Project Management Recommendation Essay Example for Free

Project Management Recommendation Essay Dear Mr. Gritsch: In continuation of your email dated February 10, 2014, I have completed analysis of three projects: Juniper, Palomino and Stargazer. The risk levels in Juniper, Palomino, and Stargazer are low, medium, and high respectively. It is in the best interest of Piper Industries Corporation to move forward with the Stargazer project. Stargazer is selected due to its feasibility and risk level. From market feasibility study, some strategic customers have already indicated interest in the product. Therefore, I would recommend that the board invest in the project, Stargazer; particularly because the company has already invested $450,000 and the ROI is very high. My feasibility study focused on Return on Investment (ROI), length of project, risk level and overall benefit to Piper Industries. See below for the results. Juniper: Return on Investment (ROI): 77% or $250,000 for a period of 2 to 3 years Length of project: Uncertain Risk of completion on time: Low Overall benefit: Enhancement of current product, increased product demand Palomino: Return on Investment (ROI): 69% or $450,000 for a period of 5 years Length of project: 7 Years Risk of completion on time: Medium Overall benefit: New product, use of existing technology, custom part, constant demand Stargazer: Return on Investment (ROI): 278% or $1,600,000 for a period of 3 years Length of project: 7 Years Risk of completion on time: High Overall benefit: Research Development of a new product, market leader, project in-progress Five Phases of a Project: A project can have any number of phases depending on how you break it down. A project for land reclamation in dump site would probably have three phases such as: 1. Facility Decommissioning Phase 2. Waste removal phase 3. Landscaping Phase. While a project involving the building of a new factory may contain four phases such as: 1. Environmental Impact Assessment Phase 2. Design Phase 3. Construction Phase 4. Commissioning Phase. It is therefore assumed that what is been referred to here as five phases of a project is what is known in project management as process groups. The following phases / process groups will be used to complete the project: 1. Project conception and initiation The conception of the project is that the project is a new line widget product including enhancements through the use of existing technology. The initiation of this project will be upon the approval of the project by the CEO. 2. Project definition and planning Stage two of the project is making a project plan. The project plan will be completed by the project team with the consultation of the technicians and experts. The project plan will be in writing and will be well defined. 3. Project launch or execution The project plans and task will be discussed amongst all team members and the task will be divided among the project team. 4. Project performance and control The project manager will be the leader of the project. His or her task will be to monitor performance and control. All project team members are responsible in evaluating each other and helping the team to perform better together. 5. Project close The project will be closed only upon completion of the project, evaluation of the project, and client approval of the project. Key deliverables associated with the selected project: If after the Estimated Budget at Completion of $575,000 is spent and the  product is developed as specified in the project plan, then the project would have met the substantial product deliverable. Secondly, if the Piper Industries Corporation is able to deliver the product within 12 months, the company would have met the project schedule deliverable.

United states search for alternative fuel sources Essay Example for Free

United states search for alternative fuel sources Essay The world over, nation’s economies depend on fuel sources for their growth. Fuel sources are crucial as they offer fuel and act as sources of power for the production of goods and services. A nation’s economic growth is very crucial since it also affects the politics of the nation as well as people’s social life. Consequently, nations have had an increased demand to develop alternative fuel sources. The United States of America has not lacked behind. As a developed nation, it has been compelled to see to it that it develops and adopts alternative fuel sources so as to sustain its economic growth and ensure that the future economy is safe. In the United States of America, the search for alternative fuels was still a matter of concern. Before the year 1920, the super power was still in the verge for searching for alternative fuel sources. In fact, the Stanley Steamer Automobile was not in the market by the mid 1930s (Bernstein, pp 54) the steamer was powered by different types of fuel i.e. gasoline, coal, charcoal, raw petroleum and wood. Combustion of coal and other petroleum products produced smog, which was a health hazard. Gasoline then became the only source of power for motor vehicles (Berinstein, pp 59). Alternative fuels are usually used to mean fuels for motor vehicles but not gasoline. Any other fuel that is not fossil can also be termed as an alternative fuel source. Alternative sources of energy or power like hydroelectric dams and geothermal power plants cannot be said to be alternative fuel sources. Alternative fuel is also known as non-conventional fuels. The term alternative fuels usually refer to renewable sources of energy (Hass, pp 61). Examples of common alternative fuels included biodiesel, ethanol, butanol, chemically stored electricity (batteries fuel cells), peanut oil, hydrogen methane, and natural gas. The growing interest of people desiring to change their way of life is one of the factors which has led to the search for alternative sources of fuel in the United States of America. People desire to raise their living standards by looking for alternative sources of fuel. They need power sources, which are efficient and can be relied on. In addition, United States economy is high and the nation wants to ensure that production and manufacturing of goods and services is not affected so the nation has seen to it that sources of power are efficient and reliable. As a Super power, the United States of America has to ensure that its politics are carried out well not to forget its fight against terrorism which requires effective power sources. One of the reasons for the search for alternative fuel sources is sustainability. The economy, environment, and the geopolitics of the United States of America require sources of fuel which can be sustained. One of the main aims when looking for a source of fuel is its ability to store energy. The energy has to be stored in a form that is stable and that can be transported easily from its point of production to the consumer. Most fuels that store chemical potential energy are referred to as chemical fuels. This is important so that the user will consume the fuel whenever he wants. The energy released is in the form of heat and can be used as a source of power for an engine or a source of heat for a building. Most alternative sources of fuel can be used more than once and can sustain their energy for long a long period of time. The United States of America has had a great zeal and zest to search for alternative fuel sources. This is as a result of the environmental hazards caused by the existing ones. Secondly, another major concern has been the fact that, direct use of conventional fuels may contribute to the global warming crisis. Continued use of alternative fuels in the United States of America has affected and will continue to affect the country’s economy. For instance, in the 1940s, there was a lot of smog in American cities, which caused a serious hazard to its environment ( Bernstein pp 60) in the 1960s, most of America’s waters were not fit for human consumption because there was a lot of acid rain poisoning (Flavin, pp 98 ). As a result, American States decided to rise up and fight air pollution, which was eminent in their states. Each state stood by itself and decided to take measures to end the eminent dangers. Laws were enacted by the federal government whose aim was to reduce air pollution and eventually end it (Hostetter pp 76). In the early 1990’s, vehicles powered by ethanol were introduced in the market in a bid to meet the regulations of the 1990 Clean Air Act in the United States. By the end of the year 1999, ethanol, which is produced from corn and other plant products yield approximately $5 billion (US Dollars) annually to farmers (Hass pp 60). Vehicles powered by electricity were also introduced in the market. The major set back with these vehicles was that recharging posed a major challenge to the users. Manufacturers also opted to substitute traditional diesel, which is derived from vegetable oil with biodiesel. Motor vehicle manufacturers in the United States of America have preferred to use methanol, which is derived from natural gas. Consequently, gasoline has been substituted with compressed natural gas (Hass, pp 61). In developed countries like the United States of America, a great percentage of the total energy budget is spent on trucks and automobiles. Since most of the interests on alternative sources of fuels have paid a lot of attention on vehicles used for transportation, which consume nearly ? of petroleum consumption, most alternative fuels have been found not to be effective (Berinstein pp 34) In the United States of America, alternative fuels are designed with the citizen’s needs in mind, not withstanding the types of needs, whether economic, political or environmental. For instance, in the Mid-West of the United States of America particularly in Illinois and Minnesota, gasoline is more expensive than E85, environmentally; cars powered by gasoline pollute 90% more than those powered by electricity (Hass, pp 62). It is costly for governments to develop alternative fuels. Most governments offer task breaks to manufacturing companies, which develop alternative sources of energy (Berinstein, pp 45). Consequently, this will affect a country’s economy and the United States of America is no exception. In addition, the amount of available oil reserves is uncertain. It is difficult to see underground and determine the amount of oil reserves even if the reserves have been supplying oil for a long period of time (proven-reserves). Nowadays, oil extraction process uses a lot of energy, electrical energy and heat, which comes from natural gas, which is in short supply. Currently, non-conventional oil production is not very efficient in producing energy and has a large environmental impact than conventional oil production (Berinstein pp 69) In conclusion, the United States of America will relentlessly continue to search for alternative fuel sources, which will continue to affect the country’s economy, both negatively and positively, in the present and in the future. This is because humans cannot meet their social, economic and political needs without the use fuels. What the United States needs is to ensure that the alternative fuel sources can be sustained and cannot cause health hazards to the environment. References Berinstein, P. Alternative Energy: Facts, Statistics and Issues. Westport, Conn. : Oryx Press, 2001. Flavin, C. â€Å"Clean as a Breeze. † Time, 15 December 1997. 60-62 Hass, N. â€Å"Alternative Fuels. † Financial World, 19 January 1993. Hostetter, M. , ed. Energy Policy. New York: H. W. Wilson. 2002.

High Turnover Rate in Long-Term Care in Nursing

High Turnover Rate in Long-Term Care in Nursing Lisa Krier Introduction There is a serious problem in this nation, and it is only getting worse. By the year 2030, the number of elderly in the United States, 85 years or older, is expected to reach 8.9 million (Barondess, 2007). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, two-thirds of people reaching the age of 65 will require the services of a long term care facility at least once during their lifetime (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valverde, 2013). As the population continues to age, the population of those over the age of 65 is projected to soar to 88.5 million by the year 2050, and the oldest of the old, those 85 years and older, is estimated to reach 17.9 million and account for 4.5% of the U.S. population (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valverde, 2013). The 85 and older population often have the highest disability rate and their need for long term care placement is the greatest (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valverde, 2013). Unfortunately, the number of women who are 20 to 50 years old, the population most likely to provide the work force of direct care staff, is only expected to increase less than 10% during this same time (Barondess, 2007). In the United States, the shortage of direct-care staff is a serious problem that is worsening (Barondess, 2007). Recruitment and retention of direct- care staff is extremely challenging and is exacerbated by the growing division between the number of those needing care the number of those providing the care (Barondess, 2007). Discussion Long term care facilities experience very high turnover rates among direct-care staff (Barondess, 2007). This problem is costly, threatens the quality of care provided to patients, increases workloads, and can lower morale among the remaining direct-care staff, with all of this contributing to continual and increased turnover (Barondess, 2007). According to the Institute of Medicine’s website, among direct-care staff there was a 71% turnover rate nationwide in 2008 and they were more likely to not have health insurance and to use food stamps (IOM, 2008). The high turnover rate of direct-care staff costs employers on average $4.1 billion annually (IOM, 2008). Direct-care staff contributes greatly to the physical and mental health of long term care patients (Stone Wiener, 2001). Patients depend on staff for assistance with activities of daily living and direct-care staff is the ones providing this care (Stone Wiener, 2001). According to the CDC, in 2012, direct-care staff spent on average 2.46 hours per day per patient, while RNs spent 0.52 hours per day per patient, and LPNs spend 0.85 hours per day per patient (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valverde, 2013). As the direct-care staff spends much time caring for the patient, real attachments between the care givers and patients can occur (Eaton, 2000). Direct-care staff potentially can help to improve the patient’s health and psychosocial functioning by providing positive interactions (Eaton, 2000). In this regard, high turnover rates in the long term care setting can affect patient care and patients may suffer both physically and emotionally as a result (Hayes et al., 2006) . Staff turnover in the long term care industry increases the cost for caring for those patients and affects the quality of care provided (Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, Leana, 2011). In order to increase the retention of nursing assistants, administrators need to address the problem of low job satisfaction among these employees (Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, Leana, 2011). The following is a plan of action developed to address the problem of low job satisfaction and the high turnover rate of direct-care staff. Core Competency The core competency that will be addressed is managing patient-centered care (IOM, 2003). In 2003, the Institute of Medicine identified patient centered-care as: â€Å"identify, respect, and care about patient’s differences, values, preferences, and expressed needs; relieve pain and suffering; coordinate continuous care; listen to, clearly inform, communicate with, and educate patients; share decision-making and management; and continuously advocate disease prevention, wellness, and promotion of health lifestyles, including a focus on population health† (IOM, 2003). In order for patient-centered care to be effective the staff must collaborate and coordinate care (Finkelman, 2012). Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes The KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes) that will be utilized for the Leadership Development Goal is team building conversations. High staffing turnover rates threaten the quality of care provided to patients and increases the financial burden of caring for those patients in long term care (Rosen, Mittal, Leana, 2011). When direct-care staff has been asked what promotes the best care, the staff rated communication highest (Scott-Cawiezell et al., 2004), and also rated communication as the greatest weakness in the organization (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). Direct-care staff believes that they have a greater influence on quality of life for the patient than any other staff (Kane et al., 2006), and that high turnover rates undermine their relationships with patients (Bowers, Esmond, Jacobson, 2000). Direct-care staff believes that the quality of care for patients is reflected in the quality of care for staff by the leadership (Burke, Summers, Thompson, 2001). Given how direct-care staf f feel about their ability to affect patient care and their need to feel supported by the leadership, sitting down with them and having conversations about how best to build the team is essential (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). Leadership SMART Goal I will examine the high turnover rate of direct-care staff in this long term care facility and meetings will take place with the direct-care staff and the management to begin building a strong team by engaging the direct-care staff in conversations regarding job satisfaction, reviewing peer-reviewed articles and credible websites, and to obtain information regarding job satisfaction from the direct-care staff through the use of employee surveys administered during the first meeting. SMART Goal Format Specifically, all direct-care staff, consisting of Certified Nursing Assistants and Medication Assistants, will sit down with management on a monthly basis to have team building discussions. The goal is to retain the direct-care staff by improving job satisfaction through providing access to authority, information, and teamwork (Boudrias, Gaudreau, Laschinger, 2004), and therefore allowing the direct-care staff to have involvement in decision-making (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). These meetings will be scheduled during the first week of every month in the facility’s classroom and will occur at different times during the week to accommodate the direct-care staff from all of the shifts. The effects of these meetings, improvement in job satisfaction (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009) and the retention of direct-care staff (Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, Leana, 2011) will be measured by selecting five direct-care staff members from each of the three shifts and having them participate in a series of surveys (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). The employees selected to participate in the surveys must have completed the probationary period of employment. The first survey that will be administered is a psychological empowerment survey which consists of four categories, meaning, impact, competence, and self-determination (Spreitzer, 1995). Each category contains three questions and when all of the responses from each category are combined, an overall empowerment score is obtained (Spreitzer, 1995). Each item is rated on a seven point scale and higher scores represent opinions of increased empowerment (Spreitzer, 1995). The second survey that will be administered to the direct-care staff is the Organizat ional Cultural Inventory (Cooke Rousseau, 1988). This inventory assesses what the direct-care staff believes to be the behavioral expectations of them in the facility (Cooke Rousseau, 1988). The direct-care staff’s beliefs of service quality, commitment, role clarity, and role conflict are assessed on a scale from 1-5, or â€Å"not at all† to a â€Å"very great extent† (Cooke Rousseau, 1988). High scores are indicative of stronger validation of the construct (Cooke Rousseau, 1988). The third survey that the direct-care staff will be asked to complete is a nursing assistant job satisfaction survey (Ejaz, Noelker, Menne, Bagakas, 2008), which includes 18 items that measure the employee’s satisfaction with recognition and communication time, the time allotted to complete tasks, resources available to staff, teamwork, and leadership practices (Ejaz, Noelker, Menne, Bagakas, 2008). High levels of job satisfaction are related to high scores on the survey (Ejaz, Noelker, Menne, Bagakas, 2008). This goal is attainable as consistent meetings will take place on a monthly basis with direct-care staff and those in management. The direct-care staff will have the ability to have direct input and will have access to peer-reviewed research articles and evidence-based research provided by the management of the facility. During the first meeting, the credible websites of the Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2014) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 2008) will be reviewed for vital information regarding staffing issues in long term care. During the second meeting, which will take place during the first week of the second month, the research article The Relation Between Psychological Empowerment, Service Quality, and Job Satisfaction Among Certified Nursing Assistants, published in the Clinical Gerontologist (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009) will be reviewed in correlation with the results of the surveys taken the previous month. The results of the surveys will be reviewed with the direct-care st aff and an initial plan of action will be drawn. The articles Some Potential Solutions to High Direct-Care Staff Turnover Rates published in the Annuals of Long-Term Care (Barondess, 2008) and Stayers, Leavers, and Switchers Among Certified Nursing Assistants in Nursing Home: A Longitudinal Investigation of Turnover Intent, Staff Retention, and Turnover published in The Gerontologist (Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, Leana, 2011) will be discussed and made available for the staff to review at the third meeting, taking place during the first week of the third month. After the plan of action is created, it will be discussed at each monthly meeting to determine if the plan is succeeding in the goals set forth as well as any revisions that may be necessary. This goal is realistic as perceptions of empowerment and service quality have been shown to be strongly and positively related to job satisfaction (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). Communication with management also affects job satisfaction (Scott-Cawiezell et al., 2004) as direct-care staff has consistently rated communication as the greatest weakness of their facility (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). Suggestions made by the direct-care staff will be reviewed with management and changes will then be implemented with input and discussion from the staff as well as management. The time frame related to this goal will consist of monthly meetings with the direct-care staff and management both present. These meetings will take place during the first week of each month, with varying times to accommodate staff from all shifts. The surveys will be administered during the meeting in the first month, and then at six month intervals to measure whether or not job satisfaction rates are increasing. The program will be evaluated at the end of the first year to determine if the job satisfaction has increased and the turnover rate has decreased. Any changes to the program will be made at the end of the first year. Conclusion As the baby boomers retire and the population is expected to become much older, with 2/3rds of individuals over the age of 65 needing long term care services at least once in their lives, it is imperative that there is a sufficient workforce to care for these individuals (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valerde, 2013). As the population of women aging 20 to 50 years of age, the population most likely to provide the work force of direct-care staff, is only expected to increase less than 10% over the next 20 years, it is imperative to see job satisfaction rates improve and the turnover rates decline in this workforce (Barondess, 2007). With a comprehensive plan that includes involving the direct-care staff in the decision making process, having management and the direct-care staff participate in team building conversations on a monthly basis, and utilizing credible websites and peer-reviewed journal articles to obtain valuable information, this is one problem that can have a succe ssful resolution. References Barondess, L.H. (2007). Some potential solutions to high direct-care staff turnover rates. Annuals of Long-Term Care, 15(10). Retrieved from http://www.annalsoflongtermcare.com/article/7860 Boudrias, J. S., Gaudreau, P., Laschinger, H. K. S. (2004). Testing the structure of psychological empowerment: Does gender make a difference? Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(5), 861-877. Bowers, B. J., Esmond, S., Jacobson, N. (2000). The relationship between staffing and quality in long-term care facilities: Exploring the views of nurse aides. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 14(4), 55-65, 73-55. Burke, G., III, Summers, J., Thompson, T. (2001). Quality in long-term care: What we can learn from certified nursing assistants. Annuals of Long-Term Care, 9(2), 29-35. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). Fast stats: Nursing home care. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/faststats/nursing-home-care.html Cooke, R. A., Rousseau, D. M. (1988). Behavioral norms and expectations: A quantitative approach to the assessment of organizational culture. Group Organization Studies, 13(3), 245-273. Eaton, S. C. (2000). Beyond ‘unloving care’: Linking human resource management and patient care quality in nursing homes. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(3), 591-616. Ejaz, F. K., Noelker, L. S., Menne, H. L., Bagakas, J. G. (2008). The impact of stress and support on direct-care workers’ job satisfaction. The Gerontologist, 48(Special Issue 1), 60-70. Finkelman, A. (2012). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Harris-Kojetson, L., Sengupta, M., Park-Lee, E., Valverde, R. (2013). Long-term care services in the United States: 2013 overview. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Hayes, L.J., O’Brien-Pallas, L., Duffield, C., Shamian J., Buchan, J., Hughes, F., et al. (2006). Nurse turnover: A literature review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 32(2), 237-263. Institute of Medicine (2003). Health professions education. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Institute of Medicine (2008). Retooling for an aging America: Building the health care workforce. Retrieved from http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2008/Retooling-for-an-Aging-America-Building-the-Health-Care-Workforce.aspx Kane, R. L., Rockwood, T., Hyer, K., Desjardins, K., Brassard, A., Gessert C., et al. (2006). Nursing home staff’s perceived ability to influence quality of life. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 21(3), 248-255. Kostiwa, I.M., Meeks, S., (2009). The relation between psychological empowerment, service quality, and job satisfaction among certified nursing assistants. Clinical Gerontologist, 32, 276-292. doi:10.1080/07317110902895309 Rosen, J., Mittal, E.M., Leana, C.R. (2011). Stayers, leavers, and switchers among certified nursing assistants in nursing home: A longitudinal investigation of turnover intent, staff retention, and turnover. The Gerontologist, 51(5), 597-609. Scott-Cawiezell, J., Schenkman, M., Moore, L. Vojir, C., Connoly, R. P., Pratt, M., et al. (2004). Exploring nursing home staff’s perceptions of communication and leadership to facilitate quality improvement. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 19(3), 242-252. Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442. Stone, R. I., Wiener, J. M. (2001). Who will care for us? Addressing the long-term care workforce crisis. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

Ancient Babylon :: essays research papers

The code of Hammurabi was one of the most important documents in Babylon history. It was adopted from many Sumerian customs that had been around for a while before the Babylonians. Though many of the Laws were adopted from Sumeria they were published by Hammurabi and thus known as the code of Hammurabi. This code had four main parts to it. They were: Civil Laws, Commercial Laws, Penal Laws, and the Law of procedures. The Civil Law was an important one to the people. It set up a social class system based on a hierarchy based on wealth. The Babylonians had three classes according to the code. They were the freeman or wealthy people, the semi- freeman who were able to become slaves at any time, and the slaves who were of course the lowest class. The next section in the code was the Commercial Law. This had to do with business transactions and most things relating to business. It set up 20% interest rates. There was a political economy based on economic status. The wealthy classes were the creditors and the poorer class was the debtors. After the Commercial Law came the Penal Law. This had to do with the issue of crime. The laws were unusually harsh do to their ineducation. Despite this the wealthy class usually enjoyed more freedom from the law than the lower classes. There was no jury in the court back in the times of Babylon. The code of Hammurabi was like an eye for an eye punishment. If you killed someone than you would be killed. The last law was the Law of Procedures. This dealt with the way all of the other laws were carried out. It also had to do with the way ceremonies were carried out. These ceremonies could include marriage and other religious ceremony. The first group of people to take over the Mesopotamia region was the Akkadians. They took over around 200 BC and they were lead by their leader Sargon the Great. Sargon was not a good leader and Akkad the empire they built was not organized at all. It had no society and no civilization. Soon after the Akkadians came the Amorites. They were also known as the old Babylonians. They built the city of Babylon and made it one of the biggest trade centers in the Middle East. Hammurabi was the King of the Amorites and was famous for the code of Hammurabi. Ancient Babylon :: essays research papers The code of Hammurabi was one of the most important documents in Babylon history. It was adopted from many Sumerian customs that had been around for a while before the Babylonians. Though many of the Laws were adopted from Sumeria they were published by Hammurabi and thus known as the code of Hammurabi. This code had four main parts to it. They were: Civil Laws, Commercial Laws, Penal Laws, and the Law of procedures. The Civil Law was an important one to the people. It set up a social class system based on a hierarchy based on wealth. The Babylonians had three classes according to the code. They were the freeman or wealthy people, the semi- freeman who were able to become slaves at any time, and the slaves who were of course the lowest class. The next section in the code was the Commercial Law. This had to do with business transactions and most things relating to business. It set up 20% interest rates. There was a political economy based on economic status. The wealthy classes were the creditors and the poorer class was the debtors. After the Commercial Law came the Penal Law. This had to do with the issue of crime. The laws were unusually harsh do to their ineducation. Despite this the wealthy class usually enjoyed more freedom from the law than the lower classes. There was no jury in the court back in the times of Babylon. The code of Hammurabi was like an eye for an eye punishment. If you killed someone than you would be killed. The last law was the Law of Procedures. This dealt with the way all of the other laws were carried out. It also had to do with the way ceremonies were carried out. These ceremonies could include marriage and other religious ceremony. The first group of people to take over the Mesopotamia region was the Akkadians. They took over around 200 BC and they were lead by their leader Sargon the Great. Sargon was not a good leader and Akkad the empire they built was not organized at all. It had no society and no civilization. Soon after the Akkadians came the Amorites. They were also known as the old Babylonians. They built the city of Babylon and made it one of the biggest trade centers in the Middle East. Hammurabi was the King of the Amorites and was famous for the code of Hammurabi.

Computer Changes and their Impact on Management :: essays research papers

Computer Changes and their Impact on Management The world of computers is a field that is not only very young, but is also rapidly changing. In one lifetime, computers have evolved from a multimillion dollar unit that filled entire buildings, to a few hundred dollar personal computer that fits on a desktop with more power than its predecessor. How does this change in cost, size and power affect our management decisions? To look at these areas, it should be understood that each characteristic not only makes a significant impact for management, but is enhanced by the other two changes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reduction in computer costs over time has the obvious implications of reduced overhead costs for a company’s management and possibly a smaller budget requirement for the information technologies department. Closer inspection of the lower computer costs shows that the reduced overhead can have a number of implications dependant on management decisions. One decision would be to show an increased profit on the end product’s margins. This makes stockholders very happy. Management could also decide to provide more computer technology for the company without an increase in budget, or provide hardware with less compromise in functionality. The additional money could be used for additional specialty computer hardware that would not normally be purchased. A company would have to research whether the increase in computer technology would be able to provide the necessary competitive advantages or productivity increases. Management might also decide to take an exhaustive look at the entire company and its business process’ to determine if other areas might use the money for upgrades as well. These upgrades can be in the manufacturing process, research and development, sales, or in manufacturing to name a few. The reduction in cost also impacts the reduction in size of the computer hardware which has been getting smaller and smaller. As the prices of computers have gone down, the manufacturers have been able to reduce the size of the computers dramatically at the same time. Management originally provided a computer that was very large with terminals provided to the user as an interface. Today we have a personal computer on almost every desk top. These units require less space allowing management the freedom to determine whether they wish to put a unit on every desktop. With the smaller space requirements and the changes in the hardware itself, management also has less impact to their facility requirements.

Nietzsche Essay -- Evolution Religion Creationism Science Essays

Nietzsche In 1859 Charles Darwin offered a theory that seemed to disprove the longstanding explanation of the origin of existence. Darwin’s theory of evolution proposes a convincing argument that the universe was not created for a purpose, with intention, by a conscious God, but rather, was a phenomenon of random change. Friedrich Nietzsche articulated the gravity of the effect of Darwin’s theory on society. He said that when Darwin published the theory of evolution people stopped believing in God. Nietzsche wrote that when people stopped believing in God, God died. Nietzsche’s assertion pivots on the assumption that God’s existence depends solely on human belief. Nietzsche assumes that belief is the greatest power that humans possess, but that this belief could not stand strong against the theory of evolution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people believe that in order for life to be worth living, there must be an overarching purpose to existence, and thus, according to Nietzsche, form illusions for the sake of comfort. By believing in a morality, God, or other higher cause, people get to live their dream that there is ultimate justification for everything. This serves to allow the imposition of an illusion so that one does not have to view the â€Å"truth† of the universe. One of these â€Å"truths† that Nietzsche proposes people deny is the â€Å"death of God†. Nietzsche’s statement that â€Å"God is dead† is intended to imply that there is a more accurate manner of existing now than following traditiona...

THE MUTUAL SHAPING OF ONLINE AND OFFLINE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

IntroductionTechnically talking cyberspace is a planetary web of interrelated webs. All most all of these webs holds files such as web pages, that can be accessed by all other networked computing machines. Every computing machine or any device like cell phone etc which is connected to internet hold the ability to direct and have files in the signifier of electronic mails or another file extensions over the cyberspace. And therefore the people all over the universe are connected ever. If we place internet in the historical context and so critically examines the consequence of cyberspace usage on the societal relationships so we could see that the effects of cyberspace usage are mostly depended on peculiar ends such as self-expression or competition. In 1998, Kraut and his co-workers cited a correlativity between the cyberspace usage and diminutions in societal relationships. After old ages the same group of people did a survey on the original sample group and founded out that the nega tive effects of utilizing cyberspace had dissipated and besides it suggested that the cyberspace had a really positive consequence on societal and psychological well-being of the modern people. Here my purpose or aim is to critically analyze the work done by Bo Xie on the subject The common defining of online and offline societal relationships. The writer of this subject is Dr. Bo Xie, ( PhD, Rensselaer Polytechnic ) Assistant Professor in college of information surveies under the University of Maryland. She has published a figure of books on information direction. Her Research Interests are in Health information sciences ; older grownups ‘ acquisition and usage of computing machines and the Internet ; computing machine literacy ; womb-to-tomb acquisition ; civic battle ; volunteering ; societal relationships ; societal support ; on-line communities ; wellness and wellbeing ( hypertext transfer protocol: //terpconnect.umd. Edu/~ boxie/ ) .As a decision of my critical analysis I came to cognize that cyberspace has both positive and negative effects on the societal relationships in the modern world.Some of the positive effects are like on-line chatting, which will make new friendly relationships and relationships which besides helps in buttocks in touch with old friends.The same chatting could be the demerit when it creates uneconomical relationships between people while chew the fating in the net for long hours. The positive effects of the cyberspace on the societal relationships may be important but the demerits of utilizing cyberspace might be destructiveMETHOD OF EVALUATIONIn the method of rating of the research writer had interviewed 30 three participants from OldKids administration whom falls under old age group and different educational backgrounds. Here the writer tries to indicate out two civilization specific groups. First -informed by anthropologists on the observation that the ageing experience difference over civilizations and these participan ts were non selected by age but by self designation. It contained Chinese citizens. Second-retired Chinese participants. In the research the writer speaks about the societal relationships in the cyberspace age and the societal relationships in the ulterior life. She says that the usage of cyberspace in this age reduces societal relationship and increases the societal isolation. The surveies reveal that this construct was accepted before old ages but now the on-line relationships are more dependable, realistic, low cost and easy approachable than in older yearss. She describes that the digital universe or the internet age is wholly independent on on the offline or the physical universe. This is a true fact and the two universes are wholly different from each other with their ain advantages and disadvantages.The practical universe helps each individual to get the better of from the corporal restraints such as sex, age, race and nationality and gives a quite environment from the outrea ch of the physical universe. But there is besides a opportunity of acquiring attracted more towards sexy relationships as the online users could go through their message unashamedly as they are non seeing each other face to face. The usage of online dealingss besides creates phase frightness in kids. The practical universe creates the same state of affairss predominating in the physical universe. This hypothesis is right from my point of position as well.Now we could make any thing in the practical universe that is go oning in the physical universe expect from the point of physical contacts. More late the computing machine people had created even practical lottos were a user could do a profile with a a character and that character could interact with the other characters whom are created by other users. From the groundss and the mentions the writer argues that the societal relationships created or formed and maintained through electronic mail are perceived by persons are less valuab le than the relationship created by the one to one face to face and telephonic relationships. This hypothesis is non wholly acceptable as there are many grounds of people acquiring more and more engaged in relationships which is created through internet.But the hypothesis is acceptable from the point of position that people even ca n't retrieve even the names of their on-line friends. The encouraging nature of the friendly relationship is really less or seldom seeable in online relationship.Evidences shows that friendly relationship is more affiliated in the ulterior life of older grownups. The practical online friends tries to run into and mix in the physical universe of dealingss. Therefore on-line friends tends to run into their friends physically face to confrontTECHNIQUES USED FOR GATHERING DATA AND ANALYSISThe techniques used for the aggregation of informations to back up my observations were perfectly secondary that is by reading the books, journels and and besides surfing in the cyberspace as the nature of the assignment is to critically analyze. As we analyse the informations available we could state that the research done by Dr.Bo Xie had some few restrictions. The first 1 is that it has concidered merely the people from China as the samples. The usage of cyberspace for doing relationships in China may be different from other parts of the universe. As China is technologically frontward than many other states the online dealingss could be more in China than in other countries.Second one is that the research selected merely 30 three participants which is non sufficient for a good research to be conducted. But the technique used was random sampling which could supply with better consequences. The information aggregation would be better if it could make an online trying which includes the people from other parts of the universe were there usage of cyberspace is non so common. Third one is that the samples contained merely old people and it wholly avoided the new coevals which decidedly would make a interruption through in the research. The information analysis for this survey was controlled by grounded theory where the information aggregation and analysis occurs at the same time to guarantee the coevolution of the informations and the theory.After interview with each individual the writer writes a short description about the provender back including the clip and location of the interview.Its a long procedure of doing a research which takes much clip but helps to include each and every minute inside informations of the observation. Then the analysis showed that the demand to run into offline is in relation with the demand to cognize more about computing machines and besides to mix with the friends in the same age group in the physical universe. It besides resulted in formations of some nines as good. Internet helped the people to link with the equals who were physically far off who were non in range to the old people. This is beside s an acceptable fact but we should concider one point that cyberspace is non available in rural parts of most of the universe.LITERATURE REVIEWâ€Å" Greater usage of the Internet was besides associated with little, but statistically important diminutions in societal engagement as measured by communicating with the household and the size of people ‘s local societal webs, and with additions in solitariness, a psychological province associated with societal engagement † . ( Kraut et al,1998 ) † A 2nd survey was so done on new buyers of computing machine and telecastings, and it besides showed that the cyberspace had a positive consequence on societal and psychological wellbeing. Unsurprisingly, this was more marked for extraverts and more socially connected people † . ( Kraut et al ) † Results of a new three twelvemonth survey are the first to uncover the societal effects of life in a highly-wired, broadband vicinity. This research addresses recent invol vement in the effects of Internet usage on relationships with friends, relations and neighbours. The cardinal determination is that populating in a wired vicinity with entree to a high-velocity local web encourages greater community engagement, expands and strengthens local relationships with neighbours and household, and helps keep ties with friends and relations populating further off † . ( Prof. Keith Hampton and Prof. Barry Wellman )MAIN ARGUMENTSMain statement gives the strength and failing of the research.StrengthsThe research has good explained how the online dealingss helped older people in happening their old equals and doing new friends who are physically excessively far off from them. The theory used for the research that is the land theory has strongly supported the findings and observations of the writer. The interviews were conducted in deepness and it has taken down all the points without any girl at the clip of the interview.The analysis is so clear that every one could understand it without much difficulty.The research clearly mentions how the cyberspace helped the old people in doing a new on-line universe of their own.The resarch gives mentions to many great books and writers to do it more reliable.It discusses the subject with a narrative which the brand the readers more amused.FailingThe research discusses merely the positive facets of old people utilizing internet.The study done was non a random study which decreases the truth of the research. The figure of individuals selected for the research were really less like 30 three and besides the members were selected from China only.The research did non give any single inside informations of the interviewees and it merely give merely an lineation of a broader topic.The cyberspace is largely used by pupils adolescents etc who were non involved in this research.So there is a opportunity of acquiring inaccurate or even incorrect dimensions to the research.It besides non references about wha t happens in the other parts of the universe where there is merely a limited entree to internet.DISCUSSION AND EVALUATIONThis research subject is more relevent to the modern universe while measuring deeply and is a must discussed topic.Firstly the usage of cyberspace to do equals for the old people is a subject which accurate to the modern universe of emphasis and tenseness. Due to the addition in figure of cyberspace users the universe becomes familiar to each individual.The subject is of import because in close hereafter cipher might be there who does n't cognize how to work with cyberspace. The groundss put frontward by the research worker are all valid and the theory and the state of affairs used are really supportive.The decision or the result of the research is sufficient in giving the thought of the subject. The research is crystalline that the techniques used are quite appropriate and is been justified. Though the analysis was good the informations aggregation was non upto t he grade but besides resulted in better result. The methodological analysis is widely accepted type and sounds proper to the predominating situation.Critically analyzing is the best manner to construe a research and besides it helps in bring forthing better results and a modified hereafter to the stakeholdersDecisionThis critical reappraisal comes into the decision that the research has a positive attitude towards the online relationship at the same clip it accepts the physical relationship as good. The purpose of the research was to distinguish between online and offline relationship and it has done its occupation with flawlessness. The research is dependable, acceptable and adds value to the future universe. The findings are based and built on theories so they are accurate.the theory shows that the figure of people attracted towards online relationship is increased due to its positive facets. Though on-line relation creates a practical distance between the people it creates an con sciousness that we are one. The most polished quality of the subject falls in the relevant nature of the hosen subject. The consequences obtained can be used in most of the states though it can non be used in some of the rural parts of the universe. The restrictions of the research are overcome by the relevancy and importance of the subject. The research gives great part to the modern universe of computing machine. So the cogency of the subject is really high.