An Awareness through Chaos :: Free Essays Online

An Awareness through Chaos Through careful observation the past drop be drawn into proper stead when compared to the present. By looking back at a series of events that I see, I see them in a complete different light than when I actually experienced them. Visions are much clearer when you are able to take a step back to view the entire picture. That is what I am directly doing in my life. My education has been my main way of life for the last 14 years or so. Even though we are constantly learning and pass on for our lifetimes, our childhood education has a big impact on our development into mature beings. Each segment of our education process elementary school, junior high, etc., is create on each other, building progressive knowledge, helping us forge our way into an abyss of desired wisdom. Throughout those years as I experienced my education, my vision of its purpose and meaning was distorted. I viewed the entire process of learning as one required of us by the government an d our parents. I never cared to know the real reasoning. I never saw the impressiveness of knowledge, nor the significance of the preparation for life to come in the real world. I can remember a day in 8th grade mathematics, when my teacher paused for a brief moment during his sweatening lecture. He turned to the class and posed for us this question, Why are we here? Everyone immediately looked at each other, puzzled, not sure what he was asking. He elaborated, Why are we learning mathematics? Glancing about the room again, we finally replied, We have no idea. We all laughed and the teacher turned back to the chalkboard. There, was an example of how as young students we never realized the importance of mathematics, nor any of our other classes. Where did our meaning of education lie? Yet among the clouds of ignorance during my high school days, there was a time that a powerful beacon shown on my life and illuminated the meaning of my education. This sudden awareness occurred wh en I switched schools from junior to senior high school. Before the beginning of tenth grade my family lived on long Island. My father was layed off from his job, and we were forced to move in with my Grandmother in upstate New York due to financial circumstances.

Choose Or Lose :: Voting Vote Politics Political Essays

Choose Or Lose The election of 2004 is be talked about all over the country. It is one of the intimately publicized elections I can remember, and yet I still do not feel that involved. My decision to pick out this November depends on how informed I am at the time. I think you need to be an informed voter to be a good voter. Voting for someone you think speaks well or looks good is wrong. What is it that causes so many untried voters like me to not vote? A lot of people think it is a lack of concern that causes young people not to go to the voting booth that first Tuesday in November, but I think its something more. Our government is based on participation and being apathetic about voting is no excuse. Without active involvement from the people democracy will fail. The 26th Amendment granted those who are 18 years of climb on the right to vote. This privilege has long been abused by those ages 18-24. Since the Amendment was passed in 1972, the percentage of eligible voters ages 18-24 who actually vote has dropped 13%. The article by Carrie Donovan and Mark Lopez, young and Adult Voter Turnout From 1972-2002, states that in 1972, 55% of youths voted and in 2000, 42% of youths voted. This is appalling compared to the 70% of citizens that are 25 + and voted in the 2000 election. This dramatic drop in voting among the young adult population is eating away at democracy. The election affects everyone, but unfortunately, not everyone recognizes that fact. Those who do not vote have no right to complain about the outcome of an election, and nor the right to protest the decisions made by those elected to office. If this is true then why doesnt every eligible citizen vote? Politics affect EVERYONE. Those who are currently going to school most likely have a student loan. The student loan interest order is controlled by the government, and Im sure there isnt one student who is looking forward to compensable more interest. Any one who votes most likely has a job and is therefore paying taxes.

Mary J. Blige †The Magic of Share My World :: Music

Mary J. Blige The Magic of Share My WorldEvery explorer names his island Formosa, beautiful. To him it is beautiful because, being first, he has access to it and can see it for what it is. But to no one else is it ever as beautiful- except the rare bit who earthages to recover it, who knows that it has to be recovered. -Walker Percy, The Loss of the CreatureAn island. Hmmm, my island. My island on which I pull up stakes do nothing but sit and admire the beauty and serenity of reputation at work around me. A catch. One disc. One piece of music so wonderful, so captivating, that I volition listen to it for hours upon end. My disc will signify life- and love. It will be a window to the complex world of who I am. To me it will represent who, and what, I have left behind the things which I value and care deeply about. In my life, that it is love. Above all else, love is what makes my world go round. Joy, anticipation, excitement, longing, sadness, and pain I want to be able to un derstand these essential feelings until the day I die. Hardships and bliss alike. It sounds impossible, I know. But there is a disc. There is an artist who captures all of this and a little more in her music. Should I be left on a desert island, Mary J. Blige and her album Share My World are what I would choose to take with me. put forward on my shoulders for a little while. See Mary J. through my untrained, childish eyes. Let her be discovered by you, vicariously through me.I was credibly only twelve years old when it started, a time when bike riding and rolling your jeans were the cool thing to do. I was at an impressionable age, and I was trying to grow up. I wanted to be just like all the high school girls who went racing through my neighborhood in their glossy little cars, music blaring from the windows. On that particular afternoon, I was sitting in the grass adjoining to my mailbox waiting for my friend in the coterminous neighborhood to ride over. I heard the bass first . I didnt see anything yet- but I heard, far off, a distinct beat. I liked it already. As the noise got closer, I realized it was a song.Mary J. Blige The Magic of Share My World MusicMary J. Blige The Magic of Share My WorldEvery explorer names his island Formosa, beautiful. To him it is beautiful because, being first, he has access to it and can see it for what it is. But to no one else is it ever as beautiful- except the rare man who manages to recover it, who knows that it has to be recovered. -Walker Percy, The Loss of the CreatureAn island. Hmmm, my island. My island on which I will do nothing but sit and admire the beauty and serenity of spirit at work around me. A catch. One disc. One piece of music so wonderful, so captivating, that I will listen to it for hours upon end. My disc will signify life- and love. It will be a window to the complex world of who I am. To me it will represent who, and what, I have left behind the things which I value and care deeply about. In my life, that it is love. Above all else, love is what makes my world go round. Joy, anticipation, excitement, longing, sadness, and pain I want to be able to stupefy these essential feelings until the day I die. Hardships and bliss alike. It sounds impossible, I know. But there is a disc. There is an artist who captures all of this and a little more in her music. Should I be left on a desert island, Mary J. Blige and her album Share My World are what I would choose to take with me. jump on my shoulders for a little while. See Mary J. through my untrained, childish eyes. Let her be discovered by you, vicariously through me.I was probably only twelve years old when it started, a time when bike riding and rolling your jeans were the cool thing to do. I was at an impressionable age, and I was trying to grow up. I wanted to be just like all the high school girls who went racing through my neighborhood in their card-playing little cars, music blaring from the windows. On that particu lar afternoon, I was sitting in the grass next to my mailbox waiting for my friend in the next neighborhood to ride over. I heard the bass first. I didnt see anything yet- but I heard, far off, a distinct beat. I liked it already. As the noise got closer, I realized it was a song.

Pete Rose Essay -- Baseball Hall of Fame Baseball Players Essays

Pete RoseBart Giamattis finding to ban Pete Rose from the Baseball mansion house of Fame was not a fair decision at all. Pete Rose was placed on Baseballs ineligible list in 1989 when commissioner of baseball game game, Bart Giamatti concluded that Rose had bet on baseball games, including games involving his own team, the Cincinnati Reds. In an agreement made with Baseball, Rose accepted his banishment from the sport. Although he never admitted to having gambled on baseball games (Maury). Pete Rose was a phenomenal baseball player and manager. He was accused of gambling. His team while he was managing was supposedly involved. Bart Giamattis severe punishment of Pete Rose is a very polemical topic in the world of sports. There are a few harnesss that must have been followed to be inducted to the antechamber of Fame. The one that is keeping Rose remote is overshadow five. Rule five states Voting shall be based upon the players record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship , character, and contributions to the team or teams on which the player played (Maury). This rule has been tested and beaten many times. Many players have entered the Baseball Hall of Fame such as the very unlikable Ty Cobb, the drinking Babe Ruth, the umpire abusing hindquarters McGraw, the racist Cap Anson, Gaylord Perry a suspected cheater, and the gambling Leo Durocher. Those are just a few of the baseball players who somehow made into the Hall of Fame and got passed rule five (Ritter). Pete Roses problem was not even as severe as all of these other men. The argument to this is that if these men can unclutter it into the Hall of Fame why is Pete Rose banned. It is obvious that these players made it there with just their playing abilities and not by all of the other characteristics needed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (Maury). Pete Rose started playing professional baseball in 1960 in the minor leagues and by 1963 he reached the study Leagues as a rookie second baseman with the depicted object Leagues Cincinnati Reds. Rose won the National Leagues Rookie of the Year Award for 1963. He spent most of his 24 class career playing with the Reds, Rose also played with the Phillies and the Expos. In 1985 Rose broke one of the most unbreakable records of all time, by passing extinct Ty Cobb for the most career hits ever (Sports Illustrated.). Rose holds many records, some of which are most games played, most at bats, and mos... ...cardinal rule of baseball and bet on baseball games. The day after Giamatti banned Rose from baseball, Giamatti held a press conference. He said that the matter of Pete Rose is now closed. It will be debated and discussed. Let no one think Rose has hurt the game, it will pass, and the game will go forward. Bart Giamatti made it clear that Rose was forever banished from baseball and he will never have another chance (Ritter). When Pete Rose was place on the ineligible list in 1989, the Hall of Fame rule number trine said tha t any player on Baseballs ineligible list shall not be eligible for the Hall of Fame. According to the current mutant of Baseballs rules, Rose can be eligible for the Hall of Fame by getting of the banishment list. No one in the history of Major League Baseball has been able to get withdraw the list. Pete Rose can petition Baseballs powers to get off the list. Once he is off the list, he can be considered for the Hall of Fame (Ritter). No one is sure if it is Pete Roses goal in life to be in the Hall of Fame. It might be hard but it is possible that Rose can be taken off the ineligible list. If he really wants to be in the Hall fame, he has the chance (Ritter).

Conflict in This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona :: essays research papers

This is What it Means to say Phoenix, ArizonaWalking down the hall, you notice him. Everyone avoids him and ignores the fact that he exists. You know who he is but your atomic number 18 hesitant in approaching him because you know of the consequences. Hes not part of the crowd and to acknowledge him will mean turmoil for you. Its starts erupt with teasing and joking and slowly develops into bulling, but you can avoid that if you just turn around. In the story, This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona, Sherman Alexie explores life by including generally recognised conflicts. Although typical, the conflicts that Victor encounters occur in more than one aspect of life at once. Some are resolvable, but true to life, some are not. The close apparent conflict in the story is the relationship between Thomas Builds the Fire and Victor. Through the death of Victors father, they have come together.As the story begins, the narrator, Victor not only lost his job at the Bureau of Indian A ffairs, he also found out that his father had died of a heart attack in Phoenix, Arizona (181). Having little money to make the trip to Phoenix, Victor decides to ask to Tribal council for assistance. However, the tribal refuses to provide the full meter of his request because they did not have enough to bring his father all the way back from Phoenix (181). In desperation, Victor turns to Thomas Builds-the-Fire, an old childhood friend, for help. At first, Victor refuses help from Thomas because of his strange and unpopular reputation. Thomas is known as the reservations storyteller who shared stories and continued tell stories even after people stopped listening. However, as he becomes weary, he finally is able to negotiate a plan with Thomas. The plan includes Thomas travel with Victor to and from Phoenix.During the trip, Victor reflects on his past experiences with Thomas. At fifteen, they had long since stopped being friends and got into a fistfight (183). As adults, thou gh they would often see individually other on the reservation, however they would rarely interact. As an opportunity arises, when they arrived to his fathers trailer in Arizona, Victor finally apologizes to Thomas. He adds, I neer told you I was sorry for beating you up that time (185) and accepts him for who he is.

Conflict in This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona :: essays research papers

This is What it Means to say Phoenix, ArizonaWalking down the hall, you notice him. Everyone avoids him and ignores the fact that he exists. You know who he is but your are hesitant in approaching him because you know of the consequences. Hes not part of the crowd and to acknowledge him will mean din for you. Its starts break with teasing and joking and slowly develops into bulling, but you can avoid that if you just turn around. In the story, This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona, Sherman Alexie explores life by including generally recognized conflicts. Although typical, the conflicts that Victor encounters occur in more than one aspect of life at once. Some are resolvable, but true to life, nearly are not. The most apparent conflict in the story is the relationship between doubting Thomas Builds the Fire and Victor. Through the death of Victors father, they redeem come together.As the story begins, the narrator, Victor not only lost his job at the Bureau of Indian Affai rs, he also found out that his father had died of a heart attack in Phoenix, Arizona (181). Having little money to make the trip to Phoenix, Victor decides to ask to Tribal council for assistance. However, the tribal refuses to allow the full amount of his request because they did not have enough to bring his father all the way back from Phoenix (181). In desperation, Victor turns to Thomas Builds-the-Fire, an old childhood friend, for help. At first, Victor refuses help from Thomas because of his strange and unpopular reputation. Thomas is known as the reservations storyteller who overlap stories and continued telling stories even after people stopped listening. However, as he becomes weary, he finally is able to negotiate a conception with Thomas. The plan includes Thomas traveling with Victor to and from Phoenix.During the trip, Victor reflects on his past experiences with Thomas. At fifteen, they had long since stopped being friends and got into a fistfight (183). As adult s, though they would frequently see each other on the reservation, however they would rarely interact. As an opportunity arises, when they arrived to his fathers trailer in Arizona, Victor finally apologizes to Thomas. He adds, I never told you I was sorry for beating you up that time (185) and accepts him for who he is.

Cis11 Assessment 1

caoutchouc Styles Pty Ltd Financial Information dimensions and Financial Data scratch efficacy201020112012 Return on assets30. 2%31. 46%31. 48% Return on equity32. 62%34. 02%34. 07% unadulterated profit margin57. 55%57. 51%57. 93% Net profit margin16. 04%13. 90%14. 35% Efficiency asset turnover (times)1. 882. 262. 19 Inventory turnover (days)95. 6290. 5595. 10 Accounts receivable turnover (days)50. 3742. 6645. 16 Liquidity Current ratio4. 124. 13. 91 Quick asset ratio2. 462. 452. 21 Capital body structure Gearing ratio2. 372. 62. 54 Safety Styles Pty Ltd application program Decision It would be my recommendation to grant Safety Styles their application for additional finance. Profitability Safety Styles Pty Ltd has demonstrated in is able to generate and increase its lettuce as demonstrated through the healthy coarse and Net Profit Margins. It should be famed during this three year period Safety Styles Pty Ltd has maintained and increase the clear Profit margin, Safety Styl es Pty Ltd has in addition maintained a healthy Net Profit Margin.Although dropping slightly the second year they have managed to purify this in their third year increasing their overall profitability Safety Styles has similarly increased two its Return on Assets and Return on Equity, this demonstrates the ability of the bon ton to efficiently make use of its assets and equity which ultimately reduces requirements for more(prenominal) funding and reduces cost making better use of what they currently have. Efficiency Safety Styles Pty Ltd appears on bonnie over the last three years to be improving its efficiency to make better use of their assets and turning over their memorandum.Safety should also focus on this argona and strive to improve their efficiency. Whilst the values may seem quiet naughtyer their total sales amount has raised which may not be taken into account with averages. Safety Styles may need to revisit their inventory strategy as their turn over period is rather high this would be a benefit for them in the foresightful term by having quicker access to cash for investment in other assets. They should also pay attention to their Accounts Receivable swage and aim to reduce this. LiquidityWhilst Safety Styles Current ratio and Quick asset ratio is declined they atomic number 18 both still actually healthy numbers. Safety Styles non-current assets have been increasing annually. They may want to pay attention to reducing their inventory levels and accounts receivable to give them more cash and the opportunity to invest into non-current assets or reduce their liabilities as they currently has a low level of cash compared to inventory and accounts receivable. This will make the caller more liquid in the short term.Safety Styles also has a very healthy quick asset ratio compared to the industry standard of 2. It should be noted that Safety Styles currently do not have a high level of liabilities and seem to be maintaining their levels o f dent in relation to their assets Capital Structure Safety Styles currently have a very low gearing ratio and are using retained earnings for most of their funding. External sources of financing will be a benefit to Safety Styles to help them grow and invest in additional non-current assets. Executive SummarySafety Styles appear to be utilizing their assets and equity very hearty currently to help produce their profit and maintain both healthy gross and net profit. If this is maintained they should be able to repay their long term liabilities and possibly improve their current asset liquidity. ? Appendix Formulas Return on Assets = (Net profit before interest and taxation / Average total assets) x snow Return on Equity = (Net profit after tax and preference dividends / average ordinary shareholders funds) x 100 Gross Profit Margin = (Gross profit / sales) x 100 Net Profit Margin = (Net profit before interest and taxation / sales) x 100 Asset Turnover balance = ( Sales / Average Total Assets) Inventory Turnover = (Average inventory / cost of sales) x 365 Accounts Receivable Turnover = (Average accounts receivable / credit sales) x 365 Current Ratio = (Current assets / current liabilities) Quick Asset Ratio = (Current assets (excluding Inventory and prepayments) / current liabilities) Gearing Ratio = (Long-term liabilities / share capital + reserves + long-term liabilities) x 100 Ratio definitions Return on Assets The Return on Assets (ROA) demonstrates how effectively a club is using its assets to generate profit. The higher the ROA the better as the company is earning more off less investment Return on Equity oThe Return on Equity (ROE) demonstrates the amount of net profit generated as a percentage of the shareholders equity. A higher ROE is better as it displays how much profit is generated based on shareholder investment. Gross Profit Margin oThe Gross Profit Margin (GPM) is used to display the percentage difference between sales and the cost of sales before any other costs are factored in.A higher GPM is better as the company is making a higher profit off its sales Net Profit Margin oThe Net Profit Margin (NPM) is used to display the net profit as a percentage of the revenue generated. A higher NPM is better as it indicates a more profitable company and how effective a company is at controlling its costs Asset Turnover Ratio oThe Asset turnover Ratio (ATR) displays how well a business can use its assets in generating sales or revenue. A higher ATR is better as it demonstrates the amount of horses generated by one dollar of the companys assets Inventory Turnover The Inventory Turnover formula display how often the company sells and replaces its inventory. A low Inventory turnover is preferred as this mover cash is not being held in inventory, is producing more revenue and has access to an ongoing source of cash Accounts Receivable Turnover oThe Accounts Receivable turnover displays the average settlement period (days) credit p urchased are settled by the customer. A shorter average settlement period is preferred as this means funds are not tied up and can be Current Ratio This ratio is compares a companys current assets and current liabilities to measure the liquidity. A higher ratio is preferred as it generally means the business can meet their commitments Quick Asset Ratio oThe Quick Asset Ratio (QAR) also known as the Acid Test Ratio measures if a company can meet its short term liabilities with its current assets less its inventory as you cant always rely on inventory to be converted into cash quickly. A higher ratio means the company is in a better position Gearing Ratio The Gearing Ratio (GR) measures how much capital is financed by long term finance. A high gearing ratio means a company will depend of long term loans, a low gearing ratio displays higher confidence on financing through equity investment. Typically a high level of gearing means a higher level of risk for the company. Ratio Calculati ons Return on Assets o2010 (647 / ((2122 + 2163) /2)) x 100 o2011 (685 / ((2233 + 2122) /2)) x 100 o2012 (712 / ((2291 + 2233) /2)) x 100 Return on Equity o2010 (585 / ((1774 + 1813) /2)) x 100 2011 (619 / ((1865 + 1774) /2)) x 100 o2012 (644 / ((1916 + 1865) /2)) x 100 Gross Profit Margin o2010 (2321 / 4033) x 100 o2011 (2834 / 4928) x 100 o2012 (2875 / 4963) x 100 Net Profit Margin o2010 (647 / 4033) x 100 o2011 (685 / 4928) x 100 o2012 (712 / 4963) x 100 Asset Turnover Ratio o2010 (4033 / ((2122 + 2163) / 2)) o2011 (4928 / ((2233 + 2122) / 2)) o2012 (4963 / ((2291 + 2233) / 2)) Inventory Turnover o2010 (((((216 + 175) + (223 + 283)) / 2) / 1712) x 365) o2011 (((((235 + 298) + (223 + 283)) / 2) / 2094) X 365) 2012 (((((235 + 298) + (230 + 325)) / 2) / 2088) X 365) Accounts Receivable Turnover o2010 ((((561 + 552) / 2) / 4033) x 365) o2011 ((((561 + 591) / 2) / 4928) x 365) o2012 ((((637 + 591) / 2) / 4963) x 365) Current Ratio o2010 (1257 / 305) o2011 (1324 / 323) o2012 (1272 / 325) Quick Asset Ratio o2010 (((1257 (223 + 283)) / 305) o2011 (((1324 (235 + 298)) / 323) o2012 (((1272 (230 + 325)) / 325) Gearing Ratio o2010 (((43 / (70 + 1704 + 43)) x 100) o2011 (((45 / (70 + 1795 + 45)) x 100) o2012 (((50 / (70 + 1846+ 50)) x 100)

Essentials of College Writing Essay

Peer editing is an evaluative method of judging or critiquing compose text with the valuable engagement of peers. The purpose of piece within the context of peer editing is to write a text that will be able to incite responses, not notwithstanding from people in authority who oversee the writing process (ex. teachers, professors, technical writing instructors, etc. ), but alike from an individuals peers. The process of peer editing follows the writing process, the reading process, the critiquing session, and the rewriting process.Peer editing allows the expression of comments or suggestions regarding a write text which an individual may using up to modify errors within the text, attain ambiguous elements that defeats the purpose of a cohesive theme, and draw out additional information that are instrumental in improving the written text. (Adger, Wolfram, & Christian, 2007) The overall result of peer editing is the improvement of literacy or skills in writing. (Topping & Ehly, 1998) Perhaps, it is also important to reiterate that peer editing allows individuals to identify errors or mistakes in the writing process that may be unknown to them.The diversity of peer characters and points of views allows ane to look at the theme and quality of written works from different angles, allowing a writer to complete a written work clearly and concisely. What are some of the techniques a squad can use to integrate various writers work into one cohesive document? Integrating various written works into a cohesive document should follow a series of steps. The first step is to read all the written works carefully in order to identify the principal(prenominal) points and focus of each text.The squad should then group or categorize written works according to their similarities in meaning, theme, or points of view. Once this is accomplished, the team should agree on the organization or modeling of the single document they will be working on depending on the ideas or in formation drawn from the grouped or categorized written works. This process is similar to constructing an outline that will become the basis of the targeted cohesive document. Moreover, constructing an outline will require a team to identify what the focus of the obligate would be, what work will best fit in the introduction, the body, or the conclusion, etc.The next step would be to fill in parts of the outline, such that main and valuable points from each written work of team members will be drawn out to be integrated into the outline of the targeted cohesive document. At this point, the team is prepared to layout the finished document. What is the purpose and historical academic use of the APA style and why is it important to use APA style? The American Psychological Association or APA is a common credit rating style utilized by superiors in their written works. Its use is most common in the social sciences.The content of the APA citation style is usually the author and the ye ar of publication, as well as the title of work and the imprint. Other elements of written works designed under the framework of the APA style include the reference list, intext citations, headers, page numbering, and page margins. (Hajnal, 1997) The origin of the APA citation format is traced back to a discussion between professionals who write journals with anthropology and psychology as subjects. It was a way to set a standard of writing for journals in order to promote structure and organization in the formality of writing professional articles.After this discussion, the APA published a written work containing writing standards and guidelines. (Hunter, 2007) The importance of utilizing the APA style is to organize a written body of work by structuring the writing styles and citation references into something formal or standard. Standardized writing will benefit readers in such a way that reading other journals is recognizable and comprehensible. (Seas & Driscoll, 2007) forth fr om this purpose, the significance of utilizing APA as a writing guide ensures clarity, consistency and unity all throughout the body of the written work or article.(APA Style) For authors or writers, following the APA format or writing style is a means of abiding by rules set forth a particular publication in this case, publications that publish written works of professionals in fields wherein the APA writing style is commonly used (such as psychology, sociology, education, nursing, etc. ). (Frequently Asked Questions) Discuss what is meant by repeat Structures in the writing process. Abiding by the rules of reduplicate structure during the writing process, an author or writer should present equally important thoughts and ideas appropriately.This means that if a sentence calls for the presentation of several thoughts or ideas that are within the same level of importance, structure, or content, these should be written as such. No thought or idea should go against the flow of thoug hts, especially in form. For instance, a sentence calls for the enumeration of activities that a person does in the morning. If the form of the verbs being enumerated are in the present tense, they should be written as such waking up, eating breakfast, brushing ones teeth, and bathing. and not waking up, eat breakfast, brush ones teeth, and bathing. This rule goes the same with the use of clauses and words that follow a colon. (Purdue OWL & Driscoll, 2006) Discuss the meaning of verb tense in the writing process. Like the parallel structure which signals consistency and uniformity within the body of a written work, verb tenses also results to the same outcomes in writing. Aside from the general rules of verb tenses such as ancient tense for actions done in the past, present tense for actions that are currently taking place, and future tense for action that are about to take place, verb tenses in the writing process also necessitates consistency and uniformity of thoughts.For inst ance, a written work is in the form of a narrative then it should not only be written in the past tense, but should be written in the past tense all throughout the remainder of the text.Website http//apastyle. apa. org/ Frequently Asked Questions. (2008) Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The American Psychological Association. Website http//www. apastyle. org/faqs. html1 Hajnal, P. I. (1997). International Information Documents, Publications, and Electronic Information of International Governmental Organizations. SC Libraries Unlimited. Hunter, S. (2007). APA Writing Style. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from Associated Content, Inc. Website http//www. associatedcontent. com/article/181223/apa_writing_style. html? cat=3Purdue OWL & Driscoll, D. L. (2006). Parallel Structure. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue. Website http// bird of Minerva. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/623/01/ Tenses in Writing. (N. D. ) Retrieved October 22, 2008, from Universi ty of Washington. Website http//depts. washington. edu/engl/askbetty/tenses. php Topping, K. J. & Ehly, S. W. (1998). Peer-Assisted Learning. NJ Laurence Erlbaum Associates. Seas, K. & Driscoll, D. L. (2007). APA Overview and Workshop. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue. Website http//owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/664/01/

Hopes and Dreams

Humans atomic number 18 born with the power to dream and hope for something better. It is what we do afterwards that determines the outcome. A dream without action is full conjuration. The action is the means to achieve those hopes and dreams. For some people, the belief in our dreams and hopes gets lost through the years. So how do we get back on track and reach at least a few of those dreams? The first step is to insure that our dreams are still within reach. It starts with a clear understanding of the difference surrounded by what is achievable and what is not.The pathway that leads to our success is filled with small goals that, once accomplished, build our confidence to complete the next one. We possess the ability to establish achievable goals as steppingstones to reach what we hope for. A dream and a goal are two different terms that help in our task. The dream is the final ending and the goal is the path leading to it. One dream can have many goals or directions and st rategies that help us accomplish it. Each goal is a small step toward the finalization of the dream. We all have dreams. Some are for tomorrow, some are for next week, and some are for years from now.It is within our ability to realize all of them by listening to the heart and completing all the necessary steps. Reality today was a dream or hope sometime in the past. Keep a journal of those things you hope for. Write down the steps or goals needed along to way to achieve each one. Then, all week or every month, review each one to assure that you stay on the correct path to acquirement. Each review period allows you to select minor adjustments in the goals as life events dictate. We sometimes grow up with preconceived notions that many of these dreams are not considered worthy of any effort to realize them.If a dream is conceived but never believed, it is considered merely a fantasy. Often our lives are restricted to these fleeting fantasies because we dont have the courage to da intiness them as achievable dreams. Change the thought processes in your head so that you are not restricted by perceived impossibilities. Focus instead on the dream and its goals. Give fantasies the chance to turn into a dream by making them an important part of your life. Set the goals needed to fulfill the dream. Dreams are so given attention and can be fully manifested by setting goals.Maintain your focus on the dream instead of the short-term goals to enable fulfillment and satisfaction. bit achieving goals offers a sense of satisfaction, this doesnt provide ongoing motivation. The real power of each goal comes from its connection to the appropriate dream. And, yes, you can have many dreams that are in process all the time. Each of the short-term goals will lead to your objective. Setting smaller, more attainable goals will develop a sense of accomplishment that will ultimately keep you focused on the dream itself. The acronym SMART helps in setting the goals.Simple, Measurab le, Achievable, Realistic, Timely. Dreams and hopes live in the heart. They are uniquely you and have the potential difference to result in who you are gifted to become. Without taking steps to realize those dreams, they are useless. Those people who dream and then set goals to achieve them will develop joy and satisfaction in their lives and a sense of peace in their twilight years. Truly successful people have taken their dreams out of the fantasy and converted them into eventual reality. They have done this by setting realistic goals and constantly reviewing the process to stay on track.

Communication Styles Worksheet Essay

You spent the past few days exploring the resources available to students at University of Phoenix, and you want to share what you learned with a friend who is interested in enrolling.Write a 150- to 200-word e-mail to your friend summarizing the resources available to students.Hi,I wanted to follow up with you on the conversation we had stretch forth night about you attending University of Phoenix. There are many resources available to help you with reaching your goals. To start there is the CWE (Center for Writing probity). It has a wealth of information and guides to help you with grammar and writing. There is also the program Riverpoint Writer which ordain actually take your information and turn into a well formatted paper. It impart even help with quotes and references and turn them into properly formatted citations.The University also has the plagiarism checker which will review your papers and help you to avoid plagiarism. Last but for sure not least there is WritePoint. When you finish writing your papers and before you turn them in you can send them to Write Point. This is just like having your real own proofreader available any time day or night. The program will actually add suggestions to your paper to let you know what needs to be fixed or help you make changes to have them sound better. All of these programs are available to all students starting the day you enroll. Hope this helps in you decisionYou asked your facilitator to review your e-mail draft. She liked what you wrote and asked you to write a summary to post in the class forum for the other students to read.Write a 150- to 200-word summary for your class of the resources available to students. Remember to write using an academic tone.The University of Phoenix has many resources available to students to help be successful in continuing their education. For prototype the Center for writing excellence (CWE) is found in the Universitys online library. This is a tool that helps students become better writers. It has many programs such as Plagarisism Checker which will review your writing for any possible palgarisism and guarantee you turn in original work. There is also WritePoint which will review your writing and give feedback on how to improve your paper.Riverpoint writer is another good tool to help students learn to format in the APA style. Another useful program is the Center for Mathematics Excellence which is also found in the online library. This program has many tutorials, videos, and practice problems to help students become more comfortable with mathematics. There is also the building mathematics authorisation which students can use to become reacquainted with math before starting their first mathematics class.

Handout the American Civil War

Handout A House Divided Towards the American Civil War, 1831-1861 Causes of the American Civil War 1. social-economic differences amidst North and South 2. regional conflict about over slavery in unorganized territories 3. break-up of national political party system emergence of new-made party system based on region (i. e. North-South) (see also handout week 4) 4. ideological and cultural polarisation between North and South system three-fifths clause fugitive slave clause slave trade clause 820 Missouri Compromise Missouri admitted as slave state Maine created as free state Line of 1820 (36 . 30 ) 1828-1833 South Carolina tariff nullification crisis 1831-1860 antislavery activism (1831 William Lloyd Garrison The Liberator) 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in Southampton County, Virginia 1845 annexation of Texas 1846-1848 Mexican War 1848U. S. victory over Mexico territorial expansion (California, Utah and New Mexico territories) 1850 Compromise of 1850 California admit ted as free state popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah slave trade prohibited in District of Columbia (Washington, DC) Fugitive Slave Act 1852 Book publication Harriet Beecher Stowes impertinent Uncle Toms Cabin 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act (Bleeding Kansas) 1854 splitting of Whig foundation Republican political party (Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men) and American (Know Nothing) Party 1857 Dred Scott Decision of the U. S.Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Taney (pro-slavery) 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry (John Brown) 1860 Democratic Party splits into two (North vs. South) November 1860 Lincoln (Republican Party) elected prexy December 1860 South Carolina secedes from the union 1861- January secession of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas February adoption Confederate Constitution and creation of Confederate States of America (South) pres.Jefferson Davis capital Montgomery, Alabama. March inauguration of Pres. Lincoln 12 April attack on (federal) Fort Sumter by door Confederate (Southern) troops beginning of the Civil War 9 April 1865 surrender by (Confederate) general Robert E. lee side (Appomattox) 14 April 1865 assassination attempt on Pres. Lincoln Lincoln dies on April 15. George Fitzhugh, Sociology for the South (1854) and Cannibals All or, Slaves Without Masters (1856) John Calhoun, Disquisition on Government (1850)

Money should not be an issue to receive treatment Marisel Diaz Essay

IntroductionThe Health economic aid Reform policy sounds very complicated, counterbalance for our House of Representatives, which has been dealing with it for the ago years. And for regular citizens, it is extremely complex to understand as well. During the Progressive Era, President Theodore Roosevelt was a strong supporter of wellness restitution. He believed that no country could be strong whose people were sick and poor. These days, we also have someone who shares the same philosophy, Senator Bernie Sanders, who is advocating for Universal Health grapple. I also share the same idea as Senator Sanders, that if we motive to fix the Healthcare dodge, it should be in order to improve the life story of all, non only of those who are able to afford it. Despite the efforts of President Barack Obama, 27.6 meg Americans still are without health insurance today (Kaiser, pg. 1).The insurance system is very complicatedAmericas Healthcare system has contrastive kinds of insurance. Fo r instance, life insurance, car insurance, home insurance but only health care insurance becomes more than complicated and more expensive. Currently, the United States uses a combination of public and head-to-head healthcare, and the cost is one of the highest in the world. Insurance. Is a contract between the insurer and ensure, whereby the insurer undertakes to pay the insured a fixed amount in interchange of a fixed sum (premium) on the happening of a certain event (like at in a certain age or at death), or compensate the actual loss when it takes place, collectible to the risk insured. High prices for premiums. The amount health insurance companies charge each month for coverage. It must be paid every month, regardless of whether you use the services or not. For instance, premiums can be paid by the employers, shared by both the employees and the insured, and the plans sponsor.Deductibles. The deductible is a level expenditure that must be incurred before any benefits are p aid out. Health insurance policies generally have periodical deductibles, which is less effective in removing moral hazard (Dewar, pg. 59). Coinsurance. Coinsurance is the proportion of the total expenditure that is paid by the insured. Coinsurance helps to cringe the moral hazard factor for the insured who has spent more than his or her deductible because healthcare is not free to the consumer (Dewar, pg. 59) Today, 27 million people have no health insuranceThe bulk of people who are left uninsured are from low-income families or even moderate-income families that simply cannot afford the high prices of insurance, do not have the option of obtaining insurance through their jobs, live in states where Medicaid was not expanded, or simply are immigrants who are not eligible for coverage.A solution to the high prices of health care and uninsured citizens would be the adoption of a universal healthcare system. For instance, Canada has a national health insurance program, which is basi cally a government-run health insurance system covering the entire population. Universal care has proven to be less expensive and would likely improve health care access and outcomes for Americans (Gleason & Ridic, pg. 4). In addition, nationalized health care is a logical, moral imperative for the U.S., and it should be a right, not a privilege.One of the advantages of adopting a national health insurance allow be the significant economic advantage because the entire population will have access to health care regardless of money. Most cases of bankruptcy are not caused by reckless spending. accord to Deb.org, most citizens claim bankruptcy by financial hardship, and many of them are low-income individuals who cannot afford to pay unexpected major expenses, for instance, due to job losses or medical bills.According to a study published in early 2005, 46 percent of bankruptcies were related to outstanding medical conditions. For example, medical expenses not covered by insurance, o r losing at least two weeks worth of work because of illness (Krulick, 2012). Additionally, copayments will be insignificant to pay. Citizens will not be filing for bankruptcy due to lack of money. Another advantage will be that physicians will receive payments on a negotiated salary service, and hospitals will receive global budget payments.Cons of adopting Universal Healthcare (Single payer system)In order to see the cons of the system, we should take a look at the outcomes and engine room. I will remark that financial barrier does not exist. A research shows that approximately fifty-six percent of the respondents in Canada believed their health care system requires small changes, and only five percent of the population think that Canadas healthcare system needs complete rebuilding (Blendon, Leitman & Morrison, pg. 7). Overall, Canadians are very content with their healthcare system.The waiting list for diagnosis and surgery exist in Canada. The U.S. could experience waiting li sts as well. The reason why Canada has been experiencing a waiting list could be because the government is currently spending less on healthcare than in other years. However, when Taiwan made the switch, wait times were not an issue. This could be different depending on the size of our population and how many people would utilize care once it is available to them. Higher taxes. Canada tax system represents the main revenue. Many of the benefits that Canadians savor are made possible through taxes. For instance, the government provides roads, schools, healthcare, social security, public safety, and others benefits to low-income families, charities, students, seniors, and people with disabilities.Tax revenues provide social benefits. Old age security, Canada child tax, running(a) income tax, universal child care benefits. Canadian residents support their tax system by paying their fair share of taxes, and in return, they benefit from the programs and services provided by their gover nment. Importation of drugs from other countries. Senator Bernie Sanders proposes a rule that would allow pharmaceutical companies to charge fair prices for drugs developed with taxpayer-backed research. It sounds very logical since all citizens are paying for it, prices for American citizens should be more economical. In 2013, per capita, spending on ethical drug drugs was $858 compared with an average of $400 for nineteen other industrialized nations (Kesselheim & Ross, pg. 12).We should be able to negotiate prescription drug prices. According to GoodRx discount, a 30-tablet supply of Invokana at a 100 mg dose will set you back $411 at Walgreens in the U.S., even with a coupon. Meanwhile, a months supply of that same dose of Invokana in Canada costs about $234. Having a competition in the market helps to reduce prices and open choices for patients or consumers. Importing prescription drugs from other countries will help to lower the prices and improve the quality as well. Another way could be, perhaps, the use of technology such as virtual doctor appointments. Innovation is a risk, but we will never know if we do not try it out. Additionally, the life tendency would be improved. Reducing poverty in the U.S. should be the most important thing to do. Inequities in the structure of societal resources vary and can be striking. According to Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, A populations health is shaped 10% by the physical environment, 20% by clinical health care (access and quality), 30% by health behaviors (themselves largely determined by social and physical environments), and 40% by social and economic factors. (Senterfitt et al., 2013). Sometimes, the perception of paying more does not necessary means or makes things better.ConclusionDespite having one of the best healthcare systems in the world, the bureaucracy that governs the healthcare industry has to be modify to be more effective and to promote health, not just mitigate illnesses.Refe rencesAmerican Bankruptcy Institute. (2012). Annual Business and Non-business Filings by Year (1980-2011). Retrieved from http//www.abiworld.org/AM/AMTemplate.cfm? office=Home&CONTENTID=65139&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfmhttps//www.kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/https//jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2545691?JamaNetworkReader=True&redirect=truehttps//www.cihi.ca/en/nhex_2014_report_en.pdfhttps//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3633404/Senterfitt, J.W., Long, A., Shih, M., & Teutsch, S.M. (2013). How Social and Economic Factors Affect Health. Social Determinants of Health, Issue no.1. Los Angeles Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.https//berniesanders.com/issues/medicare-for-all/more.

From Leninism to Stalinism: A Logical Progression

The question of whether or not shogunate was a logical continuation of Leninism is a difficult one. Stalinism did take importantly more drastic measures than Leninism did. There were differences in policy. But in spite of these, Stalinism still found its basis in Leninism. Even Trotsky, a rec completely dose of Lenin and a staunch opponent of Stalin, grudgingly admits that Stalinism did issue from Bolshevism (Trotsky). Stalins policy of socialism in one country, his use of terror to eliminate opposition, and his downsizing of democracy and the soviets were all characteristics of Lenin well forwards they were characteristic of Stalin.Although some of Stalins policies were different from those of Lenin, what difference Stalinism did show from Leninism were either policies which Lenin had called for but never put into action, or logical continuations of Lenins original principles, but modified to suit the demands of the time. One of Stalins main focuses was on the concept of socialis m in one country that is, the focus on the betterment exclusively of his own country rather than on the international communist revolution. Socialism in one country began with Lenin.In 1918 Lenin signed the conformity of Brest-Livtosk, which pulled Russia out of WW1 and surrendered much of the Ukraine to Austria-Hungarian forces (How Lenin Led to Stalin). At this time, there was a revolutionary movement in the Ukraine composed of peasants and workers known as the Makhnovist movement. This group needed simply the support of Lenin and Russia to launch their own socialist revolution. However, they were not given this support (How Lenin Led to Stalin). Clearly, Lenins focus was on the well-being of Russia rather than the International Communist Movement.He was focused on Socialism in One Country. Lenins actions, compromising his political ideals for the sake of peace, would later be echoed by Stalin when Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler on August 23, 1939. In addi tion to a focus on socialism only within his own country, Stalin also focused on a density of governmental control of industry and agriculture. This policy, originated by Lenin under the moniker of state capitalism, was a clearly established goal of Leninism well before Stalin implemented it.Lenin tell that Socialism isnothing but state capitalist monopoly made to benefit the whole people (How Lenin Led to Stalin). It is clear that his idea of socialism was one of governmental economical control. Moreover, Lenin fully intended for this plan to be implemented. He tell that If we introduced state capitalism in approximately 6 months time we would achieve a ample success (How Lenin Led to Stalin). As the government gained more and more control over the economy, Lenin felt it necessary to defend his actions.He published an article in April of 1918 in which he stated that Unquestioning submission to a single will is unassail subjectly necessary for the success of the labor process the revolution demands, in the interests of socialism, that the masses unquestioningly obey the single will of the leaders of the labor process (How Lenin Led to Stalin). In addition to demonstrating the Leninist ideal of state capitalism, it also shows that Lenin viewed positive governmental authority as necessary, a policy that would be further instituted during the totalitarian rule of Stalin.One aspect of Lenins state capitalism was the forced collectivisation of agriculture. In article six of his April Theses, Lenin called for Nationalization of all lands in the country, and management of such lands by local Soviets of Agricultural Laborers and Peasants Deputies (Russian narrative 1905-30). In 1929, when Stalin forced collectivization onto the agricultural workers, he was simply putting Lenins concepts into action. Lenin had had the original idea, and had felt it was a necessary action, but he had been unable to put his plan fully into effect.Stalin was able to take a previo usly incompletely implemented Leninist policy and put it into action. In their attempts to bring the workers under governmental control, Leninists were willing to take drastic action. In May of 1918, a new decree stated that only one third of industrial management personnel could be elected, the rest being nominate to their positions. In April of 1920, Trotsky stated that Deserters from labor ought to be formed into punitive battalions or put into concentration camps (How Lenin Led to Stalin).Arguments extradite been raised which state that Lenins New sparing Policy is a demonstration of the fact that Leninisms goal was not one of total governmental control. However, the New Economic Policy was only instituted by Lenin when it became suddenly necessary for the survival of Russia, and even then it was only intended to be a temporary worker measure before returning to state capitalism. Despite the temporary nature of the New Economic Policy, it was still viewed by many leading mem bers of the Communist party as being too drastic a press release from Leninist doctrine.When Stalin abandoned the New Economic Policy, he was not abandoning a part of Leninism. Rather, he was banning a policy that even Lenin himself had not intended to be permanent, and that many people viewed as being a policy contrary to the aims of Leninism (Wood, p. 23-26). Stalin was also characterized by his strong suppression of opposition, which is once again a Leninist trait. A decree of the Sovnarkom on December 20, 1917 called for the creation of a commission to persecute and break up all acts of counter-revolution and sabotage all over Russia, no head what their origin (Russian History 1905-30).The decree further read that measures to be taken against these counter-revolutionaries are confiscation, confinement, deprivation of food cards, publication of the names of the enemies of the people, etc (Russian History 1905-30). While these actions were avowedly not as drastic as Stalins, th ey do represent a strong, forceful suppression of opposition. In addition, Stalin was in power after these measures had already turn out futile. Given the ineffectiveness of these methods, a logical continuation of these policies would have been to increase the severity of the suppression.In addition, other actions taken by Leninism were far more drastic. In a Cheka raid in Moscow in April 1918, 26 Anarchist centers were raided, killing or injuring 40 Anarchists and imprisoning over 500 more (How Lenin Led to Stalin). some other feature common to both Stalin and Lenin was their attempts to eliminate any democratic or representative forms of government. This too was a continuation of a long-standing Leninist policy well before Stalin was in power.Starting in 1918, in elections for factory committees, an approved list of candidates was created beforehand, and voting was done by a show of hands while a member of the Communist cell read the names and armed Communist guards watched on. Voicing opposition to the proposed candidates would result in wage cuts (How Lenin Led to Stalin). Lenins suppressions were not particular to non-communists. As Stalin would later do, Lenin also worked to eliminate any possible sources of dissention within the Communist party.In 1918 there was a faction within the party that was decisive of the new policy of Taylorism, a system used to measure the outputs of the workers in the country. This faction was centered around the journal Kommunist. At a Leningrad party conference, the mass supported Lenins demand that the adherents of Kommunist cease their separate organizational existence (How Lenin Led to Stalin). Three years later, the 1921 party congress issued a ban on all factions within the Communist party.Speaking regarding one of these factions, the Workers Opposition, Trotsky said they had placed the workers right to elect representatives above the party. As if the party were not entitled to assert its despotism even if that d ictatorship temporarily clashed with the passing moods of the workers democracy (How Lenin Led to Stalin). We can see the dark motivations behind Leninisms banning of factions to keep the democracy from interfering with the dictatorship. sound before Stalin was using his power to eliminate any who might oppose him, Lenin was carefully and thoroughly removing the opponents to his power.In the trade union congress of April 1920, Lenin stated that in 1918 he had pointed out the necessity of recognizing the dictatorial authority of single individuals for the purpose of carrying out the soviet idea (How Lenin Led to Stalin). This concept of a single absolute ruler that Lenin felt was so necessary was to become one of the points for which Stalin was later criticized. In setting himself up as an absolute dictator, Stalin was merely following what Lenin had said was necessary. Another aspect of Stalins suppression of opposition was his violent suppression of workers revolts and the soviets .Stalinism crushed revolts in East Berlin in 1953, in Hungary in 1956, and in Czechoslovakia in 1968, as well as many other, smaller revolts (How Lenin Led to Stalin). This policy would seem to contradict the Leninist ideal, in which the government was built for the workers, and a revolt of the workers would have been something that occurred only as a step towards a communist society. However, we can find this policy originating from Leninism. The Leninist government itself often showed strong opposition to attempts made by the workers to increase their power.The first All-Russian Congress of Soviets, held in June of 1917, stated that giving full power to the soviets would have greatly weakened and threatened the revolution (Russian History 1905-30). In 1921, at the Kronstadt naval base, workers attempted to elect a soviet. They also issued a declaration which called for the reestablishment of the democratic soviets, and an end to censorship of speech and press. These actions were s upported by the workers, the sailors, and many members of the Bolshevik party.However, official Leninist forces stormed the base, killing many of the rebels who were unable to escape. Leninism had demonstrated that it was opposed to a representative government designed with the wants of the workers in mind. All of the delineate policies of Stalinism were either policies that had originally being instituted by Leninism, policies called for by Leninism but not put into action until Stalinism, or else Leninist policies modified to fit the needs of the situation. Stalinism was a logical continuation of Leninism.

Poverty in Canada Essay

Despite having one and only(a) of the mettlesomeeststandards of living among all the developed nations, and despite beingness voted numerous times in recent long time by the United Nations as the best country in the world in which to live, experts agree that leanness is prevalent in Canada today. Unfortunately, that is more than than or less where the agreement fires. Exactly how prevalent and how serious a problem p overty is in Canada is an open research that has been hotly debated for the last 10 years.There run through been two times in the past 300 years when economic structural changes have occurred in the world that have been so massive and so far-reaching, that the impact on societies has been nothing short of monumental.The prime(prenominal) time was in the Industrial Revolution which began in the early 1700s and caused massive societal transformations, especially in the western world, changing life from agrarian-based societies to industrial-based societies. The s econd time was in the early 1980s with the beginning of the reading Revolution. Today, a rapid, world-wide, economic transformation is taking place that is changing our societies from industrial-based societies to information-based societies, the 3rd wave.These changes atomic number 18 part of a greater phenomenon called globalization . The improvement in technology lead to a desire to make trades with other countries, and therefore allowing foreign companies to sell in Canada and thereby compete with Canadian companies, and vice versa (Laisser faire, laisser passer ex Smith).This increase competition lead to ever greater pressures on Canadian companies to reduce their costs of producing legals. Companies close down and went looking in third world countries because labour is cheaper. At the same time, technology was permutation human labour employees lost their jobs, being replaced by machines that could do the job faster and more efficiently. This eliminated the manufacturi ng, low-to-medium skills, well-paying jobs, which didnt require a very high level of education. While now, our labour markets into high-skills, high-paying jobs on one end of the spectrum, and low-skills, low-paying jobson the other end. Therefore, one way would be for pile have to relieve oneself a discontinue education to get a better job, get better money, and get themselves surface of poverty, which runs along the views of Plato. exactly who are the wretched in Canada? Are there any identifiable persons or groups who are more likely to be scummy than others? Is era a factor? What about gender, race? What about geographic factors? Does living in certain parts of the country make you more likely to be poor than living in other parts? According to Smith, there is in every society an dictatorial minimum standard of living which consists of survival necessities (shelter, food and clothes), plus additional non-survival necessities as determined by each societys customs (such a s owning a linen shirt and a oppose leather shoes in his day). Together these necessities meet not only a persons basic survival needs, but also allow that person to participate in society with self-respect and without the shame and stigma often attached to being poor. To allow any person to live downstairs this minimum standard would, to use Smiths term, render that society indecent.The following studies have been do by Kevin Lee from the Canadian Council on Social Development1. From 1990 to 1995 the total number of poor spate in Canada increased dramatically. During this period, Canadas total universe of discourse increased by 6.1 percent, whereas the population of those considered poor increased by 28.6 percent, far outstripping the overall growth.2. Poverty is largely an urban phenomenon. In 1990, 66.6 percent of the poor population in Canada lived in metropolitan centers. 70 percent of all poor people live in Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto. Between 1990 and 1995, poverty pass judgment rose in every city examined.3. Poverty stations varied substantial between cities. Cities in Quebec had the highest poverty grade while cities in southern Ontario had the lowest. For example, Montreal had the highest rate in Canada, 2.5 times high than Oakville, which had the lowest rate.4. Certain population groups were more likely to be poor than others. These included* Single-parent families, whose poverty rate was 2.45 times high than the aver sequence.* Aboriginal persons, whose poverty rate was 2.26 times higher than the average.* Recent immigrants, whose poverty rate was 2.17 times higher than the average.* Visible minorities, whose poverty rate was 1.53 times higher than the average.* Persons with disabilities, whose poverty rate was 1.47 times higher than the average.5. Poverty rates varied considerably according to age and gender. The young and the elderly are more likely to experience poverty. The incidence of poverty declines with age until age 45 to 5 4, after which it rises again. Women in every age groups are more likely to live in poverty, and women seniors above age 75 are the most like of any group. Among males, boys up to age 14 had the highest poverty rate. Children and youth made up one third of the total poor population.6. Poverty rates varied based on education levels. As expected, in every city examined persons with less than high school education were more likely to be poor than those with a post-secondary level education. However, at least 6 percent of post-secondary graduates in every city lived in poverty, and in six cities that rate was over 20 percent.7. Poverty rates varied based on occupational skills levels. As expected, persons with lower skills levels had a higher incidence of poverty, howeverhigh-skills workers still had high poverty rates in some cities. For example, in Montreal almost 20 percent of high-skills workers were living in poverty as compared to 4.5 percent in Gloucester or Burlington.8. The ave rage income for working-age families in Canada was $60,400.9. The average income for working-age poor families in Canada was $14,500.Taken from http//www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2000/up/ but another question prevails here How should we service them? Canada has been using a lot of different methods to try and help them. We can buoy understand numerous shelters for the homeless, which also provides them with food and water. All this is free for them, but its not helping them get out of poverty, it is like a breathing device for them. Without it, they would die. There are other people who do have a home, as humble as it might be, but they are having troubles paying for it, since they cannot experience a job. The government supplies those people with an amount of money weekly. This is called the Welfare system, but it is not working as well as in Sweden. This may be because the people are taking this money, and instead of outlay it on food and vital needs, some of them go and buy cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. On the other hand, some people are wisely investing it in education, and vital needs. This makes us wonder if our tax money is being spent wisely.Should the government tax the working people to give and income to the non-working people? There are many points of view about this subject. We may think that it is unfair that you are working to help them, without getting anything in return. We may feel like we are being obliged to care for the less well off. But in fact, by giving them little boost, they are helping us back. If they get a receive at a better education, they could get a job, or even open their own company, which would bring into being employment, and in its turn would increase consumption, and make the economy go round. We would all benefit from this. If this starts off, there would be enough jobs for everyone, thus getting the present poor people out of poverty and help the following generation be poverty free. Of course I am exaggerating, there wo uldnever be 0% poverty, but there might be a possibility of a 100% educated population. erstwhile this has been reached, more innovations get out be accessible, and the updated Adam Smith would come in play Laisser innover, also cognize as R&D. This could help in many ways, a good example would be lacuna technology.The exploration of space has, ever since it began in 1962 with the launch of Yuri Gagarin, been a controversial subject among the peoples of this planet. The controversy surrounds the disbursement of billions and billions of dollars on the pursuits of space exploration. The thread of the most common argument against space is that there are more pressing problems here on our planet such as pollution, overcrowding, disease, poverty etc. that this money could be spent on. Will taking moneys from space exploration and investing more money in these spry problems help them? There is no doubt that by investing more in these problems that there will be measurable improvemen ts in all problems. In fact given a conscious private road to pop off wisely any problem could be helped. So the question becomes does space exploration help this planet? Can exploring space on its own justify the investment?The most obvious body politic where space exploration has benefited our immediate lives is right in every ones own living room. The television newscasts which you reside have been more than likely been transmitted via air. The satellite has also allowed trans-continental telephone calls, emergency tracking and a host of other uses. These are measurable benefits in the present, but the question begs as to why we spend money on theoretical research on quasars, missions to the moon, and experimental technologies which run acrossm like learning prevarication to most people.The answer to this question lies in the benefit of space exploration that we see today, that is, in satellite communications. More than thirty years ago when Sputnik was first launched tha t was deemed a marvel of science and technology, almost science fiction. No one person could foresee the benefits that could be gleaned from the launch of this simple spherical metal stumblebum which bounced radio signals back to earth. The point here is that the investment in this project paid off, in what we see today in the form of TVnews, phone calls and direct broadcasting television.It is important to point out that the Sputnik launch and all other attempts including the American Echo project were good investments but there are space projects which failed miserably such as the Russian attempt at building a crack Booster, now called Energia. Millions of dollars were wasted in this failed project. What I am trying to illustrate is that there are good and bad ideas, good and bad investments not only in space exploration but in any field of science. This is what drives the advancement of knowledge.Space exploration in the broadest sense gives us the future. It is an investment n ot for the short term but for the long term. It allows us to study different environments, allows technology to develop and allows ideas to be tested. No one can argue that Sputnik was not a wise investment so how can we possibly know that sending missions to the moon is not. The responsibility lies with us to determine what is important and worth pursuing.

Cognitive Development May Progress Gradually or Through a Series of Stages Essay

Cognitive development can be defined as the branch of our association in downstairsstanding the world around us. This growth can be genuine gradually, in other words, it is seen as a continuous extremity by collecting more information. A nonher focusing of developing cognitively is through a series of stages which involves few sort of revolution from one block to a nonher in ones lifetime. Jean Pia find oneself, a cognitive developmentalist believed that humans go through a series of stages in life in order to reach their full cognitive major power. In this essay, we would briefly talk about Piagets Stage Theory and its criticisms.Piaget divided his supposition into four incompatible stages of development. The first one is known as the sensorimotor stage which is applied to infants for approximately the first ii years of their lives. At this stage, infants discover the world mainly by their senses and actions. One of the main concepts Piaget penned is endeavor permanenc e. This is the knowledge of the existence of objects dismantle when we cannot directly sense it. Piaget suggested that babies lack this concept through his look at A not B chore. In this study, the experimenter hides a toy under concussion A then the baby would essay for it under Box A.This procedure was repeated and eventually in front of the baby, the experimenter hid the toy under Box B. The baby searched for it under Box A instead of B even though they saw the experimenter hid it under Box B. Therefore, this study enters that the baby lacked the concept of object permanence. They atomic number 18 known to be in a state of solipsism, also known as the failure to differentiate between themselves and the surroundings. Based on ceremony conducted on his own sisterren (1952), Piaget divided this stage into six different sub stages. However, Piagets learns on object permanence ache been criticized.Baillargeon et al. (1985) found in their research that infants as young as th ree-and-a-half months have developed the ability of object permanence. This was backed up by Bower & Wishart (1972) whereby they discovered that even subsequently the lights were switched off, the babies go on to search for the object shown. Hence, they do possess the ability of object permanence. The second stage is the preoperational stage which occurs when the nestling is aged 2 to 7. On this stage, the child solves problems by using symbols and develops the skill for languages.According to Piaget, the child is self-centred which means he sees the world from his standpoint only when not others. The solution to this is to apply operational intelligence. The process of solving problems by using logic. Another concept which Piaget is concerned with is conservation. It is the understanding that any quantity body the same even if physical changes is made to the objects holding the medium. In addition to these concepts, centration, also defined as the focus on a single aspect o f a problem at a time. Piaget states that at this stage, the child fails to decenter.Conversely, Borke and Hughes (1975) found contradicting evidence against Piagets on his study of the three mountains task. They used the same elements of the task and discovered that children had no problem with identifying the perspectives of the others when the task is shown in a meaningful linguistic context. Hence, from the result obtained, Hughes found that the children did not display any graphic symbolistics of being egocentric. Furthermore, Gelman (1979) found in his study that four year olds altered their explanations of things to get their message across clearer to a blindfolded listener.If Piagets concept of egocentrism was correct then, this shouldnt have happened. In addition, Flavell suggested an alternative to this issue by coining the take 1 and Level 2 perspective-taking abilities. In Level 1, one thinks about viewing objects but not the different perspectives that can be seen of the objects objet dart in Level 2, one is able to imagine the views of the objects from different angles. Flavell concluded that it is not compulsory that children think others parcel out the same perspective as themselves but they do struggle to imagine what others can see.Therefore, this shows that Piagets claim on egocentrism could be correct or wrong. Moreover, in Donaldsons Childrens Minds (1978), she argued that children misunderstood the questions which Piaget asked while conducting the studies. This was the reason why Piaget obtained the results in his studies involving the concept of conservation especially. Donaldson stated that Piagets tasks had no meaningful context for the children to understand, hence they attend toed what they thought the experimenter expected of them. This claim was supported by Rose & Blank (1974) where they found children oft succeeded in the conservation task.Further research was done by Samuel & Bryant (1978) who used conservation of number, liquid quantity and substance and obtained similar conclusion with Rose & Blanks. Donaldson also stated that children were unintentionally forced to beat the wrong answer against their own logical judgment. One of the explanations is that the same question was asked repeatedly before and after transformations presented to them and this in turn caused the children to believe that their original answer was wrong. Thus, the idea of children assuming the fact that reality changes fit to appearance could be incorrect.In addition, Piaget may have underestimated a childs cognitive ability because based on Mitchell & Robinsons (1992) study they demonstrated that children from the age of 4 could locate the correct answer to a solution by canceling out the alternatives. This process is also known as inference by elimination. The children were presented with a set of cartoon characters, three of which were well-known. They were asked to identify a superhero which was unknown. The researchers discovered that majority of the children selected the unknown character without doubt.Another example of a childs ability is their capability with syllogisms which consists of logical problems accompanied by a general traffic pattern that enables people to create a statement. Dias and Harris (1990) stated a general rule that all fish live in trees and Tiddles is a fish, then it is logical to assume that Tiddles live in trees. After presenting this to the children, they insisted that Tiddles lives in the water instead. However, after the experimenters presented them with another rule, they were ready to use the rule to make inferences.Therefore, these evidences show that Piaget may have underestimated the abilities of younger children. Subsequently is the stage of concrete operation which happens to children around the age of 7 to 12. Now the child is able to solve their problems in a logical manner but the problem has to be either real or concrete. The final stage nut operations which takes place when the child turns 12 and continue into their adulthood. In this stage, one would be able to solve problems systematically and logically even if the problem is a hypothetical situation.Wason and Johnson-Laird showed that most intelligent adults do not fulfill Piagets beau ideal cognitively developed person through selection task. This claim is proved in Cheng and Holyoaks (1985) study where the results strongly show that majority of the participants does not display the reasoning of an adult in the stage of formal operations. In other words, this experiment is a clear indication that the formal operations stage does not exist. One of the critics of Piagets Stage Theory in general is John Flavell (1982) who claimed that Piaget did not define the cognitive processes clearly.Furthermore, Braine and Rumain (1983) who conducted an analysis on the contents and the structure of the theory found that Piagets theory could be flawed. These are only the few critics of Piag ets Stage Theory. Thus, the theory is constantly being questioned due to its refer in the field of cognitive psychology. After stating the basic facts of the theory as well as giving some examples of the critics of Piagets concepts and ideas, we are now able to get an overview of the debate. Overall, there are evidences which propose some of the concepts to be reviewed again and maybe even rejected.However, from the researches conducted on Piagets theory as well as the impact of it, alternative theories were penned down. For example, Vygotskys theory which takes on a more social based view of describing the cognitive development. In conclusion, Piagets theory have been applied in various institutions especially education but it is also being criticized by many in the field, therefore, it is only fair to conclude that Piagets theory may need to be modified in order to create a more undefiled theory to explain the way we understand the world.

The economy of the early Roman Empire

The thriftiness of the early papist Empire and the late Republic of Rome was driven primarily by trade. Although in modern times history the economic basis of the papistic Empire has been neglected and focus has been enjoin to the exploits of the Roman Legions and Lingua France of Latin, it is eventant to note that Rome had an estimated population of over a million and to hold out its population, the economy had to be centered on a central avenue and this avenue was trade.Most of the Romans were traders and this ensured that the empire lasted a long time, probably one of the longest lasting empires the field leave alone ever witness1.Theoretically, there was a prohibition of the members of the senate to be indulged in business and this also applied to their family members. However, the Equestrian Order members were hugely regard in business not withstanding the fact they belonging to the upper class, the society expected them to be baffling more in leisure and military activ ities and pursuits.There were also a huge proportion of slaves who were responsible for doing almost of the work while the Plebeians practically held shops and manned stalls around the vicinity of the markets.The slaves were also involved in the commerce of the empire and they played a great role in giving the empires commerce a distinct flavor compared to other commerce in the world2.Thesis StatementThe study will focus on the Roman Empire involvement in the Mediterranean trade and how this trade was conducted and how it benefited the Roman Empire. The study will side in the Maritime routes that were present during the trade and how they helped in the development of trade among various regions in the world including Asia, India, Africa and westerly Europe.The study will also strive to look into the regions that benefited from the various commodities of the trade and how they came to be efficacious empires as well. This study will look into the old-fashioned Roman trade partner s and what commodities were exchanged during the trade.The Study will also look into the importance of certain commodities to the Roman Empire and chief among them will be marble.Maritime RoutesArchaeological studies of the ancient maritime trends supported by manuscripts derived from Classical antiquity have proved that the Roman Empire was in possession of numerous fleets of ships. Also as a show of evidence of the maritime trade conducted by the Roman Empire are the ruins and remains of lighthouses, moles, harbors and warehouses which were found in the ports of Caesarea Maritima, Ostia, Civitavecchia, Leptis Magna and Portus.As with other forms of engineering science, the Roman maritime technology was not as advanced as that of the Greeks. It is evidence that the Roman fleets were constructed with great concern about the guarantor of the fleets.This is because there was lead sheeting for hulls which were meant for protection. They used sailing ships which were round hulled. One of the factors that led to the success of the Roman Maritime Commerce was the continued policing that run over a number of centuries. This was necessitated by the fact that their ships had been an abstemious prey for the pirates3.The sea transport was widely used for transporting of commodities which were low valued yet very bulky. This in general comprised of construction materials and grains. One of the reasons for this was that the sea transport was the cheapest mode of transport that the Roman Empire could afford. They used to import cereals and papyrus from Ptolemaic Egypt and this followed a continuous fashion4.The Roman Empire trade via the Indian Ocean blossomed in the first two centuries of CE. The Roman sailors would make use of the Monsoon winds to cross to such ports as Myos Hormos, Roman Egypt, loss Sea Muziris and Malabar Coast. The Tamil dynasties were their leading trade partners the region of Southern India and this can be evidenced by the numerous Roman artifac ts that are found in India.1 Donkin, Robin A. (2003). Between East and West The Moluccas and the commerce in Spices Up to the Arrival of Europeans. Diane Publishing confederacy, p. 45, pp 65 94 2 Carter, Mia Harlow, Barbara (2004). Archives of Empire From the East India Company to the Suez Canal. Duke University Press pp 54 96. 3 Casson, L., Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1971. pp 12 59 4 Rawlinson, Hugh George (2001). Intercourse Between India and the Western World From the Earliest Times of the Fall of Rome. Asian Educational Services. pp. 87 198.

Control cycles-a general model Essay

A public model of organizational control admits four comp 1nts that can break down in a continuous cycle and can be represented as a wheel. These elements be 1. Setting a goal. pop goal setting goes beyond everywhere whatsoever(prenominal) scope development to include setting the jut out baseline plan. The vagabond baseline is predicated on an accurate. create Breakdown bodily structure (WBS) process. guess that WBS establishes all the deliverables and belong packages associated with the stick out, assigns the soulnel responsible for them, and creates a visual chart of the communicate from highest train down through the basic travail and sub undertaking levels. The throw off baseline is created as severally labor movement is placed out on a net lap diagram and resources and time durations argon assigned to it. 2. Measuring progress. impelling control bodys require accurate end measurement mechanisms.Project managers must take a system in place that lead lease them to measure the ongoing billet of various drop activities in real time. We need a measurement system that can provide cultivation as promptly as possible. What to measure alike ask to be clearly defined. Any number of devices allow us to measure one aspect of the roll or an another(prenominal) however, the larger question is whether or not we are getting the type of t all(prenominal)ing we can really use. 3. Comparing real(a) with intend performance. When we view some sense of the pilot burner baseline (plan) and a manner for accurately measuring progress, the next misuse is to compare the two pieces of information. A gap analysis can be used as a basis for testing the final causes status. Gap analysis refers to any measurement process that offshoot coiffes the goals and then the degree to which the actual performance lives up to those goals. The smaller the gaps between planned and actual performance, the damp the outcome. In cases where we larn obvious variances between what was planned an what was realized, we have a clear- course warning signal. 4. pickings action. one time we detect operative deviations from the plan plan, it becomes necessary to engage in some form of disciplinal action to minimize or remove the deviation. The process of taking corrective action is generally straightforward.restorative action can either be relatively minor or may involve prodigious remedial tonicitys. At its most extreme, corrective action may choose up involve scuttling a non playacting experience. subsequently corrective action, the supervise and control cycle generates again. The control cycle is continuous. As we create a plan, we go measurement efforts to chart progress and compare stages against the baseline plan. Any characteristics of significant deviations from the plan should right away incite an appropriate response, melt downing to a reconfiguration of the plan, re estimate of progress, and so on. Project monitor ing is continuous, full-time cycle of intention setting, measuring, correcting, improving, and remeasuring. MONITORING PROJECT PERFORMANCEAs we discovered in the chapters on regorge ciphering and resource management, in one case we have established a travail baseline play out, one of the most important methods for indicating the ongoing status of the bug out is to evaluate it against the original figure pop the questionions. For suffer monitoring and control, both individual task work outs and the accumulative regorge work out are relevant. The cumulative cipher can be broken down by time over the discombobulates visit duration. The Project S-Curve A Basic ToolAs a basis for evaluating project control techniques, let us encounter a simple example. develop a project (Project Sierra) with four work packages (Design, Engineering, Installation, and Testing), a budget to complete of $80,000, and an anticipated duration of 45 weeks.To determine project performance and st atus, a straightforward time/ bell analysis is often our offset choice. Here the projects status is evaluated as a function of the accumulated be and beat back hours or quantities plotted against time for both budgeted and actual amounts. We can see that time (shown on the x, or horizontal, axis) is compared with money expended (shown on the y, or vertical, axis). The classic project S-curve represents the typical form of such(prenominal) a relationship. work out expenditures are initially low and ramp up rapidly during the major project execution stage, forrader starting to level off again as the project gets nearer to its completion. Cumulative budget projections for Project Sierra have been plotted against the projects schedule. The S-curve figure represents the project budget baseline against which budget expenditures are evaluated.Monitoring the status of a project employ S-curves becomes a simple tracking line of work. At the conclusion of each given time period (week, month, or quarter), we simply full the cumulative project budget expenditures to date and compare them with the anticipated spending patterns. Any significant deviations between actual and planned budget spent reveal a potential problem area.Simplicity is the key out benefit of S-curve analysis. Because the projected project baseline is established in advance, the alone additional data shown are the actual project budget expenditures. The S-curve also provides real-time tracking information in that budget expenditures can be endlessly updated and the new care fors plotted on the graph. Project information can be visualized immediately and updated continuously, so S-curves offer an easy-to-read evaluation of the projects status in a timely manner. (The information is not necessarily easily interpreted, however, as we shall see later.)Our Project Sierra example can also be used to illustrate how S-curve analysis is employed. Suppose that by week 21 in the project, the original b udget projected expenditures of $50,000. However, our actual project expenditures totaled sole(prenominal) $40,000. In effect, on that speckle is a $10,000 budget famine, or negative variance between the cumulative budgeted cost of the project and its cumulative actual cost. In the get across it shows the track of budgeted expenditures with actual project cost, including identifying the negative variance shown at week 21. In this illustration, we see the cling to of S-curve analysis as a good visual method for affiliateing project costs (both budgeted and actual) over the projects schedule. S-CURVE DRAWBACKSWhen project groups consider using S-curves, they need to take the curves significant drawbacks into consideration as easy as their strengths. S-curves can identify positive and negative variance (budget expenditures to a higher place or below projections), hardly they do not allow us to groom reasonable interpretations as to the cause of variance. Consider the S-curv e shown. The actual budget expenditures have been plotted to suggest that the project group has not spent the total planned budget money to date (there is negative variance). However, the question is how to interpret this finding. The fall in between accumulated project costs and time is not always easily resolved. Is the project aggroup bunghole schedule (given that they have not spent sufficient budget to date) or might there be alternative reasons for the negative variance?Assume that your organization tracks project costs employing an S-curve approach and uses that information to assess the status of an ongoing project. Also assume that the project is to be completed in 12 months and has a budget of $150,000. At the six-month checkup, you discover that the project S-curve shows significant shortfall you have spent distant less on the project to date than was originally budgeted. Is this good or bad news?On the surface, we might suppose that this is a sign of poor performanc e we are lagging far behind in bringing the project along and the smaller the amount we have spent to date is evidence that our project is behind schedule. On the other hand, there are any number of reasons why this place setting actually might be positive. For example, suppose that in pull backning the project, you found a cost-effective method for doing some component of the work or came across a new technology that importantly cut down on expenses. In that case, the time/cost metric may not lonesome(prenominal) be misused, but might lead to dramatically inaccurate conclusions. Likewise, positive variance is not always a sign of project progress. In fact, a team may have a serious problem with overexpenditures that could be interpreted as strong progress on the project when in reality it signals secret code more than their inefficient use of project capital resources. The bottom line is this Simply evaluating a projects status according to its performance on time versus budge t expenditures may easily lead us into making inaccurate assumptions about project performance. Milestone AnalysisAnother method for monitoring project progress is milestone analysis. A milestone is an event or stage of the project that represents a significant achievement on the road to the projects completion. Completion of a deliverable (a compounding of multiple project tasks), an important activity on the projects critical path, or even a calendar date can all be milestones. In effect, milestones are road markers that we preserve on our travels along the projects life cycle. There are several benefits to using milestones as a form of project control. 1. Milestones signal the completion of important project steps. A projects milestones are an important indicator of the current status of the project under development. They give the project team a common language to use in discussing the ongoing status of the project. 2. Milestones can motivate the project team. In large projec ts lasting several years, motivation can flag as team members begin to have difficulty seeing how the project is proceeding overall, what their specific contribution has been and continues to be, and how much longer the project is likely to take. Focusing attention on milestones servicings team members become more aware of the projects successes as well as its status, and they can begin to develop greater task identity regarding their work on the project. 3. Milestones offer points at which to reevaluate client needs and any potential change askings. A common problem with some types of projects is the nature of repetitive and constant change requests from clients. Using project brushup milestones as formal stop points, both the project team and the clients are clear on when they will take midcourse polishs of the project and how change requests will be handled.When clients are aware of these formal project look backward points, they are better able to present reasonable and w ell-considered feedback (and specification change requests) to the team. 4. Milestones help coordinate schedules with vendors and suppliers. Creating lurch dates that do not delay project activities is a common challenge in scheduling livery of key project components. From a resource perspective, the project team needs to receive supplies before they are needed but not so far in advance that space limitations, acquiting and bloodline costs, and in some cases spoilage are problems. Hence, to balance delays of late shipments against the costs associated with holding early deliveries, a well-considered system of milestones creates a scheduling and coordinating mechanism that identifies the key dates when supplies will be needed. 5. Milestones identify key project re mess gates. For many complex projects, a series of midterm project reviews are mandatory. For example, many projects that are developed for the U.S. government require periodic evaluation as a precondition to the proje ct smashed receiving some percentage of the contract award. Milestones allow for appropriate points for these review. Sometimes the logic behind when to hold such reviews is establish on nothing more than the passage of time (It is time for July 1 review). For other projects, the review gates are determined based on completion of a series of key project steps (such as the evaluation of software entrusts from the beta sites). 6. Milestones signal other team members when their participation is expected to begin. Many times projects require contributions from personnel who are not part of the project team. For example, a persona assurance individual may be needed to conduct systems tests or quality inspection and evaluations of work done to date. The quality supervisor needs to know when to assign a person to our project, or we may find when we reach that milestone that no ones available to help us. Because the QA person is not part of the project team, we need to coordinate his or her involvement in enjoin to minimize disruption to the project schedule. 7. Milestones can delineate the various deliverables developed in the work dislocation structure and therefore enable the project team to develop a better overall view of the project. You then are able to refocus efforts and function-specific resources toward the deliverables that show signs of trouble, rather than simply allocating resources in a general manner. For example, indications that the initial project software programming milestone has been missed allows the project manager to specifically request additional programmers downstream, in order to make up time later in the projects development. Problems with MilestonesMilestones, in one form or another, are probably the simplest and most widely used of all project control devices. Their benefits lie in their clarity it is usually easy for all project team members to relate to the idea of milestones as a project performance metric. The problem with the m is that they are a excited control system. You must first engage in project activities and then evaluate them relative to your goal. If you significantly underperform your work to that point, you are faced with having to correct what has already transpired. Imagine, for example, that a project team misses a milestone by a large margin. Not having received any progress reports up until the point that the bad news becomes public, the project manager is probably not in a position to wile an immediate remedyfor the shortfall. Now, the problems compound. Due to delays in receiving the bad news, remedial steps are themselves delayed, pushing the project farther behind. EARNED VALUE setMENTAn increasingly popular method used in project monitoring and control consists of a mechanism that has become known as pull in Value focus (EVM). The origins of EVM date to the late 1960s when U.S. government contracting agencies began to question the ability of contractors to accurately track the ir costs across the like of various projects. As a result, after 1967, the Department of Defense imposed 35 Cost/Schedule Control Systems Criteria that suggested, in effect, that any future projects procured by the U.S. government in which the seek of cost growth was to be retained by the government must satisfy these 35 criteria. In the more than 30 years since its origin, EVM has been practiced in multiple settings, by agencies from governments as diverse as Australia, Canada, and Sweden, as well as a host of project-based firms in numerous industries.Unlike previous project tracking approaches, EVM recognize that it is necessary to jointly consider the impact of time, cost, and project performance on any analysis of current project status. Put another way Any monitoring system that only compares actual against budgeted cost numbers ignores the fact that the client is spending that money to accomplish something-create a project. Therefore, EVM reintroduces and stresses the magni ficence of analyzing the time element in project status updates. Time is important because it becomes the basis for determining how much work should be accomplished at certain milestone points. EVM also allows the project team to make future projections of project status based on its current state. At any point in the projects development we are able to approximate both schedule and budget capacity factors (the efficiency with which budget is being used relative to the value that is being created) and use those values to make future projections about the estimated cost and schedule to project completion.We can illustrate the advance in the project control process that Earned Value represents by comparing it to the other project tracking mechanisms.If we consider the key metrics of project performance as those success criteria discussed in Chapter 1 (scheduling, budget, and performance), most project evaluation approaches tend to isolate some subset of the overall success measure. For example, project S-curve analysis directly connect budget expenditures with the project schedule. Again, the obvious disadvantage to this approach is that it ignores the project performance gene linkage.Project control charts such as tracking Gantt charts link project performance with schedule but may give budget expenditures short shrift. The essence of a tracking approach to project status us to emphasize project performance over time. While the argument could be made that budget is implicitly assumed to be spent in some preconceived fashion, this metric does not directly apply a link between the use of time and performance factors with project cost.Earned value, on the other hand, directly links all terce primary project success metrics (cost, schedule, and performance). This methodology is extremely valuable because it allows for fastness updating of a time-phased budget to determine schedule and cost variances, as identified by the continual measurement of project perf ormance. Terminology for Earned ValueFollowing are some key concepts that allow us to calculate Earned Value and use its figures to make future project performance projections. PVPlanned value. A cost estimate of the budgeted resources scheduled across the projects life cycle (cumulative baseline). EVEarned value. This is the real budgeted cost, or value, of the work that has actually been performed to date. ACActual cost of work performed. The cumulative total costs incurred in accomplishing the various project work packages. SPISchedule Performance Index. The realise value to date divided by the planned value of work scheduled to be performed (EV/PV). This value allows us to calculate the projected schedule of the project to completion. CPICost Performance Index. The acquire value divided by the actual, cumulative cost of the work performed to date (EV/AC). This value allows us to calculate the projected budget to completion. BACBudgeted cost at completion. This represents theto tal budget for a project. Creating Project BaselinesThe first step in developing an accurate control process is to create the project baselines against which progress can be measured. Baseline information is critical regardless of the control process we employ, but baselines are elemental when performing EVM. The first piece of information necessary for performing earned value is the planned value that is, the project baseline. The PV should comprise all relevant project costs, the most important of which are personnel costs, equipment and materials, and project overhead, sometimes referred to as level of effort. Overhead costs (level of effort) can include a variety of fixed costs that must be included in the project budget, including administrative or technical support, computer work, and other staff expertise use (such as legal advice or marketing). The actual steps in establishing the project baseline are fairly straightforward and require two pieces of data the Work Breakdown S tructure and a time-phased project budget. 1. The Work Breakdown Structure identified the individual work packages and tasks necessary to accomplish the project. As such, the WBS allowed us to first identify the individual tasks that would need to be performed. It also gave us some instinct of the hierarchy of tasks needed to set up work packages and identify personnel needs (human resources) in order to match the task requirements to the correct individuals capable of performing them. 2. The time-phased budget takes the WBS one step further It allows us to identify the correct sequencing of tasks, but more importantly, it enables the project team to determine the points in the project when budget money is likely to be spent in pursuit of those tasks. Say, for example, that our project team determines that one project activity, Data Entry, will require a budget of $20,000 to be completed, and further, that the task is estimated to require 2 months to completion, with the majority o f the work being done in the first month. A time-phased budget for this activity might resemble the following Activity Jan Feb Dec TotalData Entry $14,000 $6,000 -0- $20,000Once we have collected the WBS and applied a time-phased budget breakdown, wecan create the project baseline. The result is an important component of earned value because it represents the standard against which we are going to compare all project performance, cost, and schedule data as we attempt to assess the viability of an ongoing project. This baseline, then, represents our best understanding of how the project should progress. How the project is actually doing, however, is, of course, another matter. Why Use Earned Value?Assume that it is now week 30 of the project and we are attempting to assess the projects status. Also assume that there is no difference between the projected project costs and actual expenditures that is, the project budget is being spent inside the correct time frame. However, upon exa mination, suppose we were to discover that Installation was only half-completed and Project Testing had not except begun. This example illustrates both a problem with S-curve analysis and the strength of EVM. Project status assessment is only relevant when some measure of performance is considered in addition to budget and elapsed schedule.Consider the rewrite data for Project Sierra. Note that as of week 30, work packages related to Design and Engineering have been totally completed, whereas the Installation is only 50% done, and Testing has not yet begun. These percentage values are given based on the project team or key individuals assessment of the current status of work package completion. The question now is What is the earned value of the project work done to date? As of week 30, what is the status of this project in terms of budget, schedule, and performance? designing the earned value for these work packages is a relatively straightforward process. We can modify the previ ous table to focus exclusively on the relevant information for determining earned value. The planned budget for each work package is multiplied by the percentage completed in order to determine the earned value to date for the work packages, as well as for the overall project. In this case, the earned value at the 30-week point is $51,000.We can compare the planned budget against the actual earned value using the original project budget baseline. This process allows us to assess a more realistic inclination of the status of the project when the earned value is plotted against the budget baseline. Compare this figure with the alternative method, in which negative variance is calculated, with no supporting explanation as to the cause or any indication about whether this figure is meaningful or not. Recall that by the end of week 30, our original budget projections suggested that $68,000 should have been spent. Instead, we are projecting a shortfall of $17,000. In other words, we are not only showing a negative variance in terms of money spent on the project, but also in terms of value created (performance) of the project to date. Unlike the standard S-curve evaluation, EVM variance is meaningful because it is based not simply on budget spent, but value earned. A negative variance of $10,000 in budget expenditures may or may not signal cause for concern however, a $17,000 shortfall in value earned on the project to date represents a variance of serious consequences. move in Earned Value ManagementThere are five steps in Earned Value Management (EVM)1. Clearly define each activity or task that will be performed on the project, including its resource needs as well as a detailed budget.As we demonstrated earlier, the Work Breakdown Structure allows project teams to identify all necessary project tasks. It further allows for each task to be assigned its own project resources, including equipment and materials costs, as well as personnel assignments. Finally, couple d with the task breakdown and resource assignments, it is possible to create the budget figure or cost estimate for each project task. 2. Create the activity and resource usage schedules.These will identify the proportion of the total budget allocated to each task across a project calendar. Determine how much of an activitys budget is to be spent each month (or other appropriate time period) across the projects projected development cycle. Coupled with the development of a project budget should be its direct linkage to the project schedule. The determination of how much budget money is to be allocated to project tasks is important. Equally important is the understanding of when the resources are to be employed across the projects development cycle. 3. Develop a time-phased budget that shows expenditures across the projects life.The total (cumulative) amount of the budget becomes the project baseline and is referred to as the planned value (PV). In real terms, PV just means that we c an identify the cumulative budget expenditures planned at any stage in the projects life. The PV, as a cumulative value, is derived from adding the planned budget expenditures for each preceding time period. 4. Total the actual costs of doing each task to arrive at the actual cost of work performed (AC).We can also compute the budgeted values for the tasks on which work is being performed. This is referred to as the earned value (EV) and is the origin of the term for this control process. 5. Calculate both a projects budget variance and schedule variance while it is still in process.Once we have collected the three key pieces of data (PV, EV, and AC), it is possible to make these calculations. The schedule variance is calculated by the simple equivalence SV = EV PV, or the difference between the earned value to date minus the planned value of the work scheduled to be performed to date. The budget, or cost, variance is calculated as CV = EV AC, or the earned value minus the actual cost of work performed. USING EARNED VALUE TO MANAGE A PORTFOLIO OF PROJECTSEarned Value Management can work at the portfolio level as well as with individual projects. The process simply involves the aggregation of all earned value measures across the firms entire project portfolio in order to give an indication as to the efficiency with which a company is managing its projects.Other profitable information contained in the Portfolio Earned Value Management table includes the total positive variances for both budget and schedule, as well as determination of the relative schedule and cost variances as a percentage of the total project portfolio. The use of Earned Value Management for portfolio tracking and control offers top management an excellent window into the firms ability to efficiently run projects, allows for comparisons across all projects currently in development, and isolates both the positive and negative variances as they occur. All of this is useful information for to p-level management of multiple projects.