Friday, December 27, 2019

Nonverbal Communication And Professional And Personal...

Communication is a procedure in which individuals verbally or non-verbally share data and thoughts. Nonverbal communication can be best characterised as a quiet type of speaking with a man without utilising any type of discourse to get a crowd of people. Nonverbal communication is regularly used to make a statement of a however and make your message additionally engaging and intriguing to whom you are identifying with. There are numerous sorts of nonverbal communication utilised as a part of expert and individual environment so this segment offers a succinct outline of the significance of nonverbal communication in professional and personal environment. Miller (2005) gives a fairly oversimplified perspective of nonverbal communication as†¦show more content†¦(Neil and Caswell, 1993), the dominant part is done in a nonverbal way. With regards to nonverbal communication 55% of their weight to the speaker s non-verbal communication and another 38% to the tone and music of their voice (Albert, 1971computer). Nonverbal communication can be adapted certainly before a kid starts the procedure of verbal communication (Miller, 1998). The parts of nonverbal activities are to help with the communication process in ways that basic verbalisation can t care for words can alone have limits. Trehnolm and Jenses (2008) note that nonverbal activities can change and refine simultaneous verbal messages and manage the stream of communication. Likewise, Miller (2005) said that nonverbal communication incorporates outward appearances, eye contact, touching, manner of speaking, dress stance and spatial separation. Zoric, Smid et al (2007) the most exhaustive and exploratory has offered the categorisation of nonverbal communication: kinesics, oculesics, haptics, vocalics and proxemics. Kinesics originates from the word kinesis which is implied development, which alludes to hand, arm, body and face look. Some outward appearances are an indication of for the individual fulfilment with their expert or individual environment (Gukas et al., 2010). Though, a wrinkled temple means that outrage or disarray (Neill and Caswell, 1993). The automatic reflex of yawning means that weariness or weakness (Miller, 2005b). These are a percentage of the outward

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Central Bank Independence

This essay will, firstly, give a definition of Central Bank Independence (CBI henceforth) and its role in the economy. Secondly, the majority of the essay will critically analyse the benefits (Part A1) and drawbacks (Part A2) of Central Bank Independence using various international literature – in Part A. It should be noted that this essay will not be able to compare developing nations’ literature ï€ ­ with regards to CBI ï€ ­ as most of the research is conducted on the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations i.e. the developed nations of the world. Finally, it will also provide my own view on the recent debate surrounding the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) independence before concluding. Part A1 There are†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, countries can choose to have varying degrees of government involvement ranging from total governmental control of the central bank (completely dependent central bank) to total independence from government Polillo Guillà ©n, 2005:1767) According to Grilli, Tabellini and Masciandaro (1991), central bank independence should be divided into â€Å"political independence† and â€Å"economic independence†(Alesina Summers, 1993:153). Political independence is defined essentially as in Bade and Parkin (1982), as the ability of the central bank to select its policy objectives without influence from the government. This is based on whether or not the governor and the board are chosen by the government of the country, how long they will be appointed for, whether or not the government has members who sit on the central bank’s board, whether or not the government has to approve of monetary policy decisions and whether the inflation-targeting (so that the prices remain relatively stable) is an expressed and conspicuous part of the laws of the central bank (Alesina Summers, 1993:153). Economic independence on the other hand could be defined as the capacity to use tools of monetary policy without constraints (Alesina Summers, 1993:153).The most common restriction enforced upon monetary policy decisions of the central bank is the degree to which the central bank has to finance the government’s budget deficit i.e. the government’sShow MoreRelatedLearning Journal Tasks Of Central Bank929 Words   |  4 PagesLearning Journal Tasks Central Bank is in charged with the country’s money supply, provides price stability, attaining economic output and employment goals, regulate commercial banks, stabilizing the macroeconomy by acting as the â€Å"lender of the last resort† during financial crisis and provide payment system such as check clearinghouses and long-distance payments. The U.S. Central Bank have been around since 1791. The first central bank was called the B.U.S. (Bank of United States). 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Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Case study on Information Systems

Question: Case study on Information Systems. Answer: Introduction This assignment consists of A case study which requires you to apply your learning from the systems designmodule. An ethical analysis which requires you to apply both of thereadings provided on the course website. A conceptual development and reflection section which requires you to consider how systems designtasks impact on a systems development project. A learning reflection which requires you to identify what you learned from this assignment and to relate these learning outcomes to the UniSA Graduate Qualities. The feedback sheet lists the assessment criteria. Look for it on the assignments webpage. Take note of which sections carry the most marks. Note that this assignments word count is 4604without your answers, so Dont worry if the final word count seems high. Also, there are some diagrams in this assignment so dont worry if your final word count seems low. I suggest that you draw thediagrams by hand, photograph the drawings and insert the photographs in this file. If you prefer, you can use Words drawing tools (or some other drawing or modelling software) but you may find working with pen and paper is faster, easier to amend, less cumbersome and more reliable with respect to layout. Instructions When referring to the exemplars on the course website, read the old specifications carefully because the assignments differ every study period. Recall: in the previous study period, students spent an average of 24hours on this assignment. Pace yourself accordingly. For best results Do not attempt to complete the whole assignment in one session. Work slowly and carefully. In addition to the instructions on the course website Do not overlook the Why? questions. Read the case study carefully. Keep track of the hours you invest. You are encouraged to make assumptions where necessary. Scope for assumptions has been deliberately included in this assignment because it is often necessary to make assumptions openly when dealing with a client who is under-informed with respect to technology. Please label your assumptions clearly. Heres an example from a previous study period, Assumption: As the passengers of Titanic II may be from any nation, I have assumed a currency converter is required for the ticket-purchasing function. Case study: Socrates Co From the Systems Planning assessment You work at IT Foundry as a Systems Analyst. Socrates Co is a bookshop specialising in new, second hand and rare books. It is located on a busy shopping street, close to several university campuses and has been in business for a long time. Today, its managed by its owner, Joanna Diakou, but it was started in 1938 by Joannas father, Stefanos, who was a well-known local intellectual. When he established Socrates Co, Stefanos gave a lot of consideration to the stores interior design and location. It came to be well known as a place where people are welcome to escape the noise, rest their feet, and sit and read without being disturbed. There are comfortable armchairs between the shelves and people can have snacks if they are careful. Over time, Stefanos came to know many of his customers by name and Socrates Co built a reputation and a loyal customer base almost entirely from word-of-mouth recommendations. Stefanos retired in 1974 and turned the business over to Joanna, who at the time was recently graduated with an honours degr ee in the humanities.She has maintained her fathers practices and has come to know her regular customers by name and people know they can come to Socrates Co and find a warm welcome, insightful and witty conversation, or quiet solitude. Although she draws a salary from Socrates Co, Joanna doesnt consider the time she spends there to be work instead it is simply her lifestyle. She goes to Socrates Co every day except Sundays. Four other people work there: Kavya Amal works on Mondays and Thursdays; Adam Matchoss works on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays; Rajavel Sulake and Priyam Farrukh both work on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Kavya, Adam, Rajavel and Priyam are postgraduate coursework students whose schedules change every semester. Priyam has worked at Socrates Co for five years and is paid a higher wage because she manages the store on Sundays. All of the staff love the relaxed atmosphere and they deeply appreciate Joannas attitude because, as long the customers have what they need, Joanna doesnt mind if the staff work on their assignments while they are at the store. The stores opening hours are the same every day: 11am to 7pm. However, Joanna has recently been unwell and has come to realise that perhaps Socrates Co could afford her an additional afternoon off if she didnt have to spend so much time on keeping track of inventory, sales, special orders, rosters and all the other little administrative tasks. Also, Kavya and Adam are students in an IT department and they both think Socrates Co really ought to expand into ecommerce, with an app and a website. Joanna is not entirely sure what this would entail, but she trusts Kavya and Adam and she decides to investigate further. One of Joannas regular customers is Andrew Frawley. He is one of your workmates at IT Foundry. When Andrew came into the store, Joanna asked him for advice. He immediately advised Joanna to work with you; you have more experience in ecommerce and publishing than Andrew. She agrees to a meeting, which Andrew arranges between yourself and Joanna. You talk to Joanna about Socrates Co and you realise its significance extends to the wider community: even people who never buy a book can enjoy reading in the peaceful atmosphere. You learn that Socrates Co has long-standing relationships with thirty-four publishers and you know that seventeen of the publishers (the larger ones) offer B2B ordering, returns and invoicing. You talk about various business processes. For example, you discuss how Joanna sources rare books and you discuss the Socrates Co text-book sales service (on a 5% commission) for uni students. You talk about the process for replenishing the second hand stock and the process for when a customer makes a special order. You are sure there are other business processes Joanna has not mentioned; payroll comes immediately to mind and you begin to identify other overlooked business processes. Joanna also tells you about a project she has had in mind for some time: she wants to start a small caf in one corner of the store, for which she has obtained a licence. You can see potential for supporting Socrates Co business processes and for supporting Joannas plans for a small caf, both without disrupting the Socrates Co reputation. However, as you are a seasoned professional, you dont rush in. Instead you suggest that Socrates Co funds a preliminary investigation of a potential future IS project. Joanna agrees to the cost, your manager approves, and when one of your existing projects closes, you begin the Socrates Co preliminary investigation. You now have outlines of the Socrates Co business processes but you need another meeting with Joanna to double check some details and to discuss project constraints. At the meeting, you sketch diagrams on the whiteboard outlining four of the main business processes. Then you ask Joanna if the processes share data, and if not, could they share data in the future. Joanna says, Well, no, they dont share data wait, what do you mean exactly? Because I know what sales are made when I check the days transactions and when I know the sales, it helps me figure out if I need to order more stock. There are other things that overlap too, like the rosters and the payroll. You explain thats exactly what you mean and you ask her to describe more overlaps in the Socrates Co business processes. Well, the cash sales determine the next mornings bank deposits, but the POS transactions just happen automatically. Also, you know how the sales tell me what to order? Well, I also use a bit of knowhow, like when Michael Sandels latest book came out, I knew it was going to sell quickly so I ordered quite a few. Actually, I can say the same for several other authors, like Sam Harris. He sells quite well these days. Hmm come to think of it, if the new system knows how quickly an author sells, then it could keep those authors in a special list, couldnt it? You agree thats one of the functions a system could provide. But you point out that it wouldnt be able to figure out whether to stock new authors because they wouldnt have a sales history. Joanna says, Oh, thats ok, the publishers know the store so well, I can usually rely on their recommendations. Then I just order a few copies of what they recommend, unless I think the author wouldnt work at all. Its especially easy if the publisher takes returns of unsold stock. You say, Like Fractal Publishing? They do that for one of my other clients. You recall that Fractal Publishing is one of the B2B publishers and that they are going to upgrade the security of their B2B system next year; as are Continuum, MUP, OUP and Stanford Law Books. Yes, weve had an account with Fractal for ages! Do you know Jane Berne? Shes my account manager. No, but lets stay on track. If you email me a list of publishers that take returns and a description of the important overlaps we can look at some other things. About the app do you want it to offer the same transactions as the website? Or do you have something else in mind? Im not sure. What do you recommend? To keep costs down, lets keep the transactions the same for now and if you need to review that decision in future, you can do so. But, transactions aside, the website can have other features if you want it to. It doesnt have to be only sales. Really? Thatd be great. We can advertise our different Writers Week events. I need to talk it over with Kavya and Adam, theyre bound to have some suggestions. Oh! Can the customers review the books they have read? Sure. But lets be a little cautious with respect to budget and schedule. So perhaps we ought to The discussion carried on for another fifteen minutes before you shook hands and estimated that you would finish the preliminary investigation within a week. From the Systems Analysis assessment The preliminary investigation you wrote up for the Socrates Co project enabled you to develop a basic understanding of the business context. Your SWOT analysis and scope lists captured the projects key elements and made a positive impression on Joanna and her staff. Jo has approved the projects system analysis. In a JAD-style approach to eliciting requirements, you decide to speak to each of the staff members. Even if they dont contribute to the project, benefits may arise from each of them being able to put your face to your name. However, this is more difficult than it seems as they are not always available on the same days. You discuss this with Joanna and she says that she plans to close the store early on the following Sunday because she and Priyam will be inducting a new employee, Archie Nguyen, who has filled the position previously occupied by Kavya (who recently resigned). She suggests closing the store at 1 and then she will provide a lunch for everyone before your meeting at 2. Once your meeting is adjourned, everyone can go home and she and Priyam will induct Archie. After this meeting, the following requirements are known. The information you presented during the preliminary investigation is confirmed, except where it conflicts with the following. As in most bricks and mortar commerce, sales can be cash or credit card. When a sale is conducted (cash or credit card), a scanner will be used to keep track of which items are being purchased. Priyam described what sales data currently is: the date, the item(s) being sold, the quantity per item, the total price and the receipt number. For a cash transaction, the customer is handed their change and a receipt. For a credit card transaction, the customer is handed a receipt. In the new system, sales data will be used to determine inventory levels. Once inventory is known, other business processes can be supported. In the new system, a weekly inventory report will be used by Joanna and Priyam before they place orders with publishers. It will tell them which items are popular and which items are low in stock. If a popular item is low in stock, it will be highlighted. Also, old stock will be reported so that Joanna and Priyam can discount the price or return it to the publisher. Depending on the publishers capability, ordering will be performed in a traditional manner (a phone call to the publishers agent) or via B2B. Joanna is going to speak to her contacts at each publishing house and compile a list of B2B publishers. Once you have this list, you will embed B2B components in the new systems design. When ordered items arrive in the store, they will be scanned in the back room (this will add them to the inventory database), price tags will be printed and attached. Finally, new stock will be put on the shelves. Joanna will need daily and monthly sales reports, with subtotals for cash and credit card sales. All the staff would like more flexible working hours. So the rostering system will be available to everyone so they can swap shifts online. A shift will be 4 hours duration and there will be two shifts each day. First, staff log in and enter their ongoing availability (this can be changed at any time) and the maximum number of shifts they want to work in a week. Then, every week, any time before Thursday night, staff can make changes to next weeks roster, putting their name down for whichever shifts they prefer. Every Friday morning, the roster is finalised by a process that will fill any empty shifts according to (a) ongoing availabilities (b) a staff members maximum number of shifts and (c) a round-robin allocation scheme (to make sure everyone gets the same number of shifts its important to Joanna that everyone gets an equal chance to develop skills and expertise, so she can call on all staff in an emergency). Then a report will be sent to everyone via SMS or email (whichever the y prefer). This report will show the finalised roster. If staff make sure all empty shifts are filled before the roster is finalised, there will be no surprises in the final roster. However, there has to be some flexibility for when people are unexpectedly unable to come to work. In these cases, Joanna or Priyam will call the people who are available for that day. For this purpose, an ad hoc report of staff availabilities is required. Also, Joanna or Priyam will amend that weeks roster because the payroll process will depend on the previous fortnights shifts. When the roster is amended a thank you SMS or email will be sent to the staff member who filled in on short notice. To support the payroll process, at the end of a shift, each staff member will enter the hours they worked (there are times when a shift unexpectedly runs longer than four hours). This is checked off by Priyam or Joanna before they go home for the evening. Staff are paid directly to their bank account for the hours they have worked, with a small bonus if they have filled in for someone else on short notice. This bonus is currently $10 but it might go up in future. Online sales will be available via the Socrates Co website. Product categories will correlate to the different sections in the shop because these sections evolved over a long time and are effective in supporting the browsing habits of the Socrates Co customers. However, an additional Sale category will be provided. Items in the Sale category are old stock at discounted prices. As in most ecommerce systems, customers can browse different product categories and can add items to their shopping bag as they browse. When a customer is ready to checkout, they can either log in and use their profile data for the transaction or they can checkout as a guest. If they checkout as a guest, they will have to provide a delivery address, credit card details, etc. Also, if a customer checks out as a guest, they will be invited to create a profile which will save their data for future transactions. The caf will be going ahead, but there has been a delay. Although Joanna has a licence, the planning permission has been denied and changes have been requested by the planners. So the cafs information requirements will not be a part of any new system at this point in time. Joanna thinks this is probably a good idea as she is not sure what those requirements might be until the caf is running. Special events will be advertised on the Socrates Co website. A content management system will be required to support this ongoing web-authoring activity. Each event will have its own web page, which will be linked to a splash image on the Socrates Co homepage. Advertised means Announced with the splash image and the web page, on which people can rsvp for a free event or buy tickets for a paid event. Followed (an events page will contain a widget to re-publish tweets that include the events Twitter hash tag). Wrapped up (highlights will be described and celebrated). Some events are annual (eg part of the annual Writers Week Festival), some events are monthly (eg the local writers society meetings, the local poetry slam, the Socrates Co book club) and some events are one-of. Some of these one-of events are held in conjunction with a publishing house (eg readings and book signings to promote a new book) and others are held in collaboration with individual people (eg an author or an illustrator may have been invited to give a talk about their career highlights or about their professional practice). Web pages of events that are held in conjunction with other organisations must contain the logos of these other organisations and those logos must be linked to the other organisations web sites. You make a start on systems analysis. As so many of the business processes impact on service provision, it is clear that several different data stores will be needed. However, you also realise more detailed information will come to light over time, which may require you to amend your current analysis. New information Joanna has approved your systems analysis and asked you to proceed with system design. As the rostering process is not something youve done before, you decide to do it first. The other processes will not be designed yet. You refer to your systems analysis documentation while designing. Recall: you can make assumptions in this assignment (as noted above). Also, you can use the course forum if you have any questions. User interface design Prepare a user interface storyboard for staff to make changes to the preliminary roster. Not sure how to make a storyboard? Storyboards show task flow and information layout. Here are some examples for your consideration: Design the report of staff availabilities. Design a user interface storyboard for amending the roster after it has been finalised (eg, when someone is unexpectedly unable to work Joanna or Priyam have to allocate their shift to someone else). Data design Create an ERD for the rostering process. Normalise the table(s) to 2NF. Two tables will be formed: Employee table and week table. Employee ID will be the primary key of employee table and Week (i.e. week no) will the primary key of Week table. Name Employee ID Phone number Priyam Farrukh 0002 0406765894 Archie Nguyen 0006 0401782988 Adam Matchoss 0003 0406993688 Rajavel Sulake 0004 0402337859 Priyam Farrukh 0002 0406765894 Archie Nguyen 0006 0401782988 Adam Matchoss 0003 0406993688 Rajavel Sulake 0004 0402337859 Priyam Farrukh 0002 0406765894 Week Avail1 Avail2 Avail3 Avail4 Avail5 Avail6 Avail7 Avail8 1 Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Friday morning Friday afternoon Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Monday morning Monday afternoon 1 Monday morning Monday afternoon Thursday morning Thursday afternoon Saturday morning Saturday afternoon 1 Tuesday morning Tuesday afternoon Wednesday morning Wednesday afternoon Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Friday morning Friday afternoon 1 Friday morning Friday afternoon Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Tuesday morning Thursday afternoon 2 Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Friday morning Friday afternoon Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Monday afternoon Tuesday morning 2 Monday morning Monday afternoon Thursday morning Thursday afternoon Saturday morning Sunday morning 2 Tuesday morning Tuesday afternoon Wednesday morning Wednesday afternoon Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Monday morning Monday afternoon 2 Friday morning Friday afternoon Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Sunday morning Sunday afternoon 3 Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Friday morning Friday afternoon Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Avail9 Avail10 Avail11 Avail12 Avail7 Avail8 Roster1 Roster2 Roster3 Roster4 Roster5 Roster6 Wednesday afternoon Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Friday morning Friday afternoon Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Monday morning Monday afternoon Thursday morning Thursday afternoon Thursday afternoon Tuesday morning Tuesday afternoon Wednesday morning Wednesday afternoon Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Monday morning Monday afternoon Friday morning Friday afternoon Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Tuesday afternoon Wednesday afternoon Because Employee ID and week are primary keys, it shows the functionality dependence of some of the keys on other keys. Employee ID Week Avail1 Roster1 Etc. 0002 1 Sunday morning Sunday morning 0006 1 Monday morning Monday morning 0003 1 Tuesday morning Tuesday morning 0004 1 Friday morning Friday morning 0002 2 Sunday morning 0006 2 Monday morning 0003 2 Tuesday morning 0004 2 Friday morning 0002 3 Sunday morning Normalise the tables to 3NF. In the 3rd normal form, there should not be much redundancy in the table. If there is a non-key field which depends on another field, it should be removed. Starting with Employee table: Name Employee ID Phone number Priyam Farrukh 0002 0406765894 Archie Nguyen 0006 0401782988 Adam Matchoss 0003 0406993688 Rajavel Sulake 0004 0402337859 There is a dependency between the Employee and week which is shown below without any redundancy. Starting from Avail 1 to Avail 12, a new table will formed with following column headings: AvailRoster Avail ID Name of the weekday Shift Name Type WeekNo Avail1 Sunday Morning Availability 1 Avail2 Sunday Morning Roster 1 A new table will be formed which will have primary key composed of employeeID,Availability and Roaster: Employee ID Availability Roaster 0002 Avail1 Avail5 0006 Avail2 Avail1 0003 Avail3 Avail4 0004 Avail1 Avail1 0002 Etc. Etc. 0006 Etc. Etc. 0003 Etc. Etc. 0004 Etc. Etc. 0002 Etc. Etc. If you identified any new tables during normalisation, update the ERD. You have completed the data design. Now you will design the system architecture. You begin by reviewing the system architecture checklist. System architecture System design is a combination of software, hardware, procedures as well as data to deliver an effective system which Is cost-effective, flexible as well as technically sound. This system contains all the informational needs of a business. System architecture is initiated with logical phase of information system which then advances to deliver a physical structure. Output is a physical structure and it includes software, hardware security as well as procedural processors. The elements which arerelevant to the case in question includes: Scalability, Enterprise Resource Planning, Processing Options, Security Options as well as web integration. Prioritise the items that you identified in question 9. Briefly explain (one or two sentences) these priorities. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE CHECKLIST EXPLANATION PRIORITY WEB INTEGRATION Web based integration includes that the system is capable of using web based protocols to handle input and output for the each set of users of the system. 1 SCALABILITY Scalability means that the system and its logic can be expanded upon later on so as to meet the needs of its environment in which the system is as and when it changes. 2 ERP ERP is the backbone of any small, medium or large scale business. It is important that the system should have basic connectivity to an ERP system. 3 SECURITY A well designed information system should reduce any chance of vulnerabilities present In the system. At the same time, the system should be designed in a way that it reduces chances for users to add to that security vulnerability either deliberately or accidentally. 4 PROCESSING The system should be capable of processing the data 24 by 7 and without any user intervention. At the same time full and intermittent backups should be done without any user input seamlessly in the background. 5 12. Consider Web 2.0. Are you going to recommend any Web 2.0 capabilities for the Socrates Co website? Why? The biggest capabilities from Web 2.0 would be that the content would be dynamic. Such that the system should automatically pull up best authors from the system. This information then would be shared to the publishers who can automatically submit titles from those authors and thereby manage inventory better. Apart from this, there would be other dynamic content throughout the system. For instance, the content on the pages such as authors by popularity or the overall roaster would keep on changing based on the data. Review the sections in a system design specification. Is a system design specification required for the Socrates Co project? Why? System design specification is required for the mentioned case study. This is so because the specification will specify is accessed and manipulate by which user. IT will help the development team to divide the data and provide specific privileges and access permission to the respective administer and staff user. It will also specify the flow of data in the system. Ethical analysis Reflect on your experiences as a student or in your career. Identify an ethical issue that you encountered at some time in your past.[1] Describe the ethical issue. Do not describe how it was resolved. I have been downloading content from the Internet since a long time which includes movies, TV, e-books and music. I understand the terms such as copyrights and piracy that is usually associated with the online content but could not relate it with my act of doing the same as the content was just so easily available. I recently came across an interview of a movie maker who talked about the losses he suffered due to the fact that his movie was leaked online before it reached the theatres. I, then wondered that although there are no prominent laws regulating these activities and download of such content from the web, but was it ethical? I was involved in the losses that other people were facing because of my act. I was just using this content for my personal use and entertainment and not for any commercial sale, but I just kept wondering whether it was justified on the ethical grounds and the rules of morality. Consider the trust model from Grodzinsky, Miller Wolf (2012) and the ethical decision-making process from OBoyle (2002). These readings can be located on the course web site. In analysing the ethical issue you describe above, which is a better choice: the trust model from Grodzinsky, Miller Wolf (2012) or the ethical decision-making process from OBoyle (2002)? I analysed the ethical issue of downloading the content for free from unfamiliar sources from the Internet on the basis of two popular models and processes that is the trust model from Grodzinsky, Miller Wolf (2012) and the ethical decision-making process from OBoyle (2002). I found that the more preferred and relatable choice for the issue was the trust model and the rule three of the same which states that Trust involves risk; the less information the trustor a has about the trustee b, the higher the risk and the more trust is required. (Digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu, 2016). Trustor in my ethical issue would be the maker of the content and trustee would be me or other users who download such content. There are people who download these for fun purpose and there are also many who do it for commercial use. Trustor would not be able to collect all of this information in detail and which would lead to the risk of him/her facing the loss in terms of money and also in terms of trust fa ctor. Ethical decision making theory by OBoyle discussed more on the moral reasoning and perception which could not relate much with my ethical issue in particular (O'Boyle, 2002). In your answer to Question 14, you selected either the trust model or the ethical decision-making process. What are your reasons for rejecting the other approach? The approach of ethical decision making process put forward by OBoyle has not been considered in the ethical issue being discussed is because it basically revolves around the factors such as idealism and relativism when weighing a particular action on the ethical terms. There can be some serious variations in terms of an individuals judgement, morals and beliefs in an ethical situation which did not seem correct for analysing the situation (Forsyth, OBoyle and McDaniel, 2008). The trust model on the other hand fit perfectly in making the analysis on the ethical issue and hence, it has been selected over the other approach. Reflect upon the approaches inGrodzinsky, Miller Wolf (2012) and OBoyle (2002). Would an analysis be more robust if it had included some aspects of both approaches? For example, if you were to apply OBoyles approach (2002), would your analysis be more robust if it included some aspects from Grodzinsky, Miller Wolf (2012)? The analysis would surely be more robust if the certain aspects are chosen from the processes and theories rather than a selection of just one out of the two. The trust model amalgamates information technology with the ethics in its structure and explains the e-trust on the basis of the relationship between the Trustor and the trustee on several aspects in terms of risks associated, outcomes and morality. It also explains the factors that are involved in the face to face trust and the artificial or virtual trust that is more popular in the case of the web or the internet (Grodzinsky, Miller and Wolf, 2010). The ethical decision making process by OBoyle discusses the issues in the terms of logical and analytical basis from the moral resolution and perspective (i-r-i-e.net, 2016). The combination of both of these theories would integrate trust, moral, logical reasoning and perspective in one common platform and would therefore, be very robust in nature. In your explanation, focus on which aspects you would have included and why. The aspects that would be included from the trust model would be: Trust is something that is formed with the relation between the parties that are involved. Risk is also an important aspect that is involved in the trust and the loss of the same. The motive and the expectations behind trust would also be included. Awareness of the trust is another important aspect. The outcomes that would result in the trust process would also play a significant role. The aspects that would be included from the ethical decision making process would be: Perception: I would have included this aspect in my analysis as it would help the user to decide whether to download the content or not. Discernment: This aspect would help me understand whether the same practice would be allowed in future or not and the relationship between the maker and the user as well. Decision: This aspect helped me analyse the decision making process involved in the entire process. Action: This is the final result that would come out of the entire situation from the ethical perspective. Conceptual development and risk identification So far, this assignment has supported the development of skills required in professional practice, including ethics. Now, it supports the development of professional expertise. What is the overall purpose of the systems design phase of a project and how does it differ from the systems analysis and systems planning phases? System design is an important phase in the world of software engineering and development. It holds a significant place and is necessary because of the reasons as described below: System architecture is defined in this phase. Components, interfaces and data that are necessary for the project to develop is explained in this phase in the form of blue-print of the entire system and its components with the help of various design diagrams. Data sources are also identified in this process which helps in the understanding of nature and type of data. This is the process which comes after the requirements phase. The description of how the requirements would be applied in practice is explained in this phase. The overall view of the system and the components can be gathered from this phase (The MITRE Corporation, 2016). The difference between system analysis, system planning and system design is explained below. Basis of difference SYSTEM PLANNING SYSTEM ANALYSIS SYSTEM DESIGN Requirement It is usually the first and the foremost activity that is done to gain an understanding of the system and further processes. On the basis of the requirements, it is used to present a logical model of the system. It is used to bring forward a physical model of the entire system on the basis of business processes and requirements. Significant step Feasibility analysis of the system to find out if it is possible or not, requirement modelling and formation of the plan of action. Step-by-step explanation of the business model on the basis of various fact finding techniques. Identification of the set of inputs and the set of outputs to bring forward a design. Tasks A strategy plan for the system stating the scope, purpose, assumptions and dependencies. SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with the system and documentation of the same. Transformation of logical design presented in practice and code. Deliverables Feasibility study with keeping the facts such as cost/benefit analysis, budget constraints and schedule constraints in consideration. System Requirement Specification (SRS) document explaining the functional and non-functional requirements along with the features to be included and the ones to be discarded. System Design Specification (SDS) explaining the design of the system with the help of various diagrams such as data flow diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, functional hierarchies and likewise. Consider the case study above and the design you have prepared. You may have completed the tasks with a lot of care. If so, your design is likely to be effective in supporting future project activities. Consider a situation in which the design is careless. With respect to the systems design tasks you completed in the case study section of this assignment, identify risks for each of the following stakeholders. Your answer should have eight unique risks (two per stakeholder). Socrates Co. Decrease in productivity and efficiency due to a lot many changes in the architecture happening all at the same time. Disruption of reputation among the customers owing to the increase in services and mismanagement probable around the same. The wider community. Loss of trust in the business as the personal touch which is more in face-to-face business would be hampered. Getting attracted to the newer names in the business who adapt to automated processes since the beginning that are not familiar and may result in loss in the bigger picture. The IS/IT profession. Attack of malicious software such as viruses, worms, Trojan horses and logic bombs. Network attacks such as man-in-the-middle attack and denial of service. Your own future work tasks (systems implementation tasks). Disturbance in the availability of service at all times. Loss of reliability of the service with introduction of website and mobile app. Select two of these risks and explain why they are important to this project. The two of the eight risks state above which are of primary importance are: Loss of trust in the business as the personal touch which is more in face-to-face business would be hampered. Currently, Socrates Co. Maintains a personal equation with most of the publishers, customers and suppliers. The same may not be the case with the introduction of increased services and use of electronic commerce. It would not be possible for the business owners to have in-person meetings with every stakeholder involved and the same may result in the loss of trust for the other parties. Attack of malicious software such as viruses, worms, Trojan horses and logic bombs is another major risk involved as it may have an adverse effect on the confidentiality, integrity, security, privacy and availability of the information. Unreliable and unauthorized users may get entry to the system and make use of the information which may harm the stakeholders involved. With reference to the two risks from question 19, what are your conclusions about the importance of attention to detail with respect to system design? It is extremely important to have a well-defined risk mitigation and management process explained in the system design phase in order to avoid the risks and detect the same at the correct time. Some of the countermeasures to the two risks discussed are: Providing an option of customer feedback on the website regarding any of the product or service to maintain the same level of trust among the stakeholders. Installing measures to have a minimum downtime in case of an attack, to provide the reliability and availability of services at all times to maintain the trust level. To have an option of 24*7 chat or help facility available on the web site. Access control mechanisms installed on all the system and network entry and exit points. Use of strong anti-virus, firewalls and internet security programs. Use of stronger passwords and PINs to prevent unauthorized access. Adapting encryption measures in the transfer f information over the network. Use of private keys and shared keys with the stakeholders for decoding of the information. Learning reflection Think about the tasks you completed in the Systems Planning, Systems Analysis and Systems Design assessments. Reflect upon any knowledge you have gained from completing these tasks. Read the UniSA Graduate Qualities. Name two learning outcomes. Note: although the Course Objectives on the Course Outline can be informative, please consider your personal learning experience. As you have a unique history, you will have unique learning outcomes; that is, someone who knew a lot about drawing DFDs before starting this assignmentcouldnt identify that skill as a learning outcome;they will identify something else instead. Example: In these assessments, I learned about system design where in the database can reduce high level of redundancy by normalizing the tables and bringing them in 3NF form and I learned system architecture specification where in I found a list of items which should be fulfilled while preparing an architecture. For each of your learning outcomes, name one relevant UniSA Graduate Quality. Example: As noted above, my first learning outcome is This learning outcome correlates to the graduate quality My second learning outcome is This learning outcomes correlates to . ERD and design of tables relate to the learning outcome to GQ3 and system architecture correlates to GQ1. In your previous answer, you correlated two learning outcomes to two Graduate Qualities. Focusing on these two Graduate Qualities and addressing each one separately, explain how this assignments tasks enabled you to further develop these qualities. GQ3: While preparing the ER diagram, a very sharp and high attention towards the case details and along with this application of logical ability is also required. It allows me to develop skills which help in understanding the logical relationship. GQ1: The system architecture checklist items made me to go through the entire system phases of the software development. Also, it made me think over the hardware and software acquisition and gain sufficient knowledge of the professional services. The following questions are for students who engaged in teamwork for the first two assessments. In your previous assessments, your teammates reviewed your teamwork abilities. Why are peer reviews important and what role do peer reviews play in your education? The peer reviews help in identifying the mistakes being done and also the critical feedbacks help in improving and minimizing the errors which may take in future. What is the most important think you learned from your peer reviews? Errors/mistakes can be highly reduced and hence quality of paper gets better. What is the least important think you learned from your peer reviews? Not available. Not for assessment How many hours did you invest in this assignment?This information will be provided to future students in this course. Put your answer here. Thank you for the time and effort you have invested. I look forward to reading your submission. References Grodzinsky, FS, Miller, K Wolf, MJ 2012, 'Moral responsibility for computing artifacts: "The Rules" and issues of trust', SIGCAS Computers and Society, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 15-25. O'Boyle, E J 2002, 'An ethical decision-making process for computing professionals', Ethics and Information Technology, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 267-277. Shelly, GB Rosenblatt, HJ 2012, Systems Analysis and Design, 9th edition, Cengage Learning. Digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu, (2016). [online] Digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu. Forsyth, D., OBoyle, E. and McDaniel, M. (2008). East meets west: A meta-analytic investigation of cultural variations in idealism and relativism. [online] Philpapers.org. Grodzinsky, F., Miller, K. and Wolf, M. (2010). Developing artificial agents worthy of trust: Would you buy a used car from this artificial agent? . Ethics and Information Technology, 13(1), pp.17-27.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

SMART analysis free essay sample

Introduction to Business Decision Making Case study- The Sun Wind Corporation (SMART analysis) Nowadays there is an increasing environmental awareness in the world. I am now given the Job of choosing a site for the construction of a medium-sized wind farm with a potential 100MW generating capacity of Sun and Wind Energy Corporation. There are five potential locations for which the I-JK government will issue a licence, although there will be consultations with interested parties like local residents and environmental groups, which may lead to the company have to pay compensation fees. The Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique would be used here to address the problem. It is a technique that aid to help decision makers trade-off advantages and disadvantages appropriately, as sometimes there are a number of objectives involved in the decision problems. A choice needs to be made from a set of discrete alternatives; it is the location of the new wind farm in this case. We will write a custom essay sample on SMART analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Also, the reasons for using SMART is it structures and simplifies decision problem and gain more understanding, as we as maximizes or minimizes scores on an attribute. There are eight steps in the SMART Methodology. Step one: Identify the decision maker(s) We usually assume the person is the business owner. In this case I will be the decision maker of choosing the location of the wind farm. Step two: Identify the alternative courses of action In my case there are different locations of wind farm I can choose, which are Allen Banks, Bingham Heights, Caworth Castle, Deeply Sands and Eppington Plain. They are the five potential locations, for which the I-JK Government will issue a licence, Step three: Identify the attributes that are relevant to the decision problem The attributes that distinguish the different locations will be the factors based on costs and benefits. To determining attributes of alternatives, the initial attributes elicited from the decision maker (me) have to be distinct i. e. choice of the location that is the best for The Sun Wind Energy Corporation. Step 3 output: Constructing A Value Tree for the Wind Farm Location Problem condition apart from the attributes that provided from the company. Then, it is necessary to assess the adequacy of the Value Tree once it has been constructed. It should be Judged in terms of whether or not the tree is accurate and whether it reflects what I concern. It is suggested that there are five criteria are used (Keeney nd Raiffa Criteria,76). ) Completeness As all the main concerned attributes have been included and they were advised from professional consultants, my colleagues and me believed that all attributes are well considered. Result of an optimum wind farm is likely to be built with appropriate strategies. 2) Operability Aspects of costs and benefits are clearly defined by the lowest- l evel attributes. From a monetary angel to weight costs like construction and land costs would give a more concrete and quantitative results while a long term vision of benefits can be given by evaluate qualitative attributes like climate.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Employee Training Programs

Employee Training Programs Success in any organisation depends on its ability to manage and utilise its workforce. To achieve this, organisations need to train their employees regularly. In this regard, this paper analyses several articles related to employee training programs.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Employee Training Programs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Through this article, the author analyses training and the development processes of various organisations (Peretz 2011, p. 2). The author argues that by investing in employee training programs, firms can gain competitive advantages. To affirm on the importance of employee training, the author states that many international companies spend a large amount of their resources on training their employees. By analysing several researches, the author reveals that culture does influence firm’s investment in training. The article confirms that the connection between higher uncert ainty avoidance and investment in employee training is stronger in large companies than in smaller companies. In addition, the author reveals that large and high-tech firms tend to invest more in training to increase on productivity and maximise on profits. The author notes that it is disappointing for most firms to train their executives using enormous resources and later lose them to competitor firms. To deal with the executive’s departure, firms should come up with appropriate agreements. Through these agreements, the law will mandate executives to work for their sponsor companies reducing cases of executive departure. This article majors on employee training as a career-building approach and a means of promoting effectiveness in Saudi Arabian SMEs (Shiryan 2012, p.1). The article outlines employees’ engagements with organisations in the country. Using a conceptual framework, the article investigates the proportions of management training and development in Saudi Ar abia. In the article, the author employs hierarchical regression analysis to indicate the relationship among variables. Similarly, the nature of employees’ training is measured using Meyer’s method. On the other hand, the article measures the management motivation using the Tai’s methods. From the results collected in the research, the author notes that 38% percent of those interviewed were natives while 62% were foreigners. Similarly, the article indicates that many workers in Saudi Arabia have not had proper training for more than five years. Through this analysis, the author concludes that employee training in Saudi Arabia is a challenge to the growth of its SMEs. For instance, he asserts that many domestic firms in Saudi Arabia have managers with little management training background. To improve on the situation, managers in such firms need regular training.Advertising Looking for article on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This article analyses a literature review article on the efficacy of employee training programs from varied perspective (Vijayabanus 2012, p.2). Through the article, the author suggests that employees are vital assets to any organisation. In this regard, the author argues that for organisations to increase on their ability to cope with the current challenges, the organisations have to concentrate on enhancing their workforce’s abilities, wisdoms, and skills. Through the article, the author suggests that the pre-training process is essential for every training program. According to the author, the process consists of training need identification, selection of appropriate applicants, and proper application of training techniques. For effective pre-training process, the author insists that trainees should be motivated through behavioural modifications. As such, during the training sessions, the trainers should identify the mos t suitable programs for their trainees. Lastly, the author illustrates how several organisations have sharpened their capabilities in various functions through organisational development programs. In general, the author’s push for the adoption of modern pre-training arrangement process is illustrated through the article. This article seeks to explain the transfer of trained knowledge, skills, and attitudes in relation to a particular environment (Grossman Salas 2011, p.2). The article reveals that the acts of training workforce are major concerns to most firms. Through the article, the author affirms that many organisations are increasingly investing in employee training programs to produce powerful and efficient workforce. In this aspect, the author affirms that training should focus on developing key competencies for job performance.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Employee Training Programs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Despite heavy investment in training, the article reveals that some organisations have failed to utilize their acquired skills and knowledge. The author attributes these limitations to failures to maintain the trained knowledge and skills. Through research, the article illustrates how training outputs and conditions of transfer hinder the transfer of training. In general, the article suggests that individuals with high cognitive ability are better equipped to process and retain competencies provided during training. This article focuses on the job training for low-paid workers in Canada (Zeytinoglu 2008, p.1). Through this analysis, the author analyses workplace conditions and individual factors with respect to job training. For comprehensive evaluation, the author uses data from Statistics Canada’s Workplace and Employee Survey in his analysis. Through the article, it is depicted that low paid workers are employees working under regular contracts, or ful l-time workers working for less than $10 per hour. The article suggests that wage disparities among the Canadian workforce has widened despite a 22% increase in GDP per employee in the 1989 and 2004. Using the human capital theories, the author details the situation of employee training and labour economics in Canada. In accordance with the theories, the author argues that investments in human capital occur via training environment. Through this, the author suggests that paying the trainees during the training period motivates them to acquire more skills needed in the workforce. In the article, the author affirms that 14% of regular full- time Canadian workers are underpaid while 86% are overpaid. Similarly, the article verifies that most of the underpaid workers in Canada have little or no training background. Reference List Grossman, R., Salas, E. 2011. ‘The transfer of training: what really matters’, International Journal of Training and Development, vol. 2 no. 15, pp.1-19.Advertising Looking for article on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Peretz, H. 2011. ‘The role of societal cultural practices in organizational investment in training: A comparative study in 21 countries’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol. 5 no. 52, pp. 817–831. Shiryan, S. 2012. ‘Employee Training Effectiveness in Saudi Arabian SME Performance’, International Journal of Business and Social Science, vol.3 no.14, pp.1-8. Vijayabanus, C. 2012. ‘A Study on Efficacy of Employee Training: Review Of Literature’, Journal of Business Theory and Practice, vol.3 no.13, pp. 275-282. Zeytinoglu, I. 2008. ‘Low-Paid Workers and On-the-Job Training in Canada’, Journal of Economic Studies, vol.1 no 63, pp.1-26.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Aviation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aviation - Essay Example d) Passengers are required to attend inspection of their luggage whenever asked. e) There is also security inspection by airport or government officials. f) Finally, a carrier is not liable in case it realizes that some of the stated laws, demands, or government regulation is interfered with by a passenger (Singapore Airlines). a) Carriages are carried out by many successive carriers which are under a single ticket. Any conjunction that may be issued in connection therewith is automatically regarded as a single or one operation. It contains four paragraphs outlining the steps that the airline company takes in case of damage with relevance to the nationality of the affected passenger as stated in Article 22 (1) of the War Saw Convention. The carrier is not responsible or liable for any garbage to that has been caused to goods which were not checked before the departure time (Sikorksi, 1983 pp.56). The same also applies if the damages have been caused to the passenger’s negligence. Similarly, carrier has no liability of responsibility for any damages that the company’s compliance with government regulations and laws of the company, requirements, orders or from caused by passenger’s failure to comply with the rules and regulations or the same listed reasons. Liability of carrier to any lost baggage which was checked is limited to US$20 or 250 French Gold Franc per kilogram of loss. Carrier does not, in any way, the amounts of the proven damages. The liability the company bears is always an equivalence of the loss incurred by the passenger. Consists of notice of claims (Para.1) and Limitation of actions (Para. 2). The is no action in case of any damage of a checked damage. Not unless the individual responsible ‘channel his or her complains following the right procedural course. The complaint should be made within the first seven days upon receipt. This article

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Urban tourism and globalisation Literature review

Urban tourism and globalisation - Literature review Example Both rural and urban areas of cities all over the world have gained significant popularity in developing the tourism activities, but urban tourism has gained much more popularity compared to rural tourism because of greater social, cultural and economic development of these areas (Bourgeois et al., 1999, p.92). In modern times urban tourism is treated as a commodity and urban areas possess relative competitive advantage over rural areas and suburbs in terms of development of the market for the commodity and also for the development of the demand for the commodity. According to Fainstein, â€Å"the most important group of travelers economically are those traveling on business, since these travelers spend the most. Globalization has greatly increased business travel, despite telecommunications, because decentralized production and outsourcing makes travel a necessity† (Fainstein, 2007, p.1). This paper is aimed at describing a literature review of the aspect of urban tourism and globalisation of this particular form of tourism. This paper provides a case study of the notion of urban tourism and its interaction with the notion of globalisation. According to Page and Connell (2006, p.414), tourism can be described as most important aspect in the development of entertainment and entertainment of people who want to know and understand various cultural, social as well as various economic aspects of all the countries of the world. The notion of urban tourism has been developed with the overall development of various areas of countries across the globe. In this context the notion of urban tourism has been described by Page and Connell (2006, p.414) as a notion that possesses a competitive advantage over the development of tourism activities of rural areas of these countries of the world. However, according to Tipuric (2010, pp.5-6), this is not only because urban areas has been

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Strategics management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Strategics management - Research Paper Example Evaluation of a strategy is also an inherent part of strategic management because without knowing whether the current strategy is working or not, no firm can set and achieve goals. In this essay we will discuss how strategic management skills can be applied by managers. It is important for managers to define the purpose of the organization. Vision of a firm informs the employees and the customers about the purpose and value of the firm (Mind Tools, 2011). It is an essential part of application of strategic management skills to design vision of a firm so as to guide employees regarding their behavior. Customers can also learn through vision of a firm about how can they be benefitted by the firm. Usually vision of a firm is defined in a sentence or a statement commonly known as the vision statement. It entails the long term purpose of the firm and how employees are supposed to operate in the company. Strategic management is all about taking strategic decisions and strategic decisions have certain characteristics. Strategic decisions are of high magnitude, they have a long term focus, and they require high level of commitment (Haberberg & Rieple, 2007). Vision statement is also a strategic decision because it has all above three characteristics. Objectives of the firm are more specific short term targets. Strategic management skills are applied to define short term targets for the firm and short term targets are important for a firm because they serve as steps that can lead the firm to the long term targets. Firms also require regular assessment of their position and for that short term targets serve useful. Vision of a firm is a broadly defined purpose of the organization, on the other hand objectives are short term targets that can be measured empirically and are specific. Managers should always check whether the firm is treading on the right path or not, and vision and objectives help managers in

Friday, November 15, 2019

Quality Improvement Organizations For The Healthcare Sector Nursing Essay

Quality Improvement Organizations For The Healthcare Sector Nursing Essay The National Healthcare Quality report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that healthcare quality in America is suboptimal and that the receipt of needed healthcare varies widely (Kneipper, 2009). A report published by the Institute of Medicine, To Err is Human, diagnosed the quality problem in health care caused by people struggling to perform within a system riddled with opportunities for mistakes (Buchbinder and Shanks, 2007). While it is recognized that even the most strenuous accreditation programs will never eliminate all the issues in the facilities and services being accredited; it is important that steps are taken to significantly improve quality and reduce risk. Pursuing accreditation demonstrates a commitment to improving quality in health care. Numerous accrediting bodies exist in the U.S. with each having their own particular area of focus. This paper will examine three that are responsible for monitoring quality in health care organi zations. Joint Commission, founded in 1951, is a health care accreditation agency known for its high-quality patient care standards. It develops standards for quality and safety and evaluates performance within healthcare organizations based on these standards. In addition, it strives to enhance the effect that performance measures have on improving health outcomes for patients. The duties of the Joint Commission are numerous. The Joint Commission assesses organizational compliance through unannounced surveys that include direct observations, data analysis and staff interviews. It accredits and certifies over 18,000 health care organizations and programs in the US. It has identified hundreds of performance standards that represent the highest in quality health care. It publishes quarterly reports that track performance on quality of care measures. It issues annual reports as part of its ongoing efforts to emphasize the health importance of accountability and continuous improvement. The Joint Commission monitors quality by continually reviewing the best practices that optimize patient care. It works with various subject matter experts to identify quality measures. Hundreds of performance standards guide health care providers in administering care and improving performance. Hospitals are expected to adhere to standardized processes for quality measurement, reporting and improvement. The Joint Commission requires annual periodic performance reviews. A health organization must conduct a self-assessment ascertaining its compliance with the Joint Commissions standards and submit a report to them. Joint Commission uses this information as part of its Periodic Performance Review. Joint Commissions efforts promote quality of care. Its annual reports identify the top compliance issues each year which include quality standards that were the most difficult for hospitals to meet. Joint Commissions collaborative efforts with clinicians, health care providers, hospital associations, performance measurement experts, and health care consumers identify quality measures that reflect the best evidence-based treatments for specific medical conditions. Through this collaboration, a set of standard national measures are created that allow comparisons across health organizations. To help hospitals make a significant impact on patient outcomes through performance measurement, the Joint Commission introduced an approach placing greater emphasis on an organizations accountability measures (measures of evidence-based care that yields the greatest the most favorable impact on patient outcomes) and less on non-accountability measures (suitable for secondary use). In 2009 it formed the Center for Transforming Healthcare that works on developing collaborative programs with leading health care systems to identify causes of breakdowns in patient care. The Joint Commission collaborates with other organizations, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Quality Forum (NQF), to align quality measures with other measurement efforts to ease data collection efforts and ensure that the data is gathered and calculated consistently across all organizations. Another organization responsible for monitoring quality is the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) which has accredited programs in five continents. Founded in 1966, CARF accredits in the areas of behavioral health, aging services, child and youth services, employment and community services, and medical rehabilitation. Through a consultative accreditation process, CARFs attention focuses on enhancing the lives of the people with disabilities. Their consumer-focused standards help organizations measure and improve the quality of the programs and services that achieve optimal outcomes. CARF assists providers and organizations in improving the quality of its services and demonstrating value. It accredits providers for many specific programs and services that support rehabilitative health, with many providers seeking CARF accreditation in multiple areas. It publishes standards manuals that correspond to the fields served that relate to health and safety, risk management, and corporate compliance. These nationally and internationally recognized service standards are developed with input of key stakeholders such as professionals, organizations, surveyors, purchasers, and those served. They are reviewed and revised annually at a national and international level to ensure they exhibit standards for quality that are current, relevant, and practical. For monitoring quality, a quality improvement plan that matches the needs of the program or services is a critical part of the accreditation process. Rather than an inspective approach, a survey team employs a consultative methodology to conduct an on-site survey to evaluate its services. Once the report information has been reviewed the organization and survey team partner to develop a quality improvement plan to improve the operations and service delivery. An accredited provider participates in reviewing its practices on an annual basis. The organizations leadership sends a signed commitment to CARF affirming that it continues to their standards to guide their organization. To promote the quality of care, every year CARF creates standards that help programs monitor their services, quality, recovery and business. Surveyors are peers in the field with experience in the programs and services that are accredited. They are matched to organizations they survey based on the organizations characteristics and program types. CARF accreditation assures the public that the provider/organization is committed to improving the quality of services with a focus on service outcomes as well as customer satisfaction. A third organization responsible for monitoring quality in medical imaging and radiation oncology is the American College of Radiology (ACR). The ACR is the most recognized medical imaging and radiation oncology accrediting body that began accreditation in 1987. It continually promotes recognition for issues of quality and safety in radiologic procedures. ACR accreditation consists of a self-assessment and an independent external expert audit that assesses personnel qualifications, policies and procedures, equipment specifications, quality assurance activities, patient safety, and the quality of patient care. The ACR is involved in numerous undertakings. It has established over 150 practice guidelines and technical standards to improve how imaging, radiation therapy, and interventional services are delivered. Currently, eight accreditation programs have been established by the ACR and there are plans to add more. Over 160 sets of evidence-based guidelines have also been set up to assist referring physicians in making the most appropriate imaging or treatment decision. The ACR uses several methods to monitor for quality. Accreditation requires active participation in a physician-peer review program. Radiology exams must be systematically reviewed and evaluated for the appropriateness of the exam as well as for the accuracy of interpretation as part of the overall quality improvement program at that facility. Complications and adverse events must be monitored, analyzed and reported as required. They must also be regularly reviewed to identify opportunities for improving patient care. Imaging facilities must have documented policies and procedures for monitoring and evaluating the effective management, safety, and operation of equipment. ACR accreditation promotes quality of care in several ways. It focuses on factors unique to imaging that includes image quality, dose monitoring, phantom testing, equipment evaluation, calibration and maintenance, and personnel qualifications. The Appropriateness Criteria enhance quality-of-care decisions; contribute to the most effective use of radiology; help providers address issues of overutilization of radiological care, and in the near future, will provide information on appropriate radiation dose. In conclusion, people seek medical attention to improve their health. The economic pressures of spiraling healthcare costs and suboptimal health outcomes are intensifying the search for new approaches to health management. Accreditation helps to ensure that patients will receive adequate and appropriate health care according to nationally accepted standards and it demonstrates commitment to improving quality in health care.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka Essay -- Lion Jewel Soyinka Ess

The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka The three main characters in ‘The Lion and the Jewel’ are called Sidi, Lakunle and Baroka the Bale. Each character has different thoughts about one another and each views the society in a different way. This essay introduces and describes each character and analyses their role in the play. Sidi ==== Sidi is the first character that the audience meets. She is a very attractive woman, known as the village ‘belle’. Her attractiveness influences her personality, by making her quite vain. An example of her vanity is when she receives photos through of her that featured in a global magazine, taken by a western man. The photographs, also affect Sidi’s perception of Baroka, by making her believe that she is a better person, judging by the picture size difference in the magazine. Sidi is heavily influenced by tradition, which is outlined more than once throughout the play. The opening scene shows how Lakunle offers to carry Sidi’s load. Sidi refuses, because it is traditionally the woman that carries the load and if other people saw, then Sidi is afraid that people may start to shun or mock her. The relationship between Lakunle and Sidi is clarified when Sidi asks for a Bride Price. Lakunle is reluctant to give her money and insists that she take his token of love and loyalty instead. Due to Sidi’s heavy belief in tradition, she has to decline his offer and demand the bride money. If she accepts his offer, then her value and status in the village can potentially be diminished. Sidi tries to be quite intelligent by making remarks that counter act another persons. However, Baroka and Sadiku trick Sidi into marrying Baroka and becoming his youngest wife. Even Sidi’s... ...n any way (this is true in Sidi’s case). Baroka is an intelligent man and can use his words to fool people. Much like the railway track story and Sidi’s case. Baroka uses more words/ psychological flirting moves, rather than active moves. In the play Sidi comes to Baroka because of the news given to her by Sadiku, note that Baroka does not physically seduce her. He is able to analyse Sidi and her thoughts and then produce an effective seducing tactic. These 3 characters all have similarities and differences. Once we find out these differences, it is easier to see why the characters react in the way that they do. We are able to see why Lakunle is an outsider, why Sidi does not like one aspect of Lakunle, and how the Bale finally seduces Sidi. The Lion gets the Jewel and the outsider is left standing there watching for other women ready to go for the bait.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Tolstoy, is the story of a man who is faced with suffering and death in which no one seems to believe him. He’s a common man with common dreams. He’s not extraordinary in any way. Ivan Ilyich is a good literary protagonist. His character goes though ups and downs, is well rounded and relatable. Ivan married Praskovya Fedorovna. Ivan doesn’t appear to be in love with her. She is attractive, has money, a good social standing and he really has no objection to her, â€Å"†¦the marriage gave him personal satisfaction, and at the same time it was considered the right thing by the most highly placed of his associates† (Lawall). This is a relatable piece of life. This may have held more truth back in this era, but it’s not that far off today either. Many people marry for reasons other than love. Ivan had a good job and was very happy with it despite being passed over for a promotion at one time. He was said to be a gentleman and was admired by his peers. When things were good, they were good. And when they weren’t, well, they just weren’t. â€Å"His wife, without any reason – de gaiete de coeur as Ivan Ilych expressed it to himself – began to disturb the pleasure and propriety of their life. She began to be jealous without any cause, expected him to devote his whole attention to her, found fault with everything, and made coarse and ill-mannered scenes† (Lawall). The ups and downs of his life are what make him a good literary protagonist. Perhaps this scene is one that men can be empathetic towards more than women. Having a well-rounded character makes for a good literary protagonist. When the reader sees Ivan struggling with his own mortality this completes a circle of emotion for the character. The reader has watched Ivan through good times and bad and has been able to relate on different levels. â€Å"In the depth of his heart he knew he was dying, but not only was he not accustomed to the thought, he simply did not and could not grasp it† (Lawall). Being able to grasp the finality of death especially your own, is something that people have thought about and struggled with throughout their lives. It reminds people they are real and not indestructible. A good literary protagonist is one that is relatable and well-rounded and people need to be able to see this character through their ups and downs and still come out with them as being on top in the end. The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Tolstoy, is the story of a man who had a good life, a decent wife and in the end he suffered and died. As the eader goes through the story of Ivan they are taken into his entire life. He is someone the reader can empathize with which allows connections between the character and reader. Everyone thinks about their mortality at one time or another, but to think about what other’s think of your own mentality is something entirely different. â€Å"Besides considerations as to the possible transfers and promotions likely to result from Ivan Ilych's d eath, the mere fact of the death of a near acquaintance aroused, as usual, in all who heard of it the complacent feeling that, ‘it is he who is dead and not I’† (Lawall).

Friday, November 8, 2019

Hugo essays

Hugo essays Victor Hugo was born in Besancon in 1802. He was the son of an army general and a conservative mother. Most of his childhood was spent pursuing the campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. When Hugo was 16, his parents separated and Hugo went to live with his mother in Paris. He was both privately educated and attended public school. Hugo was an intelligent child and developed a gift for writing early. In early adolescence, he began to write verse tragedies and poetry and translated Virgil. Odes Et Poesies Diverses was Hugo first collection of poetry and it earned Hugo a royal pension of 3,000 francs a year from Louis XVIII. Hugo continued to receive attention from French Kings. At the age of 23, he was invested as a Chevalier of the Legion dHonneur. In 1823, Hugo made his debut as a novelist with Han DIslande along with Bug-Jargal in 1826. By this time, Hugo had already married Adele Foucher and had a young child. In the preface to Hugos historical drama Cromwell (1827), Hugo pleaded from freedom from classical restrictions. This plea was quickly made the manifesto of the romantic school. Censors banned Hugos second drama in 1829, Marion de Lorme. The drama was based on the life of a 17th century French courtesan. Hugo responded to the ban with Hernani, a poetic drama that was unlike the conventions of the French theater. This drama caused a riot between the classicists and the romanticists. Hugos next work was The Hunchback of Notre Dame and it was an instant success. The novel is set in 15th century Paris and is about a gypsy, Esmeralda, and a deformed bell ringer, Quasimodo, and his love for her. Around this time, Hugo met Juilette Drouer, an actress. She was Hugos mistress for the following 50 years. She was not Hugos only mistress but she was his most loyal. She wrote him at least a letter a day and never lived farther than walking distance from hi ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

A Lack of Frenzy; Tracking Time

A Lack of Frenzy; Tracking Time Free Online Research Papers I sleep, I play, and I work. These are the three things that consume most of my day, in that order. Sleeping, though I shudder to say it, actually consumes the largest dedicated chunk of my week, especially on the weekends. If there was any one activity that I wish I could find a way to do less of, it is that little time waster. Leisure consumes the next largest chunk of my day. According to Take Back Your Time, the goal is to spend more time doing leisure activities, but I am not sure if  ¼ of each day relaxing is considered ‘more’ or not enough. My leisure time is split between dedicated time with my wife, and relaxing with a solitary hobby. Finally, I work. Working is a necessary part of life, and everyone who has ever achieved anything in their lives has done copious amounts of it. There were no particular surprises in how I spend my time, weekly. Being personally chronophobiac means I have a pretty good handle of exactly how I spend every moment of my day. I have a work schedule, I have a sleep schedule, my wife has corresponding schedules, and we plan our time around each other as much as possible. I will admit, I spend far more time in the car and cleaning the house, and far less time on my homework, then I originally estimated; but, being less than 10% of my day each, they are hardly a major concern. If you look at it from a, â€Å"what is the highest, what is the lowest,† perspective, I believe my time expenditure was fairly close to my original forecast, especially in regard to my big three. One thing to keep in mind, I got sick the week I tracked my time. My wife got sick the following weekend. Still, the only real effect was the nine hours I did not spend at work; I spent asleep trying to recover. I considered tracking a different week, due to my illness, but decided against it. As much as we like to schedule our time, and take advantage of ‘free time’ or ‘natural rhythms,’ things come up. You get sick, relatives drop by, your best friend got caught cheating and now needs you to console them, a five car pileup delays traffic for a couple hours. I am a procrastinator, have been since high school; but, I am an effective procrastinator. I take my desire to read a book or play a game into account when deciding my day. I want to get the housework done, and I will, as soon as I am done with this chapter. And maybe the next one. I still get everything accomplished, on time, without undue stress or hassle. I leave my work at work; I dedicate what little time I have with my wife exclusively to her, and do not fret if chores run a little to the unfinished side. I am a night person. I am naturally more productive in the evening, more comfortable when it is dark outside, hate having to go to bed early for work. Unfortunately, work is the anchor of my daily schedule. I end my day at 10p.m. to begin my day at 4a.m., and it absolutely goes against my natural rhythm. I would like a job that was afternoon or evening, full time, and $14 an hour, and if you find one, please drop me a line. For that matter, I would easily settle for part-time, $10 an hour, no insurance or vacation. I have been looking for six months, and a day job is all anyone is willing to offer me. I have been in the military, I have worked for the United Parcel Service, I now work for Citizens Bank, and I have never had occasion to complain about a lack of vacation or sick time (PTO). From what I have seen, it is not a matter of companies not providing them; it is a matter of people not taking advantage of them. People come into work sick, saving their PTO for when they are â€Å"well enough to enjoy it.† People do not schedule vacation time so they can cash in the time at the end of the year. If someone does not take vacation to ‘decompress,’ it is their fault for not taking it; not a corporate conspiracy to undermine an employee’s social life. When I am sick, I call in. On the weekend, I spend time with my wife. The idea of a 24/7 lifestyle is, at best, an exaggeration. People blame the internet for sapping our free time, World of Warcraft for crippling our social lives, and commercials for society’s rampant consumerism. How about blaming the individual for not having the self awareness to turn off the machine? Consumerism is a product of greed mixed with sloth, not the orange tiger selling cereal. The only difference between the malls of today and the market squares of yesteryear is air-conditioning. If you just cannot resist the many tempting purchasing offers on the online, your problem is much bigger than the internet. People who are constantly plugged in are doing it to avoid a mass of personal issues that literally have nothing to do with the internet itself. Attempting to blame the internet, TV, or even society, for anything, is just another attempt to avoid personal responsibility for your own actions. An important question often posed, would I be willing to work fewer hours for less money? Absolutely not! I have bills to pay, a house to buy, a family to plan for, and not even recreation is cheap these days. Long hours and job dedication is not the evil corporation taking advantage of the poor, helpless worker, it is free market capitalism and the need to compete. In any service based industry, the two ways to compete are quality and quantity. The best way is to improve the quality of your employees, and thus, the quality (and the reliability) of your service. Look around, that is never going to happen. The other way is to improve the quantity of the service you can provide (thus lowering cost and ‘issue response’ time). That means longer hours. The acceleration of time is an individual problem, and must be dealt with on an individual level. A government that is created to manage our lives is socialism. It is a declaration that we, as individuals, are incapable of deciding for ourselves what is best, and an outside force must impose such a decision upon us. The free market is literally a reflection of the values and desires of the populace. American society is the way it is because the population has declared â€Å"this is how we want it† with every decision made for generations. I am sure anyone would say they wish they had more free time, but try finding someone actually willing to do something about freeing up said time. Something I would like to see adopted from Germany or Switzerland is not their labor laws, or their vacation time, but their attitude. From my time in Germany, I know firsthand that the general attitude about American workers is not that we are frenzied workaholics; but rather that we are lazy, incompetent, and inefficient. In countries such as Switzerland, England, or Japan, laborers feel lucky to be able to work at all. Americans see their employment as an imposed drudgery, only a bare step above slavery, and it is all the faceless corporations’ fault. If you did not have to work, what would you do with your free time? My friends and I have asked each other this many times, with our varied answers. Some would read, some would write, some would travel, some would go back to school, and some would work anyway, though perhaps with a different profession. Amazingly, none have ever said they would simply sit, and wait till their time ran out. What is free time for, if not for doing things? Is having the time and nothing to do with it but sit and stare at the clouds really an achievement? Americans do not work the most in the world, Korea carries that distinction. Americans are the highest paid employees in the world, with toys and debt to match. While certainly government or corporations are more or less responsible, if you are looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. Research Papers on A Lack of Frenzy; Tracking TimeThe Project Managment Office System19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionResearch Process Part OneBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The effects of globalization on design (brand globalization and the Essay

The effects of globalization on design (brand globalization and the design industry) - Essay Example To have a consistent and definite visibility the companies require having a design that represents them. Designing a logo requires a lot of research. The designing of a logo is not an area of art where the creativity has to take over. Designing a logo is a combination of creativity and logic. A company must have a clear idea about how they want to position themselves in the market. Not all the key features of the company can be represented by the logo, so the company especially the designers have to decide which feature they want to highlight in their logo. A logo is not just a symbol it is a symbol which makes the company statement with the help of visual icon. Many companies like Nike, Microsoft and Coke are known for their logo design. They have been successful in positioning themselves in the global market with the help of their logo design. Logo design also wins the company the global recognition. This current trend of global branding with the help of logo design has placed a lo t of responsibility on the design industry. It becomes one of the main services for the design industry to design logos that help companies to expand. The design industries often have to do extensive research on the product of their clients and their area of operations. This helps them to design a logo and the promotion message for their clients which are effective. Designing a logo indeed plays an important role in the global branding of the company. 1 Globalisation and Design Globalisation is interconnection of countries economically. Globalisation has made all the companies realise that they must follow marketing strategies that are applicable globally. To enter foreign country a company must be very careful regarding the branding strategy followed by them. In global arena to establish a brand that is recognised by all requires a lot of thought process. Companies today are aware that they have to go global sometime during their expansion and chalk out their strategies accordingly . Consistent brand recognition all over the world is the main aim of all the companies. To design a logo and company message the design industry has to do a lot of research. Especially on the visual impact it has on the customers worldwide. The landscape has changed in the world of branding due to globalisation. According to experts brand must have a global reach. Brand visibility is a must for all companies who want to trade across the borders.2 However some brands do get advantage of being regional. The regional identity gives a lot of brand the ability to operate successfully in their nation. Consumers do recognise these brands as national brands and this gives them an added advantage. On the other hand to survive in international market these brands must have a global appeal. A new middle class has emerged in the BRIC nations namely, Brazil, Russia, India and China. This new customer base has deep pockets and for companies to target them a global approach is required. The design industry has to work on the presentation of these companies in such a way that all these countries feel included. Most companies try to break away from their regional identity to have a global appeal. Coke and Pepsi are the best example they always try to have a global approach .However, there are few companies like Dominos that do promote themselves globally with their regional