Article critiquing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Article critiquing - Essay Example Hence, the variables considered by Vries & et. al. (2014) can be critiqued as identifiably measurable holding considerable significance in the nursing approaches to the domain. To be noted in this regard, with proper recognition of the relationship amid the two measurable variables, practitioners would be able to enhance effectiveness of the cure facilities by upholding positive beliefs amid type 2 diabetic patients concerning medication, which in turn would be useful in reducing treatment complexities. This in turn suffices a key requirement of quantitative researches, as was highlighted in Parahoo (2006: pp. 50) that â€Å"quantitative research is primarily concerned with measurement†. Another criterion highlighted in the Holland and Rees model is the broadness and significance of the research issue concerned, based on the perceptions of the researcher. Vries & et. al. (2014) argue that because of treatment complexities, fallacies and risks of ineffectiveness increase in the cure mechanism for type 2 diabetic patients, stressing upon the worthwhile characteristics of the study. As negative medication beliefs amid patients provoke them towards non-adherence to the routine care mechanism, the problem does signify a major issue in the domain. The issue has been a point of discussion in previous studies as well, which indicates its widespread nature and considerable significance as well. However, Vries & et. al. (2014) can be criticised for providing insignificant attention towards an elaborated literature review that hinders its reliability to a certain extent. Contradictorily, the significance of the article increases as the researchers have provided considerable at tention towards defining the variables with clarity and detail. The aim considered for the study in Vries & et. al. (2014) concentrated on the identification of relationship between medical beliefs among type 2 diabetic patients and treatment complexities because of their non-adherence

Analysis the Sprint Nextel Corp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis the Sprint Nextel Corp - Essay Example In 2001, it became the first company to introduce a wireless Java for networking. Sprint Nextel Corporation offers a range of fixed, mobile, and broadband communications products and services. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies. Internationally, it is known for internet networking and major development in technology. The cost of debt for the company can be computed by analyzing the various components of debts. These include bond issues, treasury bills, loans etc. Sprint Nextel has a variety of bond issues with different maturities (see table 1). This analysis will focus on the head quarter’s debt component analysis only (see table2). The coupons outlined here are three with the respective maturity dates. The value of a similar bond at similar rates is analyzed as having a par value of $1000 for the Canadian debt and $2500 for the unsecured notes. These are used to find the price of each bond. By discounting the annuity and the lump sum at maturity for each bond, the price of each bond is obtained. This method uses trial and error to ascertain the cost of each bond. The assumption made is that similar bonds yield $1000 and $2500 respectively. This is for the purposes of discounting the return of the bond towards a set amount of expected as per today. Further analysis shows that the price of each bond is effective once we added the tax factor. The assumed taxation factor in the United States is 35%. The after tax cost of each bond is obtained by multiplying the cost of bond (pre-tax) with the factor (1-tax rate). Another aspect to consider is that the company is financed by a long term loan. Given the worldwide economic crisis, the cost of repayment of loans has tremendous increased by 5%. An assumption is made that the loan of $166,855 has an interest rate of 16%. This is the cost of this loan. The total cost of debt is the mean of the cost of the loan and the bond issues. Accounting for th is, the cost of debt is obtained as 6.19% The cost of equity: The equity components are ordinary share capital and preference share capital. To obtain the cost of equity, I will include the ordinary capital in this case. This is done by obtaining the dividend payable in the coming year divided by the current market price and then multiplying it by dividend growth. For the last three years, the financial statements indicate no dividend payment made by the firm. This trend is assumed to be continuous in the coming year. Therefore the dividend value per share is zero and the growth is also zero. The current market share value stands at $ 2.74. By doing the necessary computation, the cost of equity is zero. Weighted average cost of capital WACC is obtained by adding weight to the various capital components i.e. debt and equity. Capital is made up of equity and debt in this firm. By summing debt and equity, I get their weights as: the debt has a total weight of 44% and equity has a total weight of 56%. These percentages are then multiplied by the above computation of cost of debt and equity respectively. The two are added giving WACC of 3.45% The firm’s beta The firm’s beta is a measure of risk to the company. This is obtained through the use of the indexes for United States multiplying with the cost of capital. The beta stands at 1.16 which is indicates low risk measure. This can be unlevered by adding tax aspect to obtain 0.61. Debt to equity ratio of Sprint is obtained as 27.7 this indicates low risk to the company. Calculations: Table 1 - combined industry bond issues SECURITY Coupon Amount Maturity Unsecured senior notes 7.625 1650 1/30/11 Unsecured senior

Social Implications of Surveillance and Security Essay Example for Free

Social Implications of Surveillance and Security Essay Academic Skills – Essay Plan. a. Essay Question: Discuss the social implications of Surveillance and Security (technologies) dealt with in this course. b. Thesis Statement: Surveillance and security plays an active role at a point in everyone’s life by concentrating on the protection of people and property. They both demonstrate that monitoring is of importance. THIS ESSAY ARGUES.. – How Surveillance and Security deal with social implications: First – the surveillance of children There are positive and negatives to both aspects How it is affecting children lives It is a benefit to them – protecting them Who is actually monitoring/ watching them( parents, teachers etc) Protection over people Second – the importance of policy development through the use of cameras Through images – eg that can be used in court Cameras – images – then can be used in court to save others and prove evidence that a person is guilty. Security – protection over property Thirdly – linking – how both surveillance and security (different) One plays a specific role One is more involved in .. certain aspects Helped to do ** They both link as they are both protecting something of importance Helping to keep the world, environment etc safe. ^ bring in other examples – random ones Both Surveillance and Security have from an angle – helped to protect, manage, direct and influence people by monitoring their behaviour, activities and changing information. This essay argues that the social implications of both surveillance and security †¦ In terms of child surveillance – the social implications are the fact that it is affecting children lives, they are surrounded by this whole process of being watched. For example they could be out with friends and still feel on edge c. Point 1: statement plus evidence ( ie. Quote / paraphrase/summary plus give reference to source): Focuses on children in terms of surveillance and the social implication on that topic (case study) focused on – Article â€Å"The Surveillance of Childrens Mobility† In a sense to be a child is to be under surveillance Children surveillance Parents watch their children to keep them safe and to correct their behavior Teachers keep an eye on students to enforce classroom rules and to maintain discipline Managers of shopping malls and ,any other semi-public places use a variety of methods to keep young people under control in order to maintain those spaces for adult usage, sensibilities and consumption Depending on age, which is critical in this context, it can be argues that surveillance as care is a necessary condition of nurturing and educating children and young people As absence of surveillance has been seen as critical to children’s wellbeing and development in some romantically derived liberal regimes of child nurturing. Some regimes ( as in alternative education systems) are now very much the minority as more attention is focused on the child in the family, the school, public space, by parents, educators, the state nad corporations. Freedom for children is (developed world) urban space has become problematic , particularly in the modern era. d. Point 2: statement plus evidence ( ie. Quote / paraphrase/summary plus give reference to source) Focuses on the importance of policy development through the use of cameras ( images and video evidence) as a form of security – to keep us safe. Security is evident through images and video evidence The process of providing evidence that the images are real Used as evidence in court and in formal internal disciplinary matters, they were asked to describe how the images are â€Å"safeguarded†(protected) How they were labeled as to location and time and what chain of custody policies ensured that the images were not tampered with and were they actually the ones the charges were based on Images were common when it came to criminal  or civil. The media were intrigued by the video evidence as it established who commited what crime, although readers not knowing that they were being perceieved by the false truth Images were publicized widely in local newspapers, on television stations and were often shown on news programs. It was proven by the research program that videos played a huge role in assisting in criminal prosecutions, almost as many agencies reported that they had used images from their surveillance systems as evidence in employee disciplinary actions. e. Point 3: statement plus evidence ( ie. Quote / paraphrase/summary plus give reference to source) link them both together now. f. Conclusion: restating thesis and suggesting a connection between different points It is clear therefore that the social implications of the technologies, Surveillance and Security play a vast role in society. The use of monitoring children (is shown) has a direct influence on their well-being, knowing where they are and what they are doing. This adds a sense of relief to important people in their life surrounding them although it interferes with a child’s independence throughout their life. Monitoring is evidence that this activity prevents accidents and inappropriate behaviour, but also encourages good behaviour. The use of monitoring through cameras not only keeps people and property safe but it is a source of evidence ( in terms of images and video evidence) that can be used to provide evidence to prove the elements of a case of the elements of a defense. Child safety, Stuructured separation and property adds a sense of protection ensuring them to feel safe and secure The social implications both surveillance and security deal with being monitored Surveillance of Children Having parents, guardians, managers, teachers etc be a logical ending to what has been previously been discussed. It must pull together all of the parts of your argument and refer the reader back to the focus you have outlined in your introduction and to the central topic. This gives your essay a sense of unity. never contain any new information. usually be only a paragraph in length, but in an extended essay (3000+ words) it may be better to have two or three paragraphs to pull together the different parts of the essay. add to the overall quality and impact of the essay. This is your final statement about this topic; thus it can make a great impact on the reader. This includes observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, or inception of electronically transmitted information. Thesis Statement a. tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. b. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. c. directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel. d. makes a claim that others might dispute. is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation. e. Social Implication – pertaining (relating) to human relations, companionship, society or community and its organizational structure. f. g. This means what you do, in terms of your lifetime, how do your decisions effect How does monitoring through parents etc effect the children How does the use of photos and video evidence affect the end result in protecting / putting the bad away example in jail or be charge with an offence. Protects no only that person but others – saves lives When references sources – how do we reference?

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resources

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resources CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC Technology has affected every aspect of human life. Every field of business has been affected by it. It has changed the ways of living of human ,the way we communicate, the way we learn, the way think. It has a great impact on private and business sector as well. It provides huge opportunities to help the development of business. Due to technology many impossible things have been become very easier for businessmen. It has reduced the large need of employees, but increased the efficiency of work. In past times which work required a lot of people and a lot of time to be completed, nowadays only single person finish that work in just few minutes. For example, in past time the work of typing required many people to do that work, but now only a man can do that work in just few seconds. So we see how technology is affecting our business. Human resource management also has its great influence. Technology has affected directly organizations and HR functions. It has some positive and negative influences on HRM organizations and its functions. In this dissertation researcher have going to discuss the influence of information technology and telecommunications on human resource management. What are its good and bad effects on HRM, researcher will discuss in this dissertation. A) POSITIVE IMPACTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ON HRM In past few years it was a belief that human resource managers use technology only to fulfill few needs such as administrative tasks. But nowadays it is no longer like this, these days the whole structure of business depends upon technology. A single step cannot be taken further without the think of information technology. ‘The future growth and development of business will depend on the use knowledge of technology, information technology and services provided by them (Barley 1996). So these days information technology is helping businesses to grow and to develop on a large scale. It helps managers to recruit efficient employees, to save their personal information, for the motivation and good leadership if the employees, to finding new techniques of work, to increase profit and for future planning for business. So lets discuss the positive impacts of technology on human resource management: Recruitment of new employees: As we see these days maximum people rely on the internet, and according to the predictions of researchers number of people who use internet is growing in millions every year. ‘Well educated people, who have skills and full of ambitions, regular working with information technology and communication, have more influence of information technology (Bola and Truman, 2003). So many companies are taking advantage of this thing; they are recruiting efficient, skilled and passionate people online according to their needs. This procedure of recruitment is very much beneficial for the employers, one side it provides those efficient employees and on the other hand it is very cheaper and the third thing is it is a very quicker way of recruitment. By postal or any other way only limited people can be informed for the companys requirement, but via internet hundreds of people can be attracted by your job and company. So we see information technology has made recruitments very easier. To save employees full data: Because of information technology the whole data of each employee can be saved for years. Means even after 50 year it can be confirmed that who worked on which post that time. An employees personal details, job title, post, pay, duty hours etc can be saved for future use. Even his or her performance at work also can be measured, an organization can come to know that who is performing in the favor of the company and when time comes he or she can get promotion or can be fired from the job due to bad performance. On the other hand organizations required to save employees skills, work experience, his efficiency on work and his performance in previous job and his salary for that job. These all things organization can get through internet can save on their system. This information that firm can use in future, and if any employee needs any additional training then that firm can arrange it for him. Organizations are finding new ways of work: Because of developments of technology and communications now organizations are finding new advanced ways of work. ‘Communications and information technology is providing a wide range of opportunities to organizations to perform well (Lindstrome, mob erg and Rapp, 1997). These days organizations are adopting new ways of ways of work which are more efficient, advanced, and profitable for them. By using these ways they are getting more productivity and more presence of employees at work. Example: The most relative of changing ways of work due to technology is teleporting, in which method an employee of an organization can do his or her job sitting at home even in his bed. ‘In this term of work, work comes to the worker not worker goes to the work (Niles, 1998). Because of this term of work an organization can save a lot of money. If they will do work at offices then organization would have to provide a lot of facilities to the employees, like a table, chair, computer, and a lot of other things but in teleconferencing an organization can save the cost of all these things. There is another term of work which is being used in project oriented work with subcontracting. Today most skilled and ambitious people do not want to be bound with a company and organizations also hire those people who are necessary for their projects they need their assistance for work just for a limited time of period. So those people are not formal members of the company. It is very beneficial for the firms because they can get 100% benefits of the skills of that man, and they need not to employee him for a long time and if firm starts a new project then they can hire another man required to that project. ‘A huge number of people who work for an particular organization may be still work for the same job in future, but a slowly growing small number of people will not work like this. Part timer workers are the contractors for a limited period of time for an organization, (Ducker, 2001). Better information management Because of information technology and communications storage of data and information has become so easier. IT is providing a lot of possibilities for the betterment of information management in organizations. ‘By using IT an organization can protect its information from outside world and IT also provides simple storage, maintenance, and sharing of information among organizations members. These all are the essential tasks for a better information management (Marched et al. 2001). Information technology helps to improve the performance of a business so to improve the performances. For the motivation of employees: Information technology helps organizations to motivate its employees for better performance. They can offer their employees much psychological, financial reward. An organization can offer many beneficial policies to its employees, by these rewards an employee tends to be honest with his work the organization can achieve its goals because without the co-operation of employees organization cannot be successful. ‘Because of information technology we can think of many changes about the motivation of an organization employees (Bola and Truman, 2003). So we can say that information technology helps a lot for the motivation of the employees, an organization can allow them to know how it is going to satisfy its employees. Like this it can attract other firms skilled employees who are unsatisfied with their firm or organization. Technology used in training of employees: Nowadays many companies required employees trained with modern techniques of information technology because technology is developing with a fast pace and to compete in the industry organizations need employees with the knowledge of modern technology. Organization using technology for the training of employees, they can train them according to their requirements in a particular skill and they can be used for organizations favor and these trained workers can proved to be a profitable asset for the organization. Organizations need not to recruit a large number of employees, who are not perfect for that job, organization can spent money in a positive manner instead of giving wages to those employees who are not useful for them. Another term is related to that is a company can give training of more than one to a single person, it is beneficial for them in case of one of the employees left the job who was working on a particular project then organization can recruit another employee from their own organization on the same post rather than finding another employee with the same skills, wasting time. Like this an organization can save a lot of time and money. More profit for the organizations: Today we can reduce the cost of organization with the effective use of information technology and the profitability of the organizations is increasing day by day with more improved technologies. There are a lot of things to get more profit for instance, these days due to technology; recruitment of people has been decreased. In past organizations had to recruit employees in a large number, their speed of working was less, but organization had to pay them a lot of money without getting much profit. But these days because technology has developed on a large scale so a large part of work which was done by people in past, now days by developments in technology has been done by fewer employees in a very short time period. Due to advancement in technology many HR functions such as recruitment of employees can be performed with less usage of time and resources and organizations can find easily the right persons for their jobs. Another thing is organizations can always keep an eye on the performance of employees, due to this employee cannot shirk work. He gives his 100%. So like this an organization can get more profit, and more productivity. So all these are the positive impacts of Information technology and communication but there are some negative impacts also. So lets discuss those too. B) NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS There are many positive influences of speedily improving information technology but there also some negative effects of it. Due to the developments in this field of business every aspect has been changed, strategy of work, planning of work etc. and it is continuously changing even in present too. So for employees who are working with the old techniques, it is hard to understand new techniques of working. Those organizations which do not adopt new method cannot meet the ever changing requirements of the industry and it is also very hard for an organization to find out right skilled person for them, because persons with the knowledge of latest technology are rare. Technology is directly affecting the functions of human resource management. So these all things are discussed here: Cutting jobs: As we have discussed above that technology is very cheaper and very fast, by technology any type of work can be done quickly as compare to men. So in past a huge number of employees had been recruiting. But nowadays organizations need a few employees with proper skill. As manpower planning a human being is referred as a machine in this technological era means if he is working or giving profit then its ok otherwise through him out. It is not fault of organizations or human beings rather it is the requirement of todays world. Because of technological developments organizations require less but skilled person for employment to compete the world. An organization cannot tolerate the burden of overstaffing, because it is wastage of money, so organizations are cutting jobs. This action gives harassment to many people, especially to them who were old employees of the firm, having comparatively less knowledge of information technology, but now companies have to kick them out, so they do not h ave any other way of survival. People are compelled to study technology. The competition among todays generation has been increased. They have to do hard work to have a good job, but cutting in jobs harass them. Unsatisfied employees of the company: Organizations are using advanced technology in their work to get more profit and to be more efficient but this makes many employees unsatisfied and angry with the organization because they do not know about that technology and how to deal with that, and they also afraid of to lose their job. So it results in strike or other activities like this which affect the whole structure of the organization. The latest example is ‘royal mails strike and strikes in bus and train departments because all these companies want to adopt new and advanced techniques but their employees are unsatisfied with them. The reason is same because they do not know how to deal with rapid changes in firms technology, they are also afraid of losing their jobs. Skill shortage for organizations: As we know that using new technology in todays era is necessary for organizations, but to use that technology properly organizations need proper skilled persons for each project but there is a shortage of skilled persons for the organizations, because people are known to last techniques of work, and if an organization immediately decides to adopt new technology then it results in shortage of skilled workers. For example, in last time period, Australian organization experienced growth in economic era, but suddenly they also faced crises due to the same problem of skill shortage as they want to adopt new technologies. So this thing is more challenging for the organizations, because on one time they have to consider about so many things, like they have to manage their staff properly, have to satisfy the needs of their staff, and have to maintain themselves in this competitive industry. Expenditure on employees for further training: To get employees with proper skills organizations have to train people themselves with new technology, it costs a lot. Organization spend a lot of money on the training of people, but it is not guaranteed that all of them who are taking training will be able to perform a good job, will stay in your company and work with you for long time. All these things are not guaranteed. Moreover, other thing is technology is changing day by day, so in future a new technology can be introduced so it will cost again for the organization to retrain their employees with these changes, so all these factors are affecting organizations. Hard to do for old people: If a company is adopting new technology, but its old employees who are working with them for a long time cannot tolerate this change because they are working with old techniques and new ones are difficult to understand for them. On the other hand, organizations also not want to train those people because they want to use new ideas from new generation and if organization will train those old people then it will cost them a lot because those people are near to retirement and spending money on them will be wastage. Next thing is due to changes in technology organizations are transforming people to one side to another side. So it irritates them a lot and results in strike etc. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities. Performance management is a whole work system that begins when a job is defined as needed. It ends when an employee leaves your organization. Many writers and consultants are using the term â€Å"performance management† as a substitution for the traditional appraisal system. I encourage you to think of the term in this broader work system context. A performance management system includes the following actions. Develop clear job descriptions. Select appropriate people with an appropriate selection process. Negotiate requirements and accomplishment-based performance standards, outcomes, and measures. vProvide effective orientation, education, and training. Provide on-going coaching and feedback. As companies reorganize to gain competitive edge, human resources plays a key role in helping companies deal with a fast-changing competitive environment and the greater demand for quality employees. Effectively managing and utilizing people. Increasing the innovation, creativity and flexibility necessary to enhance competitiveness. Applying new approaches to work process design, succession planning, career development and inter-organizational mobility. Managing the implementation and integration of technology through improved staffing, training and communication with employees. PROBLEM STATEMENT To explore how much information technology is deeply rooted in the organization and effect the efficiency of employees in ICI Paints. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To find out the impacts of information technology on the ICI paints. To see the impact of independent variables i.e., data processing, work burden, record keeping, on the dependent variable efficiency of employees in ICI Paints. In this study researcher try to find out to what extent the work has become easy because of the use of computer based information technology in ICI Paints. HYPOTHESIS H1Information Technology is designed to make people more effective and efficient when performing daily activities. HoInformation Technology is not designed to make people more effective and efficient when performing daily activities. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY It has great advantage for H.R. It is useful for human resource department as well as executive level management. It has benefit of future and future decisions. It is useful for common people who are working in Human Resource Department and Accounts Department. It is helpful for maintaining records and retrieving records. It gives analysis reports of the employees. It helps for H.R managers for hiring the new employees in particular job. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Purpose of this research is to understand and to analyze the process of development of I.T to enhance the efficiency of H.R, so as to have better understanding of the MIS and to make an informed judgment about the future decisions. The purpose of this evaluation is to identify strengths and weaknesses of the process of development of I.T in HRM. Main purpose is to achieve future objectives of the organization. CHAPTER2 LITERATURE REVIEW To understand the nature of the IT impact on human resource and firm performance, we must consider the fit between the characteristics of the IT and the users tasks (Goodhue and Thompson 1995). Since the primary responsibility of professionals in public accounting firms involves information-intensive activities (Auditing Concepts Committee [ACC] 1972) such as gathering, organizing, processing, evaluating, and presenting data, the use of IT is likely to improve the productivity of accounting professionals (Pinsonneault and Rivard 1998). Teamwork is critical in a public accounting firm as audit engagements are performed by teams composed of professionals at different ranks. Therefore, the use of groupware technology is also expected to improve work collaboration and communication within teams, and thus enhance their productivity (Ellis et al. 1991). Although previous IT research has examined the impact of IT investments on firm performance in different industries such as manufacturing (Barua et al. 1995), banking (Parsons et al. 1993), insurance (Francalanci and Galal 1998), healthcare (Menon et al. 2000), and retailing (Reardon et al. 1996), empirical research has not examined the professional services industry, such as public accounting firms, in which information and knowledge work play a prominent role. Hence, examining the impact of IT implementation on public accounting firm productivity is of considerable interest to both academic inquiry and practice. Exploration of the productivity impact of IT implementation requires the recognition that the conversion from IT expenditure to business performance enhancement is a longitudinal process (Soh and Markus 1995). Proper IT management is essential to convert IT expenditure to IT assets. Appropriate use of IT assets generates organizational innovations and redesigned business processes, and favorable competitive dynamics enable improved organizational performance due to these organizational innovations. Davern and Kauffman (2000) extended this IT conversion process sequence to emphasize the importance of considering the impact of IT planning and selection activities on realized IT value. A few field studies have explored the longitudinal IT conversion process to identify the factors at different points of the process that determine the success of IT adoption. Venkatesh and Davis (2000) found that at different time points before and after IT implementation, factors such as subjective norm, voluntariness, job relevance, and output quality consistently influence users perceptions about the usefulness of the systems. Bergeron and Raymond (1997) reported that organizational support, implementation process, and control procedures impacted the initial realization of benefits from Electronic Data Inter exchange (EDI) adoption, but three years later, only organizational support and control procedures remained significant. While these studies have examined factors that may impact the IT value creation process, they did not estimate the improvement in firm performance, if any, due to IT implementation. Lucas et al. (1996) conducted a case study of the introduction of a financial imaging system at Merrill Lynch. Comparing the data flow diagrams of the old and the new business processes, they identified changes in organization structure, workflows, and operations. They reported improvement in customer service and reduction in costs. However, they did not conduct any statistical evaluation of improvement in firm performance after IT implementation. Some cross-sectional studies of IT impact have compared the business performance of firms with IT to those without IT, and statistically estimated the impact. Using data from Hardees fast food chain, Banker et al. (1990) compared the performance of the restaurants deploying the Positran technology (a computerized cash register point-of-sale and order-coordination technology) to those without Positran. They found that the use of the Positran technology is associated with a significantly greater productivity for stores with high diversity of sales. Analyzing data for 107 banks, Pennings (1995) found that the banks with ATM adoptions incurred significantly less non personnel operating expenses than those without. There are several IT productivity studies that evaluate the contribution of IT as an input factor in the production function, for example, Brynjolfsson and Hitt (1995) and Barua and Lee (1997) estimated the economic production function using cross-sectional data to evaluate the marginal contribution of IT on output. Wang et al. (1997) and Shafer and Byrd (2000) employed DEA to evaluate the role of IT investments in firm production. Our research differs from this stream of research in two important ways. We consider EU adoption as an event and evaluate the extent to which it shifts the production function for a firm, instead of the marginal contribution of the IT input that differs cross-sectional. Thus, we make a longitudinal instead of cross-sectional comparison of the impact of IT implementation. For IT to positively impact a users performance there should be a good fit between the IT and the users tasks (Goodhue 1995). In addition, training is a significant determinant of the IT users effectiveness (Igbaria 1990). The FIRM has designed the new IT program to fit the requirements of its professionals, and enforced the training in the use of the software. Our field interviews suggest that the IT changes had a positive impact on the auditors performance. Since an audit team is composed of professionals at different ranks (such as managers, seniors, and juniors) with different job responsibilities (Carmichael and Willingham 1989), IT adoption may benefit audit professionals at different ranks in different ways. IT Impact on Auditors The primary tasks that junior auditors perform are assigned audit procedures and preparation of working papers. Most of these tasks are relatively repetitive and involve substantial calculations and referencing across different accounts. Computer applications can automate such structured tasks and substantially reduce the processing time (Abbe and King 1988). In addition, the reduction in monotone work allows individuals to concentrate on more complex tasks and enhance their individual performance (Giuliano 1982). Our field interviews indicate that the principal benefits to a junior auditor from the IT changes are the savings in effort and the reduction in errors afforded by the electronic preparation of working papers. Incorrect computation is one of the major causes for misstatement (Bell et al. 1998), and by reducing such errors; IT use also benefits other audit team members. A junior auditor describes his experience using the new computerized systems as follows: The most important benefit to me is that I can develop the working papers electronically. Without the computer, I have to write down all the numbers by hand and make difficult calculations using a calculator. Sometimes I need to repeat the same entry several times on different sheets. For example, the amount of cash may appear on the balance sheet, the working trial balance, the cash flow schedule, the bank reconciliation and so on, and all the numbers are the same or related. I have to be very careful when I write those numbers down. It is very tedious! However, using the audit software, I only need to key in the entry once and make the appropriate choice. Then, all the related numbers are generated automatically and cross-referenced, and there is no need to punch any keys on a calculator. With a computer, my working hours on an engagement can be reduced by more than half of that without the computer. As the middle-level member of an audit team, a senior auditor assists in audit plan development, organization of audit activities, and supervision and review of the work of junior auditors. The firms audit software organized all required audit procedures in a common list and cross-referenced them to items in the working papers. Since electronic presentation of information facilitates users information acquisition (Jones et al. 1993), a senior auditor is likely to benefit from the convenient information gathering and organization enabled by the new software. A senior in the FIRM describes her favorite IT helper as follows: I like to use the audit software to edit my audit plan and programs. It helps me get organized. The software lists all the necessary planning items for me, so I dont need to worry about missing an important element. All related forms are available by clicking a button, which is really convenient. In addition, we also have a database of document templates that I can use for almost all occasions. IT Impact on Managers As supervisors and reviewers, audit managers do not benefit directly from the audit automation process, except for the convenience of computer-based presentation of information. Analyzing survey data from 260 public managers, Kraemer et al. (1993) found that managers perceived computer-based information to be more useful. Since the firms audit software organizes all audit evidence collected by juniors and seniors in an electronic format, audit managers are likely to be more effective when reviewing such data. Since the order of audit working paper documentation can impact the decision of the reviewers (Ricchiute 1992), electronic working papers that comply with a regular organization should provide more consistent audit decision quality. An audit manager expresses his support for electronic working papers as follows: I dont use many functions of electronic working paper software. I just review its output. However, I do enjoy the neat screen output because everything is clear. Also, every item is cross-referenced which makes it easy for me to trace them. I can easily switch around and search for the items I want to see. In the Notes, the FIRM includes various local and international databases regarding companies, industries, and regulations. Managers can easily search for information relevant to a certain client to help them perform analytical review (Cohen et al. 2000). In addition, the information in the databases is more reliable and objective (Reimers and Fennema 1999). The FIRM has also created some exclusive case databases that can be shared by its professionals. Such knowledge-sharing applications have been found to improve the quality of decision making (Orlikowski 1997). A manager describes his experience as follows: Our Notes database has helped me increase my professional knowledge. We share our case experience, and business regulations using the database. It helps a lot in problem solving and keeps me updated on the current trend. IT Impact at the Business Process Level A current trend is to create a paperless office environment that replaces paper documents with electronic documents so that information can be accessed easily and with much less effort. In the practitioner-oriented literature, advantages of a paperless office in improving work efficiency and reducing operating costs have been reported (Hunton 1994). Together with the audit software, the FIRM created a client database to store all related audit files for each client. The documents in the database can be easily retrieved by a search function or with associated links. Consequently, auditors in the same team can share audit files and significantly reduce the coordination effort of the senior auditors (Salamasick et al. 1995). An audit senior at the FIRM also observed that database storage allows quick reference and modification from previous audit plans and reports for the client and, consequently, work hours for a client can be reduced significantly. In addition, the FIRM uses Notes as a tool to manage internal resources and documents to save time and increase effectiveness. IT Impact at the Work Group Level A professional service firm stands to benefit substantially from the knowledge-sharing applications (Vandenbosch and Ginzberg 1996). The Professional Development Department in the FIRM updates the Notes database everyday and communicates the update to everyone by email. To encourage audit professionals to collaborate, a Question and Answer electronic bulletin board in the Notes was set up for the discussion of all types of work-related questions. The Professional Development Department checks the board periodically and ensures responses to all the questions. Network applications that enable real-time information circulation can also facilitate communications efficiency in a public accounting firm (Zarowin 1994). Email is the most important network application for the professionals in the FIRM to communicate with each other, clients, and overseas colle

An Analysis of Peter van Inwagen’s The Magnitude, Duration, and Distri

An Analysis of Peter van Inwagen’s The Magnitude, Duration, and Distribution of Evil: a Theodicy In his essay, "The Magnitude, Duration, and Distribution of Evil: a Theodicy," Peter van Inwagen alleges a set of reasons that God may have for allowing evil to exist on earth. Inwagen proposes the following story – throughout which there is an implicit assumption that God is all-good (perfectly benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient) and deserving of all our love. God created humans in his own likeness and fit for His love. In order to enable humans to return this love, He had to give them the ability to freely choose. That is, Inwagen holds that the ability to love implies free will. By giving humans free will, God was taking a risk. As Inwagen argues, not even an omnipotent being can ensure that "a creature who has a free choice between x and y choose x rather than y" (197)1. (X in Inwagen’s story is ‘to turn its love to God’ and y is ‘to turn its love away from God,’ towards itself or other things.) So it happened that humans did in fact rebel and turn away from God. The first instance of this turning away is referred to as "the Fall." The ruin of the Fall was inherited by all humans to follow and is the source of evil in the world. But God did not leave humans without hope. He has a plan "whose working will one day eventuate in the Atonement (at-one-ment) of His human creatures with Himself," or at least some of His human creatures (198). This plan somehow involves humans realizing the wretchedness of a world without God and turning to God for help. The telling of this story provokes many questions. Why didn’t God, being all-good and benevolent, "immediately restore His fallen creatures to their original union with... ... passage to suggest the essential role natural evils play in this story: "People who do not believe in God do not, of course, see our living to ourselves as a result of a prehistoric separation from God. But they can be aware – and it is a part of God’s plan of Atonement that they should be aware – that something is pretty wrong and that this wrongness is a consequence of the intrinsic inability of human beings to devise a manner of life that is anything but hideous" (203). Nowhere does experience prove this inability of human beings to escape the hideousness of the world more than in the case of natural disasters. They have existed as long as the human race, and though it may be possible for a person to delude him or herself into believing he or she is living a good life in a seemingly good world, no one can deny the horrible dangers that natural disasters present.

Music Listening Report :: essays research papers

When I sat down to do a Listening report last night, I started thinking, "Who am I kidding?". I am never going to push myself to listen to 15 Jazz CD’s in a week and a half, so I am going to do the remainder of my listening reports on music that I like to listen to. You may think it defeats the purpose of listening reports, but that’s not true. What these guys play may sound like heavily distorted noise, and too much yelling played at way too high of volumes to the average adult, and honestly, it is. But there is music, and every day 1000’s of kids are trying to teach themselves their favorite headliners, and that’s how we learn to play our instruments in the first place. So, now that I’ve convinced you WHY I am doing this listening report, here is the actual thing: The song (the only one by this group) on the CD is New Skin by Incubus which is really cool, because to most people it sounds a lot like rap, but to me it is a really fast-paced alternative music song because of the actual instrument playing (not featured in the basic drum tracks of rap music) and the repeated chorus, which sounds really cool because the bassist and lead vocals play and sing on a perfect 4th. The second group on the tour is Orgy. Their biggest headliner is Blue Monday, which is a really kickass remake of the David Bowie Original. Its about some guy who hated Mondays, so he went out and shot a bunch people, mostly kids I think, at some convention WAY back in the day. Then David Bowie wrote a song about it, and it was under a lot of heat. But now, Orgy made the song HUGE. It is an amazing song. Orgy has a very unique sound. They are sort of an Electro-Punk band. They have some really hardcore guitar riffs, but they also got some sweet Synth tracks and stuff like that. The best thing about them, though, has got to be their Vocal Distortions. They got this cool echo-y noise added to their voice. Orgy also performs Dissention and Gender. The next group is Limp Bizkit. These guys co-starred the tour, and performed such songs as Faith, you’ve probably heard people singing this song. Its another remake, I have no idea who wrote the original or why, but it’s a cool song, "Wouldn’t it be nice, If I could touch your body . . . ." That’s the opening of the song. They also redid an old House of Pain song, "Jump Around".

Neurological-Based Behavior Essay

For my reflection paper, I chose to give my opinion on the NBB’s, short for â€Å"Neurological-Based Atypical Behaviors†. NBB is defined as a collection of deeds or the behavior of children that happen outside the usual boundaries of self control. According to Dr. Paula Cook, specialist in teaching students with NBB, about 10 percent of students cannot control what they say or do reliably. They are found in almost all schools but they do not all have the same disorder or disease. There are a number of different disorders all under the same title: NBB. In my reflection I will briefly explain the most common NBB diagnoses along with their symptoms and how they should be dealt with in class. While I was reading this chapter, I came across different scenarios where the students would misbehave but I could not tell why. As I continued to read I noticed that if I did not have the correct training I could not explain how to deal with these children or even recognize that their behavior pointed to a type of NBB. There are 3 indicators that can help identify if a student has NBB and those are: behavior, language and academic difficulties; in decreasing order of importance. Behavior difficulties are compulsive, atypical and inconsistent behavior. Language difficulty is when the student has trouble understanding and expressing learnt information verbally. Last of all is the academic difficulty where the student has difficulty in motor comprehension and mathematical skills as well as the learning memory gap. There are 8 common disorders and most can be diagnosed in the classroom. I will briefly mention each one with its given symptoms. First and most common disorder is SID or Sensory Integration Dysfunction. Students with this disorder have trouble taking in information through their senses. This is the major reason for: hyperactivity, inattention, movement in class, learning and behavioral difficulties, etc.. The way to deal with this disorder in class is to keep the class tidy and clean as well as remove loud noises and bright lights. Also you can lessen the colors and distracting objects found in the classroom. ADHD is our second disorder in this list. It is commonly misdiagnosed as Bipolar disorder or OCD because the symptoms are very similar. These symptoms include: Short attention span, weak impulse control, hyperactivity. This disorder is found in males more than in females and the cause is neuro-developmental. There are many ways a teacher can deal with ADHD students. These children tend to find difficulty in being organized and they are extremely fidgety. Some ways to deal with the disorganization is to prepare a checklist for all students to use. They can tick off all their objectives when they’ve completed them thus staying organized and making it a habit. The next disorder is ODD or Oppositional Defiant Disorder where the child is extremely uncooperative and hostile. He/she will tend to throw tantrums when asked to do something they do not wish to do. This type of disorder is easy to deal with. Recognition and earshot or indirect praise will help boost the self esteem of a child and condition them to behave well. As mentioned before, bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as ADHD or depression or even OCD since the symptoms of these disorders are very similar but with minor variations that lead to major difference in diagnosis. Getting to know â€Å"Student X† on a personal basis is the biggest step toward helping this child fit in to the class and dealing with this disorder as simply as possible. Getting to know the child forms a certain bond of trust allowing the teacher to control the mood swing and abrupt behavior as much as possible. Learning disabilities (LD) are a wide range of disorders that affect the learning process of a student. The most widespread of all LDs is dyslexia which is where the student has difficulty processing language. Other examples of LD are dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and dysgraphia. These students are usually visual learners meaning they are better taught when using objects and graphic diagrams etc†¦ The last 2 disorders I will be discussing are ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) and FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). The first refers to the disorder where children show delay in communication and socialization skills, impaired social development, and repetitive behavior. One of the most famous autistic adults is Dr. Temple Grandin. He has been on television on shows such as the Today Show and Larry King Live as well as The New York Times and Forbes magazines. Children with autism no matter what the severity respond well to decrease in sensory load. FASD is a disorder that can very simply be avoided. Cause: Alcohol consumption or smoking during pregnancy. Solution: No alcohol or smoking during pregnancy. Symptoms are widely ranged and each person behaves differently. Two people diagnosed with the same disorder may react in two very different ways depending on their personality. After having discussed all the above, I have been asked to give my input on the matter. Of everything stated in this presentation I had a vague idea of almost all the common disorders related to NBB but now I have learned how to recognize them while in a classroom as well as earned how to deal with students in such cases. The thing that caught my attention most was how to deal with such students while teaching an inclusive class. Methods may vary but the most important of all methods is the sensory balance and the â€Å"talk less† routine. I, myself, have encountered students with mild ADHD and moderate to extreme OCD both of which are common disorders that tend to hinder leaning experience. Both of these students were my friends. Student 1(ADHD) could not focus on an exam if a typo was found. In addition to his mild color blindness which amplified his ADHD because it would distract him from the main purpose of a question. Student 2: (OCD) This person had a severe case of OCD. He was admitted into therapy and started on anti-anxiety pills because of this disorder. He has the tendency to fidget and cannot stay in one place for too long which can explain on its own how it can stand in the way of his learning experience. In my opinion, teachers should be trained in recognizing and dealing with these students and their atypical behavior in ways that will least disturb the process of learning. Also, students diagnosed later on with SEVERE cases of NBB should be separated from the class and given the just attention needed. In other cases, the right amount of training could help a teacher successfully lead an inclusive class, or a shadow teacher could be assigned to students who need it.