Merry King Essay -- Globalization, Competition, Software Development

In today's commercial market environment, competition and globalization has increased dramatically. The excessive cost arising from inefficient processes and operation have been considered to be the major causes of losses to the organizations over the past several years. Several organizations, particularly larger companies, recognize the need to hedge and manage against undesired risks. Software development is presently one of the most common risk issues. Adler et.al., (1998) reveal that the software development project includes risk events that can cause damage to improving processes. Moreover, it would be an error of judgment to overlook the significant risk areas of the project as this will impair decision quality and impact massive product changes. Raz et.al., (2002) describe project risks as adverse events that can cause delays, surplus expenditure and dissatisfaction with the project outcome. Apart from this, each project varies in size, duration, uncertainty, complexity, objectives, limitations and others. In an effort to enhance the quality of procedure and minimize the risk profile, better execution and implementation will also reduce undesired performance. Adler et.al., (1998) note that there is a tendency to claim that Cleanroom approach would be more appropriate to improve the overall trustworthiness and quality assurance issues. This essay will first describe how the effects of software risks have a direct impact on day-to-day business activities. It will then define how software risk management plays an important role in coping with the project risks. In the second section, it will introduce two software risk management models namely the Software Risk Evaluation model (SRE) and Cleanroom Softw... ...able for software engineers to monitor quality control that can be scientifically verified in a formal statistical diagram. In a study, Raz et.al., (2002) point out that there is a continuing requirement for an adaptation from the different risk management techniques to the different kind of projects and the improvement of the specific devices to mitigate risk from several different type of projects. In essence, it could be said that many organizations increasingly recognize the importance of software risk management to ensure accessibility of the overall information of the project risks. What is more, Ward (2005) concludes that a company which constantly develops risk management tends to gain a competitive advantage, and it appears probable that a well-defined software risk management practice can assist to increase the company's competitive advantages as well.

Moni Lisa Smile Andralogical Model

Movie â€Å"Moni Lisa Smiles† Related to Andragogical Style of Teaching The movie begins with Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), in 1953, accepting an art history teaching position at the prestigious New England school for women. She is a liberal and a feminist who was inspired to come to Wellesley to â€Å"make a difference†. After a semester of teaching a progressive, less traditional teaching style, she is given conditions by the alumni that, if she is to stay at Wellesley, she will teach the outlined syllabus and submit her lessons plans for prior approval.This demonstrated the hard core traditional style view that governed Wellesley’s educators. The students were expected to memorize the textbook. The administrator made the statement, â€Å"You didn’t come to Wellesley to help people find their way; you came to help people find your way. † To compare the behavior of the students in the film, I’ll start on the first day of class; the stude nts embarrass Ms. Watson, the teacher, in front of the class evaluator by knowing everything she had prepared. The character, or teacher, seemed to demonstrate two different educational or behavioral positions.At the end of the movie, you find numerous assumptions of the andragogical model. Ms. Watson appeared as a feminist who refused to fall under the traditional educational objectives or educational theories. Therefore, she changes her educational model or theory to the andragogical style of teaching. This was a change from the beginning of the movie when she first entered the classroom with the traditional power point. Thus according to Knowles (2011), she originally followed the pedagogical model. This model is clearly defined in The Adult Learner written by Knowles, Holton, and Swanson, 2011.It explains the pedagogical model assigns the teacher full responsibility for making all decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned, when it will be learned, and if it ha s to be learned (2011, p. 60). This is the style of teaching the administrative staff at Wellesley believed to be the best. Historically this model has been found to be less effective than the andragogical style for adult learners who have specific educational needs. The assumption that the andragogical model is based on includes: (Knowles, 2011 p. 63-67) Principals of teaching 🙠 Knowles, 2011 p. 63-67) . The learner’s need to know. -The first task of Watson was to help the students become aware of the need to know by making or demonstrating an intellectual case for the value of learning by giving them the potential tools, thus improving the quality of their lives. As an educator her goal was to help them discover the gaps between where they were and where they wanted to be. She demonstrated that there is much more to art that memorizing a textbook. This was demonstrated best in the movie when she talked to Joan about pursuing law school and seeking a career. 2. The l earner’s self-concept. Educator Watson was fully aware the girls had arrived at the self-concept that they were more than capable of reading the book and memorizing the information as they had been previously taught in the past. Educator Watson was approached with resentment and resistance by the girls demonstrating they had previously read the text. The attitude was, â€Å"We know this so just let us go out in smoke and socialize. † Watson was on top of the situation by coming to the second class introducing new thought stimulating ideas; she utilized a power point presentation that included a picture of Soutine’s â€Å"Carcass. She presented several other power points of art not found in the text and challenged the students to transition from being dependent learners, to think outside the box, transitioning and becoming self-directing learners. She also challenged them to become more than the traditional art students. Katherine tries to get the students to ex plore ideas by a metaphorical demonstration in the paint-by-numbers of the Van Gough painting ‘Sunflowers’, in which the whole class in this scene paints their own painting individually. 3. The role of the learner’s experiences. Educator Watson took teaching to another level by utilizing different learning strategies. She loved group discussions, problem solving and simulation exercises. She taught the importance of art related to individual expression and the students demonstrated their knowledge of this by each painting their own sunflower portrait. This was a demonstration of the role of the learner’s experience. With this example, she opened their minds to new approaches, encouraged expression of values, sensitivity training, and mediation through self-expression of art.She took them to her place where she had a collection of various artists that included modern to historical portraits. 4. The readiness to learn. -Ms. Watson’s new andragogical a pproach and thought provoking ideas stimulated a readiness to learn that changed from the original attitude in the first class. The girls with high expectations and obvious intellectual history became excited and ready to learn. The new approaches used by Watson changed the attitude toward the non-ivy league teacher. She encouraged them to use their experiences and valued their ideas and accepted them as people. . The orientation to learning. -Watson’s education style included real-life situations, and she taught them how art could help them to deal with problems. She used her personal history and collection to explain the importance of expression. She challenged their minds to analyze paintings and to paint for pleasure and therapeutic and social interactions. Watson wins them over when she introduces paintings not in the text, encouraging thought provoking ideas that really stimulated the minds of these students. . The motivation to learn. -Watson was an excellent motivator in the film. She never let the girls think for once that just memorization of a book was acceptable. She encouraged learning to go above the ideas of tradition. (Again; with the example of Soutine’s â€Å"Carcass† and more†¦) She motivated them to keep learning and encouraged them to be career oriented. Several times she told the students that they could be the housewife of their dreams, but to look at further education to fulfill their career dreams.When you look at the movie and the leading students, you realize at first they refuse to go along with the free thinking ideas and they think the textbook contains everything they need to know. Katherine is appalled at the fact that they actually think of their education as a way to pass their time until they are married. The behavior of three main students include: Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the student that in the beginning of the movie abruptly spoke out and said, â€Å"We’re a far cry from Oakland, † in a snotty tone. She appeared to represent the class attitude.She appears to also be the most self-destructive of the students and does not seem to confront Watson’s ideas like the other two. She displayed a characteristic most would look at as being promiscuous; the film displayed her behavior as being the most feminist and she was exhibited as a student who liked to control men with her body, leading you to believe she traded sex for favors and sometimes just plain fun. The second student, Elizabeth (‘Betty’) Warren (Kirsten Dunst), whose mother is the head of the alumni, heads up the editorials for the school newspaper.Her viscous description of Ms. Watson’s roommate gets her fired. She is a malicious gossip that utilized her editorials like a knife to publicly downgrade others and doesn’t agree with Watson’s feminist ideas. This conflict of ideas is presented during the movie; they had many heated discussions. Betty strongly beli eved in the popular cultural idea that the woman’s place was in the home. Wellesley College, a prestigious New England women’s school, expected you to memorize course contents much like the pedagogical model or theory of adult model of learning.The women of that day attended prestigious schools expecting to prepare to become superb mothers, with the ultimate goal to take care of their husbands, only the elite males, and be home to care for the children. The third actor is Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles), who appears to be very open to the suggestion of Watson to pursue her dreams of attending law school. She struggles with the societal expectations of a woman in the 1950’s, to marry and have children, which were glorified as the ultimate prestigious goal.She is actually given a C on an assignment and goes to visit Ms. Watson when she is asked, â€Å"What is your plan after graduating? † â€Å"Just for fun,† questioned Watson, â€Å"if you could go to any law school in the country, which school would it be? † Joan told her Yale and explained Yale leaves five slots open for women and one of those five slots is for a Wellesley girl. Watson gets her an application, which she submits, and to her amazement she is accepted. She makes the decision in the movie to get married, and Ms.Watson continues to educate her that she can do both and ultimately gives her a plan on how she can be married and go to school. Watson pushes her students not to settle for the lifestyle of a housewife, but have career oriented goals. To analyze the role of the teacher promoting the conditions of learning, according to Knowles, is to look at the learning environment, not only the physical environment, but the mutual trust, respect, helpfulness, including freedom of expression and the acceptance of differences (2011, p. 92-93).The students must perceive the goals of the learning experience as their own goals. Educator Watson developed mutual trust and respect with the students. She demonstrated this in the movie when they decided they wanted her to be included in a social event. At the girls’ social, she was encouraged to drink alcoholic beverages and answer personal questions about her private affairs with men. She was open, honest and interacted with them, building a trust and demonstrating and expressing her commitment to teaching â€Å"to make a difference†.She again encouraged education to be a career building tool and iterated the goals of learning needed to be their career goals. She encouraged planning and commitment toward these goals in the movie, especially in one example where she actually got an application for Betty to Yale law school. According to our text, in review of the theories applied, Malcolm Knowles first introduced the andragogy concept or theory as an honest attempt to focus on the learner (2011 p. 2). The strength of andragogy is the fact that its six core adult learning principles can app ly to all learning situations (2011 p. ). It is a transactional model that enables those designing and conducting learning to build more effective learning processes (Knowles, 2011 p. 2). Knowles iterates the andragogy concept, when applied properly, will do everything possible to ensure the learner takes part in their learning process. This theory is best for the adult learner as their needs and capacity to learn are fully developed. We can utilize our experience and the fact that we have become responsible workers and learners.The pedagogical model assigns to the teacher the full responsibility for making all decision about what will be learned, how, and when it will be learned (Knowles 2011 p. 60). This model leaves to the learner the submissive role of following instructions and memorization. The characteristics of the prestigious Wellesley College for woman in 1953 included a satirical review of stuffy attitudes of the alumni and administration. They had rigid rules and goals f or the students. At the top of the list was getting married and college was just a place to go until that happened.Furthermore, Katherine Watson, a feminist teacher from California, whose unconventional adult teaching style was acquired from Berkeley, was shocked to learn that students viewed their education as a prerequisite for getting married. The progressive thinking taught in California was not accepted well by the staff at Wellesley. The new teachers’ class is hit and the students’ enrollment in her class increased, but the strict rules and guidelines put in place by Wellesley were not easy to swallow by Katherine who came to â€Å"make a difference. † It was obvious the institution and the educator were in conflict.At the close of the movie, Katherine decides to leave and go to Europe. Betty dedicates an editorial to her teacher claiming that Katherine is â€Å"an extraordinary woman who lived by example and compelled us all to see the world through new eyes. † As the movie ends, the students follow the taxi Katherine is in on their bicycles. Betty seems to be struggling and peddling the hardest as if to thank her for changing her life. If I was in the educational environment in the movie, I would promote learning by utilizing the framework of the six principals displayed by Knowles.The first step in acceptance of administration is to make them an active part of decision making when her new syllabus was created. As the teacher, I would empower administration with Knowles ideas and let them see my new ideas through his ideas and history. They certainly seem to feel that they must have the upper hand and make decisions and this would give the control feature they appear to need. Historically Knowles has proven himself. In the 1950’s he was the Executive Director of the Adult Education Association of the United States of America (Smith, 2002 p. 1-13).He had already published his first textbook that was a guide for educato rs and this textbook was followed by many more. If administration wanted to stay the prestigious college of the nation, they would realize it was time for change. According to the article by Smith, Knowles was responsible for a number of important ‘firsts’; he was the first to chart the rise of the adult education movement in the United States, the first to develop a statement of informal adult education practice, the first to develop a statement of informal adult education practice, and the first to attempt a comprehensive theory of adult education via the notion of andragogy) (Jarvis, 1987 p. 185). I firmly believe the administrative staff may need some education and redirection. After all, they are one of the most prestigious schools in the nation. I cannot see administration accepting to follow a less than the best for their girls, wives and future mothers. I am sure it would take patience and persistence. But if you look at the principles listed above and included the administration and persistently made them aware of the need to change to keep up with the ‘educational political hierarchy’ you would slowly ‘make a difference’.Empowerment often promotes change and Knowles was the leader in adult education of the 1950’s. When you review this film and similar films, it helps you comprehend the contemporary and historic constraints imposed on teachers and the contexts of dealing with alumni and administration. I had never really thought about the politics and social involvement of schools and teachers in the past and I can see what a dilemma it could create. I loved the movie and watched it more than once. I plan to purchase it to use for future educational reference.I can see that schools are sites of politics and culture, but as educators we must provoke the expression of students’ future identities and possibilities. References Knowles, M. S. , Holton, E. F. , & Swanson, R. A. , (2011). The adult learner . (7th ed. ). Amsterdam: Elsevier Inc. (Part I, Chapters 1-6). Smith, M. K. (2002) Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy’, The encyclopedia of informal education, Retrieved from: www. infed. org/thinkers/et-knowl. htm. Image Source Page: http://web. utk. edu/~start6/knowles/malcolm_knowles. html

Companies

Companies What Does the Company Provide? How many employees were hired out of how many applied? What Fringe Benefits are offered? What possibilities for advancements are there? What Is the average salary? What is the work environment/job satisfaction ranking? Google Inc. Google is a global company that develops technology including web browsers, smoothness, smart contact lenses and social media APS to help keep people connected. Over the past year:1,267,959 people applied for a job at Google; of those people only 8,968 got a job.There are usually 140 applicants per job opening. Benefits include medical and retirement as well as on-site facilities and healthy free food. Google has an interest in advancing their employees careers. They give recognition and provide promotions to those who furthered their advancement in technology. Associate Account Strategist, BAA Program Software Engineer The work environment is friendly. Google provides all sorts of on-site facilities to make sure the employees are taken care of. Google is ranked #1 corporation to work for, 97% of the workers agree.ASS ASS uses analytic software to help companies and researchers crunch data onto manageable chunks that provide both insight and fresh perspective. There are usually 43 applicants per job opening. Over the past year: 52,people applied for a job; of those people, 239 got a job. At ASS, 87% of employees often or almost always find the company compensates them fairly, provides special benefits. They provide medical benefits on site and health insurance. Also provide programs to employees so they can enjoy a break time. You can get promoted based on your performance and skill. Promotions are given to those who earn it.Salaries vary in what specific division you want to work in. They range from: $60,000 to $100,000 The work environment is considered great. ASS provides all the essentials for employees to succeed with a level of comfort. They provide places that other companies wouldn't, ( ex. Daycare). 83% of employees would agree that ASS goes above and beyond in providing them an excellent work environment BCC Provide management consulting services to Fortune 500 companies, as well as mid-sized companies, non-profits, and government agencies. Over 400 applicants only about 6 applicants would get the job offer.The review doesn't mention specific benefits, but you can choose where and when you want to work as long as you complete the required amount of work This company doesn't mention promotions but employees are able to choose what they want to do in the company; what organizations they want to cooperate with, etc. Depending on what company Or organization the employer decides to negotiate with, will contribute to their salary. Working at BCC is incredible, 98% of employees say they are proud to work here and don't ever want to leave. Edward Jones Provide financial advice to nearly 7 million individual investors in the U. S. ND Canada through more than 1 1,000 bran ch offices. Employees: 38,01 5 This company does not mention benefits assume that health insurance is included. Edward Jones gives recognition to their employees. They are also eligible to receive bonuses based on their work performance. The average income for an employee is $90,000. Incomes increase by the number of years an employee has been working for the company. 98 percent of employees say Edward Jones is a friendly place to work, and more than nine in 10 say people are willing to give extra to get the job done, that you can count on people to cooperate, and there's a â€Å"team† or â€Å"family† feeling.

The Ancient Greek Government

The Ancient Greek Government Ancient Greece was divided into many different areas, called city-states. There were many city-states throughout the entire country, and each one had its own government. Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful city-states in Greece. Sparta was governed by the military, while Athens had a democratic government. Over time, people's opinions about what made a good government changed, and various types of governments developed as well.This is a sequence of Greek governments that were defined by Aristotle: monarchies, oligarchies, tyrannies, and democracies. Many places in Greece began with these government systems, from monarchies to oligarchies, to tyrannies, and finally to democracies. However, there were plenty of areas that were using different systems, resulting with many city-states that never did become democracies or tyrannies at all.In the beginning, Athens was governed by a monarchy, rule by one person. Soldiers handpicked their leader and put him into power.Map of the top 50 countries with the largest Greek...However, monarchy did not last long in Athens, as a new government system soon developed in 800BC. This system was called the oligarchy, meaning "ruled by the few".During the period of 600 to 500 BC, rulers who took power to lead an unjust government were often accused as tyrants. Yet at around 510BC, the first democratic government began sprouting its roots in Athens, soon leading many other Greek city-states to imitate the system. Greece had established one of the first democracies ever!What did the word "democracy" mean to the Greeks? It meant, "Power of the people," that everyone was given say in government. Eventually, even city-states that weren't Greek, such as Carthage and Rome, tried to give everyone the power to participate in government, especially the poor people. In Greece, all male citizens who were at least the age of eighteen were qualified as council members, judges or...

Formal vs. Informal English (Why and When Grammar Matters)

Formal vs. Informal English (Why and When Grammar Matters) Formal vs. Informal English (Why and When Grammar Matters) Lately, there’s been a lot of debate about whether correcting people’s grammar makes you a snob (or, in the words of one commentator, â€Å"patronizing, pretentious and just plain wrong†). As proofreaders, this puts us in a difficult position: On the one hand, we don’t want to be â€Å"patronizing, pretentious and just plain wrong.† On the other hand, we’re basically professional pedants, using our knowledge of English to help people communicate. Please dont call us grammar Nazis, by the way. Were very much against fascism, even the grammatical kind. Perhaps the real question is when it’s appropriate to insist on particular grammatical standards. First, though, we should consider the difference between formal and informal English. Formal English Formal English sticks to the prescribed rules of spelling and grammar. This is far more common in writing than speech, especially academic writing and in professional settings. In this kind of English, it’s typical to: Use conventional grammar and spelling Avoid contractions (e.g., â€Å"don’t† or â€Å"should’ve†) and slang Use academic or technical language Always use complete sentences, as well as longer or more complex sentences Require consistent use of terminology/punctuation This kind of writing can seem â€Å"snobby,† especially if the author uses very obscure words or complicated sentences. But a good writer will use formal English to ensure clarity and precision. The advantage of formal English is that it helps people in a particular field or subject area to communicate by providing a standard style of writing. This is why colleges use academic English, but being able to use formal language is valuable elsewhere, too. The important thing is knowing when to use formal English: e.g. at work, in college papers, when communicating with authority figures, etc. Its also useful for talking with the Queen of England. Admittedly, this isnt a daily issue for most people. Informal English Informal English essentially refers to forms of written or spoken English that don’t stick closely to conventional spelling and grammar or that use a lot of slang and informal words. This is the kind of everyday language we use when talking with friends or emailing someone we know well. There is, obviously enough, no standard form of informal English, since it simply refers to non-standard English, which can even encompass â€Å"txtspk†! Theres no such thing as formal txtspk. So far. Does Grammar Really Matter? When using formal English, yes, grammar and spelling are important. It’s not that formal English is inherently â€Å"better† regardless of the circumstances; it’s simply that using formal English in professional or academic settings aids communication and clarity. By comparison, mistakes like mixing up â€Å"their† and â€Å"they’re† in a college paper could imply a lack of care or attention, even if the reader can tell what you intended. However, if you’re just hanging out with friends and you feel an urge to tell someone off for splitting an infinitive, it could seem insulting or annoying to the person you’re correcting. Thus, if grammar matters more to you than your friends, feel free to be as pedantic as you like. Otherwise, it might be best to save formal English for when it really counts. If you already carry a red pen for correcting mistakes wherever you go, you might want to try a career in proofreading.

The Trend of Job Relocation and its Influences Essay

The Trend of Job Relocation and its Influences - Essay Example Compared to other developed nations, like those in Western Europe or Japan, the United States' land area is expansive - we cover half of the North American continent. While in other places, job relocation happens relatively close to home due to the smaller geographic region of political and language borders, it is not the same in the United States. Our geographical boundaries are wide enough to hit two oceans. When we go across the country, ties with family and community are completely cut. Job relocation of any person in a family is harmful to the family structure. A key players is removed from the family unit, be it the father, mother, even children. Reimer conducted a research study that suggested job relocation was potentially harmful to families (2000). The possible outcomes of the trend "job relocation" are multiple depending on the specific demographic taken into account, family members involved in the move, and the stability of labor markets. For example, job relocation for migrant families depends heavily on the legislation concerning them, legislation concerning migrant worker programs, education patterns and benefits for children of migrant workers, and others. Globalization is another factor that will affect job relocation.

Thames tunnel (london) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Thames tunnel (london) - Research Paper Example The tunnel measures 11m (35 feet) wide 6m (20 feet) high and 396 m (1,300 feet) long (Teape 6). It runs a depth of 23 m (75 feet) below the surface of River Thames when measured at high tide. In early 19 century, there was no land that could connect the South and north banks of the Thames and to connect the expanding docks on either side of the River. The port of London the main hub of across the entire British Empire and the business worldwide. Any bridge constructed was supposed to allow ships that had masts over one hundred feet tall to be sailed under them yet there was no available technology if the Tower bridges lifting bascules to early engineers (Will 15). It could not be possible for a horse to pull a cat that was loaded up through a steep hill up to 100 feet into the air at a gentle slope. The approach ramps needed to be very long, which made in impractical. This pressing need so Engineer Ralph Dodd develop a tunnel to between Tilbury and Gravesend in 1799 (Teape 6). This first attempt did not succeed. Later (1805-1809) a group of Cornish miners being led by Richard Trevithick made another attempt of digging a tunnel upriver between Limehouse/Wapping and Rotherhithe. The equally encountered difficult conditions and failed. As Cornish miners, they were used to dealing with hard rocks. They needed to modify the methods they used in digging hard rocks to enable them to deal with quicksand and soft clay (Teape 8). There was also the problem of the flooding of the initial pilot tunnel. It was reported that after 1000 feet of the total 1,200 feet became flooded, the Thames Archway project was abandoned. It measures 2 to 3 feet by 5 feet, and was intended to be used for a passenger’s use. The failure of this early project made engineers to come to a conclusion that constructing an underground tunnel was impractical. However, Marc Brunel , the Anglo-French engineer, could not agree to this.