Militarization and Police Brutality Annotated Bibliography

Militarization and Police Brutality - Annotated Bibliography Example Although the piece does focused mainly upon the process of the militarization of police, the tangential understanding that can be gained is the fact that this militarization has caused a psychological shift in the way that at least engage with crime. The veracity and truthfulness of this particular article is almost without question; due to the fact that it was published in a scholarly journal and thoroughly peer-reviewed. Furthermore, the author of the article has also been responsible for authoring several other pieces with relation to militarization of police and the overall impact upon society that these paramilitary forces have. Kimper, J. (2014). WHY MILITARIZED POLICE DEPARTMENTS DONT WORK: CONFRONTING ANGRY CITIZENS IN THE GARB OF JACK-BOOTED THUGS DOES PLENTY OF DAMAGE, ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING.  Newsweek Global,  163(8), 30-38. This particular article examines the correlation between the militarization of police and the overall level of violence that these so-called â€Å"peace officers† are willing to direct the average citizen. The author indicates that even though it might seem as a trivial matter, the actual clothing and tactical weapons that police are now receiving has had a direct correlation to the overall level of violence that they are comfortable with directing at the citizen. The source goes on to indicate the fact is that the militarization of the police is a relatively new occurrence; even though concerns and issues over police brutality is an issue that has been represented for a very long period of time.

Care Support Essay Example for Free

Care Support Essay Effective reflection on relationships that develop in care work Mary is an 82 year old female resident who came to live in our nursing home five years ago she has a mild cognitive impairment and is totally independent she wears an incontinence pad and requires minimum assistance. Mary loves to sing and listen to music especially Irish traditional music and popular ballads. She remains in close contact with her two daughters who visit regularly. Mary is a very private person and likes to spend time alone in her room. She is a very jolly lady who loves to laugh and enjoys life. As a care assistant I had assisted Mary with her continence needs by making her aware of where to find continence pads in the bathrooms around the home and making sure they were always available in her bedroom this protects her privacy, dignity and independence as I know it would cause her embarrassment to have to ask for them. We got on really well because we both have a love of Irish music and I spent a lot of time talking with her about music, her family and her reasons for coming to live with us in the nursing home. I also developed a trusting relationship with her daughters as Mary would often include me in conversation when they visited. I had noticed a change in Mary where she was spending a lot of time in the bathroom and she seemed agitated when in the day room I approached her and asked if she wanted to go for a walk outside as we have done on several occasions. She agreed and we set off. ecause of the trusting relationship we had built over time I felt comfortable asking her if she was ok and she replied â€Å"yes love shure ya have ta have a laugh† I deviated a little with some talk about the gardens we were passing and I approached the subject again by saying if there was anything wrong you can tell me, and if I can help you I will, you only have to ask, she replied with â€Å"I don’t want to be a bother to anyone† I told her I noticed she was going to the bathroom a lot, there was silence for what seemed forever then she told me â€Å"I have a stinging pains down below† I knew straight away it was thrush as I had observed from her care plan she was prone to thrush. I asked her permission to talk to the nurse and explained it would require medical treatment and she agreed. Asking her permission protected her confidentially, when we returned to the home I approached the nurse and told her of the situation she acted immediately, knowing Mary was prone to thrush she kept a supply of ointment to treat her, I went back to Mary and asked her to come with me very discretely so as not to draw the attention of other residents or visitors this protected her privacy, dignity and confidentially . I escorted her to the nurses’ station and the nurse took over. Within a few hours Mary was back to her normal jolly self singing in the corner. The positive outcome for Mary during this incident happened because of the relationship we had built over time and getting to know her, being able to observe a change in her behaviour. The situation was handled with just me and the nurse on duty no other members of staff were involved this protects Mary’s privacy and dignity. Clear identification of interpersonal issues that can arise in care work The interpersonal issues in this situation were between Mary myself and the nurse and no other staff, resident or visitors were aware of Mary’s situation this protected Mary’s privacy, dignity confidentially and respect. Interpersonal issues between me and other healthcare staff occurred through informing them of what had happened and how the situation was handled. What was observed during this incident was that building relationships with residents allow us to be more effective as care assistants. The types of communication used during this incident were mainly verbal, communicating with Mary in a very discrete and respectful manner put her at ease, and communicating with other healthcare staff to inform them of the incident and how best to handle it should it happen again. The outcome for Mary was she got the treatment she needed in a timely manner, it highlighted to senior healthcare staff the importance of the care assistant in relationship building and observation, reporting our findings to the nurse to get the best healthcare for the resident. Effective reflection on own interpersonal skills as a care worker Interpersonal skills used in this incident were respect and confidentially taking Mary out for a walk and chatting allowed me to discover what was bothering her by doing this it did not draw the attention of any other resident to her situation. Informing the nurse and other relevant healthcare staff will allow them to handle any other similar situation in a discrete manner thus protecting her privacy, dignity confidentially and independence. Comprehensive observation of the process of developing personal effectiveness as a healthcare assistant In this situation I was able to help Mary because I noticed a change in her behaviour, I believe in order to give person centred care you must know your residents, individualised care is an on-going process, building a trusting relationship with knowledge of life history, likes/dislikes, religious and cultural influences are vital in the implementation of individualised care. Knowledge gained in class helped raise awareness of how important it is to protect residents dignity, respect, confidentially and independence. We learnt about the art of reflection, looking at an incident, what happened? How we handled it and how can we improve to achieve a positive outcome for the person involved. Knowledge gained in class has helped me gain skills in awareness. observing how residents behave and being aware of changes are important tools for personal effectiveness, reflection is also a vital tool for personal effectiveness looking back at a situation and analysing what happened and how it was dealt with is very effective it allows us question ourselves and ask how can we have handled the incident better and put a plan into action to bring a positive outcome for the resident involved. Personal skills helped significantly in this situation, skills such as building relationships, empathy, observation and the ability to communicate effectively with residents and other healthcare staff helped me bring about a positive outcome for Mary. As a carer there are many skills that can be developed such as communication, the ability to communicate with all healthcare staff regardless of their discipline is important, and knowledge gained through dialog with residents and their relative’s is invaluable, knowing a little about residents will allow us to care more effectively completing level 5 in healthcare support has been invaluable although we care for people every day, having knowledge and the theory behind it is important and will make for better care. Detailed evidence of expertise in a range of interpersonal care work skills I don’t know if I have â€Å"expertise† in any care work skills but I think I am good at what I do, knowledge is a wonderful thing and as our knowledge increases we become confident, and self-confidence is a great tool to have in care work, having the confidence to talk to other healthcare staff in a professional manner enables us to gain the best possible care for our residents, what I gained from this situation was respect for fellow healthcare staff who listened to what I said and acted on the information. I don’t know if I could put an action plan in place for this scenario but what I can say is that it is vital that all healthcare assistants observe all residents and become familiar with their daily routine this gives us the opportunity to note any changes and report these findings to relevant staff. Some of the skills used to deal with this situation were gained through life experience, being a father of 4 I have brought with me patience, understanding, and empathy to name but a few but the course has given me the ability to analyse my thinking to look at how I have worked today and how can I improve tomorrow. Conclusion All healthcare staff from consultants to healthcare assistants must give the best possible care to patents/residents, we are privileged in our role in healthcare and everything we do must be in the best interest of the patent/resident. Being a part of that team and being respected for the role we play is very important. Nurses are put under increasing pressure with medication rounds, paperwork, supervision etc. they can’t be everywhere or know what is happening with every resident so we as healthcare assistants become the eyes and ears of the facility, observing changes and reporting in a timely manner to gain a positive outcome for the resident involved. Being heard as part of the team will make for a more effective workplace.

John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath :: essays research papers

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath serves as a milestone in the plethora of literature addressing the lives, adversities and perseverance of those affected by the American Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s. However, the responses generated by the book vary greatly. Some have hailed it as one of the great American masterpieces, flaws included, whilst others describe it as a â€Å"so-so† book fraught with distorted, dramatised history and propaganda. The question that persists sixty-six years after the publication of the novel, and sixty-five years after the dà ©but of John Ford’s black and white drama, is can this work serve as reliable history and enduring literature? The novel was always intended to be a literal account of the hardships of the migrating â€Å"Okies†, yet as Keith Windschuttle eloquently dissects in his article Steinbeck’s Myth of the Okies, the historical distortions of the narrative, regardless of the author’s int ention, abound. Before assessing the historical merit of such a work it is important to systematically debunk the gross inaccuracies of the text. When assessing the historical writing of narrative, especially fictitious writing that presents itself as history, it is important to take into account the inherent subjective nature of a narrative. When creating any account of history it is unavoidable that the writer of fiction (or even brute fact) will select and combine sources he designates as relevant in order to aid the overall meaning-making process of the text. Thus, Steinbeck’s attempt to generate dramatised myth around the history of depression and in particular the Okies, is only a function of the narrative intended to â€Å"capture† the reader. For example, in response to Keith Windschuttle’s article some readers of the New Criterion have been quoted; â€Å"†¦the greatness of The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck’s masterpiece and one of the great American novels, should not be minimized, and I believe Mr. Windshuttle was wrong to do so. It is a story of the bravery and perseverance of three-dimensional human beings who come to life on the novel’s pages. The Grapes of Wrath is not a mere recounting of history, demography, or geography.† -Grey Satterfield , Oklahoma City However, one cannot deny that the text is grossly distorted and propagandist at points. For example, the dust storms spoken of repeatedly in the novel would not have affected many of the regions described , such as the area inhabited by the Joads, Salisaw Oklahoma.

Does modern technology make life more convenient Essay

Does modern technology make life more convenient, or was life better when technology was simpler? Technology today has definitely made life easier and better. As we look at the technologies, what is modern technology? Technology is part of life and it has greatly improved as time is passing; Scientists are continually working in order to develop useful products, in which facilitate our lives. Even though some people say that technology has lessened our lives’ quality, I think that it has made the world our life more convenient. Technology provides to us a faster ways of locomotion, better knowledge, communication, health issues and solution for environment issues. The computer is one important feature from technology, which is very used by people in order to increase their knowledge. Books are no longer the main way to improve the understanding of a specific matter. Universities are acquiring more and more computers to facilitate the student’s life, and to provide faste r information. Students are using a lot more the Internet, which gives to them the right information without the need of going to a library. For example, a person needs to do a research about a matter, and then instead of going to the library, this person could gather good and diverse information using the Internet. Consequently, heshe would finish hisher research faster than doing it in the library by hand. Technology is helping teachers and students to better understand the content of their subjects, and allows them to develop the teaching and studying methods in order to get more benefits; the role of technology in schools and universities has turned from a simple (computer class or IT class) into a multipurpose learning tool that can change the way we demonstrate concepts, assign projects, and assess programsThus, technology, which created the computer, has definitely helped the universities and the students to get a better knowledge.Nowadays, ways of locomotion such as car, motorcycle, train, and airplane, has facilitated our lives. Centuries ago, the main way to travel a long distance was the ship, or the horse. Today, the airplane is the most useful way to make fast travels, which gives to us more time. For example, comparing with the ship which usually crosses the Atlantic Ocean in one o r two weeks, the airplane can easily cross it in about 10 hours, and is still the safest way to travel in the world. The car and train also have become a very good way to travel, which can bring us closer to our family  and to our work. Because of this, these comfortable automobiles and airplanes have been essential to people’s lives.When we talk about communication, the television, the telephone, and the Internet come into our mind. Their uses are essential to the society, and it has become much easier to communicate by telephone than by mail. Centuries ago, the mail was the main way to communication between people, and it was really slow because it mostly had to be shipped. Therefore, the use of the mail is no longer being used, and the telephone and Internet have taken place of the mail. People can pay bills by the Internet in a safe way and phone familiars instantly. In other words, these ways of communications are a lot faster than it was centuries ago, and it has made our world a better place to live. Take the innovation of e-book for instance. Although quite a few people like to tou ch real papers, they cannot deny every year the industry of book-publishing has consumed a large amount of woods. And many scientists have proposed that one of solutions to green-house issue is preventing forests from decreasing. So, the advent of e-book makes modern people change their traditional reading habit: it allows people to turn virtual pages by tapping the screen and enables to read several books on an electronic device without carrying heavy weights. Obviously, publishers are more likely to present books or magazines through e-book instead of real papers. Due to less needs of printing books, woods can be saved for our future generations. As we know, many technological innovations have been used on researching mental or physical diseases. For example, pregnant women must do many checks during their three trimesters. Doctors use ultrasound facility to check baby’s situation and attain useful information to decide if there is any disease, such as Down’s syndrome. Consequently, if there were no technology assisting doctors to check patients’ bodies, people may struggle with unknown health problems. In conclusion, the reasons above are why I strongly agree that technology has made our life more convenient. The computer, the automobile, the telephone, other machineries for health care and those which can become our solution for environmental problems have surely been essential to us and I think that the world has so many things yet to be developed in order to help the society and make it good place to live. References: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/DA8177ED1A80D332 CA257BF0001B08EE/$File/ocpahfsv5.pdfhttp://www.searo.who.int/publications/journals/seajph/media/2012/seajph_v1n2/whoseajphv1i2p125.pdf?ua=1http://www.essayforum.com/writing-3/technology-modern-life-advantageous-57712/http://www.essayforum.com/writing-3/impact-technology-modern-life-critique-thx-2139/http://www.essayforum.com/writing-3/blessed-modern-tools-technology-7303/

Law Enforcement, Prison, and Race Essay

The facts are indisputable and have been widely published for years. People of color in the United States are extremely over-represented in the prison population as well as in the number of arrests. While the facts are not in question, what is under debate is the reason why these numbers exist. Just as in a legal case, both sides of the issue have their own experts who provide testimony to support their viewpoint. On one side – which is by far the most publicized – is the belief that the reason why more minorities (especially African Americans) are arrested and imprisoned is a result of racial prejudice. However, the opposing viewpoint states that there is a very logical reason why more African Americans are involved with the judicial system – they simply commit more crimes than whites. Both sides provide mounds of data and studies to support their argument. Although it is not scientific, I believe where there is smoke there is probably fire. More than likely, there is some form of prejudice involved. Thinking the sides of this issue are divided strictly by color lines would be a mistake. Walter Williams (who is black) used the following figures in The Washington Times to prove his point that police are not prejudice, â€Å"†¦ 63 percent of the 65,624 drug arrests were minorities (50 percent blacks and 13 percent Hispanics). Since blacks are only 13 percent of the total population, it means law enforcement officials can assign a higher probability that a drug trafficker is a black more so than other racial groups† (Williams). Indeed, Mr. Williams – as well as many others – believe that such statistics show that police are simply doing their jobs by stopping black motorists more often than whites, since more of them are probably drug dealers. But does such reasoning hold up in the light of other statistics that are just as telling? For example, studies by Human Rights Watch have shown that most drug offenders are white and that five times as many whites use drugs as blacks. However, blacks comprise the great majority of drug offenders sent to prison (â€Å"Racial Disparitiesâ€Å"). So, which set of numbers do you accept? The answer is, you do not have to choose since both can be used – and should be – to find the truth. Considering that whites make up some 75% of the population, while blacks comprise 13%, the fact that five times as many whites use drugs as blacks seems logical. If that is the case, then how can the excessive number of blacks arrested on drug charges be anything other than racially prejudiced? The very terminology used by some to describe the theories used by each side seems to sound judgmental. For instance, according to D’Alessio, Stewart, and Stolzenberg, the term ‘conflict theory’ is used to describe the belief that the elevated arrest rate for black citizens is the consequence of discrimination by police (1381). However, they use the term ‘normative theory’ to describe the belief that those numbers are simply the result of social issues that affect blacks more than whites. Whatever name it is given, the idea that blacks are more likely to commit crimes due to experiencing more difficult social conditions is becoming more widely popular. Writing for Social Forces, a University of North Carolina publication, D’Alessio, Stewart, and Stolzenberg asserted regarding their study of racial bias, â€Å"The results of this study suggest that the disproportionately high arrest rate for black citizens is most likely ascribable to differential criminal participation in reported crime rather than to racially biased law enforcement practicesâ€Å" (1381). Once again – just as with the study involving drug arrests cited earlier – blacks are arrested more because they commit more crimes. Their findings were based on data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System of 1999. Studies such as these invariably cast a large portion of blame on the media for perpetrating what they believe to be the ’myth’ of racial prejudice in law enforcement. Certainly it is true that a higher percentage of blacks suffer from the poor social conditions that often lead to delinquent behavior, such as unemployment, crowded housing conditions, poor health care, and less access to preventative social services. But, while that is true it does not explain other disparities in the criminal justice system that cannot be explained away so easily. Based on the results of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Report of 1999, a black youthful offender is six times more likely to be jailed than a youthful offender who is white, even if they commit the same crimes and have the same criminal backgrounds, according to a nationwide study (â€Å"Study Revealsâ€Å"). The following comment is typical of the response to the report. â€Å"We find that this report leaves no doubt that we are faced with a very serious national civil rights issue, virtually making our system juvenile injustice,† said Hugh B. Price, President and CEO of the National Urban League (Crowley). No matter what set of statistics are used, the reality is that minorities are treated differently at every level in the justice system. Beginning as juveniles, with their first contact with police, minorities can be sent down one of two paths. They can be sent into some type of counseling, or they can be processed into the system. According to a report in The Cincinnati Enquirer, institutional bias regarding who will be referred to private treatment (i. e. ; counseling services) instead of being formally processed also disfavors minorities. Even when other variables are accounted for, minority young males – particularly African Americans – are significantly more likely to be detained than white youths (Crowley). Such reports continue to beg the question: even if we accept that the reason more blacks are originally arrested is simply because they commit more crimes and not due to any police bias, how do we explain the irregularities in the sentencing process? Whether it is blatant prejudice or some other reason, it is clear that something is happening in the courts that cannot easily be explained away. Another issue that needs to be addressed is regarding the purpose for certain laws being passed in the first place. In The New American Apartheid, it is asserted, â€Å"Many sentencing structures have a built-in class and racial bias. This is especially the case with drug laws, which have always targeted mainly the drugs used by minorities and the poor throughout history† (Sheldon and Brown). If the police are simply doing their jobs by enforcing drug laws, and innocently arrest mostly blacks, I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that some laws have been passed that target blacks. The evidence of discrimination even extends to the ultimate punishment – the death penalty. It has been widely assumed by the general public that the rationale for pursuing the death penalty in cases – and an execution being ordered – is based primarily on the brutality of the crime or number of victims. If that were true, the death penalty would seem far less arbitrary. However, there is no consistent pattern that can be found in any state or federal court to make that case. Instead, it is just as likely – in fact more so – that a poor black man will be executed for the murder of one white person than a white man receiving the death penalty for serial murders. A perfect example is Gary Leon Ridgeway (who is white), known as the ’Green River Killer’. Although he has acknowledged killing over 48 people, he pleaded guilty to escape the death penalty. Contrast that with the case of Gerald Lee Mitchell (who was black), executed in 2001 for a murder he committed when he was 17 years old. The attorney for Mitchell argued that at the time of the murder Mitchell had an IQ of 75 and had been diagnosed as functioning on the borderline level of retardation. He was put to death in spite of calls for clemency from numerous countries, world leaders, and even the president of the American Bar Association. (â€Å"Execution of Child Offenderâ€Å") One of the few exceptions to this trend was Timothy McVeigh, who was executed for the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City. However, I believe he is the exception that proves the rule. While much data that has been collected is hardly productive, there are places where meaningful progress has been made against racial prejudice. This is generally areas where comprehensive data collection and reporting has occurred. Without data, every complaint of discrimination inevitably boils down to one person’s word against a police officer’s. This is the reason that civil rights advocates are demanding that police be required to keep racial and ethnic data on who is stopped and searched as a basis for eliminating the biased police behavior. Unfortunately, a person can still choose to see his or her own side of the issue despite evidence to the contrary. Prejudice comes in many forms. While it is hard to imagine many judges consciously weighing a decision of whether to have someone executed or not based solely on race, the fact remains that such decisions have been, and are being made. Bias or prejudice can also be a subtle, even subconscious motivation that a person may not even aware of. A judicial system can be only as just and dependable as the people who design and administer it. People are prone to error, dishonesty, and prejudice. Although the blatantly racist cops that used to be around many years ago are no doubt few and far between today, there still is something at work in the legal system that seems to be detrimental to blacks. From laws that target ethnic neighborhoods and individuals, to how decisions are made regarding arrests and prosecutions, a racially biased trail of evidence does emerge. From who gets sentenced to probation to who gets sent to prison, blacks are unfairly being targeted. From length of sentences to who lives or dies, it cannot be denied that prejudice exists in the legal system of this country. Despite arguments to the contrary, and no matter what type of research or studies the supporters of ‘normative theory’ conduct, the facts speak for themselves. Clearly, it has been shown that people of color in the United States are extremely over-represented in the prison population as well as in the number of arrests due, in large part, to biased or prejudicial attitudes and perceptions of many people in law enforcement and the judicial system. Such practices have no place in a country that promises justice for all people – regardless of color. Efforts should continue at every level of government to change this pervasive mindset, until race has absolutely no bearing on how an individual is treated in America. Works Cited D’Alessio, S. J. and Stolzenberg, L. â€Å"Race and the Probability of Arrest† Social Forces. Vol. 81 Issue 4, p1381 June 2001 Crowley, Patrick . â€Å"Study reveals ‘juvenile injustice’, Minorities are jailed more often†. The Cincinnati Enquirer. 26 April 2000 â€Å"Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs† Human Rights Watch. Online. 9 Nov. 2005 Shelden, R. and Brown, W. B. â€Å"The New American Apartheid Part I†. 22 June 2004 Williams, Walter. â€Å"Racial Profiling Puzzle†. The Washington Times. Creators Syndicate, Inc. 14 March 1999

6 Simple Tips for Writing an Amazing Fight Scene

6 Simple Tips for Writing an Amazing Fight Scene If youve reached the point of writing a big fight scene in your novel and are struggling, dont worry. Thats just your intuition as a writer telling you to take a minute and really think about what you want to do here.Conflict in literature isnt just a plot point- its a vehicle to move a story forward, to reveal important character traits, and eventually, to achieve catharsis at the end. Knowing this, when its time to write a scene involving major conflict, particularly a fight scene, its important to take a minute to step back and evaluate what needs to happen with that scene to make it effective. And beyond effective- you need to take a step back to consider what needs to happen to make it memorable.What makes a memorable fightAnyone who has ever read the fight scene between Inigo Montoya and Westly in William Goldings The Princess Bride has read one of the most memorable fight scenes in literature.The man in black stood.You seem a decent fellow, Inigo said. I hate to kill you.You s eem a decent fellow, answered the man in black. I hate to die.But one of us must, Inigo said. Begin.And so saying he took the six-fingered sword.And put it into his left hand.William Goldings The Princess BrideWhat follows is a series of specialized sword attacks and subtleties that, across approximately seven pages, is one of the most memorable fight scenes of modern literature. And since Golding wrote the screenplay to the movie adaptation of the book, its just as good on film.Obviously, writing a fight scene can be one of the most intimidating parts of your story to write. So, lets look at a few tips for making your fight scene memorable.1. Make it more than just a fightYour fight scene should, above all else, be a moment when your protagonist confronts the antagonist (or minor henchmen/bad guys) and reveals important information about them both. As youll notice in the scene from The Princess Bride, the dialogue that occurs between the two characters is a kind of meta, fairytale- esque example of what makes all memorable fight scenes stand out from the rest.Consider the final fight between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. The famous No, I am your father line not only changed the protagonist- it revealed something startling about the antagonist, thus developing both characters significantly within fight dialogue.2. Choose a great settingThe fight scenes in The Princess Bride and The Empire Strikes Back have something else in common- they both take place in great settings.This tip is a little tricky because in addition to choosing a great setting, you have to avoid too much description of the setting while the fight is taking place. Too much description not only slows the pace (which is usually the last thing you want to do when a confrontation is taking place), but it detracts the readers attention from the character development that needs to happen.Youll notice in both The Princess Bride and The Empire Strikes Back, we see the setti ng of the epic fight scenes before the actual fights take place. This gave the writer (and director) time to reveal details about the great location that would soon be the setting of the upcoming fight scene.3. Dont over-describe movementsIn the same sense that using the fight scene to write a lot of setting description will slow down the action, over describing the fight itself will have the same effect. Instead of doing this, use as many action words (verbs) as possible while keeping descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs) minimal.Youll also want to avoid giving your readers a blow-by-blow account of every moment in the fight. Keep in mind these simple rules- make it powerful and quick, choosing emotion over extensive setting or movement description. Let your reader fill in some of these details in their own imaginations and it will keep the pace of your fight scene on track.4. Include emotion and dialogueYour first impression when reading that heading might be, but wait, wont emotion and dialogue slow the pace during fight scenes? Again, think back to the pivotal fight between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker when Vader finally admits that Luke is his son. Think about the pauses for effect and how dialogue- in small doses- increased the tension during the fight in ways that only emotional dialogue can.As for emotion, dont falsely assume that the only way to show emotion is to describe it. Here is a moment when it is even more important than ever to show, dont tell, when you write. Think about the ways your characters can show their emotions through physical response- heart pounding, blood racing, grip tightening responses.5. Be realisticWith the almost meta moments happening throughout Goldings novel, realism wasnt his goal. We all know that in the real world, two opponents wouldnt carry on such witty banter as they try to win against the other. However, unless youre writing a Golding-esque Fantasy with elements of satire, keep your fight scenes as realist ic as possible to keep your readers turning pages.Here are a few ways to ensure that your fight scenes are written as realistically as possible:Research the weapons your characters would most likely be using based on their job/role. If youre going to be using sophisticated weaponry or black-market technology, make sure you know it well by doing as much research as possible. While you dont want to go overboard on descriptions of these weapons or hi-tech gadgets, realistically mentioning them during the scene will make your fight more believable.Avoid over-use of dialogue and make sure that what is said has a purpose of either advancing the plot forward or revealing important character traits.Dont allow your character to have superhuman traits (unless its a superhero story), such as fighting off 12 guys at once or dodging bullets. This kind of unrealistic fighting should only take place when characterization requires it, such as stories of people with superhuman strength or science fi ction, in which an alternate universe or setting allows the laws of physics to be avoided.6. Know the purpose of the fightFinally, lets discuss the fights purpose and why youve chosen to write one in the first place. Before we do this, however, ask yourself this very important question: Am I throwing in a fight just to make the book exciting?If your answer to that question is yes, youd be better off thinking of other ways to ramp up the tension in your book. Sometimes a simple, menacing conversation between the antagonist and protagonist is all it takes to create conflict and tension. If your fights sole purpose is to build tension rather than the other tips Ive covered, it could very well be a distraction that doesnt do anything for your plot building and should be avoided.A fight is the perfect moment to reveal important things about your characters and create reader excitement, especially in interesting settings. However, its also a literal representation of conflict, and should be used with the utmost caution if you want your book to be a bestseller that readers cant put down. A fight for the sake of a fight gets old fast- give your readers more in your fight scenes and theyll turn out better than you ever expected they could.

How to Easily Mix Your Own Tattoo Ink

How to Easily Mix Your Own Tattoo Ink These are instructions for preparing a tattoo ink. The tutorial should only be used by persons who have received training in aseptic techniques. It takes about 1-1.5 hours. Otherwise, use this information to help ask informed questions of a tattoo professional. Does your tattooist know exactly what is in his or her ink? What You Need to Make Your Own Tattoo Ink Dry PigmentVodkaGlycerine, medical gradePropylene GlycolBlenderSafety EquipmentSterile Ink Bottles Homemade Tattoo Ink Instructions Use clean, sterile materials (see note below), put on a paper mask and gloves.Mix until clear: about 7/8 quart vodka, 1 tablespoon glycerine, and 1 tablespoon propylene glycol.In blender or jar that fits on blender, add an inch or two of powdered pigment and stir in enough liquid from step 2 to create a slurry.Blend on a low speed for about 15 minutes, then on a medium speed for an hour. If you are using a jar on the blender, release pressure buildup every fifteen minutes or so.Use a baster to siphon ink or pour it through a funnel into ink bottles. You may add a sterile marble or glass bead to each bottle to aid in mixing.Store the ink away from sunlight or fluorescent lighting, since ultraviolet radiation will alter some pigments.Keeping track of the amounts of liquid and powdered pigment will help you make consistent batches and improve your technique.You can use smaller amounts of glycerine and propylene glycol, but probably not larger amounts. Too much glycerine will make the in k oily and too much glycol will form a hard shell on top of the ink. If you are not conversant with aseptic techniques, dont make your own ink! Tips for Success Obtain dry pigment from a tattoo supply house. It is much more difficult to order pure pigment directly from a chemical supplier. One natural pigment is carbon black, obtained from completely burning wood.You may substitute Listerine or witch hazel for the vodka. Some people use distilled water. I dont recommend rubbing alcohol or methanol. Water is not antibacterial.While your supplies should be clean and sterile, do not heat-sterilize pigments or their mixtures. The pigment chemistry will change and may become toxic.Although pigments normally are not toxic, you need a mask because breathing pigment particles can cause permanent lung damage.You can use mason jars directly on the blender as long as you unscrew them periodically during mixing to prevent overpressure breakage from heating.

14 Resume Strategies for Recent Graduates

14 Resume Strategies for Recent Graduates Writing a resume can be hard even for the most seasoned professional. Writing one to net you your first job out of college can be downright terrifying. Here are 14  tricks you can use to maximize your chances of getting the interview, and getting your career off to a great start. 1. Use a professional email addressIt may have been a great laugh to be longduckdong16@yahoo.com back in the day, but now that you’re entering the adult world, it is high time to consider something a bit more†¦ mature. It might even help to create an address dedicated solely to job searching and your professional life. When in doubt, lastname.firstname or firstinitial.lastname@gmail.com ought to do the trick.2. Link to LinkedInIf you don’t already have a LinkedIn profile, make one. It will be a necessary tool for you now and in the many work years to come. Once you’ve set yourself up nicely, follow the instructions on the site to make a customized link, i.e. www.linkedin.com/in/Yo urNameMBA and include it in your resume. This will be particularly useful if you’re submitting a pdf; the recruiter will only have to click on the link to find your profile.3. Don’t pad it with fluffBS might have worked in your sociology intro class, but a professional hiring manager is going to see right through buzzwords like â€Å"team player† and â€Å"ambitious self-starter.† Try to be a bit more unique in your word choice and show your experience rather than relying on keywords. If your job description is clearly showcasing your teamwork or leadership skills, then you don’t need to oversell the point.4. OptimizeThat said, keywords are an important and useful tool, particularly when your resume might be evaluated online before reaching a sentient human. Rather than just include the usual â€Å"hardworking† and â€Å"strong leader† terms you think you have to include, try using keywords included in the job listing itself. Thatâ₠¬â„¢s a sure fire way to catch a company’s eye. Give them what they’re looking for!5. Leave high school out of itHiring managers are much more interested in your relevant work experience and what sort of work (and grades) you did in college. Also any skills or certifications you may have picked up along the way. Including high school education only makes you look like you’re desperate for filler. When in doubt, leave it out.6. Include your GPAIf your GPA is 3.0 or higher, go ahead and brag about it. And if your GPA within your major is even higher than that, showcase that achievement. They won’t care if you got a C+ in Underwater Basket-weaving. But if you have a 4.0 in Economics, they’ll be sure to pay attention.7. Don’t include your schoolworkWhile your GPA or major can be an asset in your job search, no recruiter really wants to know how you spent your class time (unless you did something really unique and exciting and/or prestigious). Th ey pretty much know what college is about- even specific to your major. Internships are much more relevant and impressive; focus on those.8. Play up your strong pointsIf you have a big internship or some other work experience that’s super impressive, lead with that. If you don’t, it’s okay to lead with other things, such as your grades, your intensive software knowledge, foreign language skills, programming experience, etc. If you have tons of honors but little work experience, you still might have enough oomph to get your foot in the door for an interview.9. Include company descriptionsFor each employer in your work history, include a brief description of the company- particularly if it isn’t a well known brand-name company that people will already be familiar with. Just a sense of the industry, the work done, and the work environment should do it. Keep it brief to maximize space.10. Use bulletsBullet points are an assertive visual way to draw a recruite r’s attention to exactly what you’d like for them to focus on. Go ahead and use this to your advantage. Bonus: you’ll get points for clear and eye-friendly formatting.11. Use action verbsLet your language do the bragging, especially if you don’t have a whole lot of work experience. You can put all the work verbs into sections describing your other experience. We’re thinking: managed, led, supervised, developed, created, built, etc.12. BragGo ahead and include any honors, scholarships, or extracurricular achievements you might have under your belt. Can’t hurt, might help.13. List your relevant skillsRead the job description carefully and multiple times. And be sure to pick out and list all of the skills it says are required for eligibility. Failure to list that you do, in fact, have fluency in that programming language, is your error. The recruiter isn’t responsible for knowing what you assume they should know. Make sure to explicitly list the things they’re looking for as things you can do.14. Don’t include referencesDon’t waste space on the â€Å"References available on request† line. It’s already implied. If they get close enough to hiring you to need them, rest assured that they will ask. You can also include this line in your cover letter instead.Now take a look at TopResume’s infographic showcasing what a perfect resume for recent college graduates would look like:

Business Submission Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Submission - Assignment Example In compliance with Principle 1, our organization has several initiatives in place such as a response process to deal with any employee who may have any grievances pertaining to the violation of their human rights. In addition, we view employees as important assets and hence free communication is fully supported by the management giving the employees an opportunity to air any views that they may have. Principle 8 PracticesEver since our invention, we have been operating under the notion of prevailing in concert with the environment rather than be at odds with it. As compared to other data centers globally, our data centers save up to 50% on energy which is a rather big achievement given how very few companies consider this.We encourage employees to take part in environmental responsiveness via implementing practices that target waste reduction, recycling, and reusing. For instance, we host farmers’ markets and sustainable cooking seminars as a way of setting an example to the e mployees on â€Å"going green†. Currently, our facilities are powered by renewable energy. We have taken the initiative to invest in renewable energy projects that help us take part in minimizing the impact of carbon dioxide on the rest of the world.Given that we are highly involved in practices that comply with principles 1 and 8 of the Un Global Compact principles, we believe that are capable of endorsing recommendations that will guide other businesses in compliance with these Global Compact Principles.

Vampire and supernatural power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vampire and supernatural power - Essay Example 3) Second argument: Humans are increasingly using vampires to express the evil doings in the society. The vampires are considered evil and used to represent the evil person in the society. 4) Third argument; People are attempting to use vampires to link supernaturalism with science. Through use of technology, the vampires are accorded traits that demonstrate the changing understanding of religion. 5) Conclusion: There has been increased depiction of supernaturalism in the society. Advancement in technology has created a void in the psychology and spiritual life of humans. Humans are making use of vampires to fill this void. Introduction Since time immemorial, human have always engaged in telling stories, which are often in form of narratives and depict different aspects of the society. With advancement in technology, the tales have been converted into films. The stories depict the cultural belief and yearning in a society. In the twentieth century, vampire myths have dominated severa l aspects of the human culture. Vampires characterize modern day literature, television shows, spirituality, and other aspects of human life such as Halloween parties. Vampire image are often used in human cultures to represent some sort of supernaturalism. Although vampires are not a new phenomenon, they have become dominant in the contemporary society where they are often used to depict supernaturalism. Several narratives and film are based on vampire mythology. The narrative based films in the contemporary society demonstrate increased crave for vampire mythology. Several individuals, especially the psychologist have attempted to explain the change in trends toward vampire mythologies. This paper focuses on the reasons why the culture of supernatural is so popular in modern society. Additionally, the paper will examine if vampire legends fill psychological and spiritual void that has been created by advances in science and technology. Some people such as Del Toro and Hogan (Web) argue that the vampire legends fill psychological and spiritual void that have been created by advances in science and technology. This is true since with advancement in technology, the religious mythologies have lost credibility. They are been replaced by vampire legends. Just as people in the past tried to escape from reality by engaging in religious narratives, the contemporary society makes use of fiction to display supernaturalism. Use of vampire is thus a new technology-based approach to religious narratives. As the society becomes more technologically advanced and secularized, there has been a void in spiritual and psychological life, which artists are attempting to fill using vampires to represent supernaturalism and evil. Additionally, human are attempting to cope with life by avoiding reality. The vampires are unrealistic and used to explore the life after death. Humans with paranormal religious beliefs are believed to cope better with problems they cannot understand (Del Toro and Hogan Web). Another reason why the culture of supernatural is more popular in the contemporary society is the change in how people relate toward religion and spirituality. This has resulted in the changes in the concept of vampire. In the current world, vampires are used to explain situations as well as people who fail to comply with the social expectations. The vampires help

Business risk innovation and change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business risk innovation and change - Assignment Example This model is based on five critical elements (strategy, structure, process, information technology, people and culture) that can be used by the management ensure that its change initiatives are driven by its strategy (Hoogendoorn, Jonker, Schut &Treur, 2007, p157). The failure by The Corporation to adopt an Expert system can be attributed to failure of the management to focus on three important elements of the organization, which include people, strategy, process and structure. For instance, the organization lacked the right people in the management to promote the project after the two major champions left the organization. Additionally the structure of the organization did not address the issue of power and authority with respect implementation of the expert system project. The Marvin Weisbord Six-Box Organizational Model one can certainly establish the extent to which the management of The Corporation failed in promoting adoption of the Expert system technology (Shapiro, 2010, p16 8). Six-Box Organizational Model is based on six important elements namely: Purposes, structure, relationships, rewards, leadership and helpful mechanism (Raoprasert & Islam, 2010, p47). These elements highly emphasize on a number of organization issues, which include incentives and rewards, internal competition within the organization, organization control, accountability as well as hierarchies (Paton & Mccalman, 2009, p55). From the case study, it is evident that the management failed on four most important elements namely structure, leadership, helpful mechanism and rewards. For instance, the project lacked serious leadership as two key champions - the vice president of development and chief information officer (CIO) left the organization even before the project began and their successors were never committed to the success of the project. Furthermore, majority of the top managers did not honor invitation to meetings set to discuss final approval of the project. John Kotterâ€⠄¢s eight-step change model proposes steps that can bring about lasting transformation through power and motivation adequate enough to mitigate dissent (Kotter & Cohen, 2002, p18). Kotter’s ideology is based on the belief that successful change comes through talking to people’s feelings, commitment and sense of urgency. The proposed 8-steps by Kotter include increase sense of urgency, building the leading team, develop the vision, communicate the vision, empower action, develop short term gains, consolidate gains, and finally anchor new and winning approaches in the culture (Sabri, Gupta & Beitler, 2007, p176). Based on the Kotter’s eight-step change model it is evident that failure of The Corporation to adopt an expert system was a management fault as there was no commitment, stakeholders engagement, strong leadership, and sense of urgency. For instance, after the Tow top pioneers left the organization the project lack strong leadership as new executives were n ever interested in the project. Additionally there was no sense of urgency on the part of the new executives considering that all the meetings that were often scheduled to discuss implementation of the project were never attended by executives. 1. Dunford, Akin and Palmer propose six perspectives Dunford, Akin and Palmer came up with six perspectives of managing change to help managers remain focused

Power and Privilege in Conflict Resolution Essay

Power and Privilege in Conflict Resolution - Essay Example In his article â€Å"Power and Conflicts†, Coleman clearly outlines how power is related to conflict resolution. According to him, there are different ways of defining power which could be power over, power with and dependence and powerless. He says that in conflict resolution, when one of the conflicting parties feels that the solution that is reached gives the other party power over them, the resolution is not satisfactory. This means that the same kind of conflict is likely to arise in future. In order to reach a lasting resolution, competition should not be created in resolving conflicts, and the parties involved should not feel like they are in a win-lose position. There should be more emphasis on promoting cooperation, independent power and shared power. It is also evident that the people who possess power have a tendency to justify having this power and using it in the manner that they feel fit. They are also not willing to share this power with those they perceive to b e powerless. The parties with low power on the other hand are likely to show discontentment with their situation and are shortsighted. They in most cases roll their discontentment to people who have less power than them (Coleman 12). This ruins their chances of being empowered and makes it even harder for the conflicts to be resolved. It is only through coalition building and cooperation where power is neutralized that conflicts can be resolved completely. Privileges also play a vital role in conflict resolution since they give power to the privileged and take power from the underprivileged. In dealing with conflicts that come with one party having power over the others because of one being privileged, there are certain things that need to be considered. For instance, gender equality has been a source of conflict for many years. Women complain of not being equally treated in education, work and other situation. Dealing with this kind of situation would require that the men acknowled ge the fact that they are privileged and accept to lose some of the privileges in order to resolve the conflict (McIntosh 3). This is because in most cases, although it may be universally acknowledged that women are under-privileged, men would not agree to the fact that they are privileged. This could be the reason why we are still very far away from dealing with the issue of gender equality. The question of truth and morality is an intricate one and it is crucial to understand this relationship in conflict resolution. This is especially based on the fact that a person may have wrong motives but his actions lead to good results while another one may have good intention but the ends become terrible. Truth is thus the harsh reality that people have to live with while morality is judged in terms of good intentions (Kriesberg, 3). Truth and morality are related to conflict resolution in the sense that morality and truth seeks to social justice and reconciliation and conflict resolutions are part of this quest. Take the example of the situation where single mothers who do not

Drug abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drug abuse - Essay Example Drugs do come in various forms such as pills, powder or in crystals. Individuals who abuse these drugs do it in several ways and it does depend on the nature of the drug. A victim can consume the drug by swallowing if in pill form, snorted if it is in the form of powder as well as injection buy use of a needle or a syringe. Furthermore, those drugs that are in crystal form can be smoked or in haled by the victims. Using of drugs such as stimulants do aid in boosting an individuals moods, alertness, self esteem as well as energy with increased heart beats. However, I will not recommend its use since as they increased an individual’s rate of heart beats it leads to the blood pressure being elevated, which may cause long term sickness on increased blood pressure. As a result of the negative effects in our bodies in spite of the short term positive effect, considering the long term as the way then it is absurd to the victim. Such problems do lead to early deaths and the society is bound to loose most of it productive individuals. On the other hand stimulants are used to suppress appetite for a short period for individuals who are obese. Drugs such as Amphetamines is a stimulant that are mostly prescribed by doctors but if abused they affect the brain. The body and the brain can be affected by Dexedrine and Ritalin. These drugs have a chemical structure which is similar to the neurotransmitters referred to as monoamines including nor epinephrine and dopamine. Stimulants do increase chemical amounts in the brain as a result of this pressure of blood is increased as well as the rate at which the heart is beating. There is constricts blood vessels, the level of glucose in blood is increased as the path of the respiratory system is opened.... As a result of this, there is constricts blood vessels, the level of glucose in blood is increased as the path of the respiratory system is opened. In addition, it causes increase in dopamine which is related to the sense of euphoria that can be used with Nicotine which are stimulants as well that may lead to the storage of neurotransmitter dopamine in the victims brain. As a result of the dopamine concentration creates a stimulating feeling of euphoria that the victim experiences (Gitlin, 197-199). It is dangerous to use the stimulant sometimes. In spite of their use not leading to dependency which is physical and facing withdrawal risks. They are very addictive leading to the victim to use the stimulant compulsively. As a result of use which is continuous cause the individual not only affecting their bodies with the drug but also they never think of development since the little they earn is spend on drugs leading to a vicious circle in the society. Furthermore, when high doses are taken by an individual over a short time can lead to one feeling hostile. In addition, when high doses are taken body an individual it leads to high temperature for a body which is dangerous as well as heart beats which are irregular. It also leads to cardiovascular failure or what is referred to as lethal seizures. Most stimulants are very addictive such as cocaine, amphetamines as well as methamphetamine. It is tough for an individual to even try to use the stimulants after trying them because the victim will not be able to predict the extent of at which they will be under the influence. Depressants are drugs that are also abuse by human being across the globe. The central nervous system is usually affected by the depressant

Power and Privilege in Conflict Resolution Essay

Power and Privilege in Conflict Resolution - Essay Example In his article â€Å"Power and Conflicts†, Coleman clearly outlines how power is related to conflict resolution. According to him, there are different ways of defining power which could be power over, power with and dependence and powerless. He says that in conflict resolution, when one of the conflicting parties feels that the solution that is reached gives the other party power over them, the resolution is not satisfactory. This means that the same kind of conflict is likely to arise in future. In order to reach a lasting resolution, competition should not be created in resolving conflicts, and the parties involved should not feel like they are in a win-lose position. There should be more emphasis on promoting cooperation, independent power and shared power. It is also evident that the people who possess power have a tendency to justify having this power and using it in the manner that they feel fit. They are also not willing to share this power with those they perceive to b e powerless. The parties with low power on the other hand are likely to show discontentment with their situation and are shortsighted. They in most cases roll their discontentment to people who have less power than them (Coleman 12). This ruins their chances of being empowered and makes it even harder for the conflicts to be resolved. It is only through coalition building and cooperation where power is neutralized that conflicts can be resolved completely. Privileges also play a vital role in conflict resolution since they give power to the privileged and take power from the underprivileged. In dealing with conflicts that come with one party having power over the others because of one being privileged, there are certain things that need to be considered. For instance, gender equality has been a source of conflict for many years. Women complain of not being equally treated in education, work and other situation. Dealing with this kind of situation would require that the men acknowled ge the fact that they are privileged and accept to lose some of the privileges in order to resolve the conflict (McIntosh 3). This is because in most cases, although it may be universally acknowledged that women are under-privileged, men would not agree to the fact that they are privileged. This could be the reason why we are still very far away from dealing with the issue of gender equality. The question of truth and morality is an intricate one and it is crucial to understand this relationship in conflict resolution. This is especially based on the fact that a person may have wrong motives but his actions lead to good results while another one may have good intention but the ends become terrible. Truth is thus the harsh reality that people have to live with while morality is judged in terms of good intentions (Kriesberg, 3). Truth and morality are related to conflict resolution in the sense that morality and truth seeks to social justice and reconciliation and conflict resolutions are part of this quest. Take the example of the situation where single mothers who do not

PSYCHOLOGY APPROACHES Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PSYCHOLOGY APPROACHES - Assignment Example In addition the recent development in the field of genetics and molecular biology has enabled psychologists to have a better understanding about human behavioral and mental processes (Barondes). Though the biological approach was initially shunned by scientists such as Freud who invented the psychoanalytical approach the numerous advances made in the field of biology has contributed immensely towards the understanding of human psychology. There has also been a greater understanding of the mechanism of drug action for psychiatry treatment due to these biological advances and as a result drugs are being used effectively to cure mental illnesses. The advances made in genetic study of psychiatric disorders have enabled researchers to identify the causes for these illnesses, especially those with no observable neuropathological conditions, and the study of the molecular biology of the receptors will help in development of more effective drugs for psychological disorders. In the two most p revalent psychiatric disorders, schizophrenia and manic-depressive disorder, genetics has been found to play a very prominent role and with the new DNA mapping techniques it has been possible to identify the hereditary genes (Barondes; Sammons). Inheritance of these faulty genes in turn influences the nervous system thereby giving rise of the symptoms of the disorder (Sammons).

Business Case Study Essay Example for Free

Business Case Study Essay A report on investigation into Business Case Date: May 02, 2013 Acquainted with your Business situation. I see a few problems within your business. One of the problems is changes in economic environment, which lead to conflict between stakeholders. The other problem is change of business structure. A success factor for any business is to analyse and understand the external environment in which it operates. Understanding of different types of stakeholders within business is essential too. To analyse business situation various method can be used. To analyse your current business situation I have used SWAT analyse which will give you opportunity better understand external environment and how it can impact your business. And will help you better understand conflict between stakeholders. The most basic SWOT analyse will examine how threats and opportunities can be dealt with while allowing the organisation to utilise its strengths and weaknesses to meet its key success factors [objectives]. A basic SWOT analysis should include an assessment of where the company is at current time and where it wishes to be at some point in the future . The organisation also needs to decide how far away that future is-it will vary from a few month to many years depending on the organisation, the nature of the business and its current situation (B 120, Book 1). SWOT analysis for the The Lodge Bistro Chain Strengths New IT system Initiative management stuff Possibility to adjust to changes Name and business recognition| Weaknesses Informal structure High stuff turnover Inconsistency in standards | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Opportunities New consumers base Reinstate some formal structure and rules| Threats Complete loss of concept Lose of standards Competition External economic environment| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As you can see from analyse above that the strengths will be recognition of your business and possibility of the business to adjust to new economic environment as you have initiative management team as it is described in Business Case: As an example of these issues, the young manager of one of the cafes in a central urban location began to offer a range of less expensive snacks to cater for diners on low incomes and reduced packaging to respond to the environmentally friendly principles of many customers. Another, in an area close to an office complex, offered a range of healthy eating options. It clearly shows that you have opportunities to attract new consumer’s base. Reinstate some formal structure and rules will give you better opportunity to control business Weaknesses arise from high stuff turnover, as you spend time, recourses for educating stuff. I think it would be beneficial to investigate why they leaving and looking for benefits packages you can purpose to your stuff And main threats arise from losing standards, huge competition and economic environment. For future I would purpose you to use methods like SWAT, STEEP and analyse of stakeholders before making any changes. Would be beneficial to make SWAT analyse on the way business was in 80’s and use it as comparison to current situation. It will give you opportunity to reinforce some formal structure more successfully. References The Open University (2006) B120 An Induction to business studies, Book 1, What is a business? ’, Milton Keynes, The Open University, page 95.

Female Sexualization in Magazines

Female Sexualization in Magazines Over the past three decades, contemporary women’s magazines have significantly increased their sexual content, offering frank advice about sex and relationships (Kim Ward, 2004). The message it sends across is prizing sexually assertive women. Thus, it gives the readers instructions on aggressive ways to attract men and to be able to fulfill their own sexual desires (Durham, 1996). One particular magazine is Cosmopolitan magazine which is known for being racy, intended for the â€Å"fun, fearless female†(Streitmatter, 2004). Sexual agency and desire is highly promoted to young women. Likewise, the stereotypical male sexual role is described as being primarily sexual and out of control. In Cosmopolitan, much of women’s sexual agency and aggressiveness happens within the context of a relationship (Durham, 1996). Walsh-Childers et al. (2002) commented that in some adult-focused magazines, sex is presented as a fun, casual and risk-free activity. A noticeable lack o f emphasis on sexual health, contraceptives and STD prevention is observed (Kim Ward, 2004). Me’nard Kleinplatz (2008) comment that in the magazines, although there is a strong emphasis for female readers to be sexually active and be in the service of men (Durham, 1996), they are cautioned not to be too overtly sexual. They are encouraged to dress and interact with men in a way that promotes sexual desirability but are discouraged from showing desire themselves (Durham 1996, 1998; Garner et al. 1998). These magazines, then, can be seen as part of a ‘cultural apparatus that purports to assist women to be heterosexually attractive, to be coy, alluring, â€Å"sexy,† and flirtatious, in order to â€Å"find true love† and to â€Å"catch a man,† and then to maintain his interest’ (Overall, 1999, p. 298). On the other hand, men’s sexuality is promoted to be aggressive, animalistic, insatiable, urgent and uncontrollable (Firminger 2006; Garner et al. 1998; Ward 2003). The concept of â€Å"great sex† is depicted in three women’s magazines, namely Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Self (Duran Prusank, 1997) as only occurring in the context of an intimate, caring and long-term heterosexual relationship. These magazines teach sexual techniques such as sensual touching, sexual positions, forbidden games, etc. to enhance sexual and erotic intimacy in those relationships. Duran Prusank (1997) also contend that great sex involves uncontrollable chemical or magical elements while it is ongoing. Me’nard Kleinplatz (2008) observe that in popular adult-focused magazines the subject of sexual techniques was predominant. In every issue, a wide variety of information about new and exciting sexual techniques or on improvements that can be made to old familiar ones in order to achieve â€Å"great sex† is available. Readers are provided with information on how to kiss, touch, perform oral or manual sex and several orgasm-inducing sexual intercourse positions. Sexualities of men and women have been compared in contemporary magazines. Discourses have emphasized that male sexuality is driven by a strong biological ‘need’ for coital sex, and have identified this as the ‘male sexual drive’ (Weeks, 1986; Hollway, 1989). As opposed to female sexuality, male sexuality is emphasized with sexual prowess and prime importance is given to the penis, erection and orgasm (Kilmartin, 1999; Tiefer, 1995). On the other hand, female sexuality has been characterized as passive, responsive to the needs of their male partners’ sexual needs and associated with reproduction. Although their sexual needs come from the same biological drive, women are less easily aroused than men and are more emotional during sex (Jackson, 1984). Farvid Braun (2006) conclude that contemporary adult-focused magazines are ‘obsessed with male sexuality’. It was a central focus in accounts of female sexuality which is mostly oriented toward the fulfillment of men’s sexual pleasure. The magazines depicted men in contradictory positions – one, as the target of women’s desires and the other, as a source of much stress, anxiety and even trauma for women (Farvid Braun, 2006). This positions men as having much power over women because of the great emotions they elicit in a wide spectrum. When women’s magazines invite male authorities to offer their insights and experiences to the women readers, it becomes a portal for women to understand men better. Men’s perspectives help women by guiding them on how to behave, dress and engage in sexual practices in accordance to how men prefer. In a significant way, it guides women to understand their male partners better and learn ways to please the m. Mass media’s dominant representation of women is that they exist for men’s satisfaction of their sexual fantasies (Wood, 1994). Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines encourage women to be as ‘sexual’ as they can be, making them available to satisfy men’s sexual fantasies and desires. Although being able to provide sexual satisfaction for men may be a source of pleasure and power for women, it also reflects that women are reliant on men for their own self-image and power (Machin Thornborrow, 2003). Thus, repeatedly reading articles on how to give pleasure to men may promote women’s insecure sexuality (Farvid Braun, 2006). The message of contemporary women’s magazine is that society may condone men’s inappropriate sexual behaviour. The stronger sexual drive of men have made them conclude that the penis is ‘extrinsic to the self’ (Kilmartin, 1999, p.180) and can have a ‘mind of its own’ (Hollway, 1989). Shifting the responsibility of certain sexual indiscretions such as infidelity or cheating on their spouses/partners on the penis makes it an unfair and shallow justification. Potts (2001) commented that such distinction of the penis as the culprit constitutes a ‘hegemonic masculine subjectivity’ where ‘men tend to distance themselves from the [sexual] behaviours of their bodies’ and thus ‘they may also exonerate themselves from responsibility in sexual matters’ (p.154), including inappropriate, risky, or even coercive sexual practices. Sex is promoted as a way to keep a man interested in a woman enough to stay in a relationship. Farvid Braun (2006) observe in Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines that the ability of some women to provide great sex to men is essential in fulfilling not only men’s sexual needs but women’s relational needs as well. Cleo magazine advocates women to leave an impression where it counts†¦ in bed. It contends that men love women who are not only good in bed but enjoy it too, and it leaves men craving for more. A memorable sexual performance of a woman is depicted as more important than her personality in terms of keeping a man interested. Another message that comes across is that while men can enjoy sex anytime they want, women need to work on sex in competing with other women their men have had sex with or with potential sex partners. This implies that although great sex can be a deterrent against infidelity, it also means that since men have strong sexual drives, that they are potential cheaters (Farvid Braun, 2006). That is why women should gain expertise in the sexual pleasing of their men so that they will not find a need to ‘stray’. On the other hand, women are not characterized as having strong sex drives and if they cheat, it is pictured in more severe ways, within more elaborate and negative scenarios. Women’s infidelity is more condemnable and less forgivable than men’s infidelity. Blame is assigned to the woman and is not likely caused by sexual or relational shortcomings of the partner she cheated. Another gender difference in infidelity is that women are seen as victims of their male partner’s cheating, but men are seen as seekers of revenge for being cheated on by a female partner (Farvid Braun, 2006). Cheating is still considered always ‘wrong’ despite the seemingly loose morals propagated in the magazines and monogamous heterosexual relationships are promoted as central to the identity and well-being of women (Farvid Braun, 2006). Increased Sexualization in Popular Modern Music Genres Heavy metal music, described as the overtly violent and sexually explicit segments of rock and roll music (Lynxwiler, 1988) earned the wrath of Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) and targeted a media campaign against it (Gore, 1987). The organization portrayed heavy metal music as dangerous to young minds because it emphasized the use of drugs, encouraged adolescent sex, endorsed sexist/ pornographic values, instrumental in delivering occult messages and caused violent, lawless behavior (Markson, 1990). Such claims created much controversy that it received national attention when Congressional hearings were held to determine if indeed heavy metal albums and other forms of popular music must be evaluated for their influence in proliferation of â€Å"porn-rock† in the United States (Gray, 1989). The hearings did not produce great changes however, more and more organizations concerned with â€Å"child victims† such as conservative parental, religious and feminist groups pushed for the regulation of heavy metal music (Bayles, 1994). Still others began their own uprising against rap music (Binder, 1993). Jones (1997) claims, that as a matter of definition, rap and hip-hop music are often used interchangeably. However, Powell (1991) defined hip-hop as the beat of the music and rap as the narrative representation, the talking over the beat. Hence, the use of explicit violence and sexual lyrics may be blamed down to rap. Powell (1991) described â€Å"commercial rap† as hip hop or dance rap. Hardcore rap, or gangster rap is the one that raises much controversy. Researchers have suggested that hip hop and rap music, rooted in Black culture can be tools through which Black youth may negotiate their identities to develop an authentic Black identity (Clay, 2003). They see the music as reflective of their lives and to assert that music relates to empowerment, cultural connection and positive identity development (Sullivan, 2003; Berry, 1994). Critics of hip hop and rap, however, have argued that Black youth may be very susceptible to the influences of hip hop role models who promise money, power and status to men who show disrespect for women (Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter, 2006). Mahiri and Conner’s (2003) ethnographic study of African American middle school students manifested resistance in the negative images emanating from rap and hiphop. This study suggested the use of rap and hiphop images related to social and gender roles as a point of reference from which participants could verbally evaluate, compare and contrast their own beliefs and attitudes. Adolescents in the study of Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter (2006) believed that certain women can be â€Å"nasty† and may â€Å"choose† to be abused, and that abusive men may be products of their environment. Still, they showed dissatisfaction with the representations of Black men and women in hip hop. Their criticisms revolved around women’s individual behavior and style and how outsiders might stereotype Black men as thugs for emulating hiphop fashion. Such perceptions of gender roles based on hiphop seemed to extend to the participants’ evaluations of women’s and men’s responsibility and choices with regards to real world sexual aggression and violence (Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter, 2006) The problematic aspects of rap music is usually focused on its most acrimonious strain which is gangsta rap. Narratives in such strain are extremely troubling in their glamorization of violence,, materialism, misogyny and sexual transgression (Mahiri Conner, 2003). However, Dyson (1996) argued that the vulgarity expressed in gangsta rap are strongly linked to dominate cultural constructions of â€Å"the other’ and market-driven strategies for rampant economic and human exploitation. Therefore, Dyson noted, the debate about gangsta rap should be situated in a much broader critique of how these narratives essentially mirror ancient stereotypes of Black identity and sexual proclivity throughthe society’s circulation of â€Å"brutal images of black men as sexual outlaws and black females as â€Å"ho’s† (1996, p. 178) Feminists argue that popular media contributes to coerciveness and sexual assault toward women as seen by the dominant presence of violence against women in all forms of media (Linz Malamuth, 1993). Adolescents have been resorting to popular entertainment for information about sex, drugs, alcohol and violence (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1999). Their preference for the more popular and accessible music videos has provides them with such information. Analysis of Music Television (MTV) has shown that men appeared nearly twice as often as women and engaged in significantly more aggressive, dominant behavior and women were shown as engaging in more implicitly sexual and subservient behavior. They were depicted to be frequent objects of explicit, implicit and aggressive advances by men (Sommers-Flanagan, Sommers-Flanagan, Davis, 1993). It is usual for women in these videos to be used as decorative objects, and only a few videos show men and women are treated equally (Vincent, Davis Borus zkowski, 1987). One study of media and sexuality revealed that exposure to MTV among college females was the most powerful predictor of sexual permissiveness (Strouse Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1987). Likewise, in video games, a more sexist orientation and graphic violence against women is getting prevalent. Overall, content in various media such as television, video games, music videos communicates that women are to be objectified, sexualized, dominated, assaulted and even killed (Bretthauer, Zimmerman Banning, 2006).

Anorexia Nervosa :: essays research papers

Anorexia nervosa is one of many types of eating disorders that is influenced by the media, dieting programs, low-carb and fat free foods, and by the obsession to be thin. These influences make the person insecure, tense, and narrow-minded. Anorexia nervosa is when a person demonstrates abnormal eating pattern and loses severe weight, usually fifteen percent of his or her body weight. It is also a complicated mixture of emotional, psychological, and physical changes, it is often referred to as â€Å" the starvation sickness† or â€Å"the dieter’s disease† (Kirkpatrick). The disease is not a newly discovered medical problem. The basic of the illness were documented at least three years ago by an English physician named Thomas Morton. According to Morton, he considered the disease â€Å"nervous consumption† and believed that it was caused by â€Å"sadness and care†. He used the term â€Å"consumption† to describe the marked weight, and he called it â€Å"nervous† because he could not explain the severe weight loss (Kirkpatrick). To be diagnosis with the illness anorexia nervosa the person weight must be at least fifteen percent lower than normal for his or her height and age. The person has a great fear of becoming overweight and the person has an image that his or her body is overweight when it’s in fact underweight and/or the person refuse to admit the weight loss is a serious problem. And an important medical criteria for females in diagnosing the illness, is the absence of at least three or more consecutive menstrual periods (Kirkpatrick). The beginning of the illness often follows some stressful life events that have occurred in the person life. Low self-esteem is often the cause of these stresses. Most of the peoples who are anorexic began with some form of diet to lose weight. When the weight loss becomes visible to their own eyes, and to the eyes of others he or she begin to enjoy his or her special ability to master his or her hunger and control his or her life by continuing to diet without realizing the emotional an physical changes it’s causing to his or her body and mind. And that is how the majority of peoples who are diagnosis with the illness became anorexic (American). The facts about anorexia nervosa and dieting are that full-blown anorexia nervosa is a rare disease and only about ten percent of the cases occur in men. It’s limited to the developed world because in the developing world anorexia is mainly unheard of.

Novel “Asturias” Essay

Celebrity and fame don’t affect all relationships equally; some individual’s relationships are positively affected while others are affected negatively. Some individuals are easily influenced by fame and let it influence their relationships. Brain Caswell shows these ideas in the novel â€Å"Asturias† in the novel it is about a group being formed to make music and to make it in the world of fames. The song by Ed Sheeran’s You Need Me is about the singer ready to enter fame and is determined to make it. The trailer for Almost Famous is about a boy entering a new world full of celebrities. Asturias explores how fame can affect a celebrity’s relation both positively and negatively. In Asturias fame creates opportunities for individuals to form new relations or enhance old ones. Max desire to, â€Å"assemble a band†¦. With image and substance† reveals how fame gives the group members (Alex, Chrissie, Marco, Tasha and Tim) opportunity to meet each other and form new relationships. This idea also highlights Tim’s observation how, â€Å"you have more friends than ever† when you become famous. Celebrities have more fans and meet more celebrities of which they have idolised. It affects their relations towards the band members in their group. Ed Sheeran’s song You need me, also shows how fame can give more opportunities and exceed in life through the use of metaphor in the line â€Å"more greener pastures†. Likewise the trailer for almost famous also supports the notion that fame can create new relationships as the main character is introduced to rock stars and befriends them. This is emphasised when the main character is shown in a mid shot at the start of the trailer. With an upbeat song playing in the background highlighting his vulnerability and how he is starting the journey to fame. This vulnerable shot contrast with later shots where he is singing with the band members in their bus showing that his joined their group. Fame may create opportunities however it can put strains in relationships. Fame can create opportunities for forming new relationships or enhancing old relationships, in the trailer almost famous it shows the main character in a mid shot with an up beat song playing in the background showing his vulnerability and leading on through the trailer he starts his journey to  fame. He starts to experience the ride that everyone dreams for. These relations are affect by fame because they shown they are alone and they begin to make new friends such as rock stars and celebrities and they being to have friendships with. In the line by Ed Sheeran, â€Å"move to greener pastures,† he uses metaphor to show that he wants to go far and exceed in life. Fame gives him more opportunities to exceed in life and it brings new opportunities in his life. Also in Asturias the line â€Å" you have more friends then ever†, it shows how there are also new people entering in your life. New relationships are made and fame gives them these opportunities. Lastly fame gives you the dream. It’s a clichà © it gives you the opportunity to exceed in life and try new things and do the thing you love. Fame puts strain on old relationships epically with friends and family or can make it difficult to make new (real) friends. Such as in almost famous â€Å"rock starts have steeled my son†, the imagery of fame taking away her son, it affects the mums and sons relationship negatively because her son is to caught up on all the glitz and glamor. The mum knows these people are fake and don’t really care about the son. It also puts a strain in the mums and son relationship as the mother is loosing her son and they are distant. In relation, in Asturias the motif of the â€Å"brass ring† communicates the idea that fame and celebrity is not what it looks like it seems perfect and it everything you imagine it is gold in our eyes. Marco’s realises this when his dad wants to come back into the picture again, his dad just wants his money and doesn’t want him for all the other things. Marcos relations ship is like the brass ring. It looks like gold when his dad wants him but he starts to realise that his dad’s just brass and the idea of him really wanting to know him was an illusion. Brian Caswell outlines that fame has a positive and negative aspects as evident in the line, â€Å"with one hand it gives you the dream, with the other it takes a subtle payment†, where juxtaposition and imagery displays how fame is not always beneficial and always has a price. It shows how it can affect the relationships with your family and friends. You start to feel disconnected but you are making new friends however these friends may be untrustworthy and won’t be they’re when you stuff up. As you see fame has influenced these relationships in a negatively way. Keeping relationships intact while being famous requires hard work and a good support system plus you need to stay connected to the real world. In the song, You Need Me by Ed Sheeran in the line, â€Å"from day one I’ve been prepared†, the composer shows that he’s ready to entre fame, he’s ready to live the lifestyle of socialising, paparazzi, criticism and fake friends. He is ready to live in that negative environment which may affect his relation towards him self. Also in this line the rhythm is fast and up beat, he’s also rapping he uses this to show that fame is constantly fast you got to keep in track and your constantly have to keep putting yourself out their until you make it. In the line, â€Å"the light at the end of the tunnel was beginning to look less and less like an on-coming train†. Brian Caswell does this to show how their seems to be more hope and that the dream can actually happen, through the use of illusion. It shows how f ame affected the group’s relationship positively because they had a good support system and they stay connected to the their family and friends. Fame affects relationships by changing their lifestyle and world. It changes their lifestyle and world because new people entre your life such as fans. You loose your close friends because fame start to take over your life and usually your friends say remember me when you’re famous, because they know their going to loose you. You have a new status to live up to and you have are more restricted with your life. Your lifestyle change to glamorous fast paced, luxurious and wealthy. Your confidence grows and you are also placed in a new environment that surrounds you with expectations and partying and drugs and alcohol. In conclusion celebrity and fame can affects relations based on the person and the relationships on the others. Fame can affect them on the way they think about life by achieving their goals and knowing that anything can happen. However it also can impact their life by changing it around and influencing them to a false world and change their whole persona on life. Celebrity and fame can impact many relations it all depends on the individual and the way they look on to fame.

The Importance of Psychology in Business

Importance of psychology in bussiness†¦.. I think psychology plays an important role in business there are many ways to utilize psychology in your business†¦ if you have any concept about psychology of human being its easy for you to undersand the nature of your investor either he is optimistic or passimistic so at this level you can make him feeling more comfortable while investing in your business. When we are on any job interview its too much helpfull to us knowing psychology. We may observe their expressions either what quality of mine in being appriciated or not.On the other hand for a professional its necessary to know about the basics of psychology to devolp his/her own atitude towards his/her profession. For example if we are being prepared for a sales department our atitude should be different than in production deprtment. In HR(human recourse) department tha in mechanical department. so it is not possible for us to devolp ourselves as a professional in different o f a business firm. We can also motivate our employes to give their best. Psychology helps us in each and every feild of life while behaving with human being. Major implimentations of human psychology are given as under†¦ Importance of human psychology as employer . We have to deal with human beings as professionals in different segments of our business tirms.  ·Importance of human psychology as employee. Our employers,olleagues,Subordinates and imideate bosses they are also human being we also also have to copup with them in our daily business.  ·Importance of human psychology in daily working. In our daily working we have to copup with different people like customers,dealers contractors,imediate bosses e. t. c and we have to bring them on one point to show their best here human psychology helps us alot Thanks†¦. Syed Mazhar BBA Sectin-A

Principles of Project Management Essay

1. The Commitment Principle An equitable commitment between the project sponsor and the project delivery team must exist before a possible project exists. The Project Sponsor is considered to be the Project Owner who provides resources such as funds, services and general direction. The project delivery team is the one in charge for appropriate techniques, plans and controls for using the skills needed and work to convert those resources into the required deliverables or product. Dealing with a Sponsor is a matter of developing a trust and understanding between the Sponsor and the team. Project sponsors should set clear boundaries for cost and time, with which the manager should work. If he/she cannot provide the agreed deliverables within these constraints, concerns must be escalated to the sponsor for a decision. Defined roles and responsibilities: A project team in which ALL people understand their responsibilities and sincerely believe they can achieve them. Each person must know how they can contribute to project objectives. Project stakeholders must have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, to be able know exactly what he or she is supposed to be doing. Project environment is of critical importance and requires definition and understanding. 2. The Success Principle The measures of project success, in terms of both process and product, must be defined at the beginning of the project as a basis for project management decision making and post-project evaluation. Success for a project and how it will be measured after completion needs to be defined at the beginning of the project. The most important reason is to provide an on-going basis for management decision making during the course of the project. The timing of the measurement of success itself may also need identifying. It is not possible to measure its ultimate success without agreement on the project’s success criteria 3. The Tetrad Trade-off Principle The core variables of the project management process — namely, product scope, quality grade, time-to-produce, and 4 total cost-at-completion — must all be mutually compatible and definitely attainable. The term â€Å"Tetrad trade-off† is quite an unfamiliar word, but possibly this is the value of the term to stressed that there are four separate but interactive variables which are scope, quality, time and cost rather than just three as in the old view of ‘Triple Constraint’ (time, cost and performance.) The advantage of viewing the four as a tetrad rather than choosing only three to form a triangle is that it gives more importance to quality. Of the four, the quality of the product is apparently, and in fact, the most stable. 4. The Strategy Principle A strategy encompassing first planning then doing, in a focused set of sequential and progressive phases, must be in place. Before the project start, it is very important that consumers think thoroughly about the products, or deliverables they need. They must be prà ©cised and detailed about their requirements to produce a feasible plan. This makes managing the project much easier and less risky. 5. The management principle The Management Principle begins with â€Å"how it will be done and who will do it†. Policies and procedures that are effective and efficient must be in place for the proper conduct and control of the project commitment. 6. The Single-Point Responsibility Principle This principle is an extension of the management principle and is needed for effective management of the project commitment. Clear communication is very important for the coordination of a complicated project activity. A single channel of communication must exist between the project sponsor and the project team leader for all decisions affecting the product scope. 7. The Cultural Environment Principle Management must provide an informed and supportive cultural environment to ensure that the project delivery team are able to work to the limits of their capacity. Whatever methodology or framework you prefer, it must be modified to suit the requirements and needs of your project. Rather than sticking to methodology, the project manager must be able to get used to procedures to meet the demands of the work in hand. the management of the organization in which the project takes place must be supportive and the environment free of obstacles in the way of project progress. (Wideman, Robert Max; Bing, John A.; Neal, Gerald;, 2000) B. Appraise the viability of at least five (5) project’s success/ failure criteria (1.2) To be successful, a project must have: 1. Agreement or arrangement among the project stakeholders – the project team, customer, project leader skills and management – on the objective of the project. 2. A project plan that shows what is capable, shows an overall path and clear tasks, contains the facts and details for calculating the people, money, time, equipment, and materials needed to get the job completed, and will be used to determine development as the project is taking its course. 3. Continuous, effective communication among everyone that is concerned in the project in order to manage and organize action, distinguish and get to the bottom of problems and respond to changes. 4. A controlled scope or â€Å"stakeholder expectations management†. Everyone involved in the project must know their share of responsibilities. To make sure that everyone concerned understands exactly what can be done within a specified time frame and budget; a systematic method for establishing practical goals for deliverables, cost, schedule, and quality, as well as techniques for maintaining the goals reliable all through the project. 5. Upper management support, â€Å"managing upward†, guiding the upper managers toward appropriate decisions that maintains the project moving – to bring people and other resources, make guidelines, or remove organizational obstacles. The main causes of project failure that were identified were: 1. Lack of User Involvement One of the reasons why projects fail is that users do not participate in the system development process to the extent that they should. the lack of participation in the project by those who will use the system has proved fatal for many projects. Without user participation, it will cause delay to Projects because the management has not allocated people to do the work that users should be doing. If a project is to be a success management and users need to be concerned from the start to end of the progress. This requires time and effort. 2. Long or Unrealistic Time Scales The key advice is that project timescales should be little, which means that better systems should be split into separate projects. There are always problems with this approach, but the profit of doing so is significant. 3. Poor or No Requirements poor requirements are probably one of the most difficult issue that can be faced by a project. The incapacity to identify good requirements has also led to other project delivery problems — such as the desire to narrow the scope of the project so as to minimize the requirements workload and risk. Users should understand what it is they want, and be able to identify it specifically. if you don’t get the business requirements right, however well you deliver the project, the client/business will be dissatisfied. 4. Scope Creep Scope creep is a risk in most projects. it is the change or growth of project scope. Scope creep more frequently occurs during the later stages of a project, such as programming and testing, than during the earlier stages, such as design. This can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. This is a management issue similar to change control. Management should be able to figure it all out at the start. A project manager often tries to manage scope creep. The goal in managing scope creep is to try to minimize the impact of any changes on the project, such as on the timeline and cost. 5. No Change Control System Business needs are changing even more rapidly than ever before. There may be unavoidable external requirements over which you have no control, such as new regulations for data privacy, changed regulatory reporting requirements etc.So it is not reasonable to anticipate no change in requirements while a project or system is being built. However uncontrolled changes play chaos with a system under improvement and have caused many project confusion and failures. (Anon., 2001) (Suggest additional standard for the project’s success/ failure criteria, M1) Other IT project failure criteria by the IT and project managers were: * missed deadlines * exceeded budget * cost getting out of hand * many projects fail because they use new or unproven technology. * poor project definition by the project’s owner, perhaps because of insufficient consultation with stakeholders or their failure to be specific about requirements and desired outcomes. * lack of ownership and personal accountability by senior management. * inadequately skilled and experienced project personnel. * inadequate reporting arrangements and decision-making. * inconsistent understanding of required project activities, roles and responsibilities. Other criteria for project success were: * meeting the budget * meeting milestones * a well-defined scope and agreed understanding of intended outcome. * active management of risks, issues and timely decision-making supported by clear and short lines of reporting. * ongoing commitment and support from senior management. * a senior individual with personal accountability and overall responsibility for the successful outcome of the project. * defined and visibly managed processes that are appropriate or the scale and complexity of the project. (Find another company that uses success/failure criteria and tell something about how these criteria help the company’s projects , D1) The Calvert Social Index is a stock market index created by Calvert Investments as a benchmark of large companies that are considered socially responsible or ethical. It currently consists of 468 companies, weighted by market capitalization, selected from approximately 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States using Calvert’s social criteria. These criteria relate to the environment, workplace issues, product safety, community relations, weapons contracting, international operations, and human rights. This index was created following the success of the Domini 400 Social Index by KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. The Calvert index is used by many so-called socially responsible mutual funds as a benchmark for their performance. These criteria helped the company improve with their business management. They were able to market those specific products that seem to be most wanted by their customers. With these criteria, it helped them improve their product development that made them stand out from their competitors. It also helped the company improve business management in the area of finance and because of this, they have built a good business reputation. (Calvert Investment Distributors, n.d.) B. Discuss the principles behind project management systems and procedures (1.3) The Project Management Process suggest three main deliverables be defined before actual work on the project begins. These are the Project Definition, Project work plan, and the Project Management Procedures. The Project Management Procedures explains how the project will be managed, and are an effective and efficient way to communicate the processes to the project team, customers, and stakeholders. Although they may appear time consuming to develop, in most cases these procedures only need to be created once. When you have a set of procedures that allow you to be successful, you can reuse them on later projects. In fact, these procedures can be written at the company or organization level, and then used as the starting point for all projects in the company. These procedures come from the process for large projects. They should be customized as appropriate for your project, your team, and your organization. In most cases, the processes should be simplified for smaller projects. Although this template is called Project Management Procedures, this document really describes processes. Processes are at a higher level than procedures. You can turn them into procedures by specifying the particular roles, people, and dates that make sense. The procedures that will be used to manage the project will include parts on how the team will manage issues, scope change, risk, quality, communication, etc. It is important to be able to manage the project thoroughly and proactively and make sure the project team and all stakeholders have a common understanding of how the project will be managed. If common procedures have already been recognized for your organization, apply them on your project. (Discuss how to integrate human and material resources to achieve successful projects, M2) Every project that involves more than one person requires a project team to get the work done. Building a motivated project team will be your primary and most critical task, because the success of the project will rely heavily on choosing the right team members and gaining their commitment to the project’s objectives. To utilize the abilities of permanently assigned staff and to fulfill these requirements but if there are required skills that are not available, then other sources must be identified and pursued. Books, educational programs, internet and human involvement go hand in hand to make the task accomplished. With these help, unforeseen errors and miscalculation will be lessened. Coordination will also make time required less for the project to be successful. (Wideman, 1991) (Look for an existing IT Project of any company and evaluate the project management system and procedures, D2) IS Auditing Procedure: P6 Firewalls An information security audit is an audit on the level of information security in an organization. Within the broad scope of auditing information security there are multiple types of audits, multiple objectives for different audits, etc. Most commonly the controls being audited can be categorized to technical, physical and administrative. Auditing information security covers topics from auditing the physical security of data centers to the auditing logical security of databases and highlights key components to look for and different methods for auditing these areas. When centered on the IT aspects of information security, it can be seen as a part of an information technology audit. It is often then referred to as an information technology security audit or a computer security audit. However, information security encompasses much more than IT. By and large the two concepts of application security and segregation of duties are both in many ways connected and they both have the same goal, to protect the integrity of the companies’ data and to prevent fraud. For application security it has to do with preventing unauthorized access to hardware and software through having proper security measures both physical and electronic in place. With segregation of duties it is primarily a physical review of individuals’ access to the systems and processing and ensuring that there are no overlaps that could lead to fraud. (Isaca, 2003) C. Identify the key elements involved in terminating projects and conducting post – project appraisals (1.4) 1. Termination activities should be identified in the baseline plan 2. Verify that all agreed-on deliverables were provided. 3. Organize and file project-related documentation. 4. Assure that all payments have been collected from the customer. 5. Assure that all payments for materials and subcontractors have been paid. 6. Prepare a written performance evaluation of each member of the project team. (Evaluate the key elements involved in terminating projects, M3) Terminating a project should always undergo a process – resources used could be audited and workforce could be evaluated properly. 1. Go back to project plan to check the appropriate balance between resource usage and project duration that directly complies with project objectives. 2. Confirm or prove that all deliverables that were agreed on were clearly fleshed out. 3. Document and organize all files related to the project. 4. All invoices should have been sent to the customer. All collectibles should be received before closing the review. 5. Payments for materials and subcontractors should be fulfilled as well. 6. Evaluate the performance of the project team and properly document it as well. 7. Conduct post-mortem or –project evaluation meetings (Szabelski, n.d.) (Give situations where a terminated project can still be considered again, D3) Hiring a new principal investigator (PI) (or an equivalent person) is the next best solution for projects that were terminated or put on hold. In order to ensure the smooth transition of documents and processes, the old PI should train the new hire Loss of human, funding and other valuable resources, whether anticipated or not, is the most common problem that may force an organization to terminate or put a project on hold. In order to address this challenge, the affected organization should be able to tap other available resources such as funding vehicles and connections or networks for new hires or experts. If an internal assessment or evaluation of the project showed negative results, resources, processes and even the project itself can be adjusted or modified in order to achieve or fulfill set expectations and objectives. (Orfano, 2009) Bibliography Anon., 2001. Coley Consulting. [Online] Available at: http://www.coleyconsulting.co.uk/failure.htm [Accessed 18 October 2011]. Calvert Investment Distributors, I., n.d. Calvert Investments. [Online] Available at: http://www.calvert.com/NRC/Literature/Documents/TL10036.pdf [Accessed 20 October 2011]. Isaca, 2003. ISACA. [Online] Available at: http://www.isaca.org/Knowledge-Center/Standards/Pages/IS-Auditing-Procedure-P6-Firewalls1.aspx [Accessed 22 October 2011]. Orfano, F., 2009. Feministy.org. [Online] Available at: http://www.feministy.org/business-management/re-starting-a-terminated-project [Accessed 22 October 2011]. Szabelski, T., n.d. Modern Project Management. [Online] Available at: bpr-project.eu/./project_management_by_tomasz szabelski.pdf [Accessed 21 October 2011]. Wideman, Robert Max; Bing, John A.; Neal, Gerald;, 2000. Max’s Project Management Wisdom. [Online] Available at: http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/principles/principles.htm [Accessed 16 October 2011]. Wideman, R.M., 1991. Max’s Project Managenent Wisdo m. [Online] Available at: http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/questions/answers.htm [Accessed 18 October 2011].