the community, it was also about the physical layout of the design of the classroom that supported the inclusive and int eractive teaching and learning process. Seating and tables in some areas did not give much work space, and did not allow for the flexibility to support work in different contexts. By this I mean for individual work with the adequate space to place materials on the table without infringing on each others’ work space. Paired work, small group work as well as whole class work had been a concern at times. Limitation for me to move around and be able to see exactly how students were progressing in their given task was inadequate at times. As such with cooperation between the whole group and teachers a bigger and more appropriate room was made available. This new setting enabled the students the opportunity for independence, cooperative learning, collaboration and discussions throughout the teaching activities with eye contact for the learners. This also gave better access to move about the room that enabled me to ensure more purposeful, inclusive learning and teaching. However I had to be mindful of the social and emotional dynamics of the learning group as well as subjects and activities being taught/ delivered. I wanted my students to definitely see the co urse as being important. I wanted them to understand and enjoy each session because everything has an impact on learning and development. The classroom environment was maintained within the Health and Safety Laws ensuring that all learners were treated fairly and respectfully in that learning environment. 1.2 Demonstrate an inclusive approach to teaching and learning in accordance with internal processes and external requirements. An inclusive approach to teaching and learning is a cooperative relationship between learners and teachers. The starting point to such a relationship was with the college requirements / internal processes based on what the learners were hoping to achieve. This first contact was conducted by senior management at the initial stage of the individual’s learning journey, the initial assessment. From the institution perspective assessment provides statistical information  for monitoring the overall performance of the college as well as individual teachers. This also provides information on numbers of students who started the course. The numbers of those who continued and whether successfully passed has been useful in continued recruitments that demonstrates quality and excellence. However one of the main purpose and is of great importance is that this initial assessment helps to place the learner on the right course. After this initial assessment matching into identified learning groups is of great value for personal tutors as there is an element of control over what is taught. However, and I must stress this, individual learner’s goals must be paramount in the whole process bearing in mind the learning styles identified. A process of matching group interest and individual profile determines the learners interest which is an ongoing internal process with regular updates. This was managed by identifying individual learning targets such as, speaking and listening, reading or writing. Having identified these targets being specific as to how to meet these targets was discussed with the individual learner and this information was documented. Clearly there has to be deadline for achievements with expected documentation. Actual dates of achievements were quite important and by this I mean that some learners achieved positive outcomes before the set expected date and this informed the status of that learner as completing work was documented and dated. For others the documentation on expected outcome was that they had not yet started or that they’re in progress. This happens in all learning settings as everyone has different learning styles or even a combination of styles that has an impact on how well learning has been achieved under certain conditions. The diagnostic assessments will continue throughout the learning and this is necessary for the continuous support needed for ILPs. ILP is of such great importance in that it must be appropriate for the learning being undertaken, be owned and used by the learner with support and be understood by the learner, basically it’s what the learner desires. I would say that throughout my teaching and learning experience and, this is ongoing I have experienced a range of learning styles with my learning groups. Inevitable I have had to mould the delivery of subject in such a manner that met the needs of the learners. Once this is managed properly the resulting factor will determine the success of achievements in accordance with (QCF) Qualification and Credit Framework. 1.3 Provide opportunities for learners to practice their literacy language, numeracy and ICT skills. The Sector Skills Council for lifelong learning on Inclusive Learning approaches for Literacy, Language, Numeracy and ICT skills in the introduction of the companion document mentions that, â€Å"All teachers need to develop an awareness of the literacy, language, numeracy and ICT needs of their learners in order for them to teach their area of specialism.† The document further states that â€Å" All teachers can play an important part in providing opportunities to develop literacy, language, numeracy and ICT within their learning programs.† Teachers get to know their students very well after a little while and as such are able to recognise what interest them most. The initial assessment gives some indication of what they want to learn but the diagnostic assessment informs the ILP. How this process of achievement will happen is based on agreeing goals and actions to achi eve those goals. Petty, G (2009, p530) states: â€Å"Each learner is unique and has individual needs. If the needs of our learners are discovered and met, the chances of success are greatly increased.† 2.0Be able to communicate with learners and other learning professionals to encourage learning. 2.1Demonstrate communication methods and media to meet the needs of all learners. 2.2Communicate with other learning professionals to meet learner needs and encourage progress. 3.0Understand how technology can enhance learning and teaching. 3.1Analyse ways to use technology to enhance learning and teaching. 3.2Evaluate the benefits and limitations of using technology in learning and teaching. 4.0Understanding expectations of the minimum core in relation to delivering lifelong learning. There are social stigma attached to literacy numeracy and this often prevents adults from seeking the help they need. It is believed that 1 in 6 adults in the UK are functionally illeterate and this skills gap is preventing the country from fully realising its full economic potential. There are social stigmas attached to this which often prevents adults from seeking the help they need. For such individuals tackling this is the first step to raising aspiration. The psychological feel good factor will allow for increased self esteem and the confidence to reach their full potential. However being illeterate and innumerate and lacking ICT skills does not mean stupidity. You have to on the ball to get through a day in the UK without these skills and so as a teacher delivering lifelong learning I must be able to help learners to overcome these barriers created by socially acceptable norms in this country. Expectations of the minimum core I believe is that all involved in lifelong learning has a responsibility to ensure that learners are provided with every opportunity to develop literacy, language, numeracy and ICT skills. As such it is important that at the initial assessment and induction of students that literacy, language, numeracy and ICT skills are identified. We must understand that Prior learning should be established and evidenced if at all possible to determine the level attained which will inform achievable goals. Observation at induction and during the course activity to get some idea of the learner performance and what learner’s likes are, also how they like to do things will determine learning styles. Really this boils down to attitudes, skills and knowledge and what will be the motivating factor for the learner’s presence in the classroom. 4.1Review ways in which elements of the minimum core can be demonstrated by delivering lifelong learning. Recognising that literacy, numeracy and ICT programmes must be made easily accessible to the most hard to reach individuals is a key responsibility for the Government. For those who lack the ability to read and write very door appears to be closed. In this present day it is likely that they will e able to apply for jobs as filling in application forms poses some challenges which in effect will make them  loose their self worth and confidence. Adults lacking the skills that so many of us take for granted on a daily basis mean that they can’t even support their children’s education which is the future generation. If this is not effectively managed the revolving door syndrome continues as that is what is being seen at present. National statistics reveal that adults with poor numeracy and literacy skills are twice as likely to be unemployed as those who are competent. 4.2Apply minimum core elements in delivering lifelong learning. I will demonstrate this delivery of core elements with evidenced based teaching that I have undertaken and continuing as part of my teaching placement practice. 5.0Be able to evaluate own practice in delivering inclusive learning and teaching. 5.1Review the effectiveness of own use of inclusive learning and teaching approaches in meeting the needs of all learners. 5.2Analyse ways to improve own practice in using learning and teaching approaches to meet the needs of all learners. 5.3 Review ways in which own communication skills could be improved.

Appropriate behaviour Essay

a) Explain why it is important to promote appropriate behaviour and respect for others (ref. 2.2) As learning take place in a social enviroment it will be fundamental to create a good atmosphere helping everyone attending to feel at ease in a space where learners feel safe and comfortable to express their opinion. Each student may have different background, culture, beliefs, experiences and needs, so it is very important to be open minded and to establish ground rules so to avoid any animosity, unrespectful behaviour and any kind of discrimination. Any inequality and discrimitation should be challenged to guarantee fairness, decency and respect beteween students. Creating a safe and relaxed enviroment, learners will be more motivated and focused, able to participate, voice their opinions, ask questions and be actively involved in determining how they will learn, allowing them to use their potential and achieve their goals. b) Ways to promote equality and value diversity (ref. 1.3) Equality is about the learner’s rights to have the same opportunity, access and partecipate in their chosen course/training regardless of age, ability or circumstances understanding that everyone are different but have the same rights. Promoting diversity means value and respect differences between students regardless of age, ability, circumstances. An open discussion at the first meeting within students and teacher allows an opportunity for everyone to contribute and know each other bringing up cultural or behavioural differences which can be expressed and may raise issues not previously considered by some. Each person can write out for themselves which types of appropriate behaviour they believe more important. This will give the chance to evaluate each individual’s preferences and gives an overall view on how to maintain a level of courtesy and respect establishing ground rules adequate for the group. Being a teacher means also to be a role model and my behaviour will reflect on my students. For this reason I will treat my students with respect and dignity, ensuring to be non-judgemental, to give same attention to each learner and that particular groups will not be offended (i.e. faith or religion). When planning lessons or activities I might use pictures in handouts and presentations representing different cultures, gender, age and ability in order to embrace all aspects of equality and diversity. c) The importance of identifying and meeting the needs of learners (ref. 1.4) Identify learners needs is one of the most important aspect of teaching as it will allows to differentate lesson’s plans. Learners needs can vary, they may have specific issues like lack of finance or challanges like English as a second language, knowing this a teacher will be able to provide learners support suggesting them points of referral to get help and advice (i.e. interpreters; Citizen Advice Bureau). Some may have special needs like dyslexia or diabetes, others may need advice before enrolment to know if the qualification will meet their career aspirations. In certain case it can be important to find out those informations in advance avoiding some learners to take a course which is unsuitable for them. For this reason an initial/diagnostic assessment will be carried out before the programme starts ensuring learners are making the right choise towards their expectations, results become a teacher’s tool who’s gainig an overall understanding of learners capability, aim, knowledge and specific requirements enabling the teacher to plan and facilitate individual learning and so meeting individual needs. Other aspects to be considered, for instance, are the classroom facilities and accessibility (i.e. layout of tables and chairs) to guarantee safety and meeting the needs of a learner who’s a wheel chair user. Feedback and informal formative assessments can take place throughout the course to ensure learner needs and learning styles are met and satisfy at all times. d) Ways to maintain a safe and supportive learning enviroment (ref. 2.1) As it is likely that learners will be a diverse group of students (from various backgrounds, with different levels of prior learning and expectations, as well as different learning needs), once ground rules have been established, taking an inclusive approach when teaching will help to ensure that your teaching meets everyone’s need enabling students to learn effectively. An  inclusive approach to learning and teaching that aims to meet every individual student’s learning requirements would benefit all students, as a result learners will feel they belong in the classroom. Using an inclusive approach means the teacher will not exclude anyone directly or indirectly, learners will be treated with fairness and trasparency, called by name and making eye contact whenever possible. All students will be involved in activities which may see them working in pair or groups, promoting socialization, tolerance, equality and valuing diversity. ‘’A suitable learning environment is crucial for effective learning to take place. This involves not only the venue and resources used, but also your attitude and the support you give to your students’’ ( Gravells A. 2012, pg 24). Delivering lessons with passion can help to motivate learners, however making sure the environment is clean and safe, at the right temperature, being considerate and open doors or windows is important as much. The lesson’s quality will tells learners when teachers are professional and serious about their job. If there is a break time it is good practice to inform learners right at the beginning of the lesson when this will take place. Knowing this can help your learners focus on their learning.

Agile Software Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Agile Software Development - Research Paper Example Agile accelerates the development process while maintaining the flexibility of adjusting to changing requirements through iterative development (Dingsoyr et al., 2010, p. 33). This report gives an overview of agile method of software development. It presents a brief technical comparison with the traditional, non-iterative waterfall model, the intent and guiding principles for agile methods, the people involved its advantages and disadvantages, two common agile methodologies and lastly the future of agile. 2. Agile vs. Waterfall In contrast to the traditional non-incremental models such as waterfall, agile does not have distinct phases of capturing requirements, forming architecture and design, development, testing and incorporating feedback as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 Waterfall Model In agile all these phases are meshed up as can be seen in Figure 2. The intent is to develop a feature set in a way the customer wants. A release of the system is built on the initial requirements wit h respect to the features set provided by the customer, the miniature system is then tested by the customer, requirements are revised and readjusted into the release and then the new system release based on some other remaining features is built. Hence, there is only one similarity present between the traditional non-iterative waterfall model and agile model which is with regards to the testing phase. Agile model has a distinct testing phase as well which is a common process in all of the iterations. Generally, the testing phase comprises of two categories of testing; unit testing done from developer’s perspective and acceptance testing carried out from customer’s perspective. ... The difference lies in the fact that in agile, the developers and the customers are in close communication with each other while in waterfall, the case is different. In waterfall, the testing is done as per the set of requirements and design details initially put together in form of documents in the initial phases of the software cycle. Customer involvement is limited to merely the requirements capturing phase. Any change of requirements on part of customer is not guaranteed to be incorporated in the system. Therefore, agile provides a worthwhile alternative to the heavy-weight document-driven software development methodologies such as waterfall. 3. Agile vs. Rapid Application Development Agile is an incremental model similar to Rapid application development (RAD) model (Linger & Fisher, 2004, p. 180). Figure 3 shows the RAD process. In RAD, initial set of requirements are used to design a prototype for customers to test. The prototype helps customers in realizing the system requirem ents as mostly the customers are unaware of what they want. Figure 3 Rapid Application Development In agile, the underlying model is the same as RAD except that the delivery is made in form of releases that contain a subset of features. Unlike prototypes in RAD, these releases are supposed to be complete miniature software fulfilling a portion of the feature set. The customer defines a set of features and provides a brief detail of how the system must offer these features. A release based on a subset of the features is built within a specified interval and is tested for acceptance by the customer. Any changes requested are adjusted through constant cooperation with the

Developing an implementation plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Developing an implementation plan - Essay Example To convince hospital executives of the importance of adopting stress management progams, the proposal first has to show how the stress management program will relieve some of their concerns about the hospital For example, the association between less stress in the student population and reduced incidences of errors will show the hospital executives how they stand to benefit through fewer lawsuits or claims of unprofessional behavior if they agree to the implementation of stress management programs. It is also very important to show how, in the recent past, there are medical institutions that have successfully implemented stress management programs. Researching about stress management for hospital workers shows the hospital executives that the implementation of such programs within their own organizations could be successful while also bringing many benefits (Sohn, Kim, Kim and Han, 2006). When presenting a proposal on implementing stress management plans, it is also important to incl ude a plan with a practical program that could be implemented immediately. This shows the executives that this will not simply be another program that they are tasked with overseeing and constructing, and which, should it fail, will negatively affect their standing in the medical community (Vahey, Aiken, Sloane, Clarke and Vargas, 2004). Description of current problem, issue, or deficit requiring a change Health care occupations such as nursing have long been known to cause a lot of stress for nurses as well as other medical practitioners. In addition, these jobs also cause a lot of psychological distress because nurses are constantly dealing with death or illness in their patients; many of whom they develop close relationships with (Murphy, 2003). In medical institutions, nurses have to deal with work overload, other people’s pain and distress, the absence of role clarity when tackling infectious diseases and time constraints, particularly in incidences when there are nurse shortages. Such stressors physically and psychological affect nurses so deeply that their discharge of their duties is affected (McCauley and Irwin, 2006). Stress can result in common absenteeism in the nursing workforce, medical errors, and poor turnover. Moreover, worker-focused or organizational interventions can be quite effective in reducing stress among medical workers. Many hospitals at present incorporate stress relief programs for nurses that include meditation programs (Rambaldini, Wilson, Rath, Lin, Gold, Kapral and Straus, 2005). Moreover, these are rarely effective because they can only reduce stress on a temporary basis. The best solution, though, is one that combines both organizational and worker based components as these both include short-time and long-term treatment and prevention components (Mackay, Cousins, Kelly, Lee and McCaig, 2004). Hospitals should also seek to incorporate regular physical and psychological check-up programs for their workers. Hospitals sho uld also coordinate programs that allow for frequent sabbatical leaves which allow nurses to engage in personal stress relief methods. There are other ways in which hospitals can assist in the relieving of the occupational stress that regularly affects nurses. For example, hospitals can seek to ensure that every nurse’

Choose 2 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Choose 2 questions - Essay Example This owes to the fact that once such multinational companies are established, they assist in alleviating the living standards of the local people. Some of the multinationals, which have transformed the lives of the people according to the proponents of globalization, include the Apple Inc. and the Coca Cola Company. For instance, the former company has majority of its operations in China. This is owing to the fact that this country offers experienced and cheap labor for such multinational companies. The proponents of multinationals also believe that this is the only way to promote the spirit of globalization. With the market being free, every individual has the right to conduct his business in any country, provided all conditions are right. In short, therefore, the proponents of the multinational corporations focus on the macro level (systemic) analysis of this situation. On the other hand, though, the critics of multinational corporations have a different view on this issue. This is because they focus on it from a sub systemic level of analysis. For instance, the multinationals have been criticized for being the main cause of unemployment in some developing countries. This is despite the fact that the proponents indicate otherwise. For instance, once a multinational corporation is established in a developing country, it threatens the infant industries. The latter may not be in a position to cope with the completion of such large multinational corporations. For that reason, some of the local industries are forced to shut down mostly due to reduced sales. This results to an increased unemployment as people loss jobs. The critics indicate that one of the main advantages of the multinational companies is that they are able to operate on a large scale than the local industries. They have capital and therefore have the ability to ensure that there is the right kind of technology and qualified working force to provide quality goods and services. According to the crit ics, the multinational companies are out to perpetuate their monopolistic powers. Some of these multinational companies come from the developed nations. It is indicated that there is a correlation between the military power and the economic power of any given country. It is for these reasons that majority of critics indicating that the multinationals are out to give more political and military power to some of these countries. Such critics also question the need for globalization. They indicate that globalization has led to many negative effects than it was earlier thought. For instance, it has been challenged for increased unemployment and effect on the local businesses. According to Marxist view, the main beneficiaries of globalization have been the developed countries. They indicate that the main reason why it exists is to enable the developed nations accumulate more wealth especially from the developing nations. For instance, the developed nations have been able to take advantag e of the cheap labor provided by the developing nations. While such corporations make a lot of profits, the employees are not rewarded according to the services that are provided. According to my analysis of the situation, I believe that the sub systemic view (critics), best explains the situation in hand. Most of the developing countries still grapple with the issues

Choose from the book Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Choose from the book - Assignment Example These new governments passed the discriminatory ‘Black Codes,’ which denied Blacks the right to testify against whites, barred entry to juries and state militias, denied them suffrage, mandated yearly labor contracts, restricted the occupations open to them and denied them property rights. When Jackson vetoed the Civil Rights Bills, establishing equality before the law for all races, and the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, the Republican Congress broke with him. Radical Republicans in Congress embarked on their own reforms, through constitutional legislation, in a period called the Radical Reconstruction, extending from 1866-1877. The Fourteenth Amendment of 1868 guaranteed Blacks civil rights and equality before the law; the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 mandated racially impartial voting rights; the Civil Rights Act of 1875 banned racial segregation. The Freedmen’s Bureau, whose powers were expanded by Congress, assisted former slaves to assert their rights. Severa l former slaves held legislative office, and entered the Congress, the Senate and the judiciary. Equal civil and political rights for African-Americans were ensured by such constitutional reforms. Former slaves succeeded in obtaining small family plots and a share in revenue through sharecropping. Socially, the African-Americans could now enjoy public conveniences, legalize their marriages and obtain educations. Radical Reconstruction struck a blow against racial discrimination, and laid the foundation for social integration of African Americans. With the election of 1876, and the Democratic dominance of Congress, the Reconstruction came to an end. 5. Explain the course of the Spanish-American War. (Page 663) The Spanish-American War was the offshoot of American expansionism, ignited by rising nationalist sentiment, and the doctrine of ‘Manifest Destiny’: it was the ‘duty’ of the ‘superior’ Anglo-Saxon race to spread Christian and Democratic va lues to ‘backward’ people. The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain that began in 1895. American public sympathy for the Cuban revolutionaries was exacerbated by the ‘yellow press’, reporting atrocities committed by the Spanish on civilians. American investments in Cuba, and the perception of the strategic importance of the island in Central America, led President McKinley to dispatch the battleship USS Maine to Havana, to pressurize Spain. The mysterious explosion of the Maine in February 1898, with the loss of nearly 270 lives, was attributed to Spain. When Spain rejected American demands for a cease-fire and Cuban independence, McKinley declared war on Spain in April 1898. â€Å"The splendid little war,† (Foner, 663), to quote Secretary of State John Hay, resulted in only 400 American casualties and ended in four months. On May 1, the Spanish fleet was destroyed by the American navy under Admiral George Dewey at Manila Bay in the Philippines. The charge at San Juan Hill, outside Santiago, was highlighted by the popular press, which made Theodore Roosevelt a national hero. American troops landed in Cuba after another naval victory in July. American victory was declared in August. Contrary to its pre-war statements, America set to acquire an overseas empire. Under the following peace treaty, Cuba became an American Protectorate under the Platt Amendment of 1902, and

The evolution of women in music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The evolution of women in music - Essay Example The role of women varies in different societies and therefore with implementation of policies to empower women to be respected and given opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills, they have been able to express their feelings and frustrations through art and music (Rosman, 15-16). This essay is going to analytically discuss the evolution of women in music. Hartman noted that during the early 1970s and the late 1960s there were few women in the popular music industry, and there were very few opportunities for the female performers (23). The women were disadvantaged in the music industry due to their variation in gender and were believed to be caregivers at home and to ensure food was prepared for their household members. In 1960-1970s the Major record labels had signed up very few women bands such as Birtha, Goldie, Fanny, The Deadly Nightshade and Gingerbreads (Hartman, 34). Miller noted that the women who were already in the industry were forced to create a separate space to record their own music since they were not included in the men’s mainstream of music (25). Women used their music to support civil rights, labor, peace, and the second-wave feminist movement that had emerged. The second-wave feminist movement in the United States was established by the lesbians such as, Meg Christian, Margie Adam and Cris Williamson, activ ists like Bernice Johnson Reagon and Holly Near, and African American musicians such as Mary Watkins, Linda Tillery and Gwen Avery (Rabaka 50-54). Rabaka observed that the feminist and lesbian separatism was viewed as a tactic that focused on women’s energy to provide a big boost to the development and growth of women in music during that time (56). Women started expressing their feelings and experiences in 1972 in various recordings such as the â€Å"Mountain Moving Day† that was released by feminist women

Nucor case Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nucor case - Term Paper Example With improving economies’ growth is expected to boost desire for many to purchase the product in the medium term. Steel producers and mini-mill companies are situated in the midst of a very competitive environment in both domestic and global scale, which adversely affects their profitability. This competition among steelmakers is to capture a significant portion of the steel market in light of the fact that, the global supply of steel far exceeds the demand for steel products (Thompson 207). The first competitive forces impacting steelmakers is the force to drive down the profitability of steel industry, steelmakers are primarily affected by the abundant steel supply versus demand, which depresses the market price of steel as a commodity. Competition among steelmakers is to lower product prices in order to capture a significant portion of potential customers. Secondly steel producers are adversely impacted by the entry of foreign players into the domestic steel market that are able to advantage of lower labor costs in the country. The influx of cheap imports from foreign steelmakers stiffens the existing price competition among rival steel producers hence lowering prices of steel imports; dragging down steel market prices. Lastly, steel producers are more vulnerable to the increasing cost of raw materials. This rising cost of materials has led to increase in the cost of production making it difficult for them to be price competitive. The difficult in product differentiation in the steel commodity market makes it necessary for min-mills to be able to compete with their rivals based on price, that is; pricing and market niche (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson 33). The driving forces in the steel industry; the technology evolution which is a change in the steel making technology has revolutionized the world’s steel industry. The use of COREX technology in the production of steel has increased profit and its environmental

Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Finance - Assignment Example January effect is important because it creates an opportunity for investors to purchase stocks at a lower price before January and sell them when their value increases. This effect is also useful as it indicates the inefficiency in the stocks markets. Weekend effect is used to indicate a pattern in which the stock market tends to perform very well on the Fridays and poorly on Mondays. Thus the prices of the securities and volumes are highest on the Fridays and lowest on Mondays. This effect is important because it is used for speculation. Apple effect originated from the scenario of the huge surge in the indices figures as a result of the inclusion of the Apple shares in the S&P index. It is used to refer to a market abnormality that result when an attractive company is included or is expected to be included in the index. Turn of the year effect is a stock market anomaly used to describe a pattern in which the trading volume and the prices of stock increase in the last week of December and the first two weeks of January. This situation is applied for speculation purposes by stakeholders in the financial markets. Size effect is used in the stock market to refer to a market anomaly in which the performance of the small companies based on the market value exceeds those of the large companies. Size effect is useful because it is used to reflect a credit risk premium in the market. Momentum effect is used in the stock markets to refer to a situation in which within a period of 3 to 12 months, the past stock winners will always continue to perform better than the losers. The stock momentum is the force in the stock prices in which stocks with the past strong performances tend to perform well even in the future while those with poor performance history tends to perform poorly even in the future. This phenomenon is useful

Applied Electronics Assignment. Coursework Lab Report

Applied Electronics Assignment. Coursework - Lab Report Example This lab report was based on the application of Arduino that is the hardware of the computer from the open source. In the design of a combinational circuit, a connection to the seven segments was done, and this has seven sections that were each controlled in ON or OFF to display a figure that was desired. The codes provided in the screen shots were used in the design to come out with the needed device. The desired figures were in the range of 0 – 9 that were displayed in the combinational circuit and these were in the seven segments connection. The letters were from A – F and these were hexadecimal letters used in the circuit designed. After entering all the necessary codes, the seven segments was able to display. This device (seven segments) are organized in such a way that it could make the shape like square â€Å"8† that is a little bit inclined towards the right. The device used was based on the LED and in this task; a reasonable stress was imposed on the display of the LED seven segments. On this LED, seven segments including a dot element were entirely based on the LEDs (Balagurusamy 2008). 3. The code used was 0001and the output displayed was 1 for 0010 of the output display, and the output result shall be 2, etc. The circuit was driven using 7446 IC, and this was based on the PCB to the seven-element display power drive of IC and was of a low active output. Every output to the PCB had the fully completed rippled bank and had no outside transistor driver. In the PCB, there were the built test functions that could be used for the test. Holding the ripple blanking high the test input pin was low all the LED element result was

The meaning of tolerance Essay Example for Free

The meaning of tolerance Essay The general acceptance of the meaning of tolerance is about universal human rights, to behave virtuous way towards other people and to respect others’ rights. Generally, experts declare that the people’s freedoms and rights end where the other people’s freedoms and rights start because to be tolerant requires being respectful others’ beliefs and not preventing others’ freedom and their rights. According to this claim, while people sustain their lives, they should think what their decisions’ and actions’ potential results because these decisions and actions may be profitable for their life. On the other hand, these decisions and actions may affect other people’s lives negatively and may cause physical and psychological problems. Thus, tolerance entails taking other people’s possible benefits and injuries into consideration. Although some people claim that the meaning of tolerance has changed for the worse, the meaning of tolerance has changed for the better and people are more tolerant on racial ,sexual, and religious issues. Some people incorrectly claim that the understanding of tolerance has become worse. However they are wrong in some ways. They say that the family structure has changed for the worse, also the rates of divorce, separation and cohabitation is increasing because of intolerance in a family environment. Also they add these affect the family bond between parents and children. For instance, Brenda Almond states â€Å"Often described as being ‘post- Christian’ phase, many Western countries, and Britian in patrticular, present a picture in which marriage as a basic family structure is visibly on the retreat as cohibitation, seperation and divorce expand to fill the void created. The UK provides a model of how life has changed. In Britain in 1979 children under 16 were mostly living with their two married parents. The figure then was over 80% but by 1992, just over a decade later, the figure had fallen to under 70%.†(p.136). However parents’ seperation, divorcement and cohibitation are not create impact on family bond. Even if the parents get divorce, the family bond does not weaken because in these days the families are more educated about raising children so that children can spend equal time both mother and father, they are not affected vey much from the lack of carelessness. Even if they are influenced, they overcome this problem easily. In other words, most of time divorced families’ children are healthier than other children who grown up with married families because if parents always fight, the child is influenced directly. Eventhough, some people say that the meaning of tolerance has shifted for the worse, effects of this change is not like what people think. Because of eduction, families facilitate children to overcome the problems which arise from divorcement and seperation and children are not affected so much from this negativity. The first area which is about understanding of tolerance is race. Racial problems occupy the world’s media less than other problems today because peoples’ attitudes changed towards these problems. They don’t discriminate the other people by different norms. In the past, people classified the other people by their race, if strangers’ race was not the same with theirs, their behaviour altered in a negative way immediately. They ostracize or torture the strangers. Thus, some majorities tried to make the minorities their slaves and perpetrate genocide against the minorities. However, today this attitude towards the other races shift, people start to live with other races in peace. In people’s new perspective everybody has equal rights by laws. Different races live together they share the same status. For example, before 19th century in the USA, the black peoples were living as slaves. They used to work for white people. They did hard work and they could be bought and sold like an object. However after the American Civil War, slaves gained their independence after a period of time they gain voting right. The USA handled danger of division and became united country with both black and white people. Sexuality is the other field that explains why the meaning of tolerance change for the better. Until 10 years ago people thought only men liked women and women liked men. Even if the opposite condition occured, they didn’t accept it and also they ignored and punished the homosexual people. However over 10 years later people changed their mentality toward the homesexual people and respect individual rights of homesexuals. Some of countries allow gay marriage such as Holland and Belgium. Some of them give a permission gays to join the army For example, in the UK, the army didn’t permit the gay people to participate the army before 2000 but the policymakers passed a new law which allowed the gay people to join the UK army. Some big companies’ employers strive to protect homosexual employees rights. For instance, american tax law requires collecting more tax from homosexuals than heterosexual people. Due to higher risk of health problem because goverment suppose gays, lesbians and bisexuals increase the possibility of epidemic disease. However Google qualifies this tax as a discrimination against homosexuals. Thus, Google pay more their homosexual employee to struggle with higher tax payment. More and more people help homosexual peole to protect their rights. It can be said that the perception of tolerance has adapted for a good way from the past to at this time by looking these examples. The third important area why the understanding of tolerance for the better is religion. From the past to the present , there are lots of minor and major religions appear. Some of them reach massive scale, some of them didn’t protect their existence and disappeared. However, there is a crucial thing that affects the whole humanity , is conflict between religions. Firstly, in the past, a great deal of causeless war occurred, like the Crusades. Plenty of people suffered from religious problems like the Jews. However, today people live with different people whose religions different from other’s and they more respectful when compared to the past. They don’t interfere each other’s traditions and lifestyle. For example, Zekeriya AltuÄŸ, chairman of the Hamburg branch of DITIB states that Germany has about 4 million Muslims, mostly of Turkish origin, in its 82 million population. Long treated as migrant workers due eventually to return to their countries of origin, they are now an established minority that wants equal rights so the State of Hamburg made the Islam governmental religion so that the Muslims bayrams also became legal holidays. Muslims celebrate these bayrams in mostly Christian society and Christians are respectful Muslims traditions. Secondly, in the business and school environment people also respect other’s religion. Today most of workplace and schools include different sanctuary. Every person can pray through their beliefs in their sanctuary. To illustrate, in Turkey Bilkent University has loads of foreign students and teachers.Ä °hsan DoÄŸramacÄ ± who was chancellor of Bilkent University, had DoÄŸramacÄ ±zade Ali Sami PaÅŸa Mosque built. This mosque also contain church and synagogues .Therefore, these foreign students and teachers can pray in their own sanctuary. Thus it can be commented by concluding that the religious intolerant has altered in some perceptions well. In conclusion, todays conception of tolerance is utterly different from the pasts viewpoint in some features. If it is compared these days and yesterdays family structure, racial, sexual and religious perceptions, it can be said that the definition of tolerance has shifted for a better way through looking examples. Although the percantage of divorce, seperation, and cohibitation is increasig, these changing family structure doesn’t make any difference on family ties because families more concious about raising children.Underdogs gained more independence by new tolerance perception. After this, they have been accepted as citizens by majority. Hence, it can be said that the definition of tolerance has changed for the better. Work’s Cited 1. Almond, Brenda (2006) The fragmenting family (Oxford, Oxford University Press). 2.Baklinski, Thaddeus M. Google to Pay Homosexual Staff More than Heterosexual Employees.LIFESITENEWS 05 July 2010, n. pag. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2010/jul/10070504. 3.HENEGHAN, TOM. Hamburg set to be first German state to officially recognize Islam. THE GLOBE AND MAIL. N.p., 23 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe/hamburg-set-to-be-first-german-state-to-officially-recognize-islam/article1763708/?service=mobile. 4.Wikipedia, . American Civil War. Wikipedia. N.p., 20 2012. Web. 22 Oct 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War. 5.Wikipedia, . Lustig-Prean and Beckett v United Kingdom. Wikipedia. N.p., 11 2012. Web. 22 Oct 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lustig-Prean_and_Beckett_v_United_Kingdom.

Literature Review: the Indian Banking System

Literature Review: the Indian Banking System Literature reviews that Indian banking system consist of a larger structure on of financial institutions, Commercial banks, foreign financial institutions. These structural transformations of Indian finance system can be divided into three parts. First, the post independence period (1947-1968). The Reserve bank of India, performed role as a supervisor and controller of finance system. RBI, dominated over all the forms of finance controls in India. In this time RBI, worked on financial stability, credit control, and regulation of interest rates and formation banking structure. The second financial repression, period the movement commenced with the nationalization of banks. This nationalization of commercial banks derives the base for changes in finance and banking system. The result into interest rate regulation and credit programmers deposit and banking working methods etc. The third period known as financial reform and liberalization period. Started in early 90s. In that period gov ernment of India was more likely to more liberalized. The three committee in 1985, vagual in 1987 and the Narasimham committee 1991. The most influential recommendations made by the committee of Narasimham regarding liberalization, consolidation and privatization in banking system. And the government of India started a financial reform era with the financial sector liberalization program. The main aims of financial liberalization program is to regulate the rates of interest, cash reserves and performance financial system consist of financial institute stocks exchanges and banks. It makes liberalization program enhance the importance of banking sector and make it more efficient and competitive. The globalization, deregularisation and privatization system emphasized on Washington consensus. These leads country to simplistic way of transforming system by functioning of market and state owned institutions restructuring. The liberalization program made changes internal economy. It restated more competitive and productive in shorter period. The liberal interest rates and reserve limits of banks resulted into stable and sound borrowing and lending market and monetary policy of government. The bank requires to keep certain amount of reserves to avoid too uncertainty an future due to competitive market another element of banking reforms is stabilization, non performing loan, which burdensome for banks are recapitalized and require standard working environment one of the most effective part is alteration of state owned banks into private sector banks. Under the government controls state owned banks recommends to sell out its public portion to private sector and consume the public pr operty in other economic project which needs more funds and these funds are taken from the privatization of state owned banks. Under the Nationalization act 1969, the largest banks were nationalized with the aim of increase in public deposits. The reason behind the nationalization of banks to grow the economy and bank network expansion. The government of India requires enhancing the economy and serving to prior areas. In 1980, more six banks were nationalized added into public share in banks to keep landing to priories areas. It was material to control on banking system and resulted into increase in priority area landing and five year plans of Indian Government. Moreover, these turned into inefficiency in banking system instead of providing equal distribution of funds. Addition banking system faced problems in 1980s these are the period of unprofitability and inefficiency and in mid 80s creates more limitations on returns and capital and reserves. These leads banks to the unrealistic performance standards. As mention above the 1991 Narasimham committee caters a influencing idea on banking sector reforms whic h idealized on interest rate deregulation, credit services and entry of new banks on Indian market private as well as foreign banks. Before the committee, interest rates were medium of subsidiary between different sectors of economy. Deregulation of interest rates was major part of making reforms that gave growth to financial savings and improve organizational finance system. On the other hands committee recommended total liberalization on deposits rates. In 2004 RBI set only rates for the savings and NRI deposits rates rest of the other deposits banks are free to levy their rates. The last major recommendation of committee was on entry of new banks in Indian market. Before it was a limited authority to the banks to do with interest rates and deposits, there were totally restrictions for new banks entry. Due to liberal view of new banks entry in Indian market seven private and twenty foreign banks started their operations in India after 1990. As per RBI (2004), the liberal aspect of new banks entry improved the quality of operation, risk management, technological changes and competition. In addition, before 1990 public sector bank distorted market system by its non profitability and inefficient management. To recover the stability in market Government inject more funds in 1993 and 1999 to liquidate the government and depositors bear loses through public sector banks. In 1995 SBI act framed partial privatization of public sector banks and SBI was the first bank to get funds in form of equity and become private sector bank. Despite of partial privatization Government decide to increase the private holding up to 49 percentage and to control banking system appointment was made for a public agent to control administrative strategies after all the changes have been made the Indian banking sector covers several changes and explore the improvement effect. In case of privatization of Indian banks there are only interest rates, credit control and deposits rates to know the changes in economy are increase in savings. It predicts the removal of deposit policy in baking will lead to increase in capital availability these can make changes in private sector capital formation. The interest rates make vary forms the fixed deposit rates, lending rates are increased and steadily decline in 1990 which effect on todays market. The Repressioninst policy reduction improves the risk management of banks it is an indication of liquidity. The liberalization treated as an instrument of financial policy reformation of credit rates and statutory lending rates the division of two rates in minimum and maximum can gradually effect the repressive of monetary policy. As the liberalization program aimed to make banks more efficient and productive to compose the efficiency of banking sector based on technical efficiency, scale and scope efficiency called parametr ic and non parametric efficiency. The parametric methods considered banking returns and input like production and profit, cost, revenue to know how effective bank is performing. In Indian traditional economy needed to lift the banking sector through technological changes, global market, economic pressure and bank crisis forced to change in way of doing business in traditional way. It helps in increase in competition at local market by removal of interest rates on current account, deposit rates. More competition enhanced the service of banks in free services, capital formation and mergers. The Indian economy faces various challenges due to privatization. First, the government unable to consider the running of nationalized banks during 1997-1998 crises. In this period government cannot pressure the security holders to disclose their holding and these creates problems in negotiation of foreign bank partners and for debt forgiveness issues. Though state owned banks serves qualitative and respectable task in banking sector. In India, state owned banks only work on remote areas like rural and urban banking. Alternatively some credit unions and financial institutio n also seems, in remote areas state owned banks encourage small and medium enterprises by lending programmers, in crisis time state owned banks has quick time to deal. The cycle time is quicker than private banks some time lack of local infrastructure for finance, government organization only is the way to get hands. These are the way state owned serves public and make quality service against less return against service. Privatization Experience and Issues The privatization in recent years, the way to sell out some states to some financial institutions foreign organization. Other way government directly sell its parts to public in form of equity in stock market. These method might be useful to countries state owned banks because lack of supervision of bank management, another thing is to transparent operations before it privatized, because of they need to know the what they are buying. The bad factor during privatization was bank commercialization and collection of loans. Globalization suggest the more effective completion partially nationalize banks therefore moved to fully privatized in short period for operational efficiency later on the issue arise on reserving some share for state. The share of state in private banks derives the powers to influence the decision making and strategies of banks. The way accepting a state ownership becomes a better option. Mergers and consolidation and efficiency The banking system consists of various institutions in size, ownership, competitive profitability, structure and technology. The relationship between profitability and size of bank is relative, smaller number in having loss making institution and lager organization has very advantage over small organization like return on capital. But smaller banks have good efficiency in work while large organization. Above state bank consolidation is new phenomenon for competition due to entry of foreign banks, privatization and deregulisation. Crises deregulisation and globalization causes increase in the foreign banks in economy, there is no doubt that the region has become more open for foreign has become more open for foreign banks. The foreign bank entries enhance the quality of banking services foreign participation load to foreign international trade and membership of the European union and these will turn domestic banks into foreign banks and assist home country to provide service abroad. As foreign banks came in India, they serving large corporate customers and no service for ruler and small sized organization they are unattended. The risk of pricing is in foreign banking is more likely. If risk was proper than organization have advantage because the foreign banks entry is dangerous because of distribution and a market imperfection reasons. There is a plenty of literature on the bank efficiency but in the developing country it concerns to banking performance on maintenance acquisition and regulation and mergers. There are various hypothesis to measure the efficiency of banks but due to mix results if enable to derive the proper result. Deregulation in various country will goes very well in developing country. The mergers and acquisitions are improves the efficiency. The improvement efficiency is mainly generating higher output than input, revenue than costs. Micro economy theory provides the framework for effective banking, in the developing country due to lack of completion. They started reforming economy with deregulation. Deregulisation give more freedom to banks and thus if increase in bank cost and technical progress of liberalization. The state ownership banks aims to fulfill public aims and government plans. The non economic goals such as provide low rate leading, loans and interest rates stability. It called public owned bank but there is no access for common people to participate in management actions. The collective decision making process lead management to inefficient last the state bank is the support from government and gets benefit to inefficient management. Over the last two decades. Many countries are availing to go with private state owned banks. Privatization is the way of improvement in efficiency. Privatization brought drastic changes in ownership of Indian banking sector from government to private, private and local control to foreign control. Privatization deals in change in corporate field and looking for improvement. Ownership push the organization toward divestment mechanism to improved management structure. Berger argues that the examination of bank efficiency is varied in form of static, dynamic and selective on performance. Even though, bank efficiency is improves any in different structured banks. By Appling a vital concept of bank efficiency gives more detail literature for privatization liberalization affect and foreign institution participation with respect of developing economy and Indian finance system. The financial reforms provide so many improvements in Indian economy. First, improvement In financial structure of banking industry there is more sophisticated and define process carried between intermediate banks and financial institutions. The lowering the statutory-emption had lowered and that turn to provide more finance for commerce in India. The structure of intrest rates become more gradual and independe nt so many banks can provide better loans and landing system makes easy and vast so financial exchange become fast and reliable. To enhance the performance of public sector banks are recapitalized and put some restrictions on management and allow public agents in area of operation so that it become more trustworthy. The micro prudential measure improves the bank working conditions to cope up with international standard practice the result banks improves their working conditions in just 90 days and gave more competitive and safety. The liberalization process gives many good results but it has many drawbacks too. According to world development report , the liberalizations in order to count the risk as a market reforms whereas the financial conditions are differ from the expected. The crisis of 1992 many banks were affected and these resilience filled by the government in sense of pouring money in deficits. The reforms brought technological changes in banking sector many new foreign ba nks had fast network of working and technology, network payments, electronic transfers these turns into best banking practice developed.

Business Intelligence Solutions for Organisational Goals

Business Intelligence Solutions for Organisational Goals Information System is becoming an important framework that can assist organizations to manage, develop and communicate their intangible assets such as information and knowledge. Therefore it can be considered as a necessary framework in the current knowledge-based economy arena. In this paper, I will also explain the role of Business Intelligence in providing organizations with a way to plan and obtain their strategic managements objectives. Than others. Theres almost always a prominent firm. In the automotive industry, Toyota is considered an exceptional performer. In pure online retailing, Amazon.com is the leader. In off-line retailing Wal-Mart, the largest retailer on earth, is the also leader. In online music, Apples iTunes is considered the superior with more than 75 percent of the downloaded music markets, and in the related industry of digital music players, the iPod is the best. In Web searching, Google is considered the leader. Firms that do better than others are said to have a competitive advantage over the others: They either have access to specific resources that others do not, or they are able to use generally available resources more efficiently-usually because of superior knowledge and information assets. In any event, they do better in terms of revenue growth, profitability growth, or productivity growth (efficiency), all of which eventually in the long run translate into higher stock market valuations than their competitors. But Why do some firms do better than the others and how do they obtain competitive advantage? How can we analyze a business and recognize its strategic advantages? How can we build a strategic advantage for our own business? How do information systems cause to strategic advantages? One answer to questions above is Michael Porters competitive forces model. Arguably, the most famously used model for understanding competitive advantage is Michael Porters competitive forces model (See Figure 1).This model provides a common view of the firm, its competitors, and the firms environments. Porters model is all about the firms common business environment. In this model, five competitive forces form the fate of the firm. Figure 1- Porters competitive forces model Customers A profitable company depends in large criterion on its ability to attract and hold customers (while denying them to competitors), and charge more expensive prices. The power of customers becomes larger if they can easily switch to a competitors products and services, or if they can force a business and its competitors to compete on price alone in a clear marketplace where there is slightly product differentiation, and all prices are known immediately (such as on the Internet). For example, in the used college textbook market on the Internet, students (customers) can find various suppliers of just about any current college textbook. In this case, online customers have high power over used-book firms. Suppliers The market power of suppliers can have a important impact on firm profits, particularly, when the firm cannot increase prices as fast as can suppliers. The more different suppliers a firm has, the greater control it can practice over suppliers in terms of price, quality, and delivery timetables. For example, manufacturers of laptop PCs almost always have various competing suppliers of key components, such as keyboards, hard drives, and monitors. Competitors All firms share market space with other competitors who are continuously making new, more efficient ways to produce by introducing new products and services, and attempting to attract customers by developing their brands and compelling switching costs on their customers. New Market Entrants In a free economy with moveable labor and financial resources, new companies are always entering the marketplace. In some industries, there are very low barriers to entry, whereas in other industries, entry is very troublesome. For instance, it is easy to start a pizza business or just about any small retailing business, but it is much more costly and difficult to enter the computer chip business, which has very high capital costs and requires a considerable amount of expertise and knowledge that is hard to achieve. New companies have several possible advantages: They are not locked into former plants and equipment, they often employ younger workers who are less expensive and maybe more innovative, they are not burdened by old, worn-out brand names, and they are more hungry (highly motivated) than traditional occupants of an industry. These benefits are also their weakness: They depend on external financing for new plants and equipment, which can be costly; they have a less experienced manpower; and they have little brand identification. Substitute Products and Services In just about every industry, there are substitutes that the customers might use if our prices become excessively high. New technologies make new substitutes all the time. Even oil has substitutes: Ethanol can substitute for gasoline in automobiles; plant oil for diesel fuel in trucks; and wind, solar, coal, and hydro power for industrial electricity production. Likewise, Internet telephone service can substitute for customary telephone service, and fiber-optic telephone lines to the house can substitute for cable TV lines. And, of course, an Internet music service that permits us to download music tracks to an iPod is a substitute for CDbased Music shops. The more substitute products and services in industry, the less we can control pricing and the lower our net profits. Information System Strategies for Facing up to Competitive Forces How can firms use information systems to neutralize some of the forces outlined in Porters competitive forces model? Four general strategies are outlined in Table-1 Strategy Descriptions Example Low-cost Leadership Use information systems to produce products and services at a lower price than competitors while enhancing quality and level of service. Wall-Mart, Dell Computer Product Differentiation Use information systems to differentiate products, and enable new services and products. Google, eBay, Apple, Lands End Focus on market niche Use information systems to enable a focused strategy on a single market niche; specialize. Hilton Hotels Harrahs Customer and supplier intimacy Use information systems to develop strong ties and loyalty with customers and suppliers. Chrysler Corporation, Amazon.com Table 1-Four basic competitive strategies Low-Cost Leadership Use information systems to obtain the lowest operational costs and the lowest prices. Firms such as Wal-Mart have utilized IT to make an efficient customer response system that directly links customer behavior back to production, distribution and supply chains. Product Differentiation Use information systems to allow new products and services, or greatly change the customer convenience in using our existent products and services. Through mass customization, organizations are capable of to offer individually tailored products or services by using mass production resources. Focus on Market Niche Use information systems to enable a particular market focus, and serve this narrow target market better than competitors. Information systems support this strategy by producing and analyzing data for extremely well tuned sales and marketing techniques. Information systems enable companies to analyze buyer buying patterns, tastes, and preferences closely so that they efficiently establish advertising and marketing campaigns to smaller and smaller target markets. Strengthen Customer and Supplier Intimacy Use information systems to make tight linkages with suppliers and develop intimacy with customers. Amazon and Chrysler Corporation are both excellent instances that are quoted in the text of how these firms used information systems to fortify their customer and supplier relationships. Strong linkages to customers and suppliers raise switching costs (expense a customer or company incurs in lost time and expenditure of resources when changing from one supplier to a competing supplier). The Business Value Chain Model Although the Porter model is very useful for identifying competitive forces and suggesting general strategies, it is not very specific about what accurately to do, and it does not provide a methodology to follow for obtaining competitive advantages. If our aim is to achieve operational excellence, where do we start? Heres where the business value chain model is really helpful. The value chain model highlights specific activities in the business where competitive strategies can best be applied (Porter, 1985) and where information systems are most likely to have a strategic effect. This model recognizes specific, critical-leverage points where a firm can use information technology most effectively to improve its competitive position. The value chain model shows the firm as a series or chain of basic activities that add a margin of value to a firms goods or services. These activities can be classified as either primary activities or support activities (see Figure 2). Figure 2-Business Value Chain Model Now, How can we use information systems to enhance operational efficiency, and improve supplier and customer intimacy? This will encourage us to critically examine how we perform value-adding activities at each phase and how the business processes might be enhanced. We can also begin to ask how information systems can be used to improve the relationship suppliers with customers who locate outside the firm value chain but belong to the firms extended value chain where they are absolutely crucial to our success. Here, supply chain management (SCM) systems that arrange the flow of resources into our firm in proper order, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems that coordinate our sales and support employees with customers are two of the most common system applications that derive from a business value chain analysis. Using the business value chain model will also bring about us to consider benchmarking our business operation versus our competitors or others in related industries, and recognizing industry best practices. Benchmarking involves comparing the effectiveness of business processes against severe standards and then measuring performan ce versus those standards. Industry best practices are usually recognized by consulting companies, government agencies, industry associations and research organizations as the most successful solutions for consistently and effectively achieving a business goal. Once we have analyzed the several stages in the value chain at our business, we can come up with proper applications of information systems. Then, once we have a list of proper applications, we can decide which to build first. By making enhancements in our own business value chain that our competitors might miss, we can obtain competitive advantage by attaining lowering costs, operational excellence, enhancing profit margins, and forging a closer relationship with suppliers and customers. If our competitors are making similar enhancements, then we will not be at a competitive disadvantage-the worst of all cases Synergies and Core Competencies A large firm is typically a collection of businesses. Often, the firm is managed financially as a collection of strategic business units, and the returns to the corporation are directly tied to the performance of all the strategic business units. Information systems can enhance the overall performance of these business units by promoting core competencies and synergies. Synergies The aim of synergies is that when the output of some units can be used as inputs to other units, or two organizations pool markets and expertise, these relationships reduce costs and make profits. Recent bank and financial firm mergers, such as the mergers of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One Corporation, FleetBoston Financial Corporation and Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust, occurred exactly for this intention, One use of information technology in these synergy situations is to fasten together the operations of dissimilar business units so that they can work as a whole. For instance, merging with Bank One provided JPMorgan Chase with a enormous network of retail branches in the Southwest and Midwest. Information systems assist the merged banks lower retailing costs and increase cross marketing of financial goods. Enhancing Core Competencies Another way to use information systems for competitive advantages is to think about ways that systems can improve core competencies. The argument is that the performance of all business units will rise insofar as these business units improve, or make, a central core of competencies. Core competencies may include being the, the best packaged delivery service, worlds best miniature parts designer or the best thin-film manufacturer. In general, a core competency leans on knowledge that is gained over many years of experience and a first-class research organization or simply key people who pursue the literature and stay side by side of new external knowledge. Any information system that supports the sharing of knowledge across business units enhances competency. Such systems might encourage or improve existing competencies and help employees become conscious, of new external knowledge; such systems might also facilitate a business leverage existing competencies to related markets. The Impact of Business Intelligence on Competitive Advantage Business Intelligence is becoming crucial for many organizations, particularly those have extremely large amount of data. Decision makers depend on detailed and exact information when they have to make decisions. Business Intelligence can provide decision makers with such precise information, and with the suitable tools for data analysis. Business Intelligence is an umbrella term that combines tools, architectures, applications, data bases, practices, and methodologies [20, 6]. Gartner Group (1996) (the first company used Business Intelligence in marker in the mid-1990) defined Business Intelligence as information and applications available broadly to employees, consultants, customers, suppliers, and the public. The key to thriving in a competitive marketplace is staying ahead of the competition. Making sound business decisions based on accurate and current information takes more than intuition. Data analysis, reporting, and query tools can help business users dig in the mine of data to extract and/or synthesize valuable information from it today these tools collectively fall into category called Business Intelligence [9]. Many organizations who built successful Business Intelligence solutions, such as Continental Airlines, have seen investment in Business Intelligence create increases in revenue and cost saving corr esponding to 1000% return on investment (ROI) [22]. A critical question that was raised by many researchers [16, 18] as to what were the main reason pushing companies to seek for business intelligence solutions, and what distinguishes Business Intelligence from Decision Support System (DSS) systems? Actually, over the last decades, organizations built a lot of Operational Information Systems (OIS), resulting in an enormous amount of dissimilar data that are located in different geographic locations, on different storage platforms, with not the same forms. This situation impedes organization from building a general, correlated, integrated, and instantaneous access to information at its global level. DSS developed during the 1970s, with the objective of providing organizations decision makers with the demanded data to sustain decision-making process. In the 1980s, Executive Information System (EIS) developed to supply executive officers with the information needed to support strategic decision-making process. Business Intelligence developed during the 1990s as data-driven DSS, sharing some of the tools and objectives of DSS and EIS systems. Business Intelligence architectures comprise: business analytics, data warehousing, business performance management, and data mining. Most of Business Intelligence solutions are facing up to structured data [1]. However, many application domains need the use of unstructured data or at lowest semi-structured data e.g. customer e-mails, web pages, sales reports, competitor information research paper repositories, and so on [4, 21]. Any Business Intelligence solution can be divided into the following three layers [1]: data layer, which is accountable for storing structured and unstructured data for decision support objectives. Structured data is usually collected in Data Warehouses (DW), Operational Data Stores (ODS), and Data Marts (DM). Unstructured data are managed by using Content and Document Management Systems. Data are extracted from operational data sources, e.g. SCM, CRM, and ERP or from exterior data sources, e.g. market research data. Data are taken out from data sources that are transformed and loaded into DW by ETL (Extract, Transfer, and Load) tools. Logic layer prepares functionality to examine data and provid e knowledge. This obtains OLAP, data mining. And finally access layer, realized by some type of software portals (Business Intelligence portal). My main focus in this paper is to explain the function of Business Intelligence solution that facilitates organizations in formulating, implementing, and obtaining their strategies. Many researchers [5, 17, 10, 12] were emphasizing the IT alignment in general, with businesses, without clearly describing what are the technologies, and tools that can assist organizations in achieving their strategy. The next section will describe the role of Business Intelligence is taking as an IT-enabler to obtain organizations strategy; such role will be emphasized by using strategic alignment model proposed by Henderson and Venkatraman (1993), explaining how this alignment can assist organizations in becoming flexible organizations, concluding how could Business Intelligence solution prepare organizations with sustainable competitive advantages. Business Intelligence as an IT-Enabler to Achieve Organizations Strategy Nowadays, Information System in general, and Business Intelligence as a strategic framework, is becoming increasingly significant in strategic management, supporting business strategies. IT-enabled strategic management addresses the IT role in strategy formulation and implementation processes [19]. Drucker, the pioneer of management by objectives, was one of the first who recognized the surprising changes IT presented to management. Strategic management theories were widely geared towards gaining competitive advantages. Porter (1979) proposed a number of very influential strategic analysis models, such as the five-force model of competition, the value chain and generic competitive strategies that I mentioned above. Porter (1979) said The essence of strategy formulation is coping with competition [14]. Many researchers have indicated the importance of IT alignment with business strategy in order to enhance corporate strategy [5, 17], (Figure3). Figure 3-IT alignment with Business Strategy [5]. Strategic Alignment Model was developed by Henderson and Venkatraman (1993) was one of the first models that explained in a clear way the interrelationships between business strategies and IT strategies [10]. This model is based on two principal concepts (Figure 4): strategic fit that identifies the necessity to position the firm in an external marketplace where growth can take place, and functional integration which addresses how to best structure internal systems to carry out the business strategy of the firm [12]. IT alignment is not only formulating IT strategy to fit business strategy. It has to consider exterior forces and the environment uncertainty. Such alignment facilitates organizations becoming flexible organizations. Due to accelerations in the rates of innovation and technological changes, markets develop rapidly, products life cycles get shorter and innovation becomes the principle source of competitive advantage. And so, organizations look for flexibility to meet market demands. Drnevich and other; (2006) illustrated that flexibility-based perspectives evolved from Schumpeters concept of creative destruction [8]. Operationalization of these perspectives in strategic management is done by way of dynamic capabilities and real options views. Dynamic capabilities view refers to the firms abilities to maintain and fit its internal resources to environment changes to maintain sustainability of competitive advantages. It applies to the capability of obtaining new ways of competitive advantage. It causes to be concerned with continuous search, innovation and adaptation of firm resources and capabilities to reveal and tape new sources of competitive advantages. Real options outlook is effective in dealing with issues of uncertainty. It allows the firm to postpone investment decisions until uncertainties are resolved. New IT organizational adoption expedites the transition into flexible organizations. Business Intelligence is one of these new IT frameworks that can assist such transition. Business Intelligence technologies become a source of competitive advantages and differentiation [13, 11]. Tang and Walters (2006) hint that competitive advantage became a hot strategic management topic [19]. They also view that making new knowledge in a continued way is the single way to achieve competitive advantage. There are many reasons for organization to adopt business intelligence systems in order that achieve organizations strategy: Business Intelligence is considered as an expansion to corporate strategy activities. Herring (1988) considered that Strategy can be no better than the information from which it is derived [11]. Data analytics can be used efficiently to create future business strategy. Data analytics and data mining could disclose hidden reasons for some deficiencies as well as possible high-yielding new investments. Corporations require to be sure that they are receiving the right information related to their long-term strategy. Herring (1988) considered that business intelligence can facilitate organizations in [11]: Supporting the strategic decision making process of the firm. Supporting SWOT analysis Supporting strategic planning and processes. All the mentioned advantage should provide organizations with sustainable competitive advantages. Conclusion In this paper, I explained the use of one aspect of Information System (Business Intelligence) in formulating, implementing, and achieving organizations strategy. I also demonstrated how Business Intelligence solution could provide organizations with sustainable competitive advantages. This survey can be extended by integrating knowledge management (KM) with Business Intelligence (IB) solutions, as it can assist deriving more value (knowledge) from the explosion of textual information(tacit to implicit), which can add more inputs for strategic decision makers. Another important factor is the take advantage of agile methodologies in order to manage the high-change high-speed current environment. Such complicated and dynamic environments highly affect organizations strategies.

Essay on the Growth of Nora and Kristina Linde in Ibsens A Dolls Hous

The Growth of Nora and Kristina Linde in A Doll's House      Ã‚  Ã‚   A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that was written ahead of its time. In this play Ibsen tackles prevailing social norms by presenting two strong-willed women. Both Kristina and Nora chose the men they married by an intellectual rather than an emotional process: Kristina gave up the man she loved (Nils Krogstad) to provide economic security for her mother and her two younger brothers; Nora married Torvald Helmer at a time when he could have prosecuted her father for financial activities which were wrong if not simply illegal.1 Whether she married him out of thankfulness or to influence him during the time of decision is not clear, but one doubts that this timing was mere coincidence; if Nora married Torvald Helmer to save her father, we have reason to doubt that she was ever as empty-headed a "doll" as she claimed to be.    Neither woman knew how to convey her thoughts and feelings to the man she loved: When Kristina broke off with Nils Krogstad, she believed she would spare him grief by ending the relationship ruthlessly and, necessarily, crushing the love he bore her. She was badly mistaken. In making him believe that she had thrown him over for a richer man, she drove him into crime. When she comes to visit Nora she has been on her own for three years and learned how to support herself. Moreover, she has become so aware of her own motivations and such an understanding of his that she comes to the town with the deliberate intent of speaking with her now-widowed lover, and she is so beyond society's concept of what a woman should do and say in a courtship that she can begin the discussion of love and marriage with him. The audience can see that ha... ... 2. The best description of this subplot and love story is Davies (1982:33-34).    Works Cited and Consulted: Brandes, Georg. 1964. Henrik Ibsen. A Critical Study. New York: Benjamin Blom. Reprint of 1899 edition. Clurman, Harold. 1977. Ibsen. New York: Macmillan. Davies, H. Neville. 1982. "Not just a bang and a whimper: the inconclusiveness of Ibsen's A Doll's House." Critical Quarterly 24:33-34. Heiberg, Hans. 1967. Ibsen. A Portrait of the Artist. Coral Gables, Florida: University of Miami. Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House. Dover Thrift Edition, 1992 Koht, Halvdan. 1971. Life of Ibsen. New York: Benjamin Blom. Meyer, Michael. 1971. Ibsen. A Biography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company. Northam, John. 1965. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen. A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.