Comparison between FAIR and AIM

Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) and Accuracy In Media (AIM), are two of the most active media watch groups, who seeks to influence and encourage members of the media to deliver fair and objective information to the people, without injecting biases and personal opinions. FAIR considers themselves as a national media watch group who â€Å"offers well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship† ever since they started with the cause in 1986 (F.A.I.R., 2007). On the other hand, AIM sees themselves as a grassroots citizens’ watchdog, which â€Å"critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage† (A.I.M., 2007). Simply put, they are both against the misinformation that the media sometimes deliver to the people because of personal reasons, like biases, opinions and more. But scrutinizing this two properly, the question would then be on who is able to convince more people regarding the slanted news and information of some media practitioners and agencies. Looking closely on FAIR’s characteristics, they say that they seek both the opinion of the journalists and the activists. They present the side of the journalist, whenever they have presented a bit of a biased article or information. They give the journalist a chance to defend themselves and be able to explain further why they have resorted to writing such article. They also present the side of the activists and the critics who notices the mistakes and the points where the journalists went out of line. This is to provide a point of argument for the people, who usually wouldn’t realize that they are receiving biased commentaries from the people they would often think to deliver an unbiased report of the facts. Because of this, FAIR keeps the line open between the journalists and the activists. Through them, they can keep a constant dialogue so that they could be able to work things out for them. This then leaves a room for improvement for the journalists, especially if they consider what the activists say. With the help from FAIR, they would know whether what they are doing is right or wrong. Through constant communication, they are able to sharpen their senses to bring about truthful, unbiased pieces of information for the public. Another characteristic of FAIR is that they are encouraging the people to ask for the person responsible to change their ways, say, the media who gave biased information to the public. They are having a part where they propose a possible solution to a problem and then ask the people to act in order to solve that problem by following what they have suggested. An example would be asking them to call the person involve by giving that person’s contact number. They would encourage the people to ask for an explanation why that media practitioner made such a biased comment regarding a certain topic. AIM on the other hand, sees that the media needs a watch dog, which is why they exist. They said that the news media don’t seem to always give out the right information, wherein they could be misleading the people or giving out biased information shadowed by their personal opinions. But looking closely at AIM’s works, they are more on the political opinions of the media. They are more into scrutinizing that these people should not reflect their political belief in what they are writing. This has become a distinguishing characteristic, since most of their discussions are on whether some media personnel are for the democratic or the liberal side. In addition to that, they tackle on some publications that they see to â€Å"stir people’s minds† with what they publish. They say that these publications exist to deliver straight, hard hitting facts and information, and not to promote a certain belief or side they represent or endorse. In comparing the effectiveness of both FAIR and AIM, it can be seen that both of them are getting feedbacks from people, saying that what they are doing are really helping out in delivering the appropriate, unbiased information. This means that both of them prove that they are effective. But comparing them FAIR is able to communicate more with the people with regards to the wrong-doings of the media. This is because of the wide range of topics and information that FAIR gives and they are not as much as shadowed by the political stand of the media, as compared to that of AIM. In an article in the New York Times last July 3, 2007, writer Sheryl Stolberg has somewhat infused her thoughts in what she has written. The article was about President Bush deciding to commute the sentence of I. Lewis Libby Jr. who has committed a crime by lying to the FBI regarding an Iraq war issue (Stolberg, 2007). With Stolberg saying that the President seem to find the 30-month imprisonment for Libby as harsh, and that the case was a test of will, she was clearly sympathizing with what President Bush is feeling, whether what she said was factual or not. She mentioned that President Bush was forced to give the decision, a statement clearly implying of her, injecting her own opinions. This article was taken by some media watch group negatively, saying that Sheryl Stolberg was violating the media ethics of delivering a truthful, unbiased news and information to the people. What she did was an act of showing her biases, which she was siding and sympathizing with President Bush. As a media practitioner, doing as such reduces her credibility to give truthful, untainted information to the people. Conclusion Democracy includes the people’s freedom to freely speak their minds, the freedom to voice out their opinions whenever they want. But democracies freedoms also have limitations. This is applicable to media, where in order to get a true grasp of a story, the media practitioner, journalists or reporters should be able to give the unbiased face of the story. In order to do so, they must set aside their own opinions and interests in order to give the appropriate information to the people. The media’s role in democracy is the freedom of all people to access information. This information must be untainted with the media people’s opinions or biases, in order not to mislead the recipient of these pieces of information, which are the masses. References: A.I.M. (2007). What is Accuracy In Media(AIM)?  Ã‚   Retrieved July 4, 2007, from http://www.aim.org/static/19_0_7_0_C F.A.I.R. (2007). Media Views.  Ã‚   Retrieved July 4, 2007, from http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=11 Stolberg, S. G. (2007, July 3, 2007). For President, Libby Case Was a Test of Will The New York Times.      

Literature Contrast Essay

Compare between A Clear Well-lighted Place and A Rose for Emily Abstract: Hemingway and Faulkner both were winners of the Nobel Prize in literature, and had world-wide fame. Although they were close friends, they created rather distinct literary world for their readers. A Clear Well-lighted Place and A Rose for Emily are rather typical of their works. This essay aims to reveal the differences and uncover their unique appeal through analyzing these two novels from four perspectives: theme; character; characterization; writing style. Key Words:Hemingway;Faulkner; theme; character; characterization; writing style. Introduction: A Clear Well-lighted Place expresses an old man’s loneliness and despairs for life. The old man wanted to stay up in the bar and kept drinking, while the young waiter complained a lot and drove him away, but the older waiter showed more sympathy. A Rose for Emily is also a sad story about a girl named Emily who was raised by her father and forbidden to contact with outsides. she poisoned her boyfriend and kept his corpus beside her till death. . Theme The theme of a novel is its controlling idea or its central insight. Being an idea or an insight, the theme should be capable of unifying the whole novel. A Clear Well-lighted Place is the one of early works of Hemingway. The depression and hopelessness left by the world war were not easy to be erased. People may be rich, like the millionaire, but when night dawned, his loneliness and despair for this world force him to find a clear well-lighted place, for light symbolized hope. Faulkner’s work mainly depicted life in Southern slavery-based society, and try desperately to reproduce a south town around the civil war and focused on people’s stubbornness: they refused to admit the original south was gone. This story spanned about 74 years telling a life being restricted and isolated and in return try to isolate others. Character The old man’s character is complex, being depressed and wearisome, but still kept his dignity; rich, but unhappy; mature, but lost his belief. For example, â€Å"It was very late and everyone had left the cafe except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the day time the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference. †(A Clear Well-lighted Place. Ernest Hemingway) This paragraph is at the beginning. He would rather spend the time sipping alone. Besides, he chooses to sit under the shadow instead of the light, and the shadow symbolize the gloom and despair. However, in the William Faulkner’s novel, A Rose for Emily , arrogance, mental confusion, stubbornness and a nature passion for love have all together shaped Emily, and have eventually led to her doom. Her loneliness accompanied her for her whole life. â€Å"I want some poison,† she said. â€Å"Yes, Miss Emily. What kind? For rats and such? I’d recom–† â€Å"I want the best you have. I don’t care what kind. † The druggist named several. â€Å"They’ll kill anything up to an elephant. But what you want is–† â€Å"Arsenic,† Miss Emily said. â€Å"Is that a good one? † â€Å"Is . . . arsenic? Yes, ma’am. But what you want–† â€Å"I want arsenic. â€Å"(A Rose for Emily. William Faulkner) This is a conversation about Miss Emily. From the dialog between Miss Emily and druggist . when the druggist did not finish, Emily interrupted in and say she did not care. We can see her arrogance. When the druggist asked many times about her want, Emily pay no attention and repeated the word arsenic again and again. It showed her stubbornness. Characterization In the dramatic Characterization method the author form our opinion of the characters from what they do and say, from their environment, and from what other characters think of them. Just like the story in A Clear Well-lighted Place, Through the monologue of the older waiter, we know the old man’s loneliness and desire for light and hope. Through the old man’s own behaviour, like staying up under the shadow, we know his despairs and gloominess. In the analytic method the author comments upon the characters, explaining their motives, their appearance, and their thought. The narrator of A Rose for Emily is called â€Å"first person† . The author uses much comments upon the characters. For Emily, he shows more sympathy than blame, and he owe her tragedy to the unjust doings of her father. Writing Style Their images in A Clear Well-lighted Place are shown vividly with concise and plain words, and refined rhetorical skills. Ernest Hemingway advocates using the simplest and fewest words, direct description and short sentence. For example,In the daytime the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference. (A Clear Well-lighted Place. Ernest Hemingway) In this excerpt, few adjectives and no difficult words are used. Also there are no long sentences and compound sentences. While Ernest Hemingway pursues the beauty of simplicity, his friend William Faulkner become a master of a rhetoric, highly symbolic style . which will employ many long complex sentences. For example, When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument , the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant—a combined gardener and cook—had seen in at least ten years. (A Rose for Emily. William Faulkner) Notice the dash, commas and the clauses. In fact, clauses found in the sentence are in opposition of each other, and so Faulkner successfully depicts a sound scene within one sentence. Conclusion We have studied two classical novels from the four perspectives: theme; character; characteristics; writing style. Both novels told sad stories, but their theme are distinct. The first story lasted for one night while the second one spanned for 74 years and covered much more content. The old man and Emily shared the loneliness, but the other features varied a lot. The first story was short, simple and full of philosophical meanings, nevertheless, Faulkner’s lengthy and obscure. Despite of all these differences, they made good impression on reader. One is like the sharp mountain, clear, simple, but not easily to climb, while the other is a lengthy river, twisted, obscure, and need you to dive in to feel it. References: [1]  ·. [M]. : ,1983: 32. [2] ,. â€Å" †[J]. ( ) ,2010,( 7) : 105 – 107. [3] . [M]. : ,2002: 6. [4] Justus,James H. Hemingway and Faulkner: Vision and Repudiation [J]. The Kenyon Review,New Series,1985,7( 49) : 1 – 14. [5] Philip M. Weinstein. ———  · [M]. : ,2000. [6]  ·. [M]. : ?,2006.

Morality and Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Morality and Rights - Essay Example "That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant," Dworkin (1994, p.9). Over centuries, morality had been mercurial, while Law was not, though there is a constant need to adapt to changing social requirements. Killing troublemakers and animals was moral at one point and not so now. Today, recreational drugs, homosexuality, prostitution etc. are legally accepted. "To grasp fully where law and morality meet, one must also grasp where they remain divergent. ..Of greatest interest in that theoretical endeavour, of course, is the matter of pinning down whether and how moral principles can enter into those processes. Only by adequately addressing themselves to that matter can positivists come up with satisfactorily precise analyses of the workings of legal systems," Kramer (2004, p.11). Morality is interpreted by religions in contradictorily and what is right for one need not be so for another. In multicultural societies this could be difficult to be enforced. It is highly contentious for law to depend on moral values alone, because the question arises, which moral values.

Alzheimer Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Alzheimer Disease - Essay Example Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia that attacks the brain and accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases. The more gradual form, with slow progress of symptoms, begins around ages 65 to 70 and affects approximately 1%-6% of the AD patients. See Table 1.1. About 60% of early-onset AD is familial, with 13% being inherited due to family history [Rocca et al 1991, Campion et al 1999]. A rapidly progressive form begins around ages 36 to 45. Both sexes are affected usually beginning in middle age and older adults, but women are more likely to develop Alzheimer's than men, as women live longer, on average, than men. According to the research from the Aging, Demographics and Memory Study (ADAMS), 14% of all people aged 71 and older have dementia. The estimate done in 2008, states that 2.4 million women and 1 million men aged 71 and older have dementia. As many as 5.3 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer's. This figure includes 5.1 million people aged 65 and older and 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer's. Based on these estimates, approximately 500,000 Americans under age 65 have Alzheimer's or other dementia. Of these, about more than 46% are estimated to have Alzheimer's disease. See Table 1.2 AD is a genetically complex and heterogeneous disorder. Particularly for genetic studies, Alzheimer's disease is often categorized according to age. ... Commonly knowm as the "Mild Cognitive impairment". (Petersen et al. 1999) Mild cognitive impairment is a major focus of research to facilitate early intervention while functional status is preserved. It can be further classified into Psychiatric Genetics or Molecular Genetics. Late on-set Familial AD: According to Smoller, Sheidley and tsuang, the research evidence proves the presence of additional AD genes. For example, the family history (Payami et al, 1997) or monozygotic twin status (Bergem et al, 1997) remains after APOE4 is controlled for. Also, a segregation analysis points to the existence if many additional late on-set AD genes (Daw et al, 2000) and the peak age at onset is in the 60's. Linkage analysis has provided several clues to where such AD genes may reside (reviewed in Bertram and tanzi 2004; Kamboh 2004). Other than the APOE region on chromosomes 9, 10 and 12. (Blacker et al 2003); Myers et al 2002). More than 200 genes have been tested for association with AD, with discouraging results (Alzheimer research Forum 2005; Kamboh 2004). There is a possibility of huge understanding in AD genetics. The discovery of the APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 has contributed greatly to the AD, and at least 20 drugs are in the process of development in genetics research. These may help in early detection and intervention and further prevention. In addition, the study can help in providing genetic counseling and genetic testing for patients with family history. Early-onset familial AD (EOFAD): Early-onset cases can occur in families with generally late-onset disease (Brickell et al 2006). At least three subtypes of molecular genetics EOFAD (AD1, AD3, and AD4) have been identified based on the causative gene.

Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Business Environment - Essay Example (Tesco, 2011). 1. Mission, Objectives and Responsibilities of an Organization (a) The Core Mission of Tesco deals with creation of value for its customers through the rendering of quality products and services. Through the rendering of quality products and services the company aims at enhancing the loyalty parameter of the customers. Further the company also sets a mission of caring for its people in both the external and internal sphere. The internal groups of people consist of the employees of the company who by dint of their hard work makes the company succeed in a competitive business environment. External group of people are the customers and other stakeholders like suppliers and government who render due support in making the company succeed in its operations. The company believes that helping the customers in getting the right products caters to the event of repeat purchases by them. Similarly the company also works to motivate its internal people to work in a devoted manner t o fulfill customer delights. Moreover the customers and the staff are regularly contacted by the management team of Tesco to get fruitful suggestions in developing its service and product qualities. (Tesco, n.d.). The above mission of Tesco helps the company in fulfilling its stated objectives which can be underlined as follows. Tesco fulfills the needs of the customers by rendering quality products at reasonable market prices. The customers of Tesco are regularly contacted by the company for getting suggestions which would help in both product and service enhancement. Tesco also satisfies the needs of its stake holders like investors and shareholders by producing high returns on the investments made. The company also helps in quality enhancement of its employees through effective training and management policies. Tesco also maintains a strong supplier environment which aims to deliver to the company quality products at effective price ranges. Finally in total Tesco works tightly in fulfilling the responsibilities of the company to the society in a complete manner by satisfying all legal and environmental obligations. (Corporate Objectives, n.d.). (b) The giant departmental store Tesco has large group of stakeholders starting from customers, supplier groups, investors and shareholders, the different levels of staffs and the union groups to which these people belong to, the community of people who sponsor the company and whom the company sponsors and finally those who render influences on the government of the region and on the business as a whole. Tesco in a bid to cater to the customer groups have helped in creating stores which would remain open for full 24 hours every day. These stores help in catering for the buying community who fail to avail time to conduct shopping during the day owing to their busy schedules. The company also encourages the customers to conduct transactions online through their membership card which helps enhancing customer loyalty. Wh ile maintaining a relation with the supplier groups Tesco acts in a strict manner through administering, monitoring and evaluating their demands. If in turn a supplier group of the company demands an increase upon the agreed amounts and thereby tries to disturb the operations, Tesco does not wait from altering

Does the Christan salvesen's sickness absence management policy meet Essay

Does the Christan salvesen's sickness absence management policy meet its obligations under the DDA' - Essay Example The inter-war years were tough but Salvesen sold a large number of ships and rode out the difficult period. When the post-war whaling boom ended, Salvesen scaled down its involvement and ended its interest. Looking for new growth areas, an experiment with a revolutionary trawler to freeze fish while still at sea led to the purchase of the company's first cold store in Grimsby in 1958, a move that coincided with the birth of the frozen food industry in the UK. The firm's fledgling distribution operations grew as customers requested transport for their frozen produce. The business continued to diversify its operations, moving into food freezing facilities, house building and the offshore oil industry in the early 1970s. Salvesen began to concentrate its activities in the Food Services division, opening cold stores, expanding food processing facilities and winning a major frozen food distribution contract for UK retailer Marks & Spencer. The business grew with the acquisition of Merchants Refrigerating Company in the USA in 1981 and the generator rental company Aggreko in 1984. Aggreko was a success in the 1980s, opening UK depots, growing French operations and expanding into the USA with the acquisition of Electric Rental Systems. ... Salvesen built up its presence in the frozen food sector in mainland Europe with operations in five countries. In 1995 it also acquired a stake in a German industrial logistics business called Wohlfarth. In September 1997 Christian Salvesen decided to concentrate on its core logistics divisions and diverged Aggreko. Since then Christian Salvesen has built up a blue chip client base, developing partnerships with retailers and manufacturers and targeting markets in mainland Europe. In recent years, Salvesen acquired Industrial logistics businesses in Spain, Germany and France. It has since sold both its food and industrial operations in Germany. It is focused on further expansion of its geographic footprint in Europe and developing an integrated European offering of in-market, shared-use networks. Today, Salvesen has operations in seven countries: Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and the UK. Its chosen market segments are Industrial, Food and Consumer products and it specialises in the strategic management of the outsourced supply chain. These operations are supported by advanced, proprietary ICT systems. The DDA Policy: The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) covers all UK businesses. The DDA is a UK parliamentary act of 1995, which makes it unlawful for service provider to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport. It is a civil rights law. Other countries use constitutional, social rights or criminal law to make similar provisions. Employment Discrimination laws seek to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion,

Epiphany Trigger and or contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Epiphany Trigger and or contrast - Essay Example This paper compares what caused my epiphany and what triggered Gabriel to have his epiphany in â€Å"the dead† James Joyce. My epiphany was brought about by a discussion held with some of my friends. This discussion evolved around the matters that are affecting the country today. The matters ranged from war to the resent attacks on gay rights. My stand on these matters seems always to be in contrast to what my friends seem to believe in or think this is right and ethical. The discussion had me thinking a lot about my views on these matters. I saw the overwhelming evidence that was against me, yet I maintained my stand. One of my friends talked to me and advised that I deeply reflect on my life and what I stand and believe in. He said that somewhere inside me there is a position, which is same views as the rest of my friends’ and I just had to go and think critically regarding the matter. This point provided my turning point and thus triggered my epiphany (Klein 22). Gabriel’s epiphany in â€Å"the dead† by James Joyce occurs when he and his wife attend a dinner party, which results in an epiphany for both Gabriel and his wife. The main character, James, at the end of the story, experience epiphany or a self-realization, the set of the external circumstances at the party manage to focus attention on his futility and the meaningless of his life. At the very end of the story, Gabriel’s epiphany takes place Greta tells him about the boy that she fell in love with; who died from pneumonia after a long wait in the snow so that the boy could see her for one last time. The story touches him greatly and manages to open his mind as he contemplates about himself, his behavior, and his words. He conceptualizes the past, and the future all within that moment he even sees his wife differently (Klein 23). In both cases, the epiphany is brought or triggered by people close to the

Improving Organisational Performance Assignment - 2

Improving Organisational Performance - Assignment Example Management requires higher attention towards proper understanding of individual differences, needs and behaviors, and any technicalities to facilitate their understanding and management of the organizational complexities. Even though organizational performance is an idea that is perceived through the accurate measures of efficiency, effectiveness and adaptability, its enhancement begins at the bottom most level of elements composed of these measures. A manager has therefore to analyze individual performance measures in order to initiate the process of performance improvement. The main issues to be addressed in the performance improvement process include keeping focus on the measurable results, success driven by employee empowerment, measurement of results to be delivered immediately, and building on the present success for the projection of future success (Armstrong, 1994). Requirements set by the performance improvement process do present some complexities and therefore requires sol utions by an appropriate methodological approach, capable of leading the entire process form the general perspective to a detailed insight and as well from an abstract insight to more practical solutions as can be used within an organization (Alasdair A. K., 1995). In addition, the modeled approach should be pragmatic enough to be applied to an existing setback, which thereafter leads to the requirement of designing processes involving a number of stages of the organizational performance improvement process. Elements of project organization structure The organizational structure of a project is made up of five key elements which include: i. Program Committee This is a temporary body set up to organize and coordinate the workflow of the entire performance improvement program, and also give directives in the program implementation strategies. A program committee consists of a chairperson of the board, top management members, and the program manager; and is headed by the CEO of the cor poration. ii. Program Manager A program manager is an expert and a technocrat who is responsible for the program implementation, appointed by the program committee. He/she is charged with the duties of coordinating of individual project teams, sensitizing the program committee of the status of the ongoing activities, cooperative planning of project activities with the project managers, cooperative design of the project network charts with project managers, and controlling of the implementation of solutions reached within the project. iii. Project committee This is a group of experts, who organize and coordinate the workflow of any individual project and directing its implementation in accordance to the common program plan. A project committee is a collection of both the experts delegated by organization owners and the staff experts to ensure full implementation of the program. The project manager is also a member of the project committee to ensure effective communication between the project committee and the project teams. iv. Project team This consists of experts who are actively involved in the implementation of the project’s activities. Its membership is based on full-time basis. Positions on the project team include the project manager and the project team members. Within the project team is the project manager who is an expert mandated to directly manage the implementation of project activities. A project manager is appointed by the project commi

Humanity beliefs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Humanity beliefs - Essay Example Is selflessness the most important aspect of humanity beliefs? This paper will have a deep insight into selflessness as an attribute of humanity and how it comes about. First, the paper will define selflessness and then explore into the causes of selflessness and the ultimate impact of this attribute on humanity. Selflessness is the attribute of acting with less interest for yourself than for the success of mutual activity where one is more concerned with the well-being of others than his/her own welfare. It is the nature of people who are genuinely benevolent individuals by putting the needs of others first. A selflessness being is where one gives to anyone, often capitulating or sacrificing something of their own knowing that nothing in their life is truly of their own. Selflessness is offering help, kindness, material things and always be ready to assist to the best of their ability inherently knowing that that is the right thing to do. It is this act of selflessness that distingu ish human from all the other animals since every man has a wild beast within him and selflessness makes us different from anything else thus humanity . Selflessness is established in evolutionary biology and also as a concept in psychology is a mansion that tries to explain the traits of human ethics because individuals who help others benefit in return by promoting their genetic self-interest. This shows that selfless behavior is as a matter of fact a prominent feature of both biological and human nature. Selflessness as a humanity aspect is brought about as a product of selfish desire and one may think this is an emphasis of selfishness but it sets apart for altruism which is an aspect of unselfish devotion to others. The main idea is based on which level in the hierarchy of living organism will turn out to be the certainly selfish and use the real life examples that surround the human nature. The growth of civilization is used to give an incrementally honorable status of the term selflessness because we will realize that this civilization power results naturally as selfishness .since civilization is an aid to growth and originates in selfishness then selfishness may be the reason for growth of civilization thus the meaning of saving the vague supposition of selflessness (Freud 74). This can also be proven by an example of fear as a natural means of self-protection where our a small nation like Kenya will always want to be in the UN organization and give help to others not because they homer the international union or have a greater passion in helping other nation but it is a fear-linked desire for survival when they need help from the UN organization. Tradition can also be a cause of selflessness act as a trait of humanity that is triggered by inner power of selfishness because one might be fully submitted to a given tradition by taking consideration on the community and avoid trouble with the society but in real sense the act is triggered by the selfishnes s power of praise from the community leaders, fame and be given titles of good morals. These examples clearly show that selflessness as a humanity aspect is brought about by fear, greed and tradition but without selfishness the act of selflessness may not be clearly expressed. It is natural to claim that you love someone and you will always do many things to them unconditionally and with passion basically because you want to see them

United States Federal Tax Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

United States Federal Tax Law - Assignment Example United States Federal Tax Law On January 3, 2009, Kathy and Frank Willow got married and entered into a contract with Hive Construction Corporation to build a house for $3,000,000 to be used as their main home. On November 10, 2010, when the outstanding principal balance on the mortgage loan was $2,500,000, the FMV of the property fell to $1,750,000 and Kathy and Frank abandoned the property by permanently moving out. They had made interest payments of $130,000 in 2009 and 2010 and paid $50,000 of principal in each year of those years (2009 and 2010) to bring the mortgage balance from $2,600,000 to $2,500,000 just before the date of abandonment. The lender foreclosed on the property and, on December 5, 2010, sold the property to another buyer for $1,750,000. More than one year after the foreclosure, and after heated negotiations, the couple convinced Outside Lender to cancel the remaining debt. So, on December 26, 2011, the lender canceled the remaining debt owing. Kathy and Frank are filing a joint return for 2011. On December 26 2011, Kathy and Frank had $15,000 in a savings account, household furnishings with an FMV of $17,000, a car with an FMV of $10,000, and $18,000 in credit card debt. The household furnishings originally cost $30,000. The car had been fully paid off (so there was no related outstanding debt) and was originally purchased for $16,000. Kathy and Frank had no adjustments to the cost basis of the car. Kathy and Frank had no other assets. ... Kathy and Frank had no other assets or liabilities at that time, except for the Disputed Amount that remains in dispute. (a) What are the tax consequences to Kathy and Frank, if any, for each year? It should be noted that foreclosure occurred before Kathy and Frank cancelled their debt; therefore, they are liable to gain or loss from the foreclosure. Since they maintained personal liability for the $ 750,000 of the remaining debt, then they were liable to cancellation. Additionally, the insolvency exclusion cannot apply in the Kathy and Frank case since their indebtedness did not qualify for the principal residence (Lyon 64). However, the same could have only applied if their insolvency could have been excluded instead of the indebtedness. Additionally, it should be considered that the remaining part of the debt just before the cancellation did not qualify as principal residence indebtedness since only part of the loan could qualify as the principal indebtedness. Therefore, Kathy and Frank must have ordered for the cancellation. (b) Same as (a) except Hive Construction Corporation financed the purchase of the house for Kathy and Frank and Hive Corporation agreed to reduce the debt to 1,750,000 on December 26 2011 and Kathy and Frank continue to live in the houseand there was no foreclosure in 2010? To this extent, Kathy and Frank do not have the right to elect insolvency exclusion as could be in the case of principle residence exclusion. However, they are liable to apply for the insolvency exclusion to $500,000 for the nonqualified debts since such debt is never qualified as principal residence indebtedness. Kathy and Frank have no tax attribute up to the year 2010 other than the use of basic

A good citizen Essay Example for Free

A good citizen Essay A good citizen is someone who cares for himself by being good to himself and for the country at the same time by casting vote during the time of election, being honest, law-abiding, paying tax regularly, thinking of common good, thinking of the society by leaving a common place clean and following the rules. Let us discuss the above mentioned points in detail to realise the responsibility of a good citizen. Being good to himself! One can be good to himself by being disciplined. Self-discipline is all about acting according to what your brain tells instead of acting accrding to how your heart feels. Often discipline is equated to loss of freedom, as it often involves sacrificing pleasure, for eg. Violating traffic rules, checking mail when sitting in the class, sleeping for five minutes more than the time set in the alarm, skipping a day’s work out, eating ice-cream when on diet and things similar to these. Self-discipline is so important in life that it makes you feel very confident when you go by the plans fixed by your brain. When petty pleasures such as eating icecream when on diet and checking mails plenty times a day are forgone, body gets tuned to abiding by the plans of brain, in return brain will gain a lot of pleasure as the body is in the right track. One can think of great plans and formulate complex agendas when the body is under the fullest control one’s brain. Casting a vote! Is it so important to cast vote. Voting in an election is just like donating blood to someone who is urgently in need of it. The dawn or demise of a nation purely depends on the attitude of every individual of the nation. Voting is the process of selecting a party of interest which shows suitable policies mandatory for the well being of the nation. Voting odes not just stop with casting a vote, in fact casting a vote is the last step in the process. It is the responsibility of every individual to keep a track on the parties in a country just like the shares bought. Only then it will be easy to understand the plans and real intention of the party despite the fancy policies that they share with the public. Tiny drops of water makes an ocean, so do not forget to vote and as a responsible citizen insist your friends to vote if they refuse to vote. Being honest is bliss; it is not easy to be honest, perhaps not impossible to be honest too. Taming a generation to be honest will help the next generation to be honest naturally. Honesty does not give way to corruption, bribery, injustice and therfore it helps every individual to get the share he deserves. When every individual gets what he actually deserves, the country will be derpived of famine, drought, poverty, terrorism, discrimination and many other evil practices. Law-abiding is just the practice of abiding by the law, just like how we abide by the words of our parents. Law is nothing but a set of rules based on the code of ethics to assure justice for all. A good citizen should respect the law instead of considering it a hindrance on his way. Any individual who goes by his conscience does not have to be bothered about law. Abiding by law reduces the crime rate and raises the standard of the nation in the international picture. Paying tax can be equated to paying the due respect to parents for taking pains to raising us. The tax that we pay is always less for the facilities the government provides us with. Imagine a country where there is no government, the country will be devoid of road, transport, justice, food, water and all basic amenities. Survival becomes a struggle for existence whereas now we are able to think of a business and estimate margin. A regular tax payer is helping the government to take care of the basic facilities and services and as well to take care of the people in the downtrodden who are deprived of these basic amenities. Thinking of common good! Until a particular period of time, there was no concern for the transgenders and they underwent all the ill-treatments on earth. Similary the colors from Africa and other parts of the world were given a bad treatment in U. S. until the Civil Right Act 1964 was enforced. These rectifications in a country did not happen all of a sudden and the radical shift was not an overnight’s change. People who respected the common good for others fought for it and bought it for them. The best example is Nelson Mandela who spent around 36 years of imprisonment fighting for the colors. A good citizen can give his share of contribution by not ill treating anybody, respecting the elders, helping others, doing charity work and so on. These petty works promise a lot of satisfaction. Leaving a place clean; a country is the house of a big clan of people. We bear the utmost responsibility to keep it clean as host of the place. A clean atmosphere always arouses pure thoughts and promises a fresh brain. We have done the maximum damage possible to our mother nature; let us at least try to keep our country clean, so that let our next generation inherit the discipline of taking care of the country after us.

Community Support Intervention for Alcohol Abuse

Community Support Intervention for Alcohol Abuse Community support intervention (s) for alcohol abuse in adults living in Glasgow, UK; A Proposal Introduction International perspective on alcohol abuse Alcoholism is a collective term for alcohol related disorders including, but not limited to, alcohol abuse, binge drinking and alcohol dependence (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2016). Global alcohol consumption levels in 2010 were estimated to be 6.2 litres of pure alcohol in persons aged 15 years and above (WHO, 2017). In the United Kingdom, the Health and Social Care Information Centre (2014) recommended that among the adult population group, women and men should not consume more than 3 and 4 units of alcohol a day, respectively. Furthermore, existing evidence trends on alcohol consumption levels indicate that the greater the economic prosperity/wealth of the country, the higher the alcohol consumption levels and thus the lower the number of abstainers among the populations (WHO, 2017). Additionally, statistics from the WHO (2017) indicate that in 2012, approximately 3.3 million recorded deaths globally were due to alcohol abuse, and at least 15.3 million people are thought to have a drug and/or alcohol disorder. Furthermore, 7.6% and 4% of the 3.3 million deaths globally were observed in males and females, respectively (WHO, 2017). Similarly, 139 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) recorded in 2012 were associated with alcohol consumption globally (WHO, 2017). Therefore, harmful alcohol consumption is associated with negative health consequences which impact on the quality of life of individuals and their families, as well as society as a whole due to reduced productivity levels and financial costs associated with treating and managing alcohol misuse related conditions (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2011). Alcohol abuse relative to Scotland In 2007, a joint research undertaken by the Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde indicated that increased rates of harmful alcohol consumption have been observed across Scotland, with an estimated increase expected in the next decade (Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 2007). The report indicated that at least 20.7% of all hospital admissions in the Glasgow area were associated with harmful alcohol consumption, which was associated with a cost of  £207 million to manage appropriately. In 2015, a survey by NHS Health Scotland, indicated that 1 in 4 Scottish people drink at hazardous levels and about 36% and 17% of men and women, respectively, consume more than 14 units of alcohol each week (NHS Health Scotland, 2015). Furthermore, at least 1,150 alcohol related deaths were recorded in Scotland and 386 of these were women while 764 were males, a figure expected to increase if alcohol misuse is not tackled in Scotland (National Records of Scotland, 2015). Additionally, in those aged between 45 and 59 years, largest proportion of alcohol related deaths are observed each year in Scotland (National Records of Scotland, 2015). Nevertheless, although the statistics indicate that the rates of harmful alcohol consumption have declined over the last few years in Scotland, the rates are on average still relatively higher than those recorded in Wales and England, and therefore more investment in managing alcohol misuse is still a public health priority (Monitoring and Evaluating Scotlands Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) work programme, 2014). Research undertaken by the Information Service Division, NHS Health Scotland (2015/2016) indicated that about 90% and 10% of alcohol related hospital admissions were to either to general acute hospitals or psychiatric hospitals, respectively. Similarly, 48,420 patients are thought to have accessed primary care equating to 94,630 alcohol related consultations in 2012/2013; higher rates observed in those aged 65 years and above (Scottish Public Health Observatory [ScotPHO], 2017). Furthermore, 25% of all trauma patients and 33% of all major traumas in 2015 were associated with alcohol misuse (The Scottish Trauma Audit Group, 2016). In terms of societal costs of alcohol misuse, a report by the Scottish Government (2010) indicated that alcohol related harms cost about  £3.6 million annually in social care, crime, productivity, health as well as wider/indirect costs in Scotland. In addition, at least  £267 million each year is spent by the NHS Health Scotland on alcohol related care, and  £727 million a year on managing alcohol related crimes across Scotland (Scottish Government, 2010). Alcohol policies and interventions are often developed with the main aim of reducing alcohol misuse as well as alcohol related social and health burden (NHS Health Scotland, 2015). Additionally, these policies or interventions may be formulated and implemented at a local, regional, national, sub-national and global level to ensure alignment and consistency of combating alcohol misuse across care settings (WHO, 2017). Nevertheless, the NHS Scotland in joint collaboration with other government bodies such as the Police have expressed a commitment to monitoring and evaluating alcohol misuse in Scotland with the aim of reducing the alcohol related health and social burden (Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 2007). The aim of this essay is to explore the extent of alcohol misuse in Scotland and provide community support to the affected populations through the implementation of a relevant strategy/intervention to reduce harmful alcohol consumption. The epidemiological consideration of alcohol misuse/abuse will be discussed first and thereafter followed with the identification of the relevant strategy or intervention in combi nation with the implementation procedures, monitoring and evaluating its progress, based on a pre-specified assessment criteria/framework, to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the population affected by alcohol misuse. Epidemiological consideration to exploring the level of alcohol abuse among adults in Scotland. Research suggests that the most effective alcohol interventions and policies are those that have combined measures that address the issue at a population level (WHO, 2007). Nevertheless, national levels should be aligned to local strategies to ensure consistency in the delivery of care/support for alcohol misuse (Faculty of Public Health UK, 2016). Therefore, to initiate a strategy or intervention to combat alcohol misuse in Scotland it is fundamental that the epidemiology of alcohol misuse (such as risk factors, aetiology, incidence, prevalence, prognosis, current service evaluation and the unmet need) is established based on evidence based medical literature which can take the form of systematic reviews or population longitudinal studies or clinical trials (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2011). Furthermore, having a thorough understanding of the needs and priorities of those affected as well as the payors and clinicians need to be put in to consideration prior to initiating an intervention to combat alcohol misuse (Griffin and Botvin, 2011). This can be undertaken by conducting a needs assessment which aims to identify health issues of the patients as well as establishing resource allocation to help plan, and implement a strategy or intervention that meets the unmet need of alcohol abusers (Care Informatio n Scotland, 2015). The health needs assessment should primarily be undertaken by a team of stakeholders representing various relevant perspectives including, but not limited to, healthcare professionals, patients or patient groups and payors with the aim of ensuring that all perspectives to reduce health inequalities have been explored, thus providing confidence that the proposed intervention to combat alcohol misuse will be accessible to relevant persons across care settings (NICE, 2005). Both quantitative and qualitative data are fundamental in identifying and establishing the community profiles of those affected by alcohol misuse in Scotland (NICE, 2014). A qualitative framework enables the researchers to obtain an in-depth understanding of the views and perception of those consuming alcohol at harmful levels and therefore the themed information can be used to shape the focus and implementation of the proposed intervention (Brownson et al. 2009). Additionally, qualitative framework can be utilised in terms of focus groups, audio recordings and one to one interviews across different sample sizes and sample types to ensure generalisability of study findings across adults in Scotland who misuse alcohol (Wilson et al. 2013). On the other hand, quantitative framework helps researchers to decide on what to focus on within the research based on data collected from participants, and thus quantify the data by analysing it in an unbiased and objective manner (Cairns et al. 20 11). Therefore, this will help researchers profile the trends of alcohol misuse in Scotland and provide potential explanations of the observed relationships between analysed variables (Jones and Sumnall, 2016). Therefore, both quantitative and qualitative data should be put in to consideration by the various stakeholders to help make informed decisions on the most appropriate intervention to tackle alcohol misuse in Scotland (Monitoring and Evaluating Scotlands Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) work programme, 2014). The nature of the data to be collected (i.e. primary and/or secondary) is often determined by the research question at hand (NICE CG21, 2010). For example, with regards to alcohol misuse, both primary and secondary data are critical because in combination, the data provide a comprehensive representation of the extent of the alcohol misuse among adults in Scotland, which could be limited if one or the other were to be used to inform policy making (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2008). Furthermore, the hierarchy of evidence is dictated by the nature of the study design informing the evidence, and thus various stakeholders will put different weight to the study evidence obtained from various study designs (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2015). For example, research recommendations consider randomised controlled trials (RCTS) as the superior study design due to the limited bias associated with the design and exploration of evidence, and therefore evidence from RCTs is considered to be of robust and of high quality (NICE, 2006; Higgins and Green, 2011). Subsequent from the RCTS, the other study designs of interest include cohort studies, case-control, case series and expert, in that order, are considered to be useful in answering certain types of research questions (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2008). Nevertheless, meta-analyses and systematic reviews of RCTs are given more weight in the hierarchy to be able to provide robust data to inform deci sion making. However, it should be noted that conducting a RCT to establish alcohol misuse would be considered unethical by various stakeholders and therefore, qualitative studies or real world evidence studies would be more plausible to explore the concept in detail (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2017). Therefore, after consideration of the nature/type of evidence in combination with the epidemiology of alcohol misuse among adults in Scotland, a brief intervention that would be considered both clinically and cost effective would be a plausible approach (WHO, 2014). The brief intervention incorporates policy guidelines, training, as well as education on alcohol misuse to help patients and healthcare providers make informed decision on its applicability (Anderson et al. 2009). Brief interventions are preferred over other types, such as alcohol taxation because they aim to provide health and social support to alcohol abusers and thus they are more likely to be motivated to help change attitudes towards harmful drinking (Institute for Alcohol Studies, 2013). Therefore, a plausible intervention should include various phases such as planning, preparing other stakeholders for the intervention, establishing an intervention team, identifying consequences/benefits and harms as well as sharing information on the intervention with the relevant stakeholders and ensure that informed consent from users of the intervention is put in to consideration prior to implementation (Holland, 2016). Monitoring and evaluation of the intervention Monitoring and evaluation of an ABI is fundamental in ensuring that the intervention is fit for purpose and delivers expected outcomes to those in need of care (National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools, 2010). Monitoring and evaluation of an intervention follows a set of criteria which measures the effectiveness of the intervention such as the RE-AIM model which aims to evaluate the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (Glasgow et al. 1999). For example, the Reach category puts in to consideration the proportion and characteristics of alcohol abusers that access the intervention and can be assessed on an individual level which aims to provide first-hand information on what patients thoughts are (NICE, 2014). However, given the difficulty in accessing information on the non-respondents it is challenging to establish why the intervention was not deemed essential to suit their needs and therefore, this creates challenges quantifying the cost effectiveness of an intervention that was designed to reach a large proportion of patients (Vogt et al. 1998). Efficacy of the ABI considers the measuring of both positive and negative outcomes to ensure that a balanced evaluation of evidence is assessed on the value of the intervention to individuals who want to reduce alcohol misuse (National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools, 2010). Additionally, the ABI should aim to collect behavioural, biologic, and quality of life outcomes which are fundamental in assessing whether patients are benefiting from the program or otherwise (NHS Scotland, 2017). Additionally, it is essential to establish if payors are investing in a valuable intervention, and if healthcare professionals are delivering the strategy correctly or it needs to be adapted for each individual to optimize outcomes (Kaplan et al. 1993). The adoption of the ABI takes in to perspective the proportion of care settings utilising the intervention across Scotland (NHS Scotland, 2017). This could be within the community, hospitals, and work and leisure settings to ensure that the hard to reach populations are given the opportunity to access the intervention without incurring significant costs (Alcohol Focus Scotland, 2017). Although direct observation may provide measurable outcomes, audits, surveys and interviews may provide further evidence to support the monitoring and evaluation of the ABI (Scottish Government, 2017). Similarly, the implementation and maintenance of the ABI is fundamental in assessing the extent to which the intervention has been executed in the real world setting as intended, as well as the extent to which the intervention is sustained over a pre-specified period of time (WHO, 2014). Implementation can be assessed at an individual level, and maintenance may be accessed both at an individual and organi sation level to ensure alignment and consistency in the delivery of the ABI. Nevertheless, the RE-AIM framework across the five categories is not often put in to consideration across settings to evaluate alcohol interventions, and therefore the time points for evaluation of optimal effectiveness of the ABI in Scotland are often dependent on amount of available resource within the care settings which make generalisability of findings across settings challenging to ascertain (Institute for Alcohol Studies, 2013; Scottish Government, 2017). Conclusions Alcohol misuse presents a significant burden on the health and social aspects of adults in Scotland both in the short and long term. Given the quantifiable burden in the alcohol misuse related illness, crime and costs of management, this has necessitated a change in the harmful consumption levels of alcohol in Scotland through the implementation of ABIs in conjunction with national and local policies. The epidemiology of alcohol abuse in Scotland through existing literature from both primary and secondary data sources is key in providing a comprehensive insight in to the alcohol misuse circumstances over time, and how the issue can be addressed.   Likewise, the implementation of ABI across care settings in Scotland ensures that the population at need is given access to care through education and training on the harms of excessive alcohol consumption in the short and long term. Additionally, this ensures that the patients are given the option to receive care, after informed consent, and are able to take control of their care. Therefore, healthcare providers have the duty of care to promoting confidence among alcohol abusers to help them come up with various coping strategies to change their attitudes and behaviours. For those that decline care, the opportunity to access care in the future should be provided, but most importantly their decisions should be respected. The monitoring and evaluation of the intervention should also encompass a set of pre-specified criteria such as the RE-AIM framework to establish effectiveness of the intervention as well as the cost effectiveness of the ABI over time. References Alcohol Focus Scotland. (2017) Alcohol licencing in your community; how you can get involved [online]. [Viewed 28 March 2017] Available from: http://www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk/media/133477/Community-licensing-toolkit.pdf. Alcohol Research UK, 2014. Delivering Alcohol IBA Broadening the base from health to non-health context: Review of the literature and scoping. London. Middlesex University. Anderson, P., Chisholm, D andFuhr, D.C., 2009. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. Lancet [online]. 373(06), pp. 2234- 46. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. 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Background Of Rolls Royce Information Technology Essay

Background Of Rolls Royce Information Technology Essay Information Technology now a day is growing in rapid pace. Almost every sector and the activities in this world are being attached with the Information Technology. Business organisations cannot survive in this competitive world without using some form of technology however, they must have to use technology strategically in order to keep their existence for a long term. In this essay I am going to present the case of one of a large, power engine manufacturing organisation ie, Rolls Royce. This essay will discuss about the scenario of Rolls Royce with its system before the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, why the organisation felt need for implementation of ERP and what are the business advantages they are able to get with the strategic implementation of ERP and how. Introduction: Todays business organisations find themselves in a more vibrant and competitive environment. Business leaders have responded to these by laying more emphasis on technology so as to continue with smooth and efficient running of businesses and gaining competitive advantages. Computer based information systems have been very popular in recent years, organisations like Rolls Royce have stake most of the business operations on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP is an information system that integrates financial, material and human resources of an organisation, it also facilitate information flow between different business functions and connection to external stake holders. This paper will seek to desert the implementation of ERP by Rolls Royce, understand the business needs of ERP, and last but not the least the aftermath implementation of ERP. Background of Rolls Royce: Rolls-Royce is a multinational company which manufactures power solutions for the customers in aerospace, marine and energy markets. The founders of this company are Henry Royce and Charles Rolls. The brand name Rolls Royce came after their surnames. The company came into existence about 100 years before. It is first established with the intension of manufacturing the best car in the world. Later on Rolls Royce organisation slowly expands its business in various markets, its name and brand was extended and now it has its manufacturing industries situated in 20 different countries and has its customers in more than 120 countries.  [1]   Now it has became one of the worlds largest power engine manufacturing companies. One of the main reasons behind their success is the strategic use of technology to compete in this business world. Though its main headquarter is in UK 45 % of their employees are based outside the UK. They are running a civil aerospace business from UK with emerging capabilities in Germany and the US. They are growing up day by day. All the transactions, interdepartmental coordination, coordination with their supplier, consumers and customers are maintained well and effectively and it is possible for them only by using modern technologies to communicate, gather and process the information. [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual report 2009]. They look forward to their customers need for the next 30 to 40 years and do research in the technology to stay competitive. They are having good market strength with many products and many customers. It produces goods as well as provides services to its customers in fact, services are the most important part of their business it accounts for nearly above half of their revenue every year. So there is the great importance of real time data management which enables them to be predictive and they can immediately react to the issues related to the engine that comes for the service.  [2]   Information System: Information Technology (IT) and Information System (IS) are part of each other. Information system is the computerized program which collects data, processes it and gives the useful information. This information can be used for various purposes to add up the value in the business. It can be used for report generation, planning, decision making, business operation and which further will lead the organisation to obtain competitive advantage. Figure: Strategic Framework  [3]   Information technology has become one of the largest components where organisations are investing their capital. Most of the business organisation are wisely investing large amount of their money in information systems. The wise choice of investment can outperform competitors and if it was the poor choice then it will be nothing more than wasting their valuable capital. [Laudon (2006)]. Today the world is getting smaller and smaller this is because of the information technology and hence competition in the businesses is rising day by day. So to gain the competitive advantage, strategic use of information system is the must no matter it is smaller business organisation or the larger. According to Brooks (2003), adding value to the business means to extend products, decrease the cost, improve the quality of services and products and so on. The reason for adding value to the business is to attract more customers, and keep organisation in a better place in the market. The use of Information technology and information system has become the efficient and more common way for adding value to the organisations of todays business world. Only the use of IT system is not sufficient to add value and to take competitive advantage of it, the strategic use of IT System is the most. According to WU J (n.d.), ERP system is such a strategic tool, which integrates information and infor mation-based processes within and across functional areas in an organization. Rolls Royce was using information system since long. It was using 1500 systems before using ERP (SAP R/3), many of those systems were built internally by Rolls-Royce in last two decades. Those systems were costly to operate and not easy to maintain. They didnt give precise and steady result because these systems were not centralised and using the values from different systems will give inconsistent result. Looking at all these problems Rolls-Royce formed a partnership with electronic data services (EDS) in 1996 and EDS was responsible for the development of ERP for Rolls Royce [Yusuf Y, Gunasekaran A and Abthorpe MS (2004)]. Though there are many implementation difficulties such as cultural difficulties (Training of new system to the employees), business difficulties (modification of working to fit in the ERP) and technical problem (transferring of previous records into the new system and to reach the consistent stage), Rolls Royce needs to implement the ERP because they knew the nec essity of the centralised, robust, accessible and accurate system to gain the competitive advantage and to improve their supply chain. ERP combines all departments together into a single system in a single computer. It uses internet technology and it can be accessed by authorised department and authorised personnel anytime from anywhere so interdepartmental communication can be done easily and efficiently and hence optimizes the time and the cost. Impacts of ERP Implementation in Rolls Royce: According to the annual report (2009) of Rolls Royce Our process excellence and improvement journeys continued throughout 2009. Our joint venture engine overhaul facilities, Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Limited (HAESL) and Singapore Aero Engine Services Limited (SAESL), were the latest to benefit from the rollout of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) and SAP process systems. Rolls Royce has implemented and is making use of information systems very efficiently and effectively that is why they are in the apex of success today. Rolls Royce is making use of ERP for communication, decision making, to manage their business operations, improve value chain, to reduce competitive forces and as a whole to gain competitive advantage. We will now discuss one by one how Management Information System (MIS) like ERP will help the business organisation to gain the advantages maintained above and we will see the impact of using ERP in the Rolls Royce. Communication One of the critical factors which lead the organisation towards its success is the effective communication (intra-organisation and inter-organisation). Employer and managers of todays business organisation must have to be familiar with the effective communication techniques for the success of the organisation. And effective communication has become an important tool for the organisations success. ERP boost the communication between the functional boundaries within the organisation. Rolls Royce is efficiently and effectively using this advantage provided by ERP. Rolls Royce is also a service provider to its customers. When customers demand services to be delivered in more timely and perfect way, organisations must overcome functional boundaries to meet this challenge. Rolls Royce is widely spread in different countries and all of its organisational functions are not carried out in a single place. ERP helps the effective communication within different departments and between their suppliers, customers as well as with their partner organisations. And this obviously adds value to the organisation by reducing the research time, providing the accurate and the optimized reports and minimizing the communication cost. Lets take an example, Rolls Royce uses Suppliermanager website to pull together all the information their supplier needs. They are using SABRe which shows the external part of the Rolls-Royce Quality Management System, and is applicable to all its suppliers or partners who are providing products or services that effect upon Rolls-Royce and its customer requirements.  [4]  By using these strategy of using information system and providing the information, Rolls Royce is minimizing the cost and time for the communication. Decision Making Decision Making is one of the important factors in every business organisation. Again the decision is made with the help of report generated by the Information System. One of the major advantages of using good information system like ERP is that it increases the speed of decision making within an organisation and provides the circumstances to make faultless decisions in strategic, managerial as well as operational level. Lets take the case of Rolls Royce, the legacy systems used in Rolls Royce did not provide accurate, consistent and accessible data that was required for good and timely decision-making and performance assessment. Those old systems mostly did not fit to the modern manufacturing environment. But in the ERP system a data warehouse (integrated collection of data) is created. Data is stored centrally and is extracted from different databases. The data is monitored, edited and then finally standardised for future use. The data is kept in a logical and user friendly format. It also allows nontechnical users to queries the databases which allow and provide the management information for business intelligence and helps Rolls Royce for operational, managerial and strategic decision making [Yusuf Y, Gunasekaran A and Abthorpe MS (2004)]. Business Process Management Business Process is the set of activities carried out by a business organisation that is initiated by an event, transforms information, materials, or business commitments, and produces an output [Harmon (2003)]. Business Process Management is the process of managing the activities of business process. One of the major benefits of using ERP is the business process automation. So, ERP can be very useful for the management of business process, in fact, ERP itself defines the business process because the organisations business process is integrated in the ERP system. Rolls Royce had also faced difficulties to change their business process in order to fit the SAP. But they need to implement the ERP to automate their business process, to access accurate management information in less time and to add value in their supply chain. Value Chain Figure: Value Chain in an Organisation [adapted from: Porter ME (1985); Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press] The value chain model includes the exact activities in business organisation where we can apply the competitive strategies [Porter ME (1985)] and where we can implement the information system effectively to gain competitive advantages. These activities of the organisation defined by value chain model are distinguished in two different categories Primary activities and Supportive activities Primary activities are those activities which are involved in the process of production and distribution of the organisations product and the services. Those activities shown by the value chain model are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, sales and marketing and services. Inbound logistics define the receiving and storing of the materials for the production of the goods. Operations define the process to convert the inputs to the end products. Outbound logistics define the storing and distribution of end product. Sales and marketing describes the promotion and selling of the outbound logistics and last but not the least is the services which includes after sale repair and maintenance of the end products. Supportive activities support for the successful outcome of the primary activities which includes; infrastructure of organisation (administration and management), human resources (recruitment, hiring and training of employees), technology (technology used for the impro vement of product and production process) and procurement (gathering inputs for the organisation) [Laudon (2006)]. ERP system connects every department of the organisation with each other so every activity can be monitored at any time. The information about those activities provided by ERP system is used to find the point in the value chain where the cost can be lowered and value can be added. Moreover, it can be used to tie up the organisations supporting bodies such as suppliers, customers, partner organisations and distributers and the value chain of the organisation will be linked with the value chain of its supporting bodies. The use of the information system for the linkage between value chains will enable the organisation to reduce the cost for inventory and to response the customers demand promptly. Competitive Forces Figure: Competitive Forces [adapted from: Porter ME, Harvard Business review, January 2008] According to Porters competitive force model there are five major forces that are acting upon any business organisation which tries to diminish the organisations performance and these forces must be made ineffective by the organisation in order to survive in the market. These five forces are: Possibility of new entrance of competitor Bargaining power of customer Bargaining power of supplier Substitute products or services Position of the existing competitors Different strategies can be applied to reduce these forces. And use of information system can make ease for the organisation to determine the strategy that should be applied in order to gain the competitive advantage. Rolls Royce has very low risk of new entrants. Because of their brand name and their well establishment make hard for the possible competitor to compete with Rolls Royce. The high initial investment cost will also discourage the threat of new entrants into this market. Rolls-Royce collects real-time data of their engines which are operating all around the world. By analysing, sharing and acting upon this information, they can optimise the performance of their engines in service [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual report 2009]. They have such a good information system to take care of the services needed by their customers, which reduces the bargaining power of customers and threat of substitute product and services. Information system in Rolls Royce and their direct communication with the suppliers are also helping them to maintain good relationship with their suppliers minimising their bargaining power. Rolls Royce is operating its business in a very competitive market in response to its competitors such as Pratt and Whitney, General Electric, CFM International. That is why they invest large amount of money for research and technology to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Rolls Royce has developed a balanced business portfolio and continues to maintain a steady focus on improvement in operational performance by modernisation of its facilities and focusing on managing the costs of operations and products. Continual investment in technology and strong protection of intellectual property, together with the establishment of long-term customer relationships, allow the Rolls Royce to make its products and services different from its competitors [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual Report 2009]. One of the examples for their investment in technology is the implementation of ERP removing their old systems investing huge amount of money in it. Competitive Advantage In a simple sentence, we can define competitive advantage in the business term as the advantage gained by a company in the market competition with their competitors. Any organisation can gain competitive advantage over their competitor by the following means: Reducing their production cost and then the cost of their product, Improving the quality of their product, Providing good after sale services, By differentiating their products from the product of their competitors, Growth of the company Companies that successfully alter their business around IT can achieve a significant window of competitive advantage [Tapscott D (2004)]. This doesnt mean that all those companies who use IT and IS in their business processes can gain competitive advantage but, the organisation who smartly and strategically use IT and IS will certainly gain the competitive advantage. Rolls Royce is operating in the market which wants them to deliver increased value in terms of cost, quality and delivery performance. So they always try to minimize the cost, increase the quality of their product and promptness in services. Management information system like ERP implemented in Rolls Royce provides the relevant information which directly or indirectly helping them to achieve those advantages. ERP benefits Rolls Royce to control the business operations and helps costs reductions. It is used for real time data management which also helps them to provide good and on time service to their customers. For instance, real time data management enables them to be more predictive they can know when engines are going to come along and they can provide the exact down time for the aircraft and the maintenance. According to the article by Ashford W (2007), the CIO of Rolls Royce, Mr Jonathan Mitchell states that We have traditionally operated factories independently, but the standa rdisation of systems and processes means we can now operate more effectively at the global scale. ERP is the integrated system for business processes so, moving of the factories, expanding the business and production throughout the globe is not so difficult. They have got a different department for the research purpose only, which always works on how to add value to the products? They are trying to make their product different from other competitors by inventing the engines that produce less pollution and without the processed information provided to them it wont be possible for them to carry out these tasks. Conclusion: The niche behind the success of Rolls Royce in its market place is the implementation of the latest technologies and the information system in its business processes, which provide a message to those who think that, investment in the IT and the IS is nothing but just waste of the organisations capital. Rolls Royce were using many systems since long however, looking at the feasibility and importance of ERP in strategic decision making, business process and connecting their departments as well as business functions, they invested large amount of money for developing and implementing ERP system replacing the old systems. The smart integration and implementation of Information System and Information Technology in a business organisation and its processes will lead it to the competitive advantage in its industry. Its very difficult to find any organisation which has faced up to the failure in spite of strategic implementation of IS in its business processes.

The Clean Air Act Amendments Essay -- Environmental Protection Agency

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) address 189 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) believed to be detrimental to human health and the environment and found that mercury and its compounds are one of the highest priority pollutants to investigate. The CAAA required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a mercury emissions study, including those from electric utility steam generating units. In 1997, EPA released the Mercury Study Report to Congress which analyzed mercury emissions from power plants and investigated control technologies. In 1998, EPA released the Utility Air Toxics Study which also showed mercury as a top priority pollutant due to its multi-pathway exposure potential and its ability to bio-accumulate and persist in the environment as methyl mercury. [1, 2] Mercury control in combustion flue gas is highly dependent on speciation. Oxidized mercury is removed relatively easily by particulate control equipment as well as wet scrubbers used to control sulfur dioxide. However, elemental mercury is highly volatile and has very low water solubility allowing it to escape through most pollution control equipment. The objective of this project is to understand the importance of and the contribution of gas-phase coal constituents in the mercury oxidation reactions. The project involves experimental efforts. The objective is to determine the experimental parameters of importance in the homogeneous oxidation reactions; effect of each of these parameters on the mercury oxidation for various concentration and temperatures. The objective of this project was to test the performance of Bromine and Chlorine (Cl2) on homogeneous mercury oxidation in the presence of common flue gas components such as Nitric Oxide ... ...constituents or it self before it could oxidize mercury at the required temperature. A fundamental understanding of the mercury flue gas chemistry is needed to develop effective control technologies for mercury. Since the reactions of atomic and molecular chlorine with other flue gas constituents determine the concentration of reactive chlorine species remaining in the cooled gas, the effects of specific gas constituents on the chlorine-mercury have been extensively investigated. Experimental data indicate a negative effect of SO2 and NO mercury chlorination in the presence of H2O [13]. Recent experimental data by the EERC indicate that bromine species have a high potential in mercury control applications [12]. In the proposed study the emphasis is on the homogeneous reactions of mercury in flue gas with Br2 and Cl2 in the presence of other flue gas constituents.

Unemployment in the US Essay -- essays papers

Unemployment in the US Why I Chose These Indicators I chose these indicators because all are something that ordinary people deal with every day. All of us have control over our own spending and how far into debt we go. If we are not making the salary we want then we are free to look for a new job or an additional job. There is also the possibility of going back to school to raise your educational level in order to get a better job. This may, of course, put us deeper into debt. We are in debt as a country, and as individuals, but with the economy as strong as it is people have no qualms about going deeper into debt. There are increases in delinquency rates on consumer loans, record numbers of bankruptcy filings, and an increasing share of income devoted to paying interest on debt. These are signs that some households are becoming overextended. In this paper I discuss bankruptcy, consumer credit, inherited wealth and the difference in the way some generations handle debt. Executive Summary Personal income, installment debt and unemployment are coincident or lagging economic indicators or both. By many measures the US economy is very healthy, but increasing consumer debt and personal bankruptcies raise concerns about the future. Credit card debt is higher than ever, and personal bankruptcies soared in 1995 and 1996 (Silverman 1997). Over 10% of Americans are expected to declare bankruptcy during the 1990s unless the trend changes, and there is no longer public scorn for those who file bankruptcy (Darlin 1997). Consumer credit remains readily available despite rising bankruptcies. This trend is attributed to a credit-friendly social policy which requires credit to be extended without discrimination. Furthermore, easy credit is needed to allow consumers to buy goods. The lending business also remains lucrative. To manage risks, financial institutions resort to diversification and risk shifting. The cost of bankruptcy is also incorporated in the cost of credit (Lykins and Plankenhorn 1996). The post baby-boom group known as Generation X is accumulating a great deal of debt, mostly through credit cards. The average credit card balance of households headed by someone under 25 nearly doubled from 1990 to 1995. There seems to be little desire among these people to live within their means (Shenk 1997). However,... ...e News, 6 October 1997 v13 n37 p40. Lykins, Gregory B., and Robert L. Plankenhorn. AEven with personal bankruptcies at record levels, easy consumer credit is here to stay,@ Illinois Business Review, Winter 1996 v53 n4 pg32. McGinn, Daniel. ADeadbeat nation: why are so many people in bankruptcy court?,@ Newsweek, 14 April 1997 v129 n15 p50. Murphy, Robert G. AHousehold debt and consumer spending,@ Business Economics, July 1998 v33 n3 p38. Seiberg, Jaret. AFed card study finds surprisingly little pure convenience use,@ American Banker, 19 June 1997, v162 p4. Shafer, Tim. ASailing over the fence: the rewards of good credit,@ Credit World, July-August 1997 v85 n6 p38. Shrenk, Joshua Wolf. AIn debt all the way up to their nose rings,@ U.S. News & World Report, 9 June 1997 v122 n22 p38. Silverman, Dick. AConsumer debt builds a house of cards,@ Daily News Record, 1 August 1997, v27 n92 p10. Time. AWhen boomers become busted,@ Time 31 March, 1997 v149 n13 p64. Topolnicki, Denise. AYou=d be surprised what folks will do for money today,@ Money August 1994, v23 n8 p12. Ventura, Michael. AThe psychology of money,@ Psychology Today, March-April 1995, v28 n2 p50. Unemployment in the US Essay -- essays papers Unemployment in the US Why I Chose These Indicators I chose these indicators because all are something that ordinary people deal with every day. All of us have control over our own spending and how far into debt we go. If we are not making the salary we want then we are free to look for a new job or an additional job. There is also the possibility of going back to school to raise your educational level in order to get a better job. This may, of course, put us deeper into debt. We are in debt as a country, and as individuals, but with the economy as strong as it is people have no qualms about going deeper into debt. There are increases in delinquency rates on consumer loans, record numbers of bankruptcy filings, and an increasing share of income devoted to paying interest on debt. These are signs that some households are becoming overextended. In this paper I discuss bankruptcy, consumer credit, inherited wealth and the difference in the way some generations handle debt. Executive Summary Personal income, installment debt and unemployment are coincident or lagging economic indicators or both. By many measures the US economy is very healthy, but increasing consumer debt and personal bankruptcies raise concerns about the future. Credit card debt is higher than ever, and personal bankruptcies soared in 1995 and 1996 (Silverman 1997). Over 10% of Americans are expected to declare bankruptcy during the 1990s unless the trend changes, and there is no longer public scorn for those who file bankruptcy (Darlin 1997). Consumer credit remains readily available despite rising bankruptcies. This trend is attributed to a credit-friendly social policy which requires credit to be extended without discrimination. Furthermore, easy credit is needed to allow consumers to buy goods. The lending business also remains lucrative. To manage risks, financial institutions resort to diversification and risk shifting. The cost of bankruptcy is also incorporated in the cost of credit (Lykins and Plankenhorn 1996). The post baby-boom group known as Generation X is accumulating a great deal of debt, mostly through credit cards. The average credit card balance of households headed by someone under 25 nearly doubled from 1990 to 1995. There seems to be little desire among these people to live within their means (Shenk 1997). However,... ...e News, 6 October 1997 v13 n37 p40. Lykins, Gregory B., and Robert L. Plankenhorn. AEven with personal bankruptcies at record levels, easy consumer credit is here to stay,@ Illinois Business Review, Winter 1996 v53 n4 pg32. McGinn, Daniel. ADeadbeat nation: why are so many people in bankruptcy court?,@ Newsweek, 14 April 1997 v129 n15 p50. Murphy, Robert G. AHousehold debt and consumer spending,@ Business Economics, July 1998 v33 n3 p38. Seiberg, Jaret. AFed card study finds surprisingly little pure convenience use,@ American Banker, 19 June 1997, v162 p4. Shafer, Tim. ASailing over the fence: the rewards of good credit,@ Credit World, July-August 1997 v85 n6 p38. Shrenk, Joshua Wolf. AIn debt all the way up to their nose rings,@ U.S. News & World Report, 9 June 1997 v122 n22 p38. Silverman, Dick. AConsumer debt builds a house of cards,@ Daily News Record, 1 August 1997, v27 n92 p10. Time. AWhen boomers become busted,@ Time 31 March, 1997 v149 n13 p64. Topolnicki, Denise. AYou=d be surprised what folks will do for money today,@ Money August 1994, v23 n8 p12. Ventura, Michael. AThe psychology of money,@ Psychology Today, March-April 1995, v28 n2 p50.