I Am From

I'm from â€Å"Let's eat! † and â€Å"Man I sure am stuffed† Cheesy chicken spaghetti and rich death by chocolate. Burned bacon and slimy squash given to the dog to avoid eating. I'm from pineapple cheese pizza with caramelized pineapples atop And creamy chicken Alfredo with delicious golden strands of pasta. I'm from nana's homemade brownies and double chocolate chip cookies Stirred slowly and mixed with a â€Å"secret† recipe and baked with ark chocolate shavings For special occasions such as 4th of July parties and birthdays.FAMILY/MUSIC I'm from a song shared with Shelby. Air Guitar is our main profession. Driving in circles with the windows down Just to find the perfect song to live to Until we were pulled over for screaming the lyrics to We Can't Stop. I'm from Mac Miller blaring through my headphones and car speakers. I'm from Linkin Park. The Lumineers A Day to Remember And always: Maroon 5. Until I grew older and closer to God, and discovered TobyMac.I'm from a brown playful puggle we named Slade; Being lazy and sleeping on any soft surface in 2003. I'm from Alice, the playful powerful puppy. And Daisy our loveable Boston terrier Who chewed up all my socks with her sharp puppy teeth. And unfortunately had to be put down when my step brother was born.I'm from drinking hazelnut coffee beside Shelby on my front porch. Or near the sounds of the waterfall from the creek behind her house. I'm from Heather Hannel in Columbus, Ohio where horses run wild.Silly laughs and precious secrets shared between us. Heathers kindness and guidance Help me through life. I'm trom dreaming And living And my red 2001 Chevy Cavalier. I'm from The Voice And the Carroll family. I'm from wishing and playing and working at ArbVs. Like making roast beef sandwiches. And working with my best friend, Shelby. I'm from stormy Forks, Washington Beautiful Paris, Extravagant England, Exhilarating Disney World. I'm from here. Now. Face-timing my friend and typing my poe m.

Project Management and Innovation Past and Future Essay

It is unsurprising that development of innovation is often run as a project. Yet, theoretically both project management and innovation studies have evolved over time as distinctively separate disciplines. In this paper we make an attempt to conceptualize the innovation project management and past as well as future of same. By doing so, we contribute to the nascent academic debate on the interplay between innovation and project management. This paper is concerned with three topics and the interplay between them, namely â€Å"Innovation†, â€Å"Research and Development (R&D)† and â€Å"Project Management†. The interest in these topics has exploded recently as they emerged both on the policy agenda and in the corporate strategies. The contribution of technological innovation to national economic growth has been well established in the economic literature. In the last couple of decades, new technologies, new industries, and new business models have powered impressive gains in productivity and GDP growth. While originally there was a tendency to equate R&D and innovation, contemporary understanding of innovation is much broader than purely R&D. R&D is one component of innovation activities and knowledge creation among others. Innovation emerges as a pervasive and complex force, not only in the high-tech sectors in advanced economies, but also as a phenomenon existing in low-tech industry of developing, or catching-up economies. Still, the link between R&D and innovation is often at the core of the innovation studies. Presently, we are witnessing â€Å"projectification† of the world as a growing number of specialists organise their work in projects rather than on on-going functional basis. The connection between R&D and project management has a long history. Most tools of project management have been developed from the management of R&D, often with military purposes (Lorell, 1995). The most vivid example of managing R&D projects in the public sector is the PRINCE2 method (UK OGC, 2005). Due to the above mentioned difference between R&D and innovation, R&D projects should be distinguished from innovation projects too. Innovation is a non-linear process, not necessarily technology-led and may not necessarily result from formal R&D investments. Innovation is the exploration and exploitation of new ideas and recombination of existing knowledge in the pursuit of sustained competitive advantage. Besides, both innovation and R&D projects by their nature differ from conventional projects. Thus, there is a need to examine the Innovation Project Management (IPM) as a distinctive area of managing innovation in projects, using the tools and methods of the project management. The Evolution of Project Management Theory The genesis of the ideas that led to the development of modern project management can arguably be traced back to the protestant reformation of the 15th century. The Protestants and later the Puritans introduced a number of ideas including ‘reductionism’, ‘individualism’ and the ‘protestant work ethic’ (PWE) that resonate strongly in the spirit of modern project management. Reductionism focuses on removing unnecessary elements of a process or ‘ceremony’ and then breaking the process down into its smallest task or unit to ‘understand’ how it works. Individualism assumes we are active, independent agents who can manage risks and create ideas. These ideas are made into ‘real things’ by social actions contingent upon the availability of a language to describe them. The PWE focuses on the intrinsic value of work. Prior to the protestant reformation most people saw work either as a necessary evil, or as a means to an end. For Protestants, serving God included participating in and working hard at worldly activities as this was part of God’s purpose for each individual. From the perspective of the evolution of modern project management, these ideas were incorporated into two key philosophies, Liberalism and Newtonianism. Liberalism included the ideas of capitalism (Adam Smith), the division of labour, and that an industrious lifestyle would lead to wealthy societies Newton saw the world as a harmonious mechanism controlled by a ‘universal law’. Applying scientific observations to parts of the whole would allow understanding and insights to occur and eventually a complete understanding. LITERATURE REVIEW In this paper we seek to establish bridges between two distinctive disciplines – project management and innovation management (innovation studies). Despite seemingly interrelated nature of both subjects, these two research domains have been developing relatively isolated from each other. Innovation Studies Innovation studies are rooted in the seminal writing of Joseph Schumpeter in the 1920s-1930s (e. g. Schumpeter, 1934), whose ideas started to gain popularity in the 1960s, as the general interest among policymakers and scholars in technological change, R&D and innovation increased. The field formed as a distinctive academic discipline from the 1980s. Scholars like Richard Nelson, Chris Freeman, Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Keith Pavitt, Luc Soete, Giovanni Dosi, Jan Fagerberg, Bart Verspagen, Eric von Hippel and others have shaped and formed this discipline. The seminal publications in the area include, inter alia, Freeman (1982), Freeman and Soete (1997), Lundvall (1992), Nelson and Winter (1977, 1982), von Hippel (1988). Regarding the definition of innovation – a general consensus has been achieved among innovation scholars who broadly understand this phenomenon as a transformation of knowledge into new products, processes and services. An in-depth review of the innovation literature is beyond the scope of this paper (refer to Fagerberg (2004) for such analysis). Our intention is to outline main directions of research. In a recent paper, Fagerberg and Verspagen (2009) provide a comprehensive analysis of the cognitive and organizational characteristics of the emerging field of innovation studies and consider its prospects and challenges. The authors trace evolution and dynamics of the field. Reflecting the complex nature of innovation, the field of innovation studies unites various academic disciplines. For examples, Fagerberg and Verspagen (2009) define four main clusters of innovation scholars. They are â€Å"Management† (cluster 1), â€Å"Schumpeter Crowd† (cluster 2), â€Å"Geography and Policy† (cluster 3. 1), Periphery† (cluster 3. 2) and â€Å"Industrial Economics† (cluster 4). For the purposes of our analysis we shall have a closer look at the â€Å"Management† cluster, since it is here where the connection between innovation and Project Management can be found. In fact â€Å"Management† is the smallest cluster within the entire network of innovation scholars, consisting of only 22 scholars, mainly sociologists and management scholars, with a geographical bias towards the USA. This small number of scholars (22) is in sharp contrast with the biggest clusters ? â€Å"Geography and Policy† (298 scholars) or â€Å"Schumpeter Crowd† (309). In terms of publication preferences, apart from Research Policy, the favorite journal for innovation scholars, members of â€Å"Management† cluster see management journals as the most relevant publishing outlets, particularly Journal of Product Innovation Management, Management Science and Strategic Management Journal. Fagerberg and Verspagen (2009, p. 29) see a strong link between innovation and management and provide a following description: â€Å"Management is to some extent a cross-disciplinary field by default and firm-level innovation falls naturally within its portfolio. †¦. So between innovation studies and management there clearly is some common ground†. Project Management The project management as a human activity has a long history; e. g. construction of Egyptian pyramids in 2000 BC may be regarded as a project activity. However, the start for the modern Project Management era, as a distinctive research area, was in the 1950s. Maylor (2005) determines three major stages of the PM historical development. Before the 1950s, the PM as such was not recognized. In the 1950s, tools and techniques were developed to support the management of complex projects. The dominant thinking was based on â€Å"one best way† approach, based on numerical methods. The third stage, from the 1990s onwards is characterized by the changing environment in which projects take place. It is more and more realized that a project management approach should be contingent upon its context. It is also noted that a shift is observed over time in development of project management – from focus on sole project management to the broader management of projects and strategic project management (Fangel, 1993; Morris, 1994; Bryde, 2003). Reflecting these changes in the managerial practices, the body of academic literature on PM has evolved and burgeoned. International Journal of Project Management and Project Management Journals became the flagship publication outlets for PM scholars and practitioners. A large number of (managerial) handbooks outlining the methods and techniques of PM have been published, e. g. Andersen et al (2004), Bruijn et al (2004) Kerzner (2005), Maylor (2005), Meredith and Mantel (2006), Muller (2009), Roberts (2007), Turner (1999), Turner and Turner (2008). Despite a growing number of publications, there is no unified theoretical basis and there is no unified theory of project management, due to its multidisciplinary nature (Smyth and Morris, 2007). Project management has a more applied nature than other management disciplines. Although the PM has formed as a distinct research field, there is no universal, generally accepted definition of a project and project management. Turner (1999) develops a generic definition of a project: A project is an endeavor in which human, financial and material resources are organized in a novel way to undertake a unique scope of work, of given specification, which constraints of cost and time, so as to achieve beneficial change defined by quantitative and qualitative objectives. There have been several attempts to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art research in PM and outline its trends and future directions (e. g. , PMI, 2004; Betts and Lansley, 1995; Themistocleous and Wearne, 2003; Crawford et al, 2006; Kloppenberg and Opfer, 2002). In a recent article, Kwak and Anbari (2009) review relevant academic journals and identify eight allied disciplines, in which PM is being applied and developed. These disciplines include such areas as Operation Management, Organizational Behavior, Information Technology, Engineering and Construction, Strategy/Integration, Project Finance and Accounting, and Quality and Management. Notably, one of these eight allied disciplines is â€Å"Technology Application / Innovation / New Product Development / Research and Development†. The authors found that only 11% of journal publications on the subject of project management fell under the â€Å"Innovation† heading. Yet, importantly, this area showed sustained upward interest, and hence the number of publications, since the 1960s. Overall, Kwak and Anbari (2009) conclude that the mainstream PM research proceeds largely in the â€Å"Strategy / Integration / Portfolio Management / Value of PM / Marketing† direction (30% of all publications examined by the authors). PM AND INNOVATION: THE PAST Projects in one form or another have been undertaken for millennia, but it was only in the latter part of the 20th century people started talking about ‘project management’. Earlier endeavors were seen as acts of worship, engineering or nation building. And the people controlling the endeavors saw themselves as members of groups focused on specific callings such as generals, priests and architects. There is an important distinction to be drawn here between projects: ‘a temporary Endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result’ and the profession of project management; or at least ‘modern project management’. For a discipline to be considered a profession a number of attributes are generally considered necessary; these are: †¢ Practitioners are required to meet formal educational and entry requirements, †¢ autonomy over the terms and conditions of practice, a code of ethics, †¢ a commitment to service ideals, †¢ a monopoly over a discrete body of knowledge and related skills. Within this context, project management is best considered an ‘emerging profession’ that has developed during the last 30 to 40 years. Over this period project management associations around the world have developed a generally consistent view of the processes involved in ‘project management’, encoded these views into ‘Bodies of Knowledge’ (BoKs), described competent behaviors and are now certifying knowledgeable and/or competent ‘Project Managers’. Certainly, if ‘modern project management’ does not qualify as a fully fledged profession at this point in time, it will evolve into one fairly quickly. The Evolution of Project Management Tools The central theme running through the various project management concepts is that project management is an integrative process that has at its core, the balancing of the ‘iron triangle’ of time, cost and output. All three facets must be present for a management process to be considered project management. The evolution of cost and scope control into relatively precise processes occurred during the 14th and 18th Centuries respectively. Time management lacked effective measurement and control until the emergence of ‘critical path’ scheduling in the 1960s. The branch of management that gave rise to the development of the Critical Path Method of scheduling was Operational Research (OR). OR is an interdisciplinary science which uses methods such as mathematical modeling and statistics to assist decision making in complex real-world situations. It is distinguished by its ability to look at and improve an entire system, rather than concentrating on specific processes which was the focus of Taylor’s ‘scientific management’. The growth of OR was facilitated by the increasing availability and power of computers which were needed to carry out the large numbers of calculations typically required to analyze a system. [pic] Figure 1. The Iron Triangle The first ‘project’ to add science to the process of time control was undertaken by Kelley and Walker to develop the Critical Path Method (CPM) for E. I. du Pont de Numours. In 1956/57 Kelly and Walker started developing the algorithms that became CPM. The program they developed was trialled on plant shutdowns in 1957 And the first paper on critical path scheduling was published in 1959. The critical meeting to approve this project was held on the 7th May 1957 in Newark, Delaware, where DuPont and Remington Rand jointly committed US$226,400 to fund the project. The foundations of modern project management were laid in 1957; but it took another 12 years before Dr Martin Barnes first described the ‘iron triangle’ of time, cost and output in a course he developed for his UK clients in 1969 called ‘Time and Money in Contract Control’. PM AND INNOVATION: THE FUTURE Defining PM for Future The biggest challenge facing project management is answering the question ‘what is a project? ’ Until this question can be answered unambiguously the foundation of project management cannot be defined. Current definitions such as the PMBOK’s ‘a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result’ can apply to the baking of a cake as easily as the construction of a multi story building. They are both temporary endeavors to create a unique outcome but in all probability the baking of a cake is not a project. The traditional view of projects embedded in the various BoKs is derived from both the management theories underpinning ‘modern project management’ and the industrial base of early project management practitioners (construction / defense / engineering). The BoKs tend to treat projects as naturally occurring entities that need to be managed. This is an easy enough assumption when focusing on a building or a battle ship. There is a physical presence that occupies a defined space that needs creating in a defined timeframe to a defined scope. This view assumes project exists and project management is about transforming the raw materials of the project into a finished and useful form. Consequently it is the presence of the project itself that defines ‘project management’. The PMBOKs version is ‘The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements’. However, if we cannot precisely define a ‘project’, there is no basis for project management and consequently no foundation for a useable theory of project management. Researchers and academics are starting to reverse the idea that a project is necessary for project management to exist and suggest it is the application of ‘project management’ to an endeavour that creates a project. Some of the ideas being discussed include: †¢ Projects as ‘Temporary Knowledge Organizations (TKOs)’. This school of thought focuses on the idea that the primary instrument of project management is the project team and the recognition that predictability is not a reality of project management. Some key ideas include: o The concept of the project team as a ‘complex adaptive system (or organism)’, living on the ‘edge of chaos’; responding and adapting to its surroundings (ie the project’s stakeholders) offers one new set of insights. o The idea of ‘Nonlinearity’ suggests that you can do the same thing several times over and get completely different results. Small differences may lead to big changes whilst big variations may have minimal effect. This idea questions the validity of ‘detailed programming’ attempting to predict the path of a project (the ‘butterfly effect’, constrained by ‘strange attractors’). The concept of ‘Complex Responsive Processes of Relating’ (CRPR) puts emphasis on the interaction among people and the essentially responsive and participative nature of the human processes of organizing and relating. According to the modern trend in these field, consequence of accepting these theories is to shift the focus of ‘project management’ from the object of the project to the people involved in the project (ie, its stakeholders), and to recognize that it is people who create the project, work on the project and close the project with all innovation. Consequently the purpose of most if not all project ‘control documents’ such as schedules and cost plans shift from being an attempt to ‘control the future’ – this is impossible; to a process for communicating with and influencing stakeholders to encourage and guide their involvement in the project. Notwithstanding the advantages of project management, it would be unreasonable to expect all innovation to be carried out through projects. In fact, many ideas are generated by employees in a company on a regular basis, not only within project teams. Thus, there is certainly a room for functional, on-going organization of innovation process. Even more so, in certain situations project management can be detrimental to innovation. Aggeri and Segrestin (2007) show that the recent project development methods in automotive industry can induce negative effects on collective learning processes and these effects have managerial implications for innovative developments. Argument for Managing Innovation in Projects The origins of project management in the manufacturing and construction ndustries determine an engineering perspective, viewing a project as a task-focused entity, proceeding in a linear or similar way from the point of initiation to implementation. This view prevailed until comparatively recently. This view is seemingly in stark contrast with the nature of innovation. It is increasingly being acknowledged that the innovation is a complex non-linear process. The earliest view on innovation process as a pipeline model (whereby a given input is transformed to a specific output) has been largely abandoned. Presently, however, project management is increasingly recognised as a key generic skill for business management (Fangel, 1993), rather than a planning-oriented technique or an application of engineering sciences and optimization theory, in which project management has its roots (Soderlund, 2004). The â€Å"management by projects† has emerged as general mode of organizing for all forms of enterprise (Turner 2003). This new conceptualization of project management enables to embrace the non-linear nature of innovation. Even a creative and non-linear nature of innovation is often characterized as an organizational or management process, rather than spontaneous improvisation. Davila et al. (2006) state, â€Å"Innovation, like many business functions, is a management process that requires specific tools, rules, and discipline†. Hence, a project, with its defined objective, scope, budget and limitations, can be an appropriate setting of innovation. The other closely linked element in the new world of project management with innovation is embracing uncertainty. Writing on paper cannot control the future! Schedules do not control time; cost plans do not control costs. Plans outline a possible future and provided a basis for recognizing when things ‘are not going to plan’. For innovation project management to succeed, both project and senior management are going to need to embrace uncertainty and learn skills to manage it rather than expecting predictability and inevitably being disappointed by the variability of ‘reality’ as it unfolds. Challenges of Empirical Studies Scarcity and unreliability, or even lack of data poses a big challenge in research in both innovation and project management. A macro-level research n PM is obstructed by the lack of data on the number of projects, carried out by firms and public institutions, and their characteristics. Problems stem from the definition of a project and the non-disclosure policy of most companies. In such circumstances, PM research has tended to rely on case-studies or on small-scale tailor-made surveys. There i s a widely acknowledged lack of large-scale empirical research in PM (Kloppenborg and Opfer, 2002; Soderlund, 2004). It is claimed that the Independent Project Analysis (IPA) is the market leader in quantitative analysis of project management systems, i. . in project evaluation and project system benchmarking (IPA, 2007). All IPA analyses and research are based on proprietary databases. As of mid-2009, IPA’s databases contain more than 11,000 projects of all sizes ($20,000 to $25 billion) executed across the world. Each year, approximately 1,000 projects are added with representation from the many different industries served by IPA. Each project in our databases is characterized by over 2,000 project attributes, including technology, project scope, project type, project costs, year of authorization, and geographical location (IPA 2009). All information contained in the IPA databases is carefully protected and kept as confidential proprietary data (IPA, 2009). Due to the issues of confidentiality, access for academic researchers is restricted. In the innovation field, academic community has been increasingly using several sources of data, such as granted patents, tailor-made surveys, as well as other data provided by national statistical offices. European research on innovation uses several instruments to obtain data on innovation indicators and to assess national innovation performance. The two main instruments are the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) and the European Innovation Scorecard (EIS). As of 2009, five successful CIS surveys have been carried out: CIS1 (1992), CIS2 (1996), CIS3 (2001), CIS4 (2004) and CIS 2006. Each new round was characterized by an improved questionnaire, in line with the evolution of understanding of the phenomenon of innovation. The more recent surveys embraced understanding of innovation in a broader sense, and for example, paid more attention to service innovations. Further, it is expected that the future surveys will also include management techniques, organizational change, environmental benefits, and design and marketing issues. We argue that, taken into consideration the growing relevance of innovation projects, a clearer and explicit wording should be used in CIS questionnaire for determining whether innovation is organized and carried out in projects or functionally. CONCLUSIONS Innovation studies and project management as distinctive disciplines have been developing in a relative isolation from each other. The analysis in innovation studies domain has rarely explored the mechanisms and patterns of innovation in projects in contrast to traditional (functional or hierarchical) organization. However, since innovation management in companies is increasingly organized in projects, it is of utmost importance to directly address the interplay between innovation management and project management. In this paper, based on the relevant literature and insights from practice, we conceptually examined the relationships between these two research areas aiming at bridging the gap between them. It is widely acknowledged within the discipline of innovation studies that there is a high percentage of failure of innovation initiatives, in other words, failure is inevitable when managing innovation. The key skill set of the competent project manager will be identifying and managing stakeholder expectations using tools such as the Stakeholder circle to help identify the project’s key stakeholders. Innovation is perceived as a luxury, not as a necessity. Therefore, it is of high priority to manage innovation effectively and efficiently with constrained budgets.

Avoiding Alignment Trap Essay

This case analysis discusses the findings in the article ‘Avoiding the Alignment Trap’, where even though most companies are aware that IT must be aligned with business strategy in terms of aligning IT expenses with revenue growth, over 11% of companies that align IT with business strategy spend more than 13% on average on IT expenses with a resulting of less than 14% average in revenue growth. The objective of this case analysis is to recommend a governance arrangement that will lead most companies that are currently have less effective IT alignment with business alignment to IT-enabled growth where the cost of IT more than compensates with the revenue growth of the company. The recommendation is to adopt a Duopoly governance arrangement where both the CEO and CIO make decisions, form a committee to oversee IT decisions and business strategy decisions made by these leaders, and ensure adequate decision making and monitoring of performance based on IT and business-relate d decisions. The ISO 38500 can be used as a framework to monitor these decisions and evaluate IT decisions based on their effectiveness, alignment with overall strategy and the value they bring to the organization. CURRENT SITUATION According to the article, almost every company is aware that IT and business strategies must be aligned in order to gain competitive advantage in their industry. This means their IT spending must be matched with their growth strategies. To test this notion, the authors of this article surveyed 452 companies and received 504 responses. The survey determined the companies IT spending and 3-year sales compounding to determine annual growth rate. In their survey, they have found the following: 1.74% of these companies do not align IT to their business strategies. Companies allocate enough funds to their IT necessary to keep the systems running. It is not meant to add value to the business. As a result, their growth rate is 2% below on average on a three-year span 2.11% of these companies have highly aligned IT with business strategy, but not highly effective. Their IT spending was 13% higher than average and their revenue growth rate was 14% below average  3.8% of these companies spent 15% lower than average on IT that resulted in an 11% above average revenue growth rate. 4.7% of these companies spent 6% lower than average on IT that resulted in more than 35% above average revenue growth rate. To apply these findings against the different governance models, the 74% of companies that do not align IT to their business strategies have a Federal Model of Governance Arrangements. Federal Models are decisions made by leaders from different functional departments and in this type of Governance Model, they mostly pay more attention on Business Application Needs and less on IT Principles, IT Architecture & Infrastructure Strategies. 11% of companies that are highly aligned and yet incur more spending than revenue growth fall to the Business Monarchy Governance Model. In this type of governance arrangements, decisions are made by senior business leader. In the Charles Schwab example in the article, their governance arrangement is IT Monarchy. Their decisions were made by IS leader and put more emphasis on IT Architecture, Infrastructure strategies and have resulted in worst business application needs. CRITERIA To put an organization in an IT-enabled growth quadrant, an organization should adopt a Duopoly Model of governance arrangement where senior business leaders and IS leaders make decisions jointly. In other words, the CEO and CIO must work closely together to formulate the best IT principles and align it with the firm’s business strategy as a whole. Also, they must implement information technology that is less complex. In the words of Leonardo Da Vinci per the article ‘simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.’ By reducing complexity, the company builds simplified, standardized infrastructure rather than extensive customizing of information technology. With these 2 put together, it can result in effective IT governance which will enable growth in revenue in the future. Alternatives and Recommendations With respect to the article, the 85% of the companies that fall to the less effective quadrant in IT governance can start adopting a Duopoly Governance Arrangement where both the CEO and CIO work together and make decisions  jointly. With Duopoly, a committee can be formed to oversee IT decisions, rate the IT leadership by the CIOs & continuous monitoring managers within the organization in their decision making & oversight. However, some organizations do not adopt a duopoly governance arrangement due to its size. Therefore, the next governance arrangement that can be adopted by the organizations is the Business Monarchy where decisions are made by senior business leader. With this model, the business leader can ask for the financial manager’s help to identify the kinds of information and system the organization needs, perform cost-benefit analysis, evaluate options based on priority setting and needs assessment and determine what’s important and upgrade as benefit. Most of all, there must be adequate communication throughout the organization of the decision. The article suggests that to achieve an effective IT governance, companies must keep their IT environment simple. Although achieving a simple IT environment and standardizing it within the organization requires investment of time and money, in the future this can lead to lower costs. Even though complexity can still creep in, it is suggested that the company have an early-warning indicator that will keep track of IT spending with product development. If this ratio starts to increase, it is a sign that it’s time for another simplification. Down the road, companies can reach th e IT-enabled quadrant where costs are less and revenue growth is more. RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN To avoid the alignment trap, the best governance arrangement that can help an organization change its status from being trapped in aligning IT with business strategy to IT-enabled growth is to adapt a Duopoly governance arrangement where senior business leaders and IS leaders make decisions jointly-meaning the CEO and the CIO work closely together. Both these decision makers can form a committee to oversee IT decisions and ensure managers are monitored in their decision-making and oversight. They must also adapt a simple IT application; eliminate add-ons and replacing legacy systems. For guidance in decision making by the committee, the organizations can adopt ISO 38500 where the following 6 principles focuses on 3 main tasks. These 6 principles are: 1.Responsibility – everyone involved in the  committee should understand responsibilities and have the authority to meet those responsibilities 2.Strategy – aligning IT Strategy & Organizational Strategy and analysing the current and future situations of the organization and consider both the needs of organization and those that can be done within its own IS department 3.Acquisitions – can be made after both careful and rational analysis. The acquisition decision must be transparent and justified 4.Performance – information systems are implemented such that service levels and quality levels meet the organization’s needs both now and in the future 5.Conformance – compliance with regulations & legislations 6.Human Behaviour – ensures respect for current and evolving needs of all individuals involved The 3 main tasks are: 1.Evaluate current and future needs on a continual basis – focuses on continual improvement & incorporates the principles above both now and in the future 2.Preparation and Implementation of investment plans – the committee needs to make sure that responsibilities for plans and policies are clearly being assigned 3.Monitor performance and conformance to policies against the plans – crucial in monitoring expected service levels being met. If this is not done properly, then there won’t be appropriate information for decision making. Reaching the IT-enabled quadrant is not easy and it involves a big investment in simplifying the IT used within the organization. This is why most organizations focuses temporarily on effectiveness of IT implementations within the organization more than alignment of IT with organizational strategy. This means giving up specific applications customized on a particular division in order to achieve its desired performance and centralizing and simplifying a good part of the IT function.

Interpretive Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Interpretive Strategies - Essay Example This has been considered as a wonderful mix of communication principles. For this purpose, the person who interprets should have basic working knowledge. The working knowledge should be about; journalism, marketing, psychology, non formal and adult education theory and presentation, business management and finances, reservation and tourism planning/ principles, media planning and design principles (John A. Veverka, 2006). The interpretive techniques and principles can be observed when we see an advertisement, magazine, television or a movie. The interpretation will depend on the reality used in the techniques of interpretation. The understanding of an interpreters about the knowledge and the view of the visitors will be helpful in the success of the interpretation. This cannot be termed as the truth in the interpretation. In the aforementioned context, the view expressed about interpretation is that the one which follows the views of the visitors. The truth lies in the interpretation if the interpreters consider the memory, recreational learning and learning experience of the visitors. This consideration of the interpreters may result in the truth in the interpretation. The learning of the visitor from the interpretation can be in the form of fun also. The methods like coin collecting, model making, studying aspects of history, bird watching etc. is involved with recreational learning. The persons learn from interpretation because they want to discover the pleasure of learning in the interpretation. Part 1 3. System Area Plan The system area considered here is information. It can be presented in many forms and as a result was selected as system area. The presentation of information may be straight facts, figures and dates, analyses and stories. A guide provides information to tourists almost without interpretation. A Writer provides information to the readers with information. For example, the environmental education in the form of a program or exhibit can be presented in either an informational instructional approach. These need interpretive approach. In all the above mentioned conditions, the communication nature of the interpretation should be taken into consideration. The education due to interpretation occurs, when the recipient receives the message and understands it. After that it needs the remembrance. The way of communication and the nature of interpretation also will regulate remembrance. The interpretation regarding the sensitive aspects of the human nature will make them remember the informati on conveyed for a long time. The listeners do not remember the information, if they do not understand the information conveyed. Though interpretation needs the resources, it is not resource specific. It can be considered as objective driven and audience focused process. It looks for results after using the marketing and advertising techniques. This can be termed as interpretation communication strategy. The communication need to provoke curiosity, attention and interest in the listeners or the learners. The absence of attention will not make them to stop before an exhibit. The strategy must be in a manner to provoke and create attention. For provoking and creating, the interpreter must think about the reasons the visitor wants information. The answer to the questions that arise by that thinking

Professional Goals (Short Term and Long Term) Essay

Professional Goals (Short Term and Long Term) - Essay Example 127). The contemporary trends do amply testify to the fact that in the years to come, the United States of America is projected to come across a severe shortage of qualified nursing professionals, especially when a significant proportion of baby boomers are bound to age, leading to a commensurate rise in the demand for health care services (American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2012). Besides, a fast shifting population and rapidly changing industry trends have given rise to a soaring demand for qualified nursing professionals and administrators. In the light of these developments and correlating them to my own aptitude and passion for nursing, I believe that if I affiliate to a Master’s Degree Program as a Clinical Nurse Specialist/Educator, it will give a positive and propitious turn to my overall professional life. I believe that short term and long term professional goals could pragmatically be configured and enunciated only in the light of an individual’s exi sting academic and professional credentials and achievements. Hence, to facilitate an insight into my ambition to pursue a Master’s Degree Program as a Clinical Nurse Specialist/Educator, it is imperative to elaborate on my current academic and professional qualifications. I am a Registered Nurse with a Board Examination License from the State of Ohio. I have secured an Associate’s Degree in Nursing from Cincinnati Technical College’s, Bethesda School of Nursing. I was also affiliated to RN-BSN Program at Jacksonville University. I also secured a B.S. Health Care Administration from Suffield College. In the light of my aforementioned academic achievements and qualifications, I believe that aspiring for a Master’s Degree Program as a Clinical Nurse Specialist/Educator tends to be a very predictable, logical and deserving progression of my career aspirations and goals. It is a fact that simply cannot be ignored that nursing like any other applied profession is not merely about degree and on paper qualifications. It is the actual work experience that hones a nursing professional’s skills and abilities and prepares one to graduate to higher academic achievements and aspirations (Donahue, 1996, p. 288). In that sense, I believe that my practical nursing career and experience amply bolster my future goals. I am a highly skilled nursing professional with 20 years practical experience in hospital, rehab and long term care. I have a one year experience as a staff nurse on medical surgical unit from Bethesda Hospital, where I was responsible for supervision of nursing assistants and administering care to the patients as per the Nurse Practice Act and State/Federal regulations and also the hospital policy and procedures. I also served for a year as Staff Nurse to the Director of Nursing at Burlington House Alzheimer’s Center. I further added to my professional experience by being a Staff Nurse to the Director of Nursing for a per iod of 4 years at JUDSON Village Retirement Community. I have also worked as a Nurse Manager at Maple Knoll Village rehab facility. For one full year I worked as a Director of Nurses for Liberty Matrix of Westwood. I have also accumulated ample experience as a Clinical Nurse1/Charge nurse dealing with the day to day functioning of unit activities, involving all disciplinaries including daily unit meetings and staff responsibilities. From January 2011 to November 2011, I served as a Nurse

Early Childhood LEarning through Play Assignment

Early Childhood LEarning through Play - Assignment Example According to this article it has mentioned the curriculum for preschool children should be age appropriate. To implement this objective one should consider the following factors. The child’s behavior The child’s behavior might differ depending on family backgrounds or sex of the child. Some kids are shy while others are not. The behavior of the child should be keenly observed to avoid lack of participation of some kids. The material needed to play The materials which are needed to play should be different as per the age of the kid. This is important because as the kids are growing they need more complex activities to suit their various development stages. Question2. Play is normally an active and self-driven activity. While the children are playing they should be actively involved and always self –driven to it. Play is a cherished part of childhood. This is what characterizes a play. The child will be in a position to express and cope with various feelings. For e xample while playing the child can shout or scream to express happiness or disappointment. This will enable you to understand the child emotional behavior. The child will also need to interact freely, ability to explore various activities and make choices on plays they want to play. Early childhood professionals are the persons with child development. This means that they know what is good for a child from the young age (infant) up to maturity which 18 years and above. For this scenario about value of play to the children, many professors would suggest that play to a child is like carbon dioxide to the plant. These professionals would emphasis that any child should be give freedom to play and interact with the other children in the area. The reason why they should express their opinion to be positive is because through play the child acquires numerous skills such, interaction, development of speech, social challenges and moral values. For instance, compare a child who stays always w ith her mother in a room and another child set free to the play with other in the street. The possibility that the one who is set free to play with others in the street develop a high thinking capacity will be very high. In addition, you find that the one who likes playing will be more civilized than one who lives with her mother. Therefore, play to the children has very big role to them. Hence, it is recommended that children must be play at any time. In another scenario, is that children who are brought up in urban portray characteristics of having high thinking capacity than those from the rural areas. Despite their different points of view they all agreed that play is very essential in the development of the children. The reasons why they supported play’s importance was because play helps the children to explore and create their own world that they can master as well as conquering their fears as well as helping the children in expressing their feelings such as anger or ha ppiness. They also stated that play aids in the development of a healthy brain. The reason that has influenced their opinions is the fact that they are professionally trained to deal with children affairs so they understand the benefits that can come out of childhood play encouragements. The fact that early childhood professionals are taught on the basic knowledge on the children behavioral determinants is the key attribute to their similarities in supporting the early childhood plays. For example jean

European Union Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

European Union - Term Paper Example This paper will also outline various aspects that shape business among EU member states such as the law as well as other constraints that may exist. Having realised the destructive effects and killings caused by WW2, Europe is split into East and West. â€Å"West European nations create the Council of Europe in 1949. It is a first step towards cooperation between them, but six countries want to go further† European Union, 2013). Essentially, the main reason of cooperation among the European countries was to promote peace and economic activity among member states. The member states agreed that they will run their heavy industries involving coal and iron under common management and that the member states of the organization would not turn against each other. Initially, the Council of Europe was comprised of six founding countries namely: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. After realising the success of the Coal Treaty, the member states expanded coo peration to include other sectors of the economy. Ideally, the aim was to create a situation where people, goods as well as services could freely move across borders. As time moved, more countries joined the EU and more laws and policies were formulated to strengthen the ties among the member states. The single market was established in the early 2000s and it sought to establish four freedoms: the free movement of goods, services, people and money (EU, 2013). In 2004 the 25 EU countries sign a Treaty establishing a European Constitution. According to the EU website, this decision was meant to democratise the decision-making and management in an EU. A single currency, the Euro is then introduced and meant for commercial and financial transactions only among the member states. This liberalised trade among all member states such that they no longer face any trade barriers when they want to engage in trade with other member states. The main advantaged of free trade is that the member st ates can immensely benefit since they would not be subject to harsh operational conditions such as high tariffs when trade is taking place between non-member states. The EU has also been designed in such a way that it attracts investment in different member countries. There are high chances of economic growth and development when investment tales place in different countries. Jobs are created and more revenue will be generated from such programs. The EU also plays a pivotal role in assisting developing countries so that they can also develop their economies. This bloc also promotes trade with the developing countries where it also benefits from the raw materials that are not found in this area. The EU has created equality among all member states where it can be observed that they can engage in fair trade. Fair trade practices among the member states are intended to stimulate economic growth as well as to improve the welfare of the citizens in the member states. In as far as the rule s that guide the operations of the EU are concerned, it can be seen that an agreement is reached before they are adopted as laws. The EU also set trade practices and standards among all members and these ought to be followed by all nations involved. 2. The EU

Accounting aspects of Southwestern Airlines Essay

Accounting aspects of Southwestern Airlines - Essay Example In 1966 Kelleher was practicing law in San Antonio when a customer named Rollin King wished-for starting a short-haul airline like California-based Pacific Southwest Airlines.The airline would fly the "Golden Triangle" of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio and by staying within Texas, avoid federal regulations. Kelleher and King formed a company, raised initial capital, and filed for regulatory approval from the Texas Aeronautics Commission. Regrettably, the other Texas-based airlines, namely Braniff, Continental, and Trans Texas, opposed the idea and waged a battle to prevent Southwest from flying. Kelleher argued the company's case before the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled in Southwest's favor. The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal filed by the other airlines. In the late 1970s, it looked as if the company could begin flying.''Southwest then began building a management team, and the purchase of three surplus Boeing 737s was negotiated. In the meantime, Braniff and Texas In ternational continued their efforts to put off Southwest from flying. The underwriters of Southwest's initial public stock offering withdrew, and a restraining order against the company was obtained two days before its scheduled inaugural flight. Kelleher again argued his company's case before the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled in Southwest's favor a second time, lifting the restraining order. Southwest Airlines began flying the next day, June 18, 1971' (Freiberg & Freiberg, 1996). Southwest Airlines: An Introduction Southwest Airlines has always been thriving in terms of productivity, good employee and union relations, and customer satisfaction at a time when most airline carriers are besieged in all these areas. Crucial to the company's hallmarks is its culture of flexibility and family-orientation. Herb Kelleher summed up the Southwest culture and commitment to employees: 'We don't use things like TQM. It is just a lot of people taking pride in what they're doing. You have to recognize that people are important. How you treat them determines how they treat people on the outside.. I give people the license to be themselves and motivate others in that way. We give people the opportunity to be a maverick. You don't have to fit in a constraining mold at work-you can have a good time. People respond to that' (Lancaster, 1999). Despite the fact that 90% of Southwest employees are unionized, labor relations have been surprisingly positive, especially by industry standards. There are no official structures for labor or union participation in management administration; nevertheless the company led by top managers who vigorously seek out and respond to employee views has taken the lead on developing and maintaining this culture. 'One significant base of the company's achievement in a rather unsteady industry is the fact that the unions are not involved in pushing their roles beyond the conservative collective bargaining and grievance functions they perform. In this regard, Southwest differs from some other renowned cases of Human Resource-based and customer-oriented success stories' (Kochan, 1999). Southwest Airlines: Its Accounting Aspects The September 11 incident pushes the airline industry into economic turmoil, resulting in unemployment, insolvency, and the prospect of fragile prospects. Soon after the September 11, most major airlines announced sharp service reductions, grounded aircraft, and laying-off of employees. Yet 'during the first decade of deregulation, more than 150 carriers, many of them start-up airlines, collapsed into insolvency. Eight of the 11 major airlines dominating the industry in 1978 ended up filing for bankruptcy, merging with other carriers, or just disappearing from the radar screen. All together, the industry made enough money during this period to buy two Boeing 747s.' (Dempsey, 1984).

Social Consequences Of Long Term Unemployment Essay

Social Consequences Of Long Term Unemployment - Essay Example It is apparently clear that the ability to take huge risks thus amassing more wealth, is hinged on the level of income an individual has at his/her disposal. However, this is thwarted by lack of finances occasioned by unemployment especially long term based. According to Jackson and Crooks, (1993), the atmosphere and environment of unemployment relegates an individual to just existing rather than live. This statement captures how corrosive and disastrous unemployment can affect an individual and the society where unemployment is thriving. Machin et al, (1998), notes that long term unemployment as impacting on the loss of competitiveness in the labour market, thus leading to more unemployment rate in the economy. Moreover, this has a consequence of causing huge income disparities as it becomes quite challenging to competing in the job market as the individual’s skills and competencies that were acquired at any moment end up deteriorating with time due to lack of use. However, H elmut, (2000) paints a grin picture of the social consequences which result from long term unemployment. Unemployment, in a broad sense creates a vicious cycle of poverty that normally leads to the following social consequences that have in them a spiraling effect on the social and economic costs. These in turn, lead to harsh financial hurdles, corrosion of family ties and breakdowns, unserviceable debts, crime in order to survive, social exclusion, dwindling of self esteem and loss of confidence, homelessness and poor health, inaccessibility to quality services, depression and redundancy as pertains to work skills and competencies. Although unemployment may act as an impetus in causing economic action by governments, lack of proper policies may contribute to harmful consequences on the social as well as economic wellbeing of an individual and the country’s employment. Rebecca, (1994), argues that inefficient labour market fuels socio-economic challenges consequently leading to long term unemployment. With the existence of continued unemployment, the individuals get socially excluded. In addition, their economic capability is weakened. Individuals who are faced with long term unemployment effects find it challenging to live. They are forced to borrowing finances in order to survive. Since there are no sources of cash inflows, servicing of the debts become a hurdle. This is especially so with lone parents and those whose education is low. They lack the ability to compete with the increasing demands on the labour market as advanced skills are required to perform the jobs. Moreover, the consequences are so manifest on the young people. These bear the greatest brunt as adjusting to the labour market needs becomes quite challenging. Getting the necessary professional polishing by way of experience proves to be a herculean task as the transfer of skills is limited. Consequently, borrowing becomes the norm, creating a cycle of dependency resulting from lack of financial independency. The spiraling effects of long term consequences of unemployment, lead to deterioration of family ties and breakdowns as the financial instability cripples the purchasing power of the families. This results into confrontations as needs become quite elusive to cater for. The couples at this point may turn to securing financial aid or other sources of help through uncouth means such as prostitution or even drug trafficking. These in consequence contribute to infidelity as well as prosecution, leading to separation of families or divorce. The embarrassments caused by such actions lead to weakening of the social fabric and family ties. Furthermore, this contributes to

Ch12 - ismg3000 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ch12 - ismg3000 - Essay Example As planned, and upon communicating with the IT personnel, it was disclosed that the strategy would be to continue with their intention to mirror out the site with the use of current development files and eventually run it as efficiently as possible without shutting the organization. Likewise, the plan necessitates communicating the step-by-step process intended by IT to intensify security measures with the goal of preventing the intrusion that happened. As revealed, they must communicate their courses of action regularly with the CEO, Carl Williams, and with the rest of the firm to regain their confidence, as required. perfect sense in a world of instant information access. It presupposes that the staff would gather all the relevant information and details that is deemed crucial in resolving an identified problem. As such, it also takes into consideration that an extensive and comprehensive analysis has been done in-depth to enable the staff to select the most effective recommendation given that it would be the most beneficial for the organization. The contemporary world that provides immediate access to information is conducive to this doctrine as it enables the personnel to collect as much useful information as possible. Only when the report has been completed in greater detail and in full disclosure, should the approving authority, a CEO, in this situation, would be needed to either approve or disprove what has been proposed. From previous chapters, it was explicitly revealed that the CEO does not want to be bypassed, especially when there are relevant concerns that need to be elevated to the Board. If Baron would bypass Williams, the move would cause tremendous strain and earn the ire of Williams. In the current situation, Barton must regain William’s confidence in him and what good he can do for IT and for the organization, as a whole. By bypassing the CEO, it would send the message that

The Tremendous Benefit of Using Hypnosis Essay Example for Free

The Tremendous Benefit of Using Hypnosis Essay Hypnosis is a condition in which a person under a trance-like state (more likely compared to being half-asleep) responds to suggestions given by another person with the exemption of self-hypnosis when no second person is needed for the experience. Accordingly, hypnosis does not depend on the power of the second person or the hypnotist; rather, it depends on the ability of the person to experience hypnosis. Hypnosis is sometimes used for medical purposes and its effect is greatly demonstrated especially in the field of pain relief. Another important and basic use of hypnosis is for improving behavior such as social interaction with others, self-confidence and self-esteem. When a person is under hypnosis, he is in a state of increased suggestibility and focused attention. With these factors at hand, a person is made to believe or feel what is needed to improve behavior. In the case of a person with low self-esteem, hypnosis helps in a way that it makes the person overcome his social and emotional insecurity by auto suggesting positive reinforcements. The person is made to focus on the idea that he can do whatever others can and that he is someone very special. Given the right focus, the person receives the idea and thought that eventually translates to better conduct and performance. Hypnosis has many practical benefits aside from what is commonly depicted by the media. Although the founding concept of hypnosis is heightened suggestibility, it is not something as exaggerated as what’s shown on tv or movies. Hypnosis can bring a lot of advantages to a person’s physical, emotional and social skills through its idea of concentrating or focusing towards a certain subject (whatever is needed in the instance).

Supply and Demand Essay Example for Free

Supply and Demand Essay Chapter 3—Supply and Demand Question 1. Draw a demand curve with an equilibrium price and quantity, show what happens on your diagram when each of the following events occurs. Explain whether each of the following events represents a (i) shift of the demand curve or (ii) a movement along the demand curve. (a) A store owner finds that customers are willing to pay more for umbrellas on rainy days (b) When XYZ Telecom, a long-distance telephone service provider, offered reduced prices for its services on weekends, the volume of weekend calling increased sharply. Question 2. The following table represents the demand and supply for orchids (a type of flower). Plot the curves on the diagram below a) Graph both the supply (S0) and the demand (D0) curves. What is the current equilibrium price and quantity? b) Something has happen to the supply of orchids and the new supply curve is given above. Graph the new supply curve. Is there a temporary shortage or surplus before the market adjusts? What is the new equilibrium price and quantity? c) Name all the factors that could shift the supply curve like it has? Question 3. In the following situation, draw the market for wheat After each event described below, what will happen to the equilibrium price and quantity as a result? Draw a diagram and be sure to label everything. (i) Due to good weather, 1997 was a very good year for Prairie wheat growers, who produced a bumper crop of wheat. At the same time, there is an announcement by the Canadian Health Organization saying that corn is bad for your heart.

The Non Traditional Student

The Non Traditional Student This chapter reviews relevant studies and literature on the experiences of nontraditional students as they make their way towards the completion of their undergraduate degree. An overview of the characteristics of nontraditional students compared to traditional students is made. Furthermore, the barriers towards completion and the support systems needed are examined for nontraditional female students. Finally, theoretical and empirical literature on barriers experienced and the support systems helpful in overcoming barriers towards completion are presented. The Non-Traditional Student in the 21st Century While the higher education system is designed to reflect the needs and experiences of traditional students (Choy, 2002), the influx of non-traditional students has spurred adjustments within higher education (Bowl, 2011). College recruitments and operations still revolve around the traditional student as evidenced by Web pages, campus newspapers, admissions information, and even administrative hours (Hagedorn, 2005). Studies have even purported to the traditional path toward an undergraduate degree as exception, rather than the rule (Horn Carroll, 1996, p. 14). Nonetheless, despite the fact that mature students aged 25 years old and above are now becoming a common sight in college and university campuses, their concerns are still not properly addressed by higher education institutions (Kilgore Rice, 2003). Studies focusing on the experiences and needs of adult learners and nontraditional students have been conducted since the early 1980s (Cross, 1981; Bean Metzner, 1985). Despite the empirical attention the subject has gained, operational definitions used in the studies have varied considerably, hence, the lack of a consistent definition of the nontraditional student (Bowl, 2001). In the U.S. context, the Department of Education (2002) has defined the nontraditional student as having the following characteristics: 1) delayed enrollment, 2) part-time enrollment, 3) financial independence, 4) full-time employment while enrolled, 5) dependents, 6) single parent, and 7) high school graduation status. Further to this, Horn and Carroll (1996) placed the nontraditional definition along a continuum and suggested that those possessing one of the above-mentioned attributes are considered minimally nontraditional; those having two to three attributes are moderately nontraditional; and those havi ng four or more attributes are considered highly nontraditional. For this particular study, the group of interest is the highly nontraditional group particularly female, aged over 30 and below 61, with dependents, delayed enrollment in college, and employed full-time while pursuing a college degree. Both quantitative and qualitative studies on nontraditional students have more or less painted a common picture of some of their experiences. For in The picture presented by quantitative research is complemented by the insights provided by recent qualitative studies in which a variety of factors which seem to explored. Many writers refer to the extra commitments for which adult students have responsibility; for example, the logistics of running a family and managing family care arrangements, problems with access to library facilities and feelings of isolation often feel tensions between course and family commitments (Ashcroft and Peacock 1993). In addition, mature female students may experience particular problems when family members do not accept the personal growth that takes place as a result of and competing demands, the high level of commitment of mature students is often cited as a contributory factor to the good performance of these students (Powell, 1992; Bullough and Knowles, 1990). Additionally, some older students come to higher education with a powerful personal history of anxiety about a low school performance (Gardner and Pickering, 1991); mature students often feel they have not entered university by the normal way, but have come in through the back door, and consequently feel the need to prove themselves by doing as well as possible (Ashcroft and Peacock, 1993). Once adults have made the decision to enter higher education, they are faced with innumerable threats to their success. While traditional undergraduates are generally able to direct most of their energy toward their studies, older students, parents (especially single parents), and students who work full time have family and work responsibilities competing with school for their time, energy, and financial resources (Choy, 2002). Unlike their more traditional counterparts, nontraditional students often encounter situational, dispositional, and institutional barriers to persistence with little or no support services available to them from their school (Kilgore Rice, 2003). However, when preparation and life-skills are taken into account, traditional students seem to be less prepared for higher education. Many students perceptions of higher education are skewed and based on stereotypical assumptions. These perceptions are typically based on their experiences in secondary education. Many believe that college will be moderately difficult academically, and extremely exciting socially (Laing 2005). Traditional students also perceive the teachers and learning environment at a higher education institution to be similar to their high school. This often results in many students (due in part to their previous educational experiences) will have entered higher education without having taken responsibility for their own learning (Laing 2005:170). A study performed by Bowl (2001) points to the need for institutional change if non-traditional students are to thrive within a system that purports to be directed toward widening participation (p. 141). Bowl (2001) found that non-traditional students are frustrated with the lack of change and improvements that their respective higher education institutions are will to make. Entering into higher education, for non-traditional students can result in a feeling of powerlessness, as well as a struggle for personal, academic, financial and emotional survival (Bowl, 2001, p. 142). The definition of a nontraditional student varies. This study utilized Horns (1996) classification strata, which defined a nontraditional student as an individual who, at a minimum, possesses one of the following characteristics: (a) has delayed enrollment following high school graduation, (b) is a part-time student for at least a part of the academic year, (c) works 35 hours or more per week while enrolled, (d) is considered financially independent under financial aid qualification guidelines, and (e) is a de facto single parent. Horn (1996) delineated nontraditional status as minimally nontraditional (possesses only one characteristic), moderately nontraditional (possesses two or three characteristics), and highly nontraditional (possesses four or more). A traditional student was defined as one who, upon completing high school, immediately enrolled full-time in college, relied upon his or her parents for financial support, and did not usually work during the school year. Barriers Experienced by Non-Traditional Students Susan Weil (1986, 1989) examined the impact of informal learning on non-traditional students expectations and experiences of higher education entry. She described the disjunction between the home and early schooling experiences of research participants and how this disjunction may also be felt by those moving into higher education. According to her, entering higher education can be a shock, accompanied by a sense of personal powerlessness. Evidence from other research with non-traditional students, indicates that higher education is experienced in different ways than by standard, 18 year-old entrants (Macdonald and Stratta, 1998; Pascall and Cox, 1993). It is seen initially, at any rate, as a struggle for personal, academic, financial and emotional survival. Situational Barriers Family, job, and finances all play a part in determining situational barriers. Household income, the number of dependents in the household, and the financial aid received by the students are all variables that determine the persistence rate of adult students (Carney-Crompton Tan, 2002). Although other variables can be negotiated, income levels cannot. The basic needs of the family, like food and rent or mortgage, take a priority over educational expenditures. Time and energy spent trylng to make ends meet, for example, can drain the most dedicated student. Additionally, parents feel guilt about being unavailable when their children need them with mothers of children younger than thirteen feeling the most role conflict (Terrell, 1990). The age of the children may well determine the persistence of women; those with older children may persist to graduation, whereas women with younger child may interrupt or stop their education (Carney-Crompton Tan, 2002). Both a blessing and a curse, employment may have a positive psychological effect on adults, but at the cost of most of their spare time. In addition, nontraditional students my have to make career compromises for the sake of both their families and their academic work (Terrell, 1990), leading to health and financial consequences. Women are often laden with a disproportionate burden of household tasks and caregiver responsibilities (Carney-Crompton Tan, 2002) when attending college. Managing multiple roles may be a source of stress for nontraditional female students. Parents may feel guilty about being unavailable when their children need them, with mothers of children under thirteen reporting the most conflict (Terrell, 1990). Women with older children may persist to graduation, whereas those with younger children may interrupt their education to fulfill family responsibilities (Carney-Crompton Tan, 2002; Home, 1998). Jacobs and King (2002) name several reasons why nontraditional females over age 25 are at-risk of leaving college before degree completion. The biggest risk for older students is part-time attendance. Nontraditional female students without children and attending college full-time have about the same chance of completing college as those in their early twenties. Jacobs and King believe that older women, enrolled part time, who delayed entry into college, and who have become mothers are much less likely to complete their degrees (p. 222). Dispositional Barriers Dispositional barriers are intrapersonal and, consequently, much harder to define. Full-time students report role overload, and student, family, and job demands all contribute to role contagion (Home, 1998). Many full-time students are unable to full anticipate the effects of their combined role demands. In contrast to jobs with fixed hours, student and family demands never seem to end. Increases in roles, demands, and time conflicts are associated with high stress, anxiety, and depression for adult female students (Carney-Crompton Tan, 2002). Because adult students may never find a cohort of similar students with whom they can connect socially or emotionally, support from family and friends is essential when adults are making the decision to stay in school or to drop out. Carney-Crompton and Tan (2002) report that traditional-aged students have more supportive individuals available in their lives than do adult students. Nontraditional students have little or no time to make connections on a college campus. One caring person who answers questions and offers advice may be viewed as a life preserver in a sea of stress and confusion; however, it may be difficult for older adults to find a suitable mentor. Learners construct their experience in the context of particular social settings, cultural values, and economic and political circumstances. As well as being the foundation for learning, experience also distorts, constrains and limits. One example of the limiting power of experience was manifested through the LAST students negative attitude to aspects of the course in terms of content and process. The former was said to be too abstract and the latter too formal and didactic. The issue here, therefore, was one of disposition towards the course. ( Bamber Tett, 2000) Institutional Barriers When asked about the lack of student support services available to nontraditional students at UW-Stout, a representative from the Admissions Office described a fundamental institutional barrier: Schools are not structured to accommodate adult students. (Personal communication) Institutional barriers are systematic barriers that exclude adults or make it difficult for them to successfully navigate through their higher education (Kilgore Rice, 2003). For example, office and class hours that do not meet the needs of students who work and/or care for family members. Adult students may show up for evening and weekend classes and find darkened building whose only lighting is the classroom for the course. The business, financial aid, academic advising, and other student support offices have been closed since five oclock. This example illustrates a lack of not only understanding about the needs of adult learners but also awareness of the students themselves. Even the way assignments are giv en in classes might be considered an institutional barrier and unusually stressful for nontraditional students; for example, group work. Using small groups in student cooperative learning enterprises has become a major trend in American higher education (Cheng Warren, 2000). Despite this increase in frequency, a pilot-study conducted at University of Wisconsin-Stout revealed a litany of complaints by students about group projects (Droege, 2006). In fact, the term grouphate has been coined to indicate the negative attitude that many students have about group work (King Behnke, 2004). This attitude stems from the feeling that group work implies a loss of individual control resulting, in part, from the need to spend time tutoring less competent group members. In most cases, the only way to combat this lack of control is to assume full responsibility for completing the assignment on your own. Ultimately, whether you choose to take control of the group or the leadership role is thrust upon you, there is an added degree of stress that is absent from the other members of the group (Droege). On the plus side, research also confirms a number of benefits to group work. Among others, those benefits that have been identified in the literature include the following: students learn teamwork skills, improve their critical thinking skills, gain more insight about a particular topic, and further develop their social skills. Studies show that employers want college graduates to have developed teamwork skills, and advocates of collaborative learning suggest that this educational strategy affords students a first-hand experience to gain these skills (Payne, Monk-Turner, Smith, Sumter, 2000). Furthermore, it is believed that group projects can effectively serve as a bridge between the academic community and the business world (Page Donelan, 2003). Ideally, working with their peers as part of a group, students will learn decision making skills and how to communicate more effectively with one another. These findings have important practical implications. As suggested by Zepke and Leach (2005), the crucial importance of building relationships also requires the institutional culture to adapt. It is important that the teaching staff help the non-traditional students understand the value of proactive behavior in their university life, through specific tutorial initiatives. Multi-role students who have little time for university activities may sometimes find it difficult to identify the best behaviors to achieve academic success. If setting aside time for oneself has proven to be one of the most frequently cited difficulties among the interviewees, helping these students to recognize the value of investing in social relationships in the community could be an important objective for the university. Research exploring the reasons for student withdrawal tends to conclude that there is rarely a single reason why students leave. In most cases, the picture is complex, and students leave as a result of a combination of inter-related factors. The most comprehensive national survey of students withdrawing from university was conducted by Yorke in the mid-1990s (n = 2151) (Yorke et al 1997). It identified the five most significant reasons for student non-completion: incompatibility between the student and institution, lack of preparation for the higher education experience, lack of commitment to the course, financial hardship and poor academic progress. Yorke and Longdens more recent survey (2008) identified the following seven factors as contributing to early withdrawal: poor quality learning experience; not coping with academic demand; wrong choice of field of study; unhappy with location and environment; dissatisfied with institutional resourcing; problems with finance and employment ; and problems with social integration. Davies and Elias (2002) obtained similar findings (with a sample of over 1 500 students). In their survey, the main factors for leaving were: a mistaken choice of course (24%), financial problems directly related to participating in higher education (18%), and personal problems (14%). More recently, the National Audit Office (NAO) (2007) identified seven types of reasons why students withdraw: personal reasons, lack of integration, dissatisfaction with course/institution, lack of preparedness, wrong choice of course, financial reasons and in order to pursue other opportunities. In summary, the reasons for early withdrawal are. Levels of Support Connecting Classroom Student support includes academic support, skills development, pastoral support, financial information, advice and support. Support may be delivered by dedicated, professional staff (e.g. student services), by academic staff (e.g. personal tutor), by peers (e.g. via mentoring schemes) or via the students union. There are different models of providing both academic and pastoral support: separate, semi-integrated and integrated curriculum models (Warren 2002, Earwaker 1993). Integrated approaches are favoured, as research shows that many students who would benefit from academic and other support services are reluctant to put themselves forward (Dodgson and Bolam, 2002). Personal tutoring is central to establishing a relationship between students and the institution, and providing a first point of contact (Dodgson and Bolam 2002, Yorke and Thomas 2003, Thomas and Hixenbaugh 2006). Teacher Support Work on personal tutoring has drawn on institutional research and evaluation of practice (Thomas and Hixenbaugh 2006). These studies are remarkably consistent in finding that:  · tutoring enhances many students learning experience and improves retention, progression and success  · traditional models of tutoring are no longer appropriate or fit for purpose  · new models of tutoring should be student-centred, integrated into the curriculum, connected to professional services and proactively engage students, especially as they make the transition into HE  · staff need to be involved in the development of new tutoring systems, and provided with guidance, training and support to enable them to fulfil their new roles, in a wider range of contexts and modes of delivery. Other research on academic study support also identifies the value of integrated or semi-integrated approaches (see below). Curriculum development is at the heart of what institutions can do to improve student retention and success. For many students, their academic interactions are the only way in which they interact with the institution, so that learning, teaching, assessment and course content become central to students experience and their decision to stay or leave early. In particular, research evidence points to the importance of: i) Active learning and teaching strategies ii) Formative assessment iii) Relevant courses iv) Integrated personal tutoring and study support v) Flexible learning i) Active learning and teaching strategies Many efforts to improve student retention and success via learning, teaching and assessment approaches focus on promoting greater student engagement in the classroom. This is primarily being undertaken by moving from largely teacher-centred approaches towards student-centred learning practices. There is a consensus that interactive as opposed to didactic teaching improves academic success and promotes the inclusion of learners who might feel like outsiders (Bamber and Tett, 2001; Haggis and Pouget, 2002; Thomas, 2002; Parker et al, 2005). Student-centred learning conceives of students as playing a more active role in their learning processes, and drawing on their existing knowledge, previous experiences and personal interests to enhance engagement, course commitment and retention on the programme. De Corte (2000) (in the context of Belgian schooling) identified the following features of a powerful learning environment. It should:  · include group discussions of both the content and the process of learning and studying  · provide authentic tasks and realistic problems that have personal meaning and future use  · initiate and support active and constructive learning processes (conceptual understanding) and  · enhance students awareness of their own cognitive processes and their ability to control their motives and feelings (cognitive and volitional self-regulation). Active learning is often associated with experiential, problem-based and project-based learning, and other forms of collaborative learning, and less reliance on the large lecture format. Boud and Feletti (1998, p2) identify the key features of a problem-based learning approach as:  · using stimulus material to help students discuss an important problem, question or issue  · presenting the problem as a simulation of professional practice or a real-life situation  · appropriately guiding students critical thinking and providing limited resources to help them learn from defining and attempting to resolve a given problem  · having students work co-operatively as a group, exploring information in and out of class, with access to a tutor who knows the problem well and can facilitate the groups learning process  · getting students to identify their own learning needs and appropriate use of available resources  · reapplying this knowledge to the original problem and evaluating their learning processes. Vincent Tinto has promoted the idea of learning communities as a way of facilitating student engagement both academically and socially. For example, by registering students for the same course or having all new students study the same topic, the entering students form their own self-supporting associations to give each other academic and social support (Tinto, 2000, p28-9). In Tintos work, students found that learning communities had academic and social benefits that impacted positively on student achievement and persistence (Tinto 1998, Tinto 2000). Formative feedback is integrated into the learning experience, and so does not detract from discipline-focused teaching, and it also reaches all students, not just those who have the knowledge and confidence to seek support. Furthermore feedback on formative assessment provides a vehicle for interaction between students and staff, thus helping to develop student familiarity and confidence to approach staff for additional clarification and guidance if necessary. Feedback information can also be used by staff to realign their teaching in response to learners needs (see Russell 2008). Life-World Environment Family Nontraditional students need opportunities to interact with faculty, staff and peers regularly. One of the participants in this study felt that faculty and staff should make themselves more available to students who may have questions or need extra help with assignments. The participant recalled a time when she could not locate any faculty or staff members to answer her question. The experience was incredibly frustrating as the student walked from office to office in search of answers. Departmental faculty and staff should participate in the monthly student forums to answer questions that students may have. Monthly student forums also provide an opportunity for peer interaction among students. Family has been identified as the primary source of support for nontraditional female students. To emulate this type of support, teacher education programs can attempt to create a family atmosphere within the program. A family atmosphere has to be created in every class to build a sense of community among students. The thought of completing two years of coursework individually or as a cohort may be overwhelming for some students. Students have to complete courses one at a time and may need the support of others to do so. Communities are the contexts in which people connect with each other. When nontraditional students feel connected to a place, they tend to invest in their learning (Larrotta, 2009). Social Engagement Harvey and Drew (2006) found that, although social integration is thought to be crucial to student retention and success, it is given comparatively little attention within institutions for example the forming of friendships and the impact of the locality and its social (non-university) facilities are not considered. In the US context, Tinto has established learning communities that study together and these have promoted social, as well as academic, integration. Thomas et al. (2002) found that student services can play a role in promoting social interaction by helping students to locate each other (e.g. mature students, international students etc), by providing social spaces, by offering more flexible and affordable Accommodation options and by compensating for the informal support usually provided by networks of friends. Yorke and Longden (2008) also note the importance of accommodation and living arrangements. Theoretical Framework on Non-Traditional Students Retention This study incorporates two conceptual models (Cross, 1981; Donaldson Graham, 1999) in order to develop a theoretical framework that will examine how nontraditional female students complete their journey towards their college degree. More specifically, this study is concerned with identifying the barriers experienced by these students and in understanding how differing levels of support was helpful in overcoming such barriers. Cross (1981) categorized barriers to participation in adult learning into three areas: institutional, situational, and dispositional. Cross categorization of barriers is one of three works used to form a theoretical framework for the present study. 1. Situationalthose that arise from ones situation or environment at a given point; 2. Institutionalthose practices and procedures that exclude or discourage adults from participating in organized learning activities; and 3. Dispositionalthose related to the attitudes and self-perceptions about one-self as a learner Within the international literature on student retention in higher education, a paradigmatic theoretical framework (Braxton Hirschy, 2004) is Tintos Interactionalist Theory. This theory, in its various revisions (1975, 1988, 1993), identifies the main predictive factor as the level of integration reached by the student in the social and institutional context of academia. In relation to the synthesis proposed by Braxton, Milem, and Sullivan (2000), much empirical evidence currently particularly supports the hypothesis that the degree of the students social integration in the campus community influences the level of commitment during the academic journey and thus the likelihood of successfully completing that journey. However, this model was developed mostly in relation to traditional students and to residential academic contexts, and doubts have been expressed about the validity of generalizing its constructs to explain attrition among non-traditional students (Bean Metzner, 1985; Cabrera, Nora Castaneda, 1993; Donaldson, Graham, Kasworm, Dirkx, 1999; Sandler, 2000; Taniguchi Kaufman, 2005). Donaldson and Grahams (1999) model of college outcomes for adults proposed a framework to examine and assess the key elements affecting the learning of undergraduate nontraditional students. The model takes into consideration the adults preexisting conditions and motives, cognition, classroom engagement, influences of reallife experience, and the outcomes that they observe and experience as a result of college experiences (Donaldson, Graham, Kasworm, Dirkx, 1999). The model draws on the work of Kasworm (1995) who investigated adults experiences and outcomes from undergraduate education. The model examines the relationships among six major elements related to adults undergraduate collegiate experiences: (a) Prior Experience Personal Biographies, (b) Psychosocial and Value Orientations, (c) Adults Cognition, (d) the Connecting Classroom, (e) the Life-World Environment, and (f) the Outcomes. The Connecting Classroom is the central avenue for social engagement and for negotiating meaning for learning. Adults use the classroom to define the separation between academic and life-world knowledge structures (schemata). They use academic knowledge structures to illuminate and elaborate existing life-world structures and transform both real-world and academic knowledge structures into new, integrative structures and meaning. For nontraditional students, the classroom defines the college experience (Kasworm, 1997). The classroom serves as the pivotal hinge with adults utilizing their various roles in life such as student, worker, citizen, and family member to make meaning of their college experience (Kasworm, 1997; Donaldson Graham, 1999). The Life-World Environment encompasses current work, family, and community situations and settings or the different roles and contexts in which adults work and live. Adults have out-of-class social settings that support their entrance or return to higher education; individuals in these settings include family members, coworkers, supervisors, and community members. These levels of support can detract from or enhance the elements of the psychosocial and value orientations component when adults engage in collegiate experiences (Donaldson Graham, 1999). Summary

Analysis of Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson Essay -- Papers Poetry Poe

Analysis of Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson In the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the readers are shown a great king in the later years of his life. The reader finds Ulysses reflecting on the glorious days of his youth and planning that by some means he will obtain those glorious times again. He refuses to accept a future of growing old and ruling his kingdom. Ulysses will not let the rest of his life pass him by just sitting still on his throne, doing the mundane job of ruling a kingdom. Ulysses has reached the twilight years in his life and yet he refuses to give in to the fate that time has for all men. Ulysses states in the second stanza, "I cannot rest from travel; I will drink / Life to the lees."(line 9-10) With this statement from Ulysses the reader is shown that he has become very disillusioned about whatever life his throne could bring him if he were to stay at home and run the kingdom. The reader discovers what Ulysses thinks he has to do with the rest of his life when he states "I am become a name; / For always roaming with a hungry heart". (11-1...

Mirror by Sylvia Plath, 789-790. :: English Literature

Mirror by Sylvia Plath, 789-790. Why Silvia Plath wrote a poem about a mirror? Sylvia Plath was born on 27 October 1932, at Massachusetts Memorial Hospital. She was an excellent student in high school. Her first poem appeared when she was eight. Once graduated from high school, She entered Smith College in 1950 on a scholarship. On 24 August 1953, she attempted suicide swallowing sleeping pills. Sylvia was readmitted to Smith College for the spring-semester 1954 after receiving electro shock therapy treatment for her recovery. She graduated with honors from Smith College winning a Fulbright scholarship at Cambridge, England. There she found Ted Hughes and got married with him on 16 June 1956. The year of 1958 was very stressful for their relationship. On the last day of school she found her husband cheating on her with a young student. In April1960, Frieda Rebecca (their first child) was born. Later that year Plath became pregnant again and in February she had a miscarriage. She also had an appendectomy, which left her stitched & hospitalized for a number of weeks. On 17 January 1962 Plath Nicholas Farrar (their second child) was born. Late in September the married couple decided for a legal separation. In October Plath wrote over 25 poems and they were the best. In November she and her children moved to London where they had no telephone and the heat was no enough for the cold. Plath spent most of her time in London very lonely. The winter from 1962 to 1963 was recorded as one of the coldest in London ever. Sewer pipes froze and there was plenty of ice and snow on the ground. She and her children got sick leading her to a depression. On 11 February 1963, Plath took her own life. She placed her head in a gas oven and died of gas intoxication. Why Silvia wrote a poem about a mirror? Silvia wrote this poem the same year she committed suicide. The reason why she wrote a poem about a mirror is because at that time she was doing a deep introspection and she did not like what she saw, she was afraid of growing older. She also mentioned her fear of growing older in another journal that she wrote. Quotations for support: When Plath was young she looked at the mirror and see herself superficially; she did not look deep into herself: "I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike" (789). But as Plath ages, She begins to look into herself deeper than just

Beautiful by Christina Aguilera Essay example -- Music Essays

"I am beautiful no matter what they say words can't bring me down I am beautiful in every single way yes, words can't bring me down so don't you bring me down today" - Christina Aguilera What exactly does Christina Aguilera try to convey? According to her words along with personal interviews of the true meaning of this stanza in her song, Beautiful, Christina Aguilera approaches the reader and listener with her profound emotions. She perceives that through immense pressure and criticism, she is still "beautiful." Her tone in this song is at first mellow, but when she comes to the stanza of this song, she deliberately raises her voice to emphasize her genuine feelings. The tone describes her want and need for her thoughts to be truly heard. She wants the listener to capture her essence and the view of herself. In this specific stanza, she explains that s...