The Impact Of Network On The College Student - 884 Words

The impact of Network on the college student. With the advent of the era of information, network in the lives of college students plays a very important role, the network brings us a lot of convenienceï ¼Å'However, its negative effects become more and more cause our attention. To further investigate the influence of network for college students, I adopt the method of the questionnaire survey and online search. (my opinion) According to a survey (Basic situation investigation), some students can effectively control the Internet time and the main purpose is to collect learning materials online. There is a question (the question three is: What is the purpose of you access the Internet? 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Life Cycle Of The Electric Light - 1339 Words

As a society, we take for granted simple things like turning on a light switch. It is interesting to think of Thomas Edison visiting New York City or Las Vegas in today’s age, for him to stand in amazement at all the electric light we now have. Internationally, people are able to work longer and into the night with the help of light. Construction workers can work on highways at night to lessen the impact construction has on traffic. People can even drive at night and do errands that we did not have time for during daylight hours. All this is because of the light bulb. The light bulb has come a long way, from the fires of cavemen and early inventors, to fluorescent lights and now to the modern day LED light. The life cycle of the LED light†¦show more content†¦In 1879, Thomas Edison improved on Davy’s arc lamp. By putting the filament in an oxygen free environment, like a bulb, the light lasted much longer. In 1910, William David Coolidge invented the Tungsten filament light bulb (Invention of the Light Bulb). This brings the reader to modern day filament light bulbs that last much longer. Florescent lights use a glass tube filled with Argon gas and Mercury bulbs. When electricity is applied, it creates a plasma in the bulb, therefore creating light. This form of light is a lower temperature and uses less energy. For this reason, light bulbs are currently being phased out and are being replaced by fluorescent bulbs (How a Basic Fluorescent Lamp Works). Even fluorescent lights will soon become obsolete. This is because LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, are becoming better and better every day. LEDs work using a phenomenon called electroluminescence, which is the emission of light from a semi-conductor from an electric field influence (How LED Flashlights Are Designed). Two different forms of silicon are used as a semiconductor called N or P type. N-type silicon has extra electrons, and P-type has gaps that seek to have an electron. When an electric current is applied to the P-N junction, it makes the diode forward biased. The electrons go from the N-type to the P-type, which causes photons (particles of light) to be given off as the electrons move to the other side. LEDs produce less heat than any other light

Law and Information

Questions: Task 1: Law, ethics and professionalism Information Systems project failures may arise due to individuals and organisations failing to follow good practice. This in turn may be due to a lack of individual or collective professionalism in the IT industry. Find a copy of the British Computer Society Code of Conduct. Identify six professional responsibilities that a computer professional must discharge in their everyday working lives. You must present arguments explaining how the failure to fulfil each duty may well lead to IS project failure. Any organisation processing personal data is obliged to comply with the Data Protection Act. The present Act became law in 1998. In YOUR OWN WORDS summarise each of the eight principles of the Data Protection Act. The Disability Discrimination Act requires organizations to provide reasonable access to services and education for those with disabilities. How would you meet the requirements of this legislation? Focus on the various assistive technologies that are available. Identify six of these technologies and describe how they work. Your answer should be as full as possible and approximately between 1500-2000 words in length. You must cite all sources for the information you use, i.e. list ALL references Task 2: Data Flow Diagram A Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) is one type of schematic model, which can be used to reveal the processing requirements of the organisation. A DFD shows the flows of the data from users (externals) into the system, the flows of data within the system, the processing and storage of that data and the flows of information out of the system to the users. Read the following narrative description of a process performed by academics and administration in a university: For the process of setting an examination paper that students will sit at the end of a semester, a Lecturer will author and submit the first draft of the exam paper to the school office. This first draft is stored in a filing cabinet and a copy sent to the Internal Moderator, who may make a number of corrections or suggestions. This internally moderated copy of the first draft is sent back to the school office with an accompanying Internal Moderators Form. The school office keep a copy of this internally moderated exam paper in the filing cabinet and forward a copy to the Lecturer for the appropriate amendments to be made. Once the Lecturer has made these changes the revised exam paper is sent back to the school office, again filed away in the filing cabinet and a copy sent to the External Moderator. The External Moderator will look at this paper and send back to the school office formal comments. At the end of the semester students will take this examination paper. Each exam paper is graded and moderated. The Lecturer then begins the process of entering the grades into the school system, which is a spreadsheet. The lecturer enters the student number and the corresponding grade into the spreadsheet. These spreadsheets are stored by the school administration staff ready for them to be presented at the Exam Board. The Exam Board, having received the spreadsheets may make any required amendments. This revised spreadsheet, containing finalised student grades, is then taken back by the school administration staff and stored. The following day the school administration staff retrieve the spreadsheets, ready to begin the next process of entering the finalised student grades into the university system (MISIS). In this process the Student record is updated and the system presents the student with their final grade for the examination they sat. Using the Data Flow Diagram (DFD) notation, presented in Lecture 3, produce a DFD model of the narrative described above. You must also discuss what process modelling is and its function in the development of Information Systems. This discussion should be as full as possible and approximately 500 words. You must cite all sources for the information you use, i.e. list ALL references. These should be wide ranging, including Books, Journals and Websites. Task 3: Critical Success Factors in the IS Development Lifecycle Read the following case study, which outlines how one particular organisation assures that their IT projects are completed successfully and support the goals of the business: Bill Morris, the Managing Director (MD) of ATP Life Assurance, talks of the successful management of IT projects: We apply all of the analytical rigour and financial Return-On-Investment (ROI) tools against each of our IT projects as well as other business projects. The use of tools is very important, as well as risk analyses on every investment. The MD describes how the company monitors each IT project to measure its efficiency and effectiveness during the course of development and applies a red / yellow / green coding system to reflect the current health of a project. Senior line managers, the Managing Director and chief operating officer are all given a monthly report about the status of projects that are valued at more than 250K and those that deal with important strategic content. Also ATP Life Assurance makes use of an investment-tracking database for every IT project to monitor costs on a rolling basis. The approach gives the advantage of permitting the companys IT and business managers to quickly determine whether a project should be accelerated, delayed or cancelled and assists the finance organisation in forecasting requirements. Source: Adapted from OBrien and Marakas Avon Products and Guardian Life Insurance: Successful Management of IT Projects in Management Information Systems, McGraw-Hill International. What are the key ways that ATP Life Assurances assure that their IT projects are completed successfully and support the goals of the business? If you were the manager of a business unit at ATP Life Assurances, identify six more things you would like to see their IT groups do to assure the success of an IT project for your business unit? Task 4: Privacy On-Line From time to time, you will be asked to submit personal information about yourself (e.g. name and email address) in order to receive or use on-line services on a website. Most organisations (business corporations and government agencies) have a privacy policy that covers the organisations use of personal information that they collect when you use their website. Select three of your favourite websites and print out their privacy policies. List what they share in common? How do they differ? On the basis of what you have found out, from above, write your own website privacy policy. Answers: Task 1: Law, Ethics and professionalism 1.1 Introduction The contemporary times have witnessed that the information and communication technology has gradually become an extremely essential part of the everyday life of all individuals and the manner in which everyone reacts with the environment. Information systems are the most essential elements of Information and Technology that form our everyday routines and incorporate quality to the daily acts that we conduct. With each passing day new technologies are emerging and are also changing equally fast. These changes are not stagnant and are taking place all over the different countries (AntoÃÅ' n, 2003). Various research on this field revealed that the information technology or systems project failures are primarily due to the number of risks factors attached to it. Generally the statistics provide the general failure rate that can very evidently establish for the executives of business and information technology that there exists a failure in the IS projects that is not depending on the high or low of the information technology or the information systems projects (Khosrow-Pour, 2000). The primary objective of the research and study on this area of information technology and communications is to create awareness that can assist in reducing or resolving the failure of nay project by the use of proper and professional techniques. 1.2 Information system failures and their causes There have been a number of surveys conducted with the aim to provide appropriate information with regard to the failure of the Information system and Information technology projects. Most of these surveys have been conducted by IT Cortex. The recent surveys conducted for these information system failures are The Robins-Gioia survey conducted in 2001, the Conference Board survey conducted in 2001, the KPMG Canada survey conducted in 1997, Chaos report of 1995 and The OASIG survey of 1995. Some of the basic things that leads to information system failure that were common with regard to all the Cortex statistics are as follows: Firstly, there was more number of Information Technology projects that failed as compared to the successful projects. Secondly, the research further revealed that the percentage of projects that were successful was a mere twenty percent and finally the rate of failure in the case of Information Technology projects are much higher than the small and medium size projects (Broy, GruÃÅ'ˆnbauer and Hoare, 2007). The failure in information technology systems can be categorized under a few headings. The first type of failure is Correspondence failure. In this sort of failure the design objectives have not been met while the system had been developed. Hence people who need an information system would never accept such an information system that did not met the guidelines that has not been met. The second type of failure is process failure. These kinds of failure generally refers to the failure where the system has not been delivered in accordance to the time allocated for the system and the costs for the system is much more than the budget specified for the project (Wise and Debons, 1987). The third type of failure is called the expectation failure. In this type of system failure, the failure is primarily of the system failing to meet the needs of the stakeholders and their expectations and values. Scholars in this regard has stated that expectation failure is basically the disparity that arises between what the stakeholders are expecting from them and what is being actually delivered to them. And finally the fourth type of failure is interaction failure. The interaction failure deals with the use of the information system by the end users. It also depends on the implication as to whether the application was successful and worthy of the time given by the company. In case the system is not as much is required it would result in interaction failure. There are certain skills that are extremely essential for the professional in an information technology department. Primarily any professional in this field is required to have the required skills and knowledge in order to undertake the work on information technology with competency. Further a professional is required to be dedicated towards the area of work and it is essential that they remain in that sphere of work. Also a professional need to declare that he or she intends to be in this profession and finally the professional while making promises to the general public or to them must keep in mind that they need to keep those promises (Fortune and Peters, 2005). 1.3 The British Computer Society The British Computer Society can be defined as a chartered institute whose primary aim is to facilitate the information society. The objective is to promote broader economic as well as social progress by making advances in the field of information technology and science and practice (Bcs.org, 2015). The society aims to encompass the academicians, the different industries, the government and the practitioners so that they are able to share knowledge, make improvements in the area of computer education, encourage innovative thinking, figure out the public policies and also inform the public. This society is represented through the members and also the profession of Information Technology with regard to the different matters of significance, links with the other professional bodies. It also includes the government, the academicians, and the industries that would be able to commence and inform various debated with regard to the strategic issues in Information Technology (Bcs.org, 2015). The British Computer Society further tends to retain the relationships with a wide range of professionals and other governmental organizations. The society is ruled by the Royal Charter that this defines the objective of the Society which is to encourage the study and use of computing and to improve the knowledge and computer education for the advantage of the general public. It is the members of the Society that makes it possible for them to propagate and promote information technology at various levels. (Refer to Appendix 2) Some of the professional responsibilities that is given under the code of conduct of the British Computer Society are as follows: Firstly, with regard to the public interest professional are required to have full concern for the health and well being of the public, the privacy and security of the people and the environment and also they should not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed, ethnicity, race or sex. In case, this criterion is not met with it may lead to information system failure. For instance, there are chances of information system failure when the system does not correspond to the needs of the people as had been stated by the public. Secondly, the code of conduct specifically states that the professionals are required to take up that kind of work that is possible for them to do and that they are skilled in that particular area (bcs.org, 2015). Further they should never claim to have that sort of knowledge that they do not possess. In such cases where this code of conduct is not met, information system failure tends to increase. For instance, in case this standard is not met it might lead to interaction failure since for application to be successful it is essential that they know the work very well. Thirdly, the code of conduct of the British Computer Society states that it is essential to promote the advantages of Information Technology and also should help to promote the different sectors in the society so as to seek the opportunities that arise in this regard. This code of conduct is aimed for the promotion of Information Technology and this is extremely essential since it forms the root of the service and hence it needs to be well promoted by the professionals for their own benefits. Fourthly, the professional responsibilities needs to be carried out properly by the professionals with proper care and attention according to the needs and requirements of the appropriate authority and also at the same time they should be able to exercise their own professional judgment so that they are able to avoid any information system failure that might arise due to their own fault or wrongdoing. If the professionals do not carry out their work with proper care and attention the kind of failure that might arise is that there may be expectation failure where the stakeholders do not get the kind of work that they had expected from the information system. Fifthly, the code of conduct in the British Computer Society further states that the professional are not allowed to disclose any information that is confidential to any third party for their own personal advantage or gain. However, if such act is done with the permission of the appropriate authority or such act is given under the legislation then such act is permissible. This criterion is extremely essential in any professional conduct since in case such an act might lead to the information system failure. Finally, the code of conduct further mentions that it is the duty of the professional to accept it as a duty to sustain the reputation that the profession brings and not to indulge in any such act that might bring disrepute to the profession. It is essential that the professional rules and regulations are improved while developing or using the technology. It is extremely essential that the professionals conduct their work properly so as to bring in less information system failures. 1.4 Data Protection Act 1998 The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) of the United Kingdom including Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an Act of Parliament that deals with the process of data on the living people. It is a primary legislation that deals with the protection of data in the countries of United Kingdom. Primarily the Data Protection Act of 1998 comprises of eight important principles (Rowe, 2000). Firstly, personal data needs to be processed properly and legally until and unless one of the conditions given in Schedule 2 is considered and in cases where the personal data is sensitive one of the conditions of Schedule 3 should be maintained. The personal data that is obtained shall be only for the specific lawful purposes and such data should not be processed in any other way that is not compatible with those specified purposes (Carey, 1998). Further the act states that the personal data needs to be enough and appropriate with regard to the purposes for which it has been processed. The personal should also be accurate and regularly updated (Oppenheim, 2000). The data that has been processed for any purpose should not be kept longer than it is required for that particular purpose (Mullock and Leigh-Pollitt, 2000). For the rights of the people such data needs to be processed according to the rights given to data subjects. Proper technical measures needs to be taken against the illegal processing of data and any accidental loss or damage of the data. And finally personal data cannot be transferred outside the territory of European Economic Area (Wiewiorka, 2002). 1.5 Disability Discrimination Act The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 was a civil rights law that is prevalent presently in Northern Ireland (Vellani, 2013). It regulates any kind of discrimination against the people relating to education, employment, transportation etc. The act provides a number of such technologies that would be useful for the disabled people. For instance, the act provides that information be displayed on the computer screen for the disabled people, or information be provide on the computer disc or email for the disabled people who are visually impaired (Doyle, 2008). Further disabled should be given job information that is accessible by such person like computer disc or Braille. It provides for adjustments made for taking tests by the disabled by giving them computer with voice recognition software for the purpose (Wright and Conley, 2011). Also trade organization can make probable adjustments by giving the disabled online applications for their use. Task 2: Data Flow Diagram: 2.1 Process modelling: Process modelling can be considered as an act of representing the relationship among all activities of a business (Cutshall, 2007).Process modelling is done to analyze the business activities. Karn, (2013) stated that process modelling can be used for finding the drawbacks in existing business process. It indicates that process modelling can improve the efficiency of business activities. 2.2 Defining DFD as hierarchal diagram: The process in business is composed of more than one sub processes. As the processes mentioned in dataflow diagram can be divided into several subtasks, the data flow diagram shows hierarchical nature. However the higher level processes can be considered as parent process. Gurses and Diaz (2013) stated that incoming and outgoing flow of data requires being shown while describing hierarchical data flow diagram. 2.3 Level 1 DFD: 2.4 Level 2 DFDs: Figure 2: Level 2 DFD 2.5 Relationship between ERD and DFDs: DFDs are used for showing the relationship among various parts of a process or entity. ERDs are used for showing the relationship among different entities within a process. DFDs are used for describing a system in detail (Cutshall, 2007). However ERDs are also used for analysing the nature of relationships among various processes. Task 3: Critical success factors for IS development life cycle As stated by Gurses and Diaz, (2013) critical success factors of the project are some specific areas which determine whether the project will be successfully completed or not. Cutshall (2007) opined that critical success factors can be considered as parameters for measuring performance of a project The analysis indicates that critical success factors can be considered as those areas which require being focused during execution of a project. Lack of focus in the areas of critical success factor may restrict an organization from getting desired result. 3.1 Identification of critical success factors for ATP life insurance: In Avon Insurance the management uses some tools for enhancing the effectiveness of IT projects. Analysis of the case study indicates that the organization uses red/yellow/green coding system to assess the current status of a project. The management also uses reporting systems to monitor the progress in project. As a project is executed by different teams within an organization, collaboration among the teams is important to complete the tasks successfully. In Avon the senior line managers managing director and chief operating officer all monitor the progress in project. Collaboration among the senior managers also enables the teams for co-operating with each other. The members of senior management team receives reports on the project status and they develop future strategies for completing the project on basis of the report. Top management of Avon Insurance focuses on completing the project within budget. The organization uses investment tracking database for completing the project i n cost effective manner. Use of Colour coding system: Gurses and Diaz, (2013)stated that the use of colour coding system not only provides senior management with the information regarding condition of the tasks, it is also beneficial to avoid issues. Karn, (2013) opined that use of red/yellow/green colour coding system enables the project team to understand whether any help from management is required or not. The coding system uses three colours. The colour red indicates that the project team needs external help in order to meet the objectives. Menachemi and Singh, (2012) stated that the red colour indicates that the project team has faced serious issues while executing their tasks. Red colour also indicates that the issues faced by project team cannot be solved by them. The colour yellow in coding system indicates that the project may not be completed within time or budget (Menachemi and Singh, 2012). The project can be executed efficiently due to use of colour coding system (Qatawneh, 2012). According to A seeva et al.,( 2012) use of colour coding system is not only beneficial for project team, it is also effective for management of the organisation also. Ardagna (2012) stated that use of colour coding system also provides the management with information regarding their action at different phases of project. If the status indicates red colour, the management require taking immediate actions to solve the issues faced by project team (Yousef Obeidat, 2012). Use of yellow colour indicates chances of delay in project execution. The management require informing the sponsors about delay or cost overrun. Green status in the coding system indicates that management may not require taking any action. As the management of Avon uses colour coding system, the managers can predict whether the execution of project will be interrupted due to presence of issues or not. Analysis on the colour coding system also indicates that use of it enables Avon management to take immediate actions in response of an issue. Reporting senior line manager: Members of the project team in Avon report regularly to the senior line manager regarding status of the project. VojtaÃÅ' sÃÅ'Å’ (2013) stated that the line managers play vital roles in panning and organizing the tasks in project. According to Vie (2015) line manager is also responsible for ensuring that none of the resources are being wasted while executing the project. It indicates reporting to line manager ensures that any incidence regarding delay in project or additional budget requirement can be predicted in advance. Rahman, (2012) opined that the line managers are responsible for maintaining collaboration among members of the project team. Reporting the status of project to the senior line manager enables Avon management to assess the performance of teams. Reports to the senior line manager also enable the management to identify whether the project team requires any training. As the project team of Avon provides the line manager with info rmation on progress in work , the management becomes able to understand the need of any resources for timely completion of the project. As the requirements of resources are identified, projects in Avon can be executed uninterruptedly. Reporting managing director: Reporting to the managing director is effective for assessing whether the project will be able to meet objectives of an organisation (Qatawneh, 2012). The managing directors also analyse the reports to evaluate the process of implementing company policies into project management techniques. The managing director also evaluates the performance of project team. Avon Insurance conducts different IT projects to increase efficiency of the business units. Reports to managing director enables the organisation to identify whether the goals of company will be achieved after completion of the project. Reporting Chief operational officer: According to Peffers et al.,(2012) reporting to Chief Operating Officer enables the management to identify the requirement of bringing changes in operational activities of the project team. Although the COOs deal with evaluating monitoring the operational activities of a team, reporting to the operational officer can be effective to decide the future strategies of project team. The discussion on the role of COO in project management indicates that reporting to COO in Avon enables the project team to understand need of changing existing strategies. As the operational activities are changed regularly, efficiency of team increases in Avon. Using monthly reports for strategy development: As the Avon management undertakes most of the IT projects for improving business performances, the management requires changing strategies regularly. Assessing the project activities is effective to predict whether the project will be able to meet business goals. However different members of the top management team are responsible for developing different business strategies. Reporting to the line manager enables the management to develop strategies regarding the requirement of additional resources. However, it is also effective to evaluate the functioning of project team. Reporting to the managing director of Avon enables the project team to implement the policies of an organisation into project activities. The strategies related with change management in project are developed by the chief operating officer in Avon. As the project team reports to the COO of Avon regularly, the team understands whether their activities are meeting organ isational objectives or not. Using investment tracking database: Analysis of the case study indicates that the management of Avon uses investment tracking database to assess the performance of projects. Nakahara and Sasaki (2013) stated that the effectiveness of a project depends on the amount of ROI (return on investment). As the management uses investment tracking database in the organisation, cost effectiveness of the project can be assessed easily. 3.2 Suggestion on additional methods: Although the existing project management system in Avon is effective to execute the activities effectively, the management can implement some additional practices into their current project management techniques. Menachemi and Singh (2012) opined that implementation of advanced project management system does not ensure that all the projects will be completed successfully. (sd) states that each IT project is unique. These projects cannot be completed successfully due to various reasons. The Avon management can analyse the causes of failure of unsuccessful projects to improve their performance. The management can also implement professional codes to assess the performance of each employee who are involved with the project. Task 4: Privacy On-line: Luo (2012) stated that online privacy can be considered as the security of personal data which are shared using internet. As the use of internet activities increased significantly , the number of issues related with privacy loss is increasing among the users. Often the internet users require sharing their personal information such as name, address contact number or bank details to conduct different activities over internet. However the platforms where these sensitive information are being share requires ensuring that confidentiality of such information will be maintained. In most of the cases e-commerce platforms or social networking sites uses some rules to ensure that the information regarding a person are not disclosed. Krishnamurthy (2013) opined that increasing number of internet crimes often lead to loss of privacy. Often the e-commerce and social networking sites show interest to store the personal information about customers. These sites may store the details regarding produc ts or services. However, these platforms require informing their customers about the information which will be stored by these platforms. Luo (2012)stated that publishing or sharing personal information without the consent of user may lead to breach of privacy policies. 4.1 Identification of three websites: Although privacy policies in different websites are used for keeping the data secured, some differences are observed among the privacy policies of government, private and NGO websites. Karn, (2013) stated that purpose of data collection by a website varies according to the nature of organisation. Differences in purpose of data collection lead to generation of different privacy policies (Gurses and Diaz, 2013). However Fuchs et al., (2012) stated that presence of some common policies is also observed among different websites. In this assignment, privacy policies of UK government website, Tesco website and international HIV/AIDS Alliance website are analysed to identify the similarities and differences among them. The website of UK government collects data regarding the IP address, name and e-mail address about the visitors for monitoring how visitors use websites. Data on the visitors are also collected for responding to the queries. Tesco, UK based retailer, uses cookies to collect data on the internet browsing activities of visitors. However, the organisation also provides information to the visitors on purpose of collecting information. However, information collected on the visitors is used by Tesco website not only for improving the functionality but also for personalizing the site. The information for managing cookies is also provided in the privacy policies of Tesco. Alliance an international NGO requires collecting data for serving people. However cookies are also used in the website of alliance. (Refer to Appendix) URLs of the selected websites are as follows: UK Government website privacy policies: https://www.gov.uk/help/privacy-policy Privacy policies for TESCO website: https://www.tesco.com/help/privacy-and-cookies/ Privacy Policies for Alliance Website: https://www.aidsalliance.org/about 4.2 Similarities between the websites: Discussion on the privacy policies of UK government, Tesco and Alliance website indicates that all these websites use some common privacy policies. Factors UK Government website Tesco Website Alliance Website Informing visitors about data collection Informs Informs Informs Informing about the type of data collection Informs Informs Informs Stating the purpose of collecting data Informs Informs Informs Information regarding the process of data collection Informs Informs Informs Information regarding the process of data sharing Informs Informs Informs Table 1: Similarities among the privacy policies of three websites Analysis on the privacy policies of three websites indicates that all the websites inform visitors about the data collection. Although the websites collect data for different purposes, visitors are also provided with information regarding the purpose of collecting. The decision of users for visiting a website can be influenced by data collection policies of that website (Faculty.stedwards.edu, 2015). It indicates that providing the information on data collection policies is important to maintain privacy of visitors. Foster (2012) opined that informing the visitors about type of collected data enables the websites to maintain transparency of the process. Analysis on the privacy polices of three websites indicates that all the organization focus on using transparent data collection process. According to Cutshall (2007) privacy policies of the websites require containing information on the policies for sharing data. Discussion on the privacy policies of UK Government website, Tesco Webs ite and Alliance website indicates that visitors of all these websites are informed whether their personal data will be shared or not. 4.3 Differences between privacy policies: As UK government website, Tesco website and Alliance website serves the visitors for different purpose, privacy policies of these websites are also different. Factors UK Government website Tesco Website Alliance Website Use of cookies Does not use cookies Uses Cookies Uses Cookies Information on the policies of managing cookies NA Provides information for managing cookies Does not provide any such information Information on storage of data Provides information on data storage process Does not provide any such information Does not provide any such information Guarantee on data security Ensures that individuals cannot be identified from collected data Ensures that data will be secured Does not provide any guarantee for maintaining security of data during transmission Table 2: Differences between privacy policies among three websites Discussion on the privacy policies of the three selected website reflects some major differences. Tesco being a commercial website uses cookies for tracking the internet activities of a visitor. However the website also contains information so that the visitors can manage cookies by changing browser settings. Alliance website also uses cookies but the visitors are not provided with any information regarding the management of cookies. Website of UK government is not used for conducting any marketing activities. Thus the website does not use cookies for tracking activities in the browser of a visitor. Website of UK government contains full information on data storage on server. In case of Tesco website, security of data is ensured and the users can restrict organisation from collecting personal data. However the website of Alliance does not provide any guarantee on data security during transmission. However the organisation ensures that full effort will be given to maintain security of stored data. 4.4 Reason for differences in privacy policies: Colantonio et al., (2012) opined that difference in the functionality of websites also leads to development of different privacy policies. UK Government does not require conducting any marketing activities. Thus the website does not require using cookies for tracking the visitors activities. Tesco uses cookies for conducting marketing activities while Alliance uses it to understand the requirements of their stakeholders in more efficient manner. As the website of Tesco is used for conducting commercial activities, visitors may not allow the organisation for using their information. Alliance operates in different countries and availability of advanced technology is not equal in those countries. Alliance does not provide any guarantee of maintaining data security during transmission. Data on the visitors of UK government website is required for conducting limited activities .Thus the chances of data security loss reduces. Secrecy of data is guaranteed UK government website. 4.5 Groups privacy policies: The website developed by our group will use cookies for collecting data about the visitors. However, visitors of the website will be informed about the data collection. Privacy policy of our website will also include information regarding type of collected data and purpose of collecting data. Security of the data collected in groups website will be maintained. The data will be protected according to the Data Protection Act. Loss of data security can result ethical issues. However such issues will be resolved by applying Ethical Normative principles. Colantonio et al., (2012) stated that use of ethical normative principles reduces the negative effects of ethical problems. Aseeva et al.,(2012)opined that cookies are text files which are used for tracking the browsing activities of a internet user. Content of the cookies can be read only by server. Generally the cookies contain information on the sites. According to Ardagna (2012) each cookie can be identified uniquely. However cookies can be deleted from computers or mobiles. Conclusion The study above provides a brief outlook of the laws governing information technology in the United Kingdom. It gives knowledge of the methods to tackle information system failures and the framework of the information laws that are necessary to regulate the laws of the country. Analysis on the process modelling indicates that use of process modelling is effective to understand the relationships between all processes within a business. Use of DFD provides detailed information regarding the data flow among processes whereas use of ERD provides information regarding the interactions among various processes. Discussion on the critical success factors of projects indicates those areas which require being focused during execution of a project. Last section of the assignment deals with online privacy policies. The discussion on online privacy polices indicates that the number of issues related with privacy loss is increasing among internet users. However the website developers can use diffe rent privacy policies according to the functionality of website. References AntoÃÅ' n, P. (2003).Finding and fixing vulnerabilities in information systems. Santa Monica, CA: Rand. Ardagna, C. (2012). Business system management and engineering. Berlin: Springer. Aseeva, N., Babkin, E. and Kozyrev, O. (2012). Perspectives in business informatics research. Berlin: Springer. bcs.org, (2015). BCS, The Chartered Institute For It Trustee Board Regulations - Schedule 3 Code Of Conduct For Bcs Members. [online] Available at: https://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/conduct.pdf [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Bcs.org, (2015).BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT. [online] Available at: https://www.bcs.org/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2015]. Broy, M., GruÃÅ'ˆnbauer, J. and Hoare, C. (2007).Software system reliability and security. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Carey, P. (1998).Blackstone's guide to the Data Protection Act 1998. London: Blackstone Press. Colantonio, A., Di Pietro, R. and Ocello, A. (2012). Role mining in business. Singapore: World Scientific. Cutshall, R. (2007). Computer Privacy Annoyances How to Avoid the Most Annoying Invasions of Your Personal and Online Privacy. Journal of Information Privacy and Security, 3(4), pp.55-56. Doyle, B. (2008).Disability discrimination. Bristol: Jordans. Faculty.stedwards.edu, (2015). Principles of Normative Ethics. [online] Available at: https://faculty.stedwards.edu/ursery/norm.htm [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Fortune, J. and Peters, G. (2005).Information systems. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Foster, A. (2012). Let's integrate - information services, content, technologies and collaboration: The Business Information Survey 2012. Business Information Review, 29(1), pp.9-28. Fuchs, M., Ricci, F. and Cantoni, L. (2012). Information and communication technologies in tourism 2012. Vienna: SpringerWienNewYork. Gov.uk, (2015). Data protection - GOV.UK. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/data-protection/the-data-protection-act [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Gov.uk, (2015). Data protection - GOV.UK. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/data-protection/the-data-protection-act [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Gov.uk, (2015). Privacy policy - GOV.UK. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/help/privacy-policy [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Gurses, S. and Diaz, C. (2013). Two tales of privacy in online social networks. IEEE Secur. Privacy, 11(3), pp.29-37. International HIV/AIDS Alliance., (2015). Privacy and cookies. [online] Available at: https://www.aidsalliance.org/privacy-policy [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Karn, B. (2013). Fuzzy Logic Based Information Retrieval System. Saarbrucken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Khosrow-Pour, M. (2000).Organizational achievement and failure in information technology management. Hershey, Pa.: Idea Group Pub. Krishnamurthy, B. (2013). Privacy and online social networks: can colorless green ideas sleep furiously?. IEEE Secur. Privacy, 11(3), pp.14-20. Luo, J. (2012). Soft computing in information communication technology. Berlin: Springer. Menachemi, N. and Singh, S. (2012). Health information technology in the international context. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald. Mullock, J. and Leigh-Pollitt, P. (2000).The 1998 Data Protection Act. London: Stationery Office. Nakahara, M. and Sasaki, Y. (2013). Quantum information and quantum computing. Singapore: World Scientific. Nidirect.gov.uk, (2015). The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) | nidirect. [online] Available at: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/the-disability-discrimination-act-dda [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Oppenheim, C. (2000).The Data Protection Act, 1998. [London]: SCONUL. Peffers, K., Rothenberger, M. and Kuechler, W. (2012). Design science research in information systems. Berlin: Springer. Qatawneh, A. (2012). The Effect of Electronic Commerce on the Accounting Information System of Jordanian Banks. International Business Research, 5(5). Rahman, H. (2012). Knowledge and technologies in innovative information systems. Berlin: Springer. Rowe, H. (2000).Tolley's Data Protection Act 1998. Croydon, Surrey, England: Tolley. Tesco.com, (2015). Privacy and Cookies Policy - Tesco.com. [online] Available at: https://www.tesco.com/help/privacy-and-cookies/ [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Vellani, F. (2013).Understanding Disability Discrimination Law through Geography. Farnham: Ashgate Pub. Vie, D. (2015). Understanding Data Flow Diagrams. [online] Available at: https://ratandon.mysite.syr.edu/cis453/notes/DFD_over_Flowcharts.pdf [Accessed 1 Apr. 2015]. Vojta s, P. (2013). Information modelling and knowledge bases XXIV. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Wiewiorka, E. (2002).Data Protection Act 1998. Edinburgh: W. Green/Sweet Maxwell. Wise, J. and Debons, A. (1987).Information systems. Berlin: Springer Verlag. Wright, T. and Conley, H. (2011).Gower handbook of discrimination at work. Farnham, Surrey, England: Gower Pub. Yousef Obeidat, B. (2012). The relationship between Innovation diffusion and human resource information system (HRIS). Perspectives of Innovations, Economics and Business, pp.41-58.

Impacts of Gaming and Social Networking Decrease Violence Amongst Tee

Question: Discuss about theImpacts of Gaming and Social Networkingfor Decrease Violence Amongst Teenagers. Answer: Background and Overview Social media has changed the way of communication across the globe. Social networking sites have evolved the communication way so that information can be shared properly over the internet. It not only connects the people with the world but also shares a platform where each can put their opinions without doing any harm to other people (Ferguson and Colwell 2016). As the teenagers are more involved in these platforms, a number of violent crimes also decreased. On the other hand, with increasing sales of video games, violence amongst teens tends to drop. It is stated that, playing violent video games or spending more time on the social networking platform increase aggressing behavior amongst the teenagers. Through this research proposal, the researcher tries to highlight a major fact that there is no such evidence which indicates that gaming and social networking increases violence amongst teenagers. Instead of it, it is identified that these platforms encourage the teenagers more to not to get involved in any crimes or violence. Research Objective The research objectives are as follows To identify the extent through which gaming and social networking have positive influence over teen violent behavior To explore the behavioral changes of teenage people due to gaming and social networking To recommend the way through which gaming and social networking can further reduce the teen violent behavior Conceptual Foundation of the Topic Impacts of Gaming on Teenagers According to Granic, Lobel and Engels (2014), prosocial video games can enhance the lives of adolescents and children with mental growth. Video games not only increase the spatial, visual and cognitive abilities of the teenagers but also decrease depression and frustration amongst the teenagers. Now a day, teenagers mostly spent their times by playing video games such as Super Mario, Contra, tick tack toe and many others. Wang et al. (2015) opined that, in the teenage years, youth are become violent and aggressive towards small things. But from the research, it is identified that engagement in video games distract teenagers' mind which stops them to do any unethical behaviors. Figure 1: Conceptual Framework (Source: Created by Author) Impacts of Social Networking Sites on Teenagers Ferguson and Colwell (2016) acknowledged that social media poses benefits for teenagers health, mind and development. This has significant impacts on reducing violent crimes form the teenage world. Granic, Lobel and Engels (2014) opined that social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and many others highlights drastic events on the society. Promotions of these events on social media platforms allow the people to share their opinions verbally. Teenagers can also show their aggressiveness over these platforms by sharing their views, but this stops them to do any physical violence against anyone. Supportive environments of social platforms help the teenagers to act in more friendly rather than become violent or aggressive. Research Scope The major scope of this research proposal is to analyze the impacts of social networking sites on teenage behaviors. Through this research proposal, it can also be identified that that use of social networking sites or playing video games can decrease the violence amongst teenagers or not. References Ferguson, C.J. and Colwell, J., 2016. A Meaner, More Callous Digital World for Youth? The Relationship Between Violent Digital Games, Motivation, Bullying, and Civic Behavior Among Children. Ferguson, C.J., 2015. Do Angry Birds make for angry children? A meta-analysis of video game influences on childrens and adolescents aggression, mental health, prosocial behavior, and academic performance.Perspectives on Psychological Science,10(5), pp.646-666. Granic, I., Lobel, A. and Engels, R.C., 2014. The benefits of playing video games.American Psychologist,69(1), p.66. Wang, C.W., Ho, R.T., Chan, C.L. and Tse, S., 2015. Exploring personality characteristics of Chinese adolescents with internet-related addictive behaviors: Trait differences for gaming addiction and social networking addiction.Addictive behaviors,42, pp.32-35.

Indian Economy Essays - Geography Of Asia, Asia, Bengal,

Indian Economy India is located in the southern part of Asia and is also south of the Himalayan Mountains. This southern peninsula has the largest mineral deposits and the largest cultivable land in the continent. The population of India is critically large and although nearly all people are Hindu, some are of other religious denominations. The life of the Indian people is usually ruled by their caste system, but the system is not as firm as it was years ago. India has a mixed economy. The different elements of India, such as location, resources, and religious beliefs, mold the outcome of their economy. In the area that India is geographically located, the climate varies from tropical to extreme frigid temperatures. In the area closest to the mountains extreme temperature should be expected. The northern plains have heavy snowfalls. The northeastern part of India has a cool monsoon season from early December throughout February. A monsoon is a wind system that produces wet or dry seasons. If there are severe droughts, famines can result from it. On the other hand, too much rain can cause malaria. Also, the contradictory temperature of the northern days and nights fortify pulmonary disorders. The annual amount of precipitation along the southern slopes of the Himalayas is 60 inches. There is also a hot/dry season that begins in the middle of March until the beginning of July. During this time the Himalayan area has had temperatures of about 120 F. Calcutta, which is a city east the Himalayan mountains, has an average daily temperature of 55 F to 80 F during the month of January and 79 F to 89 F in July. The other areas of India, the southern and western parts usually have a tropical climate. They also have monsoons, but are referred to as the dry or wet seasons. These monsoons control the temperature, rainfall and humidity. The wet or rainy season is from June through September. Winds blow from the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The rain can be overwhelming and is typically 125 inches during this season. The Cherrapunji in the Khasi Hills has a yearly rainfall of about 425 inches. In Bombay, which is located in the west central part of India, have temperatures of 67? F to 83? F in January and 77? F to 85? F in July. With the different temperatures, natural resources can flourish or degenerate. India has many large cultivable regions, and numerable timber access. India's agriculture worth is one-third of the annual gross domestic product (GDP). The farms are usually humble and owned by families. The crops that are mostly cultivated for domestic proposes are rice, wheat, cotton, tea and jute, which is a plant that gives a fiber which can be made into sacking and cordage. India is responsible for a large amount of exports to the world. Sugar production a year during the early 1990's was 230 million metric tons. The annual production of tea was 743,000 tons. Rice was 72.6 million tons and wheat was 56.8 millions tons. Cotton was at 2.0 million and jute was at 1.4 million tons. Other agricultural products that are sold as exports are cashews, coffee, spices, barley, chickpeas, bananas, rubber, melons, vegetables, corn, sorghum, linseed, millet and mangoes. The timber in India is not varied, but is resourceful. In the Himalayan region, the cedar, pine, oak and magnolia trees are abundant. In the slopes if the Western Ghats, were there is heavy rainfall which give a home to evergreens, bamboo, teak, and other timber trees. In the southeastern part, the mangrove and the sal are very common. These two trees are hardwood timber. Other resources include fishing, mining, and manufacturing. The fish, forestry mining and manufacturing, that are of economic significance contribute to the Gross Domestic Products. Shrimps and prawns, India oil sardines, ducks, croakers, Bombay, Indian mackerel, anchovies and marine catfish are the sea life that Indian people consume. Even though the fishing industry is underdeveloped when compared to other fishing industries, it is a vital tool for the people. In the Ganges delta in Bengal it most important. The government has encouraged deep-sea fishing by constructing processing plants and paying for fleets and vessels going to the ocean. 59% of the country's 4.2 million annual catch in the early 1990's was made of the marine species. 23% of the total land area in India of made up of forestlands. The regions bordering, the Himalayas are the largest source for commercial forestry. The annual timber harvest was 9.9 billion cubic feet in

Organization and Key Performance Indicators Greenpeace

Organization and Key Performance Indicators Greenpeace Greenpeace is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that focuses on global environmental issues. The NGO uses â€Å"none combative approaches and creative confrontations in its quests for green solutions and a peaceful future† (source: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/). Greenpeace strives at ensuring that the â€Å"Earth nurtures life in all its diversities† (source: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organization and Key Performance Indicators: Greenpeace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As such, it aims at protecting biodiversity in all its forms, prevent pollution and abuses of the Earth’s natural resources, eliminate all nuclear threats, and enhance peace, global disarmament, and non-violence. Greenpeace Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) relate to areas of Human Resources (HR), communications, and volunteer relations. In the HR department, KPI s include compensation, rewards, and benefit plans, recruitment, employee orientation, administrative tasks, employee relations, and level of engagement or satisfaction among employees and volunteers. Administrative duties including managing personnel files, update organizational charts, participation in employee meetings, review employees’ information for wrongful entries. Recruitment indicators covers areas of finding qualified staff, application forms have correct details, accurate posting of vacancies, and recruits go through all areas of pre-employment procedures. Employee orientation includes arrange for orientation trainings, educate new hires on organizational culture, and get information regarding wages, benefits, rewards, and payroll. KPIs also include induction and signing of codes of conduct, and monitoring of acceptable trainings.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF L earn More Compensation KPIs entail processing of payroll with no mistakes, check areas of overtime, account for paid leave days, and analyses of vacation benefits. In addition, there is also demonstration of knowledge of the organizational compensation policy, and motivational aims. Employees and volunteer relations cover areas of promotion of teamwork, management of conflict, responses from the HR department regarding queries, and both employees and volunteers willing to demonstrate a sense of cooperation and retention. In the area of volunteer relations, KPIs cover office assistances, hours of inputs in campaigns, number of copies translated from English to French, the number of volunteers involved in fundraising, campaigns, and volunteers that have completed their schedules successfully. Communication department KPIs includes public relations, advertisement, promotion, and e-promotions. SMART Goals for the Organization and the chosen departments We begin by identification of goals that are crucial for the success of the organization. Goals reflect the desired outcome Greenpeace wants to accomplish or achieve in the future. These goals are tactical in nature as they define short-term aims from specific organizational departments. They aim at motivating the staff and increase the level of commitment, offer guidance, and provide a platform for monitoring and measuring performance (Barton, 2000). Goal definition within an organization provides opportunities for conceptualization the way forward for the organization. Consequently, it enables responsible departments to develop and master the future direction of the organization. This is a means of assuring stakeholders that the organization will achieve its mission within a specific period. Scholars recommend that goals should meet some defined criteria that those responsible for their monitoring and measurement can use to gauge such goals (Barton, 2000). Most organizations have adopted the SMART approach to define and evaluate their goals. Goals must identify the mission and stakeholders of the organization. SMART goals help the organization identify appropriate KPIs for measuring achievements towards such goals. Identification of SMART goals in the organization helps the organization defines a path of serving its mission and creating value to various stakeholders involved. KPIs usually monitor and measure the organizational SMART goals identified in any department (Davis, 2009). In this context, the goals must demonstrate certain characteristics such as specific, quantifiable, attainable, reasonable, and timely.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organization and Key Performance Indicators: Greenpeace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, we must apply SMART principle to any goal that relates to KPIs. We shall have SMART goals for the organization in HR, communications, and employees and volunteer engagement and sat isfaction rate. At the same time, there shall be three KPIs for the goals that we seek to improve. These goals take into account impacts of KPIs on every indicator, and abilities of both employees and volunteers to execute them successfully. Therefore, the organization has full control over the goals. In the HR department, we seek to look at HR department response to queries from employees and volunteers. We have noticed that the HR department takes longer than usually to respond to both volunteers and employees’ queries. Thus, we have identified SMART goal to monitor and measure performance for improvement purposes. We seek to increase the rate of responding to queries by the HR department from 72 hours to 24 hours between June 2012 and December 2012. This represents a 33 percent increment in the rate of response. In employee and volunteer engagement, we seek to know the overall level of both employees’ and volunteers’ satisfaction and engagement with the organ izational work aspect of eliminating nuclear threats. Thus, the goal is to enhance the level of both employees’ and volunteers’ engagement in work aspect of eliminating nuclear threats from the current 10 percent to 25 percent by the end of the year 2012. This represents a 15 percent increment in six months. Greenpeace work aspects depend on communication. Thus, setting goals for communication is fundamental for success of the organizational mission. The goal is to enhance the use of social, and trendy media platform for campaigns in promoting the green future from the current 40 percent to 70 percent by the end of the year 2012. This reflects an increase of 30 percent in a period of six months. Increased Accountability Explanation of how Smart goals will enhance performance, transparency, and accountability including supporting strategies that demonstrate how to reach the goal The primary aims of organizational goals are to motivate employees and volunteers. Thus, goa ls should demonstrate ambition but not serve the purpose of demoralization. Goals for measuring performance must show elements of action e.g. increase, and highlight areas of time lines, rating, and quantities.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These goals are relevant to departments and are specific in terms of areas of focus. This approach attempts to align goals with specific departments and in turn the organizational mission. For instance, Greenpeace aims at increasing the level of employees and volunteers’ involvement in achieving the goal of eliminating threats of nuclear activities by 15 percent within six months. Time and end periods enable employees and volunteers to know when they should achieve their goals. Thus, employees and volunteers no longer see such goals as suggestions but real. The department should measure goals and performance using job appraisal processes. The specific nature of goals enables easy evaluation of the achievements against set targets. Studies show that a yearly performance review tends to have low levels of effectiveness due to longer durations. This explains why we set Greenpeace goals within six months. This reduces possibilities of referring to goals when appraisal period appr oaches. Short-term goals enable employees and volunteers focus on their activities of the day and avoid distraction to achieve both individual and departmental goals. Goals also promote accountability and engage employees and volunteers in productive activities for the organization. Greenpeace goals are SMART. This is one approach of enhancing accountability in measurement and performance. Employees and volunteers must set SMART goals for their respective departments. The department must capture all SMART elements in every goal that it aims to measure. Departments must identify specific areas such as time, quantities, rates, and names of indicators so as to reduce complexities associated with defining goals. In fact, employees, departmental heads, and volunteers should give the name of the goal, its detailed description, milestones, means of gauging outcomes, commencing date, and date when it is due. The department must set priorities for attainment of its goals. In cases where ther e are competing priorities, the department must identify the most crucial goal for its success. Consequently, it must focus its resources and effort in order to attain such goals. For instance, Greenpeace communication department must prioritize popular and emerging social media so that it can reach that segment of populations instead of relying on print communications. Both employees and volunteers must comprehend the value of each goal and levels of competency they require. Prioritization enhances decision-making in cases of scarce resources. The department should also create a means of reminding employees and volunteers about goals and their components such as due dates and milestones achieved and gaps. This improves transparency and accountability. SMART goals tend to align both the workforce and organizational goals in order to achieve organizational mission. Most studies have demonstrated that, employees who understand how their daily inputs contribute to the overall mission o f the organization are more accountable than their counterparts who lack such knowledge. Therefore, for improved performance, accountability, and transparency, employees and volunteers must understand that their individual contributions do matter to the organization. The department should communicate to its workforce through setting goals at slightly higher levels and then distribute the targets to the workforce. The idea of distribution enables every staff conceptualizes how an individuals efforts are necessary for Greenpeace to achieve its overall goals. It also enables every staff track his or her achievements and current status. This enhances a sense of accountability in the department. Accountability, transparency, and performance go together. People tend to perform tasks best when there is a supervisor or when they can easily identify effects of their contributions in an organization. Therefore, the department should provide tools to enable its workforce monitor and communicat e their progress. The organization can implement technological innovation that can assist employees monitor their progress through employees’ portal or in the organizational intranet. Such applications provide summaries of what an individual should deliver, time, and the gaps left. This provides opportunities for employees and volunteers to keep their team leaders up-to-date with their performance statuses. Managers can have unlimited access to their direct reports performances. At the same time, the executives can also access such reports and can also send their feedback to individuals who directly contribute to organizational goals. Such levels of monitoring enhance accountability, transparency and improve performance among employees. Likewise, the management can redirect resource to areas that need attention so as to enable everyone account for their performances. How the planning process and establishment of SMART goals and increased accountability among employees will le ad to a better employee (and volunteer) retention and increased employee morale Performance management using SMART goals to enhance both employees and volunteers morale and retention is not an easy task. Thus, several skills and training are necessary among departmental managers. Training is necessary to enable managers feel confident about tasks before them. This is useful in cases where some management team may be newly promoted. According to MacMillan, managers must â€Å"understand human behavior, how to motivate, how to develop, provide coaching, and handle conflict† (MacMillan, 2012). Managers play significant roles in observing and managing the prevailing circumstances, offer motivation, and manage issues that may interfere with implementation of SMART goals. Enhancing morale and motivation implies that managers must understand individual differences of the workforce such as abilities, experiences, and support needed. Thus, preparing managers for planning, implementati on of SMART goals, evaluation, and provisions of feedback will lead to goal achievements, employee motivation, and retention. The organization should also link â€Å"SMART goals, performance with rewards and recognition† (MacMillan, 2012). Performance management should be fair, transparent, and equitable so that employees can believe in the process. Rewards, benefits, and compensation should be consistent throughout the organization. Consistency ensures that there is transparency and accountability and in turn enhances employees’ satisfaction with the goals and job. Organizations that link their â€Å"compensation procedures with performance must be critical of this issue† (MacMillan, 2012). The organization should have consistent and fair compensation policy across all departments. Thus, any deviation may lead to dissatisfaction and reduced morale and motivation among employees. How the overall plan will better enable the organization to fulfill its mission A b etter implementation of SMART goals for achieving Greenpeace mission of green and peaceful future starts with performance planning. SMART goals are the basis for performance planning. SMART goals have actionable plan that will guide both employees and volunteers work towards achievements of the organization overall mission. Achieving the mission through SMART goals should be a collaborative process among management teams, employees, and volunteers. Every target element must have a clear description and realistic expectation. Planning processes must identify both long-term and short goals that work towards achievement of organizational mission. At the same time, there should be clear implementation strategy on how each department shall attain its objectives. Every department must prioritize its goals. There should also be a clear and detailed method of evaluation. Greenpeace must also identify factors that may hinder it from achieving its SMART goals. Organization should offer traini ng, motivation, and mentoring to overcome any issues that concern employees or volunteers such as behavior, attitude, skills, or knowledge. The departments must carry out regular monitoring, assessment, and solve issues that may hinder SMART goals for achieving organization mission. There can also be changes in direction, reallocation of resources, and training during implementation stages. Communications and feedback are crucial during these stages so as to enhance continuous improvement of the team. Mission aim should be an ongoing process in the organization. Processes of planning, setting SMART goals, performance planning, monitoring, feedback, and continuous training are mandatory for achieving the mission of the organization. These processes also provide opportunities for the organization to identify any gaps that may affect progresses. There should be full participation of all members of the organization so that teamwork can deliver the mission. References Barton, R. (2000). Organizational Goal Setting and Planning. Murray, KY: Murray State University. Davis, J. (2009). Managing and Achieving Organizational Goals. New York, NY: American Management Association. MacMillan, A. (2012). Importance of Performance Management Process Best Practices To Optimize Monitoring Performance Work Reviews/Feedback and Goal Management. Raising the Bar on Performance Management Process, 1, 1- 6.

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Essay

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art - Essay Example This is particularly in the many cases where parts of their cultural heritage have been used or misused for profit without the authorization or knowledge of the original owners. It is important that the rights of the indigenous people to control their intellectual property as well as be principally involved in the determination of the latitude and nature of access and reproduction are recognized. Ironically, while in the recent past many foreigners have been benefiting from selling reproducing and marketing other products through indigenous art, the first westerners in Australia did not even acknowledge the indigenous people had art. They assumed they were too backwards and primitive to conceptualize or appreciate such ostentation and all the art in Australia was treated as artifacts with only historical but not artistic or aesthetic value. From the days of initial occupation, there has been a long history of misuse and illegal exploitation of arts designs and a multiplicity of cultu ral expression such as oral traditions, music dances and crafts. In 1968, the government in an effort to safeguard the cultural heritage from exploitation came up with the copyright act of 1968. This law was a trendsetter for other legal frameworks that would later come to be implemented in regard to protecting the diversity of indigenous heritage is posterity.3 According to the act; copyright did not need to be registered, all one needed to have a copyright was to produce original work, as such any existing artistic expression such as music was by default the property of the community or individuals who had produced it. This law took cognizance of the fact that majority of those who owned the cultural expression being safeguarded at the time were not educated and they could not have followed convectional registration protocols. It therefore prevented unscrupulous individuals who may have desired to register such works as their own and take advantage of the ignorance of the indigeno us community. The law also provided that the copyright would only expire 50 years after the death of the creator of the works in question. Successive legislation was built on this law and one of the hallmarks was the 1983 decision in favor of the aboriginal artist agency which set the precedent for modern protection of intellectual property by proving indigenous works, just like any other creative works could be legally recognized as authentic. In addition, the 1983 act implemented UNESCOs convection for protection of world cultural heritage sites which Australia had ratified 11 years previously. 4 An examination of the history of copyright law in austral would be incomplete without a mention of the 1994 carpet case. This was a landmark in the legal protection of Aboriginal art, it pitted 3 aboriginal artists as well as the relatives of five deceased ones against Beechrow; a firm based in Perth which bought carpets in Vietnam and imported them in Australia for prices as high as $400 0 .5 The company reproduced the works of several Australian artists living and dead on the carpets to make them seem authentic and thus justify their high cost as well as a attract thousands of local and international clients

Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Essay

Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development - Essay Example Market therefore becomes central to the economic development where entrepreneurship and innovation become powerful factors to influence economic growth. Position of the paper Entrepreneurship and innovation are critical issues within socio-economic development that are intrinsically linked to growth. In the contemporary environment of competitive business, the role of creative entrepreneurship becomes vital ingredient of competitive advantage within the industry, irrespective of its structure or model. Indeed, various paradigms of economic growth are significantly impacted by entrepreneurial vision that anticipates change and competently exploits it for profit (Kuratko and Hodgetts, 2004). In the current environment of competitive business, entrepreneurship and innovation become the major enabling elements of competitive advantage and intrinsic part of economic growth. The paper would therefore be discussing the facilitating role of entrepreneurship and innovation in the economic dev elopment of society and how creativity and problem solving support the relationship. How entrepreneurship and innovation become driving force for economic development While the normal human behavior tends to follow a rational approach, an entrepreneur is highly indigenous in his/her actions and thoughts which often results in innovation and path breaking ideas, impacting human lives and leading to development (Harvey, M. and R. Evans, 1995). Oprah Winfrey is fitting example of entrepreneurial creativity who grabbed opportunity and brought about major social change vis-a-vis perspective in racial discrimination. She showed how a person can rise above the conformity of race and gender to become successful and promote socio-economic development of society. Indeed, the development of society is based on the revolutionary ideas of the few which has considerably influenced and restructured social fabric in a more rationale manner. Kirzner (1973) believes that entrepreneurs tend to identif y profit opportunities and act on their insights to become more productive, thus contributing towards economic growth. A market driven economy hugely supports entrepreneurial innovation as it is able to experiment with new ideas and exploit opportunities. Entrepreneurship is dynamic and evolves with changing times to maintain its leverage against industrial rivals. Facebook, twitter, Apple, Microsoft etc. are important companies that were able to exploit new ideas and turned them into roaring businesses. Through the evolving process of entrepreneurial creativeness, the companies, that fundamentally adopt a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, are better able to cope with increasing competition in the market and impact economic growth. The major theories that support the relationship between creative entrepreneurship and development Schumpeter (1934) has been one of the most influential social scientist to propose that economic growth is driven by innovation. He asserted that radical innovation brought disruptive changes while incremental innovations were proactive in continuous process of change. According to him, there were five types of innovation. While new product development ensured that people’s changing requirements are met, new methods of productions like lean production, TQM etc promoted efficiency and quality. Market

Starbucks Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Starbucks - Research Proposal Example This has resulted in the shifting of the power balance from the sellers to the consumers. While consumers are getting more and more demanding in nature, because of their high access to information related to various products and services around the world, the sellers are getting under intense pressure to cater to the needs of the masses. This is resulting in connecting economic policy based developments with regards to political movements of many new and emerging regions, which is thus resulting in the emergence of new economies. Talking from the sellers’ point of view, it is important to mention that because of the high level of connectivity, the world of business has transformed itself into a single connected entity. Needless to say, because of the existence of a single connected world, gaining access to foreign and newer markets has become relatively easy as compared to the previous times. This is resulting in providing the boost to the companies and business organizations, in regards to the process of gaining information to the newer markets. It can be said that because of the easy access to information, the organizations are increasingly focusing on the process of entering new markets. This is resulting in the spiking of the level of competition in regards to the new markets, as in the recent times the more developed and well established markets of the West is facing a situation of stagnancy and low growth because of the multiple economic challenges. Because of the high amount of competition faced in the marketplaces of both the developed as well as the developing economies, the focus has increasingly shifted towards the multiple variables of marketing like product, place, promotion and price. For this project, it is important to mention that the company that has been selected is Starbucks. The entire project will highlight about the various issues related to the company of Starbucks as well as its related services in the various markets around the world. History of Starbucks It can be said that the company Starbucks was founded in the year 1971 in Seattle in America. The company opened with just a single store in the historic area of Pike Place Market and has entered into a mode of high growth and fast development. It is important to mention that the first chairman, president and chief executive of the company is Howard Schultz, who joined the organization in the year 1982. It has to be said that the first top level executive of the company had the vision of bringing the tradition of Italian coffee to the US. He also had the dream of building an image of a place for human interaction as well as community sense over a cup of coffee. Hence, the focus from the very beginning was not only on the product but was also on developing a feeling for the product as well. The mission of the company is to inspire and develop the spirit associated with a cup of coffee for a person at a single neighbourhood at any time. As of the recent day , the company Starbucks operates in over 62 countries, which are spread in various developing as well as the developed economies (Starbucks, â€Å"Our Heritage†). Product of Starbucks It is of considerable importance to mention the

Silicon Carbide: Structure, Uses and History

Silicon Carbide: Structure, Uses and History 2.1 Silicon Carbide 2.1.1 Historic Overview Silicon carbide as a material that precedes our solar system, travelling through interstellar space for billions of years, generated inside the fiery nuclear hearts of carbon rich red giant stars and in the remnants of supernovae (Davis, 2011). As a synthesized material it was first discovered by the Swedish scientist Jà ¶ns Jacob Berzelius in 1824 during his pursuit to synthesize diamonds. Sixty years later, Eugene and Alfred Cowles, invented the electric smelting furnace in 1885 (Cowles and Cowles, 1885). Edward Goodrich Acheson based on Cowles invention, created the first process to produce SiC (silicon carbide) while experimenting to find an alternative suitable mineral to substitute diamond as an abrasive and cutting material. The synthetic mineral created by the process was characterized by great refractability and hardness (Saddow and Agarwal, 2004). During the production of SiC crystals, Acheson found hexagonal crystals inside his patented reactor and sent a sample to Profes sor B.W. Frazier were it was discovered that although the crystals were all made from the same substance their crystalline structure differed (Acheson, 1893, p.287). Later, in 1905 Henri Moissan discovered natural SiC crystal inside a meteorite thus the mineralogist community named the mineral moissanite (Saddow and Agarwal, 2004). In 1907, was the year were the first Light Emitting Diode (LED) was produced by H.J. Round, when by placing contacts on a SiC crystal and applying 10V, yellow, green and orange luminescence was observed at the cathode (Brezeanu, 2005). Decades later, a renewal of interest surrounding SiC emmerged when the seeded sublimation growth invented by Tairov and Tsvetkov (1978) made the creation of SiC wafers a reality, thus giving the material the opportunity to be studied for electronic applications. Three years later, Matsunami, Nishino and Ono (1981) showed that the creation of a single crystal of SiC on a Si substrate was feasible increasing the number and va riety of possible applications even more. A huge milestone occurred in 1987 when through the use of â€Å"step controlled epitaxy†, high quality epitaxy of SiC could be made at low temperature on off-axis substrates (Kuroda et al., 1987). Based on this breakthrough Cree Inc. was founded in 1989, and manufactured the first commercial blue LEDs based on SiC along with the production of SiC wafers. 2.2.2 Crystal structure polytypes and characteristics 4. Examples of applications of CDC (Carbide derived Carbon) The multiple nanostructures that CDC presents, makes it a strong candidate to be implemented in numerous potential applications. In their paper, Presser, Heon and Gogotsi (2011) delineate the major research fields for future applications that CDC is currently attracting. In particular, these fields are: (1) The creation of Graphene based electronic devices (2) CDC as a new electrode material for supercapacitors (3) The use of CDC in fuel cells as a gas storage (e.g. hydrogen, methane) (4) CDC application in tribological coatings (5) Pt catalyst on CDC support (6) Protein sorption using CDC . Apart from the aforementioned fields another application area under research is to use CDC for CDI (capacitive deionization) of water or for desalination. The following chapters will give an extensive view of the research done on these fields although the main focus is the . 4.1 Graphene based electronic devices In 2003, (Dimitrijev and Jamet) published a paper were they stated that â€Å"Although SiC offers substantial advantages over Si, in terms of physical properties and thermal stability, it cannot compete Si devices in the areas of low cost, functional density, and moderate temperature applications. However, SiC has created its own applications niche where its unique material properties high electric breakdown field, high thermal conductivity, and high saturated electron drift velocity give this material significant advantages†. Since then, major manufacturers of SiC wafers such as Cree Inc., broke the 500$ barrier per wafer and made SiC accessible for researchers and the industry for optoelectronic devices (EE-Times, 1999) along with the introduction of 150 mm 4H SiC wafer in 2012 (Cree Inc., 2012). The previous breakthroughs made SiC a cheap precursor for the growth of epitaxial graphene. Grapse gia to pos to ftiaxnoume apo to prohgoumeno kefalaio. The intermediate product o f Si sublimation from SiC is CDC were further process gives monolayer or multilayers of graphene. An application under research and a proposed manufacturing method, is the creation of flexible transparent electrodes for screens due to the flexibility, high electrical conductivity and strength of the material (Bae et al., 2010). Studies have shown that CDC is a powerful selective sorbent for a number of molecules due to the variety of sizes its porosity exhibits (Nikitin and Gogotsi, 2004, p. 533) and is suitable for applications such as the removal of toxins or cytokines from human blood (Yushin et al., 2006). Another field of application is the removal of toxic compounds from water or the capacitive deionization (CDI) of water. Particularly, according to (Zou et al., 2008) the ordered mesoporosity of CDC used as an electrode material for electrosorptive deionization is a more effective way of removing salt from water, when compared with the salt-removing capability of activated carbon. The explanation is that activated carbon materials contain randomly arranged mesopores and micropores were ordered mesoporous carbon contains predominately ordered mesopores that increase the capacity to desalinate water. Another example is the usage of CDC as catalyst supports for fuel cells (Jerome, 2005) References Acheson, E.G. (1893) Carborundum: Its history, manufacture and uses, Journal of the Franklin Institute, 136(4), pp. 279 289. Bae, S., Kim, H., Lee, Y., Xu, X., Park, J.S., Zheng, Y., Balakrishnan, J., Lei, T., Kim, H.R., Song, Y.I., Kim, Y.J., Kim, K.S., Ozyilmaz, B., Ahn, J.H., Hong, B.H. and Iijima, S. (2010) Roll-to-roll production of 30-inch graphene films for transparent electrodes, Nature nanotechnology, 5(8), pp. 574-578. Brezeanu, G. (2005) Silicon carbide (SiC): a short history. an analytical approach for SiC power device design. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=1558796 (Accessed: 7/31/2014 2014). Cowles, A.H. and Cowles, E.H. (1885) Electric Smelting Furnace. U.S. Patent 319945. Cree Inc. (2012) Cree News: Cree Introduces 150-mm 4HN Silicon Carbide Epitaxial Wafers. Available at: http://www.cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases/2012/August/150mm-wafers (Accessed: 7/28/2014 2014). Davis, A.M. (2011) Stardust in meteorites, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(48), pp. 19142-19146. Dimitrijev, S. and Jamet, P. (2003) Advances in SiC power MOSFET technology, Microelectronics Reliability, 43(2), pp. 225 233. EE-Times (1999) Cree Researchs SiC wafers break $500-price barrier for opto applications | EE Times. Available at: http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1268808 (Accessed: 7/28/2014 2014). Jerome, A. (2005) MIXED REACTANT MOLECULAR SCREEN FUEL CELL. US 2005/0058875 A1. Available at: http://patents.com/us-20050058875.html (Accessed: 21/07/2014). Kuroda, N., Shibahara, K., Yoo, W.S., Nishino, S. and Matsunami, H. (1987) Extended Abstracts of the 19th Conf. on Solid State Devices and Materials, Tokyo, Japan, 1987. , 227. Matsunami, H., Nishino, S. and Ono, H. (1981) Heteroepitaxial growth of cubic silicon carbide on foreign substrates, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 28(10), pp. 1235 1236. Nikitin, A. and Gogotsi, Y. (2004) Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Vol. 7. Valencia, CA: American Scientific Publishers. Presser, V., Heon, M. and Gogotsi, Y. (2011) Carbide-Derived Carbons From Porous Networks to Nanotubes and Graphene, Advanced Functional Materials, 21(5), pp. 810-833. Saddow, S.E. and Agarwal, A. (eds.) (2004) Advances in Silicon Carbide Processing an Applications. Boston: Artech House Inc. Tairov, Y.M. and Tsvetkov, V.F. (1978) Investigation of growth processes of ingots of silicon carbide single crystals, Journal of Crystal Growth, 43(2), pp. 209 212. Yushin, G., Hoffman, E.N., Barsoum, M.W., Gogotsi, Y., Howell, C.A., Sandeman, S.R., Phillips, G.J., Lloyd, A.W. and Mikhalovsky, S.V. (2006) Mesoporous carbide-derived carbon with porosity tuned for efficient adsorption of cytokines, Biomaterials, 27(34), pp. 5755 5762. Zou, L., Li, L., Song, H. and Morris, G. (2008) Using mesoporous carbon electrodes for brackish water desalination, Water research, 42(8-9), pp. 2340-2348.

Beauty and The Bluest Eye :: Bluest Eye Essays

Beauty and The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison's novel, The Bluest Eye contributes to the study of the American novel by bringing to light an unflattering side of American history. The story of a young black girl named Pecola, growing up in Lorain, Ohio in 1941 clearly illustrates the fact that the "American Dream" was not available to everyone. The world that Pecola inhabits adores blonde haired blue eyed girls and boys. Black children are invisible in this world, not special, less than nothing. The idea that the color of your skin somehow made you lesser was cultivated by both whites and blacks. White skin meant beauty and privilege and that idea was not questioned at this time in history. The idea that the color of your skin somehow made you less of a person contaminated black people's lives in many different ways. The taunts of schoolboys directed at Pecola clearly illustrate this fact; "It was their contempt for their own blackness that gave the first insult its teeth" (65). This self hatred also po ssessed an undercurrent of anger and injustice that eventually led to the civil rights movement. The characters in this book as well as the time period mark a time in American history that played an important role in the ideas of equality and freedom. All of the elements on which this country were founded upon were twisted so they no longer applied to blacks and other minorities in this country. The life led by Pecola as well as others like her good or bad is a part of history that was experienced by many Americans in all parts of the country. While it is questionable whether total equality has been reached in this country, many ideas have changed for the better. This book is significant because it shows a different side to American literature as well as life. Morrison points out what has changed and what has stayed the same. While people are generally equal, there are still prejudices in the idea of what is beautiful and who is worthy.