Homer`s Ajax Essays - Mythological Kings, Ajax, Suicide, Trojans

Homer`s Ajax The relevance that the themes of tragedy could have to issues affecting the city-state even in plays whose plots had ostensibly nothing to do with life in a polis shows up clearly in Sophocles' play entitled Ajax, presented in the early 440s B.C. The play bore the name of the second-best warrior (Achilles had been preeminent) in the Greek army that besieged Troy in the Trojan War. When his fellow Greek soldiers voted to award the armor of the dead Achilles to the wily Odysseus instead of himself, Ajax went on a berserk rampage against his former friends which the goddess Athena thwarted because Ajax had once rejected her help in battle. Disgraced by his failure to secure revenge Ajax committed suicide. Odysseus then stepped in to convince the Greek chiefs to bury Ajax despite his attempted treachery because the future security of the army and the obligations of friendship demanded that they obey the divine injunction always to bury the dead. Odysseus' arguments in favor of burying Ajax anachronistically treat the army as if it were a polis, and his use of persuasive speech to achieve accommodation of conflicting individual interests to the benefit of the community corresponds to the way in which disputes in the polis were supposed to be resolved.

Analysis of the three projects

Analysis of the three projects Project Juniper The project is clearly at the initiation stage (Reiss, 2007). The risk profile for this project is lowest. It is likely to be complete in six months and making a profit within one year – one of the deliverables of this project analysis. Although investing in this project does not serve the company’s long-term needs, because technology will render it obsolete, it is a profit-making investment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of the three projects specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More I would rather make profits then invest a another project in three years because, in comparison, the project that will last a long time does not look long-term – 7 years is not much. These actions and thoughts are clearly the first two steps of Project Management – initiation and planning (Schwalbe, 2012). Project Palomino The project is better than Juniper on two major fronts. First, it cat ers to the company’s long-term needs as it employs existing technology. Second, the Return on Investment (ROI) is also higher though with higher overall investment (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Ana analysis of budget and time reveals that I would prefer Juniper to Palomino. Additionally, the risk profile is greater which may compromise implementation necessary risk mitigation techniques are not employed (Jacobs Chase, 2011). The critical path is the longest route in a network diagram that indicates the time the project will take. It is hard to construct a network diagram for a project with complex times and huge budgets but the availability of software for that purpose makes it easy. In this project, the techniques may be useful to the project manager in evaluating the progress of the project. Project Stargazer This project’s recommendation of getting to the deep end of the swimming pool is too risky. Bringing in a new innovative product to the market requires too much inves tment in the analysis of the project (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Hence, the cost of analysis, which is not reflected in the description, may take up any profits that the company is likely to make in the first month. Making profits in the first month is one of the deliverables of this project. The forecasted product life of 7 years is quite appealing but risky too. However, this project, is successful, may set the company apart from the others. The management will be happy for been the innovative house. Customers will appreciate the company’s innovativeness, which they will reciprocate with trust. Hence, the future may look so bright for the company (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Recommendation In light of key deliverables – profits within the first year, time, and budget Project Stargazer is the riskiest. The budgets are high and the possibility of non-completion quite high too. However, I would recommend the project for implementation stage (Jacobs Chase, 2011). The initiation a nd planning stages take up quite some investment in budget. The stages are also quite speculative. Implementation is likely to reveal greater loopholes.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The company will be investing in more than just this project because the future of the company as an innovation house will be guaranteed. Its NPV is greatest and its payback period second best. Although the budgets are almost double the other two projects, Project Stargazer’s benefits far outweigh the budgetary thinking. This project’s project manager may find it quite useful to engage the use of a Gantt chart in managing complexity in cost and time. References Jacobs, R. Chase, B. (2011). Operations and supply management: The core. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education Reiss, G. (2007). Project Management Demystified. New York, NY: Routledge. Schwalbe, K. (2012). An in troduction to project management. Minneapolis: Kathy Schwalbe LLC.

Cause Effect Papers

Cause Effect Papers Cause Effect Papers Cause Effect Papers: Why and What? You may be surprised by the fact that writing of cause effect papers is rather fascinating task. But it is so, indeed! Why? When writing cause effect papers students investigate causes and effects of certain events or phenomena that have taken or are taking place in nature or human society. Is it not interesting to find out why World War I started or what may be results of the carbon emission increasing? So, lets consider how to do this interesting task in order to get high grades! In what way should cause effect papers be written? It is up to you to decide whether you want to study causes or effects, whether you want to research the main causes/effects among numerous ones. The matter point is that you should be interested in the issue. The process of writing of cause effect papers First of all, one should stress that writing of cause effect papers like any other assignment papers should begin with determining of a topic. If you are not provi ded with a certain topic for your writing, your task is more difficult. You should think about what you want to study in your cause effect paper. Remember: choose the topic that is interesting for you. It will be much easier for you to write your paper. Besides, you will be able to make your paper interesting for your audience. So, then the process of your writing starts.Study the issue. Before writing about any causes or effects you should study the issue in question properly. Remember: the more information on the topic you will find, the better you will highlight the issue. Make a thesis statement. State what exactly you are discussing. Pay attention your thesis statement should be short and clear. Make an outline. Determine the main points you are going to highlight in your paper: causes, effects or both causes and effects. Write your paper. Try to use different facts, examples, results of some observations, some figures. That will make your paper more interesting and convincing. The usage of various transitional words and phrases such as first of all, firstly, secondly, this suggestion is supported by the fact that, it seems that, moreover will help you put your thoughts clearly and logically. Do not forget to check your cause effect paper! Any mistakes may easily spoil the impression about your paper and, hence, your grade. So, re-read your paper for several times paying attention to grammar, spelling, punctuation and the whole contents. So, bearing in mind this information will help you in writing any of cause effect papers.

Qué es e-verify y cómo afecta el trabajo de inmigrantes

Quà © es e-verify y cà ³mo afecta el trabajo de inmigrantes El programa  e-verify es una herramienta gratuita en Internet del Gobierno federal que permite a empresas y empleadores individuales verificar, en el momento de una nueva contratacià ³n, si la persona que pretenden  emplear est autorizada para trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos. E-verify utiliza la informacià ³n sobre el potencial empleado que cada empresa registra  en la planilla que se conoce como I-9 y que el empleador introduce en el programa para compararla con informacià ³n de las bases de datos del Departamento de Seguridad Interna (DHS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) y de la Administracià ³n de la Seguridad Social. En apenas unos segundos se obtiene la respuesta confirmando que el potencial trabajador est autorizado o, por el contrario, que no lo est. La respuesta negativa se seà ±ala con una nota conocida como no confirmacià ³n tentativa (TNC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) y que equivale a una no autorizacià ³n. En este artà ­culo se informa sobre el funcionamiento de este programa, quà © empresas estn obligadas a utilizarlo, quà © hacer cuando e-verify no confirma que una persona est autorizada para trabajar y, finalmente, cà ³mo cualquier persona puede comprobar quà © informacià ³n tiene  este programa sobre ella. Cà ³mo funciona e-verify Las empresas o los empleadores individuales pueden darse de alta y registrarse gratuitamente en la pgina oficial del Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). Necesitan tener a mano el EIN, que es el nà ºmero federal que identifica a la empresa o al empresario. La pgina de inscripcià ³n  brinda cuatro formas de acceso, que dependen de las circunstancias de la empresa. Es importante seguir las instrucciones y darse de alta en la opcià ³n correcta. Precisamente porque puede ser confuso,  muchas empresas prefieren utilizar los servicios de compaà ±Ãƒ ­as privadas que actà ºan como agentes de e-verify. En todo caso, las empresas deben firmar electrà ³nicamente un contrato que se conoce por las iniciales de MOU (Memorndum de Entendimiento, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) y que regula el uso que se puede hacer de e-verify. Por à ºltimo, cabe destacar que e-verify solamente se puede utilizar para verificar informacià ³n sobre nuevos empleados,  nunca sobre personas que ya estn trabajando para una empresa. Quà © empresas estn obligadas a utilizar e-verify En este punto la respuesta no es fcil ni à ºnica, ya que la obligatoriedad o no de e-verify est regulada por leyes federales y estatales, lo cual tiene como una de sus consecuencias que se producen enormes diferencias entre estados. En todo caso, en la actualidad ms de un millà ³n de empresas utilizan este programa. En primer lugar,  todas las empresas pueden libre y gratuitamente utilizar el servicio de e-verify, si asà ­ lo desean, para asegurarse de que todos los empleados que contratan tienen papeles para trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos. Esto aplica a los 50 estados de la Unià ³n y tambià ©n a sus territorios, como por ejemplo Puerto Rico, aunque en este punto hay excepciones, como el caso de la Samoa americana. En cuanto a la obligacià ³n de registrarse y utilizar e-verify de acuerdo a las leyes federales, aplican varios supuestos, siendo el ms comà ºn  el que afecta a las empresas que contratan con el gobierno federal o alguna de sus agencias. En este caso, la regla general es que todas las empresas estn obligadas, a menos que aplique algunas de las excepciones, como es el caso de que el contrato entre el gobierno y la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a se extienda por menos de 120 dà ­as, o el monto de la obra o servicio sea inferior a $150.000 o que el trabajo se desarrolle en su totalidad fuera de los Estados Unidos. Asimismo, esa regla aplica en los casos de subcontrataciones y empresas afiliadas, si bien la ley permite excepciones. Pero adems existen otras reglas federales menos conocidas que  tambià ©n imponen el obligado cumplimiento de este programa. Por ejemplo, es imperativo registrase y utilizar e-verify cuando se contrata a estudiantes internacionales con visa F-1 para el programa OPT en su modalidad de extensià ³n para carreras STEM (Ciencias, Tecnologà ­a, Ingenierà ­a y Matemticas, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). En cuanto a los estados, se producen situaciones extremadamente diversas que van desde la prohibicià ³n de utilizar e-verify a nivel estatal a la obligatoriedad de utilizarlo para agencias y contratistas de los gobiernos estatales y locales, y tambià ©n para la mayorà ­a de empresas privadas, incluso en el caso de que carezcan de  relacià ³n de negocios con las administraciones pà ºblicas. Debido a la gran variedad legislativa se recomienda verificar la ley que aplica en cada estado. Este artà ­culo se limita a mencionar la situacià ³n en los siete  estados con ms poblacià ³n inmigrante y en cuyos territorios residen el 70 por ciento de los migrantes presentes en la actualidad en Estados Unidos.   Asà ­, en aplicacià ³n de la Ley de Aceleracià ³n del Empleo de 2011, en California est prohibido que las agencias estatales, las ciudades o los condados exijan a las empresas privadas el uso de e-verify. Adems, desde 2016 las empresas que utilicen e-verify pueden ser multadas con un mximo de $10.000 si utilizan la informacià ³n obtenida a travà ©s de ese sistema para una finalidad distinta a la de verificar autorizacià ³n para trabajar de una persona. En Florida, en aplicacià ³n de la Orden Ejecutiva 11-02, estn obligados a utilizar e-verify todas las empresas que presten servicios o vendan productos a agencias estatales. En Illinois la ley HB1743 permite el uso de e-verify por parte de empresas privadas pero penaliza el mal uso de la informacià ³n obtenida. Adems, la ley SB11 prohibe a agencias estatales o locales exigir el empleo de e-verify. En Nueva Jersey y en Nueva York no existen leyes ni à ³rdenes ejecutivas regulando el empleo de e-verify, por lo tanto su aplicacià ³n a nivel estatal es voluntario. En Pennsylvania, la ley SB625 requiere el uso de e-verify para todos los contratistas y subcontratistas de obras pà ºblicas por un importe superior a $25.000. En Texas, por orden ejecutiva RP-80, estn obligados a utilizar e-verify las agencias estatales y los contratistas con el estado. Adems, en aplicacià ³n de la ley SB374 las instituciones de educacià ³n superior, como por ejemplo universidades, estn obligadas a usar este sistema. Quà © hacer si e-verify emite una no confirmacià ³n tentativa (TNC) El sistema puede fallar por  contener informacià ³n errà ³nea o no actualizada. Es por ello que, ante  esa situacià ³n, el empleado tiene dos opciones. En primer lugar, aceptar la negativa, en cuyo caso el empleador dar por terminada la relacià ³n entre ambas partes. Pero, en segundo lugar, puede apelar esa decisià ³n del sistema e-verify. En este caso el empleador no puede posponer el inicio del trabajo o del entrenamiento, ni tampoco puede suspenderlo o aplazarlo si ya ha comenzado. Adems, el empleado debe contactar o bien con  el DHS o bien con la Administracià ³n de la Seguridad Social. La opcià ³n depende de lo que diga el sistema de e-verify cuando notifica la negativa. Si se debe contactar con el DHS,  el telà ©fono para marcar es el  888-897-7781  y debe hacerse dentro de los ocho dà ­as laborales siguientes a la decisià ³n de no confirmacià ³n tentativa. Deben tenerse a mano todos los datos generados por la TNC, como por ejemplo el nà ºmero de caso. Adems, debe esperarse preguntas relacionadas con cambios de estatus migratorios y las fechas en los que tuvieron lugar. Por el contrario, si se debe contactar la Administracià ³n de la Seguridad Social,  en ese caso se tiene que acudir en persona  a una de las oficinas locales dentro de los ocho dà ­as laborales siguientes a recibir la TNC. Entre los documentos que deben llevarse destacan la notificacià ³n de la no confirmacià ³n tentativa, una identificacià ³n  que muestre nombre, apellidos y edad, acreditacià ³n de la ciudadanà ­a americana, si se tiene, o de la tarjeta de residencia permanente, si ese es el caso. E-verify self-check Cualquier persona mayor de 16 aà ±os puede utilizar e-verify para comprobar  si, segà ºn las bases de datos del gobierno federal, est autorizado para trabajar en Estados Unidos. Esta opcià ³n, que se conoce popularmente como self-check y est disponible en espaà ±ol, permite corregir posibles errores que puedan aparecer en ese programa antes de solicitar empleo en una empresa por primera vez.   Documentos que permiten trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos Para finalizar, recuerda  que los documentos que permiten acreditar que se est autorizado para trabajar son cualquiera de los siguientes: Los que prueben la ciudadanà ­a estadounidenseLa tarjeta de residencia permanente, conocida tambià ©n como green cardEl permiso de trabajo (EAD, por sus siglas en inglà ©s)Una visa vigente de trabajo o de intercambio, en estos dos à ºltimos casos respetando siempre las condiciones especà ­ficas de cada visa. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

What was the larger strategic significance of the failure of the Essay

What was the larger strategic significance of the failure of the Gallipoli expedition 1915-1916 - Essay Example The result was a huge loss of manpower and resources on both the sides. The Gallipoli Expedition also known popularly as the "Dardanelles operation of 1915" is regarded as one of the major failure for the Allied forces in World War I. It affected both the Central powers as well as the Entente alike. Several lessons were learned from the expedition with the most important of them being the following Trust the instincts and act with common sense as the situation prompts while planning the attacks instead of following the bookish lessons. Trust the war tactics and the people instead of depending on the technology completely Archaic titles and birth privileges are just not enough to win the military war, but merit and true valour. The Dardanelles expedition influenced the politics of the European nations as well as the Middle East countries in many different ways. The larger strategic significance gained from the failure of the Gallipoli expedition in 1915-1916 led the Entente to reform their war tactics and win the World War I. The failure came as a hit to the Anglo-French coalition's pride. The blow awakened them literally from falling into disaster practicing their traditional war strategies. On the other hand it led to major reforms in countries like Turkey opening the gates of the democracy in the Middle East. The Gallipoli Expedition The Gallipoli expedition was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Western nations. The Anglo-French armies were largely assisted by nations like New Zealand and Australia. ANZAC or the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps played a major role in the campaign. The Entente were headed by General Sir Ian Hamilton and the Ottoman Turks were led by Kemal Pasha Ataturk. It is important to explore the reason behind the origin of the World War if we have to understand the importance of the Dardanelles expedition. The Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Australia and his wife Sophie were murdered by Serbian terrorists on 28th June 1914. Serbi a was an independent state but was annexed by the Austria in 1908 amidst great protests. The prince's ideas of reforms were quite unpopular among the elite as well the freedom movements in Serbia. There were several nationalistic movements in the country which feared the Serbs might be repressed further by the reforms as the Prince Ferdinand was next in line to throne. Hence they carried out the assassination which triggered many long standing disputes between the various major European powers. The World War I termed as the 'Great War' took nearly 20 million lives and left more than 21 million wounded (Fromkin, 1989). The causes for the origin of the war were much debated and its effects were felt for a long time in the world. Historians like Wolfgang Mommsen analyzed various reasons for the German uprising and termed it was a measure to divert the public from other issues like inequality created due to industrialization, democratization and the other core issues the average German citizen had started to question his rulers (Keiger, 1983). Each country in Europe was influenced by a different principle starting from militarism to imperialism and nationalism. Each was in direct conflict with the other. The assassination of the Archduke made them take sides. Major military Powers like the Great Britain, France and Russia joined hands on one side forming the Entente while the Germany, Austria and Hungary along with other small nations joined together on the opposite side forming the Central Powers.1 The growing power of Germany alarmed both its eastern and western neighbours the Russia and France. Hence, they formed an alliance together with the Great Britain to defend

Consumer Psychology and Buyer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Consumer Psychology and Buyer Behavior - Essay Example It is of utmost importance for the marketer to know the behavioural patterns of the target consumers much before the product is launched. Therefore, it can be said without any doubt that the study of consumer behaviour has been the arena of constant research for a marketer. A person can be referred to as consumer if he shows his willingness to obtain goods or services from a seller with the intention of making payments. Consumer behaviour can be defined as the study of variables that determine the purchasing behaviour of any willing person to purchase any product or service. Consumer behaviour is believed to be influenced by the factors like psychology, sociology and economics apart from the product knowledge, product specifications and brand recognition. Cultural factors - The behaviour of a grown up person often depends upon the set of values, perceptions and his preferences as a child, which he acquired from his family or other influential sources. Each culture also has certain sub-cultures within it which provides more specific identification of their behaviour. A subculture includes religion, nationality, region and racial groups. A proper understanding of the implications and bearings of the sub-cultures assists the marketer to analyse the behaviours of the consumer in an effective way. Another important factor that must be taken into consideration along with the cultural factor is that of social class. Social class is indicated by a cluster of variables like occupation, wealth, income and education among other factors. Social class is a crucial variable because a person is often perceived as inferior or superior based upon the social class. It has been observed that social classes essentially differ in dress, speech, hobbies, etc. Social Factors - The social factors like reference groups, family, roles and ranks also determine the behaviour of the consumer. Reference groups are the groups that have a direct influence on the attitude of the buyer, which might affect his purchasing behaviour. Groups that have direct influence on the consumers are known as membership groups. Membership groups can be subdivided into two categories, namely primary group (which consists of family, friends and neighbours with whom the person interacts informally) and the secondary group (which calls for more formal interaction and often based upon profession or religion). The studies on consumer psychology have also shown that people often get influenced by the groups to which they are not directly related. It might take the form of an aspirational group (it is that group to which the person longs to get associated and behaves the way the group does) or a dissociative group (the consumer do not like the group and so behaves in a way so that is not same as the way the group does). The other major player among the reference group is the opinion leader. Opinion leader is a person who is believed to have a sound knowledge on a product and its usage and takes informal channel of

Different Aspects of Statistics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Different Aspects of Statistics - Research Paper Example man about his likes and dislikes. For these different methods of statistics like sampling, probability, index numbers and others are used. Different aspects of statistics There are various aspects of statistics that are used in the business and cover different areas. All those aspects differ in their use and application. From policy making to administration and from raw material to the final production and sales, from demand forecasting to the supply of the product, statistical methods are required in every kind of business. However, the fact cannot be denied that there are certain limitations of statistics as well where it cannot work however in most of the cases the use of statistics has been made possible by the renowned statisticians and policy makers. Statistics is not only used by the private entrepreneurs but also by the government entities in formulating the policies. Those include both the short term and long term policies. (Keller, 2008) Demand forecasting Demand forecastin g is an analysis about the demand of a specific product in a given locality. Many factors likewise per capital income and economic condition of the country and similar others are considered before forecasting the demand. This is mainly done by the sales and marketing departments of the entity. This enables the production department to work more effectively. The due care must be taken before doing such a forecast because if it is underestimated it means the company has lost its sales and if it is over estimated this can result in waste of resources. Therefore it is recommended that demand forecasting must be done by specialists after reviewing all the necessary information available with them. Though the forecasting is very difficult and seems impossible however if information available with the forecasters is accurate and also they possess the required skills they may forecast the demand up to almost accurate level. This makes the company competitive in the market and helps in bette r provision of services and meets the real demand of the market. Some unusual factors like seasonal changes, promotional schemes and discount for valued customers may also cause an error in accurate forecasting of demand as these would attract more customers. All such factors should also be considered before collecting any kind of data. Concept of demand forecasting can better be understood by the following example. (Keller, 2008) Example: The demand for a product in each of the last five months is shown below. Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Demand 10 13 18 27 29 26 20 We can see that demand for a specific product is increasing slowly for the first three months but there is a sudden increase in the demand in the 4th month. This may be because many factors like seasonal change, a promotional scheme or some other however demand starts decreasing from the 6th month. At the time of forecasting demand professionals consider all the factors that what would be the demand of the product in a particula r time. Decision makers then use different kinds of statistical methods which are

Western Civilization Vs their Colonies Civilization Essay

Western Civilization Vs their Colonies Civilization - Essay Example Western Civilization Vs their Colonies Civilization The main objective of this essay is to deliberate on the claim without biasness and give backing of the arguments with documented information. Other sectors argue that science and technology become the rulers of the world rather than agriculture and survival; is this civilization or modernization2. Humans have been in existence for over a million years yet civilization is only 5000 years old. According to Global Hegemony and the rise of technology3, technology becomes a necessity for economic requirements and this seems to support the claim of the western Europeans that they were more civilized. According to Carlyle, industrialization becomes the victory of man over nature. To an extent this purported claim and made the British feel superior that others and imposed their beliefs on others. As their technologies grow the European forcibly put down others civilizations if they did not agree to their ways. This put a pose or question mark on the civilization claim of the European since civilization is supposed to be a good thing why forced others. The approach of the western European to force other on civilization brought more question on their intent than purpose. The European has assisted in the transportation system, communication and other aspect of technology; however, they borrowed the concepts from others such as Asians and even some from part of Africa such as Egypt. This borrowing makes it difficult to whole heartedly give the Western European all the credits about the civilization in their colonies. Iraq, India, China, Egypt, Central America and then the Barbarian West are all credited for the civilization growth in the world. Why would Western European claim that they were more superior yet they borrowed their technologies? It is in order to conclude that they were more civilized; however, wrong to purport that others were uncivilized. The civilization the European claim so much is a bout the development of cities; however, civilization is broader than the cities and claiming technologies overtook agriculture and survival negate the definition of civilization. The above arguments do not dispute the claim that European were civilized than their colonies but emphasize the understanding of civilization. Further more, it their give a chance to reflect between civilization and modernization4. The two are clearly different one is based on technology advancement the other focuses more on the living jointly and cooperatively. A swing had happened as an effect of the industrial revolution. Asian civilizations, like China, Africa civilization, like Egypt and other civilizations, which were once considered impressive and steady5. European countries or nations viewed the earth or universe through the aspect of technology and disregarded any consideration for civilization. As their technology advanced, Europeans expanded to other nations in order to spread their superior ideas and inventions. When civilization is considered in regards to Afric a; Western European were more advanced technology wise. The European considered Africa culture as devoid of technology and primitive. If Africa had the resources as the Western or other nations would they be considered primitive? Opportunities and resources facilitated the civilization or technology advancement of the Western6. When we consider the definition of

The Concept of Human Rights Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Concept of Human Rights - Research Paper Example   Theory of human rights is explored in terms of the three generations theory suggested by Vasak. Finally, the place of human rights and various controversies related to their violations in the modern world are discussed. Human Rights Most often we hear the phrase â€Å"human rights† when someone talks about the protection of human rights in the modern world. Indeed, as Hafner-Burton & Tsutsui observe, â€Å"the protection of human rights is one of the most pressing and yet most elusive goals of the international community† (Hafner & Tsutsui, 2005, p. 1373). Claude & Weston, too, admit that the idea of human rights â€Å"has found its way around the globe†, so that every day people are reminded of its importance (Claude & Weston, 2006, p. 3). In the United States, people demand that the homeless get better condition, health insurance be fit for all, torture be brought to an end on the military bases; in Brazil and other countries, the indigenous peoples fight a gainst colonization of their lands and their dispossession; Tibetan monks resort to demonstrations to stop the Chinese from meddling with customs; Cuban people petition for just elections and free speech; the Burmese challenge enslavement practices used by the country’s government to force them construct a gas pipeline which belongs to one multinational company, etc. All these issues are classified as human rights (Claude & Weston, 2006). The fact that people all around the globe have to deal with it evidences its universal character and capacity to impact people’s aspirations. Yet, what exactly is â€Å"human rights†? This paper explores the concept of human rights in relation to its meaning, origin, history, theory, and place in the contemporary world. The Human Rights Concept The concept of human rights is based on an understanding of human rights as – literally – the rights that a person has because of being human. Hence, human rights are exerc ised universally by all people as well as they universally hold against any other person or institution. Human rights, believed to be the highest moral rights, regulate basic structures and major practices of political life; besides, in everyday situations, they are known to have an advantage over other claims of moral, political, or legal nature (Donelly, 2003, p. 1). The universality of human rights is their distinctive feature. As ideal standards, or in the word, human rights have been accepted almost in every country, since all states proclaim adherence to the international norms of human rights on a regular basis. However, these days the concept of human rights is more often spoken of in relation to human rights violations. Constant reports in the media about people becoming victims of state regimes suffer from â€Å"crimes against humanity†, injustices, and cruelties. This is the modern discourse of human rights and it is predominantly legal (Freeman, 2011, p.9). Freema n argues that legal understanding of human rights and turning them into an exclusively technical term by lawyers has led to the distortion of this concept.  Ã‚  

Theoretical Positions of Jung, Adler, and Freud Essay Example for Free

Theoretical Positions of Jung, Adler, and Freud Essay Recently, there has been a debate on the subject of a statutory minimum wage. Different parties have different point of views about it. The unionists believe setting a higher amount can help to reduce the continuously increased wealth gap in Hong Kong, but the businessmen worry that it will increase the operating costs of their businesses. I will discuss the pros and cons of a statutory minimum wage in the following paragraphs. For the advantages, firstly, a minimum wage can force employers to offer reasonable salaries to their employees and give them guidelines on how rational salaries should be set. This can help to protect employees from being exploited. Secondly, the problem of income inequality can be addressed by increasing low-income groups’ salaries so that it can help to promote social justice and greatly improve social harmony and stability. Moreover, the policy can encourage the unemployed citizens to rejoin the work force and thus reduce the burden on the government. Although there are many advantages of setting a minimum wage, there are some drawbacks too. The unemployment rate may rise after implementing the minimum wage law. Due to the increase of operating costs or production costs, some employers may lay off their staff. And it may discourage employees to improve their working attitude and skills as their wages are protected under the statutory minimum wage system, working incentive may thus become low. When we talk about the level of a statutory minimum wage, we have a lot to concerned about, for example, the economic situation, GDP etc. I think the living standard is very high in Hong Kong at present, so the level of a statutory minimum wage should be high enough to meet a family’s daily expenses. At the same time, we should also consider the financial burden on the employers. If not, laying off staff or even closing down the businesses may be the result. The government, therefore, should consider all these issues, think twice and make a wise decision. From http://www. tkp. edu. hk/newsletter/archives/2610 News Point Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung ( ) explained how the members of the Provisional Minimum Wage Commission ( ) came to be agreed on the initial statutory minimum wage rate. According to him, they considered four main criteria: 1. it should not be too low; 2. it would not cause low-paid jobs to disappear in large numbers; 3. it would not inhibit economic development; 4. it would not significantly damage Hong Kongs competitive advantages. To protect labour rights, Hong Kong may need not only minimum wage legislation but also standard working hours legislation ( ). The Legislative Council has adopted a motion to call for the enactment of such a law. To encourage underprivileged citizens and low-income employees living in remote districts to find work or stay in employment, the government launched in 2007 a pilot transport support scheme (). Under the scheme, eligible citizens have been provided with time-limited transport allowances. The Labour Department ( ) is responsible for protecting other labour rights enshrined in various pieces of labour legislation (such as the Employment Ordinance ( )). Minimum wage a issue for people to decide: Hong Kong chief Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive Donald Tsang on Friday continued to defend his decision not to legislate on the controversial minimum- wage issue in his latest Policy Address. Speaking on RTHK Friday, two days after presenting his Policy Address, Tsang said he did not want to see the issue dealt with in court as some legislators have said they would press ahead with plans to seek a judicial review after the government decided not to legislate for a minimum wage at the moment. It is a matter for the people to decide, not the courts, Tsang told a call-in radio show Friday morning. I think we should try to solve this matter amicably, in the community. Fundamentally it is not even the legislature and the government. It is a matter for the people, he added, in response to what he called a very strong union and labor voice on minimum wage. In Hong Kong, the arguments on minimum wage between the labor and the employers have lasted for many years but without consensus. The labor has always pressed ahead to legislate on minimum wage among the security and cleaners sectors in particular as soon as possible. But employers said in order to compete in a globalized economy, it is a remaining advantage for Hong Kong not to force employers to accept the deal via legislation. If this matter were pushed through the Legislative Council at the moment, Tsang said, it would be a very, very bloody fight there would be serious arguments over this, the community would be torn apart. In his policy address, Tsang proposed to launch a Wage Protection Movement for workers in the security and cleaning sectors. He promised to legislate on the minimum-wages issues two years later if the movement fails and employers are not paying market rates. ‘Hong Kong lawmakers debate minimum wage CNN 14 Jul 10 Hong Kong lawmakers resumed debate Wednesday on a bill that may result in the regions first statutory minimum wage. The Minimum Wage Bill is a controversial piece of legislation that lawmakers hope will protect the most vulnerable workers in Hong Kong, one of the few places in the world without any sort of minimum wage law. The debate is set to take two to three days. A recent government survey showed that around half a million workers in Hong Kong earn less than $4 an hour. These include low-skilled workers from the catering, retail, and cleaning industries. According to Man Hon Poon, a policy researcher at the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Union, the lack of legal protection for workers has led to serious exploitation. Workers in restaurants have to work for 12 hours or even 14 hours a day to earn a living, he said. They cannot even go to the cinema. Legislator Tommy Cheung, however, claims that the government should not interfere with the free market economy, which he says has served Hong Kong well in the past. A minimum wage could deter investors and lead to increased unemployment, said Cheung, who represents the catering industry. There is one fear within the industry, that they would have to close down, he said. When you see a closure, everyone loses out. The government first proposed the current bill in 2008 following a failed attempt at a voluntary minimum wage. Labor unions, however, have been lobbying for a minimum wage since 1998, following the Asian financial crisis. The rate of the minimum wage has also been under great debate. Trade unions have been demanding a minimum wage of $4 while employer groups have been asking for $3 per hour. If the bill passes this week, the rate of the minimum wage will be set by the Minimum Wage Commission, a consortium of trade union members, employers and scholars, in the coming months. Once the chief executive approves the rate, employers will have six months to implement the law. The Hong Kong government estimates that the earliest the minimum wage law may take effect is May 2011. http://edition. cnn. com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/07/14/china. hong. kong. minimum. wage/index. html? hpt=T2fbid=cFYYtTV0ap3 The Minimum Wage: An Unfair Advantage for Employers October 1989 †¢ Volume: 39 †¢ Issue: 10 †¢ Print This Post †¢ 1 comment Professor Boudreaux teaches economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Suppose you want to help the sellers of a specific product. One thing you might want to do is try to ensure that a buyers’ market for that good or service isn’t created. A buyers’ market is an economic situation that favors buyers over sellers. For example, everyone hopes that the real-estate market in his hometown will be a sellers’ market when the time comes to sell his house. No one wants to have to sell a house when real estate is in a buyers’ market. Nevertheless, people who advocate mini- mum-wage legislation to improve the lot of unskilled workers in effect support government creation of a buyers’ market as a way to help sellers of unskilled labor. Freely Moving Prices: The Great Equalizer Economics and common sense teach us that, other things being equal, as the price of a product rises, more units will be offered for sale but fewer units will be demanded by consumers. If a price is too low, there will be an excess demand for the good or service in question, and buyers will compete for the limited quantities available by offering higher prices to sellers. If a price is too high, there will be an excess supply, and sellers (who cannot sell all that they wish at the high price) will compete for customers by offering lower prices. So long as there are no government-imposed restrictions on prices, prices will tend to adjust in each market so that the quantities demanded will be equal to the quantities supplied. It is important to realize that prices change only when there are bargaining inequalities between buyers and sellers. Prices rise only when the amount demanded by buyers is greater than the amount supplied by sellers; prices fall only when the amount demanded by buyers is less than the amount supplied by sellers. Put another way, prices rise only when there is a sellers’ market, and prices fall only when there is a buyers’ market. The rise or fall of prices, however, eliminates the inequality of supply and demand and, thus, eliminates the conditions that people describe as sellers’ markets and buyers’ markets. Freedom of price adjustments ensures equality of bargaining power among buyers and sellers. Freely moving prices are the great equalizer. Employers compete for human labor services, like most things of value in a society based on private property in a market in which sellers and buyers engage in voluntary exchanges. Wage rates (in combination with other forms of compensation) are determined in the labor market. If this market isn’t hampered by government, wages will constantly adjust so employers and employees enjoy equal bargaining power. Of course, unskilled workers aren’t as productive as workers with greater skills, and so wage rates for skilled labor tend to be higher than wages for unskilled labor. It is a myth, however, that highly skilled workers enjoy greater bargaining power with employers than do workers with fewer skills. If wage rates are free to adjust to their market-clearing levels, unskilled workers will enjoy as much bargaining power as the most highly skilled workers, because freely moving wage rates adjust so that the amount of each type of labor demanded will tend to equal the amount supplied. Employers can have no bar gaining advantage over even the most unskilled workers if wage rates are free to move to the levels at which the amount of labor services demanded is equal to the amount supplied by workers. Freely moving wage rates are the great equalizer of bargaining positions among employers and employees. The Minimum Wage: The Great Unequalizer Minimum-wage legislation prohibits wages from falling low enough to equate the number of people seeking jobs with the number of jobs being offered. As a result, the supply of unskilled labor permanently exceeds the demand for’ unskilled labor at the government-mandated minimum wage. Minimum-wage legislation thus creates a buyers’ market for unskilled labor. And as in all buyers’ markets, buyers (employers) have an unequal bargaining advantage over sellers (unskilled workers). Consider, for example, a grocer. Suppose he decides that a clean parking lot will attract more customers, and that this will increase his sales by $10 per day. Of course, the grocer will pay no more than $10 a day to have his parking lot cleaned. He then investigates how best to get this done. Suppose there are two options available to him. One way is to hire a fairly skilled worker who can clean the parking lot in one hour, while the second way is to hire two unskilled workers who, working together, will get the job done in the same time. Other things being equal, the grocer will make his decision based upon the relative cost of skilled versus unskilled labor. Let’s assume the skilled worker will charge $6 an hour, while each of the unskilled workers will charge $2. 50 an hour. In a free labor market, the grocer will hire the two unskilled workers be-cause, in total, it costs him $5 per hour for the unskilled workers whereas it would cost $6 for the one skilled worker. But what will the grocer do if a minimum wage of $4 per hour is imposed? To hire the two unskilled workers will now cost him a total of $8 an hour. The skilled worker now becomes the better bargain at $6 an hour. Minimum-wage legislation strips unskilled workers of their one bargaining chip: the willingness to work at a lower wage than that charged by workers with more skills. The result is unemployment of the unskilled workers. Consider another effect of the minimum wage. Because there are more people who want jobs at the minimum wage rate than there are jobs to go around, employers have little incentive to treat unskilled workers with respect. If an employer mistreats an unskilled worker, the employer need not be concerned if the worker quits. After all, there are plenty of unemployed unskilled workers who can be hired to fill positions vacated by workers who quit. In addition, the permanent buyers’ market created by the minimum wage encourages employers to discriminate in their hiring and firing decisions on the basis of sex, race, religion, and so on. Suppose an employer has two minimum-wage jobs available, but there are ten unskilled workers who apply for the jobs. Bemuse the workers are prohibited from competing with each other on the basis of wage rates, other factors must determine which of the workers will be hired. If the employer dislikes blacks, and if there are at least two non-black workers who have applied for employment, no black workers will be hired. With a surplus of unskilled workers, there is no economic incentive to stop this bigoted employer from indulging his prejudices. Conclusion Minimum-wage legislation creates an excess supply of unskilled labor and gives the buyers of unskilled labor an unfair bargaining advantage over the sellers of unskilled labor. It is a fantasy to believe that the welfare of unskilled workers can be improved by such legislation. Unskilled workers shouldn’t be restricted to a permanent buyers’ market. Hong Kong Sets Minimum Wage At HK$28 Per Hour The citys new minimum wage finally has been released. The HK$28/hour base is roughly the cost of two cartons of milk, a fast food meal or four premium beers. Secretary for Labor and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the new wage, set to come into effect May 1 if it passes the legislature, represented an average wage increase of 16. 9 percent affecting some 314,600 employees. The cost will be roughly HK$3. 3 billion. Tabled for discussion at the Legislative Council Wednesday, the new wage was a milestone in the protection of the rights of low-income workers and a hard-won achievement given the controversy amid the citys laissez faire system, Chief Executive Donald Tsang said. To offset the impact on the labor market, the Labor Department will improve employment services for the young, middle-aged and those with disabilities, he added. By the Minimum Wage Commissions estimates, the new minimum wage amounts to 48 percent of Hong Kongs median hourly wage during the second quarter of 2009. More than half (61. 4 percent) of the more than 314,000 workers expected to benefit from the new minimum wage are women. A quarter of those who will benefit are over the age of 65 and 18 percent work in a part-time capacity, Cheung said. On a sector basis, 35. 5 percent of workers are from security and cleaning companies while 19 percent work in restaurants and 16 percent in retail. Cheung said the impact on employment will be relatively mild, especially when viewed against the improving economic and labor market conditions. Shying away from commenting on concerns that employers would start cutting back on employee benefits to offset increases in costs due to the new wage, Cheung urged employers to communicate closely with their employees, particularly to have frank discussions [and to] work together. Unionist lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said he was disappointed with the rate saying it will be based on figures two years old before its implementation, adding HK$28 an hour was not enough to provide for a family. He favored the HK$33 an hour rate supported by employee groups. Commission chairwoman Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said the commission does not think a HK$33 hourly rate was sustainable. She noted, half the burden would eat into company profits while the number of companies falling into the red would go up by 60 percent. She added those companies employed 120,000 workers. Catering lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan said the new wage would be difficult for smaller operators to bear, calling for government relief such as the waiver of licenses fees for one year and subsidies (RTTNews) Hong Kong will implement its first minimum wage rate, set at HK$28 per hour, from next year, the Secretary for Labor and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said Wednesday. The initial statutory minimum wage rate at 3. 61 per hour in U.S dollar terms will come into force on May 1, 2011. The rate was higher than that demanded by business, and less than the HK$33 favored by trade unions. Cheung said that the statutory minimum wage, which is totally new to Hong Kong, is intended to protect grassroots workers and ensure that the pay that they get is commensurate with the hours worked. Regarding the wage rate, Chief Executive Donald Tsang said that it has been a subject of controversy and it is also a milestone in our protection of the rights of low-income workers. The minimum wage ordinance notice 2010 will be published in the Gazette on November 12 and tabled at the Legislative Council on November 17. About 314,600 or 11. 3% of Hong Kongs employees will be effected by the change, with 61. 4% being women staff, 25. 3% employees aged 55 and above, and 18. 8% part-time workers, the governments information service department said. In July, Hong Kongs Legislative Council passed the Minimum Wage Bill without stipulating the actual wage and thereafter formed a committee to set the minimum rate.

Literature Review On Swimming Physical Education Essay

Literature Review On Swimming Physical Education Essay As in many sports, swimming technique is most important to performance. The smooth and perfect in the process of movement, whether stroking through the water, lifting weights or swinging a club, relates to enhanced performance and decrease in change of injury. (Riewald 2003). To swim fast, a swimmer must engage in a constant battle of trying to maximize the propulsive force he experiences. Swimmers adopt many different techniques in an attempt to accomplish this feat; sometimes these techniques are good, other times not so good. Technique also plays a role in injury prevention, as poor mechanics often place stresses on joints and structures in the body that they were not meant to handle. (Riewald 2003) 2.2 Components of Swim Performance The factors that can influence swimming performance can be classified into three categories which are the psychological factor, physiological and biomechanical factor. The psychological is the main factor that contributes to swim enhancement of performance. The field of physiological and biomechanical also makes up a huge portion to influence swim performance. These complex areas are important to be study in order to establish a meaningful relationship of speed and power in swim performance. 2.3 Physiology of Swimming For the past 30 years, the physiology of swimming has been explored extensively. Many areas of the physiology contribute to several studies. Swimming, like other forms of exercise, involves the muscle contraction that results in a desired motor output. In order to produce a movement, skeletal muscles must stimulate via nervous impulse. Muscular contraction causes by this impulse. While the movement of the joint results from the muscle pull on bone structures. In swimming, these movements if often occur especially among competitive swimmers (McArdle 2003). The studies of physiology on competitive swimmers become popular after the 1960à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s (Lavoie, 2004). The study begins to focus on association between energy expenditure and velocity. At that time, it belief that a exponential relationship existed within energy cost and swimming velocity. Later, Montpetit (2001) discover that this is actually a linear relationship. Lacour (2003) reported that the energy cost of swimming is closely depended on swimming technique, body size, swimming velocity and level of performance. It concludes that as resistance increases, swimming velocity will also increase. This major discover demonstrates that the importance to overcome resistance physically over a given distance in a certain period of time. Nervous system and muscular force is other physiological factors that important to swimming performance. The nervous system plays an important role in swimming performance because it helps to determine how quickly and forcefully a movement takes place. It is also the precursor of the movement. As a swimmers practice the same movement repeatedly, it become an adaptation and the movement pattern is remembered by the brain. The result or the end of the practice is an increase in the efficiency of the movement. Due training, it can improve the force of movement by causing an increase in the recruitment of motor units (Katch 2006). The larger motor units recruited, the more muscle fibers will be contracted. Contracting muscle fibers will increase systematically as the muscle force increases. Training can cause increased innervations to a group of muscles which can improve speed of contraction and recruitment of muscles (Maglischo 2003). Proper nervous stimulation and size of the muscle will produce the muscular force. Specific type of training can cause increase the size of the muscle or better known as hypertrophy and thus more powerful strength can be produce via motor output. This absolute strength is determined by its cross sectional area (Zatsiorsky 2005). The larger the muscle, the greater the force produced. However, increase in the muscle size and muscle mass also can have adverse effects on biomechanical of the swimmer which by the increasing contractile force at certain level. It is a serious matter to look upon when considering the training especially to the competitive swimmers, to well known of how much strength that increases will be beneficial and not beneficial to them. Since the two components of power are strength and speed, it is vital focus to improve strength in order to create potential of more power. 2.4 Biomechanics of Swimming Biomechanics is interesting area of study because this area of study shows much potential to enhance the swim performance. 10% increase in swimming technique provided increase over a range of performance rather than maximal aerobic and anaerobic power (Toussaint and Hollander 2004). Toussaint and Beek (2002) reported that the success for competitive swimmers relies on swimmers aptitude to produce force and to decrease resistance which to encountered during forward movement in the water. Logically, water is denser than air. Therefore, swimmers will encounter more resistance when attempting the movement. Besides that, as the rate of velocity decreases, there is a proportional decrease in the resistance of the water. Resistance of the water is at the top area of the swimmers that against water as the body move through it. Drag, is the motion of resistance to the swimmers. (Malinlisho 2003). There are two type of drag which are passive and active drag. Passive drag is described as the resistance on the swimmers body in a static position (Chatard 2000). While active drag is the resistance of water that against the moving body. Measurement of the active drag is reported slightly higher than passive drag (Kolmogorov, Rumyantseva, Gordon Cappaert 2007). It is important to note that of the two types of drag, passive drag cannot be altered and it is constant speed, but increases a higher velocity. Passive drag is an important factor in the speed of the swimmer from a start or a turn off of a wall. The less passive drag a swimmer has, the more slowly they will lose momentum. Passive drag is related to the frontal surface area of an individual. Passive drag has been reported to be a factor that can contribute to the prediction of swimming performance (Chatard and Lacour 2000). Velocity of swimming has been associated with drag, power input and power output (Toussaint Beek 2002). Active drag can be modified on efficiency based on technique of swimming action (Toussaint 2002). Clarys (2003) stated that predominant factor in active drag was the swimming technique. It also stated that measurements of active drag on elite swimmers are lower than non- elite swimmers. While study by Kolmogorov (2007) reported that active drag for freestyle was less compared to breastroke swimming. It also reported that mechanical power output for skilled swimmer is lesser than mechanical power output in less skilled swimmers. This assumed because of the cost of swimming for an elite swimmer is much lower than a non-elite swimmer. The more biomechanically efficient a swimmer is, the less energy requires swimming at faster rate of speed (Toussaint 2002). Further, as increase in velocity, the resistance of the water will also increase. Swimmers with more active drag have to produce more force on the water to go a certain speed and vice versa. (Maglischo 2003). The level of the athletes, anthropometric measures, velocity and swimming efficiency are related to the cost of swimming. These costs are similar either in men neither women that given similar relative measures (Chatard 2001) Chatard (2000) also stated that passive drag is determining by the frontal body area which can influence performance. Other factor that is related to the biomechanics of swimming is the length of the swimmer. Larsen, Yanchen and Baer (2000) reported that, having length is one of the reasons why successful competitive swimmer is taller in height compared to others. Length of the swimmer will lesser their drag in the water. Further, successful swimmers achieve greater distance per stroke than less skilled swimmers (Craig 2005). Distance per stroke and stroke rate somehow is controlled by swimming velocity. Distance per stroke is best defined as the distance traveled in the water by a swimmer with each arm pull. And stroke rate is frequency of how fast the arms can move. Faster swimmers in freestyle had a longer distance per stroke and maintaining a slower stroke rate (Craig and colleagues 2005). An experience swimmer can control their speed by maintaining certain distance per stroke in increasing stroke rate or in maintaining stage. It has been described above that the length of a swimmer having less drag is apparent with the longer distance per stroke also spent more time with their arms outstretched. This action will influence drag for a short period of time due to increase of the swimmer length. Furthermore, it is important to know that power is an important determinant in enhancement of swimming performance. There are two components of power which are the speed and force. Swimmer will not have the ability to produce as much force on water if they move their arms too quickly. It clearly shows the relationship between stroke rate and the optimal distance per stroke. 2.5 The Relationship of Power to Swim Performance Power is classified as one of five determinants of swimming performance, and the others are metabolism (power input), drag, propelling efficiency and gross efficiency (Toussaint 2002). Specifically, power can be defined as Power = Force x Velocity (Harman 2004). Many investigators have noted the importance of power that demonstrated a positive relationship between power and sprint swim performance (Bradshaw Hoyle, 2003). Christensen and smith (2007) reported that power measured is a significant contributor to swimming performance and that sprint speed that is related to stroking arm force. Sprint swimming performance influences by the ability to produce power in an efficient manner and utilization of power specifically in the swimming action. (Costill 2003). Costill (2005) later discover that improvements in swimming were found strongly related with power production, both in measures of power in the water and on land. Sharp (2006) suggested that the ability to produce power plays a positive role in swimming performance if swimmer undergo specific training that can increase power. The peak swimming power is significantly correlated with sprint swimming velocity (Boelk 2007). Powerful Swimmer is often faster (Malischo 2003). He suggested that swimming with specific training technique will increase power. These technique, are performing in short duration with high intensity bouts of swimming where the focus on producing the most powerful movement with the correct form. For some swimmers, power training may be beneficial and most important type of training (Bompa 1993). He concludes this by establishing a relationship between power and the importance of being able to maintain the increased power throughout the race. 2.5 Methods to Increase Power Plenty types of training that can be employed to improve power. Most of the swim coaches use specific swimming exercises, such as all-out sprints for a short distance to improve swimming power (Maglischo 2003). Other types of training that have shown increased power production include dry land exercises such as weight training and plyometric training (Bompa 1993). In contemporary swim training, the training program for competitive swimmers often includes dry land exercises. In comparison to the load during actual swimming these exercises should provide a greater resistance to the working muscles and hence increase maximal power output more effectively. However, as indicated earlier, the body adapts to adequately cope with the specific forms of exercise stress applied. This adaptive process is rather specific requiring for example that movement pattern during the strength training is similar to that during competitive swimming. It is known for quite some time that the movement patterns of the different swimming strokes are difficult to reproduce outside the water and thus any training effect may only partially, if at all, carry over to the competitive performance (Toussaint 2007) Propelling muscle is where the power output delivered by swimmer. In this propelling muscle, mechanical power are converted from the aerobic and anaerobic power input. (Toussaint and Beek 1992)

Why Is Vatican Ii So Significant In The Modern Church? :: essays research papers fc

Why is Vatican II so Significant in the Modern Church? INTRODUCTION: VATICAN II Vatican II was the 21st ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic church, which became the symbol of the church's openness to the modern world. The council was announced by Pope John XXIII on January 25, 1959, and held 178 meetings in the autumn of each of four successive years. The first gathering was on October 11, 1962, and the last on December 8, 1965. Of 2908 bishops and others eligible to attend, 2540 from all parts of the world participated in the opening meeting. The U.S. delegation of 241 members was second in size only to that of Italy. Asian and African bishops played a prominent role in the council's deliberations. Only Communist nations were sparsely represented, the result of government pressures. The average attendance at the meetings was 2200. ESSAY Vatican II, as we can clearly see from the above information, was a very large and important meeting in the Roman Catholic Church. Vatican II has altered the Roman Catholic Church more that any other council that took place. It has great significance as it made the church more reasonable and realistic. The Church, after the council, was much more down-to-earth and open-minded. One of Vatican II's changes that took place was that Mass became vernacular. This change was very important because it made people feel more at a personal level when mass was held seeing as though the priest was speaking their language. It made them feel more at home and increased their understanding and ability to respond. Another very major and important change that took place due to Vatican II was the relationship with the Church and the world. "The Church is a human organization steered by the Holy Spirit and composed of the gifts and talents of its members. It is acknowledged that at this time the Church community has not yet reached its highest potential and is faced with the limitations and of human shortcomings and temporal constrictions. With an understanding of its abilities and its boundaries, the Church seeks to work with the world community to come closer to the life to which God calls the world." As this quote from one of the Documents in Vatican II states, the Church need have a relationship with the "outside world" as the Church itself is comprised of humans. And that the Church having a good relationship with the outside world is necessary for the Church to reach its highest potential. These are some of the changes that took place in Vatican II and naming

Movie The Matrix Essay example -- Movie Film Matrix Films Essays

Movie The Matrix In 2002, Brent Staples communicated with Jean Baudrillard about the use of his philosophy in The Matrix (1999), a film written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. Staples wrote, â€Å"He [Baudrillard] noted that the film’s â€Å"borrowings† from his work â€Å"stemmed mostly from misunderstandings† and suggested that no movie could ever do justice to the themes of this book†. In this paper, I will argue that the Wachowski Brothers did not want to â€Å"do justice to the themes of this book†; they wanted to adapt Baudrillard’s theories about the blurring of the real and unreal, and the eventual extermination of the real, into a story that provides hope for humans wanting to escape the suffocation of the â€Å"hyperreal†. The â€Å"hyperreal† was first coined by Baudrillard in his book, Simulacra and Simulations (1983); it is the product of the distortions of the real through endless simulations of it in radio, newspaper, te levision, and film. In The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo one more opportunity to accept the â€Å"hyperreal† in the form of a blue pill which alludes to a world of fantasy, a world that has imprisoned the real—this world is known as the matrix. Many people, like Neo, might ask "what is the matrix?" Whether they would be ready, or not, Morpheus will tell them, â€Å"The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth†. The truth â€Å"that you are a slave†, â€Å"like everyone else you were born into bondage, into a prison that you can’t smell, or taste, or touch; a prison for your mind†. This prison is built not necessarily to keep you from being free, but to keep you from the real. The prison’s simulations of the real are so precise that they fool thousands of people in The Matrix. However, there... ... the matrix. Neo speaks of a simulation that produces redundancy, a simulation that fears change and evolution, and finally a system that allows no progression of human thought. Neo and his band of revolutionaries are now set on awakening as many people as possible from this banal, fake existence. An existence that has produced the stagnation that the Wachowskis feel humans have been born into. There is meaning to be found in life, and for the renegades in The Matrix, meaning is reality. The Wachowskis, and those liberated from the programmed world, see the perpetual simulations and the machines responsible for them as enemies. The enemies of reality are accountable for the traditional cultural suffocation of the real, progress, inspiration, dreams, and individuality. The Matrix and its creators take the position that no amount of this suppression is acceptable. Movie The Matrix Essay example -- Movie Film Matrix Films Essays Movie The Matrix In 2002, Brent Staples communicated with Jean Baudrillard about the use of his philosophy in The Matrix (1999), a film written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. Staples wrote, â€Å"He [Baudrillard] noted that the film’s â€Å"borrowings† from his work â€Å"stemmed mostly from misunderstandings† and suggested that no movie could ever do justice to the themes of this book†. In this paper, I will argue that the Wachowski Brothers did not want to â€Å"do justice to the themes of this book†; they wanted to adapt Baudrillard’s theories about the blurring of the real and unreal, and the eventual extermination of the real, into a story that provides hope for humans wanting to escape the suffocation of the â€Å"hyperreal†. The â€Å"hyperreal† was first coined by Baudrillard in his book, Simulacra and Simulations (1983); it is the product of the distortions of the real through endless simulations of it in radio, newspaper, te levision, and film. In The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo one more opportunity to accept the â€Å"hyperreal† in the form of a blue pill which alludes to a world of fantasy, a world that has imprisoned the real—this world is known as the matrix. Many people, like Neo, might ask "what is the matrix?" Whether they would be ready, or not, Morpheus will tell them, â€Å"The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth†. The truth â€Å"that you are a slave†, â€Å"like everyone else you were born into bondage, into a prison that you can’t smell, or taste, or touch; a prison for your mind†. This prison is built not necessarily to keep you from being free, but to keep you from the real. The prison’s simulations of the real are so precise that they fool thousands of people in The Matrix. However, there... ... the matrix. Neo speaks of a simulation that produces redundancy, a simulation that fears change and evolution, and finally a system that allows no progression of human thought. Neo and his band of revolutionaries are now set on awakening as many people as possible from this banal, fake existence. An existence that has produced the stagnation that the Wachowskis feel humans have been born into. There is meaning to be found in life, and for the renegades in The Matrix, meaning is reality. The Wachowskis, and those liberated from the programmed world, see the perpetual simulations and the machines responsible for them as enemies. The enemies of reality are accountable for the traditional cultural suffocation of the real, progress, inspiration, dreams, and individuality. The Matrix and its creators take the position that no amount of this suppression is acceptable.

Analysis of Strategy Formation Essay

Strategy is difficult to define. There are many popular and debated definitions available. One idea is that strategy is top management’s plan to attain outcomes consistent with the organization’s mission and goals (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, & Lambel, 1998). Another definition is that strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive advantage (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson 2013). Some argue that strategy cannot be defined at all because many professionals including researchers, practitioners, and theorists all have different thoughts on what strategy is, how it is formulated, and how it is implemented (Dewit & Meyer, 2010). However, all of these ideas have something in common: a strategy is a roadmap for getting from here to there. It is important to understand that strategy is not a single concept, but rather a process made up of many pieces. For this paper, I will define strategy as a roadmap or blueprint for obtaining a competitive advantage. In this analysis of strategy formation I will examine the most important issues involved in strategy formation and explain why they are important, define how corporate-level strategies relate to business-level strategies and functional-area tactics and how these pieces support each other, and finally, I will outline the primary inputs to strategy formulation in a firm. But, before we answer these questions it is important to share a brief history of strategy. The word strategy originated from the Greek work strategos. Strategos was coined when Kleisthenis developed a fresh set of organizational structure in ancient Greece in order to promote a better army. The direct definition of the singular stratos means to lead (DeWit &Meyer, 2010). Essentially the concept is derived directly from a need for a higher organizational structure, change and leadership development. Warfare was pas the point of simply winning a battle but instead was focused upon the coordination of units and tactical approaches to battle (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). When we look at how strategy is formed today we also see a parallel in that firms must coordinate corporate-level, business-level and functional-level tactical issues in order to successful formulate a strategy. By coordinating the approach a strategy helps to gain a competitive advantage for firms just as it does for armies on the battlefield. Now that we understand the history behind strategy formation we will discuss the most important points of strategy formation and discuss what makes them important. Strategy formation can be arduous because planners love to plan out every single details of a plan and press everything into an orderly, mechanistic process (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). It is critical for strategies to follow a mechanistic process with vision and end goal in mind while having a big picture mentality that takes change management and flexibility into account as the unknowns’ surface. Without a proper plan to learn and address needed adjustments the plan can become easily outdated and ineffective. Strategy formation is described as being a new way to understand old problems, however, strategic planning and formation can lead to analysis paralysis if overly complex and planned out (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). Flexibility is an important piece of strategy formation and as strategists we must avoid being married to a specific set of ideas, but rather be open to learning, experimentation, balancing risks and rewards while working towards to vision that creates a competitive advantage. This pattern in a stream of decisions works to get a company to its strategic goal and vision (Dewit & Meyer, 2010). A good approach to this is letting the strategies emerge in the process, rather than focusing on the strategy formation in the beginning. Outside of recognizing the importance of change and emergence there are many other important variables in strategy formation. For example, many organizations develop strategies based on rigid changes like their core competencies, resources, demographics, and market demand. But, there are also many other softer pieces can be equally important when formulating a strategy. According to DeWit and Meyer the most cited key issues in strategy formation are: 1) overall organization structure of its basic management style; 2) relationships with the government or other external interest groups; 3) acquisition, divestiture, or divisional control practices; 4) international posture and relationships; 5) innovative capabilities or personnel motivations as affected by growth; 6) worker and professional relationships reflecting changed social expectations and values nd 7) past or anticipated technological environments (DeWit and Meyer, 2010). These key components help give us a good framework for the most important parts of strategy formation, but they don’t make up everything. Many managers are comfortable with the planning piece of strategy formation, but lag when it comes to actually putting the plan into action (Hrebiniak, 2005). For many organizations putting the strategy in place is the easy part and creating a winning strategy doesn’t actually get you from here to there. A solid planned, documented and even inspiring plan of action doesn’t gain a competitive advantage in and of itself. It is the execution of that strategy that makes all the difference in the company achieving that completive advantage. Here are some key challenges that corporations face when executing on a strategy: 1) the culture of the organization and how it was not appropriate for the challenges ahead; 2) incentives and how people have been rewarded for seniority or â€Å"getting older† and not for performance or competitive achievement (the sacred cows); 3) the need to overcome problems with traditional functional â€Å"silos† in the organizational structure and 4) the challenges inherent in managing change as the division adapted to new competitive conditions (Hrebiniak, 2005). Actually getting the strategy to produce the desired results can clearly be more difficult that forming it in the first place. Execution is not the last important point of strategy formation to discuss; the stakeholders also play a fundamental role in the formation of a strategy. A stakeholder is any individuals, groups or organizations that can affect the firm’s vision and mission, are affected by the strategic outcomes achieved, and have enforceable claims on the firm’s performance (Hitt, Ireland, & Hosskisson, 2010). These stakeholders can be divided into categories. Capital Market Stakeholders are the banking partner and suppliers of capital. Product Market Stakeholders are customers, suppliers, host communities, and union groups. Lastly, are the Organizations Stakeholders, which are comprised of employees, manager, and non-managers. These categories are divided from top to bottom in order of importance, which means that Capital Market Stakeholders have the highest level of influence and the Organizational stakeholders have the least. All takeholders are not created equal. The more critical and valued a stakeholder’s participation, the greater the firm’s dependency on it; greater dependence, in turn, gives the stakeholder more potential influence over a firm’s commitments, decisions, and actions (Ireland, Hoskisson and Hitt, 2008). A shift to more emergent characteristics in the strategy making process combining stakeholder considerations and strategic conversations during s trategy formation with select stakeholders is what makes the difference in a balanced strategy (Booth and Segon, 2008). The key point is the degree to which the stakeholder’s goals align with each other, and how those aligned elements are being addressed by the strategists in the organization. Strategic leaders are responsible and accountable for realizing the expectations of each of the many stakeholders. This accountability to the stakeholders plays an important part in developing the strategy. It can also impact the expectations of each of the stakeholders. For example, the vision and mission of the strategic leaders is shared with all of the stakeholders and their confidence or lack of confidence is a direct result of those strategic leaders. The expectations and composition of our stakeholders has a significant and direct affect in our organizations strategic formation. Of course, without security and surprise, a solid plan, execution strategy, flexibility, clear objectives, concentration, and coordinated and committed leadership, a strategy can still fail. Surprise strategy must make use of speed, secrecy and intelligence to attack unprepared opponents at unexpected time, while forcing the opponent to react to your company and not the other way around (Concept Paper #1). Security addresses keeping the core competencies, operations points and resource safe from the competition. For example, if our strategy is based on the talent of our human capital, we must work to keep the working conditions safe and happy so the competition doesn’t work to recruit our talent for their own strategy. We have outlined the most important points of strategy formation and discussed what makes them important, so now it is now time to define how corporate-level strategies relate to business-level strategies and functional-area tactics, and how these pieces support each other. Functional-area tactics are short-term activities each functional area within the firm undertakes to implement the grand strategy (Pierce & Robinson, 2012). Pierce offers three characteristics that differentiate functional area tactics from business-level and corporate-level tactics: 1) time horizon, focus on immediate activities; 2) specificity, business strategies provide general direction, functional area tactics specify activities and how they are expected to be achieved and 3) participants, general managers are responsible for business strategies, operating managers establish short-term objectives and functional tactics that lead to business-level success (Pierce & Robinson, 2012). These activities are put in place as a means of achieving a business-level strategy and so their relationship is one of vision versus direct action to achieve that vision. . A business level strategy is a carefully designed methodology that aids companies in implementing and carrying through with actions designed to meet the financial and other goals set by that business (wiseGEEK, 2013). Whether a firm has a competitive advantage or not, depends on the business system or business-level strategy that is has developed to relate itself to its business environment and if the configuration of resources (inputs), activities (throughput) and product/service offerings (output) intended to create value for its customers – it is the way a firm conducts its business (Dewit & Meyer, 2010). Business strategy can be further understood as the decisions a firm makes about its alternatives when competing in a specific market and how those alternatives works to bring their core competencies to the surface through cost leadership, differentiation, focused cost leadership, focused differentiation, and integrated leadership/differentiation. According to Hitt et. l, the risks associated with cost leadership are 1) loss of competitive advantage to new technology; 2) failure to detect changing customer needs; 3) the ability of competitors to imitate the cost leader’s competitive advantage through their own distinct strategic actions (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson 2013). As also pointed out by Hitt et. al. , there are also differentiation strategy risks such as 1) a customer group’s decision that the differences between the differentiated product and the cost leader’s goods or services are no longer worth a premium price, 2) the inability of a differentiated product to reate the type of value for which customers are willing to pay a premium price, 3) the ability of competitors to provide customers with products that have features similar to those of the differentiated product, but at a lower cost, and 4) the threat of counterfeiting, whereby firms produce a cheap imitation of a differentiated good or service (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2013). Previously, we have identified how business-level strategy impacts functional tactical strategy and now I will address corporate-level strategy and how it, respectively, relates to these levels. A corporate strategy is what makes the corporate whole add up to more than the sum of its parts and typically comprises four concepts: portfolio management, restructuring, transferring skills, and sharing activities (Porter, 2008). Portfolio management and diversification are central strategies for any medium or large business. Market analysis demonstrates that many organizations that are medium sized and larger are made up of multiple businesses and offer several product lines that can cross industries and regions. Organizations can have very different financial characteristics and face different strategic options depending on how they are placed in terms of growth and relative competitive position (Dewit and Meyer, 2010). A portfolio strategy requires firms to grow through investment in existing businesses, acquiring new businesses and withdrawing from failing ones. As porter points out another form of corporate strategy is philanthropic involvement. When it comes to philanthropy, executives increasingly see themselves as caught between critics demanding over higher levels of â€Å"corporate social responsibility† and investors applying pressure to maximize short-term profits (Porter, & Kramer, 2002). It doesn’t end there though, another piece to corporate-level strategy is corporate governance. Corporate governance is concerned with identifying ways to ensure that decisions (especially strategic decisions) are made effectively and that they facilitate a firm’s efforts to achieve strategic competitiveness by maintaining a harmony between the top-level managers and the shareholder’s interests (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2013). We must also point out that mergers and acquisitions play a significant role in corporate-level strategy. Corporate-level strategy is made up of many pieces, but overall it shares the same goals as the other levels, to increase value by creating a competitive advantage. We have discussed the various elements to corporate-level strategy and now we will discuss how it related to business and functional/tactical-level strategy. Since corporate-level strategy is the highest level of decision-making and encompasses the end objective of the organization, allocation of resources, stakeholder’s goals and acquisitions is it always value-oriented, whereas, business-level and functional-level strategy is more relevant to each individual business entity. Corporate strategy is not the sum total of business strategies of the corporation but it deals with different subject matter; while the corporation is concerned with and has impact on business strategy, the former is concerned with the shape and balancing of growth and renewal rather than in market execution (Bhasin, 2010). Although there are different levels to organizational strategy they all relate and impact one another from the top down. Now that we understand the various levels of decision-making we will now turn to the various inputs to strategy formation for a firm. Before we conclude this analysis, it is important to review the different schools on strategy and those schools perceive strategy formation. There are 7 main school of strategy starting with the Design School. In short, the design school looks to create a fit between capabilities and opportunities or possibilities; it resulted in the famous SWOT analysis. Second, the Planning School also uses a SWOT like the design school to take into account internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Although the design school doesn’t delineate the steps like the planning school does. It is this dividing into delineating steps that sets the planning school apart. The three phases of this school are: Objective Setting, Strategy Evaluating, and the Operationalization phase (Concept Paper #4). Third, in the Positioning School we see that the strategy formation is really driven by analyzing the market and deliberately implemented by those analytics. Forth, The entrepreneurial school is more of a singular vision of strategy from 1 person, namely the entrepreneur, rather than a collective approach as we have learned about in previous schools. Fifth, the Learning School of thought approaches strategy formulation in two separate models: 1) the grassroots model approaches strategy as emergent; 2) whereas, the hothouse model formulates strategy deliberately. Sixth, the Cognitive School states that in order to understand how strategies emerge from under other ircumstances we must look into the mind of the actual strategists. And finally, the last school is the Configuration School, as pointed out in Concept Paper #11, different dimensions of an organization cluster together under particular circumstances and conditions to define â€Å"states†, â€Å"models† or â€Å"ideal types†. It was important to review these various schools because when we look at the big picture of strategy formation and analyze how it is made up and why it is important we can glean important points from each of the seven school. Yes, the overall goal of each school is the same as the goal of strategy formation as a whole, to gain competitive advantage and overall value for the corporation, but it is not always as easy as following one school of thought. For example, what might work in one situation won’t necessarily work in another so as strategists we must be able to take pieces from each school and put them in place where appropriate to achieve our desired outcome for that particular problem. Now that we have some big picture understanding of the different perspectives we will now discuss the primary inputs of strategy. As we discuss the inputs it is first important to point out that there is a difference between emergent and intended strategy. Organizations always have an intended strategy but sometimes the inputs move them towards a more emergent strategy. While strategy formulation is the process by which an intended strategy is created, emergent strategies often come out of following a specific pattern in decision making. (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). The primary inputs are identifying, diagnosing, conceiving, and realizing; of course within this specific framework, there are more specific activities (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). The first input of identifying is outlining a mission and agenda, this could also include a vision statement. Diagnosing is the internal an external assessments, such as the SWOT analysis. Next, conceiving is the brainstorming process by which the participants envision where there are trying to go and how they will get there. This is the key component an input of strategy formation, and for most groups it can be the most difficult because it requires creative out-of-the-box thinking. Lastly, but not least, is realizing and this is where the rubber meets the road. It is here where specific activities must be undertaken to achieve the strategic plan. We have identified the most important issues involved in strategy formation and defined why they are important, differentiated between corporate/business/functional-level strategies and how they impact one another, discussed the various schools of thought on strategy formation, and finally outlined the primary inputs to strategy formation in a firm. Now it is time to dig in a little deeper and attempt to bring it all together and analyze what it means as a whole. From a big picture mentality strategy formation must encompass the important items we outlined, while also taking into account the potential for change. Having a change management protocol for the organization as a whole, as well as, for each of the subsidiary organizations is critical in today’s global market economy. Outside of change, as strategists, we must also clearly understand our competitors, threats and regions. Things like technology can play a significant part in the ability to execute on strategy. Surprise and security are also equally important to strategy formation. What this all tells us is what we discussed early on: strategy is very difficult to define as an individual concept. Rather than a singular concept see that strategy is more of a way of big picture thinking that is critical to achieving success in virtually any endeavor, not just business. Yes, you can get lucky and find success without strategy, but we could also win the lottery it doesn’t mean it is going to happen. A strategic way of thinking is also not just thinking it is an executable and traceable tool that can adjust and emerge as needed. As a metaphor we can use going to the gym for physical fitness. Our strategic vision is losing weight, increasing heart health and gaining strength. But, how will we get from here (fat, high cholesterol and weak) to there (strong, heart healthy and thin)? We start by developing an action plan, outlining the inputs and potential threats (bad eating, etc), and we follow our plan daily and adjust as needed based on what emerges from the data we gather. This methodology can be applied to any goal, and large corporate business is no different. Unless we execute by actually going to the gym, following and adjusting our strategy for maximum performance we will never achieve our goals, even if we are lucky. You cannot win heart health in a contest. The same goes for business you can’t accidentally win customers and keep them for extended periods of time with successfully executing on your strategy. As we continue and find success in the gym, we may choose to diversify and bring our success to our friend and family or co-workers. This portfolio diversification also applies to large organizations. Additionally, our goals in the gym have stakeholders like our friends, family, employers, insurance companies, communities and any organizations to which we belong, not the mention, the world as a whole that benefits from our staying healthy. This philosophy our strategic way of thinking can be with us every second of everyday, and by thinking strategically in our lives and our roles in business we not only gain competitive advantage but maintain that advantage overtime. In closing, from the origins of the word strategy, and earlier, human beings have been strategizing. We strategized how to hunt and now we still strategize how to hunt only we are not hunting mammoths, but we are hunted mammoth size endeavors that require mammoth sized strategies. As we create and execute a plan for how to get from here to there towards achieving and maintaining a competitive advantage, as strategists, we are constantly analyzing how to optimize our approach while limiting risks. Strategy as a way of thinking can also be approved upon and as humans we have the power and control to accomplish truly amazing things for our corporations and our world.

Relationship between Prospectus and department Essay

In the final draft (Diagram 3) of the college prospectus I have added another class (department), since in reality a college will be sub divided in different departments and then these departments will have different courses.  Relationship between Prospectus and department:  Class Name: Department  Responsibility: â€Å"Department† provides information about the departments in the college and what courses are done in each of them. Collaborations: Every â€Å"Department† will be related to & have many courses.  Relationships: Prospectus to Departments, will be a â€Å"One to Many† i.e. one Prospectus can have many Departments.  Maintenance Plan for Final Version  For a good and successful system to be of any use in the long run, it requires a product that is easily maintained so that its future is ensured. Systems once delivered and implemented, always need someone to ensure that the system meets the user requirements & thus kept updated regularly. A survey done by Lieutz and Swanson from the U.S. says that up to 48% of the total development time can be spent on maintenance. For the online prospectus the maintenance may include some of the following points: Keeping the system up-to-date and posting any changes to the courses, constant backing up of the system in case of viruses or damage to system, links and websites updated and changes to courses posted on website. Maintenance is not always easy and encounters many problems during its cycle. However it has additional problems, as often the people carrying out the maintenance activities are not always the same as those producing the original software.  Poor documentation can present major problems for maintenance teams for example; when systems underwent changes to avoid the so-called â€Å"Millennium bug† problem. Systems that had been used for many years required modifications but this took time due to the lack of documentation. (Above Source: Hellingsworth, Hall & Anderson, 2001) It may be important to have a system in place for documenting requests for any changes to the system and responses that would come from a â€Å"change request form† to the maintenance teams. These may include:  Enhancements; including description of new requirements in detail, regular updates to college & course details. Maintenance teams should be striving for a user interface. Problem & Error Reports; including a full description of problems with website from email discrepancies to broken links of the website. A record of these would be carefully documented and reviewed regularly at maintenance team meetings. User Feedback; includes a system for the maintenance team to give feedback to user on any problems or errors with links & for any enhancements made. Timescale should be included of when the errors will be fixed. Structured Maintenance Plan For the maintenance plan to be effective I will be using the following structured plan. Having a good & complete software engineering documentation for the project helps a great deal with this plan. Any amendments or changes to the system will be documented professionally and kept safe in order to have a successful future system. An external contracting maintenance team will be in charge of updating the system & making sure it runs smoothly. Many companies can be found that specialised in just maintenance of other company’s software, databases & even their websites. Bibliography & References Using The Harvard Referencing System as a guide, these are my points of reference and the textbooks that I used to complete the assignment.  B.HELLINGSWORTH, P.HALL & H.ANDERSON (2001), â€Å"Higher National Computing†, Newnes:  http://www.askmen.com