Building a Networked Organization - 1552 Words

MWH is a global engineering services firm considered to be a leader in water, hydropower and environmental remediation. It was trying to turn the geographically organized department into one organized by function and the reorganization will depend on effective collaboration. The existing relationships are providing through ONA analysis, a method for mapping relationships among people in a group. This case looks into the old structure under which departments are fragmented by geography and constrained by hierarchy and other gaps in connectivity. Challenges are listed for discussion and recommendations are provided for steps to be taken to align the department’s network with MWH’s business objectives. ISSUES ADDRESSIING 1. An IT†¦show more content†¦To make it work, the manager needs to make sure there is no longer geography boundaries exit. New operational structure need to push functions out or pull them back in different departments as they suit company’s strategy. Large-scale integration of functions and systems required to fully manage the operation and service process. 2. Information infrastructure Executives must use powerful technology to allow information to flow seamlessly across, out of, and into the company. Well-planned technical architecture need to be set up to allow information to move freely. MWH need to build up an integrated and overarching architecture for the entire company, not just a patchwork of current system linking to individual’s solutions. A through analyze of existing technology support will be needed to balance with the infrastructure requirements of the iNet project. 3. New management structure Advance IT systems will help to remove some mid-level management positions and creates a flatter structure, therefore, old control and planning style will be revised. Senior managers should be able to see into a larger group of employees with technology, while push down information simultaneously. Senior management should be linked with each other, therefore be able to draw on the entire management team for input when it comes to important decision process. The entire control and planning process will then become an on-line, real-time, team-based, coordinatedShow MoreRelatedTime Management Project Analysis1075 Words   |  5 PagesThe current process that is being improved upon is one which seeks to reduce the use of paper within the organization by becoming a more electronic company. This may cost money at the onset of the process improvement as resources will be needed to implement the necessary changes to enact the new processes. However, it will reduce the overall cost to the organization over the years and it will eliminate paper costs and other expenses associated with paper usage. There are a few resources neededRead MoreLicenses in The Networked Information Economy Essay examples1531 Words   |  7 PagesLicense is the fact that users of programs licensed under th e Apache License do not have to contribute their changes back to the community, as with the GPL (Metz, 2012). Aside from the Apache web server, Googles Android Operating System and Hadoop—a networked data processing program—are licensed under the Apache License (Metz, 2012). Some proprietary software programs have their roots in Apache-licensed projects as a result of the access to code granted by the Apache License. Because of its generousRead MoreBuilding an Innovative Workplace –New Strategies in Gen Y Recruitment1457 Words   |  6 PagesBuilding an Innovative Workplace – New Strategies in Gen Y Recruitment Executive Summary Introduction The purpose of this study was to uncover the elements of cutting edge, culturally competent global Gen Y recruitment strategies. For this study, JBC collected data from 50+ multi-national companies and current academic scholars. JBC then synthesized the most cutting-edge recruitment processes to create this report. This study is unique in that it examined current practices and theory acrossRead MoreEastman Kodak600 Words   |  3 Pagesher decision to outsource data center, telecommunications, and PC services to IBM, DEC, and BusinessLand? Kathy Hudson was appointed to the newly created CIS unit in 1988 by CEO Colby Chandler with a directive to â€Å"overhaul the existing IT organization to promote the use of IT to improve the competive position of Kodak businesses while lowering cost.† At the time of her appointment, Kodak was suffering several serious business setbacks, along with rising competition and a Polaroid lawsuit. Read MoreSales Team Training Session957 Words   |  4 Pagessale process to the closure and the daily sales skills used within the organization. Instructors: in-depth knowledge of clinching a sales deal, the contemporary market trends, the current HRM requirements in various countries of the organization engagement and tenets of customer service and retention. Room arrangement: fan type of arrangement. Other venues: outdoor space (field) Material and equipment required: networked laptops in the room, pens, notepads, VCR, overhead projector, white boardRead MoreOrganizational Structure1099 Words   |  5 Pagesdemands put on the division (BusinessMate.org, 2010). The matrix organization is an attempt to combine the advantages of the pure functional structure and the product organizational structure (Visitask.com, 2011). This form is ideally suited for construction type companies that project oriented. Unlike the US Army’s divisional structure groups its divisions according to the specific demands of the battlefield. The matrix organization is teams working together through functional and project managementRead MoreEssay about emergency disaster1691 Words   |  7 Pagesattended a seminar on a program called ‘Professional Volunteer Disaster Survey Team (PRO-V-DST)’ which had been developed in Texas in the mid-1990’s. She was quite enthusiastic about the program as it provides: A network of professional building inspectors, structural engineers, and architects to form damage survey teams that could be used by State and local governments in need of help surveying damage and evaluating structures following a disaster. In assessing post disaster floodRead MoreCreating and Managing Economic Competitiveness: Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority741 Words   |  3 Pagescharacteristics of effective networked governance? What are the advantages? What are the indications that SAGIA introduced networked governance? 3. What are One-Stop-Shops? How they may improve the business environment? What are the challenges of establishing them? One-Stop-Shops, also called Investor Service Centers (ISCs), inspired by the notion of a single site offering multiple services to investors and was refined further to eliminate passing through many offices around the building of each governmentRead MoreTypes of Teams in Contemporary Organizations976 Words   |  4 Pagesan organization through collaborative decision making. The successful team cannot be established until they have clear vision (Lewis, 2006) . According to Hackman following are the characteristics of a team: 1. Characteristics. 2. Shared goal. 3. Interdependence among members. 4. Identifiable membership. Literature review In order to get maximum output from employees, teams are being made in the organization. There are different types of teams. Depending on the needs of an organization, teamsRead MoreVirtual Teams and Virtual Project Management1715 Words   |  7 Pagescompetitively in a world shaped by globalization and the information revolution. Downsizing, outsourcing, and employee empowerment have become facts of life in the climate of many organizations, while job security is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. The survival of many organizations depends on the ability of the organization to rapidly change its structure, culture and products to match the changing demands of the environment. [1] This ever-changing environment has set the stage for a new dimension

A Rose For Emily And The Last Of The Crazy People Essay

Similar themes of death, mental health, and isolation are portrayed through characters’ internal and external conflicts within the short story, â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner and the novel, â€Å"The Last of the Crazy People† by Timothy Findley. Together these themes illustrate how traumatic experiences can result in an inability to function within society and a stigma impacting their overall wellbeing. These actions and behaviours are explored through Emily and Jessica, who both experience depression and struggle with their ability to function within society, without gaining negative attention from their peers. Undergoing traumatic experiences impacts characters’ ability to function and sustain within society. This is seen in†¦show more content†¦She had been inside her room by then, for three months† (Findley 76). This is clear evidence that Jessica has isolated herself for prolonged periods of time. These periods of isolation, have caused various issues within social situations, since she does not know how to properly react. Extreme mental and physical isolation has various consequences on one’s mental health that it expressed through their thoughts and behaviours throughout both pieces of literature. It is clear that Jessica is unable to function within society. To be considered able to function and contribute to society as an individual, one has to be able to communicate to others. However, Jessica is unable to do so and Hooker learns this through a conversation he has in town: ‘How’s your mother, Hooker?’ he asked with a slight German accent. Hooker did could not answer. All he could think to say was, ‘She’s crazy’ [†¦] Hooker went away, but before he went, he heard something else- Mrs. Gaylor’s voice. ‘They are all crazy, you know, all of them. I heard them last night, yelling at each other†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [†¦] Why were they called â€Å"crazy people†? And why did Mrs. Gaylor say it, too? Was it what everyone thought?.(Findley 136-137) It is clear that the neighborhood surrounding the family believe that Jessica herself, as well as her family are crazy after the few encounters that they experience, because they that result in poor outcomes. Parallel, toShow MoreRelatedResistance to Change: Miss Emily Grierson800 Words   |  4 Pages Resistance to Change: Miss Emily Grierson The main character in the short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† written by William Faulkner is Emily Grierson. She lives in Jefferson Mississippi, in a fictional county called Yoknapatawpha County. The people of Yoknapatawpha saw Miss Emily as a small, fat woman who was very cold, distant, and lived in her past. Her home was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsomeRead MoreA Rose for Emily and the Feather Pillow1375 Words   |  6 PagesDamian Oronoz Mr. Lpez English 11 17 May 2010 A Rose for Emily The Fetter Pillow Essay Hocus pocus in a dark castle, black cats over the graveyards, and two men writing gothic literature. Characteristics of gothic literature include ruined sinister buildings, dungeons, underground passages, crypts, and catacombs which in modern houses become spooky basements or attics. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner and â€Å"The Feather Pillow† by Horacio Quiroga, the authors use spooky setting,Read More Loneliness to Insanity and Madness in A Rose for Emily and The Yellow Wall-Paper1545 Words   |  7 PagesFrom Loneliness to Insanity in A Rose for Emily and The Yellow Wall-Paper      Ã‚   In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir states that within a patriarchal society woman does not enjoy the dignity of being a person; she herself forms a part of the patrimony of a man: first of her father, then of her husband (82-3). Both Emily Grierson in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily and the narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wall-Paper are forced into solitude simply because they are womenRead MoreKarl Marx And Friedrich Engels’ The Manifesto Of The Communist1465 Words   |  6 PagesFaulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily.† This short story examines an aging icon in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi, and her reputation among the townspeople. There is a gap formed between Emily Grierson and the new, younger generation of Jefferson. The ideals and beliefs differ, and this causes the gap between the two. Through Marx and Engels’ examination of this theory, the causes and effects of socio-economic relations and how they appear in â₠¬Å"A Rose for Emily† will determine the motivations of Emily GriersonRead MoreSadie Hawkins Day and Valentine Grams18321 Words   |  74 Pagesgo towards helping children in the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. They also took orders for Valentine grams, consisting of pre-made heart-shaped boxes full of â€Å"sweets for sweeties,† which were delivered today. â€Å"We were really surprised that a lot of people ordered valentine grams since other clubs are also selling grams,† revealed Brandie. Make-A-Wish Club, formerly the 180 Committee, also sold Valentine grams to raise money for a similar cause. The club sold teddy bears, donating half of their proceedsRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesindependent of subject matter. 2 This book does not emphasize philosophy over any other subject, and it is not a book about what you ought to believe about some subject. Although many scientific studies of decision-making have shown that people tend to sift sources of information looking to reinforce existing views rather than to accept the view that is backed up with the better argument, our course is designed to combat this tendency. Facing a Decision as a Critical Thinker Imagine

Outcome assessment free essay sample

Team Name Computing Networking Sector Name Business, Computing and Land Based Professional Issues in Computing (F0N0 35) Assessment Instructions ? The assessment is a supervised open book assessment based on a case study. ? You must write a report of approximately 2,000 words that covers the requirements of Outcome 3, 4 and 5. ? The report should be word processed and presented in an appropriate format for a professional report. ? All sources used should be referenced correctly in a bibliography. ? A word count should be displayed on the front page of the report. ? Ensure that your name and class code appear on each page and that the pages are numbered. ? The report should be submitted through the Turnitin Link. Professional Issues in Computing (F0N0 35) Your Task You have been employed by Hi-Electricals Ltd as a Consultant and have been asked to produce a report for the management team. In this report to the management, you must research, describe and address the following concerns: 1. The management, recognising the importance of IT to their expanded organization, is about to add a Director responsible for all of the computing and associated areas. Suggest a suitable structure for this Computing Department taking into account organisational structures recommended by the Professional Computing institutions. Use a diagram to show the responsibility relationships that you are recommending. 2. Provide an accurate and clear evaluation of three pieces of legislation you have identified as relevant for the organisation from situations described in the case study. Describe the effects on the organisation itself, specific employees and other individuals if they do not comply with these pieces of legislation. 3. Design a code of conduct that could be used by the management. Describe the main parts of the code of conduct with an accurate and clear evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages to the organisation and individuals employed within it. You should take account of a professional code of conduct, code of ethics and specific professional practices. 4. Identify two ethical problems that are faced by people in two different job roles in the case study. Describe two different ways of solving each of these ethical issues and the consequences of each suggested approach. Describe the ethical principles that apply in the two different solutions eg rule based, relativist etc Professional Issues in Computing (F0N0 35) Case Study Hi-Electricals Ltd is a company specialising in the servicing of electrical appliances (televisions, cookers, refrigerators, dishwashers etc) and it is keen to expand its new area of Personal Computer equipment and peripheral repair, particularly monitors and printers. The company operates throughout Scotland, though mainly in the Grampian, Moray, and Highland areas, and has agreements with a number of the larger retailers to offer a servicing contract to customers who purchase appliances from them. When a customer purchases an electrical appliance, they are offered the opportunity to take out a servicing contract at an extra cost for a fixed period during which any repairs or servicing will be carried out free of charge. The Company also advertises in the national press and has an active internet site that receives 500 hits per week. The site is maintained by Robert Mackay (Web Developer) and captures data such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and times available at home for repairs or servicing. A number of customers and employees have raised concerns about the security of the data collected through the website. A large number of its customers do not have service contracts but contact the company directly usually some time after purchasing the appliance. Clearly the cost of the contract varies with the type of product and the age of the appliance at the time the contract is made. When an appliance is five years old, the contract can be renewed each year, usually on an increasing scale cost. The Service Engineers employed by Hi-Electricals Ltd are based at seven regional Service Centres. Most of their work is carried out in customers’ homes, but occasionally it is necessary to bring an appliance into the Service Centre for a major repair. The Service Centres carry a stock of frequently used parts and the Service Engineers also carry a small stock in their vehicles. A much larger stock of parts (10,000) is held at a Central Warehouse in Oldmeldrum, which is easily accessible from all areas that the company cover. This central stock is used both to refill the Service Centre stock and to replace items used by the Service Engineers in their daily routine. Any part that is ordered from the Central Warehouse by a Service Centre will be delivered the following day. When a Service Engineer requires stock then the engineer has to specify which Service Centre their items are to be dispatched to and they collect these items from the Service Centre. The items stored at the Central Warehouse are purchased from the manufacturers of the domestic electrical appliances. Jennifer Anderson is the Information Systems Manager responsible for all internal systems. A large computer system located at the Central Warehouse is used for Customer Accounting and Stock Control. The Customer Accounting procedures are separate from any of the Service Centres or Service Engineers. All contact with customers over invoices, contract renewals etc, is maintained by the Accounting staff in Oldmeldrum. The only link with this system at the Service Professional Issues in Computing (F0N0 35) Centres is that, when a customer telephones to request a service or repair, an Internet enquiry-based system is used to query a database at the Central Warehouse to check that the customer exists on record and has a current contract. This area of the Central Warehouse is effectively a Call Centre and staff have access to outside telephone lines and Internet connectivity. The Managing Director, Neil Campbell, is concerned about this unrestricted access to telecommunications systems and personal use of the organization’s email and wanted Jennifer to look at ways of ‘keeping an eye on what is going on’ including monitoring telephone calls. Recently there was a problem with a member of staff downloading music and another accessing pornographic websites. Jennifer asked Graham Dudd, IT Services Engineer, if he could provide her with a list of the web sites visited by these members of staff and to check up on their e-mails and other Internet activity such as visiting chat rooms, together with times of access. The staff that work in this Call Centre area have a high rate of absenteeism and complain about the conditions in which they work. The area has poor ventilation leading to a stuffy atmosphere and is fitted out with mainly poor quality second hand office furniture. It is a conversion of an old stockroom at the top of a metal spiral staircase with only a service lift. The Stock Control system is an online, multi-access system. A stock file for the warehouse stock is linked to separate files for Service Centre stock. All stock transactions at the warehouse are keyed in directly and the warehouse file is updated immediately. The Service Centres can access their own records when making an issue or checking stock levels and the warehouse records them centrally when a delivery is requested. The transfer of stock from warehouse to Service Centre(s) is made automatically. There are no transfers of stock between Service Centres allowed although each Service Centre can return items to the Central Warehouse. The computer system analyses stock levels at regular intervals and places orders to manufacturers for the replenishment of stock subject to minimum stock levels set within the Stock Control system database. The Payroll is done using a standard package on a PC connected to the network. There have been a few leaks about certain employees’ salaries and monthly bonuses, which are concerning the Financial Director, Paul Keith, who is certain that it is not the responsibility of the Finance staff. Tayside Electricals Ltd, a large electrical retailer with six outlets in the Dundee area wants to outsource this Service Group business to a partner as they were finding that their operating costs were too high. Hi-Electricals Ltd tendered for this contract and successfully won the business. This development has added another three Service Centres to their existing portfolio. Each of these new Service Centres carries a full range of stock (about 7,000 items). Stock records Professional Issues in Computing (F0N0 35) are kept on a central computer system, which monitors stock levels, supervises transfer of stock between Service Centres, and initiates orders for replenishment of stock to manufacturers, the goods being sent directly to the Service Centres. The computer system supports on-line enquiries about stock levels and collects stock transactions online, but the files are updated overnight, on a modem link. Jennifer will need access to Tayside Electricals Ltd,’s information to allow easy stock control integration. Customer Accounting at Tayside Electricals Ltd is carried out manually at the Service Centres and each Service Centre maintains records of its own customers. These will have to be consolidated into a central database and credit ratings developed. Customers at the moment are required to pay Service Engineers for parts used at the time of the service or repair, including credit card payments for which they issue a paper receipt. Credit card slips are returned to Main Office for processing. The Sales and Marketing Director of Hi-Electricals Ltd. , Ismail Khan, has quickly realised that once they have information stored on all of the customers from Tayside Electricals Ltd , he could use it to target new clients for other parts of the business and he tells Jennifer to make sure he can get this done. An employee from Tayside Electricals Ltd has written their own software, which is being used by the company. The Management would like to implement this software throughout both companies now in the group, but there is a question of ownership. With the take-over of Tayside Electricals’ facilities, the Financial Director has directly informed Graham the IT Services Engineer that it is necessary to establish a stock inventory of all hardware and software within the organisation. For a number of years Hi-Electricals Ltd have intended to establish an inventory of software in use within their organisation but never got round to it, so do not have a track of the software, versions, multiple user licences etc. The combined company uses general purpose and tailor-made software within the organisation. In addition the current network infrastructure of servers and PCs may not be able to cope and therefore might have to be disposed of and replaced. Professional Issues in Computing (F0N0 35) The Senior Management team consists of the following personnel: Managing Director Neil Campbell is 55, and started his working life as an apprentice with a competitor in Dundee. He progressed through the ranks before being appointed to this very important position. Financial Director The financial director, Paul Keith, manages the Administration and Accounting Departments together with an Accountant and a General Manager who controls and oversees the support staff. Sales and Marketing Director Ismail Khan is a typical salesman, extrovert, with an optimistic streak, which usually means that his sales forecasts have to be reduced. He is, however, a firm believer in giving the customer the very best product at a competitive price. If a customer complains, he takes it as a personal insult. He controls a Sales and Marketing team via a Sales Manager, and an Advertising and Promotional Executive. There are four salespersons responsible to the Sales Manager, and one assistant accountable to the Advertising and Promotional Executive. Service Director Christopher Partridge is highly qualified in the technicalities of the trade and manages all the service personnel. He manages the seven regional Service Centres and the Service Engineers who work from these premises. Other key IT employees include: Robert Mackay is the Web Developer, Graham Dudd is the IT Services Engineer and Jennifer Anderson is the Information Systems Manager who is in charge of all internal systems, these three are responsible to the General Manager. Professional Issues in Computing (F0N0 35) Organisational Chart Managing Director Neil Campbell Financial Director Paul Keith Accountant General Manager Web Developer Robert Mackay IT Services Engineer Graham Dudd Sales Marketing Director Ismail Khan Sales Manager Info Systems Manager Jennifer Anderson Advert Promotional Exec 4 Sales Persons Assistant Service Director Christopher Partridge Service Centre Staff Service Engineers

The Drinking Age In The United States Is A Contradiction. At The Age O

The drinking age in the United States is a contradiction. At the age of eighteen, one can drive a car, vote in an election, get married, serve in the military and buy tobacco products. In the United States you are legally an adult at eighteen. An eighteen-year-old, however, can not purchase alcoholic beverages. The minimum drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one in the United States. Unbelievably, the United States citizens trust their sixteen-year-old children to drive three thousand pound vehicles. We require our working young to pay taxes. We trust the decision-making abilities of eighteen year olds in public elections, with the right to smoke, and with the choice of marriage without parental consent. Our young adults are encouraged to join the army and fight for their country. We however believe that until the age of twenty-one our young adults can not handle alcohol. There is an ever-growing problem on campuses all across the nation: the abuse of alcohol. College freshman, usually nineteen, enter college with a bias involving the drinking law. In almost every aspect other than the drinking age, these freshmen are considered adults. However, they are told by the law they are not responsible enough to handle alcohol. Elizabeth Whelan declares, "Banning drinking by young people makes it a badge of adulthood -- a tantalizing forbidden fruit" (84). This badge of adulthood is quickly attained by college freshman, who lash out at the drinking age, with binge drinking. The abuse of alcohol by young people can likely be prevented, certainly not in all cases but in many. In most European countries moderate drinking is common by teenagers. These teens have been taught about the dangers of alcohol and were brought up by parents who let their children experience alcohol moderately. Whelan observes, "Though the per capita consumption of alcohol in France, Spain and Portugal is higher than in the United States, the rate of alcoholism and alcohol abuse is lower "(84). United States parents should take the hint from Europe and educate their children about alcohol. Parents should not just say alcohol is bad and evil. Parents should teach about the effects of alcohol, how to drink properly and when alcohol is appropriate. Parents have the chance to properly educate their young adults. These young adults will experience alcohol somewhere and will be given an education by someone. The lessons of alcohol should be learned at home. There are many possible remedies to the problem of underage alcohol abuse. The best possible curative would be to lower the drinking age to nineteen, not eighteen. At eighteen many young adults are still in high school. However, at the age of nineteen most young adults are out of high school or close to graduating. The thought of high school seniors legally drinking would put a bad taste in many citizens' mouths. In Canada, the drinking age is already nineteen which entices many nineteen or twenty year olds across the border for a drink. Our young adult population lashes out at the law by drinking excessively. There are too many young adults being hurt while abusing alcohol. Too many deaths, rapes and accidents have occurred. This illegal action can be deterred, and many lives will be saved, but only through the education by parents and society. The drinking age should and can be lowered with the approval and assistance from the citizens of the United States. Work Cited Whelan, Elizabeth. "Perils of Prohibition." Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 83-85

Wishing You Well

Wishing You Well Wishing You Well Wishing You Well By Maeve Maddox A reader has written to express her astonishment at the following usage in an office memo: Please come to the Open House to give [so-and-so] your well-wishes in person. Where, wonders the reader, did the person who wrote the memo get the expression â€Å"well-wishes†? Thought I, â€Å"Where indeed?† My first move was to do a Web search to see how common this use of well-wishes might be. First I searched â€Å"well wishes† in quotations. Results: about 1,290,000. I found numerous examples on entertainment and sports sites: Seinfeld cast sends well-wishes to terminally ill fan Reese Witherspoon Sends Well Wishes to Newlywed Sofia Veragara NFL Players send prayers, well-wishes to Rams receiver Stedman Bailey after shooting Rutgers coach Kyle Flood sends well-wishes to Minnesotas Jerry Kill No surprise there, I thought. People who write about sports and entertainment are not always models of standard usage. Let’s see if I can find examples in sources noted for more formal usage: The London Telegraph: Jubilee concert goers send well wishes to Prince Philip A Vancouver hospital: Send  well wishes  by email to your friend or family member staying in one of our hospitals below. The Wall Street Journal: Firms across the world have begun the time-honored tradition of sending well wishes and gifts to their investors. The New York Times:   Entering an election year with the well wishes of both parties, Mr. Ryan will not be pushing legislation simply to send a message of ardent conservatism. Hmm. This, I saw, was a case for my two dictionaries. Merriam-Webster Unabridged well-wish noun: a good or kindly wish Oxford English Dictionary well wish noun: An instance of wishing well to someone or something; an expression of this, a good wish. The earliest OED citation is dated 1595. The most recent is from a biography of Lincoln published in 2009: â€Å"His return was not greeted with the well wishes of the press and public with which he had left for Washington.† No doubt about it, the forms well wishes and well-wishes are regarded as standard British and American usage. Although- in defense of the reader’s feelings and my own- the OED notes that well wishes is â€Å"now less common than best or good wishes.† Further, a comparison search of â€Å"well wishes† and â€Å"good wishes† on the Ngram Viewer shows well wishes hugging the bottom of the graph. Bottom line: Although well-wishes sounds nonstandard to me and I won’t use it, I cannot criticize its use in the memos or headlines of others. Oddly enough, â€Å"well wishes† strikes me as unidiomatic, but â€Å"get well wishes† does not. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:English Grammar 101: All You Need to KnowOn Behalf Of vs. In Behalf Of15 Names and Descriptions of Effects

Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths in Australia

Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths in Australia Australia is a country of immigrants and their descendants. Beginning with the establishment of New South Wales as a penal colony in 1788, convicts were sent to Australia from the British Isles. Assisted immigrants (immigrants who had most of their passage paid by the government), coming primarily from the British Isles and Germany, first began arriving in New South Wales in 1828, while unassisted immigrants first arrived in Australia as early as 1792. Prior to 1901, each state of Australia was a separate government or colony. Vital records in a particular state typically begin at the time of the colonys formation, with earlier records (except for Western Australia) found in New South Wales (the original jurisdictional body for Australia). New South Wales The New South Wales  Registry has civil records from March 1, 1856. Earlier church and other vital records, dating back to 1788, are also available, including a Pioneer Index 1788-1888. Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages191 Thomas StreetPO Box 30 G.P.O.Sydney, New South Wales 2001Australia(011) (61) (2) 228-8511 Online: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages offers an online, searchable Historical Index of Births, Marriages, and Deaths which covers births (1788-1908), deaths (1788-1978) and marriages (1788-1958). Northern Territory Birth records from August 24, 1870, marriages records from 1871, and death records from 1872 can be ordered from the Office of the Registrar. You can contact them at: Office of the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and MarriagesDepartment of LawNichols PlaceG.P.O. Box 3021Darwin, Northern Territory 0801Australia(011) (61) (89) 6119 Queensland Records from 1890 to the present can be obtained through the Queensland Office of the Registrar General. Birth records for the past 100 years, marriage records for the past 75 years, and death records for the past 30 years are restricted. Check the Web site for current fees and access restrictions. Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths, and MarriagesOld Treasury BuildingPO Box 188Brisbane, North QuayQueensland 4002Australia(011) (61) (7) 224-6222 Online: A free online Queensland BMD historical index search tool allows you to search Queensland birth indexes from 1829-1914, deaths from 1829-1983, and marriages from 1839-1938. If you find an entry of interest, you can download (for a fee) an image of the original register if it is available. Many of the more recent records are still available only in certificate (non-image) form. You can order printed copies to be sent to you via mail/post. South Australia Records from July 1, 1842, are available from the Registrar of South Australia. Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration OfficeDepartment of Public and Consumer AffairsPO Box 1351Adelaide, South Australia 5001Australia(011) (61) (8) 226-8561 Online: Family History South Australia includes a wealth of databases and articles to assist people researching their South Australian family history, including indexes to Early South Australian Marriages (1836-1855) and Gazetted Deaths (sudden deaths) (1845-1941). Tasmania The Registrars office has church registers from 1803 to 1838, and civil records from 1839 to the present. Access to birth and marriage records is restricted for 75 years, and death records for 25 years. Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages15 Murray StreetG.P.O. Box 198Hobart, Tasmania 7001Australia(011) (61) (2) 30-3793 Online:  The Tasmanian State Archives has several online vital records indexes, including indexes to Tasmanian divorces and convict applications for permission to marry. They also include an online Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Database (an index to records of all births, deaths, and marriages for the period 1803-1899 which were created by the Tasmanian Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages). Victoria Birth certificates (1853-1924), death certificates (1853-1985) and marriage certificates (1853-1942) are available from the Registry, as well as records of church baptisms, marriages, and burials 1836 to 1853. More recent certificates are available with restricted access. Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths MarriagesGPO Box 4332Melbourne, Victoria, 3001, Australia Online: Victoria Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages offers, for a fee, an online index and digitized record copies of Victoria Births, Marriages and Deaths for the above mentioned years. Digitized, uncertified images of the original register records can be downloaded immediately to your computer upon payment. Western Australia Compulsory registration of births, deaths, and marriages started in Western Australia in September 1841. Access to more recent records (births 75 years, deaths 25 years, and marriages 60 years) is restricted to the named individual and/or next of kin. Western Australia Registry of Births, Deaths MarriagesPO Box 7720Cloisters SquarePerth, WA 6850 Online: The Western Australia Pioneers Index is accessible online for free searching of consolidated birth, death and marriage indexes for the years between 1841 and 1965. Additional Online Sources for Australian Vital Records The FamilySearch Record Search Web site hosts free searchable indexes of Australian Births and Baptisms (1792-1981), Deaths and Burials (1816-1980) and Marriages (1810-1980). These scattered records do NOT cover the entire country. Only a few localities are included and the time period varies by locality. Search for and locate vital records from across Australia that have been submitted by fellow genealogists at the Australasia Births, Deaths and Marriage Exchange. There are only 36,000 records from Australia and 44,000 from New Zealand, but you might just get lucky! The Ryerson Index includes more than 2.4 million death notices, funeral notices, and obituaries from 169 current Australian newspapers. While the index covers the entire country, the biggest focus is on NSW papers, including more than 1 million notices from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Choose a medieval work of art and analyse it in terms of its method of Essay

Choose a medieval work of art and analyse it in terms of its method of narrative - Essay Example Jesus narrates this story in Luke 15: 11-32. It is the tale of a man who had two sons. The younger of the two sons being wayward and implacable manages to secure his share in the family inheritance, while the father is still alive. Doing so, he proceeds on a journey to far off lands to lead a life of incontinence and indulgence. Eventually his profligate life makes him loose all his wealth and he has to finally succumb to the level of serving as a swineherd, a task considered to be improper and menial as per the Judaic tradition and beliefs. Finally this spoiled son manages to regain his sense of values and decides to revert back to the mercy and forgiveness of his long ditched and betrayed old father. Contrary to the expectations of the prodigal son, the father instead of denying or disowning his faithless progeny, welcomes him wholeheartedly, without even waiting for him to give words to his repentance and sense of loss. The father not only warmly embraces his sinful son by forgett ing his excesses, but asks his servants to sacrifice the choicest calf to celebrate the occasion. Such discernable exuberance on the part of the father makes the elder son think that the father is perhaps more favourable towards his errant sibling and does not appropriately appreciates his loyalty and noble sentiments. The father allays the misgivings of the elder son and placates him by saying that’ â€Å"My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found (Luke 15: 31-32, New International Version: Online).† This parable was the Messiah’s way of rebutting the aspersions of Pharisees as to Him being open towards and accepting of repentant and sinners and gives expression to the joy and bliss felt by an individual who has corrected his ways and has come back to the flock of the faithful. In

Employee relations and engagement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employee relations and engagement - Assignment Example stly, the LOU/IS (Leisure Operatives Union for the Industrial Services) demanded several policies and strategies for the welfare of the employees involved in the amusement industry. Then we inquired the organisational management in order to gain the insight on existing situation and effects of the collective change (Bates and Weighart, 2014). We took a 5 minute break before the Cowells management responded in the negotiation process. Cowells management provided with their own set of proposals that will aid them in increasing their employee engagement and negotiation strategies. Then Leisure Operatives Union for the Industrial Services enquired their queries to the organisational members. The negotiation process included a break of 5 minutes. Finally, the collective bargaining process among the two parties Cowells and Leisure Operatives Union for the Industrial Services will be continued until suspension. Moreover, total three recesses were offered to the parties during the negotiation meeting. I observed that the group working continued till any sort of further collective bargaining or negotiation process (Crump, 2011). On the contrary, I observed that no such bargaining or consultation communications are observed among the two sides. I have observed that second week meeting reached to the agreement. Mainly, our negotiation process will be aimed to increase the efficiency of employee engagement and employee relation policies in the Cowells amusement firm. Cowells provides amusement service in the Northern segment with the help of the M25. Natural attractions of the surroundings are increasing competition for the Cowells (Berens, 2013). We conducted the negotiation or collective bargaining process in order to maintain smooth transition. Our negotiation process included certain consideration for the virtual authenticity and knowledge and skill development in maintaining talent base of the firm. In addition, I observed that the Cowells have higher capital liability

Lord of the Flies - Visual appeal versus intense description Essay Example for Free

Lord of the Flies Visual appeal versus intense description Essay Both the Lord of the Flies novel and the 1963 Peter Brook film were amazing pieces of prose. Both mediums truly depicted the theme that savagery exists in everyone if one was given the chance to show it. Throughout both mediums the civilized boys that landed on the island paradise slowly became uncivilized and barbaric since they were not under the strict power and rule of their elders. They blamed their savagery on a pretend fearsome creature, when the evil that was contained within them was brought on by themselves. The movie left a stronger impression than the novel due to the fact that its story line was far more obvious and overblown. Both mediums were extremely alike with some minor exceptions. The 1963 Peter Brook film was more effective than the novel. This was so because it gave a visual depiction of what was actually being portrayed. Due to its obvious structure it gave an expected and intended result. In both mediums the plot was that small boys crash into a tropical island. In the beginning they are all ecstatic that they are without rules and restrictions on this tropical island. From their on the problem was their struggle against the brutal forms of savagery which possesses the quality of evil. They all slowly become uncivilized and barbaric causing chaos and tumult among the island. The movie vividly showed the tropical island they lived upon and portrays the layout of the island; which was shown often in a confusing way throughout the novel. The turning of events and the outcome of the whole story was far more understandable in the film. The setting was during WW2. The boys were from England. England at this time was very conservative and civilized. Upon arrival the boys showed this civilization through their behavior, attire, and thinking. Although explained in the novel the movie showed this to its viewers in a visual and far more interesting viewing. Rogers arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins.- This quote from the book conveys an underlying meaning that Roger was not able to throw stones directly at Henry because he was taught that is was bad from his elders. The film showed the attachment of civilization to the boys in a more outright manner. The character development of the characters was yet another factor that the film showed more effectively. In the film characters were shown better through their expressions and body language. The book did also convey this but not as vividly. The protagonist Ralph changed immensely. He was a regular joe and tried to keep the boys focused on domestic order and the rules of civilization. Were going to have fun on this island! So dont try it on or else. This was said by Ralph at the beginning when he had the power of chiefdom. In a short time this idea had diminished and his 12 year old mindset changed into an adult mindset with responsibility and structure. Piggy, the intellectual who lacked physical stamina also held on to civilization and was killed by Jacks tribe. Jack Merridew was a dramatic character. He went from a civilized choir leader to an uncivilized hunter and savage who was responsible for much of the savagery that overtook the boys. Simon was the visionary of the group and was killed before he could tell everyone the true nature of the beast that they all feared. He was an artistic and sensible mystic and remained civilized throughout the story. The symbols of the story were conveyed better in the movie because they were not shown in an underlying and subtle way like in the novel but were conveyed very outright and in an obvious form. The main symbols were the fire, which represented means of rescue, hope, and civilization; Piggys glasses which represented civilization and intelligence; and the conch which represented authority and civil debate. All of these symbols were treasured by Ralph and Piggy because they all had means of civilization which they wanted. The film outright displayed in a visual appearance what was going on. Nothing was hidden or subtle like in the novel that Golding created. The plot, setting, character development, and symbolism were conveyed to viewers in a far more easier and accessible way in the film than in the novel. The elements of drama were more conducive in the film than in the novel. Foreshadowing was one of the main elements of drama that was shown. The novel foreshadowed chaos and tumult but did not allow the reader to know who was to be killed. On the contrary the movie allowed this to be know through obvious foreshadowing. An example of this is when Piggy was about to be killed. In the film for a straight five minutes, the rock which was to crush Piggy, was being moved by Roger. It was known for quite sometime that his death was approaching at a rapid pace. The foreshadowing of Ralph being left alone was immense. It was known from the start that Jack would gain all power and all would join his tribe since more appealing. the air was ready to explodea brassy glare had taken the place of clear daylight. This opened chapter 9 in the novel foreshadowing that something bad was on its way; Simons death. The movies foreshadowing of this was far more effective because one could visually see the tension and chaos aroused by the brutal thunderstorm. Irony was also displayed more conducively in the film. An example of this is when Simon was killed. This was very ironic because it was not expected for Simon the quiet one to die. The movie left a bigger dent on viewers with this ironic event by the visual appearance of poor Simons death and his frail body floating in the ocean. Other elements of drama shown in the movie such as facial expressions and body language lead to specific results a lot better than descriptive sections in the book. Being able to see with your own two eyes and not imagine within your mind allowed the films drama elements to be better than those of the book. Some sacrifices were made to preserve the story and the medium. In the film the pigs head was not ever labeled as the Lord of the flies like in the novel. It never talked. If the pig talked the film would have been extremely odd since the effects that would have made it talk would have been unrealistic. In both the movie and film sacrifices such as Ralph, the protagonist, not dying and the story ending with them getting saved were needed to preserve the story. The story of Lord of the Flies in both movie and book form were amazing pieces of art. The underlying meaning and point made in both mediums was that there is a dark side of human nature and that each member of humankind has this dark side. The island paradise conveyed was not only a symbol of Utopia but the Garden of Eden. In the beginning life could not have been better for all the small boys inhabiting the island but due to their young age, outside influences, and no adult intervention this paradise turned into a living hell inhabited by numerous evil beasts. The story shows how without a civilized influence(adult) small children can go wild. At age 12 and younger children need guidance and structure. The corrupted savages of the island paradise are perfect examples of independence for young children.

Story :: essays research papers

Terrorist actions, what exactly are they? Well just imagine yourself in a place where bombs can turn up in the strangest of places like inside a watermelon on the seat of a bus or inside a drink bottle being hurled at a pub. Malls getting bombed everyday and having to keep your child inside at all times because it seems to be the safest places, but it can still be bombed as well. This may not be an everyday thing in the United States but lately they happen to the people of Israel and Palestine almost every day. Lets us travel back to September last year with what started out as a disagreement regarding land became violent. The countries' leaders, Ariel Sharon of Israel and Yasser Arafat of Palestine, have made attempts at armistice, but both sides were unable to agree on anything. My essay is going to cover three major points: one, where the United States stands in this war that is being waged. Two, how this whole thing started and why, and finally how I believe this dispute is goin g to end. First and foremost, I am going to speak about where the United States stands amidst all this. Both the United States and the European Union believe that they share a common vision of the two states, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security. President Bush spoke at a White House news conference with European Union (EU) Council President Jose Aznar and EU Commission President Romano Prodi, after three and a half hours of talks with them. The talks were part of the annual summit between the United States and the European Union. President Bush also said that the United States wants to work with the Palestinian people "to build a Palestinian state that both lives at peace with Israel and lives up to the best hopes of its people." He said it was important for Arafat to show the world "that he's capable of leading" his people toward peace and away from violence. Secondly, how did this all start? Well, on one side (Israel) of the issue we have those who believe that God has given Palestine to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a gift made in perpetuity. For believing Jews and Christians, Israel's original occupation of Palestine was commanded by God, as was the destruction of the original population.

Usability Evaluation and Recommendations

Usability Evaluation and Recommendations For Sixties Press Poetry Magazine IT3210 – Web Systems and Technologies John Winko Capella University Introduction This paper will propose a website redesign for Sixties Press Poetry Magazine located at http://www. sixtiespress. co. uk. The site is owned by Thushari Williams according to Whois and the primary purpose of the site is curating/collecting/publishing various poets’ work that relates to a 1960’s era theme. There does not appear to be any corporate backing to the publication or syndication of any sort.After reading through the tirade of obfuscated source code, it is a safe assumption the site was initially done in an older version of Microsoft Word then saved as a webpage. Site improvements will be recommended based off of a blended heuristic matrix found in appendix 1 formed from Search Engine Journal and usereffect. com. Table of Contents Introduction2 Table of Contents3 Identity4 Structure and layout4 Informat ion architecture and site navigation5 Use of visual elements6 Usability7 Accessibility7 Conclusion8 References9 Appendix 1 – Heuristic Usability Questionnaire10Appendix 2 – Site Navigation and Use Case Scenario14 Identity The website http://www. sixtiespress. co. uk is for a magazine called â€Å"Sixties Press Poetry†. The site has a logo that is replicated at the top of every page but does not have a clear tag line to indicate the purpose of the site. A user has to glean the fact the site is a collaboration of different authors generating 60’s themed poetry from menu items and the body content on the main page. There is not a specific â€Å"About Us† page anywhere on the site and the only contact information is in a small section on the bottom left portion of the homepage.The target audience is anyone seeking poetry with a 60’s theme and critical of poetry publishing processes in place in today’s society. Additionally, there are opti ons for purchasing hard-print magazines chosen from a catalog. These facts are not readily ascertained from the overload of content found on the homepage. The site redesign will give a more concise description of the site’s purpose on the homepage as well as a brief tagline. The amount of content on the homepage will be trimmed down so that the site’s identity and purpose are more readily apparent.Structure and layout From a layout standpoint, the overall wrapping of the body of each page on the site changes with the homepage having a wrapped width of 836px while the poetry page has a fixed width of 989px. This inconsistency leads to extra whitespace for some pages while less or none for other pages based on the user’s browser resolution and size. The body content is also left aligned so all extra whitespace is shown on the right which detracts from easier focus on the central content of pages. All of the pages show the site logo at the top followed by a navigat ion menu.This is considered good design and will not be changed structurally for the site redesign. The homepage uses a 3 column layout while other pages vary from 1 to 3 columns for their layouts. Columns are not distinctive in their content and are structurally disruptive giving the appearance of â€Å"cramming† information into a tighter space. There are apparent sections within the homepage body to delineate different parts of the site but no form of clean navigation to identify a relevant section quickly aside from consolidated coloring for each section.Pages are laid out with tables using blank paragraph tags to add space for formatting. This creates a very different viewing experience across different browsers as each medium has a different set of default values for spacing padding etc. The table widths also vary from page to page and section to section creating different alignments from the fixed position formatting used. The site redesign will eliminate the table str ucture for layout and use floated elements (divisions) to accomplish a more fluid layout. Column structure will follow designs set forth in Appendix 2.Information architecture and site navigation The entire site is broken into about 8 pages branching from the homepage with numerous anchor links used to navigate long pages of poetry. The actual content pages are extremely long, to the point the thumb scroll becomes it’s minimize size at 1920Ãâ€"1080 screen resolution. Given the breadth of information on pages such as â€Å"Poetry. hml†, the architecture could be improved by breaking out pages by author and/or subject. Individual hyperlinks do follow a consistent pattern of being underlined and a hand mouse pointer to indicate that clicking the link is actionable.The actual ordering information for hard print magazines is hidden in a catalog link not listed on the main navigation bar. There are also pages for internal authors that are only accessible from the main page and are not descriptive to being a collection of a specific the respective authors work. The site redesign will encompass using a more description navigation menu to better direct the user if they wish to purchase anything the site has to offer as well as a more intuitive menu and architecture for collective works by author. Use of visual elementsFor a website decided to poetry, the decisions for color and contrast do not follow a typical 60’s theme let alone theming for easier reading. Typically 60’s themed colors include Turquoise, Jade, and Mint Green amongst others (McEvoy, n. d. ), starkly contrasted to the dark red on black shown on the homepage. The â€Å"important† headings all have a random color with an â€Å"XOR’d† background while the menu has the same variation of random colors with a pitch black background. Each subsection of content within the body of the homepage is a different color with additional areas having an offset color sche me.The under-contrasted pages would make viewing the site very difficult for someone that is color blind The background wallpaper on each page has a subtle 60’s them but does not contrast well with the multi-color text of poetry passages or content in general. The font size and space are adequate but the font face itself detracts from the aesthetics of the pages’ content. The majority of the block text uses a â€Å"Black Chancery† font face which is not considered web safe and the site would be better suited to use a standard serif font.An exception can be made to allow for an embedded font such as Bellbottom Laser (Lorvad, 1991) to be used for adding flare to title headings. Usability Rather than using the html pseudo element â€Å"©Ã¢â‚¬  the designer made a picture of their copyright statement and it appears they expanded its size from the original distorting the image quality. The site redesign will use text in place of images used to accomplish to th e same task. The picture of Barry Tebb, one of the authors, requires a java applet to run only to have a non-value added effect of water droplets on a grainy photo.The site redesign will remove the unnecessary applet and use a static image instead. Additionally, the site logo will be linked directly to the homepage making navigation easier. There is a text area on the homepage that contains about 5 paragraphs of text and requires scrolling in a very narrow window. This will be revised into a more useable text block following the same design pattern as the rest of the site. With the exception of archives page, text blocks are limited to less than 80 characters per line making reading easier.Although links are properly anchored and are consistent with being underlined, the redesign will consolidate link colors to preserve thematic relevance. The actual number of links on the homepage will be reduced as its current form has more links than descriptive content detracting from understand ing the purpose of a homepage. Accessibility A W3C validation of the homepage discovered over 130 HTML coding errors and all of the styles were made inline without any use of external CSS. (W3C, 2012) None of the images on the site have alt text to failover if the image failed to load.There is not a concise separation between navigation and content within the code as the home used a table row and other pages used paragraphs as the separating entities. By eliminating the table structure of pages, the site redesign will properly code in HTML5/CSS3 ensuring the viewing experience is consistent across the majority of browsers. The site uses a JavaScript based pop-out menu to assist navigating large pages of poetry but there are numerous compatibility issues that occur. The pop-out menu rests about halfway down the screen and overlaps the body content both when expanded and collapsed.The menu bar beneath the logo is in an intuitive place but â€Å"jumps around† when navigating dif ferent pages since the formatting rules vary between browsers. The site redesign will eliminate the JavaScript based pop-out menu and will instead use a floating sub-menu for individual sections. Conclusion The majority of changes to the site will be thematic in nature, updating the color scheme and positioning. Additional changes will be made to improve the site’s identity starting with revising the homepage and including an â€Å"About Us† page to further expand the site’s purpose.HTML and CSS coding standards and practices will be strictly adhered to ensuring compatibility and proper viewing experience across major browsers. References Cumbrowski, C. (2008, Feb 20). 50 Questions to Evaluate the Quality of Your Website. Retrieved Nov 25, 2012, from Search Engine Journal: http://www. searchenginejournal. com/50-questions-to-evaluate-the-quality-of-your-website/6400/ Lorvad. (1991). BellBottom Laser font. Retrieved Nov 25, 2012, from Fontspace. com: http://www. fontspace. com/lorvad/bellbottom-laser McEvoy, D. (n. d. ). Interior Design Retro Style.Retrieved Nov 25, 2012, from All Things Frugal: http://www. allthingsfrugal. com/retro_interior_design. htm Meyers, D. P. (2012, Feb 10). 25-point Website Usability Checklist. Retrieved Nov 25, 2012, from User Effect: http://www. usereffect. com/topic/25-point-website-usability-checklist W3C. (2012, Nov 25). W3C Markup Validation Service. Retrieved Nov 25, 2012, from World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): http://validator. w3. org/check? uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. sixtiespress. co. uk%2Findex. htm&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0Appendix 1 – Heuristic Usability Questionnaire Navigation 1. Are links labeled with anchor text that provides a clear indication of where they lead? Yes. 2. Depth – what is the maximum number of clicks it takes to reach a page within the depths of the site? All pages are a single click away from the homepage (2 clicks if including anchoring fro m the menu). Given the amount of content on the site it would be more manageable to have a 3 click architecture to more concisely filter and arrange content (by author/by subject). 3.If a splash screen or navigation feature is provided in a Java/JavaScript/Flash format, is a text-based alternative also available? Yes, a JavaScript pop out menu is feature on long pages of poetry and a text version is available at the top of the page. 4. Do clickable items stylistically indicate that they are clickable? Yes, all items that are underlined are linked to some content and the mouse pointer changes to a hand to indicate that the click will be actionable. 5. How intuitive is it to navigate? Are signs obvious or obscured?In a general sense the navigation is intuitive but far from consistent with the layout changes between different pages. The pop-out menu is intuitive in IE but not in other browsers (actual clickable area is not visible). 6. Main navigation is easily identifiable. Mostly yes , however there is a page that contains revenue generation from ordering magazine that is not shown in the navigation bar or easily identifiable. Additionally there are pages that are specific to internal authors that are only accessible from the main page. 7. Navigation labels are clear & concise.Textually relevant yes but thematically difficult to read. 8. Number of buttons/links is reasonable. No, there are links to too many different areas on the homepage detracting from being concise. The homepage itself has more link than actual content. 9. Company logo is linked to home? page. No. 10. Links are consistent & easy to identify. All links are underlined but thematically change very regularly from size and color. An exception exists for the clickable area for each of the links, clicking to high on the text has no effect. Accessibility 1.Is content structurally separate from navigational elements? The navigation menu on the home page is separated from other content by a tag but on subsequent pages is contained in a tag. There is not a concise separation between navigation and content. 2. Is the website cross-browser compatible? No. The layout is achieved using tables and paragraph blanks and the viewing experience was different between Firefox, Chrome and IE. 3. How compliant is the website with W3C coding standards? Valid HTML/CSS? No, a W3C validation resulted in over 130 errors.The pages only contain inline styles with no external or embedded CSS. 4. Are ‘alt’ tags in place on all significant images? No, there are not alt tags used for any images. 5. Are text-based alternatives in place to convey essential information if this is featured within images or multimedia files? No, on top of alt text being absent, the java applet containing a photo on the main page does not fail safely and left as an empty area. 6. Site load? time is reasonable? Yes, there are very few pictures and most pages consist primarily of text in the form of poems/poetry. . Adequate text? to? background contrast? No. The featured articles page has text color very close to the background color while the navigation items are too contrasted in difference. 8. Flash & add? ons are used sparingly. Yes, but the sole java applet add-on used has no specific utility or purpose. The JavaScript pop-out menu does not load correctly across all browsers and is completely cut off from use in Chrome and Firefox. 9. Site has custom not? found/404 page. No. (Requires a server side change so not applicable) Identity 1.Company logo is prominently placed. Yes 2. Clear statement of PURPOSE of the site? Purpose does not become clear within a few seconds without reading much or no text copy at all. Assumptions have to be made from the text in the logo and menu to find out it is a magazine about poetry. 3. Who is the target audience? The site is meant for anyone seeking 60’s era poetry and those looking to purchase a copy of the print magazine. 4. Tagline makes company ’s purpose clear. No tagline present. It is assumed the site is about poetry after reading through the body content. . Home? page is digestible in 5 seconds. No, there are multiple vectors the eyes are drawn to which makes getting an overall view more difficult. There are laundry lists of authors, selected readings and selected sections for each subpage of the site on the homepage. 6. Clear path to company information. No specific â€Å"About Us† page listed and had to specifically perform a WHOIS search to determine true site ownership. The homepage does contain a clause that specifies original copyright remains with respective authors and images were courtesy of Leeds Library. . Clear path to contact information? Not really, there are contact details on the bottom left corner of the homepage but not specifically listed as official site contact. Design 1. Is the site’s design aesthetically appealing? No, the color scheme alone makes the site very unappealing. T he stark contrasts set against the â€Å"swirling† background makes focusing difficult and the left aligned nature draws too much attention to the whitespace left on the right side of the screen. 2. Are the colors used harmonious and logically related?No, colors seem extremely random in nature although they are logically related to sections (one color for each section). 3. Are the color choices visually accessible? No, some parts have color themes that are too starkly contrasted while others are not contrasted enough to allow easier reading. It would be very difficult for someone color blind to absorb a lot of the content. 4. Is the design audience appropriate? Yes, the font size is appropriate for older audiences and those wishing to â€Å"retro† to 60’s content. 5. Font size/spacing is easy to read?Font size and spacing is adequate. 6. Readability and appropriate type face? No, there are multiple different fonts used and the specific fonts do not add to the re adability or theme of the website. The â€Å"Black Chancery† font use predominately for block text is not considering a web safe font. Content 1. Is the website copy succinct but informative? There are continuous sections of poetry that detracts from being â€Å"succinct† but the content only design can be considered informative. 2. Does the copywriting style suit the website’s purpose and ‘speak’ to its target audience?There is an attempt at using vibrant colors resembling 60’s design but that attempt falls short of effectively speaking this to the audience. 3. Are bodies of text constrained to

Gender Differences in Workplace Essay

In the emerging global economy, the world economic system today is much more open than it was only a decade ago. The world is fast becoming interdependent global market place. Competitiveness will be on an international basis wherein knowledge and skills of the workforce posed great challenge as it will be the key competitive weapon for the 21st century. While the global economy emerges here in the Philippines and so does stress. Stress – that can be felt by those who are in the frontline and those who are in the corporate ladder. Stress was first introduced by Walter Cannon along with the fight or flight response, and often than not one would feel changes in body temperature, the heart will beat faster and blood pressure alleviates and faster blood clotting once entered this phase. Stress is one of the factors why majority of the employees in management level become ill or at some point the reason for leaving their post. Over the past couple of decade, this has been the major concern of employers with their employees. Most of the big companies even allocate budget for the employee’s well being and prevention of such stress. Vacation leave has been around the working industry for a long time, since it will definitely help reduce stress and at some point sick leaves can be use to tend to stress. Many factors inside the company may affect sources of stress, there is the nature of work, threats in lay-offs, salary, time of work (e.g. graveyard shift), deadlines and managers themselves – well these are some of the stressors among those who are in the workforce of a company. Filipino workforce front liners has a clue on how to overcome stress, we might get a chance to see how most of the call center agents cope with stress outside of their company building by smoking cigarettes. But that is just one in so many ways on how to cope with stress. It is also notable that stress helps  an individual to perform well on a given task, the important moderator in the military context, for individual and groups, is training. Stress exposure training, in which individuals are exposed to simulated stressors and forced to perform target skills under them, can build familiarity with potential stressors, teach individuals strategies to maintain performance under stress, and contribute to over learning, task mastery, and increased self-confidence. Stress exposure training can also be effective in improving group performance under stress by teaching groups how to adapt their performance strategies to external stressors and alerting them to how other team members will be affected by stress. Groups that undergo training, tend to have better communication, teamwork and feedback strategies that help them to work together under stress (Kavanagh, 2005). Stress is an inevitable buddy in workers of fast food, BPOs and other offices -both public and private. Stress, both good and bad contribute to the efficacy and quality of service that an employee can offer. This study aims to know how stress affects those who are in the corporate ladder. Harris (2011) in behalf of American Psychological Association made a study last 2011 involving 1546 adult employees regarding work stress shows that 36% of the respondents feel stressed out with their job. And those who have high and low level of stress feel that they are less likely satisfied with their job. With this being said, we can take note that sufficient amount of stress is needed as a means of motivation. And that is what this study is all about. How stress affect both men and women who are in the corporate ladder. How they cope with a bucket of stress, and how to turn the tides to their favor. Statement of the Problem This study is conducted to determine the impact of stress among those who are in the corporate ladder in Metro Manila. Specifically, it seeks answers to the following questions;

How to Cancel Your SAT Registration and Test

How to Cancel Your SAT Registration and Test SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You registered for the SAT, but as test day draws near, you find that you don’t want to take the test anymore! You may want to take the ACT instead, or maybe you decided to opt out of the SAT altogether and apply to colleges that don’t require you to report SAT scores. But what can you do? Well, first, don't panic! We at PrepScholar noticed how hard it was to find this information online, so we put it all together for you in one place. Here are some things you need to consider: Can you cancel the SAT test? Can you get your money back? Will this go on your permanent record? Do you need to cancel your SAT to change your test date? Canceling Your SAT Without a Refund If you don't want to take the test on a certain day and you don't want to reschedule, then to cancel the test, all you need to do is not show up on test day. The College Board emphatically states that it is not necessary to notify them of this. And they also note that no score reports will be sent out as a result. Your no-show will not show up on your record. Because the College Board will count it as a missed test, which could happen for any number of reasons, they do not keep records of who misses their tests. The way they see it, you paid the fees already, and if you miss the test, then that's on you. This is good, because it means there's only one thing you have to do to cancel your SAT. Just don’t show up for the test. However, if you do this, you won't get a refund for the test you missed. If you're interested in getting some of your money back, keep reading. Canceling Your SAT With a Partial Refund Unfortunately, no matter how early you cancel your SAT registration, you won't get a full refund. Therefore, it's best to hold off on actually completing the online registration in the first place until you’re absolutely sure you want to take the test on that date. Once you've registered, at best, you'll only get a small part of your money back. How Do You Get the Refund? The College Board states that students who don't want to transfer their registration to another test date or location should contact Customer Service. We’ve included the Customer Service information below for your convenience. If you call Customer Service, it’s possible you may receive a partial refund of up to $10. (The full price you paid for the SAT is $46, or $60 with the essay, so they refund you only about 1/5 of the total.) In order to get the refund, you must call at least five days before your exam date. After that, there's no chance of a refund. Remember, once you call and cancel, there is no going back - you will not be able to take the test on that test date and the College Board will not report the scores from this test date. Refunding Question and Answer Service If you ordered the Question and Answer Service but are now canceling your SAT registration, it's also possible to get that fee refunded. To get the refund, you must call Customer Service. Any additional score reports that you ordered are also refundable if you were absent the day of the test. Refunds are processed six weeks after the test date. Is There a Difference Between Canceling and Not Taking the Test? According to the College Board, there is no actual difference between calling and canceling your SAT and not taking the SAT on test day. In other words, whichever action you decide to take, their records of you will not show any difference. The only difference is monetary. If you call in to cancel at least five days before, you may get a partial refund ($10). Perhaps just as importantly, canceling means that you may get refunded for any additional services you paid for, like QAS. Changing Your SAT Exam Date Remember, you should only cancel your SAT if you don't ever plan on taking another SAT. If all you want to do is change the date of your SAT, you don't need to cancel your test to do that. However, there is a fee for rescheduling your SAT (although it's less than canceling your SAT and registering for a new test). It costs $29 to reschedule your SAT, and you can do this anytime, even after your original test date (as long as you didn't show up for it). We have an entire guide on how to reschedule your SAT, but below are the key steps to take: Sign in to your College Board account. On the â€Å"My SAT† page, you’ll see the tests you’re registered for. Click â€Å"Change Registration† under the test that you want to reschedule. You’ll next see a new page with your SAT admission ticket information on it. At the bottom of the page, click â€Å"Change my test date.† You’ll be brought to a new page where, under â€Å"Test Date†, you can see the new SAT date(s) you can change to. Select the one that works best for you. Next select your test center, confirm your personal information is correct, and pay the reschedule fee. When you’re finished, you’ll receive an email confirmation and a new admission ticket with your updated test date. How to Contact College Board Customer Service By online form: Contact CollegeBoard Online Here By telephone (the best and fastest way to get a response) Domestic: 866-756-7346 International: 212-713-7789 Services for students with disabilities: 212-713-8333 TTY (for deaf or hearing impaired) Domestic: 888-857-247 TTY (for deaf or hearing impaired) International: 609-882-48 Summary To go over your options once more, here's what you can do to cancel your SAT test. Canceling before the test: If you cancel up to 5 days before the test date, then it's possible to get a refund up to $10, plus the QAS or score reports refunded. Day of the test: If you simply do not show up to the test and cancel by default, then you do not get any test refund, but you can still cancel the QAS for your 'missed test'. After you take the test: If you want to cancel after taking the test, then you should look into How to Cancel Your SAT Scores. There is a strict deadline on this, so make sure you send them the cancellation before midnight, the Wednesday after your test. What’s Next? If you want to re-register for the SAT, then check out Step-by-Step Guide with Pictures SAT Registration. Needed to cancel because of the test location? Then check out How You Can Pick the Best SAT Test Locations. Maybe you’re not sure whether you want to take the SAT, but keep in mind Future Years’ SAT Test Dates, Schedules, and Deadlines Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

3 Questions About Emphasis

3 Questions About Emphasis 3 Questions About Emphasis 3 Questions About Emphasis By Mark Nichol The following questions from readers, and the responses, pertain to how words are formatted to provide emphasis. 1. When writing business documents such as Standard Operating Procedures or Workflow processes, my understanding has always been that you capitalize titles. An example of that would be â€Å"The Project Coordinator will send the Systems Architect the following information to begin the quoting process.† When you are describing a specific role in a business process, is it OK to capitalize the title? In legal documents, descriptive terms for entities such as Plaintiff or Corporation have traditionally been capitalized to emphasize for the purposes of legal precision that they refer to specific entities and not, for example, any plaintiff or corporation in general. This usage apparently spilled over from the legal department into the rest of the corporate headquarters without question at one time and became entrenched. It is â€Å"OK† to capitalize job titles as you have shown, but there’s no reason to do so, and it has a distracting, cluttering effect. I recommend reserving capitalization for when it provides clarity, as in communicating that a phrase before a person’s name is that person’s official job title, not just a description of or label for his or her role. For that matter, though you may title a document â€Å"Standard Operating Procedures† or â€Å"Workflow,† in your first sentence, you are referring generically to the type of documents you are writing, not to specific documents so titled, so the terms should not be capitalized. 2. In a document in which personality characteristics are used to describe roles in our company, we are using labels like â€Å"The Champion† and â€Å"The Catalyst.† Is the way the labels have been formatted correct? [Editor’s note: The labels were not only capitalized and italicized but also styled in boldface in the reader’s email message.] Several layers of emphasis have been used for these labels, which is redundant. Only one is necessary, and simple capitalization of the key terms is sufficient to indicate that you are naming well-defined roles. The article the should not be capitalized, however. (Nor should quotation marks be used to frame the labels in the actual document.) 3. I think that in the following sentence, infrastructure should be italicized, but my manager disagrees: â€Å"By infrastructure, we mean the company’s policies, internal activities, organization, reporting and systems related to managing risk.† Who’s right? You are. For the same reason that infrastructure is italicized in your opening statement and here in my response- we’re both using the word to refer to the word itself, not to the phenomenon of infrastructure- it should be italicized in the example you gave: The sentence defines not the concept, but the word by which the concept is known. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FuturePeople versus Persons20 Slang Terms for Law Enforcement Personnel

Censorship in Cinemas Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9000 words

Censorship in Cinemas - Coursework Example The research brings together practical evidence by way of scholarly theory and the popular press to support some of these arguments and to determine whether it is a necessary element within society in its broadest context. 'Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers' - Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19. 'The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.' (O'Byrne, 2003: 106-112) So it appears that freedom of expression is not without its limits and is still subject to censorship in terms of what is considered beneficial to the greater good of communities. Censorship can, in its broadest sense, be defined as the suppression of knowledge or ideas. It is often enforced by governments or authoritative organisations to prevent certain types of explicit material from being circulated. This study is focusing particularly on the nature of film censorship which can be judged in relation to language that is used, the plot or the subject matter and is applied in accordance with protecting children, minority groups or vulnerable individuals from exposure to unnecessary emotional trauma. In Britain, film censorship has been active since the turn of the last century and is now overseen by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) which classifies films and certifies them accordingly for public viewing. In the United States censorship emerged in the late 1920's with the development of talking pictures. The Hays Code of film classification was adopted in 1934 'to control the depiction of religious groups, foreign countries, foreigners, sexual and criminal activity and other repellent subjects.' (Sourced from: http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/ArticleCensorship.html, Date accessed, 18/02/09) Later on, in 1968 a classification system was established that all Hollywood movies recognise on a voluntary basis and which is governed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The UK shares many of the same censorship and classification strategies as that of the United States. The only legally acknowledged censorship bodies in the UK are the local authorities; with 'obs cenity' listed as the prime protagonist for ensuring film censorship is sustained. The British Board of Film Classification argues that classification is largely upheld in accordance with protecting children. (Kochberg, 2007) Their current guidelines identify a number of areas of concern which are addressed and considered in

Discussion question Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion question - Term Paper Example (Marshall 15) The devastation to other species of animals and plants through the additional use of land to grow more food will be irreplaceable. We could potentially lose several additional species of animals through the deforestation necessary to use land versus simply advancing our technological approaches. However, the new technology including gene manipulation is cause for alarm due to the potential side effects it brings with it. Another concern is the ethical issues surrounding the patenting of genes, this could potentially lead to major corporations owning humans bodies through the patent on the gene they may carry. One filmmaker spoke regarding this in 2004, she had originally made the film to look at pesticide use, and however, due to her research she became quite alarmed over the genetic manipulations being done by Monsanto Corporation. She called for additional supervision in this area as well as testing before using it in the general market. (Bertino 4) Much of the newer technology has been tested for an adequate length of time to see if negative effects may exist. Some researchers are looking for ways to potentially slow the growth of the human race and even place it at a standstill for a short time. Given the alternatives this may be an appropriate approach as well.

Business - International Trade Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business - International Trade - Assignment Example A safe guard restrains international trade. In 2002, the United States imposed a safe guard against steel products, (China Trade Remedy, 2011). The United States trade Representative asked the US international trade Commission (ITC) to begin an official safe guard investigation, under section 201 of the US trade laws. The request involved specifically asking the ITC to check whether steel imports were causing injury to the home steel industry. This was under 612, HTS product categories, (China Trade Remedy, 2011). In October 2001, the ITC made an announcement to the effect that it had discovered that steel imports had to a significant extent, caused injury to the domestic steel industry. In December 2001, the ITC made an announcement to the effect that a safe guard is to be imposed. This involved a relook into safe guard tariffs and quotas, (China Trade Remedy, 2011). During this period of time, the USTR began requested the US steel consuming industries and foreign steel exporters to start submitting petitions (China Trade Remedy, 2011). These petitions were meant to have their products removed from the upcoming safeguard. For this exclusion to be made they had to satisfy the USTR demand to know whether the domestic steel production was insufficient for the country. Why nations in the WTO refuse dumping: Dumping is an act of pricing that applies to international trade. ... It is a predatory practice, which is highly condemned, by the world trade organization, (WTO, 2012). This does not mean it’s necessarily prohibited. It is one of the things, which can utterly destroy domestic industries; therefore it calls for manufacturers to act with restraint. When local industries are hurt, the country has a lesser ability to do trade at the international platform. Dumping is a concern to the nations in WTO because it is an extremely expensive act to maintain, (WTO, 2012). It can take many years for it to work. The export country needs to subsidize the product that is being dumped. This can easily cause such a country to accumulate a large sovereign debt. It can even end up hurting the other aspects of the domestic trade in the export country. The other leading demerit of this predatory practice is that, it provokes retaliation from the trade partner. This leads to trade tariffs and barriers. The nations that are involved in this condemned practice can, th erefore, be censured by the WTO, (WTO, 2012). Dumping is rare, but when it happens, local manufacturers cannot avoid loses. This is because people buy the cheaper products. Are trade blocs recommended or not? A trading block is an agreement among governments whereby there is consensus to reduce or do away with tariffs and taxes that are imposed across the member states. These are sometimes referred to as free trade agreements, (Chase, 2005). They are simply intergovernmental trade pacts. Having trade blocs leads to easy and free access of goods or services, (Doole & Lowe, 2008). This easily causes the member states to specialize, which leads to quality of services being improved or better goods being delivered. Besides, at the level of the region, trade agreements lead to a variety of

The Practical Use of Research

The Practical Use of Research The term Research is an often misused term. Its usage in everyday language is very different from the strict scientific meaning. The Oxford Dictionary of Current English defines it as the study of materials and sources in other to establish facts and reach new conclusions. The term Research is a multi-faceted concept that has attracted numerous views. It is both a process and an outcome. But no matter the dimension, it should lead to understanding of an outcome. Research refers to empirical data collection in the pursuit of scientific endeavour usually in the form of an experiment, survey or evaluation (Australian Psychological Society, Code of Ethics). According to Osuala (2005), Research is simply the process of arriving at dependable solutions to problems through the planned and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Research is a most important tool for advancing knowledge, for promoting progress, and for enabling man to relate more effectively to his environment, to accomplish his purposes, and to resolve his conflicts. Another school of thought defines research as the process of investigation, an examination of a subject from different points of view. It is not just a trip to the library to pick up a stock of materials, or picking the first hits from a computer search, but the hunt for the truth. It is also getting to know a subject by reading up on it, reflecting , playing with the ideas, choosing the area that interest you and following up on them. In other wards it is a way you educate yourself (Denscombe, 1998). Creswell (2003) identifies research as the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase our understanding of the phenomenon under study. It is therefore the function of the researcher to contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon and to communicate that understanding to others. From the above definitions of the concept and from my own judgment, I can state from a broad sense of the word that research include the gathering of empirical data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge. It also involves a dedicated system of scientific methodology that can be used by researchers to arrive at the right conclusion. The three definitions above are not entirely different from my point of view because Denscombe, 1998, seem to explain that research involves an in depth inquiry about a subject to make an informed judgment. Creswell, 2003, agrees with me that data or information obtained and process leads to an increase in knowledge of the subject. However, research is not only about the pursuit of scientific endeavours as stated by the Australian Psychological Society, Code of Ethics, (2001), but a social event as well. The limitation of scientific method must, however, be thoroughly understood. For example, science cannot deal directly with values. It can define some of the issues involved in making value-judgments, but the judgment themselves are outside the scope of science. Research is a tool for studying social events and learning about them and their interconnections so that general causal laws can be discovered, explained and documented. Knowledge of events and social laws allows society to c ontrol events and to predict their occurrence and outcomes. Research is oriented towards the discovery of the relationships that exist among the phenomena of the world in which we live. It is devoted to finding conditions under which a certain phenomenon occurs and the conditions under which it does not occur in what might appear to be similar circumstances. From the above discussions research is a series of linked activities. According to Atkinson and Bouma (1995) research processes has three main phases. These are phase one: Essential first steps Selecting, narrowing and formulating the problem to be studied. Selecting the research design. Designing and devising measures for variables. Setting up tables for analysis. Selecting a sample. Phase two: Data collection Collecting evidence or data about the research question. Summarizing and organizing data. Phase three: Analysis and interpretation of data. This involves Relating data to the research questions and hypothesis. Drawing conclusions Assessing the limitations of the study. Solution to the problem in the form of recommendation Making suggestions for further research. What Research is not Research does not include what is already known, but is reserved for activities designed to discover facts and relationships that will make knowledge more effective. Attempts to classify types of research pose a difficult problem (Best and Khan, 1993). This is because various textbooks suggest different systems of classification. These are classifications by: purpose of research; Method used in the research; and paradigm of the study. Research can be classified into two broad categories namely scientific or experimental research and social science research. For the purpose of my study I wish to explain research under social science. Social science research, irrespective of its type and nature, entails a degree of measurement. This involves categorizing and assigning values to concepts, and is diverse in nature and levels of operation. It is also a very useful procedure because it serves to ensure high quality in research. Diversity in research reflects diversity in the parameters that guide it. More precisely, it means diversity in the Ontology and epistemology that underlie the methodology, which in turn guide the research. Simply, methodologies produce different research designs, because they follow in their theoretical structure different ontological and epistemological prescriptions. Critique of my definition of research Concerns with the definition of research in my opinion may be raised by what I referred to as gathering of empirical data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge, hence a critique of my definition. Flaws or weaknesses in my definition. There has been considerable interest in recent years in the role of philosophical assumptions and paradigms in doing research. During the 1970s and 1980s prominent concerns were raised about the limits of quantitative data and methods often associated with positivism, the prevailing paradigm. Positivism assumes an objective world which scientific methods can more or less readily represent and measure, and it seeks to predict and explain causal relations among key variables. However, critics argued that positivistic methods strip context from meanings in the process of developing quantified measures of phenomena (Guba and Lincoln, 1994: 106). The issue therefore of empirical approach to research has been justified by its success in measuring quantitative research. However, in more recent years, scientists have been challenged to explain phenomena that defy measurement and their inability to quantitatively measure some phenomena and the dissatisfaction with the results of measurement of other phenomena which have led to an intense search for other approaches to study human phenomena. This interest has led to an acceptance of qualitative research approach which does not need empirical data to discover knowledge. One cannot help but to stuck by the success of qualitative research methods in the marketplace of academic ideas (Atkinson, 1995, p. 117). The background of using qualitative methods to study human phenomena is rooted in the social sciences. This tradition came about because aspects of human science were unable to be described fully using quantitative research methods. More recently, the practice of qualitative rese arch has expanded to clinical settings because empirical approaches have proven to be of limited service in answering some of the challenges and pressing clinical questions, especially where human subjectivity and interpretation are involved (Thorne, 1997, p. 28). However, the use of qualitative research has its own flaws as well. It is unable to study relationships between variables with the degree of accuracy that is required to establish social trends. Empirical scientists who support the Cartesian framework believe that if objective measurement cannot be assigned to a phenomenon, then the importance and thus the existence of the phenomenon may be in question. Many contemporary scientists and philosophers question the value of this system, particularly in situations that include humans and their interactions with other humans. Data quality is very important for the research purpose and if care is not taken often, critics think the nature of data collection could lead to the production of large amounts of useless information. Empirical data should not be the approach of investigating social actions to interpret and understand the actors reasons for social actions, but to subject their action into reality. Information and facts Others may say that what may be a piece of information to one researcher may be irrelevant to another. Therefore how do we determine relevant information or facts for research? Quantitative research methodology has its weaknesses, among other things for the way in which it perceives reality, validity and the methods it uses as well as the relationship it establishes with the researched. Qualitative research methodology has been criticized, among other things for not being able to cope with demands related to reliability, objectivity, representativeness and the value of collected data. Advancement of Knowledge; Again, critiques think that in research people may omit evidence that may not agree with their opinion and could produce inadequate information which does not represent the facts. In other words, beliefs may be established on insufficient evidence. Therefore improper conclusions or inferences owing to personal prejudices may be drawn. The common response to these criticisms is that, these concepts are strengths and not weaknesses of my definition. With the underlying terms or concepts that I have used in my definition, let me consider the following; Empiricism. Empirism goes back to the writings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and is directly associated with the work of Francis Bacon (1651-1626), John Locke (1632-1704) and David Hume (1711-1776). Empiricism supports the view that knowledge come through experience mediated through the senses and insight can only be achieved through pure experiences. Empiricism assigns a high value to experience and gives primacy to facts. Hence, observation and experience offer the basis of knowledge. For Hughes, (1990), opinions are reflections of our impressions of reality. In a more radical form, empiricism argues that only things that can be verified empirically exist. What cannot be verified does not exist; truths that are not based on experience are meaningless. Quality of data. Often, data collection is essential for a reliable and valid research. Data collection entails decisions and action regarding the collection of the information required to address the research question. Data processing entails grouping, presentation, analysis and the interpretations of the findings. Examine and compare data after which data should be conceptualized and analyzed qualitatively or quantitatively. Empirical data are generally relevant for analysis. Research Information here refers to any relevant material that is useful for and during the study. They may include key informants, study groups, events and methods of data collection and assistants. Ways of Gaining / advancing Knowledge The means by which man seeks knowledge to his problems can be classified under broad categories; tenacity, authority, and science. The Method of Tenacity; under this situation people hold firmly to the truth, that they know to be true because they hold firmly to it, because they have always known it to be true. Frequent repetition of such truths seems to enhance their validity. People also infer new knowledge from propositions that may be false. The Method of Authority; this method establishes belief. If the Bible says so, it is so. If a mother says it, it is true. Life could not, in fact, go on without the method of authority (Osuala, 2005). The Method of Science; Francis Bacon (1561-1626) planted the seeds of acquiring modern scientific knowledge. He suggested that conclusion should be based on observed facts. The triangulation of both inductive and deductive reasoning gave birth to the scientific method. This method has self-correction aspects which it is believed no other method of attaining knowledge has. There are built-in checks all along the way of this method. These checks are so conceived and used that they control and verify the scientists activities and conclusions to the end of attaining dependable knowledge outside himself. A scientist does not accept a statement as true even though the evidence at first looks promising. Dependable knowledge is attained through science because science ultimately appeals to evidence; propositions are subjected to an empirical test. Conclusion: From the above discussions research in my opinion is a process by which we come to know what we want to know. It is a series of linked activities but should not be seen as a set of rigid steps to be followed. The obvious function of research is to add to existing store of knowledge and sometimes remove inappropriate or inapplicable theory. The three definitions and my personal own on research all go to add to further clarify the meaning of research as being purposive in the solution of a given problem, demands logical and objective approach, involves gathering data from primary and secondary sources. It also demands accurate and adequate knowledge about what already exist and how others have tackled it.