Healthcare: Health Insurance and Fraud E. Ethical

Fraud, Waste and Abuse in the Medicare System: A Proactive Approach Course Project Outline Team A: The Prairie State Bulls Julie GIldemeister Elena Hallars Teresa O’Brien Latia Phelps Laura Wimberley HSM 546 Health Insurance and Managed Care Vernice Johnson-Warren Keller Graduate School of Business Management March 17, 2013 Synopsis We propose to discuss the problem of fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid from the viewpoint of a board of directors of a community healthcare system.We agree that a proactive course of action, while initially more expensive, will result in a far better outcome for the system, its providers, and its patients. It will lead to better relations not only with the government but also with our commercial MCO plans. This issue will be addressed on several fronts: legislative loopholes, weaknesses in electronic technology, ethical lapses on the part of providers, and enforcement failures. I. Executive Summary A. Environment B. Rules and regulati ons of Medicare and Medicaid C.Healthcare Reform Legislation D. Problems with Fraud E. Ethical Considerations of Fraud II. Problem Statement A. Fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid system B. Legislative loopholes C. Weaknesses in electronic medical records D. Ethical lapses in providers E. Common errors in billing and coding F. Enforcement failures III. Literature Review A. Course text B. Fraud, waste and abuse of Medicare/Medicaid funds C. IT and EMR issues D. Ethical training of providers E. Enforcement failures IV. Problem Analysis A.Identification of opportunities for fraud in a healthcare system B. Enforcement of Medicare/Medicaid claims reporting regulations C. Counteracting or preventing a climate of fraud waste and abuse V. Solutions and Implementation A. Streamlining enforcement efforts B. Tightening IT loopholes C. Creating provider incentives for responsible behavior in coding and billing D. Pattern review and claims review to catch trends indicative of fra ud, waste or abuse VI. Justification A. Cost of fraud, waste and abuse, especially in Medicare claims reclamation processesB. Cost of failure to comply with rules and regulations C. Improvement in facility/provider/payer relations D. Improvement in cash flow and claims payment E. Improvement in patient and community relations VII. Conclusion VIII. References Aldhizer III, G. R. (2009). Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Errors: A Ticking Time Bomb That Must be Defused. Journal Of Government Financial Management, 58(4), 12-20. Boerner, C. M. (2010). 60 Minutes Story on Medicare Fraud. Journal Of Health Care Compliance, 12(1), 29-65. Dietz, D. K. , & Snyder, H. 2007). Internal control differences between community health centers that did or did not experience fraud. Research In Healthcare Financial Management, 11(1), 91-102. Evans, R. D. , & Porche, D. A. (2005). The nature and frequency of medicare/medicaid fraud and neutralization techniques among speech, occupational, and physical the rapists. Deviant Behavior, 26(3), 253-270. doi:10. 1080/01639620590915167. Hambleton, M. (2011). Los Angeles Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit: Moving from a Sickness to Wellness Model of Compliance.Journal Of Health Care Compliance,13(1), 19-24. Hoppel, A. M. (2012). Career Code Red. (Cover story). Clinician Reviews, 22(10), 1-8. Kongstvedt, P. R. (2007). Essentials of Managed Health Care (5th ed). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett. Moses, R. E. , & Jones, D. (2011). Physician Assistants in Health Care Fraud: Vicarious Liability. Journal Of Health Care Compliance, 13(2), 51-75. Robin, D. W. , & Gershwin, R. J. (2010). RAC Attack—Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors: What Geriatricians Need to Know. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society, 58(8), 1576-1578. oi:10. 1111/j. 1532-5415. 2010. 02974. x Sparrow, M. K. (2008). Fraud in the U. S. Health-Care System: Exposing the Vulnerabilities of Automated Payments Systems. Social Research, 75(4), 1151-1180. Steinhoff, J. C. (2008). FORENSIC AUDITING: A Window to Identifying and Combating Fraud, Waste and Abuse. Journal Of Government Financial Management, 57(2), 10-15. Thorpe, N. , Deslich, S. , Sikula, S. , & Coustasse, A. (2012). Combating Medicare Fraud: A Struggling Work In Progress. Franklin Business & Law Journal, 2012(4), 95-107.

Age and sex discrimination Essay

The terms ageism and sexism were coined about the same time (1969 and 1970, respectively), but sexism has become more widely used than ageism (Schick, 2006:7). Almost everyone has heard of sexism. Until recently, few people had heard of ageism. Both concepts refer to prejudice or discrimination against a category of people: sexism is usually directed against women, and ageism is usually directed against the aged. However, sometimes sexism is directed against men (by some extreme feminists), and ageism is sometimes directed against younger people (â€Å"positive ageism,† Palmore, 1990: 44). Prejudice is a negative attitude toward a category of people that is inaccurate and resistant to change. Discrimination is an inappropriate treatment of a category of people, usually based on prejudice (Atchley, 2001:17). Sexism and ageism combine in all possible ways: a few areas show neither one, more areas are affected by one but not the other, but most areas are affected by both. There may be some areas with neither ageism nor sexism, although it is hard to think of any area completely free of such prejudice. In some areas there is sexism with little or no ageism. For example, it is generally believed that women of any age should not marry men younger than themselves, but it is all right for men to marry women younger than themselves. This is a main reason why there are over five times as many widows as widowers over 65. On the other hand, in some areas there is ageism but little or no sexism. For example, many people believe that most old people are feeble or senile, regardless of gender. The fact is that the majority of people over 65 are neither feeble nor senile. In most areas both ageism and sexism combine to intensify the problems of older women. For example, women of all ages tend to have lower incomes than men (sexism), but older women also tend to have even lower incomes than younger women (ageism). This situation is often called â€Å"double jeopardy† because of the combined effects (Schick, 2006: 99). Sontag (1972) coined the term â€Å"double standard of aging. † This refers to the combination of sexism and ageism that multiplies the effects of both, more than would be expected on the basis of simply adding the two effects. For example, being physically attractive is more important in most women’s lives than in men’s (sexism); and there is a common belief that older persons are generally not as attractive as young people (ageism). However, women’s grey hair, wrinkles, bulges, and stooped bodies receive harsher judgment than those of men. For many women, aging means a â€Å"humiliating process of gradual sexual disqualification† (Sontag, 1972: 30-35), while many men enjoy more romantic success later in life because they have more status, money, and power than they had earlier. As a result, being a â€Å"spinster† or â€Å"old maid† is considered a pitiful status, while being an older bachelor is not so bad. Notice that there is no male equivalent of â€Å"old maid. † It may be objected that many older women do not mind this â€Å"sexual disqualification† and adjust to it by renouncing all interest in sexual activities or by becoming lesbians. This is true, but beside the point. The point is that sexism combined with ageism tends to enforce this â€Å"sexual disqualification† whether or not the woman likes it (Levin and Levin, 2000:210). There are many sources of ageism: individual, social, and cultural (Palmore, 1990:51). The individual sources include authoritarian personalities, frustration and aggression, selective perception, rationalization, and death anxiety. The social sources include modernization, competition, obsolescence, segregation, and selffulfilling prophecies. The cultural sources include the process of blaming the victim, differing value orientations, language, humor, songs, art, literature, television, and cultural lag. There are probably just as many sources of sexism that have been documented and analyzed elsewhere (Friedan, 1963: 107). The most popular sources of sexism that seem to increase in old age are humor and language. Negative jokes about women of all ages are common. However, jokes about old women seem to be relatively more frequent and more negative than those about younger women (Palmore, 1990:53). As any student of racism or sexism knows, negative humor is one of the most common and effective ways to perpetuate negative stereotypes about a minority group. One reason negative humor about a group is so common and effective is that it is passed off as â€Å"just a joke† or â€Å"harmless humor. † In fact, negative humor is rarely harmless and is especially insidious because its viciousness is masked by its overt â€Å"funniness. † Thus the age-concealment jokes reinforce the stereotype that all older women are ashamed of their age, while older men are not. It may well be that somewhat more old women are ashamed of their age than are old men (because of the â€Å"double standard of aging†), but that is beside the point. Similarly, the status of old maid is generally considered more negative than that of old bachelor, but that too is beside the point. The point is that such negative humor reinforces prejudice against older women. One of the most subtle but pervasive influences of culture on our attitudes is our language: the words we use to identify or describe a person or group; the derivations, definitions, and connotations of the words; their synonyms and antonyms; and the context in which they are used. Our language often supports ageism in all of these ways (Palmore, 1990:57). In addition, two analyses of words for elders have found that many of them also reflect sexism. Covey (1998) found that terms for old women have a much longer history of negative connotations than those for old men, because women not only faced a long history of ageism, but also sexism and religious persecution (as in witch hunts) (Covey, 1998:291). How can this malevolent combination of sexism and ageism be combatted? In general, most of the strategies that have been successful in reducing racism and sexism in general could be used to reduce the combination of sexism and ageism. Individuals can take the following actions to reduce prejudice and discrimination against older women: 1. Inform yourself so you have the facts to combat the misconceptions and stereotypes. 2. Examine your own attitudes and actions and try to eliminate those that reflect sexism and ageism. 3. Inform your relatives, friends, and colleagues about the facts, especially when some prejudice is expressed or implied. 4. Do not tell ageist or sexist jokes and refuse to laugh when you hear one. (Try converting the joke to an age- and sex-neutral joke by not specifying age or sex. ) References Atchley R. 2001. Social forces and aging. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Covey H. 1998. â€Å"Historical terminology used to represent older people†. Gerontologist, 28. Friedan B. 1963. The feminine mystique. New York: Norton. Levin J. , & Levin W. 2000. Ageism: Prejudice and discrimination against the elderly. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Palmore E. 1990. Ageism: Negative and positive. New York: Springer. Schick F. (Ed. ) 2006. Statistical handbook on aging Americans. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. Sontag S. 1972. â€Å"The double standard of aging†. Saturday Review, 55 (39).

British Wildlife Essay Example for Free

British Wildlife Essay Outline of species along with related anatomy, handling considerations and rehabilitation, release requirements Although the deer’s skeletal system is very similar to a dog or cat’s in terms of its basic structure, although there are some adaptations that they require in order to survive the wild. Deer have long necks which enable them to crane it so they can feed off low lying grass and other vegetation. Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer are prey animals and so they require adaptations that enable them to run fast and this is why they are ‘ugulates’, (hoofed mammals). Ungulates walk on their ‘ungulis’ which is a tough outer plate of a hoof or toenail. When ungulates walk, their feet or digits do not come into contact with the ground but their hooves. Stefoff, R. (2007). This clever evolutionary asset is essential for speed. This is down to the biomechanics of how bodies move- the smaller the area that touches the ground with each stride, the greater the stride is which results in faster movement. Hooves are an extremely strong version of human fingernails strong enough not to break when under immense pressure i.e. when the deer is running. Stefoff, R. (2007).The strength of the hooves comes from the keratin which exists in thick sheets and keratin fibres which run in all directions Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer have a total of four toes on each foot. The middle two toes touch the ground and the outer two are elevated at the back, just above the hoof and are called dewclaws Stefoff, R. (2007). Metapodials in deer are elongated and form the lower part of the deer’s legs. In a deer, the femur and the humerus are short and thick in order to be able to anchor the large mass of muscle needed to propel them forward when running at high speed. Stefoff, R. (2007) Seven glands are located on the body of a deer, scattered from head to toe to assist with communication amongst the herd and is how deer differentiate between one another (interspecies communication) Nickens, E. (2009). Deer scent is made up of scent glands and their urine. Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer use a technique called ‘flehmen’; this is the act of curling back their upper lip and sucking in air. This is used to detect scents from other deer. Stefoff, R. (2007) Antler growth is an interesting area of study which provokes questioning as to why antler growth is delayed until the start of puberty and secondly, mammalian organ regeneration. Antler growth only occurs in male deer and is delayed until the start of puberty at 5 – 7 months old. No other mammal can regenerate an organ. The antlers of a 200-kg adult red deer may weigh as much 30 kg but take only 3 months to grow. Antlers are formed from pedicles; permanent bony horns on the frontal bone of the skull. Periosteal cells (Antlerogenic Periosteum) are collected in the distal parts of the cristae externae of the frontal bones. These are activated by rising androgen levels in the blood. Testosterone binds to specific sites on the AP which leads to trabecular bone being formed beneath the periosteum and a pedicle develops. There are four ossification stages in the formation of antlers in deer starting with ‘Intramembranous ossification’; this is the proliferation of antlerogenic cells and differentiation into osteoblasts. Osteoblasts form trabecular in the cellular periosteum. This then leads to ‘transitional ossification’, this initiates when pedicle reaches 5-10mm in height. Osseocartilaginous tissue is formed by the antlerogenic cells at the apical surface, which have undergone a change in differentiation pathway to form chondrocytes. The third stage is ‘pedicle endochondral ossification’ when chrondrogenesis takes place in the pedicle alone. The final ossification stage is ‘antler endochondral ossification’- antlerogenic cells maintain their chrondrogenic differentiation pathway until the very first antler has fully formed. Shiny velvet skin covering the distal end of the pedicle coincidences with antler formation. Un-branched antlers described as ‘spikers’ elongate as a result of an endochondral process in the distal tip. (Deer antlers: a zoological curiosity or the key to understanding organ regeneration in mammals?) The first antler continues growing until the autumn rutting season where testosterone levels are increased once again. Cessation in longitudinal growth causes this endocrine change. Antler bone becomes fully mineralized and the overlying velvet sheds to reveal bare bone. A single unbranched antler is left attached to the pedicle until it is cast the following spring Deer antlers: a zoological curiosity or the key to understanding organ regeneration in mammals? The safest method of restraining/handling deer is to try to pull head to its flank, cover their head, hold the leg at the front and push the deer down onto the ground. This technique requires mastering so a well-trained person should only be allowed to do this. Deer bones are fragile so need to be cautious. When it comes to releasing deer, a few things need to be kept in mind when choosing a location to release them. Deer need as much woodland cover as possible, especially with a male deer as they are very much territorial creatures. It is preferred to release a deer exactly where it was found. If this is not possible i.e. the deer was found in the middle of a road then it must be released no more than 1km from where it was found. Outline of condition, clinical signs and recommended treatment Roundworm is a condition commonly seen in deer. These are internal parasites that are found in the intestines and soak up nutrients from the animal’s diet which results in the sufferer becoming malnourished and weak because they are not getting the nutrients they require. The clinical signs of a deer with worms are very hard to detect because they are prey animals and must not show signs of weakness otherwise it would make them a target for predators. Often they won’t show any signs until they are close to death. Should they show signs they would be lethargic, losing weight, scowering (lowering their head) and producing fluid faecal matter. Deer get stressed very easily and it would be unethical to try and capture them for treatment as it would be putting the person capturing the deer at risk as well as the deer as their skeletal systems are very fragile and is liable to shatter. Deer antlers are extremely dangerous because they are strong as well as being full of bacteria; deer use their antlers to fight and they also urinate on their antlers so it could infect a human quite severely. To treat worms in deer, Ivermectin â€Å"spot on† is used and is placed on the back of the deer’s neck. It is applied at 2 week intervals and, once cleared it can then be applied monthly to prevent it recurring. What are the nursing needs of this patient and condition etc Deer, ideally should be nursed in a barn or large enclosure and not kept in a veterinary practice. This is purely because they are dangerous animals and are likely to lash out or charge at humans when they feel provoked. Isolating the deer is ideal to prevent the worms passing onto other animals nearby and to avoid having to treat the others. Deer should not be isolated for too long as they can get stressed and this would not be an ethical thing to do. Discussion of legal and ethical considerations What legislation and ethical considerations are relevant Wildlife and countryside act 1981 Wildlife and natural environment (Scotland) Act 2011 http://www.nyantler-outdoors.com/deer-anatomy.html British Wildlife. (2017, Jan 06). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Analysis of the Movie Crash Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analysis of the Crash - Movie Review Example In the movie, the white undercover cop shot the black undercover counterpart and it is revealed that he had gunned down two other black men in the past, which is a pointer towards his hatred of black people. racism gets to its peak when the advisor of the District Attorney together with the black detective get busy at making sure the white cop is incarcerated and charged with racism without even conducting an investigation into the matter and giving the white cop a chance to defend himself. Racism can affect the society significantly if allowed to thrive. It curtails harmonious living among people of different racial backgrounds. Racism also leads to inequality in resource distribution, where the â€Å"superior† race receives a larger share of the national cake than other races. This breeds animosity between races. Also, racism does not allow all citizens to contribute to the societal building because it promotes a group to feel superior to others, which jeopardizes the chances of working together to better the society. Finally, racism is a killer of morality in the society. It perpetuates moral decadence through stereotyping and prejudice among society  members.

Classification of Accounting Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Classification of Accounting Systems - Essay Example (Shalin and Alan, 1999). The main differences between the two systems is in terms of reasoning and degree of complexity. The deductive approach considers a priori theory based on knowledge or beliefs of the classifier while the inductive approach infers the general from the particular. It is data driven, considers large number of countries and rules and generates categories by making use of statistcs. Muller's classification system as cited by Gray(1998) states that the deductive approach is based on four distinct approaches to accounting development in western nations with market oriented economic systems including: This system was extended by Nobes who adopted a structural approach to the identification of accounting practices and assessed major features including the use of conservative accounting, the importance of tax rules, the strictness of application of historical costs, the making of replacement cost adjustments, the use of consolidation techniques the generous use of provisions, and uniformity between companies in application of rules. (Shalin and Alan, 1999). Although the deductive approach is very broad, it fails to take into consideration the effects of culture in the classification. There was also a failure in the methods used to obtain the groupings. (Shalin and Alan, 1999; Gray, 1998). According to Roberts et al, the classification systems under the inductive approach are as follows: Use of price water house data; Da Costa et al's study; Nair and Frank's Study; D'Arcy's Stucy; Having outlined the classification systems under the inductive approach, the paper will now give a more detail discussion of Nair and frank's study. In the inductive approach statistical analysis were carried out by Nair and Frank in which they analysed accounting practices in forty four countries using data from price water house coopers. in the course of their study, a distinction was made between measurement and disclosure practices. Five groups were identified in terms of measurement while seven groups were identified in terms of practice. An attempt was made to study the relationship of the groups with independent variables. there was no signicant relationship between disclosure practices and culture as well as between disclosure and economic variables. there was also no significant relationship

Importance of Organization culture to organizations Essay

Importance of Organization culture to organizations - Essay Example Organizational Culture refers to a pattern of learned behaviors that is shared and passed on among the members of an organization. It comprises of the various assumptions, values, beliefs, norms, rituals, language, etc. that people in an organization share. Organizational culture can be thought of as an evolutionary process that has been established, accepted and internalized over a period of time, by a majority of members of the organization. Fred Luthans defined culture as â€Å"the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate social behavior.† Culture helps people to interact and communicate with other members of the society. Cultural traits are acquired gradually over a period of time. The differences in values and beliefs held by people all over the world make adjustments and interaction with people belonging to other cultures very difficult for some. To be successful in the global economy, it is important for all managers to be sensitive to the differences between them. People orientation is one of the characteristics of Organization culture. This is one thing that is lacking at Camford University.

Prepare a report for a UK fashion retailer that (1) identifies key Essay

Prepare a report for a UK fashion retailer that (1) identifies key relevant changes in the UK market (750words) and (2) suggest strategies and tactics that are - Essay Example The unemployment rate has increased to its highest level in 17 years, as a result disposable incomes will remain flat in 2009 and consumption is forecasted to reduce by 1.2% in 2009 with credit being hard to get. (BBC News Report, 2008). The reduction in disposable income may impact negatively on the fashion retail market, because people tend to curb spending on fashion items in favor of necessities such as food. On the positive side however, it is also possible that with the increasing difficulties in obtaining credit, more people will be unable to purchase big ticket items such as homes and will opt to spend their money on clothing and footwear instead. In a restrictive economic environment, supermarkets marketing fashion apparel are likely to enjoy higher levels of customer support as compared to specialist fashion outlets. (www.verdict.co.uk). With rising costs of gas and less of disposable income, consumers are likely to target their purchases to a supermarket where all goods are offered under one roof. Specialist fashion retailers may be faced with rising costs in rent, etc added to which the costs of sourcing products from China are likely to increase which could further decrease the margins available to specialists. (www.verdict.co.uk). Since the U.K. economy has been declining throughout the last three successive financial quarters, the value of the pound has been falling, thereby giving rise to outsourcing exchanges with smaller margins of profit. In such an environment, there is likely to be an increasing squeeze on midmarket retailers, many of whom may be forced to exit the market, since they offer neither low price for competitiveness, neither do they offer special value for their brands. Howard’s decision model shows that consumer purchase behavior is a component of (a)brand recognition (b) attitude towards the brand and (c) confidence in judging the

World Religions Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

World Religions Report - Essay Example It is possible to say that religion or religious inquiry — is something that virtually all people have in common. People have wondered about the meaning of life since Adam was a boy and they interested in this meaning to the present day. In all corners of the world and in all eras of history people have own beliefs, faith in higher power and question if there is anyone or anything â€Å"out there†. We have learned a lot of information about religion and as for me the best way to remember all information and understand its main essence is a personal connection with a real person who will explain major aspects of own religion and show its main advantages. I think that visitation of a real religious site will give me an opportunity to learn much more about chosen religion. Thereby, the main purposes of my paper are to interview person of chosen faith and than compare and contrast this faith with other religion that I was familiar with through my class. I chose Christianity and Islam as religions for my analysis. I think that in the first place it is necessary to remember the definition of concept â€Å"religion† and then it will be easier to talk about different kinds of religions and compare two of them.. According to Asad (1993), the concept ‘religion’ in general meaning â€Å"is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth†. The term â€Å"religion†, however, refers not only to the personal practices that directed to communal faith, but also it refers to different group rituals and communication stemming from shared religious convictions. The notion â€Å"religion† people sometimes use except the word â€Å"faith† and usually these words consider interchangeable variants. I think that there is one big differ ence between them and this difference is caused by the specific behaviors which are the part of religious system. In the beginning of this paragraph it is necessary to mention that all religions are an attempt of man to know the truth of God. Moreover, thinking about Christianity it is possible to suppose that Christianity is not a religion, but it is God’s answer to our questions. Christians believe that the true and full communion with God can be only through appearance of Christ before people. Of course, the ancient mystics and prophets, the Sufis, the Dervishes, the Indian Brahmins - all of them have their own mystical experience and they use it to be in some way closer to God, but all of this is done through human efforts, through human striving upwards. Only in one case, in the case of Christ, God is able to show own appearance before people. This is the single most direct revelation, and therefore salvation in Christ is a unique, and the most profound approaching to Go d. Despite the fact that historical interval between Christianity and Islam is about 600 years (I-VII century AD), Koran includes a lot of information about Christianity, moreover, it includes more than other religions facts about Christianity. It can be explained by the fact that both Christianity and Islam, and even Judaism have the same geographical region at various times - the Middle East; and all of them ( the above mentioned religions) were developed among the peoples of Semitic origin (Jews and Arabs). Comparing Christianity with Islam in the way of their appearance it is necessary to state that Christianity is the second world religions by the time of its occurrence. It originated as a sect of Judaism in I century BC in Palestine. This initial relationship

Enviromental Issues of Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enviromental Issues of Global Warming - Essay Example Nitrous gas, ozone and water vapor. This is called the greenhouse effect where the short wavelength radiations are allowed to pass through the gases but the long wavelength radiations reflected by the earth’s surface are blocked from penetrating by these gases and are reflected back to the earth. This raises the over the surface temperature above the average and this has had major affects on different aspects in the world. Effects of global warming on: Plant life; global warming and climatic change have become the major cause of the change in the functioning and the distribution of plant life. This change has led to the problem of speciation and extinction of plants. The plants thrive under certain conditions which when altered my reverse or terminate the process while their physiological functioning like that of their life cycles is defined. The way the plants synthesize is affected in that there is increased water intake efficiency, increased growth of these plants and also increased capacity to photosynthesize the result of this is the thickening of the plant community structure and functioning. North Gerald R J Schmandt Jclarkson eds. (1995) ni their book, the impacts of global warming, highlighted that, depending on the environment, there are different responses which may result to competition among different species of plants. In addition to this, there may result to a change in the herbivore nutrition due to the variation in the Carbon Nitrogen ratio. The rise in the climate has increase the rate of pests and disease multiplication. The organisms have shifted their range forward to higher elevations. The butterflies, dragons, beetles and moths are now living at higher latitudes and altitudes where survival was previously not possible due to the cold that infested these regions. More so, they arrive earlier in the spring season and take longer than usual to depart. These insects have terrorized the plants found in the world as heir multiplication a nd survival has been favored. The changes in the climatic conditions for example the temperature shifting may cause the phenology of the plants to change like the flowering of the plants. J.T Houghton.L.G.MJ FilhoD.J GriggsK. Maskell. (1997) observed that the flowering annual plants have been seen to flower earlier than the perennials while the insect pollinated plants flowering before those which are pollinated by wind and this will have an ecological effect. The change in the climatic conditions has had a tendency of altering the species composition in certain regions. While other place species fail to thrive under these changed conditions, other s may find it favorable and start developing in these regions. The result is an inevitable relative abundance in the composition of species. On animals: The animals have suffered an adverse effect due to global warming. Most of these effects are like those of the plants but the animals may face a worse deal as the extinction of some plant s may also cause the animals to cease in existence. The major effects of this problem is that the climatic change may change the composition and distribution of the animal species, a variety of stresses including the destruction of food sources like for polar bears and the polar ice melting plus the destruction of the glaciers may result to the fish which is its food to lack, thus leading to the polar bear extinction. The other result of stress is that the animals may be forced to migrate to other regions. This may

Brand Loyalty - Thesis Proposal Essay Example for Free

Brand Loyalty Thesis Proposal Essay The current financial crisis has spread around the world and no consumer has stayed untouched. In economic downturns, consumers are trying to better manage their expenses due to uncertainty for the future. In such cases, their brand loyalty might be shaken. Especially for UK consumers, whose purchasing power is lower than the other nations, the situation in the beginning of 2010 seems to be much more difficult. Hence, the purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of the current recession on UK consumers’ brand loyalty. A quantitative method will be employed and the empirical data will be collected through questionnaire survey with a sample of fifty UK consumers from the area of Thessaloniki. The questionnaire survey will be distributed to different people regardless of age and demographic characteristics, backgrounds and attitudes. The results of the study will aim to show that not all consumers’ brand loyalty has been shaken the same by the recession but some types of consumers were more affected compared to others. Furthermore, the research will aim to indicate that brand loyalty varies over products so some product and service categories lost a big part of their market share. The findings might be interesting and useful to several companies that would like to be aware both of the profiles of the customers that are more likely to switch to cheaper brands and the products that will easily lose a part of their market share during a recession so that can formulate the appropriate marketing strategy. In the highlighted part right the name of the area where it will be easier for to distribute fifty surveys and get them back. What Influences brand loyalty towards cigarette brands in the UK market? Brand loyalty has been a one of the biggest issues in the world of marketing over the last years. The two topics of brand loyalty and cigarette smoking have rarely been linked. A possible reason for this is that researchers might feel that it is in some way unethical to provide managerial suggestions for tobacco producers. The aim of this study is to clarify that matter and get knowledge about which product-related, psychographic, health-related and demographic factors influence the brand loyalty among smokers and to what extent. By examining brand loyalty towards cigarette brands, those factors which in fact decrease brand loyalty can be identified. In the literature review, the necessary background will be referenced to answer the research questions. The research will be conducted on a quantitative basis. The main research method used will be questionnaire survey. It is the researcher’s belief that this study will provide new and interesting perspective on the topic of brand loyalty, as well as the researcher hopes that the results will be beneficial for social marketers in their fight against cigarette smoking. What effect does sponsorship have on brand loyalty: A case study of Vodafone customers An increasingly larger marketing budget is allocated to sponsoring in companies. This has triggered the attention of the academics to research what the exact effects of sponsorship on a sponsoring brand are. This study fills a gap in the sponsorship literature by focusing on both current customers and looking at sponsorship from both negative and positive perspective. It researches what the effects of sponsorship are on brand loyalty for current customers concerning a sponsored party. Prior literature on both sponsorship and brand loyalty is explored to establish a sound theoretical reference. The review will demonstrate that negative and positive incidences as the context has a negative and positive effect respectively on attitude change toward the sponsored party, which in turn influences change in brand loyalty. The established theoretical reference is tested by means on a questionnaire survey. The sample will consist of Vodafone customers, which are tested on the change in attitudes toward the sponsored team (McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 team for Vodafone) and on the change in attitudes and behavior toward the sponsoring brand.

Critical Management Studies (CMS) Debate on Power

Critical Management Studies (CMS) Debate on Power The rate of change within contemporary business environment has intensified over the last few decades, which in turn have resulted in significant strategic implications for organisations of all types. According to Ford et al (2010), critical management studies (CMS) has been an important radically different development to mainstream management theory that offers alternative thinking to the management of contemporary organisations. Drawing upon Wickert Schaefer (2015), it is noted that CMS is based on critically appraising and sceptically analysing the contemporary management practices that are based on profit maximisation rather than social and ecological sustainability. The proponents of CMS have argued that although there has been improvement within management literature away from the explicit organisational characteristics towards implicit factors, however the underlying factor that dictates allocation of resources within organisation remains creation of value for the firm (King Learmonth, 2014). It is argued that due to this underlying managerial power in shaping the organisational behaviour therefore the contemporary management studies should be critically appraised for their links with social injustice and environmental degradation (Bergstrom et al, 2009). The review of CMS as an alternative to the mainstream management theories and practices has pointed out the importance of power and its distribution across the different actors related with the organisations (Alvesson, 2010). According to Ford et al (2010), CMS highlights the prevailing power structures that dominate contemporary organisations and their management, which in turn results in systemic decline in moral obligations concerning people and ecology that should be justified from the lens of profitability. The aim of this report is to critically explore the critical management studies (CMS) debate concerning power. In order to achieve this aim, the report has used multiple schools of thoughts from proponents and critics of CMS to provide a balanced review of literature. The report has used inverted funnel approach in critically appraising the literature concerning role of power within CMS. Power has been defined in a number of ways within the management literature due to the degree of influence from its origins in a number of other disciplines. According to Ailon (2006), due to the diversity of definitions, it can be suggested that power suffers from tautological issue within management literature. However, the review of the popular definitions have noted that there is a high degree of overlap within them and therefore understanding the underlying basics can result in better development of the topic (Bachrach Baratz, 1962). The very basic definition of power has been developed by Dahl in 1957, which encapsulates that A has power on B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do. Although it is a very basic definition that focuses on the negativity of power, however it provides the basis understanding of the concept. This is the reason that Brown et al (2010) has pointed out that this definition has become the basis of more elaborated c onceptualisation of the topic of power within the context of management studies. The review of the literature has pointed out that traditionally power was seen to be arising from explicit organisational factors within managerial theories, however proponents of CMS have pointed out that there are implicit organisational factors that can be the source of such power. According to Ailon (2006), power is seen as the influence of any set of individuals inside or outside of the organisation that can have implications on the people within the organisation. Therefore, it is argued that individuals within organisations have a number of actionable options when faced with any particular decision, however due to the explicit and implicit power structures within the organisation, they tend to conform to undertaking certain actions in comparison with others. Drawing upon Brown Lewis (2011), power is the concept that would influence the actions of individuals that they would not have undertaken in the absence of such power. Power has remained explicitly or implicitly at the heart of a number of management theories and practices that have been developed and reported within the popular management literature. According to Ford et al (2010), management literature has evolved over the decades in the light of the changing macro and micro business environment, where the focus has remained on the development and sustainability of the competitive advantage of the businesses. It is suggested that as management has emerged as a value within contemporary businesses, there has been significant private and public power attached to it that has attracted attention from CMS (Ahonen et al, 2014). It is suggested that as management has been elevated to a powerful position, the overall criticism and scepticism with the current system has become concentrated on the topic. The research has pointed out that traditional management literature has focused on the creation of value for the shareholders of the businesses. According to King Learmonth (2014), this highlights the fact that shareholders have the explicit power to shape the overall long term organisational strategy and organisational behaviour within any given situation. However, it is suggested that such a view of the business has received sharp criticism from a number of areas, where conserving human rights and ecological destruction took centre stage. Drawing upon Erkama (2010), in order to overcome these criticisms, the management literature evolved into arguing that organisations should focus on the value creation for the stakeholders of the firm. Although, stakeholder focus apparently highlights that the demands for a variety of actors that have interest or are influenced by the business are included within managerial decision making (Tadajewski et al, 2011). However, it is noted that there is a high degree of diversity and multiplicity of demands from the stakeholders of the business and therefore their prioritisation is undertaken. The prioritisation of the stakeholders and their demands are undertaken within the context of their ability to achieve profitability for the business. The proponents of CMS have argued that even with the evolution within management literature, the overall managerial decisions are the function of power of shareholders and profitability of the firms. CMS have pointed out that although there is an emergence within management literature regarding importance of human resources, environmental management and corporate citizenship; however all of these aspects are driven out of their links with the profitability and shareholder wealth creation (Mccabe, 2000). It is argued that although there is the perception of increased independence of decision making of the individual human resources, however the power of shareholders dictate the overall acceptable set of decisions while eliminating decisions that would be undertaken by managers in the absence of such an influencing power. Similarly, it is suggested that corporate social responsibility has gained importance in contemporary management literature, however only the areas that can be linked with profitability and creation of positive perception of the business are focused (King Learmonth, 2014). According to Contu Willmott (2003), the companies would self-report the positive community and environmental behaviour to gain a positive perception from the customers and other influencing stakeholders. Despite the fact that large multinational corporations have developed detailed corporate social responsibility plans, there remains disjointed implementation of these plans across the national boundaries based on their impact on the profitability of the businesses (Wickert Schaefer, 2015). Therefore, the countries with stricter legislation and higher understanding of the issues by the customers have a better implementation of CSR policies by the firm in comparison with developed economies. This is the reason, it can be argued that both explicit and implicit power within contemporary organisations dictate the organisational behaviour. There is a great deal of management literature that has focused on the use of organisational structure to achieve the strategic goals of the organisation. According to Alvesson Willmott (2012), traditional management literature has pointed out the use of hierarchal structures, where the power of strategic decision making is concentrated at the top, which is then distributed and diffused through the rest of the organisational structure. The proponents of CMS have argued that such use of structure essentially focuses on the use of autocratic leadership to keep the employees aligned towards achieving the long term goals of the firm. It is suggested that the overall long term goal is divided into isolated goals for different value adding functions of the business, which are then further divided for each individual. As the individual employees are allocated their particular tasks within the hierarchal structure, therefore they are unable to exercise power that can influence the overall o utcome of the organisation. The managerial literature has however evolved over the decades towards the recommendation of flatter and team based organisational structures. According to Ford et al (2010), with the increased competition and industries moving into the mature stages of their lifecycles, it is important for businesses to rely on the human resources for the differentiation of their products and services. The use of team based structures is expected to bring higher level of innovation and creativity within the products and services of the business. The proponents of CMS have argued that even though there is a degree of freedom allowed to the employees in a team based organisational structure, however there is implicit power influencing their decisions so that the outcome can maximise the value creation for the organisation (King Learmonth, 2014). It is suggested that business use this type of power to control the outcome from the organisational teams. The process and culture or monitoring and motivati ng the employees is geared towards limiting overall options available to the employees of the organisation. The concept of personal identity and organisational culture in influencing the behaviour of individuals, groups and organisations has been discussed within CMS. According to Erkama (2010), identity is a set of reflexive narratives that are derived from participation in competing discourses and related experiences. The concept of work identity has been highlighted as the individual or group representation towards being productive for the organisation. According to Tadajewski et al (2011), it can be argued that the overall identity of individuals at work can be determined from their ability and motivation to achieve the organisational objectives. The contemporary management literature has played a pivotal role in developing the work identity as achieving the overall long term goals of the business, which are in turn dictated by profitability. This has been exemplified by the analysis of identity of lawyers. According to Mccabe (2000), lawyers have self-identification of guardians of societal ethics and as trustees of the ethical profession, where they would defend the rights of individuals and other legal institutions. However, at the same time, their work dictates them to develop the identity to be distinctive in offering solutions to their customers that would minimise their liability and minimising the rights of others to achieve competitive positioning for their businesses. Drawing upon Contu Willmott (2003), at individual level lawyers have the identity crisis to offer competitive solutions that would solely benefit their customers while ignoring the implications of their advises on other economic actors. At firm level, lawyers are operating as competitive businesses that are intrinsically motivated through profitability and growth in business. Therefore, these aspects suggest that the contemporary management litera ture promotes the development of identities within professionals that would inhibit their natural decision making towards profitability and creation of value for shareholders. Similarly, it is noted that organisational culture has been promoted as an important managerial tool available for effective and efficient management outcomes. Organisational culture is defined as shared values, beliefs and assumptions that are shared across the organisation that have implications on the combined behaviour of the individuals (King Learmonth, 2014). The proponents of CMS have argued that management literature uses organisational culture to ensure that all the employees of the business would behave in a very similar manner. The organisations with a strong organisational culture would ensure that the employees would undertake their decisions that would result in the short and long term profitability of the business. The focus on organisational culture would also suggest that human resources become dispensable as the new recruits are likely to continue making decisions required to achieve corporate success. The review of CMS literature has noted that the contemporary organisations use routine activities to use disciplinary power to achieve high degree of conformance from their employees. According to Wickert Schaefer (2015), disciplinary power uses processes of comparison and standardisation of individual performance, which determines their compensation and other motivational factors. The individuals that create higher value for the shareholders of the businesses are likely to receive a higher overall cooperative compensation and other motivational factors than their peers. On the other hand, the actions and behaviours of individuals that are not focused on creation of wealth for the shareholders receive lower overall compensation and motivation. This critical gap developed through the processes used within an organisation is therefore used to induce disciplinary power among the individuals. It is suggested that management literature apparently allows for the individuals to have high degree of independence in undertaking decisions that they seem fit for the situation, however due to the disciplinary power they are likely to make similar types of decisions. According to Ailon (2006), the use of organisational processes to shift the burden to decision making from the top management towards individual employees of the business are likely to be the source of disciplinary power. The discipline is enforced through the consistent use of monitoring and surveillance of the individual actions, behaviour and attitude, which are judged as their performance. The research within management literature has pointed out that power within contemporary organisations is embedded in the overall authoritative structure, culture and process of the organisation. According to the proponents of CMS, traditionally organisations had a hierarchal structure where the power was explicitly concentrated at the top (Brown et al, 2010). It is however noted that contemporary management literature has led to the development of team based matrix style structure, where different levels of management are jointly present in strategic and tactical decisions. However, drawing upon Ailon (2006), despite the apparent devaluation of power, there remains a strict guideline within tasks allocated to these teams regarding the overall long and short term objectives of the organisation. Therefore, although there is increased overall degree of decision making among the individuals within organisations, there remains overall pressure to conform among the managers to develop ide as that can become the source of sustainable competitive advantage. This is the reason that CMS literature has pointed out that organisations are structured based on processes and systems that are likely to use the power of shareholders to direct the decision making of the managers and the employees of the organisation. The use of explicit and implicit power within contemporary management literature has been accepted as the source of achieving the long term goals of the organisations. According to Brown et al (2010), the long term organisational goals can be perceived as adding value to the shareholders of the organisation, which can be seen as profitability for commercial organisation. It is suggested that the power in extrinsic or intrinsic forms should be present within the organisation so that it can direct the energies, motivations, skills and competencies of the employees and other resources of the firm to achieve the long term aim and objectives of the organisations. CMS has argued that mainstream management literature present a number of reasons for the use of power within the context of the organisations. There is a group of managerial theories that argue that in the absence of the power, the individuals of the organisation will do negative things. According to Ailon (2006), CMS has pointed out that mainstream literature has suggested that negative employee and individual behaviour can be seen from its normative or moral meanings. In the normative meaning, the individual would conduct actions that would negatively impact profitability of the business. On the other hand, moral meanings suggest that the individual would conduct actions that would be deemed immoral within the society, which in turn would also deteriorate organisational perception. Therefore, both of these cases justify the development of structures, processes and systems that would minimise such individual actions. There are two types of theories within contemporary management that have used this perspective, which include: (a) economically based management theories; and (b) psychological and social based management theo ries. The economically based management theories have argued that individuals are inherently focused on maximising their personal outcomes from any action. This is the reason, according to Theory X and Y, there is a group of individuals that are lazy and lack the motivation to work till their full potential (Bachrach Baratz, 1962). Taylorism has therefore suggested that businesses should develop profit maximisation routines and systems. It is further noted that Agency Theory and Transaction Cost Economics are important theories that have resulted in the use of power to direct employees of the organisations to achieve their desired outcomes (Alvesson, 2010). The psychological and social management theories have pointed out individuals are easily misguided and therefore can lead to immoral behaviour and actions if not directed by the management and organisation. According to Ford et al (2010), the theories that fall within this domain highlight that the organisational way is the only moral way for the individuals to conform. The review of the theories that fall within this domain, it is suggested that individuals can have diverse set of moral understanding of the issues and therefore if they are allowed to make judgements based on their understanding then the overall response of the organisation is likely to be very weak. This is the reason that it is argued that development of systematic organisational mechanism to inhibit personal judgement of morality has been undertaken within mainstream management literature. The organisational cultural theories were developed to develop and strengthen a group wide system of values, beliefs and assum ptions that can lead to conforming attitude from the individual employees (King Learmonth, 2014). There is another school of thought within the management literature that has suggested that if the power is absent to make employees conform to organisational values and goals, then it is likely that employees would make the business work for them. According to Bergstrom et al (2009), individuals are focused at maximising outcomes for themselves, therefore in the absence of any power, it is likely that the employees would misuse the organisational resources to maximise their personal outcomes. This has been exhibited through the examples of managerial greed that has resulted in the demise of large corporations like Enron. Therefore, it is argued that power in some form is likely to exist within organisations due to the resources that they have acquired or developed over time. Either the power can be from organisation acting on the employee or vice versa. CMS has pointed out that organisational power should not be perceived as something that would result in negative or selfish outcomes by the employees. According to Bergstrom et al (2009), power is everywhere within the organisation, however some actors have pervasive power and rest have subtle power. This is the reason that it is argued that power within organisations should be viewed from a critical standpoint, where all diverse areas of power and its origination should be analysed. It is suggested that the diverse stakeholders, actors and institutions surrounding the organisations have different types and levels of power, which should be balanced to achieve effective and efficient results for social and environmental sustainability along with profitability of the businesses. Drawing upon Tadajewski et al (2011), it is suggested that processes should be in place for the counter balance of power among the different groups of actors surrounding the contemporary organisation. In the light of above discussion of the debate regarding power within the context of critical management studies (CMS), it can be concluded that contemporary mainstream management literature is based on the use of explicit and implicit power structures to achieve long term strategic objectives of the organisations. The report has pointed out that traditionally management literature has shown a high degree of power concentration within shareholders of the business, however despite its apparent diffusion, there remain high degree of influence on individual behaviour due to implicit organisational power structures and cultures. The discussion has highlighted that power has been used within mainstream management literature through explicit and implicit means through organisational structure, identity, culture, discipline and conformance. It is suggested that the contemporary management literature fosters behaviour of the individuals that is shaped by the power of shareholders and profita bility. The review of the mainstream management literature has pointed out that the main reason that is highlighted for using organisational power is that without its presence, the individual employee would resort to negative actions both economically and morally.   It is noted within the report that CMS have argued the presence of power across the organisation and its diverse stakeholders, however has suggested that power should be balanced through the deployment of effective and efficient processes and systems. References   Alvesson, M. (Ed.). (2010). Classics in critical management studies. Edward Elgar. Alvesson, M., Willmott, H. (2012). Making sense of management: A critical introduction. Sage. AHONEN, P., TIENARI, J., MERILÄINEN, S. and PULLEN, A., (2014). Hidden contexts and invisible power relations: A Foucauldian reading of diversity research. Human Relations, 67(3), pp.263-286. AILON, G., (2006). What B Would Otherwise Do: A Critique of Conceptualizations of Power in Organizational Theory. Organization, 13(6), pp. 771-800. BROWN, A.D., KORNBERGER, M., CLEGG, S.R. and CARTER, C., (2010). Invisible walls and silent hierarchies: A case study of power relations in an architecture firm. Human Relations,63(4), pp. 525-549. BROWN, A.D. and LEWIS, M.A., 2011. Identities, Discipline and Routines. Organization Studies,32(7), pp. 871-895. BACHRACH, P. and BARATZ, M.S., (1962). The Two Faces of Power. American Political Science Review, 56, pp. 947-952. BERGSTRÃÆ'-M, O., HASSELBLADH, H. and KÄRREMAN, D., (2009). Organizing disciplinary power in a knowledge organization. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 25(2), pp. 178-190. CONTU, A. and WILLMOTT, H., (2003). Re-Embedding Situatedness: The Importance of Power Relations in Learning Theory. Organization Science, 14(3), pp. 283-296. ERKAMA, N., (2010). Power and resistance in a multinational organization: Discursive struggles over organizational restructuring. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26(2), pp. 151-165. Ford, J., Harding, N., Learmonth, M. (2010). Who is it that would make business schools more critical? Critical reflections on critical management studies. British Journal of Management, 21(s1), s71-s81. King, D., Learmonth, M. (2014). Can critical management studies ever be practical? A case study in engaged scholarship. Human Relations MCCABE, D., (2000). Factory Innovations and Management Machinations: The Productive and Repressive Relations of Power. Journal of Management Studies, 37(7), pp. 931-953. Tadajewski, M., Maclaran, P., Parsons, E. (Eds.). (2011). Key concepts in critical management studies. Sage.# Wickert, C., Schaefer, S. M. (2015). Towards a progressive understanding of performativity in critical management studies. Human Relations, 68(1), 107-130.

How do You Spell High School? †S-T-R-E-S-S :: Personal Narrative Writing

How do You Spell High School? – S-T-R-E-S-S When I ask people what their most memorable times are, most tell me that their most memorable times occurred in high school. I entered high school a year ago, and it has been fun, but very, very stressful. I try to organize and make time for everything that I am assigned to do, but still everything seems to bunch up and become overwhelming. Sometimes I just want to give up and stop trying so hard. I don’t just feel pressure from school, but from my family and society as well. Since I am Hispanic, I am expected to defy all those stereotypes that people might have of Hispanics. Some examples of these stereotypes are that Hispanics are not well educated, that they are always loud and that pregnancy occurs at a young age. I might be loud sometimes, but I am very educated and I am not considering having a baby any time soon. But still my parents expect me to exceed all expectations and be the very best, which is pretty hard. Since second grade I was in the Gifted and Talented Program, which is a program for students who are a bit more advanced than their grade level. I was in that program until fourth grade and then I entered the Delta Program at Booker T. Washington M.S. 54. The Delta Program is also for students that are a bit more advanced than their grade level, and in that course I found it very hard to be the best. For the four years that I was in that school, the most I could do was get in the Honor Roll, and for the last two years it wasn’t very easy. My parents always told me that I had to have good grades and get a scholarship to a good college and that was how it was going to be. Before, it didn’t bother me and I would just do everything I was told to do, but now, it is getting very stressful because the work is getting harder and I find myself with more responsibilities. Some studies show that many Hispanics either drop out of high school or don’t ever get to college. Because of this, I am expected to do very well in school and make it into a good college. I am not saying that it isn’t something I want, but this goal seems very difficult, because the stress I am experiencing is working against me and slowing me down instead of pepping me up and encouraging me to keep moving ahead.

The Corrupt Social Structure Exposed in A Tale of Two Cities :: Tale Two Cities Essays

The Corrupt Social Structure Exposed in A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens has been acclaimed as one of the foremost satirists of the nineteenth century. In his novel A Tale of Two Cities Dickens finds fault with the social structure of the society. A few of these social problems are the difference between the classes, the lunacy of the revolution, and the judicial system in effect as this time. The first of the faults in the social structure of the society is the difference between the classes. It is not just the difference between the poor and rich but also between the rich and the royalty. While Monsieur the Marquis is driving through St. Antoine, he runs over a child. All he does is toss a few gold coins out to the father and drives away. This is showing that all the aristocracy cares about is money. Another place in the novel where Dickens shows the difference between the classes is when the Monseigneur is having his chocolate while everyone is waiting to speak with him. When he is done with his chocolate all he does is walk out and brushes past everyone else as if they are not there. This shows that all the higher aristocracy cares about is themselves. Another fault the Dickens points out about the social structure in the society is the lunacy associated with the revolution. The way the people of St. Antoine get crazy from being in such a violent situation is the fault that is being described here. When the wood-sawyer starts talking about his saw as "his little guillotine" it shows that he is affected and is a "typical revolutionary", with a cruel regard for life. Another place where Dickens describes this revolution lunacy is when the crowd of "five thousand demons" come around the corner "dancing" to the Carmagnole, the song of the revolution. This shows that everyone who has a part in the revolution has become like one, a large mass of mindless people who only have death on their minds. The third fault that Dickens wants to point out in the novel is the way the judicial system is corrupt. Throughout the novel Dickens mentions that any of

ICQ Essay -- Communication Technology Computers Essays

ICQ "Uh oh!" At the familiar, high-pitched voice, my head snaps up from the assignment I am completing half-heartedly and turns to my computer screen. My hand has already moved unconsciously towards the computer's mouse, even before my eyes even make contact with the screen. Sure enough, the sound indicated that a message awaits me, and I double-click on the flashing yellow icon in the bottom right corner of my screen. For almost an hour now, I have been engaged in this "conversation" over ICQ, an Internet-chat program, with a high school friend who currently attends another university. I am also chatting simultaneously with four other friends about separate topics. Ever since coming to college, ICQ and email have become my primary methods of keeping in contact with, leaving messages for, and having discussions with my friends. When I meet a person, the first means for establishing future contact is no longer "What is your phone number?" but rather, "What is your email address?" which is closely followed by "Do you have ICQ?" Electronic communication media are not only convenient, but they are economical and allow instantaneous contact. If I initiate an ICQ Chat with one of my friends, I can even save it as a file and replay the conversation with every detail, including the misspellings and corrections. Information technology has boomed in the last ten years or so. We seem to have landed in the middle of a completely networked world without quite knowing how we got there. Distance no longer inhibits communication, and we have become a world that is better connected. Or have we? My freshman year college roommate spent his entire freshman year ICQ-ing, IM-ing (i.e. Instant Messenger, America... ... Perhaps driving to the store, picking out groceries, and getting into an argument with the checkout person will do us more good than the half hour we save by grocery shopping through HomeRuns.com. A little over a week ago, when a virus wiped out my computer, I lost network access in my room. I dreaded the inconveniences I would face before getting my computer fixed. No more ICQ, no more instant email. For a two weeks now, I have needed to check my email in a friend's room, read a newspaper to find out the news and the weather instead of checking cnn.com, and make phone calls in order to locate people instead of ICQing them. As I evaluate these two Internet-less weeks, however, I find that I have had more intellectually stimulating conversations in this week than I have had in the previous month. Who knows? I may resist the desire to fix the connection.

Construction Planning and Scheduling

Introduction Construction activities are often exposed to various weather conditions, and often construction productivity is dependent on these weather conditions. Weather conditions are local, seasonal, and sometimes unusual. Inclement weather conditions often result in project disruptions, delays, and disputes between the project parties. Many trades such as earthwork, concrete, roofing, and landscaping are often affected by severe weather, meanwhile other trades such as carpet installers or sheetrock installers may not be directly affected by the weather.Owners, general contractors, and subcontractors all face many risks associated with weather conditions. In order to mediate weather risks, all of the involved construction parties adopt various strategies; purchase insurance, and contract options. Typically project owners try and allocate the risks related with weather delays by adding weather clauses in the contract provisions. The goal of this paper is to discuss the impact of w eather delays in construction projects. A construction schedule should include a developed plan to allow for adverse weather. The weather considerations should be addressed during contract negotiation.By accounting for weather integration in the contract and in the baseline schedule owners and the contractor can reduce the risk of disputes from weather impacts and avoiding the rejection of claims dealing with unforeseeable or unusually severe weather. Most contracts nowadays have integrated weather calendars in the schedule. Adverse Weather Adverse weather, commonly referred to as severe weather, is any weather condition, rain, snow, temperature that exceeds historical data gathered over a specific period of time to establish what could be reasonably expected over the course of the construction project.Establishing unusually severe weather can be a challenging task. The most common method is to compare the actual weather experienced on the project to a historical normal for the same location. By using historical data a normal or expected level of severe weather can be established for a given time period. (Long 2010) Normal Weather Severe weather conditions should be incorporated in all construction contracts and in the contract it should specify the difference between normally and abnormally severe weather conditions.In contracts today, it is normal for some owners and contractors to provide the anticipated number of weather days in today’s contracts. The contracts now specify the average number of adverse weather days for certain project locations. It is in the best interest of projects to identify weather statistics, and contracts should provide the number of anticipated weather delay days based on those statistics. Temperature Temperature is well defined in construction contracts. The standard specifications in a contract include the minimum and maximum temperatures for many construction materials.However, temperature directly affects the productivit y of workers. Most construction materials have thresholds. However, temperature is a type of weather effect in which construction does not necessarily have to be delayed when exceeding these thresholds, as long as the project can absorb expenditures for controlled measures such as heated enclosures. Wind Wind can affect certain construction operations, but the effect of wind on temperatures is equally important. The combination of low temperatures and wind causes wind chill, which can reduce productivity and can even be dangerous to workers.Wind alone can force several construction activities to shut down, for example high winds can make cranes unstable, which could lead to accidents. High wind also may cause fresh concrete to dehydrate on the surface. Wind not only affects the temperature and construction activities such as crane work, but wind also affects materials and material processes. Soil Temperature Soil temperature does not directly affect labor productivity, but it does h ave an effect on operations and equipment. The biggest impact of soil temperature is on earthwork. Frozen ground magnifies the difficulty of movement and compaction of soils.Frozen soil conditions greatly reduce the equipment productivity. As cold weather affects the operator of the equipment, the soil conditions affect the effectiveness of the equipment. Weather Delay Day What type of weather qualifies as a weather delay day? A weather delay day is a day in which work must be completely stopped because efficient construction operations will be difficult to achieve with the weather conditions. Three key factors affecting weather delays and disruptions are; type of construction, on-site drying conditions, and the intensity of rainfall.The threshold values for adverse weather vary from location to location. The threshold values also depend on the trades working and various other social and natural factors. However, a weather day should be decided based on the combination of the thresh old values, type of work affected, and common sense. Table 1 below shows a sample adverse weather day calendar. (Glavinich n. d. ) Table 1: Sample Adverse Weather Allowances MonthJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC Adverse Weather Days665452245544 Weather Calendars Once threshold values are determined, the adverse weather days can be incorporated into the plan.Normally many weather incorporation methods can be used to satisfy the contract requirements. In order to claim time for unusually severe weather, it is common practice that the documented adverse weather days in excess of the monthly allowances must affect the completion of critical path activities. A good way to track and plan for weather days and planning for the activities they impact is a scheduling model that incorporates adverse weather days into a weather calendar. The weather calendar is tied to the weather sensitive activities.This task typically involves: †¢Documentation of all activities in the schedule that are prone to adverse weather †¢Application of the weather calendar to activities subject to adverse weather †¢Development of a baseline schedule in accordance with the project scheduling specifications †¢Calculation of the new finish date (Sabol 2004) Type of Work The type of construction work greatly influences the impact weather has on a project. Certain activities are particularly sensitive to weather conditions; meanwhile other tasks are not as sensitive to weather.Others factors such as equipment being used, materials being used, and the activity durations for each activity influence the activities sensitivity to wind, temperature, and precipitation. The projects weather sensitivity also depends on the phase of construction. For example the initial phase of building construction is usually more sensitive to weather than when the building has an exterior shell up. Consequently the allocation of anticipated monthly weather delay in contracts is not sufficient.The s cheduled activities and sequencing of activities should be known before the number of monthly weather delay days has been determined because the weather impact is strictly associated with the type of construction activities being performed. Lingering Days Severe weather can have impact on a construction project for many days after the actual severe weather has passed. These lingering days may extend past severe weather periods because of drying time for soils, and accumulated water on the site and before and after snowy conditions. These lingering days are also known as dry out or mud days.Even when trying to specify the number of adverse weather days, a contract is still ambiguous if it does not determine how to deal with lingering days. It is important to differentiate between lingering days caused by predictable and unpredictable weather conditions. Contracts should clearly spell out whether lingering days are included in the monthly normal weather days. For example in Tennessee, adverse weather may include dry out or mud days at a rate of no greater than one make up day for each day or consecutive days beyond the standard baseline that total 1. inch or more of rain. (Syzdik 2012) Lost Days Adverse weather can greatly reduce productivity. Working under adverse weather conditions causes the jobsite efficiency to decrease even though the work might not stop. The decreased productivity due to adverse weather can contribute to schedule delay. The adverse weather not only delays a project due to such direct lost days from a weather event, or dry out days, it also prolongs schedule activities due to lost productivity or inefficiency. This in turn, can delay the overall project schedule.In many circumstances, a contractor is not entitled to compensation incurred by lost labor productivity caused by unusually severe weather, usually only lost time that is associated with unusually adverse weather can be recovered. Personal Opinion If the contract does not specify w hat constitutes as normally severe weather and determines the weather thresholds for different work to be performed a consistent analysis of severe weather will be impossible. The contracts should specify monthly anticipated weather delay days.Contractors should account for these days when planning their work and planning their baseline schedules. These delay days should include anticipated lingering days based on the construction activities scheduled in the periods of anticipated severe weather. My experience working on a farm has taught me that weather delays happen frequently and these delays throw a wrench in all of the plans. For example during custom harvesting, a rainstorm will bring a halt to all combine harvesting.Often if it rains more that a few hundredths of an inch work is stopped for at least one full day. This becomes an issue when there is another customer waiting to have their crops harvested but we have to sit and wait in one location for the crops to dry out enoug h to be cut, before we can move to the next location. If the crops are not harvested soon there is a chance that the crops could be destroyed by a hailstorm, or the crop could lose value if it gets rained on because the coloring gets washed from the grains.This has taught me that proper planning and scheduling can help to minimize the losses associated with severe weather delays. Conclusion Adverse weather conditions and delays in construction are a source of costly claims and disputes in construction. Contracts should include monthly anticipated weather delay days, and a system to define or determine anticipated lingering days should be clearly defined in the contract along with threshold values for weather parameters.These weather threshold values play a critical role when determining if weather is unusually or usually severe. Finally contracts should address the requisites to request a time extension cause by inefficiency due to unusually severe weather conditions. Much of the li tigation resulting from weather delay disputes is based on the lack of adequate terms in the contracts. Whether a day with adverse weather is workable or not depends on the weather thresholds. The bottom line is, plan as for normal adverse weather, and know what the contract requires for adverse weather.Records should be kept of adverse weather occurrences, and time extension request should be submitted as required by the contract. When a project experiences adverse weather, the best case scenario is that weather considerations are included within the contract and in the schedule as applicable standards with respect to approach and evaluation. If weather impacts become an issue and are not present in the contract, the project management team and scheduler should develop reasonable weather allowance.If it becomes necessary to implement a method mid project, it is very important that the weather allowance standards are acceptable to all the construction parties and that all the assump tions used in the risk analysis are consistent and accurate. Bibliography Glavinich, Thomas. Construction Planning and Scheduling. Edited by Second Edition. The Associated General Contractors of America. Long, Nguyen. Analysis of adverse weather for excusable delays. American Society of Civil Engineers. 5 26, 2010. ascelibrary. org/coo/resource/1/jcemd4/v136/i12/p1258_s1? iew=fulltext> (accessed 4 4, 2012). Morosko, Nick, interview by Andrew Barthel. Project Manager Bozeman, MT, (4 2, 2012). Sabol, Kevin. Integrated Framework for Quantifying and Predicting Weather related delays. American Society of Civil Engineers. 8 16, 2004. ascelibrary. org/coo/resources/1/jcemd4/v136 (accessed 4 6, 2012). Syzdik, Brian. Weather Considerations for Construction Project Scheduling Models. Society of American Military Engineers. 10 12, 2012. militaryengineers. wordpress. com/2010/10/12 (accessed 3 24, 2012).

Hardware and Software Requirements For an IT system Essay

For this assignment we have to produce a report on the types of hardware and software requirements, and their purposes, for an IT system. In the context of this essay I have decided that bullet point form along with brief descriptions and graphics is the best way to present this assignment. 6 STAGE MODEL Shown above is the six-stage model, showing the processes undertaken by a computer system. Below is what each of my pictures represents: * Mouse: Input Device * The Tower: Central Processing Unit * Monitor: Output Device * Floppy Disk: Backing Store * Head: Main Memory * Telephone: Communications Devices e.g. Internet Input Devices and Techniques ‘Input devices are the means whereby computers can accept data or instructions’ (Heathcott P M, 2000, p 159) * Keyboard: The keyboard is the most commonly used of all input devices. It can be used for a various number of tasks, form entering programs, to typing documents using a word processor, or entering a persons personal details etc. * Mouse: The mouse and its variants such as the trackball is well known with all PC users. * Scanner: A scanner can be used to scan graphical images and photographs, and software can then be used to edit or touch up the images. Scanners can also be used to read typed or hand-writtten documents and this can then be interpreted by using OCR software, which can then export it to a word processor or data file. Scanners can also be used to input large volumes of data on pre-printed forms such as credit card payments, where the customers account number and amount paid are printed at the bottom of the payment slip. * Web Cam: This transfers images onto the screen. In can be used via the internet for video conferencing or you can even pre-record messages and send them via E-mail. * Bar Code Reader: Bar codes appear on almost everything we buy, whether it is a new CD or a tin of bins. The pattern of thick thin lines represents the 13 – digit number underneath the bar code. There are four main pieces of information on a bar code. The first few two or three digits represent in which country the product was registered. The next five digits represent the manufacturer’s code. The second group of five numbers represents the product and package size. The last digit is a check digit, which is calculated from the other digits in the code and ensures that the barcode is keyed in or read correctly. A very similar process to that used in the ASCII code where the spare digit is used as the parity. A Product Bar Code * Light Pen: A light pen is a device which incorporates a light sensor so that when it is held close to a screen over a character or part of a graphic, the object is detected and can be moved to create or modify graphics. * Microphone: An input devise for sound recording. * OMR (Optical Mark Recognition): An Optical Mark Reader can detect marks made in present positions on a form. The most common example of this is the lottery. It is also widely used for marking, multiple choice exams and market research questionnaires. * OCR (Optical Character Recognition): Light is emitted, bounced back and then received. This is how the OCR reads its characters. The light emitted is in different resolutions depending on the character. OCR is used widely in services such as gas and electricity etc. * MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition): All banks use MICR for processing cheques. Along the bottom of a cheque the banks sort code, customer account number and cheque number are encoded in special characters in magnetic ink. The amount of the cheque is encoded in magnetic ink when it is handed in at the bank. The cheques can then be processed by MICR devices that read, sort and store the data on disk. MICR has several advantages for processing cheques: 1. It is hard to forge the characters 2. The characters can be read even if the cheque is crumpled, dirty or smudged 3. The characters are readable by humans, unlike bar codes The disadvantage of MICR though is the expense. This is why you don’t find many other examples of it being used. * Swipe Cards: Swipe cards are operated by using a magnetic strip. They are used in credit cards, debit cards, railway tickets, phone cards and many others. The magnetic strip can be encoded with upto 220 characters of data and other 83% of adults in Britain own at least one card. Unfortunately because there are only 220 characters of data this makes the cards very easy to copy, which is why the strips will eventually, disappear and be replaced by a chip, which is almost impossible to fake. Something slightly similar to the smart card. * Smart Cards: Smart cards are of a similar appearance to that of the swipe cards, but instead of using the magnetic strip they contain a small 1-millimeter square microprocessor which is stored in the centre of the card. This is then protected by a small gold electrical contact the card can still read information through this. Unlike the swipe card the smart cards can hold millions of characters of data. In the future banks hope to replace all the swipe cards with a ‘Super card’ which will also be able to be used to pay for smaller goods such as milk and newspapers without the need to carry cash. This card will almost be unbreakable. In Belgium they already have a similar system working to this it is called the ‘Proton Card’, which incorporates the use of both magnetic strip and a microprocessor chip for bank withdrawals and payments of small goods. The Smart Card * Touch Sensitive Screens: A touch sensitive screen allows the user to touch an area of the screen rather than having to type the data on a keyboard. They are widely used in tourist centres, where tourists can look up various local facilities and entertainment’s, in fast food stores such as McDonald’s for entering customer orders, in manufacturing, and also bars. * Digitisers: A digitiser can draw quality illustrations. It has a flat rectangular slab onto which a stylus (anything that terminates in a point) is placed. Output Devices and Techniques ‘The ultimate aim of the computer is to produce useful information, the information that is produced by the computer is in binary digits, we therefore need devices to translate these into a form we can use’ (Corbitt T, 1990, p 11) * VDU: (Visual Display Unit) The VDU is similar in appearance to the television receiver, an alternative name is the monitor. VDUs have better resolution than TVs and therefore are better for graphical work. It has its own fixed amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) associated with it to store the image being displayed on the screen. So the more RAM it has the better the resolution displayed on the screen. The number of pixels used to represent a full-screen image determines the resolution. Example: If 1 bit represents each pixel then two colours can be displayed, so to display 256 colours you would need 8 bits (1byte) It is usually possible to adjust both the resolution and the number colours – if you select a high resolution you won’t be able to have as many colours because of the memory available on the VDU Printers The results of processing are usually required in printed form. Printers come in all shapes and sizes, there are two main categories of printers: * Impact Printers which transfer the image on to the paper by applying pressure against a ribbon onto the paper, this transfers ink form the ribbon to the paper forming the image * Non-impact Printers which produce the image on the paper without any contact. Impact Printers * Dot-matrix: The characters on this are formed by dots. The print head contains a number of needles, the more there are of these the better the quality of print. A head with nine needles would take seven horizontal movements to print a character, this printer would be said to have a seven-by-nine-character matrix. In the latest type near letter quality is produced by double printing. The line of type is printed, the head moves back to the beginning of the line, moves down fractionally and then prints the line a second time. This doubles the time taken to print a document. To overcome this more expensive models use twice the number of needles and near letter quality can be achieved with one pass of the head. The dot-matrix can also print out graphics and pictures of a basic quality. Dot-matrix printers, which can print in colour, are available, these use a ribbon which contains red, green and blue. Coloured output is obtained by repeated printing, repositioning of the paper, print head and ribbon. The dot-matrix can print between 30 and 200 characters per second (cps). * Daisy-wheel printers: The print head consists of flexible arms extending from a centre hub, the characters are at the tips of the arms. When printing the hub revolves bringing the required character next to the ribbon. Some daisy-wheel printers are bi-directional and the print head can turn in either direction so that quickest possible print time is achieved. The print can be changed so that different font styles can be used. Daisy wheel printers are unable to print graphics unlike the dot-matrix. It is capable of speed ranges 12 to 55 cps. Non-impact printers * Thermal printers: These use specially treated paper, which is affected by heat generated by the print head as it passes across the paper. The main advantages are that they are silent and fast, printing 30-120 cps. Disadvantages are that the paper is expensive and that the printed image degrades in time. * Ink-jet printer: With this type of printer the characters are formed on the paper by spraying it with a stream of ink dots. They are fast, printing 150-270 cps and almost soundless, the quality of print is very good. A Canon Bubble Jet Printer BJC7000 * Plotters: Plotters are used to produce drawings, diagrams and other types of graphical output. There are two varieties in use, the flatbed plotter which is used where accuracy is important and the drum plotter which is used for business applications. The flatbed type is fixed while the pen moves over the top of the device while the axis moves up and down, whilst the drum variety uses continuous stationery. In both types the pens, under the program control, are moved to the down position, the movement of the pens is then controlled to draw the image. There are from one to six pens, which can be used to output different colours. There is also the less commonly known graph plotter. This is most commonly seen in use for lie detector tests. * COM: (Computer Output on Microfilm) The problem of storing information on paper can be considerable in a large business. One way to solve this is to have output from the computer photographed as microscopic images directly onto microfilm. Two methods of storage are used, one put the information onto a roll of 16mm film while the other uses microfiche. Microfiche can store upto 100 pages of A4 on a single piece, to see it you must have a microfiche reader. The most recent examples of this being used is in libraries and in garages for checking car parts. Data can be stored onto microfilm directly from the computer or off line using magnetic tape as an intermediary store. * Voice output: The output of the computer can be given in spoken form by using voice synthesisers to transform words stored in the computer into human speech, this is great for disabled people who cannot speak as it allows them to communicate. The user can hear through a loudspeaker. Secondary device techniques A permanent, non-volatile form of storage is required by all computer systems to save software and data files. Magnetic tape, magnetic disks, CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), and microfilm are all examples of what is known as secondary storage. * Floppy disk: The standard 3 1/2†³ floppy disk is a thin, flexible plastic disk coated in metal oxide, enclosed in a rigid plastic casing for protection. A standard high density disk has a storage space of 1.44 Megabytes. * Hard Disks: The hard disk used with conventional PCs consists of one or more disk platters, which are permanently sealed inside a casing. Hard disks have a capacity of between 2Gb and 10Gb, though external hard drives can be plugged into the computer to provide extra storage space. For large-scale applications storing huge amounts of data, more hard disks would be used. The disks can be fixed or removable, although the fixed disks are more reliable and have more storage capacity. Data is stored on the concentric tracks, which are divided into sectors. Data is then stored in one of the sectors so that it minimises the movement of the read-write heads, thereby minimising access time. * CD-ROM: CD-ROMs can store around 680Mb of data, which is the equivalent of hundreds of floppy disks. CD-ROMs do not transfer data as quickly as the hard disk drive. As the name suggests the disks are read-only memory. Unlike a magnetic disk they are created by burning tiny holes into the surface of the disk, a laser beam is then reflected off the surface of the disk, detecting the presence or absence of pits, which represent the binary digits. * Worm disks (Write Once, Read Many): These look very similar to the CD-ROM in appearance but are gold rather than silver in colour. These disks can be used to write your own material and are ideal for archiving or storing images or data, which will not be changed. They are popular in the pirate industry because a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 blank disk can store upto à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 000 worth of software and sell for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 – à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½80. They are used by less reputable PC company’s which install the software onto the PC so they can charge the consumer more for the package. However because of the competition in the pirate industry at present many of these carry viruses which can cause chaos on the hard drive. * Magneto-optical disks: Magneto-optical disks integrate optical and laser technology to enable read and write storage. A 5 1/2†³ disk can store up to 1 Gb. These disks may in future replace current magnetic disks, but at present the technology is still developing and the disks are too expensive, slow and unreliable to be in widespread use. * Magnetic tape: Magnetic tape was developed in the 1950s and very quickly became the primary means of storing data. The data is stored on magnetic tape in the form of dots of magnetism. It is used widely for archiving past transactions or other data that may be needed again, for example, old news readings that have been collected over a number of years. * Jaz Drive: Two Gigabytes is a tape drive and a mass storage device mainly used for backing up large files or batches of files i.e. end of day transaction backup for banks or businesses Software requirements and techniques Software is the name given to the programs that direct the operation of the computer. It can be divided into two main groups, system software and applications software. System software is the programs required to run the computer system and applications software is the programs required to carry out a particular application such as stock control Systems software This is the software that the microcomputer system needs to run. In this group there are three divisions: operating systems, utilities and compilers/interpreters/assemblers. Operating systems: An operating system is a set of programs that allows the user to perform tasks without having to know how they are done. For example, a user can give a command to save a file on disk without having to know where the file will be stored or how it will be retrieved again. Applications programs are usually written to work with a particular operating system e.g. Excel will only work with Windows and not with Apple Mac, which has a different operating system. Utility programs: Utility programs perform common tasks that every computer user will need at one stage or another. They carry out such jobs as formatting and copying disks, deleting files from disks, sorting information into a required order, and to help with the testing of programs that have been written. Compilers, interpreters and assemblers: These are programs that translate the programming language that is used into a form that the computer can understand. Compilers work by translating the whole of the program from what is known as the source program into the object program which will be in a form that the computer can understand. Interpreters are programs that translate and execute source programs one statement at a time. An assembler is a program supplied by the computer manufacturer that will translate a program that was written in assembly language (low-level programming language) into machine code. Applications software: In large organisations that have a mainframe or minicomputer we would find that programmers were employed whose job it would be to write the programs for the applications that the organisation wished to have run on the computer, such as payroll, stock control or hospital appointments. The software may be designed specifically for one particular company and written especially for them using a programming language or software such as database management system. Alternatively, the software may be purchased ‘off the shelf’. General purpose software: Most general purpose software is sold as a package, including a CD containing the software. Below is the most common packages that you would find on the market to date: 1. Applications: spreadsheets, database, word processing, Desk Top Publishing 2. Presentation: CD based presentations (Power Point, Director) 3. Internet Publishing: web page development software (Front Page, Dreamweaver, Flash) 4. Programming Software: BASIC, Visual Basic, C++, Java, Pascal, HTML 5. Creation and Editing: Photo Shop, Paint Shop Pro, Premier, Coral Draw 6. Utility: Anti-virus, tidy and compression, Doctors. The newer computer systems will have these utilities on them already. Software such as word processing, spreadsheet and databases is sometimes refereed to as generic software. This means that many of the packages can be made to do many different tasks, and is not specifically for one type of application. The other types of application software such as stock control and payroll as mentioned before are special purpose because they have been designed to complete one particular task. Conclusion: I found this assignment very interesting and now feel I have a much sounder understanding off computer hardware and software. I would have liked to incorporate more images into the assignment as reference to each of the products described, but was unable to find all of the images that I required, and also had problems trying to transfer them from the internet. Apart from this I feel quite satisfied with the overall assignment and hope that I have entered all the data needed and presented it in a clear fashion. Bibliography Corbitt T, (1990), Information Technology And Its Applications. Avon, United Kingdom: Bath Press Heathcott P M, (2000), ‘A’ Level Computing. Ipswich, United Kingdom: Payne-Gallway Publishers Ltd References Corbitt T, (1990), Information Technology And Its Applications. Avon, United Kingdom: Bath Press Heathcott P M, (2000), ‘A’ Level Computing. Ipswich, United Kingdom: Payne-Gallway Publishers Ltd Michael Firmstone Tutor: Del Turney 14/11/01