Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Criminal law coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal law - Coursework Example For instance, the offender may have been stopped by a police officer who arrived before the completion of the criminal act. A complete, but imperfect attempt occurs when the offender carries out all the actions that he had planned out to do, but fails to attain the desired end result. An example here is the attempt to murder a victim, where the offender stabs them with a knife and leaves them to die, but they fail to – after being saved or taken to hospital (Hasnas, 13). The two rationales used in determining or making inferences from an attempt crime include the following: Analyzing the dangerous nature of the acts, and evaluating the dangerousness of the defender. In focusing on the dangerous acts, attention is placed on how close the defendant came, towards the completion of the attempted crime, and this move is aimed at averting the danger that may result from the dangerous ways of the defendant. When the focus is on the dangerous nature of the defendant, attention is plac ed on determining how the defendant has fully developed their criminal intent, and this move is aimed at neutralizing the dangerous conduct. From a legal principle’s perspective, the defendant is considered innocent, until it has been proven that they are guilty of the attempt. The guilty or the innocent status of the defendant is determined by the prosecution team, and not the defendant or the complainant. An example here is the case of a woman who tries to kill the husband with a knife, but the husband escaped the attempt after receiving a cut. In this case, the prosecution must decide whether to charge her for domestic violence or attempted murder, as she cannot be penalized twice for the crime (Fletcher, 149–151). Q 2. Discuss the broken windows theory and provide examples. What has the research shown about the validity of the theory? The broken windows theory is a criminal basis explanation model, which suggests that a society or a part of society which seems lawl ess ends up becoming a breeding ground for lawlessness and crime. The theory builds its arguments on the basis of social cohesion, and has influenced legal practice since the 1980s. The specific claim portrayed by this theory is that – the cases of neighborhoods that look disordered, unfriendly and broken down – tend to nurture the development of crime and delinquent behavior. The theory, further, suggests that a society that lacks a sense of mutual interest and social cohesion will be faced by an increasing level of criminality. The basis of the central theme of the theory is that the prevalence of disharmony and unfriendliness push the members of society into developing thinking habits – of believing that order, fairness and wrong acts do not matter, and that no one cares. The nurture into incivility leads to the development of incivility among the members of the society, causing them to adjust, into fitting into the uncivilized society. As an example, is the case of a stateless society, where conflict resolution models are not present: in such a society, a person who offends another is not punished, therefore the victim is left to decide whether to revenge the offense or not. Another example is the tendency of children brought up in violence filled homes, as they grow up to become violent, because they adjust and develop the tendencies of violent behavior (Gault & Silver, 240-243). Research in verifying the broken windows

Monday, October 28, 2019

Psychiatric Nursing Essay Example for Free

Psychiatric Nursing Essay The subject is a 52 year old divorce Caucasian female, of Poland origin, and has lived in the United States for over 20 years. She had been a patient at Tewksbury Hospital since July 2011. She reportedly has a long history of bizarre and impulsive behavior, but has had a steady decline since her divorce in 2004. The patient denies history of taking medication or hospitalization for mental illness. There is no history of mental illness in the family. The subjects states, â€Å"My work is very unique. It’s inspirational spiritual work. I work as a self- healer. I do not need to see a physician for any diseases.† She went on saying â€Å"I have experienced terrible aggression. I am a psychologist. I can do many professions which I do not wish to discuss.† The subject lives in a house in the Boston area, where the rooms are rented and they share a common kitchen. She violated a no-harassment order against another residential by coming into the common kitchen, picking up a knife, and startled the alleged victim. She denies SI/HI. She said she had thoughts of â€Å"going to sleep†, but has no plan for SI. She denies trauma, physical abuse, sexual abuse/ rape. She started smoking at the age 12, 20/day. She was admitted to Tewksbury Hospital with a legal status 15, and then later changed to 16c and 8. She was diagnosed with Axis I: Psychosis NOS and Adjustment disorder (unspecified), Axis II: Deferred, Axis III: right shoulder pain, Axis VI: Homeless, limited community support, GAS: 35. Signs and Symptoms Psychosis is a serious psychiatric disorder in where there is a gross disorganization of the personality and marked disturbance in reality, testing and the impairment of interpersonal functioning and relationship to the external world (Townsend 2009). It may cause a person to experience delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior. Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified 298.9, is used in diagnosing patient when their symptoms to not meet any of the psychotic disorder. Multiple examples would include: 1) delusions with periods of overlapping ME, 2) post-partum psychosis, 3) psychotic disorders with less than one month duration with no remission, 4) psychotic disorders with unknown etiology, 5) persistent auditory hallucination. Adjustment Disorder is a psychological response to an identifiable stressor or stressors that results in the development of clinically significant emotional or behavioral symptoms. The symptoms must develop within three months after the onset of the stressor(s). Unspecified Adjustment Disorder may be used as a diagnosis if the patient cannot be classified into a specific subtype of Adjustment Disorder. The patients have maladaptive reactions to stressors, and they may include: physical complaints, social withdrawal, or work or academic inhibition.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Lilies of the Field :: essays papers

Vocabulary From â€Å"The Lilies of the Field† Amiable- to be friendly and noble. â€Å"A sculptor would have interpreted the features in terms of character, but Homer Smith’s mother had once said of him that he was two parts amiable and one part plain devil.†Antagonism- to be angry; hostile.â€Å"Homer felt antagonism stir in him, but it was a fine day and he was carrying the day in his spirit.† Pantomime- a routine â€Å"She went through the pantomime of shaking hands with one of the nuns and he told her what she was doing, pointing out the â€Å"you† and the â€Å"her.† â€Å"Segregated- to be set separated from others.â€Å"â€Å"If you learn English from me,† he said apologetically, â€Å"you’re sure enough going to get yourselves segregated some places.†Ã¢â‚¬Å" Dilemma- a problem that has multiple solutions but all having a downfall. â€Å"She did not have the authority to except gifts, but she lacked the vocabulary necessary to refuse acceptance or to explain her dilemma.†Debris- Left over wreckage.â€Å"The warmth of the day touched his skin and he was looking toward the debis in the foundation. Alternative- another way or idea. â€Å"He created a refuse pile that would have to be leveled off some day but he had no alternative and it did not worry him.† Ultimately- above all else â€Å"She wants a place ultimately for poor boys from the city; Spanish-speaking boys who get in trouble.† Exultation- rejoice â€Å"Loneliness had long since dropped away from him and he felt exultation.† Elude- escaped â€Å"He wanted to mingle his voice with these others but the words eluded him so long as he regarded them as words; when he thought of them merely as sounds, they made a pattern in his mind.† Reverence- purity.â€Å" When he walked to the station wagon, he was empty of thought but was filled with the throbbing sound, a happy feeling of reverence.† Dismay- to be afraid.â€Å" The expenditure dismayed him but he assured himself that he would pay the money back to his fund out of his pay on Friday.†Voracious- hungry He turned to his right on a rutted road and the nuns were in the field, working on their variegated crop, fighting for their growing stuff against weeds and voracious insects and the parched dryness of the soil.† Reluctant- unwilling. â€Å"He did not know whether he would still have a job with Livingston Construction Company and he was reluctant to leave his own job unguarded.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Infant Feeding and Weaning in Three Countries Essay -- Infant Feeding

Evolution has insured that most women are biologically equipped to give birth and then nourish their offspring for a period of time by producing milk. At some point, young humans stop receiving food from their mothers’ bodies and learn to consume plants and/or animals found in their environments in order to meet their nutritional needs. Within most other species of mammals, this transition happens at roughly the same age and to roughly the same range of foodstuffs for all individuals (Dettwyler 1999). Humans, however, as a uniquely global species with the powerful overlay of culture, exhibit a wide range of behaviors in this arena, with a wide variety of expressed reasons for their choices (Dettwyler & Fishman 1992, Dutta et al. 2006, Notzon 1984, Synott et al. 2007, Van Esterik 2002). Although there are certainly biological constraints on what can be fed successfully to a human infant, and a substantial body of scientific research showing that some choices promote better heal th outcomes than others (Allen et al. 1992, American Academy of Pediatrics 2009, Greer et al. 2008, Ip et al. 2007, Marlin et al. 1980, Ãâ€"hlund 2008, Olsson et al. 2008), there is still a great deal of latitude in the exact content, timing, and introduction sequence of non-milk baby foods. Into this gap, each human culture pours a raft of beliefs, values, norms, and social practices. This paper attempts to summarize, compare, and contrast the dominant infant feeding practices in three modern cultures: the United States of America, Mexico, and Sweden. These three countries and the cultures they house were selected for a variety of reasons. The United States was chosen because the author is a U. S. American with direct experience of its infant feeding an... ... Organization. Complementary Feeding: Report of the Global Consultation, and Summary of Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Child. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2002. World Health Organization. Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2003. World Health Organization. Guiding Principles for Feeding Non-breastfed Children 6-24 Months of Age. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press, 2005. World Health Organization. International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 1981. Wutich, Amber and C. McCarty. â€Å"Social Networks and Infant Feeding in Oaxaca, Mexico.† Maternal and Child Nutrition 4.2 (2008): 121-35. Yaron, Ruth. Super Baby Food. 2nd ed. Peckville, PA: F. J. Roberts Publishing, 1998.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Book Reflection Assignment Essay

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards is a very fascinating and insightful book that everyone who is interested in special education should definitely read. After reading the book, I could not help myself but be compelled by the story’s main insight about the beauty of life despite the challenges brought about by the pain of the past and the challenges of the present. In this book, two of the most compelling aspects that I would never forget are (1) the realization of Caroline of the struggles she is about to face for having a mentally handicapped child and (2) the hope and courage she has gathered all her life to be able to appreciate the beauty and mystery of her entire being. In the first insight, it is best exemplified by the most obvious and vividly compelling scenarios in the first few chapters of the book. One clear situation is when Caroline refuses the money Dr. David Henry wanted to give her to start a new life again and move away from the depressing and helpless state in Kentucky. It is well-explained in this scene that not only will the book open up a narrative form of the beauty of remembering the past, it also immediately gives a hint of how life should always be a story of redemption and courage. Interestingly, this opening insight reminds me of the most important lesson everyone living with special children should always remember: everything shall pass when you are being patient. Just like the freezing cold that surround the town of Kentucky and just like the undeniably unbearable pain of a mother who just realized the long arduous struggle of having a handicapped child, there is nothing in suffering that does not fully pass away in time. This is something that is well-linked throughout Kim Edwards Book and something we are immediately introduced right after we first realize how the hard future of Caroline’s twins shall be. In understanding the essence of special education, nothing is more important than realizing and putting in practice the virtue of being patient. That is why the main situation in the book that made me appreciate the second insight even more is the time when Caroline finally heard of David’s death and told her children the truth. In this scene, I am immediately reminded of the basic requisite needed in having enough patience to answer the needs of special children: the pure truth. Everybody deserves the truth. Just because the special children we are dealing with don’t always respond as fast as normal people do, does not mean they are less worthy of our trust. Just as the final realization of Caroline to tell her children everything about their past, we should never deprive anyone who is worthy of the truth the story they deserve to know. Thus, the resolution being highlighted in the final scenarios of this book simply shows the very important lesson in understanding the patience, courage and determination it takes to succeed in addressing the needs of special children: honesty. Impact The three things in the book that I can clearly identify as having a strong impact to me as I work with individuals with disabilities and their parents in the future are quite similar to the insight I just mentioned above: (1) the value of courage, (2)the virtue of patience and (3)the importance of trust. The value of courage is best described in the part of the book when Phoebe and Paul were already eighteen-years old and Caroline was about to tell David the truth but then failed to do so because of an event David was hosting. In one of the most subtle scenes in this part of the story, the courage of getting through life’s struggles while being patient clearly comes to mind. Something special education most importantly requires in cases where special children and their parents are made to do things they would otherwise just refuse to doing. The virtue of patience could not have been made clearer in the entire lay-out of the book. I could not express enough the important virtue of patience in handling patients with special needs. It’s no different when handling with parents. The difficulty of making parents understand the strength and commitment it takes to raise special children could not be a more ideal example for this. The importance of trust in dealing with special children and their guardians is also best linked in the entire story of the book. When Caroline handles the difficulty of having a kid who has a down syndrome, I was struck with awe on how much strength she was able to gather in simply making ends meet by simply being honest to herself. In dealing with special education, success on the part of the teacher is impossible without first getting the trust of the parents and their special children. In this aspect, I will not only agree with a critic who said that â€Å"The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is appealing to readers who want a literary page turner and something to discuss in their reading groups† (Rich, 2006, p. 1), but also declare that, overall, it is very successful at that. This simply goes to say that it is a highly commendable recommended book for a type of audience who wants to understand more the industry of handling special children and the challenges their loved ones are facing each day. This book is also very important to those who want to understand life in someone else’s unique view. If such is the goal and purpose of the novel, I would definitely say the author is more than successful in achieving it. Reference Rich, M. (2006). â€Å"A Stirring Family Drama Is a Hit (in Paperback)† . The New York Times. http://www. nytimes. com/2006/07/13/books/13memo. html? _r=1. Retrieved on 2009-07-05

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Explore the Large Magellanic Cloud

Explore the Large Magellanic Cloud The Large Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. It lies some 168,000 light-years away from us in the direction of the southern hemisphere constellations Dorado and Mensa. There is no one discoverer listed for the LMC (as its called), or its nearby neighbor, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Thats because they are easily visible to the naked eye and have been known to skygazers throughout human history. Their scientific value to the astronomical community is immense: watching what happens in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds offers rich clues to understanding how galaxies that are interacting change over time. These are relatively close to the Milky Way, cosmically speaking, so they offer detailed information about the origins and evolutions of stars, nebulae, and galaxies.   Key Takeaways: Large Magellanic Cloud The Large Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located some 168,000 light-years from our galaxy.Both the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Large Magellanic Cloud are visible to the naked eye from southern hemisphere locations.The LMC and SMC have interacted in the past and will collide in the future. What Is the LMC? Technically, astronomers call the LMC a Magellanic spiral type galaxy. This is because, while it looks somewhat irregular, it does have a spiral bar, and it was very likely a smaller dwarf spiral galaxy in the past. Something happened to disrupt its shape. Astronomers think it was probably a collision or some interaction with the Small Magellanic Cloud. It has the mass of about 10 billion stars and stretches across 14,000 light-years of space. A portion of the Large Magellanic Cloud showing its many clusters and gas and dust lanes set against a nebula backdrop.   NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope The name for both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds comes from the explorer Ferdinand Magellan. He sighted the LMC during his voyages and wrote about it in his logs. However, they were charted long before Magellans time, most likely by astronomers in the Middle East. There are also records of its sighting in the years before Magellans voyages by various explorers, including Vespucci.   The Science of the LMC The Large Magellanic Cloud is filled with different celestial objects. Its a very busy site for star formation and has many protostellar systems. One of its largest starbirth complexes is called the Tarantula Nebula (due to its spidery shape). There are hundreds of planetary nebulae (which form when stars like the Sun die), as well as star clusters, dozens of globular clusters, and countless massive stars.   Astronomers have identified a large central bar of gas and stars stretching across the width of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It seems to be a rather misshapen bar, with warped ends, likely due to the gravitational pull of the Small Magellanic cloud as the two interacted in the past. For many years, the LMC was classified as an irregular galaxy, but recent observations have identified its bar. Until relatively recently, scientists suspected that the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way would collide sometime in the distant future. New observations show that the orbit of the LMC around the Milky Way is too fast, and it may not ever collide with our galaxy. However, they could pass close together, the combined gravitational pull of both galaxies, plus the SMC, could further warp the two satellites and change the shape of the Milky Way.   A view of the Large Magellanic Cloud and all its star formation regions (in red). The central bar stretches across the entire galaxy. NASA/ESA/STScI Exciting Events in the LMC The LMC was the site in 1987 of an event called Supernova 1987a. That was the death of a massive star, and today, astronomers are studying an expanding ring of debris moving away from the site of the explosion. In addition to SN 1987a, the cloud is also home to a number of x-ray sources which are likely x-ray binary stars, supernova remnants, pulsars, and x-ray bright disks around black holes. The LMC  is rich with hot, massive stars that will eventually blow up as supernovae and then likely collapse to create neutron stars and more black holes.  Ã‚   The expanding cloud of material spreading out from the site of Supernova 1987a as seen in visible light from Hubble Space Telescope and x-rays from the Chandra X-Ray satellite. NASA/Chandra/Hubble   The Hubble Space Telescope has been used often to study small areas of the clouds in high detail. It has returned some very high-resolution images of star clusters, as well as star-forming nebulae and other objects. In one study, the telescope was able to peer deep into the heart of a globular cluster to discern individual stars. The centers of these tightly packed clusters are often so crowded that its nearly impossible to make out individual stars. Hubble has enough power to do that and reveal details about the characteristics of individual stars inside the cluster cores.   Hubble Space Telescope looked at the globular cluster NGC 1854 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was able to see individual stars at the heart of the cluster. NASA/ESA/STScI   HST is not the only telescope studying the LMC. Ground-based telescopes with large mirrors, such as the Gemini Observatory and Keck observatories, can now make out details inside the galaxy.   Astronomers have also known for quite some time that there is a bridge of gas that connects both the LMC and the SMC. Until recently, however, it wasnt clear why it was there. They now think that the bridge of gas shows that the two galaxies have interacted in the past. This region is also rich in star-forming sites, which is another indicator of galaxy collisions and interactions. As these objects do their cosmic dance with each other, their mutual gravitational pull tugs gas out into long streamers, and shock waves set off spasms of star formation in the gas.   The globular clusters in the LMC are also giving astronomers deeper insights into how their starry members evolve. Like most other stars, the members of globulars are born in clouds of gas and dust. However, for a globular to form, there must be a lot of gas and dust in a relatively small amount of space. As stars are born in this tight-knit nursery, their gravity keeps them close to each other.   At the other ends of their lives (and stars in globulars are very, very old), they die in much the same way other stars do: by losing their outer atmospheres and puffing them off to space. For stars like the Sun, its a gentle puff. For very massive stars, its a catastrophic outburst. Astronomers are quite interested in how stellar evolution affects cluster stars throughout their entire lives.   Finally, astronomers are interested in both the LMC and the SMC because they are likely to collide again in about 2.5 billion years. Because theyve interacted in the past, observers now look for evidence of those past meetings. They can then model what those clouds will do when they do merge again, and how it will look to astronomers in the very distant future.   Charting the Stars of the LMC For many years, the European Southern Observatory in Chile scanned the Large Magellanic Cloud, capturing images of the stars in and around both Magellanic Clouds. Their data were compiled into the MACS, the Magellanic Catalog of Stars.   This catalog is mainly used by professional astronomers. A recent addition is the LMCEXTOBJ, an extended catalog put together in the 2000s. It includes clusters and other objects within the clouds.   Observing the LMC The best view of the LMC is from the southern hemisphere, although it can be glimpsed low on the horizon from some southerly parts of the northern hemisphere. Both the LMC and the SMC look like ordinary clouds in the sky. They are clouds, in a sense: star clouds. They can be scanned with a good telescope, and are favorite objects for astrophotographers.   Sources Administrator, NASA Content. â€Å"Large Magellanic Cloud.† NASA, NASA, 9 Apr. 2015, www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2434.html.â€Å"Magellanic Clouds | COSMOS.† Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/M/Magellanic Clouds.Multiwavelength Large Magellanic Cloud - Irregular Galaxy, coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/lmc.html.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Definition and Examples of Kennings in English

Definition and Examples of Kennings in English A kenning is a  figurative expression, usually compound in form, that is used in place of a name or noun, especially in Old English. Kenning as Metaphor The kenning has been described as a kind of compressed metaphor with the referent suppressed. Commonly used kennings in Old English and Norse poetry include whale-road (for sea), sea-horse (for ship), and iron-shower (for the rain of spears or arrows during a battle). Examples Old English poetry used a special poetic vocabulary. . . . [The word] ban-cofa (n) had a special meaning: its two elements were bone-den, but it meant body. Such an expression is a paraphrase, a reference to a thing by concentration on one of its attributes. A person could be called a reord-berend (speech-bearer) because speech is uniquely human. This device of paraphrase was frequent in Old English poetry, and it goes now by the name (borrowed from Old Norse) of kenning.(W.F. Bolton, A Living Language: The History and Structure of English. Random House, 1982)The poets loved kennings because they were opportunities to vary their descriptions when they told long stories of heroes and battles. . . .So, what could a ship be? A wave floater, sea goer, sea-house or sea steed. And the sea? A seal bath, fish home, swan road or whale way. Anything could be described using a kenning. A woman is a peace-weaver, a traveller is an earth-walker, a sword is a wolf of wounds, the sun is a sky candl e, the sky is the curtain of the gods, blood is battle sweat or battle icicle. There are hundreds more. (David Crystal, The Story of English in 100 Words. St. Martins Press, 2012) Circumlocutions The poets of medieval Scandinavia developed a system of naming by circumlocution, or kennings, which they could expand to a dizzying degree of complexity. They might call the sea earth of the fish. Next, they could replace the word fish by the expression snake of the fjord. Then, they might substitute for fjord the phrase bench of the ship. The result was a strange, prolix thing: earth of the snake of the bench of the shipwhich, of course, simply meant sea. But only those familiar with the conceits of poetry would know it.(Daniel Heller-Roazen, Learn to Talk in Beggars’ Cant. The New York Times, August 18, 2013) Contemporary Kennings We clearly see kenning variation . . . in the seventh of the sequence Glanmore Sonnets in [Seamus] Heaneys next volume, Field Work [1979], when names of the BBC Radio 4 shipping forecast (itself possessing the sonority of a formulaic catalogue from early heroic poetry) prompt the poet to expand on the metaphor in the Old English kenning for the sea hronrad (whale-road, Beowulf, l. 10): Sirens of the tundra,Of eel-road, seal-road, keel-road, whale-road, raiseTheir wind-compounded keen behind the baizeAnd drive the trawlers to the lee of Wicklow. . . . Heaney performs variation not just on the concept signified, but on the signifier itself, echoing the hypnotic chant of the shipping forecast. (Chris Jones, Strange Likeness: The Use of Old English in Twentieth-Century Poetry. Oxford University Press, 2006) Etymologyfrom the Old Norse, to know Pronunciation: KEN-ing

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Early american history Native americans- the awakening essays

Early american history Native americans- the awakening essays Social Structure Amidst the Native Americans No one is quite sure how the Native Americans first came to the Americas but there are two main theories. The first theory is that hunters crossed an Ice bridge that stretched across the Pacific Ocean from Asia to Alaska and discovered a land that could only be described as a hunters paradise. The second theory is that they came by boats and followed the shoreline south until they found a place they wanted to stay. Either way the reasons they stayed were pretty much the same- good land and plentiful food. These people spread over the Americas and started new lives there. While they all had similar origins they all also came up with and perfected customs in their own way. The most diverse groups were the Meso/South Americans and the North Americans. The North Americans had mostly organized themselves into small tribes/Chiefdoms. While some of the communities were democracies, most chose their leaders from the prominent families within the community. The bigger the community was the more likely it was that it would survive. While battles were semi-common wars were not. Fighting chiefdoms sought more to humiliate and take captives than to kill. In fact Chiefdoms could be at war for years and have no casualties. These chiefdoms spread all the way from Alaska to Florida with a total of what was thought to be almost 10 million people living in North America. The Mesoamericans on the other hand was ruled by a group of people known as the ruling class, which made up mostly of priest and wealthy merchants who claimed to have a special affiliation with a certain god. Unlike the North Americans, the Mesoamericans fought a lot, mostly over land and territory expansion. These communities were bigger than the North Americans and when they fought many died in battle. To support themselves the Mesoamericans whose culture focused on agriculture, began to farm and trade with large...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Saving for the Future Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Saving for the Future - Coursework Example However, owing to the notion of time value of money, the buyer would be required to save an amount different from that of $25,000. Taking the 5 year interest rate of 0.78% (U.S Department of The Treasury, 2012), the saving required annually amounts to the future value of an annuity (ordinary) assuming that $125,000 will be required after 5 years. This amounts to: 125,000= C* {(1.0078^5)-1/0.0078} = $24,613.03 Where: C= unknown i= 0.78% n=5 This is based on the following formula: FV (annuity) = C * {[(1+i) ^n – 1] / i} (Brigham & Houston, 2011) Where: C = Cash flow per period i = interest rate n = number of payments Two factors highly influence the future value of the cash flows calculated today; firstly, the periods for which they are calculated and, secondly, the rates at which they are calculated (Brigham & Houston, 2011). In both cases, the future value of the savings today is directly related to the interest rate and period. Higher the interest rate or period at which cash flows are calculated, greater the amount of future value of the investments made at T=0 (Brigham & Houston, 2011). Furthermore, the fact that whether savings are made at the beginning or end of a particular period, as well as the number of compounding periods also matters (Brigham & Houston, 2011). ... However, if changes are made to the number of compounding periods such that the number of compounding periods is 12 instead of 1, the resultant savings would then be: (125,000 / 76.213)= $1,640.134 which is approximately $1,640 The total annual investment/savings would translate to: $24,613 x 5= $123,065 if compounded annually On the other hand, the net investment/savings for five years would be: $98,400 (1,640 x 12 x 5) if calculated using monthly compounding. The savings bear an annual opportunity cost of $24,665 Furthermore, it has been observed that the rate of interest is apparently low owing to the riskless nature of Treasury Bills (Brigham & Houston, 2011). This is based on the simple rule underlying financial theories that the rate of return is positively associated with the level of risk (Brigham & Houston, 2011). A higher risk translates to higher return and vice versa. As opposed to T-bills, if the savings are channelized into corporate bonds, they will reap a higher rate of return compared to T-bills because these bonds are riskier compared to T-bills both in terms of riskiness of principal and interest payment. If the investment in these corporate bonds was made on a rate that is compounded annually, the savings required in order to obtain $125,000 towards the end would be lower than the amount shown in initial calculations. Thus, the net effect would be that the investor will lose money by investing in T-bills rather than corporate bonds representing an opportunity cost. To sum up, there are two alternatives available to an individual investor in order to accumulate $125,000 at the end of the year: to invest in corporate bonds or to invest in T-bills. The option that investor chooses entirely depends on his/her attitudes towards risk (

Friday, October 18, 2019

Peer Journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Peer Journals - Essay Example To begin with, one of the strategies that teachers can play in enhancing in such a case is giving students time to practice on their own before the real peer journals begin. In this case, the instructors ought to show the class how to get in groups and then provide his/her feedback to the group. Another excellent strategy is the teaching of students on how to keep track of other students’ right answer. From this strategy, students learn from each other fast enough, which enhance continuity and increased learning (DuPaul 2). In addition to these strategies, another strategy that can greatly influence learning in such a case is making learning fun to students. This can be done using various helpful strategies such as rewards, encouragement and giving of points among many other methods. While doing all these things, the instructor ought to act as a trainer, a demonstrator, an organizer and most of all, a model. They also ought to play the role of commentators and checkers for max imum outcome (Yang 75). In conclusion, peer reviewed journals are among the best method of teaching in almost any group. In order to enhance learning and to ensure maximum outcomes, strategies like making of the method enjoyable and playing the right role should be adopted. With such methods, fast learning and positive outcomes are possible. DuPaul, G.J. Peer tutoring procedures in general education classrooms. In A.S. Canter & S.A. Carroll (Eds.), Helping children at home and school: Handouts from your school psychologist. National Association of School Psychologists, Bethesda: MD.

Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Human Resources - Essay Example The second option of becoming a hybrid organization also brings the difficulty of implementing change across the company considering that Sonoco is a highly diversified organization. The more optimal option is to create a third option whereby the advantages of both options are adapted while their shortcomings are addressed forming an incorporated approach. Some functions of the organization that directly affects the division will be handled by the division such as staffing and succession planning. The divisions are in a better position to know their staffing needs since they are the one directly involved in the operation of the business units. Succession planning that includes promotion, leadership and project of future staffing needs must also be delegated to the division. Operational functions which are unique to each business units such as coaching, feedback and personnel development are also delegated to the division making each division dynamic and could easily respond to the realities of their environment. This quick responsiveness to change also adds value to the organization. Other HR functions should be retained with the central organization such as compensation and benefits and personnel program. This will address the issue of competition that the decentralized structure of organization has wrought to the company by ensuring that the arbitrary determination of employee contribution to the company is removed. This will not only bring the cost down as the administrative expenses are cut down by scaling the system used for compensation, it also adds value to the organization in terms of savings and consistency and responsiveness of functions that were acquiesce to the divisions. Centralization of personnel program also ensures that company values are aligned with the organization. This is complemented by the centralization of performance management

Thursday, October 17, 2019

NIKE Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

NIKE - Case Study Example the years, Nike has not only augmented its technological expertise as well as marketing know-how to develop into the world’s biggest footwear and apparel business, but has also outperformed potential players like Adidas and Reebok (Keller, 2008, p.125). Being a colossal corporation it towers above every competitor in its sector with such a stupendous effect that regardless of the sport, it is likely that Nike along with its ‘swoosh’ logo will be there (Frisch, 2008, p.5). Taking into consideration Nike’s astounding track record, this report will aim at shedding light on various branding issues associated with it. Nike’s headquarters, located in Portland, provides a snippet view of the company’s strong brand image. The World Campus of the sports and apparel powerhouse that sprawls over an area of 75 acres does not have a nameplate on its entrance. The occupants of the site can be identified by the red ‘swoosh’ – Nike’s globally renowned logo – which also appears on all the physical entities within the premises (Stonehouse, Campbell, Hamill & Purdie, 2004, p.440). However, Nike’s outstanding stature may be justified by the fact that out of a strong sense of loyalty to this company, some of the employees have tattooed a ‘swoosh’ on their bodies. It goes without saying that Nike has a robust brand image which is bolstered further due to the company’s reputation for innovation as well as unmatched quality. Constant product development, which takes place at Nike because Knight considers that the industry has 7 year brand cy cles, makes the company outstanding (Stonehouse et al., 2004, p.441). The figure appended above illustrates the value chain of Nike in terms of its production and supply chain. While the research and development (R&D) functions of the organisation are centralised, most of its production facilities are located in Europe and Asia. However, during late 1990s, dubious employment practices coupled with low wages as well as

Philosophy of leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Philosophy of leadership - Essay Example Leadership emanates from situations, person’s learning and knowledge, beliefs, passion and pragmatism. In the organizational context, although leaders are formed by virtue of their role and position, leadership capacity in other people cannot be ignored. This again becomes the role of the formal leader to identify leadership and nurture it for the organization’s benefit. Leadership is also situational, in the sense, leaders emerge based on situation. Identification of this quality requires high connectedness with people in order to know them well in terms of skills, attitude, behavior, talent and qualities. For example, a silent person may be very good at specific skills and can help other members of the team to develop these skills that can benefit the team as well as the organization. For this, most importantly, the leader must possess humility. Humility refers to adoption of an un-assuming nature with respect to assessing individuals or situations. Believing that individuals and situations are a product of historical moments helps in obtaining a better understanding of the current historical moment. This specifically is important for leaders to take on an unbiased approach to deal with situations and people. Arnett (1999) identifies this openness as humility, with the perspective of gaining knowledge, and not merely with the associated people and/or situations. Arnett and Arnesen (1999) define routine cynicism as the non-thoughtful attitude of people demonstrated through mistrust, non confidence, despair, suspicion, judgment, manipulation of thoughts and words meant to achieve either selfish motives, superiority, individual goals, wealth and power, or even mislead the other party. Leaders have to believe that people are their strengths who can accomplish anything. For this the leader needs to be connected with his people, and should be at individual as well

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

NIKE Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

NIKE - Case Study Example the years, Nike has not only augmented its technological expertise as well as marketing know-how to develop into the world’s biggest footwear and apparel business, but has also outperformed potential players like Adidas and Reebok (Keller, 2008, p.125). Being a colossal corporation it towers above every competitor in its sector with such a stupendous effect that regardless of the sport, it is likely that Nike along with its ‘swoosh’ logo will be there (Frisch, 2008, p.5). Taking into consideration Nike’s astounding track record, this report will aim at shedding light on various branding issues associated with it. Nike’s headquarters, located in Portland, provides a snippet view of the company’s strong brand image. The World Campus of the sports and apparel powerhouse that sprawls over an area of 75 acres does not have a nameplate on its entrance. The occupants of the site can be identified by the red ‘swoosh’ – Nike’s globally renowned logo – which also appears on all the physical entities within the premises (Stonehouse, Campbell, Hamill & Purdie, 2004, p.440). However, Nike’s outstanding stature may be justified by the fact that out of a strong sense of loyalty to this company, some of the employees have tattooed a ‘swoosh’ on their bodies. It goes without saying that Nike has a robust brand image which is bolstered further due to the company’s reputation for innovation as well as unmatched quality. Constant product development, which takes place at Nike because Knight considers that the industry has 7 year brand cy cles, makes the company outstanding (Stonehouse et al., 2004, p.441). The figure appended above illustrates the value chain of Nike in terms of its production and supply chain. While the research and development (R&D) functions of the organisation are centralised, most of its production facilities are located in Europe and Asia. However, during late 1990s, dubious employment practices coupled with low wages as well as

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Sensory Retail Environment of Small Fashion Essay

The Sensory Retail Environment of Small Fashion - Essay Example The paper "The Sensory Retail Environment of Small Fashion" discovers the experiential retailing as the way of retail brand differentiation. The researchers introduced the photographs, which were taken by the participants as a tool to give more information on the questions. This was effective because the participants were able to communicate dimensions of their lives. Visual images play an important role in the customer behavior in a commercial setting. The research design was suitable for this study, researcher compared two different vintage shop with contrasting sensory environment. Comparison why customer returned to one shop compared to the other. In addition, the sample size was small to gather more information on the question of the study. Interviews were used for this case study, which were long enough to ensure that the questions were satisfactory answered. In addition, there was telephone follow up for clarification of the information. The notes were written down to generate insights in the fashion retailing shop. The photographs were also used to support the written words to add meaning to the information communicated. The sample collection process within the participant was consistent. All participants were given similar digital camera and demonstrated how to use. In addition, the entire participants were met individually to ensure the information provided was according to their own experience. A photograph is very useful because it record things the way they look.

Mobile Device Application Essay Example for Free

Mobile Device Application Essay Java ME, in particular MIDP and CLDC specifications and Mobile device hardware Java is also referred to as a programming environment oriented to the server and it is based on a number of technologies which constitutes the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE). Such technologies include servlets, JavaServer pages (JSPs), and Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs). Nowadays, Java is officially known as Java 2 platform and it is divided into three distinct editions: Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE), and Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME). Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) has three concepts, namely profiles, configurations, and optional packages. All of them determine Java features applicable, available application programming interfaces, and the form in which applications are packaged. J2ME has two configurations: Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) and Connected Device Configuration (CDC). CLDC is designed for mobile devices with slow processors (Enrique Eric 2001 pp. 28- 45). There are two versions of CLDC: versions 1. 0 and 1. 1. CLDC specifies the ability of Java virtual machine, a small subset of J2SE 1. 3 classes, and a set of application programming interfaces for output/input which is also called Generic Connection Framework. However, CLDC is limiting programming platform as it does not specify the user interface classes. Hence, alternative classes that are defined by J2ME profile are required and such include MIDP to accomplish anything substantial. Java runtime environments for devices such as pagers, resource-challenged handheld devices, and cell phones is defined by Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP). MIDP target devices are characterized by ample memory to run its applications, bit-addressable display (96*56 pixels), touch screen, and two-way wireless enhanced networking. There exist two versions of MIDP which are defined by Java Community Process and include Java Specification Request 37 (MIDP 1. 0) and Java Specification Request 118 (MIDP 2. 0). Nevertheless, most of the devices in the market apply MIDP 1. Besides, MIDP 1 does not provide standards for interfacing to the phonebook in a device and synchronization of data. In particular, MIDP specifications are silent in one area: ‘how MIDP applications are loaded onto a device and how they are activated or deactivated’ (Enrique Eric 2001 pp. 40-68). Record Management System and MIDlet methods Record management system is a key subsystem of the Mobile Information Device Profile and is an application programming interface. Besides, Record Management system provides a persistence on-device data. Therefore, Record Management System acts as the sole facility for storing data locally –record store. Reason being only a couple of mobile devices sustains a conventional system of files. The MIDP Record Management System facilitates a way in which application data is stored to ensure that it persists across MIDlet. Record Management System is a simp0le database with a row comprised of two columns. One is a unique row identifier while the other contains a sequence of bytes that represents record data. Record stores are identified by a special name which consists of 32 characters in every MIDlet suite. There are a number of MIDlets applicable in the record store. First, ReadWrite MIDlet is creates record store, write down records into persistent storage and reads them, and deletes the record store while exiting. This MIDlet has convenience methods which opens, closes, and deletes record stores. Secondly, IntegerSort MIDlet is used to retrieve records and sort them on basis of their integer value within each record. Nevertheless, its codes do not have a distinct difference from the previous MIDlets. The only additional features are ways of ‘extracting appropriate fields, real sorting, and the comparator image class’. Integer Class MIDlet establishes a sort order by different integers and every record passed through has various Java data. Lastly, is the StringSearch MIDlet which enables searching for records in the Record Management System and it also beefs-up the User Interface. In creating a UI, a text filed, form, and two commands are established. Upon activation, all tasks are executed within the CommandAction ( ) method. Consequently, upon request of CmFind command, SearchRecordstore ( ) initiates searching and it involves assigning SearchFilter ( ) class instance which associates it with record enumeration object Enrique Eric 2001). Sprites basics (Image Sets and Tools Class) and package classes (Graphics class) Spites basics animation in Java can be written in frame animation, sprite animation, and/or both of the two. Mostly, these are used to write mobile enabled application games. There are a number of classes which are important to learn in order to understand Java programming and in particular the sprite animation. These include the Toolkit, Image, Graphics, Random, and Media Tracker. Image class is regarded as the super class when compared with the others and it represents graphical images. Besides, images have to be obtained in a platform specific manner (Richard, 2001). The fact that image is an abstract class makes it impossible to instantiate objects in this class, and besides objects of type image are obtained by applying a roundabout approach. Hence, it makes use of tool kit class. In regard to tool toolkit class, it is probable access system-dependent resources by making use of system their unique codes. In the Graphics class [cite page 8] there are two variables but of particular importance is the Graphics reference type as shown below. Figure 1. The Graphics class. private Graphics offScreenGraphicsCtx; private Thread animationThread; Listing 2 Note: Richard, GB, 2001, Fun with Java: Sprite Animation, Part 1 It refers to an object that serves as an off-screen graphics context and ‘is an area of memory that serves as a stand-in for the computer screen’. It facilitates to rapidly blast pictures from the off-screen Graphics context onto the actual computer screen. As this process does not interfere with the visible image when creating pictures, it renders a ‘smoother animation which can be achieved by creating and drawing the pictures directly on the computer screen’. Thus, it does away with possible distractions and flashing. Graphics class makes provisions for methods which can be applied to draw pictures on a graphics context (Richard, 2001). Development environments for the Windows phone, the Apple iPhone, the Google Android platforms and Location Based Services (LBC). Mobile application development involves a process in which in-built and downloaded applications are developed for hand-held devices suh as cell phones and personal digital assistants. The windows mobile development requires C/ C++ programming language. Visual Studio is nevertheless the most reliable development environment for creating testing, and deploying applications in the Microsoft Windows platform. Besides, this Visual Studio facilitates ample support for the development of Windows Mobile applications. To develop mobile applications, Visual Studio 2005 Edition and Visual Studio Professional Edition are required. Mobile Software Development Kits are freely available but they are dependent on device format and platform. Besides, these Software Development Kits are unique for every every family of Windows Mobile Phone (Enrique Eric 2001). Google Android is an operating system that serves as a platform for mobile applications. The necessary programming language for Android is Java although it is important for the developer to be knowledgeable in XML. In addition one requires Eclipse IDE and to work in Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX, or Linux environments. Android Software Development Kit comprises of: Developer tools such Android Asset Packaging Tool, Android Debug Bridge, Dalvik Debug Monitor Service; Emulator and system images that represents Android operating system; Documentation Sample Code that contains API programming guidelines; Integrated Development environment Support which uses Eclipse IDE as it has special plug-ins (Android Development Tool –speeds up testing process, enables User Interface, application description, and graphical representations). Location Based Services offers mobile phone users a personalized service in order to establish their current physical location. Location API for J2ME (JSR179) is a generic API used to develop Location Based Services. J2ME Location API specification identifies javax. microedition. location which is a discretionary package that facilitates software developers to write wireless Local Based applications for resource-limited mobile devices. JSR179 entails Connected Device Configuration or CLDC version 1. 1 and the type of hardware platform determines applicable location methods (Enrique Eric 2001 PP. 20-39). To develop operating system for iphone, one requires working on a Mac OSX computer that runs X code tools. X code is suite that provides support for project management, building executables, code editing, source-level debugging, and performance tuning others. X-code application provides the foundation source-code development environment and besides x-code is the only probable tool to use in creating iphone applications. As mentioned earlier, iphone Software Development Kit runs only on Mac environment that have installed Intel processors (Enrique Eric 2001 PP. 40-50). Bibliography Enrique, O Eric, G 2001, Mobile information device profile for Java 2 micro edition: The ultimate guide to creating applications for wireless devices, John Wiley Sons, New York. Richard, GB, 2001, Fun with Java: Sprite Animation, Part 1, viewed 17 May 2010, http://www. developer. com/java/other/article. php/893471/Fun-with-Java-Sprite-Animation-Part-1. htm

Monday, October 14, 2019

Leadership in the UK Banking Sector

Leadership in the UK Banking Sector Banking industry in the United Kingdom, where has around 50 scheduled commercial banks, is one of the most competitive sectors and has a direct influence on this country economy. The story started 18 months ago, when global economic crisis spread in the UK. Following results of it caused some of the most successful British bank leaders have been forced to resign. In this assignment, the current and future leadership requirements of the British bank industry and the methods and techniques of developing leadership skills will be discussed. 2. Table of contents Executive summary Table of contents Introduction Aim and Objective Scope Methodology The Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK The Current Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK High self-confidence High energy level and stress tolerance Conceptual Skills Social Intelligence Participative leadership behaviour 7.2. The Predicted Future Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK 7.2.1. Power Motivation 7.2.2. Achievement Orientation 7.2.3. Technical Skills 7.2.4. System Thinking Leadership Development Supporting Leadership Development Special Technique for Leadership Training 8.2.1. Behaviour Role Modelling 8.2.2. Case Discussion 8.2.3. Business Games and Simulation 8.3. Developmental Activities 8.3.1. Multisource Feedback 8.3.2. Job Rotation Program 8.3.3. Mentoring 8.3.4. Executive Coaching 8.3.5. Outdoor Challenge Programs 8.3.6. Personal Growth Programs 8.4. S Conclusion and Recommendations 9. Supporting Leadership Development after the Training 10. References 3. Introduction Leadership means  ° process of getting things done through other people. The qu °rtà Ã‚ µrb °Ãƒâ€˜Ã‚ k moves the team towards  ° touchdown. Being a là Ã‚ µÃ‚ °dà Ã‚ µr is an  °dvà Ã‚ µnturà Ã‚ µ because you can never be sure whether you will reach your goals. So a leader always needs to improve his related personal skills and behaviours by getting new training. However, some of leadership sciences believe the most successful leaders learn from their life experience and apply them in their working behaviours (Tengblad, 2001). After, recent economic crisis and its results in the different sectors, there are some new effort to apply more leadership behaviour in their own organization. Following pages will be discussed particularly about leadership requirements in the UK bank sector. 4. Aim and Objectives The core of these pages is to identify the leadership requirements of the United Kingdom bank sector and find appropriate methods and techniques to reach these demands in current and future of bank industry. 5. Scope The ц¢Ãƒâ€˜Ã‚ opà Ã‚ µ of this study rà Ã‚ µvolvà Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ around the UK banking ц¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã‚ tor and will be limited through  ° ц¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã‚ ond °ry  °n °lyц¢iц¢ of the topic and ц¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã‚ ond °ry rà Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃ‚ °rÑ h data. 6. Methodology This assignment is base on secondary data. The research involves studies in details of newspapers, journals, leadership books and online material on the web. The rà Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃ‚ °rÑ h was Ñ onduÑ tà Ã‚ µd through various ц¢ourÑ Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢, including libr °rià Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ and the Internet. à Ã‚  research library was visited for gathering useful data from textbooks and journals. The Internet was also an important tool to find relative information, là Ã‚ µÃ‚ °ding to the ц¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃ‚ °rÑ h for variety  °rtiÑ là Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ in journals and nà Ã‚ µwц¢p °pà Ã‚ µrц¢ from d °t °b °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚ µ. 7. Bank Leadership Requirements in the UK The requirements for the UK banking sector will be presented in two different parts: current and future requirements. 7.1. The Current Bank Leadership requirements in the UK In the current situation, British government has lent too much money to bank industry to overcome their problem such as mortgage crisis and the credit crunch. Due to this, nowadays, the UK government has more shares in some banks and give time to them to lock for new rescuer and funding some new options to firstly, end up this situation and then pay back the money, although some banks like Lloyds TSB already did, they still are supported by the government. Another important area that the government has asked banks is: keeping this lending information secret and prevent any panic among bank customers that may decline the numbers of investors. The British governor advice bank industry to prevent any wrong decision because any mistake can cause a huge fail for them (Sorkin, 2009). According to current scenario, the leadership requirements of bank industry are: High self-confidence High energy level and stress tolerance Conceptual Skills Social Intelligence Participative Leadership Behaviour 7.1.1. High self-confidence Self-confidence consists various related concepts like self-esteem and self-efficacy. High self-confidence is the exactly thing that high-level leaders in bank sector need in crisis situation. Managers with high-self confidence are more likely to attempt difficult tasks and overcome the crisis situation. Leaders with this feature have more motivation to solve problems Self-confidence is particularly essential for bank leaders to act confident and be decisive in current situation that usually their behaviour is followed carefully with Media and newspaper that it can cause an extra pressure for them(Yuki,2008,p53). There are some disadvantages for high self-confidence such as making rash decision and autocratic.However, being optimistic about the crisis is extremely helpful for bank leaders to overcome the problems. 7.1.2. High energy level and stress tolerance High energy level and stress tolerance help bank leaders to cope with changing situation and long working hours, thus it make it easier to overcome the stressful interpersonal situations like rapid change in economic system, control by Media and government demands. The success key for these leaders to making better decisions is: having high level of energy and stay calm. 7.1.3. Conceptual Skills Generally, conceptual skills consist of good judgment, creativity, intuition, foresight, and the ability to discover meaning and order in uncertain event and crisis situation. Nowadays, bank leaders need to identify complex relationships in economic al environment, creative the best ways to solve the current problems and predict future bank industry events from the current trend. It is essential for bank managers to have enough capability to analysis current issues in the external environment which will impact the bank sector, to identify how different parts of global bank industry related to each other and how changes in one aspect influence the UK banks, and to find new opportunity for bank sector (Yuki, 2008, p63). 7.1.4. Social Intelligence Social Intelligence is the capability to identify the requirements for leadership in special situation. Social perceptiveness prepares the ability to finding the functional demands, drawbacks, and opportunities that related to banks. If a bank manager has high social perceptiveness, he/she can motivate the group to work more effective. Behaviour flexibility helps bank leaders to use different behaviour correctly in crisis, and it is provided by self monitoring from leaders. One important aspect of social intelligence ability is having political skills which are extremely essential in todays bank situation. 7.1.5. Participative Leadership Behaviour Participate Leadership consist of applying different decision procedures that allow other people some influence on leaders decisions. In todays bank situation leaders need to involve other people in their decision particularly by consultation, joint decision and delegation. Bank leaders should try to encourage their colloquies to help them that cause more part of bank involve in the crisis and create a cooperative bank environment as well as help leaders to reduce the number of wrong decisions. If participative leadership behaviour imply correctly now, it can help bank leaders to rebuilt bank structure in the future. 7.2. The Future Bank leadership requirements in the UK In my opinion, current banks crisis will be continuing just for a few more time however, it affects the sector deeply. As it mentioned before, the UK government inject lots of money in the bank industry to prevent many drawbacks, but by doing this British government have more stocks in the bank industry, so the UK banks will be more dependence to the government. As a result of this, the next generation of the British bank leaders will be more selected by government and political environment will influence bank sector widely. The government wants to controls banks more than before and also do not want to loose profit again. Therefore, the United Kingdom government try to change some policies such as restriction on banker bonuses because wants to reduce bankers risk and create safer environment, control bank assets price, and change bank structure. It asked bank leaders to focus on some area like inflation and unemployment in bank industry. So, the future of this sector will be changin g in structure in the next five years in several parts, more autocratic environment by leaders that government selected, and need motivated leaders because of restriction on banking bonuses. As a result of this situation, future requirement for bank leadership are: Power Motivation Achievement Orientation Technical Skills System Thinking 7.2.1. Power Motivation Power motivation define as a ability and power to influence people and events .Managers with personalized power are more likely to create leaders who seek position of authority, aggrandize their-selves and satisfy personal demand for esteem and status. However, socialized power helps leaders to behave more for other peoples benefit .They use this power to influence subordinates, peers, and superiors to build up the bank sector and make it successful. Due to their orientation, these kind of leaders use more participative and coaching style of managerial behaviour, what exactly bank leaders need when they want to re-built the bank structure (Yuki, 2008, p55-56). 7.2.2. Achievement Orientation Achievement orientation consists of need for achievement, willing to assume responsibility, focus on task objective, and drive to success. If bank leaders have high achievement, they will focus on changing sector, solving problems, and high performance objectives. These kinds of managers maybe have lack of delegating and it is a drawback for this feature. However, if they can control it, banks leaders successfully can re-build bank structure and motivate other people to do it as well (Yuki, 2008, p58-60). 7.2.3. Technical Skills Despite the fact that high level manager does not need high level of technical skills, in future of bank industry leaders strongly need to have high technical knowledge about the are that in bank sector should be changed. If they do not have enough information about new policy and regulation they can make several mistakes in their decision that will be effect lower level leadership in their organisation and also they will not be able to show lower managers the current future. Therefore, they need to have enough knowledge about the future bank structure, new rules, management system, required employment characteristics, their new customer demands, and their bank opportunities in new situation. 7.2.4. Systems Thinking Systems thinking is what exactly bank leaders need when they are making effort to change their bank structure in the next five years. Systems thinking help them to identify the changing processes, dealing with new challenges, and improving efficiency. Change in one part of bank structure will affect the other parts as well and it usually has some reaction that maybe destroys the process. Bank leaders should clearly know what will be happen after their new decisions, identify following problems, and be ready to prevent any challenge. 8. Leadership Development In this part, the techniques, methods and other related subject to development the UK bank industry requirement will be discussed. 8.1. Supporting Leadership Development before the Training If we want to have an effective leadership development in the UK bank sector, we need to support our leaders for their training which are particularly important for intermediate level leaders. First of all, an effective development program needs to fully describe for its trainees. Being a bank leader usually requires long-working hours, so their work schedule should be more flexible that managers can attend especially in todays bank work environment. Also, they need to have enough time off for their preparations. Supporting leadership training is more essential in current crisis rather than predicted future situation. Therefore, bank leaders should have some programs that do not need too much preparation or are more flexible. 8.2. Special Techniques for Leadership Training There are varieties of techniques which are suitable for the UK bank leadership training. Some of effectives ones are: Behaviour Role Modelling Case Discussion Business Game and Simulations 8.2.1. Behaviour Role Modelling Behaviour role modelling is one of the most effective methods for managers and it usually combine with demonstration. Trainee can play a especial role for current bank crisis or future changing environment in small group or in front of the class. By playing different roles, bank leaders can get an appropriate feedback about their behaviour, especially if they record their plays. However, there is not enough evidence that measured actual behaviour change back on the job or improvement in managerial effectiveness. Behaviour role modelling can be useful for intermediate bank leaders not for executive ones who usually do not like to attend in this kind of training due to their position. However it can be full of fun and help bank leaders to reduce their stress level in crisis as well as improve their social intelligence, conceptual skills, system thinking, energy-level, and system thinking. Role playing prepare bank leaders to be more judgment about the situation and their decision, creative new solutions, and also identify special bank leadership behaviour style during crisis and for future. 8.2.2. Case Discussion Case discussion can be use in bank environment to develop its leaders analytical and decision-making skills and is suitable for high-level bank leaders. In this technique, managers can discuss about current and future the UK bank industry issues by exchanging their personal experiences. It helps bank leaders to increase their understanding about bank crisis, find the appropriate behaviour, make recommendations for the UK bank scenario, and predict banks future opportunities and threats. So, case discussion can improve bank leaders technical, decision making, power motivating and achievement orientation skills. 8.2.3. Business Games and Simulation Business games and simulation help bank leaders to analysis complex bank problems make decision and receive feedback about their decisions. It usually combines with role playing and group problem-solving exercises. Improvement in communication technology make it easier to use virtual meeting between bank leaders in different part of the United Kingdom and even all around the world and generally, it is short time training thus; it saves bank leaders time in current over-crowded bank working environment. Most business games stress on quantities financial information, market conditions, organization chart, and the tasks and responsibility for their positions which are essentially important for bank leaders to correctly understand the British bank sector situation. Finally, with this method, bank leaders can improve their confidence, system thinking, making decisions skills. (Yuki,2008,p430-432). 8.3. Developmental Activities There are several activities which can help bank leaders to learn from their experiences on the job and is so useful for development leadership skills due to being informal, applying by boss or co-workers, and combining with formal activities. These kinds of activities are particularly suitable for current bank situation because they are informal and usually do not take too much time of bank leaders and also give feedback to the leaders thus; according to this feedback bank leaders can improve their skills in short time. However, they have some advantages for predictable bank future as well. Some of these activities that are more appropriate for the UK bank industry are: Multisource Feedback Job Rotation Program Mentoring Executive Coaching Outdoor Challenge Programs Personal Growth Programs 8.3.1. Multisource Feedback Multisource feedback or 360-degree feedback is extremely popular for management development and it normally use to provide leader behaviour feedback in large organizations. Therefore it should be appropriate to apply in the UK bank sector. 360-degree feedback emphasizes board discrepancies among self-rating by leader and what other think about leaders behaviour. In this way, managers are received information about their behaviour or skills from questionnaires who are their subordinates, peers, superior, and clients. A feedback workshop with a facilitator usually is more helpful for enhancing the influence behaviour of bank managers rather than only giving them a feedback report (Barclay, 2007). 360-degree feedback can be valuable in current situation not in the UK banks future because in the future most of the British bank executive leaders are selected by the government and they should be more autocratic and powerful thus, questionnaires normally will be afraid to answer the questions honestly and the feedback will have not enough worth. 8.3.2. Job Rotation Program In job rotation program, bank leaders are given to work in various functional subunits of the bank sector for different period of time from 6 months to 3 years. These changes are for developmental reasons such as facing with new challenge, improving cooperative relationships, dealing with new types of technical problems, and developing a huge network of contacts in different part of bank. Job rotation programs are more appropriate for the future requirement of the UK bank industry, when this sector is trying to rebuild its structure. By doing these programs, high-level bank leaders can clearly understand the new problems in different parts, identify variety of behavioural reaction to the change, create a friendly environment in the whole banking sector which is essentially necessary for the time of change, and exchange their experiences and knowledge. In my opinion, these kind of programs are not suitable for the current bank crisis because bank leaders are under too much pressure from external environment especially Media and newspapers thus, changing their position can increase their personal stress. 8.3.3. Mentoring Mentoring programs are useful to simplify management development in bank industry. During the mentoring programs which are for high-level managers, more experienced leaders help less experienced ones. Mentoring programs are appropriate for both current and future bank requirements. By applying mentoring programs in the UK bank sector, we can reduce leaders stress level, facilitate adjustment to new change, create a stronger banking communication, and rise bank leaders satisfaction (Noe, 1991, p129-173). However, there are some factors in the UK bank industry that maybe reduce the beneficial effects of mentoring programs. For instance, more successful banks leaders can promote their position in bank sector, government or even political community thus; some of them maybe refuse sharing all of their experience with other bank leaders. Furthermore, female leaders usually have more difficulty to find successful mentoring and during bank crisis, these kinds of programs can increase their stress level and it is normally difficult to applying a program by separation between leaders according to their genders. 8.3.4. Executive Coaching Executive coaching has known as a great type of developmental intervention for middle and executive leaders. In this program, bank leaders can have an external or internal consultant. Executive coaching can help bank managers to implement recent and future the UK bank sector change, deal with their new bosses particularly in predicted bank future who are more related the British government, and gain more knowledge and information about new bank policy and structure. In current bank crisis, the decisions are made by bank leaders are so essential and effective for banking sector thus; a consultant can help to bank leaders to make correct decisions as well as reduce their stress level. Despite the fact that executive coaching is convenient, flexible and confidential, the high cost of it and shortage of bank competent coaches result in limitation of applying it (Yuki, 2008, p443). 8.3.5. Outdoor Challenge Programs Outdoor challenge programs are one of essential informal programs for bank leaders who are under too much of pressure due to crisis and changing bank environment. Outdoor programs can help bank managers to reduce their stress level, increase their self-control, self-confidence, energy level, and risk taking. However, there are some drawbacks about these programs .First of all, due to long-working hours in bank sector especially in todays situation, leaders need to receive strong support s to change their working hours for a short time. Secondly, because of overwhelming working situation, some bank leaders need to efficiently encourage attending in outdoor programs. 8.3.6. Personal Growth Programs After restriction in banker bonuses and crisis, the UK bank leaders need to more improve their self-awareness, emotional and moral level which can be provided by personal growth programs. The programs normally consist of several psychological exercises that help bank managers to find their living and working goals, how human development happens, how bank environment change, and how the role of leadership in bank sector change. Personal growth programs can help bank leaders to improve their emotional level, decrease their stress particularly in current bank crisis, and understand the change that will be occur in the future of the UK bank such as it will have more political environment. However, there is a fear of some negatives effects in bank leadership behaviour because for instance older bank leaders maybe indirectly encourage leaving their stressful jobs and more enjoy their personal life thus; these programs should apply carefully particularly in their subject selections (Yuki,20 08,p445-446). 8.4. Supporting Leadership Development after the Training Having an effective bank leadership development needs some supporting behaviour as well. It is important that leaders can apply their new skills in bank thus; providing an environment that they use their newly learned skills is essential. Also, leaders need to review what they learnt so, we can hold periodic review sessions or ask them to train these new skills to lower positions managers. By doing this, we can spread leadership development skills and behaviours among different part of banks and provide a friendly bank environment to cope with crisis and later changes. Conclusion and Recommendations The UK banking sector has experienced a trouble time recently that lake of leadership behaviour and skills is one important lateral factor to occur. However, by identifying and applying developmental leadership requirements such as participative leadership, system thinking, social intelligence we can cope with current issues and improve bank leaders skills by different training and methods to prevent more problems for the UK banks future. Furthermore, developing and implementing bank leadership requirements require a broad effort from whole the UK bank sector, the British government, bank clients, and also the media and newspapers.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

paper :: essays research papers

Programmer's File Editor 1.01 ----------------------------- Welcome to Programmer's File Editor. This file is the place to start looking at the program: if you've not seen PFE before there's a synopsis of its main features; and if you've used earlier versions there's some essential information on major changes. Below you'll find   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. ABSTRACT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A brief list of PFE's main features   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2. USING AND DISTRIBUTING PFE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The terms on which you can use it and pass it on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How to pass on your criticisms, suggestions, bug reports   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and maybe even praise   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4. WHERE TO GET PFE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Places to look for PFE on the Internet and elsewhere   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5. WHICH VERSION SHOULD YOU USE?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How to pick the most appropriate version   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6. UPGRADING FROM PREVIOUS RELEASES   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Important information if you're currently using an older   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  version of PFE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7. OTHER FILES YOU SHOULD LOOK AT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other important text files in this release   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8. THE FILES YOU SHOULD GET   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What should be in your distribution set   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9. INSTALLING PFE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How to install everything --- Alan Phillips  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ( A.Phillips@lancaster.ac.uk )   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ( http://www.lancs.ac.uk/people/cpaap/pfe ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. ABSTRACT ----------- This is the 1.01 release of Programmer's File Editor, a large-capacity multi-file programming oriented editor for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0 on Intel platforms, Windows 2000 on Intel platforms, and Windows 3.1x PFE includes the following features: - The size of file it can handle is limited only by the total amount of virtual memory available - No arbitrary limit on the number of lines a file can contain - It can edit multiple files, the number being limited only by the available system resources - Allows multiple edit windows showing the same file - Multi-level undo facility - Can read and write files in UNIX format using LF as line terminator, with automatic format detection - Line numbers can be shown in any edit window if required - Text can be copied and moved by dragging and dropping - Right-click mouse menus give access to commonly required functions - DOS commands such as compilers can be run with the output captured in an edit window - Commonly-used text can be inserted in a simple operation from template libraries - Fully-remappable keyboard, including two-key operation similar to MicroEMACS and mapping of Alt keys to functions - Keystrokes and menu commands can be recorded in replayable keyboard macros which can be collected into libraries - Files can be printed either in total, by line range, or selected text only - Files can be printed with two pages per sheet of paper in landscape mode or as booklets - Automatic line indenting and removal of trailing spaces - Automatic configuration of edit options depending on file type - Automatic configuration of tab sizes depending on file type

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Use of Massage Therapy in the Treatment of Anxiety Essay examples -

The Use of Massage Therapy in the Treatment of Anxiety According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM IV-TR) (APA, 2000), Anxiety Disorders can manifest in a number of different ways including Panic Attacks, Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety. Common threads of symptoms among these disorders include heighted autonomic response, shortness of breath, excessive worry, and of course anxiety. The treatment of Anxiety disorders has included Cognitive Behavior Therapy (Saavedra, Silverman, Morgan-Lopez, & Kurtines, 2010; White, Ollendick, Scahill, Oswald, & Albano, 2009), Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (Wilde, 2008), and Pharmacological treatments such as benzodiazepines (Sher, 2009). Based on empirical support, many consider these treatments to be the first line of treatment of anxiety related disorders. However, there is a growing line of research of effectiveness of alternative treatments such as Massage Therapy (MT). The following is a brief review of the history of MT, an investigation of the physiology of how or why MT works, and finally an examination of the application of various Massage Therapies in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders. Brief History of Massage Therapy The application of massage to promote comfort and healing is not a new concept. According to Moyer, Rounds, and Hannum (2004) the practice of MT is traceable back to Ancient Greek and Chinese cultures, as well as Hindu, Japanese and Roman cultures. As early as 400 BC, Hippocrates used rubbing to treat patience with stiffness and even earlier still; the use of MT is recorded in the Chinese tradition as early as the second century (Field, 1998). Although considered a part of... ...ines and the treatment of anxiety disorders in patients with comorbid alcohol and/or drug abuse. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 42(2), 170–171. Sherman, K. J., Ludman, E. J., Cook, A. J., Hawkes, R. J., Roy-Byrne, P. P., Bentley, S., Brooks, M. Z., et al. (2010). Effectiveness of therapeutic massage for generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety, 27(5), 441–450. White, S. W., Ollendick, T., Scahill, L., Oswald, D., & Albano, A. M. (2009). Preliminary efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral treatment program for anxious youth with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(12), 1652–1662. doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0801-9 Wilde, J. (2008). Rational-emotive behavioral interventions for children with anxiety problems. Journal of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies, 8(1), 133–141.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Review Questions

In your own words explain what is meant by: vision, mission and goals. Vision – it is an aspirational view of what the company will be like in the future. It is a detailed description of how things will be when the organization eventually reaches its destination. Mission † A mission statement answers the question â€Å"Why do we exist? † and expresses the company's purpose both for those in the organization and for the public. It identifies the organizations reason for being and may define the rganizations primary customers, the products and services that they produce.Purpose is to communicate what the company stands for and where it is heading. Goals – Is basically what the organization alms to achieve In future, perhaps to increase revenue, profit, reputation and loyalty to the public. 2) Discuss their role on strategy formulation. The vision, mission and goals play a great part when organizations formulate their strategy for the long term direction as it will help to identify the implementation steps, the planning, coordination, collaboration, communication and control that the ompany will need to do In order to achieve the maln goal of their organization. ) In your opinion, what should be the starting point for strategy formulation be? The competitive advantage from the resource and capabilities of the organization will be the starting point of strategy formulation. Organizations identify how they differ from their competitors and design such strategies to exploit such differences, as strategy is about being different and this will help In formulating long term direction, scope of the organization and alrnlng to achieve advantage In a changing environment.International strategy 1) What Is the difference between global and multl-domestlc strategy? Global Strategy – assumes a single market and offers a standard product to meet customer needs wherever they are located. This is a cost leadership strategy, exploiting economies o f scale and other cost efficiencies. Multi-domestic strategy – assumes variance in customers needs according to their location and therefore issues a differentiation strategy, adapting products and services to make unique local requirements. ) Identify five examples of each. Multi-domestic Strategy 1) Red bull and Packaging 2) Nokia 2) 3) Reebok 3) 4) Ford Motor 4) 5) McDonalds 5) Value chain and value system 1) Explain how the concept/framework of the value chain and value system may help in the strategy formulation process. The value chain will help identify competitive advantage. Focusing on the way the organization may use its resources may allow the organization to identify how it can be different and unique or where it can be more efficient. ) With reference to the value chain; identify alternative strategies available to the nternational organization Since an international organization will typically comprise of more than one business, the organization should be decomp osed into strategic business units with different strategies considered for each. An organization can develop cost leadership, product differentiation, and business innovation strategies to confront its competitive forces. Cost leadership requires the organization to find and exploit sources of cost advantages, efficient manufacturing processes and tight cost controls.Product differentiation is based on understanding the customers and heir needs in order to provide something unique and valuable to them. Generic Strategy 1) Describe each of the generic strategies Segmentation strategy Cost leadership – This strategy involves the firm winning market share by appealing to cost-conscious or price-sensitive customers. This is achieved by having the lowest prices in the target market segment, or at least the lowest price to value ratio (price compared to what customers receive).To succeed at offering the lowest price while still achieving profitability and a high return on investme nt, the firm must be able to Differentiation strategy – A differentiation strategy is appropriate where the target customer segment is not price-sensitive, the market is competitive or saturated, customers have very specific needs which are possibly under-served, and the firm has unique resources and capabilities which enable it to satisfy these needs in ways that are difficult to copy. 2) Identify and describe the strategies that may deliver a competitive advantage.Since an international organization will typically comprise of more than one business, he organization should be decomposed into strategic business units with different strategies considered for each. An organization can develop cost leadership, product differentiation, and business innovation strategies to confront its competitive forces. Cost leadership requires the organization to find and exploit sources of cost advantages, efficient manufacturing processes and tight cost controls. Product differentiation is b ased on understanding the customers and their needs in order to provide something unique and valuable to them.Strategy formulation 1) Identify and describe the different ways strategy may be formed within organizations In general terms, strategy formation in most organizations can be thought of as resolving around the interplay for three basic forces: An environment that changes continuously but regularly; An organizational operating system A leadership whose role is to mediate between these two forces, to maintain the stability of the organizations operating system while at the same time ensuring its adaptation to environmental change. Describe the key stages in a typical planning approach to strategy formulation 3) Critically evaluate, compare and contrast the planning and adaptive modes of strategy formulation Competitive advantange 1) In your own words, explain what is meany by resource, routine, capability and competence. Review Questions 1. Explain the significance of components (encapsulation) in the context of object-oriented development. 2. Explain how does OO based development helps reuse? 3. How does the concept of inheritance relate to OO-based development? 4. How does the concept of composition/ aggregation relate to OO-based development? 5. Identify the four components of a use case and how they affect each other. 6. Provide an example for actor generalization. What is the significance of generalizing or specializing actors? 7. Provide an example for use case generalization. What is its significance? 8.What are the differences between â€Å"extend† and â€Å"include† use cases? 9. How do you define structural modeling in an object-oriented approach? 10. How would you distinguish objects from classes? Can you provide an example? 11. Where do classes originate from? 12. To build an information system, which one do you need to identify first, classes or objects? Explain. 13. Structural modeling rep resents classes or objects? 14. How does encapsulation protect business rules from unauthorized access and manipulation? 15. How does an object’s interface relate to services that the object provides? 6. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Classes provide the containers and objects provide the contents. † 17. Why should operations be described by verbs? 18. What is â€Å"protected† visibility? Give an example. 19. What is the difference between aggregation and composition? Give an example for each. 20. Describe the relationship between dynamic modeling, behavioral modeling and structural modeling. 21. Comment on this statement: â€Å"Dynamic modeling is about interaction. † 22. How sequence diagram differs from use-case modeling? 23. Explain how objects interact by exchanging messages. 4. Explain the role of parameters and return values in exchanging messages. 25. What are the building blocks of a sequence diagram? 26. Explain the lifetime of an object. Provi de an example. 27. How actors and objects fit in a sequence diagram? 28. Why dynamic modeling is based on objects, but not classes? 29. Explain the following pairs in relation to each other: a. Method & Operation b. Event & State. c. Interaction & Message. 30. What are the components of statechart modeling? 31. What is the significance of statechart modeling? Review Questions 1. Explain the significance of components (encapsulation) in the context of object-oriented development. 2. Explain how does OO based development helps reuse? 3. How does the concept of inheritance relate to OO-based development? 4. How does the concept of composition/ aggregation relate to OO-based development? 5. Identify the four components of a use case and how they affect each other. 6. Provide an example for actor generalization. What is the significance of generalizing or specializing actors? 7. Provide an example for use case generalization. What is its significance? 8.What are the differences between â€Å"extend† and â€Å"include† use cases? 9. How do you define structural modeling in an object-oriented approach? 10. How would you distinguish objects from classes? Can you provide an example? 11. Where do classes originate from? 12. To build an information system, which one do you need to identify first, classes or objects? Explain. 13. Structural modeling rep resents classes or objects? 14. How does encapsulation protect business rules from unauthorized access and manipulation? 15. How does an object’s interface relate to services that the object provides? 6. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Classes provide the containers and objects provide the contents. † 17. Why should operations be described by verbs? 18. What is â€Å"protected† visibility? Give an example. 19. What is the difference between aggregation and composition? Give an example for each. 20. Describe the relationship between dynamic modeling, behavioral modeling and structural modeling. 21. Comment on this statement: â€Å"Dynamic modeling is about interaction. † 22. How sequence diagram differs from use-case modeling? 23. Explain how objects interact by exchanging messages. 4. Explain the role of parameters and return values in exchanging messages. 25. What are the building blocks of a sequence diagram? 26. Explain the lifetime of an object. Provi de an example. 27. How actors and objects fit in a sequence diagram? 28. Why dynamic modeling is based on objects, but not classes? 29. Explain the following pairs in relation to each other: a. Method & Operation b. Event & State. c. Interaction & Message. 30. What are the components of statechart modeling? 31. What is the significance of statechart modeling?

Thursday, October 10, 2019

There are always ups and downs associated with any line of business

There are always ups and downs associated with any line of business. IT is not an exception. During downturn profit margins take a toll and consumer confidence plummets. Business executives around the world eagerly scan the latest report on economic indicators and search for good news. Downturn affects many segments. It is not only the industry that experiences the negatives of the economy, but also the common man is affected. Economic uncertainty elicits different reactions from different firms. Some organizations simply tread water and attempt to ride out the storm; others swim upstream with the intent to move ahead of their competitors. As executives rethink their business strategies, they should consider a variety of approaches – including some that are not immediately obvious given today's uncertain economic climate. 2 Problem Definition Understanding the problem is a key to solving it. Howsoever generic this statement may be, it is apt to say that the strategies and actions formulated to emerge strong in downturn may not succeed without understanding how the downturn was caused. It is imperative to understand the factors that influence the downturn and how a particular downturn may be triggered. The cause could be many; a particular industry segment might not meet expectations and could trigger decrease in growth in other sectors. E.g. the dot com burst. In this section we endeavor to list down indicators that could possible play a role in causing the downturn. Along with it we also list down the reactions that companies worldwide give to tackle downturns. By way of research we would like to present how these reactions can indeed be made operational strategies to emerge victorious in the downturn. 2.1 Economic Downturn – Defined Economic Downturn is defined by a significant decline in total output, income, employment, and trade, usually lasting from six months to a year, and marked by widespread contractions in many sectors of the economy. Downturns can be * Industry specific * Economy based * Long term/ short term or * Geography specific The severity of an Economic Downturn is measured through parameters like: Economy * Employment * GDP Growth * Interest rates * Inflation * Investments * Public Expenditure Corporate * Lack of growth in profitability * Falling earning outlooks * Squeeze in margins * Drop in share price Index * Low dividends * High investor expectation * Dried-up cash flow * Low capacity utilization * Urgent need for cost optimization * Increased market competition * Stagnant Markets – Non expanding – Frozen pie vs. Expanding Pie People * Fall in Personal income * Fall in Personal expenditure * Fall in Private Investments 2.2 Company Reactions during downturn Companies adopt various tactics that can help them emerge stronger and subsequently more competitive when the economic upturn arrives. Forward-thinking initiatives that concentrate on lowering an organization's ongoing cost structure are more effective than blanket budget cuts. The tactics focus equally on efficiency and expansion, since businesses keen on moving ahead have to consider both perspectives. In fact, when corporate coffers are clamped shut, companies must rely on efficiency gains to fund expansion initiatives 2.2.1 Cut Costs Cutting the cost is probably the most obvious option for a company when margins are thin. Cost cutting is done in different forms and many of the following options directly or indirectly deal with them. 2.2.2 Improve Focus In boom times, the proverbial strategy is to let a thousand flowers bloom. However, when the financial picture darkens, the businesses tend to do some pruning. An economic downturn becomes an ideal time to focus the corporation's scarce resources -both marketing and manufacturing dollars – on the most popular, promising or profitable products and brands. In other words, invest in the best and ignore the rest. Savings from consolidation efforts can then be applied to further support selected focus areas. Similarly, businesses try to concentrate on acquiring and retaining the most profitable customer sets: How? 1. Forego expensive mass-marketing efforts; instead, market directly to carefully targeted prospects 2. Focus efforts on serving top accounts better than ever. Understand customer cost and revenue drivers to determine the real â€Å"top accounts†, then consider e-commerce and self-service solutions that can increase satisfaction while lowering costs. 3. Learn to effectively use information that is already available in-house to build revenues from the existing customer base. By combining in-house information with proprietary market data, the company can start to understand the â€Å"why† of customer preferences and build a stronger competitive advantage. 2.2.3 Ease points of pain When revenues are climbing continuously, inefficiencies are easy to ignore; declines in per-unit margins can be made up through volume. But when growth stalls, margins come under tremendous scrutiny, forcing companies to inspect every aspect of their business for possible improvements. Rarely can a business simply stop performing a function; instead, it must find a way to accomplish the task differently. This often requires the help of technology. Surplus inventory, high work-in-process and supply-and-demand discrepancies are more costly than ever. By digitally linking the entire supply chain and collaborating electronically with suppliers and customers, companies can potentially lower costs in the short term and improve market responsiveness over time. 2.2.4 Share costs It's not surprising that when margins are squeezed, firms search out and eliminate redundancy. Internal and external best practices implemented through shared or common business models across the enterprise can dramatically lower costs while increasing competitiveness. However, an â€Å"all or nothing† approach to standardization can sometimes backfire. When implementation teams look beneath the surface of â€Å"common functions†, they often discover legitimate needs for variance. Before too long, the cost of processing exceptions outweighs the anticipated synergy savings. An effective shared services strategy requires a deeper analysis up front – pursuing similar parts, not necessarily the whole function. Rather than forcing each function – regardless of line of business – into a standard mold, look for naturally occurring affinities, pinpoint specific areas of similarity, and combine those particular pieces. 3 Analysis 3.1 Reasons for Downturn Studies have shown that the following are the main reasons for downturn: 60% of the respondents feel that this downturn is caused by normal fluctuations in business cycles. The fluctuations in share markets are attributed as the reason for downturn by 20% of the respondents. Only 15% of the respondents felt that the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center is the cause for the downturn. This shows that people perceive downturn as a natural phenomenon happening due to ups and downs in the economy. Terrorist attacks and other reasons, are not the main factors causing downturn, but they can trigger an already bad situation worse. 3.2 How do people see the downturn Majority (61%) of the people feel that downturn is an opportunity to find newer markets, restructure their organization and fine-tune the process to increase productivity. The findings here support our arguments provided in the previous section. Downturn is definitely an opportunity for businesses to take a look at their processes, the way they provide services to customers, markets and other factors affecting them and improve their way of working. 3.3 Strategies to focus during downturn Studies found that during a downturn the energies of people are concentrated in keeping their customers happy. 32% of the people have made this as their primary focus area. The other areas where people are concentrating are in strengthening the sales and distribution/marketing. When getting new business is tough, it makes sense to keep the existing customers happy, provide them the extra bit for their dollar and come up with innovative ideas to service them. Keeping the existing business stable can sustain the current revenues and increase. Repeat business can increase the revenues. With these factors in mind, people are following customer centric strategies to face the downturn. 3.4 HR strategies during downturn Human Resources are on of the key focus area during a downturn. Cost can be cut cost by retrenching employees. Productivity can be increased by extending the working hours or by employing cross-functional training. â€Å"Punish the non-performers† is the key mantra. 80% of the respondents have stated that this is the primary task that needs to be accomplished or that their companies have started identifying non-performers and taken steps to ensure that employees perform to expectations. Some of them advocate extending the working hours. There seems to be not much support for unpaid leave or freezing salaries among the people interviewed. 3.5 Outsourcing as an option Downturns might pose a good opportunity to study what the companies are doing the best and discard the rest. Outsourcing to low cost destinations is definitely being looked as a possible opportunity. 76% of the respondents feel that they should resort to outsourcing non-core activities. 4 Suggested Strategy to Manage Downturns â€Å"Recessions, sound a lot worse than they are — in part because they're a great opportunity to move forward on key strategies and to take on competitors.† To get through a recession the most important thing for a company to do is to keep a positive attitude and identify its challenges and convert them into opportunities. There are various strategies that a company can adopt to not only survive but also grow in a reversionary economy. Based on the various arguments and data provided in the previous sections, we are in a position to present these action items to manage business in a downturn. We have grouped them under different functional management areas. 4.1 Core Competencies Recession is the time when a company must concentrate on its core competencies. Core Competence implies Resource, strength, skills or a combination that provide tangible advantage to a firm. It is very essential for the company to maintain focus and do what it does best. It is dangerous for a company to venture into unknown territories with an intention to broad-base itself, as one wrong decision could make it fall deep in the red. Every company must take stock of its strengths and leveraging unique strengths that are difficult to emulate. It should strive to enhance its knowledge and skill by keeping in touch with the market requirements. Identify strengths and axe weaknesses. This can translate in restructuring, selling or closing weak or mediocre businesses. Selling is particularly difficult, as the same division might have fetched much more in good days. In a downturn, this aspect should not change the focus. Companies cannot afford to waste money and management attention in areas that destroy value or limit their ability to invest in the future. Young companies may not have enough run way for the next year or two. They must rapidly adopt survival strategies. Tough choices range from giving up equity at low valuations; merging with compatible product or service companies; partnering to, in effect, use other people's resources; or narrowing the strategic focus to a bare minimum. A careful study and analysis will help in taking the right decision. 4.2 Customer is the King Repeat business from customers is important to maintain profitability. It has been proven that, repeat business accounts for around 70% of the total business in most of the established companies. Customer delight should be the focus. Offer something to the customer, which not only exceeds his expectations but also goes even beyond it. E.g. Special features in a software application/product in line with the customer requirements. Infosys receives 85% of its revenues from its existing customers. This is what we can call as a â€Å"Customer focused capabilities† which Infosys has built over a period of time. Customer delight can also be achieved by actually sending out people on the field and spending time with the customers to find out their requirements, the value they put on the product or service offered by the company, their level of satisfaction with the quality and other suggestions they can offer to better our product. This strategy was recently adopted by Hindustan Lever Ltd. with their â€Å"feel the pulse† drive. 4.3 Human Resource 4.3.1 Talent Retention At the outset, we have shown that recession and growth form a continuous circle. Therefore, it is imperative for companies to resist the temptation of cutting costs through retrenchment, as it sows the problem of rehiring professionals when the economy turns around. Instead, companies should encourage their employees to accept pay-cuts, and cross- train them so as to equip them with the necessary skills that will help the company take advantage of the opportunities that arise once the situation improves. Many companies that want to cut costs during recession adopt the policy of downsizing. A vast number of talented professionals are thus available for recruitment. Managers can take advantage of this favorable situation by recruiting these professionals after thoroughly interviewing them, thus testing their competency levels, attitudes, and the organizational culture fit. 4.3.2 Miscellaneous Actions Companies can resort to cross-train people in view of the opportunities that can come up after the recession is over. This is more like doing an investment in hope of better time to come In case of situations that warrant stopping the production, companies can ask the employees to take unpaid leaves or giving extended weekends. Lucent has adopted this strategy. It can have a downside to it by way of loosing talented employees because of employees getting demoralized. Offering additional perks to those who can get in more business can motivate employees. This can be mainly applicable to the marketing and sales force. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric Co. called pay freezes â€Å"the worst crime of management† and underscored his long-held belief in a meritocracy approach that consistently rewards the top 20% of employees and dismisses the bottom 10%. While he was CEO at GE, Welch said, 75% of his time was spent â€Å"evaluating people† and raising the company's intellectual capital â€Å"through candid evaluations.† 5 Conclusion: Economic Downturn is a phenomenon that occurs at different spheres of the society and attracts a lot of attention from the corporate world, the policy makers and of course the common man. The strategies to set things right are also decided at various levels and encompass a wide range of actions. Above study consists of observing typical industry response to downturn, conducting primary research through surveys and analyzing the data and secondary research through analyzing reports and news available in business journals and internet research groups like Gartner, Meta group etc.