The Sundale Clubs

The Sundale Club I. Problems A. Macro 1. Division within organization due to poor relationships among personnel. 2. Lack of leadership and direction within organization. B. Micro 1. Johnson’s (reputed) behavior. 2. Loss of members. 3. Chain-of-command difficulties: Frank Havens unable to talk to boss, Bob Watts uninterested in problem. 4. Poor staff morale; treatment of Pat indicates problem. II. Causes 1. No recognition/follow-through for staff. Pat overlooked for promotion. 2.Personal relationship between Chuck Johnson and Ted Ellis detracts from goals of organization and from staff morale. 3. Bob’s upcoming retirement detracts from interest in problems. III. Systems affected 1. Structural – personal relationships and director’s lack of interest hurt chain-of-command effectiveness. 2. Psychosocial – low morale within staff due to favoritism, disinterest, loss of membership, lack of direction of system. 3. Technical – none apparent. 4. Manag erial – organization’s purpose and source of money undermined by personal interests and lack of direction.Managers who had authority, such as Bob Watts, are unwilling to take action. 5. Goals and values – there is no sense organization goals among management or staff despite declining membership. Staff and even some managers are increasingly interested in protecting their jobs or finding another job elsewhere. Consequently, there is little concern for providing service to the membership. IV. Alternatives 1. Leave as is. 2. Let Bob Watts retire; explain problem to new director. 3. Unite staff (as Carol has started); include in meeting with new director/board. 4.Carol Happ hire OD practitioner to intervene and unite staff, but this will be difficult as Watts seems to be â€Å"coasting† until retirement. V. Recommendations Realistically, not much can happen until Bob Watts retires. Before Watts retires, some of the staff could unite under the leadership of C arol Happ and meet with Bob. But this has definite risks, particularly for any staff under Ted Ellis. Approach Watts from viewpoint of helping increase memberships and how unity, etc. , is needed for this to occur. If Happ and the staff can gain Watts’ support, hire an external OD practitioner.

Minor Assignment Marketing Mix Essay

Introduction This report has been compiled in order to describe the four most common elements of the marketing mix which are described by Elliot, Rundle-Thiele and Waller (2010 p.18-21) in the following few sentences. * Product – â€Å"A good, service or idea offered to the market for exchange.† (p.18) * Price – â€Å"The amount of money a business demands in exchange for its offerings.† (p.20) * Promotion – â€Å"The marketing activities that make potential customers, partners and society aware of and attracted to the business’s offerings.† (p.20) * Place (Distribution) – â€Å"The means of making the offering available to the customer at the right time and place† (p.21) In conjunction with these descriptions, all four marketing mix elements will be analysed and shown how they can be applied to retail petrol outlets and the products which are made available to customers. The Marketing Mix Elliot et. al describe the marketing mix as â€Å"the different elements that marketers need to consider.† (2010 p. 18) When using the marketing mix to market retail petrol outlets such as Caltex Woolworths or Coles Express, marketers need to consider the Product, Price, Promotion and Distribution (Place) of not only petrol, but many other consumer and specialty products which retail petrol outlets offer. Product It can be seen in retail petrol stations that other than the expected fuels like unleaded and diesel which are generally relatively low in terms of their profit margin, â€Å"some oil firms claim that supermarkets sell petrol at a loss in order to attract customers.† (The Economist, 1996 p.58) Other products are required in order to boost profits for the retail petrol chains’ owner. These other products are mostly the convenience type and can range from the daily newspaper and chewing gum, to a bottle of orange juice or a loaf of bread. There are three categories of convenience products outlined by Elliot et al. which are all found in retail petrol outlets and include staple products, impulse products and emergency products. (2010 p. 207) * Staple products – These are considered to be everyday grocery products like bread and milk, purchased regularly by consumers and therefore aren’t heavily promoted * Impulse products – These are considered to be only purchased when seen, like confectionary or magazines which are eye catching and are usually found around the cash register. * Emergency products – These are considered to be those products which are only purchased when really needed, like a raincoat or an umbrella. Although there are a lot of products sold by retail petrol outlets like Caltex Woolworths and Coles Express, the obvious product centred on all retail petrol outlets is the fuel supplied to consumers. The varieties of fuels which can be purchased can include: * E10 – 10% Ethanol. * E85 – 85% Ethanol. * E95 – 95% Ethanol. * Unleaded – Standard fuel. * Hi Octane – Offered for high performance vehicles. * LPG – Alternative to liquid fuel, a Gas product. * Diesel – More efficient lower sulphur producing by product. There is a vast selection of fuels for consumers to choose from and although the blends of fuels stay similar, the names and descriptions of these fuels tend to change from outlet to outlet. For example, when you drive into a Caltex Woolworths you are confronted with the choice of â€Å"Caltex Vortex 95 or 98,† both are hi octane blends offered to a prospective purchaser. (Woolworths fuels, Website.) Price When dealing with topic of pricing in retail petrol stores, the outcome of the price has to be both beneficial to the seller, and seen as a good deal to the buyer, otherwise no trades will take place. As stated previously, petrol itself tends to have a lower margin for profit which means the strategic pricing of other products in-store needs to be addressed as well as ensuring that the price of petrol is not seen as out of balance with other suppliers. There is an obvious demand for petrol, as almost everyone who is able, drives or rides a vehicle which requires fuel to run. So it could be argued that retail petrol stations don’t necessarily set their own prices, but go off supplier guidelines which base their fuel pricing strategy on demand, â€Å"Demand based pricing sets prices according to the level of aggregate or individual customer demand in the market.† (Elliott et al. 2010 p. 250) Elliott et al. also continue to write that both Caltex Woolworths and Coles Express hold more than 60% of the Australian fuel market share (2010 p.268) so high demand from their suppliers will enable them to lower their fuel prices and therefore gain more customers, earning higher profits. Pricing of other products offered by retail petrol outlets such as bread or milk tend to have the opportunity to be competitive and more fairly priced than a standard petrol station, the major grocery companies behind retail petrol outlets like Woolworths and Coles focus on gaining more ground off one and other, price drops are reflected in store and this also proves more profitable, because consumers are drawn into purchasing something they wouldn’t normally associate with their petrol. Promotion An important aspect in the success of retail petrol outlets is in their promotion, or the way in which their fuels and other products are portrayed to potential customers. There are many numbers of ways in which retail petrol outlets use promotional tools to make the public more aware of what their outlet has to offer. Using the Coles Express website for example, it can be seen that promotion plays a major role in the marketing of retail petrol outlets, on the homepage can be found five key promotional campaigns designed to catch the eye of potential customers. The opportunity to win â€Å"the ultimate weekend Ferrari drive experience† or â€Å"two Cadbury chocolate bars for four dollars† (Coles Express, website) are two examples of how Coles Express use promotion as a tool to gain the interest of potential customers. The use of shopper dockets and rewards cards are also a major way in which retail petrol outlets have promoted themselves, using incentives of cheaper fuel by spending amounts of money in store or purchasing earlier in their supermarkets and bringing the docket to the petrol station in order to gain the fuel discount. In the recent past, retail petrol outlets have encouraged shoppers to buy big in store in order to earn big discounts off fuel â€Å"motorists who spend more than $300 during one supermarket visit during the next three days receive a 40 cent per litre petrol discount. Shoppers who spend more than $200 or more receive a 25 cent a litre discount, while those who spend $100 or more get a 10 cent a litre discount.† (Cranston 2009) Woolworths have the â€Å"Everyday Rewards† program, and Coles have the â€Å"Fly buys† rewards program. Both these programs offer rewards point in exchange for purchases made in their outlets. Another way in which retail petrol outlets can promote their product is through sponsorship, Coles Express for example are sponsoring Daffodil day, a program not normally associated with fuel but this can help to grow an organisations image, by supporting such a worthy cause, Coles express may gain respect from the community and in turn boost their profits. Place (Distribution) The transportation and distribution of products including fuel to retail petrol outlets operates under the marketing mix category of â€Å"Place.† â€Å"The science (or art) of ensuring products are in the right place at the right time in the right quantity is known as logistics and the various partners that contribute to the process make up is called the supply chain.† (Elliot et al. 2010 p.21) Retail petrol outlets operate somewhat differently to conventional service stations, the retail petrol outlets are often situated near to a parent supermarket company (in the same complex) which makes supply of products other than fuel relatively easy as the distance for stock to travel is minimal. When looking at the fuel aspect, it can be seen that the logistics tend to become a lot more involved and a more defined supply chain emerges. * First fuel is sourced from their respective supplier (Caltex or Shell) on a relatively routine basis, as fuel is a required product for most of the community. * The fuel is then transported by truck from oil refineries which are based in more coastal areas (Caltex oil refinery in Kurnell NSW) which makes it easier to transfer oil from overseas oil barges when new shipments arrive. * When the trucks reach the retail petrol outlet the fuel is then pumped into underground holding tanks, where the fuel can now be distributed to the customer via the petrol pump and now exchange of fuels can be made for a profit. Conclusion This report was compiled in order to describe the four elements of the marketing mix: * Product * Price * Promotion * Place (distribution) The descriptions of these marketing mix elements were also shown in application; how they are applied when breaking down the four aspects in relation to retail petrol outlets. Focusing on the Caltex Woolworths and Coles Express partnerships it was able to be shown how the marketing mix elements are applied. Products have been broken down into specific fuels and other items which are available to potential customers, these products have also been categorised as either: Staple, Impulse or Emergency. Price has been shown to be of vital importance, and the outcome of the price has to be both beneficial to the seller, and seen as a good deal to the buyer. Promotion has also proven to be of high importance to the overall marketing of retail petrol outlets, the use of shopper dockets for discounts, and sponsorship for awareness and image are important promotional tools outlined above. Place (Distribution) outlines the logistics and supply chain which is in place for retail petrol outlets to gain their product in order to forward it onto the paying public to gain an overall profit. All four of these marketing mix elements play their own equally pivotal role in ensuring the successful operation of retail petrol outlets. References Coles Express website www.colesexpress.com.au Cranston, B. (2009) NSW: ACCC investigating supermarket petrol promotion. AAP Australian National News wire Elliott, G. Rundle-Thiele, S. & Waller, D. (2010) Marketing. Pump Action, The Economist. (1996) Vol. 338 Issue 7950, page 58 Woolworths petrol website www.woolworthspetrol.com.au

Gender Equality and Islam Essay

Islam believes that a woman is not merely subject to man rather she has her own separate and complete entity in all respects. She has an equal right to that of a man to nourish her religions faculties, serve her faith, acquire education, get a job, do business, own something and benefit herself from it and prove her creativity in an enterprise. She is master of herself in all respects. The religious aspect of this fact is described in the Quran as under: â€Å"For muslim men and women, for believing men and women; for devout men and women; for men and women who are patient, for men and women who humble themselves; for men and women who give charity’ for men and women who fast; for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who remember Allah much- for them all has God prepared forgiveness and a great reward† (Al – Ahzab 33, verse 55) The characteristics mentioned in the above Quranic Verse are ten in number. These characteristics cover all aspe cts of Islam, Islamic conduct and behaviorism related to the rights of God and of human beings too. The above verse makes it clear that there is no distinction between a man and a woman in terms of worships of God, obedience to Him and the place in the life after death. In fact there is no distinction on the basis of gender. The Quran has laid down the following principle in connection with acquisition of wealth â€Å"For men is a portion of what they earn and for women is a portion of what they earn â€Å"(Al-Nisa 4, Verse32) The Sura â€Å"Al-Nisa† basically deals with matters relating to money and other issues that emerge out of the relationship of man and woman in different capacities in a family; Immediately after the above quoted verse an article from the law of legacy has been described and next comes the instructions about the mutual contacts of a husband and a wife. Hence the context makes it clear that the above mentioned verse is related to the worldly life and that a woman has equal rights to that of a man like acquiring education, doing job or a business, deal of a property and even develop her personality. There are several other Quranic verses which make it clear that there is no distinction between man and a woman on any grounds except in the bearing of a responsibility (the detail would come in later pages). Both are human beings and both have rights and privileges. God says: â€Å"I will deny no man or woman among you the rewards of their labours. You are the offspring of one another† (Al-Imran 3: Verse: 195) Through Sura Al-Tawba, God has declared all Muslim men and women as friends, companions and helpers of each other. Thus women are, in no way inferior to men rather they are friends of men and are equal to them. (However, in terms of responsibilities there can be classification, like a doctor and a teacher, under special circumstances): â€Å"The true believers, both men and women, are equal friends to each other. They enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil; they attend to their prayers and pay the Zakat and obey Allah and His Apostle. On these Allah will have merc y. He is Mighty, Wise.†(Al-Tawba 9, verse71) This is why during the prophetic period women used to acquire both religious and worldly education, do farming, take part in trade and industry and manage their wealth and property; About Aisha, the wife of the Holy Prophet, everyone knows that she has related and confirmed 2210 Hadiths (Prophet’s sayings) (Sadarat-ul-Zahab: vol.1) The books based on the compilations of the history of the days of the companions of the Apostle reveal the stories of innumerable females who had mastery over different fields of the religious knowledge rather several eminent scholars attained the knowledge of Islam from them. It was a general practice during those days people used to seek guidance from the wives of the Apostle in the matters of religion. There were besides the wives of the Apostle, certain other women too who earned repute in this field. Rabi-Bint-I-Mauz was one such famous scholar and the outstanding scholars of Islam like Abdullah-b in-Abass and Abdullah Bin Umar had been her students. Several people have related certain Hadiths through her reference. These include Salman Bin Yasir, Abad Bin walid and Nafei-Bin-Umar etc. Fatima Bint-I-Qais had been the tutor of the prominent scholars like Ibn-e-Maseeb, Urwa Bin Zubair and Shabi. (Al-Astaayab-fil-Asam-ul-Sahab) Ayesha the daughter of Saad Bin Abi-Waqas was remarkable scholar and had educated Imam Malik, Ayub Sakhtiami and Hakam Bin Ataiba. (Tazeeb-ul-tazeeb Vol. 12) Imam Shafi, the eminent jurist learnt the knowledge of Hadith from the Syeda Nafisa, the grand daughter of Hasan, the grand son of the Apostle. (Wafyat-ul-Aayam-al-Ibn-khalkan Vol 2) Same was the case of the worldly knowledge and wisdom. For example among the female companions of the Apostle several were poetess like Khansa, Saudah, Safia, Atika, Muridya, Umm-I-Aiman and several others. In the field of medicine and surgery, Rafaza Aslamia, Umm-I-Mutea, umm-I-Kabsa, Hamne Bint-I- Jahsh, Ummi-I-Athiya, Ummai Saleem and several other women won repute. (Tabqat-Ibne-Saeed, Asaba) It was a usual practice among women to get wo rldly knowledge during those days. If their number is not remarkable, it was due to lack of resources. Some ordinary women knew how to read and write and even could manage small accounts. (Tabqat Ibn-e-Saad Vol-8). Some wrote and reply letters. (Al-Adab-ul Musfi) During those days the women used to do farming and looked after their fields. In Bokhari (the collection of Hadith) Sahl Bin Sasd relates the story of a female companion of the Apostle who owned fields and gardens. She cultivated a vegetable named â€Å"Salq† near the bank of a stream and used to serve Sahl Bin Saad and others with Salq and Maize when they visited every Friday. (Bokhari) The most authenticated books on Hadith like Bokhari, Muslim, Abu-Daud and Ibni Mauja quote the statement of Jabir Bin Abdullah who narrates about her maternal aunt. She was divorced and was going through Iddat (the three months waiting period after divorce during which a woman can’t marry). She desired to sell out the fruit of her garden for her living. She consulted the Apostle who advised her to do so as in that case she would be able to give charity and do something for her redemption. This makes clear that the women, during the prophetic perod used to do farming and trade. According to Bokhari, Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakar, the first pious Caliph and the wife of Zubair used to assist her husband in farming on the fields almost two miles far from her home. Those days the women could freely take part in the trade and business activities. The most respectable woman in Muslim Ummah Khadija was a trader. Many female companions of the Apostle like Khaula. Al-khamia, Saqafia and Bint-I-Mukarrama used to trade in perfume. (Asaba-Fi-Tameez-ul-Sahaba Vol-4) Several event related in ‘Tabqat Ibn-I-Saad’ exhibit the fact muslim women during the Prophetic period used to take part in agriculture, trade and industry even without the assistance of their husbands. The wife of Abdullah Bin Masud was a good craftswoman. Once she told the Apostle that she was adept in different crafts and sold out her prepared goods. She inquired if she could spend her money on her husband and children as they have no other source of income. The Apostle told her that she would get a reward from God if she did that. It is also quoted in Al-Asaba Fil Tameez-al Sahabe Vol4) Once a woman named Khaula Bint-e-Saalba had a dispute with her husband. Both of them presented their case before the Apostle who advised the husband to keep himself away from her until the revelation of an instruction from God. At this Khula told the Prophet of God that her husband would’t be able to survive in that case as he was dependent upon her for his living. A woman named Qaila told the Apostle that she was a trader and sought his guidance in the trade matters. Another woman, Amira narrates that once she went to the market along with her maid servant and bought a fish. Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam was also there who bought that fish from her. There are many such incidents related in ‘Tabqat Ibn-I-Saad Vol 8. The most authentic book on this subject. Souda, the Prophet’s wife was adept in the art of tanning. It is quoted in Bukhari that once her sheep died, she put its skin off, got it tanned and softened it with dates. During that period women performed several tasks collectively as well. The Bokhari kitab-ul-istehsan unfolds that once many women visited the Apostle and requested him to allocate one day in a week for their religious training. The Prophet thus accepted their request. Asma Bint-I-Zahid was good at rhetoric. Once women designated her their representative and sent to the Apostle to make some queries (Al-istaab Fi-Al-Sahab) Women were entrusted with certain responsible positions as well and they proved their worth. For example Umar, the second Caliph of Islam appointed Shafa Bint-e- Abdullah as the Price control officer.

Week 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Week 6 - Essay Example The first evident characteristic of Baroque in this sculpture is drama and emotion, which makes the audience share the feelings of Bernini. Drama and emotion are brought out by the space around the statue. Another Baroque characteristic in this sculpture is twisting and uncontrolled torsos, which create a tortion that, enhance a dynamic representation of the figure. Finally, the sculpture depicts use of tenebrism as seen by the sharp contrast between the sculpture and its background. The background is completely dark while the sculpture itself is light. Michelangelo’s David is a High Renaissance work, which takes the form of a pyramidal composition revealing stability of the sculpture. This contrasts with Bernini’s David, which is a Baroque style represented by diagonal lines that show energy, drama, and movement. Hence, while Michelangelo focus on representing the beauty of David, Bernini is concerned with emotion that ignites reaction from the audience. On the other hand, Donatello’s David is an early Renaissance work that depicts the reemergence of nudity. In addition, the sculpture unlike Bernini’s shows no motion and drama. In Donatello’s sculpture, a victorious David is standing as a representation of the Republic of Florence blessed by God. Therefore, there is no emotion as in the sculpture of Bernini, but a mere representation of might and

Global studies-The thought about Malala Yousafzai Essay

Global studies-The thought about Malala Yousafzai - Essay Example Thus, she definitely has a right to call for peace. At the same time, she is a woman who’s getting an education and thus, has a right to speak on behalf of her sisters on women rights on education. That’s why when Malala makes a connection between education (including education for women) and peacemaking, it seems most reasonable. Malala herself is a bright example of how educated woman could argue for peace. Then, it’s not a radical feministic claim to argue for a greater number of educated persons in the world. It’s reasonable, because women are less likely to fight in the battlefields, but more likely to become doctors, nurses and educators. Malala also fairly points that war and terrorism bring poverty, ruin schools and therefore, more young talented children, including girls, are deprived of a better life (â€Å"Malala Yousafzai Nobel Peace Prize Speech†). In this way, Malala makes it a vicious circle: more wars and terrorism with fewer rights for women bring less education. And vice versa: with more education and wider rights for women, including right on education, there will be less wars and less terror in the

The 13th Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education (Phi Delta Essay

The 13th Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education (Phi Delta Kappan Oct2003, Vol. 85, issue 2, p148164, 17p - Essay Example Therefore, the NAEP's definition will predominate and, given that numerous institutions and organizations have assessed it as "fundamentally flawed," this is hardly a positive development (Bracey, 2003, p. 149). As proof of the problematic nature of flawed and discrepant proficiency definitions, Bracey (2003) points towards the fact that while the assessment tests used in Texas declared over 9 out of 10 eighth grade students proficient at mathematics, the NAEP assessment tests put the number at only 2.4 students out of every 10. The implication here is that the absence of a single, agreed-upon definition for proficiency leads to flawed and inaccurate assessment tests. Matching the problematic nature of the proficiency issue is the NCLB's "requirements for highly qualified teachers" (Bracey, 2003, p. 149). Stating that by 2005-2006 all teachers had to meet the new qualification standards, the NCLB quite effectively called for the impossible. In the first place, the 100% expectation is unrealistic and virtually impossible to fulfill. In the second place, while one of the criterion for qualification is "full state certification," the NCLB does not identify the components of full certification (Bracey, 2003, p. 151).

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Sickle cell enemia - Research Paper Example The disorder shortens the life expectancy of patients with few living beyond the age of fifty. Since its discovery, doctors have worked towards developing a cure for the disease. The cure has been elusive and only methods for reducing severity of the disorder such as taking penicillin and folic acid and the use of hydroxyurea for causative treatment of the disorder. Other management practices include blood transfusion therapy that raises the number of red blood cells in a patient. Bone marrow transplants in children have also been proven to significantly reduce severity of the disorder (â€Å"Woman Cured of SCA† 6). In June 2012, researchers from the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Science Systems, announced that they had developed a new transplant technique that successfully cures a sickle-cell anemia patient. The stem cell transplant requires one to have a genetically-compatible and uninfected sibling. The donor is first given drugs that cause an increase in the number of the stem cells in their blood. The donor’s blood is then taken and processed and then stored in sub-zero temperatures. At the time of the transplant, the blood is thawed and transfused in the patient ( Woman Cured of SCA 6). The transplant which is known as leukapheresis has been carried in at least 25 patients, 22 of whom have been completely cured. The therapy remains by far the most successful ever attempted to cure sickle-cell

Social distance and social connectedness Term Paper

Social distance and social connectedness - Term Paper Example Both of the terms, i.e. the social distance and the social connectedness although different in meaning, are employed to discuss the level of closeness between the individual groups within the society that differ from one another on various grounds. Social interaction and dialogue between different communities gives rise to unity and strength, and promotes the prosperity and progress of the nation as a whole. The vast amount of literature developed in the area of sociology has categorized social distance into three different types, namely the affective social distance, the normative social distance and the interactive social distance. Social distance is called as affective distance when it depicts the concerns of one community towards another community when the latter experiences certain hardships in the society. On the other hand, normative distance serves to differentiate between insiders and the outsiders. â€Å"Relations between normatively close members of a group are not always warm and friendly, and normatively distant groups can sometimes be an object of reverence and love.† (Karakayali, 2009). The third type of social distance is called as the interactive social distance that is essentially a measure of the level of interaction and socialization between two parties in the society. In light of this definition, the interactive social distance is inversely proportional to th e communicative strength prevailing in a relation between the two parties. Every individual in the society builds personal boundaries around him/her and this is an intrinsic feature of human psychology. â€Å"This social distance is also known as body space and comfort zone and the use of this space is called proxemics.† (Hall, 1966). It is also essential to a certain extent in order for the individual to be educated on the necessary limits to be drawn

The Gender and the Nature of Enquiry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Gender and the Nature of Enquiry - Essay Example In this study, two pieces of research into issues in education are used to compare and contrast the approaches used in terms of establishment of a theoretical basis. Backgrounds on the Studies The first study is by Philips (2002, pp. 409-414) who investigated the underrepresentation of women in the engineering profession in the UK. The study identifies the imagery and cultural stereotyping affecting the educational decisions and choices made by girls and young women as being responsible for the issue. The researcher embeds his study in the social construction of gender as her theoretical framework and argues that domination of engineering practice by men results in the field becoming masculine out of societal perceptions. Citing criticism of positivist approaches to social research, the researcher uses a qualitative approach, undertaking an interview-based methodology to achieve inter-objective understanding. The study sampled 15 participants drawn from female engineers already train ing and working in the UK. The second study is by Archer, Halsall and Hollingworth (2007, pp. 165-180) investigating the disengagement from education of inner-city, ethnically diverse working class girls due to their construction of hetero-femininities. The researchers are of the opinion that construction of identity and values based on heterosexual femininities by girls contributes to their disengagement from education and schooling, and address the paradoxes that arise when such hetero-feminist constructions spill over to oppressive power relations. The study itself was qualitative, involving in-depth interviews, focus groups and some photo diaries. It sampled young people across 6 urban London secondary schools aged between 14 and 16. The interviews were undertaken 3-4 times in two years and involved interviews with the staff. Theoretical Frameworks of the Studies Gerring (2001, pp. 8-9) discusses the absolute importance of basing social research on sound theoretical frameworks. Social research without these bases is inconceivable as they provide the guidelines used by scholars to define and refine their studies. They specify interconnected questions and hypotheses that then guide the researcher in establishing his/her study. Philips (2002, p. 410) selects social construction of gender over feminist theories such as standpoint perspective in explaining that the predominance of males in the engineering profession as a main contributory factor to under-representation of females in engineering education and practice. A self perpetuating stereotypical perception is created among people that engineering is a masculine field due to the prominence of men in the engineering practice. The masculine orientation of the field and thus education is maintained by these prevailing social and sexual stereotypes, and confirm the views that science and technology are an essential aspect of masculinity in the modern day. Basing on this theoretical context, the under-represent ation of women in the engineering education is explained by the perceptions of young women that engineering is a masculine field and thus they chose not to study it. It is thus important to break the perception if at all gender balance is to be achieved in the engineering education and practice. In contrast, Archer, Halsall and Hollingworth (2007, p. 167) underpin their study on two

Organizational Structure CJ409 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Organizational Structure CJ409 - Essay Example According to Moore and Trojanowicz (1998), â€Å"it is only when fear is unreasonable,or generates counterproductive responses, that it becomes a social problem† (pp. 1-2). Concurrently, the authors disclosed that through police strategies for reducing fear, subsequent repercussions actually lead, not only to a reduction in crime but in improving quality of life issues. 3. What are some possible causes of fear of crime at the Center? The possible causes of fear of crime at the Center are news reports of criminal activities and rumors or â€Å"second-hand information about criminal victimization† (Moore & Trojanowicz, 1998, p. 3), particularly about car thefts in parking lots. 4. What is missing in the current community-police relationship between the Greenfield Police department and the senior citizens? What is apparently missing in the current community-police relationship between the GPD and the senior citizens is direct contact and coordination with the senior citizens at the center. This means that police officers should not be only seen to regularly patrol in the area, but they should go to the center, communicate with the senior citizens regarding their alleged fears, and assure them that crime incidence is significantly low and that their neighborhood is actually safe. 5. Suggest a community policing strategy to reduce the fear of crime at the Senior Citizens’ Center. As the evening shift supervisor, one of the community policing strategies that could potentially assist in reducing fear of crime at the Senior Citizens’ Center is to regularly be on foot patrol at the park during evenings, after communicating with them directly at the center. Also, they should put signs to discourage teen-aged kids to skateboard along the pathway to the park and ask community leaders to provide another space for skateboarding. As confirmed in a study written by Antony Pate, et al. (n.d.), â€Å"programs ‘designed to increase the quantity

My dream computer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My dream computer - Research Paper Example Thinking of a dream computer is a delightful experience. I have been at computers since long and have worked on several types of computers ranging from old Pentium-III computers to present day state of the art computers. One thing common to all these experiences is the wish for an even faster computer. But now it is not only a wish and dream it is a genuine requirement to do several different tasks that cannot be accomplished without this machine or at least may have consumed time that cannot be afford. Therefore, now it is extremely important to work out the details of a computer that can meet day to day requirement of various task discussed ahead. Being a student I have to complete college assignments that may require word processing, presentation, picture editing, drawing, worksheet and equations writing facilities along with simple website development software. Beside this for writing technical reports I use some CASE tools. Math assignments are required to be written in some spe cialized software. Entertainment support is inevitable and special sound and graphic equipment are needed to fulfill the requirements of latest games and videos. Internet support software and hardware also form part of the requirements for a dream computer. Software Requirement Beside Microsoft Office 2007 I prefer to use MathType software which a very convenient way to prepare math assignments. MathType can insert complex equations and provide a wide range of mathematical symbols. It is easy to use and provide excellent edit environment. These math equations cannot be written in Microsoft Office because they are not specialized software for math equations. Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium is an excellent student adobe suite which available from adobe at special 80% discount. This is an ultimate solution for all web site and photo editing requirements. The software is a bit complex and requires special training and tutorials to be followed for extend uses and some meaningful con tribution. This software require extra bit of processing power and system resources but it pays off and provide a good value for the money. CloneDVD is my favorite DVD player. It is excellent software which can play nearly all types of media files. It also provides the recording facilities and can run in the background. The software is not resource hungry and can be used while other heavy applications are still running at the computer. The online help and support can help in understanding the software, while routine updates can also be downloaded when available. Software Operating System System Requirements Price Math Type Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP 12 MB free hard disk space. MathType is not RAM-intensive so listing its requirements is not necessary $78.02 Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Web Premium Microsoft ® Windows ® XP with Service Pack 3; Windows Vista ® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (Service Pack 2 recommended); or Windows 7 Intel ® Pentium ® 4 or AMD Athlon ® 64 processor 1GB of RAM or more. Recommended 1280x800 display with qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card, 16-bit color, and 256MB of VRAM $449 CloneDVD Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/ME, Windows NT/2000/2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 Intel CPU with 350 MHz and MMX, or AMD CPU with 450 MHz or higher 64MB RAM or more $69 Computers Researched I have researched three major brands in the market. All of these laptops can fulfill the hardware requirements and support the software discussed in Part-II of this report. The price difference is based on the features and may also be change slightly if some extra features or capabilities are appended to the hardware details provided in the excel sheet. I have finalized the emachine laptop which can fulfills all requirements and will meet the advance requirements for one year. The machine offers some good upgrade options and can be considered for an upgrade later on. The pric e of the computer is neither too high nor too low and falls under

Transportation Management System Essay Example for Free

Transportation Management System Essay Abstract Transport industry employs 9.6 million people and there are 450,000 companies in United States. In fact the chain of transport is an essential source for expanding domestic and global business. It also interconnects companies, customers and partnerships through the medium of service of goods transporting from one place to another. There are huge successful multinational brands who have earned professional excellence in transport industry viz., Blue dart, FedEx, DHL worldwide express and many more. This paper details the essentials of logistics and management system in transport industry. Introduction The definition of â€Å"Logistics† provided by Council of Logistics Management (1991) is as follows. â€Å"part of the supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customer’s requirements†. There are many important factors in transportation management in terms of packing the goods, labeling, shipping and the mode of transport viz., truck, air cargo or shipment. Airbus 380 jumbo jet carries a huge cargo attending to different destinations around the world which is a great successful task and responsibility without which global business is not made possible. Likewise, ship cargo which carry oil and diesel, fish and other animal products requires excessive care in preserving the shipment from hazards and explosions. Apart from the above, there are numerous goods that are loaded into transport industry such as electronics, motorcycles, textiles, FMCG, paper mail and even precious metals viz., gold, platinum, diamonds, pearls etc., Therefore transport industry enables meet the demands of companies and customers whereas customers require goods and services and companies require business volume and turnover. This has been made possible by transport industry which is why management system and functioning of transport industry is important with the fact that the role played by transport industry is vast and intermediary. From the point of production / manufacturing unit, finished goods are arranged in transport for enabling dispatches to customers at different destinations. Logistics services are available throughout the world by air services, shipping services and truck services. In the global context of business B2B and B2C requires the collaboration of companies and transport systems for quick and prompt delivery of goods. For instance, Oracle Transport Management clearly works towards gaining customers loyalty, reducing costs of transport, maintains supply chain through a single working system which integrates all geographical areas of operations, taps new markets through the use of technology to manage logistics world wide and works for greater margins of profit while reducing costs on operating expenses. There are many other software solutions apart from Oracle which have developed TMS as a one-stop-shop for meeting all requirements of TMS. ARC advisory group which was incorporated in 1986 has emerged as a leader in providing solutions for logistics and supply chain which is an important element for transport business companies. ARCs esteemed clients include Boeing, Microsoft, General Motors, Siemens and many other reputed companies. Methods Logistics and supply chain management is all about materials, finished goods and products. Materials are covered under materials management, distribution of finished goods to the customer whereas supply chain management and logistics are inter-linked as a network of communication with clients and customers. Logistics is a process of transporting goods, materials from the point of production to the end of production, distribution of goods, sale and waste disposal to meet the satisfaction of customers and increase business turnover. Some of the important services of logistics include, transportation, storage of goods, supply chain, appointment of contractors and calculation of freight. There are several functioning areas of logistics which are essentially consists of production, storage, whole sale chain, retail chain, warehousing, production units, manufacturing units and merchant distribution. For the purpose of general understanding logistics can be explained as, at the time of production, materials have to be moved to the manufacturing units, and at this point inventory management and materials management has to be taken care of as a part of logistic system. After the production is completed goods are stored in warehouses, where again inventory management has to be taken care of for the purpose of keeping total cost of production and value of goods stored in warehouse. When finished goods have to be moved or sold to wholesalers, retailers this is considered as merchandising and distribution of goods is taken care of by transport management system. T herefore logistics include several other services including human resources, operating cost and expenses. Many companies world wide, spend and allocate budget for transport expenditure as products are delivered to customers by means of transport. Therefore this process of TMS and logistics is a recycling process that works on routine and minimized operating costs such as fuel, diesel, maintenance expenses will add to the profits of company. Both for global and domestic management of business TMS and logistics have to be applied and practiced for best results in business. Poor quality service may hamper business and many clients never rely on late deliveries, damaged goods in transport or causing accidents while carrying goods from one place to another. There are excellent software solutions available to carry on TMS and to transact global business of transport. Results Whether it is tourism or e-business, e-commerce TMS plays a significant role in global business. Time being an essential factor in global business, goods have to be shipped or transported with optimum care and monitoring. There are success stories in many parts of the world such as Europe, Asia and U.S, in fact, with the advantage of e-business, several new logistics companies were commenced and have been expanding business due to the increasing demand for transport management systems. Although logistics began in 1950, until 1960s, it was confined to supplies to military and defense organizations. 21st century has attached a great importance to transport management systems as nations became inter dependent for global trading. This business is worth billion dollars and requires huge trained manpower and skill both in terms of labor and in technical knowledge. With the advent of e-commerce and Internet security, on line booking of goods and shipping has become much easier process, which helps companies booking of orders at a fast pace as compared to the manual method of booking goods for transport. Further this has also facilitated creation of many more jobs enabling employees to equip with the skills required for TMS and logistics management. Future prospects are bright for TMS due to the increasing demand for global business and this would further offer employment both on labor and skilled level of jobs. Collaborations, partnerships and acquisitions are much common in these times for expansion of business and also to add capital strength to the companies. Therefore there is huge potential and scope for transport business whether operated at domestic level or at international level, at both ends, TMS has scope for making profits and in extending services of good and products. Figure 1. Working of TMS Figure 2 Cost cutting No company is small or big until it records growth and indicates business turnover. Especially transport business is a 365 day business as there is movement of goods almost everyday either by means of truck or railway for domestic areas and air and ship for international business. Therefore, professionally maintained organizations which deliver quality service would invite more customers and business organizations for extending services. Timely delivery and quality service is what is most required by the organizations without giving any excuses or reasons. Only in case of exceptional instances such as natural calamities, delivery of goods can be delayed and otherwise, goods have to be delivered on time meeting the satisfaction of client. Discussion Beginning from super mar to the transport of people, TMS plays a vital role in delivering goods by the chosen means of transport by companies. The assistance of logistics in TMS means planning of goods packing, loading, transporting, unloading to the destination point, all these are included in planning of TMS which will enable companies to ship goods and services from one place to another by safe means of transport without causing any theft, damage or pilferage. The companies which rely on TMS keep a bona fide and conduct for the services extended to its clients. There are many transport companies which have built reputation of good will by extending quality services to its clients. Logistics enable to companies to strategical planning in cutting transport costs, increasing asset turnover, costs for maintenance of inventory, improving CRM, and reducing fines and penalties that arise with custom authorities or such other transport personnel in rural and urban areas and in maintenance of excellent customer relation with companies. Further logistics management lays out a clear picture of transport business, its strengths, weaknesses and threats and how to encounter such problems and conflicts that arise in the course of business. At every step of logistics management beginning from production unit, the execution of logistical planning begins viz., route planning, transport management, parcel shipping and delivery. This planning is applied both in domestic and international transport logistics. Transport Asset Management is also a major factor, in adding trucks, cargo planes and ships to the respective companies in order undertake a big volume of business for larger turnover. Insurance, warranty, budget for asset procurement, cost per mile and preventive and cautionary measures for any unforeseen risks that may be encountered at the time of loading of goods. Via the medium of TMS, there are several advantages for global customer for purchase of goods. For instance on line purchase of precious metals such as gold, jewellery and pearls facilitates safe and secured delivery of items ensured by the seller. Further purchase of computers, mobiles, DVDs, Cameras, clothes, shoes and even groceries have become much easier and these goods are being door delivered. Therefore, the customer is being offered with lots of benefits of choosing specific model and design. Whereas extra care and attention must be paid while providing credit card numbers and bank accounts for making on line payments to companies. TMS performs a remarkable job for delivering mail services around the world through DHL and blue dart courier service. The massive success of blue dart for courier services is another example for quality and timely service executed with efficiency and trained and skilled personnel. In transport industry, excessive training is to be provided at every level of employment from the point of production till the point of packing and loading and unloading and even includes delivery of goods. Much advantage can be drawn from available software solutions and net working technology to enable information flow from one place to another as transport industry moves and works with the flow of information at every level. Emails, telephones, mobiles are some of the best methods to communicate at a fast pace which prevents delays and enables quick and speed mode of work. Although the success rate of transport industry is very huge, unless an organization is equipped with proper management systems and qualified and knowledgeable staff, with trained and skilled labor, it is very difficult to carry on business either at domestic level and at international level. Conclusion The global challenges of transport management system are vast with extended responsibilities in terms of service and quality. Practice of TMS has been essentially yielding good results and achievements for companies. Apart from being a good management practice, TMS early signs of hazards, hassles that can be prevented in transport business. Every meticulous care and monitoring in TMS will add to the quality service whether it is in transport, air or shipping business. Changing times evolve new concepts and new working systems in every sphere of business and these changes come with a proportionate success rate for businesses for adaptability and compatibility. These have to be worked with much vigor and research before any task for business is undertaken. References The Role of Transportation in Logistics Chain Accessed 21 July 2007 http://www.easts.info/on-line/proceedings_05/1657.pdf

Consequences Of The First World War History Essay

Consequences Of The First World War History Essay

Nursing Processes: From Admission to Discharge

Nursing Processes: From Admission to Discharge Shan Jiang Develop an understanding of the nursing process from admission through to discharge of a client in a health care facility My patient is Mr. Peter William, 71 years old male, was found slumped in the shower accomplishing flaccid right limb and mouth and face drooping. In addition, this client also had slurred speech, and urine incontinence problems. In my care plan, I will outline the specific assessment tools and major health problems on Peter and present outcomes and interventions. There are two assessment tools that a nurse needs to do. One of these is the acute falls risk assessment tool. The main reason is that this client has right side weakness. This means that older people with limb flaccid contributes to high risks of falls. Nystrom and Hellstrom (2012, P. 473) state that the falling incidence of elderly with limb weakness is two times the number of those who are the same age without limb flaccid. Furthermore, Braden risk assessment scale also should be considered as a significant tool for this patient. The main reason is urine incontinence and limb weakness could lead to the impaired skin integrity and even pressure ulcer. Therefore, those two tools would be implemented due to urine incontinence and right side weakness. Peter has three main health problems, which are the guidelines to offer safe and high quality of care. The first and most urgent health problem is the risk of aspiration manifested by slurred speech and face and mouth drooping. The reason is that swallowing dysfunction contributes to high risk of aspiration and the difficulty of moving foreign materials from the airway (Garcia and Chambers 2010). As a result, this patient could not clear the airway effectively, leading to high risk of death. Another significant health problem is the risk of falls because of right side weakness. The reason is that this client would have high risk of injuries such as fracture even death, due to the high incidence of falling (Hindmarch et al. 2009 Naqul et al. 2007). The third health issue is risk of impaired skin integrity caused by urine incontinence and limb weakness. The reason why impaired skin integrity should be a priority is that broken skin contributes to various infections. All those evidence demonstrates that the key health problems are the risks of aspiration, falls, skin integrity and the prioritization bases on severity of threatening life safety. Relatively desired outcomes could be achieved by means of nursing interventions basing on the two priority health problems. Firstly, the incidence of aspiration is minimized and relevant complications would be prevented by multiple interventions. Rofes et al. (2011) report that food modification and other swallowing function rehabilitation contribute to preventing aspiration-related malnutrition and pneumonia and improving dysphagia. Furthermore, the falling rate decreases during hospitalized time attributes to professional nursing care. In other words, the falling rate of inpatient would decline dramatically due to the implement of multiple prevention methods. Therefore, professional and effective nursing interventions facilitate desired outcomes in terms of effective airway clearance and reducing falls rate. There are two interventions could be implemented to reduce aspiration. One of these is postural strategy. This means that modifying body and head position could minimize the incidence of aspiration and relevant respiratory complications. Rofes et al. (2011) report that postural approaches are easy and effective to be performed due to little fatigue and those involve head extension, turning head towards the unhealthy side and so forth. Those strategies could prevent residues from aspiration, such as titling head to the health side before making bolus directly to the stronger side through the gravity (Rofes et al. 2011). Another one is dietary modification. According to Garcia and Chambers (2010, p. 30), appropriate food texture according to the patient’s swallowing capacity contributes to ingesting foods sufficiently and thin liquids should be avoided due to fast transiting and solids. As a result, aspiration would be minimized. Therefore, postural methods and food modification could minimize the occurrence of aspiration. After discharge, various issues this patient might meet and relevant strategies could be implemented to combat those problems. Firstly, risk of falls still exists after hospital discharge. The main intervention is combining environment modification and education (Lord, Menzand Sherrington 2006; Hill et al. 2011). According to Lord, Menz Sherrington (2006, p. 58), there are a variety of factors associated with high risk of falls, such as home surroundings and falling incidence could be decreased to 31% in one year by assessing home hazards and educating the use of multiple mobility aids. Moreover, communication barrier is also a significant issue for this patient after discharge due to poor verbal communication. The reason is that aphasia would lead to low quality of life even depression (Hilari and Byng 2009). Therefore, relevant efforts should be taken to resolve this problem. According to Lanyon, Rose Worrall (2013, p. 360), aphasia groups contribute to promoting friendship and social issues through different modality communication activities, such as regaining meaningful interactions and communication skills. As a result, depression is minimized due to communication effectively and confidently. In present-day society, multiple chronic diseases are very common among the elderly and the clinical manifestations are complicated comparing to adults. This care plan indicates that the whole nursing procedure of an old patient with slurred speech, right side flaccid and urinary incontinence, which involves using assessment tools to identify major health problems: ineffective airway clearance and risk of falls and impaired skin integrity. Professional care could be applied to solve those problems including in hospital and post discharge. References Nystrom, A, Hellstrom, k 2012, ‘Fall risk six weeks from onset of stroke and the ability of the prediction of falls in rehabilitation settings tool and motor function to predict falls’, Clinical Rehabilitation, vol.27, no. 5, pp.473-79. Garcia, J M, Chambers, E 2010, ‘Managing dysphagia through diet modifications’, American Journal of Nursing, vol. 110, no.11, pp. 26-33. Hindmarch, D M, Hayen, A, Finch, C F, Close, J C T 2009, ‘Relative survival after hospitalization for hip fracture in older people in New South Wales, Australia’, Osteoporosis International, vol.20, no. 2, pp. 221-29. Rofes, L, Arreola, v, Almirall, J, Cabre, M, Campins, L, Peris, P G, Speyer, R, Clave, P 2010, ‘Diagnosis and management of oropharyngeal dysphasia and its nutritional and respiratory complications in the eldly’, Gastroenterology Research and Practice, vol.2011, viewed 7 May 2014, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1155/2011/818979> Lord, S R, Menz, H B, Sherrington, C 2006, ‘Home environment risk factors for falls in older people and the efficacy of home modifications’, Age and Ageing, vol. 35, no.2, pp.55-59. Hilari, K, Byng, S 2009, ‘Health-related quality of life in people with severe aphasia’, International Journal of Language Communication Disorders, vol. 44, no.2, pp. 193-205. Lanyon, L E, Rose, M L, Worrall, L 2013, ‘The efficacy of outpatient and community-based aphasia group interventions: a systematic review’, International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, vol.15, no.4, pp.359-74. Theoretical Framework in Sociology Research: Bradford Riots Theoretical Framework in Sociology Research: Bradford Riots What kinds of questions do the different theoretical frameworks encourage you to ask about the Bradford ‘riots’? Which of these questions do you find useful and worth pursuing? Why? What are the limitations of the theoretical frameworks you have considered? What questions do they neglect? The following is a brief discussion of how some of the different theoretical frameworks of sociology can be used to gain an understanding of social events and structures, with the Bradford riots as the selected case study. The different theoretical frameworks of sociology offer us the structures to carry out and then evaluate social research on particular events or issues, although the differences in these theoretical frameworks need to always be taken into account. The different theoretical frameworks of sociology in fact emphasise differing actors such as individual choices / freedom of action, the impact of economic, political, and social factors, as well as social institutions and social structures. Several research questions are put forward for discussion and evaluation to assess which ones will fit in best with the different theoretical frameworks of sociology that are discussed. The reasons for selecting the final research questions will be explained. Finally the potential sho rtcomings of the selected research questions as well as the chosen theoretical frameworks will be discussed. There are arguably various kinds of questions that the different theoretical frameworks of sociology would encourage us to ask about the Bradford riots, or any other social event for that matter. The different theoretical frameworks of sociology are after all meant to give people the ability as well as the capacity to evaluate and therefore to understand general societies as a whole and indeed specific social events in isolation. The shared purpose of the different theoretical frameworks of sociology is to analyse and to comprehend contemporary societies, the asking of pertinent questions being a widespread and also a sound means of determining the direction and the results of sociological research into specific events or areas. The different theoretical frameworks of sociology would in all probability encourage us to ask probing and open ended kinds of questions to find out more details concerning the Bradford riots. Of course the different theoretical frameworks of sociology would then probably go on to provide differing explanations of why the Bradford riots happened, as well as the main causes of what took place. For example questions like the following ones would be highly useful for the different theoretical frameworks of sociology to ask in order to evaluate what happened: Could the Bradford riots have been accurately predicted? Did the Bradford riots have long-term social and economic causes? Did the Bradford riots have short-terms social and economic causes? Could the Bradford riots have been averted at all? What role did social factors such as alienation, racial discrimination, and poverty play in causing the Bradford riots? Why were the local authority, the West Yorkshire Police, and the central government unable to prevent the Bradford riots from taking place? Are there any lessons that the local authority, the West Yorkshire Police, and the central government can learn from the Bradford riots? And if so should changes be made to prevent further riots in the future? All of the questions mentioned above would certainly prove to be useful in the provision of a meaningful analysis of the Bradford riots within the context of the different theoretical frameworks of sociology to ensure that important and accurate conclusions are reached about the causes of the violent outbursts. To a large extent all of the questions that could be asked would provide pertinent answers and research for a full analysis of the events surrounding the Bradford riots. However some of the questions would undoubtedly provide more complete levels of data as well as relevant information than other questions concerning the Bradford riots. If answered in full some of the questions would provide enough information to answer the other closely related questions. Indeed some of the less important questions could be used as follow up or secondary questions to the main questions actually being asked. The main questions chosen to gain the most useful information about the Bradford riots would be the following ones: Did the Bradford riots have long-term social and economic causes? Did the Bradford riots have short-terms social and economic causes? (With a possible follow up question of ‘Could the Bradford riots have been accurately predicted?). What role did social factors such as alienation, racial discrimination, and poverty play in causing the Bradford riots? (With the back up question of ‘Why were the local authority, the West Yorkshire Police, and the central government unable to prevent the Bradford riots from taking place?). Are there any lessons that the local authority, the West Yorkshire Police, and the central government can learn from the Bradford riots? And if so should changes be made to prevent further riots in the future? These questions have been chosen as theoretically at least they offer the best prospects of gaining as a wide a perspective of possible of the social and other possible causes of the Bradford riots. The selected questions depending upon how they are actually answered would allow functionalists, Marxist, and structuralism sociologists for example to come up with highly diverse conclusions based on the same data and research information about the Bradford riots. The answers given in response to these questions could and will undoubtedly be interpreted in various ways that may or may not fit in with the different theoretical frameworks of sociology already studied such as functionalism, Marxism, and structuralism. Of course there is a long tradition of the adherents of functionalism, Marxism, and structuralism interpreting data and research information in ways that make their theoretical frameworks appear to be the best method of understanding social events such as the Bradford riots. Thus the proponents of the different theoretical frameworks of sociology would almost certainly argue that their preferred theoretical framework is better than all the other alternative frameworks in explaining and subsequently understanding the Bradford riots. They would also be arguing that their preferred theoretical framework would be the best for analysing entire societies as well as highly specific social events. If answered in full the questions to be asked in relation to the causes of the Bradford riots should provide enough evidence to draw up research findings and also conclusions that fit in with the different theoretical frameworks of sociology such as functionalism, Marxism, and structuralism. However the conclusions would of course vary depending upon which of the different theoretical frameworks of sociology was actually being used at the time. Although there might be some similarity with the social and economic factors believed to have contributed to the causes of the Bradford riots, even if the different theoretical frameworks of sociology will rank such factors in different orders of over all importance. At the centre of the theoretical differences between the different theoretical frameworks of sociology is the issue of causation. Basically deciding whether or not individuals are free to act as they wish, or whether social structures, or indeed whether social and economic factors have the greatest influence in causing or worsening social events such as the Bradford riots. In many respects the Bradford riots are a very pertinent example of a social event that could be used as a case study to enable us to understand the ways in which the different theoretical frameworks of sociology use data and information to come up with evaluations of society. Although the different theoretical frameworks of sociology would all claim to have the ability to fully analyse and also to evaluate whole societies in general as well as specific social events in this case the Bradford riots. For those academics and sociologists that fervently believe in the accuracy and the validity of any specific one of the different theoretical frameworks of sociology then it is harder to accept criticism about those frameworks. Criticism and comments that their preferred theories and the other theoretical frameworks do in fact have shortcomings that can adversely affect the validity of research findings based upon their concepts and theories. Functionalism was one of the different theoretical frameworks of sociology that has the ability to analyse and evaluate the causes of the Bradford riots despite having some serious shortcomings from theoretical perspectives. Functionalism contends that when taken as a whole and also in the case of specific social events are shaped as well as heavily influenced by the inter relationships between individuals, social groups and also social institutions. Functionalism contends those individual beliefs and also social groups such as families or religious communities and social institutions like the West Yorkshire Police, the local authority, and the central government heavily influence their actual behaviours. Functionalism does have the capacity to analyse and to also evaluate the consequences of the interaction between individuals, social groups, and also social institutions. There is a very serious weakness when it comes down the suitability of functionalism for examining the Bradford riots. Functionalism as such does not recognise the possibility of the conflict between individuals, social groups, and also social institutions taking place. A social theory that does not recognise social conflict or struggles is certainly limited in its scope to understand violent events, like riots for instance. Marxism as a theoretical framework does provide some useful methods for analysing and evaluating the Bradford riots, yet it has obvious drawbacks. Marxism generally contends that class divisions as well as social heavily influence societies and economic inequalities that increase the prospects for conflict. Using Marxism as a theoretical framework allows us to understand the part that social and economic inequality as well as poverty played in causing the Bradford riots. Marxism unlike other theoretical frameworks does not recognise racial discrimination as a direct cause of social conflicts, which ignores the possibility that the Bradford riots were partially or completed caused by issues related to race relationships inside Bradford itself. The Bradford riots were also linked with religious issues, most notably the increased levels of alienation and aggression found within young Asian Muslim men in Bradford that felt isolated due to their race as well as their religion. Whilst Marxism is useful because it acknowledges that alienation can be a significant cause of social conflict, it tends to over emphasise the importance of class conflict. In the case of Bradford the issues of race discrimination and race relations are more relevant to the situation leading up to the riots, due to the high ethnic minority population within the city. In those circumstances Marxism’s emphasis upon class conflict does appear to be relevant at all. The theoretical merits of structuralism are that it has the capacity to evaluate as well as examine the various structures and also institutions within contemporary societies, and theoretically at least their impact on specific social events such as the Bradford riots. Over all structuralism actively contends that it is social structures and also social institutions that under normal circumstances the position of individuals within their own societies. The supporters of the structuralism theory go on to contend that individuals within their own societies do not actually have any influence as well as meaningful power over the main decisions and events within their lives. Structuralism as a theoretical framework does tend to stress how important social structures and institutions such as the emergency services, local authorities, education services, and most importantly of all the central government are responsible for providing individuals with opportunities as well as maintaining social stability. The central government and all the institutions and social structures it controls have the capacity to positively improve peoples lives alongside the negative function of punishing those that attempt to overturn existing social structures. It is thus a theoretical framework that stresses the overwhelming importance of structures and institutions in contemporary societies, and how they can solve social problems. Perhaps more importantly how social structures and social institutions can solve social problems if there is the political The main practical and also theoretical shortfall of structuralism is that it underestimates the influence that individuals an d linked small social groups can have over specific social events including the Bradford riots. Individuals and linked small social groups, especially the most alienated and angry ones can cause a great deal of destruction as well as disruption within their local area, or indeed beyond it. Alienated individuals and small groups may be particularly destructive and disruptive when social institutions and structures fail to understand them or underestimate the threat to law and order that they actually pose. Bibliography T. Bilton et. al., Introductory Sociology, 4th edition (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002). J. Macionis and K Plummer Sociology: A global introduction (Pearson), 3rd edition, 2005 James Fulcher and John Scott’s Sociology (OUP, 2nd edition, 2003) Kenneth H. Tucker, Classical Social Theory. A Contemporary Approach (Oxford, Blackwell, 2002). John Hughes, Peter Martin and W. Sharrock, Understanding Classical Sociology. Marx, Weber, Durkheim (London: Sage, 1995). Pip Jones, Introducing Social Theory (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003). K. Morrison, Marx, Durkheim, Weber. Formations of Modern Social Thought (London: Sage, 1995). Steven Seidman, Contested Knowledge. Social Theory Today, third edition (Oxford, Blackwell, 2004). Rob Stones (ed.), Key Sociological Thinkers (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 1998).

Artificial Intelligence Essay -- Technology, Automated Online Assistan

This paper summarizes various definitions of Artificial Intelligence and provides a brief account of progress in the field. The origin and purpose of artificial intelligence is discussed. This paper also discusses a few of the many subcategories of research, applications and current technological obstacles that scientist face when developing AI. In particular, this paper overviews various specific military applications of AI. Finally, the paper provides discussion on the impact that the future of artificial intelligence may have on humans. The literature that exists regarding artificial intelligence shall also be examined briefly, and finally how it has affected humanity, particularly psychologically. â€Æ' Statement of topic Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often depicted by science fiction authors and scientists as potentially equal—or superior—to human intelligence. Yet this dream may remain elusive until machines attain the basic human virtue of common sense. Some of the leading experts and researchers in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have tried to define the term or the subject. Phillip Jackson, in his book An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (1985), defines AI research as ‘an attempt to discover and describe aspects of human intelligence that can be simulated by machines’ (Jackson, 1985). John McCarthy, one of the pioneer scientists in the field and the person believed to have coined the term ‘artificial intelligence’ defined the goal of AI as ‘to develop machines that behave as though they were intelligent.’ This definition, however, is insufficient because it does not comprehensively capture the intended purpose of AI; it is to o general. The definition that best captures the definition of AI was given ... ...l the cursor of a mouse by what they think and using their speech. The system, created at Washington University, enables people who have had damage to their speech because of a brain injury or who have limited mobility because of injury to use computers just as normal people would (Leuthardt, et al., 2011). Scientists currently try as much as possible to focus on solutions that help solve limitations that machines have, trying to improve them as much as possible. One good example is the research currently being undertaken by researchers to find easier ways in which soft robots used in search and rescue can move faster. As a result, the researchers have focused on the movement of different species of caterpillars, looking up to these soft-bodies caterpillars for inspiration on how to create more intelligent systems of robot locomotion (Lin, Leisk, & Trimmer, 2011).

Loss Of Freedom Through Apathy :: essays research papers

Loss of Freedom Through Apathy We do have freedom in this country but we simply choose to ignore it. We live in a democracy, the most just kind of government, where we the people hold supreme power. It is an institution that is a culmination of revolutions, wars, philosophies and heroes. It is the greatest and proudest government in the world. One reason for this is that Americans have a right citizens of Iraq and China and North Korea only dreamed they could have. It took one of the greatest military epics in history for our Founding Fathers to receive this right. It took the marching of thousands for women to achieve this right. It took 400 years of abuse for blacks to finally to win this right. It is the highest and purest form of freedom of speech and as Americans it is our single most powerful instrument of self government. It is the American vote and in this Presidential election it is a right 250 million chose to ignore. This year I had the great opportunity to volunteer my services to the Democratic party. I was excited to work for the Democrats because it was my first ever experience involved with the election. For 17 years I stood as a common bystander to this great American tradition. Volunteering my hours made me feel like I was part of something important. Mostly my work consisted of random polling. I would call people up between the hours of 7 and 9 P.M. and ask them a few questions about the election. With every call I hoped for the best, but it seemed that I was calling people at the time they were most irritable. Most would simply hang up, leaving with a polite "Oh, I'm not interested." Others acted militantly to my calling, slamming the phone in disgust. It startled and in a way disheartened me, the way many of the people I polled seemed totally apathetic to the political world around us. To me, spending a minute answering questions about the future of politics did not seem like too much to ask at all. Yet it continued. "Hello I'm calling on behalf of your congressman Bob Toricelli. I'd like to ask a few questions." "I'm sorry I'm really busy right now. I can't talk." *click "Hello I'm calling on behalf of your congressman Bob Toricelli. I'd like to ask a few questions." "Not interested" *click "Hello I'm calling on behalf of your congressman Bob Toricelli. I'd like to ask a few questions." "I'm tired of hearing about this election." *click If I was calling from a telephone company or some other corporate monster

Criminology DNA Forensic Science Essay

We begin life as a single cell zygote, about 0. 1mm in diameter. The numerous biological instructions that enable our developmental and functional processes to occur from zygote to adult are encoded in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Forensic DNA analysis involves the intersection of several scientific disciplines, including molecular biology, genetics, and statistical analysis (Lynch, 2013). In order to understand the usefulness and the limitations of DNA in the analysis of physical evidence, it is important to be familiar with the basics principles underlying these diverse disciplines. Besides identical twins, each individual’s DNA is unique. After all it is the genetic material that contains all the information necessary for any organism to develop and function. However, only a one-half percent that is of interest to forensics scientists. This is the portion that varies greatly between individuals and it is what manifests itself in the individual traits such as eye color, hair color, and blood type. Most often the differences in DNA sequence do not show themselves in physical appearance; however, these sequences can only be examined using special laboratory techniques. Forensic scientists use these genetic differences from DNA to distinguish an individual between the individuals in a population. In 1944 Oswald Avery defined the role of the cellular component known as DNA as the vehicle of generational transference of heritable traits. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick elucidated the structure of the DNA molecule as a double helix. Form follows function; the very nature of the molecule provided an explanation for its unique properties (Berg, Tymoczko, Stryer, Gatto & Gatto, 2012). In 1980, David Botstein and coworkers were the first to exploit the small variations found between people at the genetic level as landmarks to construct a human gene map. In 1984, while searching for disease markers in DNA Alec Jeffreys discovered the science of personal identification. He termed this method DNA Fingerprinting, a method to detect loci sequentially (Alberts, Johnson & et al, 2008). This term is later replaced by DNA typing or DNA profiling, â€Å"Early in the use of DNA, profiles for the purpose of dentification were called DNA fingerprints, a term which is now rarely used† (Porter, 2005). The first forensic use of DNA occurred in England, â€Å"†¦ a DNA test was performed by Dr. Alex Jeffreys, who had developed DNA ‘fingerprinting† (Porter, 2005). One of the most significant facts of the case is that an innocent suspect was the first accused of the murder was freed based on the DNA evidence. Perhaps the most significant scientific advance bes ides the determination of the structure of DNA was in 1986 the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR multiplies the sample and yields results which were once unobtainable, â€Å"Furthermore, the statistical chances of a random coincidence in DNA of two individuals with the same profile have now reached enormous figures in the billions (Porter, 2005). Observation of cells and embryos in the late 19th century had led to the recognition that the hereditary information is carried on chromosomes, â€Å"thread-like structures in the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell that became visible by light microscopy as the cell begins to divide† (Alberts, Johnson & et al, 2008). As biochemical analysis became possible, chromosomes were found to consist of both DNA and protein. DNA is the name given to a group of molecules that occur in all cells of all living organisms and that carry that organism’s genetic information. That, is they carry the instructions for making the chemical compounds, proteins, by which cells stay alive, grow, develop, reproduce, and carry out all the functions that constitute life as we know it. DNA molecules are very large, complex molecules made of only a few simple sugar units combined with a phosphate group and one of four nitrogen bases, adenine A, cytosine C, guanine G, and thymine T (Alberts, Johnson & et al, 2008). The combination of one sugar molecule, one phosphate group and any on nitrogen base is called a nucleotide. A complete DNA molecule consists of very long chains of thousands of nucleotides joined together. The DNA molecule is comprised of two strands each wrapped around the other in the form of a double-helix. The bases on each strand are properly aligned in a manner known as complementary-base pairing. As a result, adenine pairs with thymine and guanine pairs with cytosine. Each gene is actually composed of DNA specifically designed to carry the task of controlling the genetic traits of our cells. The position a gene occupies on a chromosome in known as a locus. Approximately 30,000 human genes have been identified. DNA duplicates itself prior to cell division. DNA replication begins with the unwinding of the DNA strands of the double helix (Berg, Tymoczko, Stryer, Gatto & Gatto, 2012). The two separate strands, now separated, act like a template for the formation of daughter strands. Each strand is now exposed to a collection of free nucleotides that will be used to recreate the double helix using base pairing. The enzyme DNA polymerase catalyzes the sequential addition of nucleotides to the growing DNA strands. The advent of DNA technology has dramatically altered the approach of forensic scientists toward the individualization of bloodstains and other biological factors as evidence. The high sensitivity of DNA analysis and the subsequent search for DNA evidence has even altered the types of materials collected from crime scenes. Saferstein, 2013) Modern methods of obtaining DNA have made it possible to obtain convictions on blood left at the scene, on semen, or even spittle behind on a postage stamp. â€Å"It is surprising how often DNA is left behind, often when the criminal accidently cuts himself at the scene but also numerous other ways. DNA evidence makes detection of crime more probable† (Porter, 2005). During an investigation, forensic evidence is collected at a crime scene, analyzed in a laboratory and often presented in court. Each crime scene is unique, and each case presents its own challenges. Complex cases may require the collection, examination and analysis of a large amount of evidence. In terms of forensic DNA analysis, there is a variety of possible sources of DNA evidence. The more useful sources include blood, semen, vaginal fluid, nasal secretions and hair with roots. It is theoretically possible to obtain DNA from evidence such as urine, feces and dead skin cells, though this is often classed as a poor source due to the lack of intact cells and high levels of contaminants preventing successful analysis. Prior to analysis, the it will be necessary to extract DNA from the sample. This is generally achieved through the following simplified steps. The sample cells are lysed (broken down) in a buffer solution. Denatured proteins and fats are pelleted through centrifugation. The cleared lysate is then passed through a column, often containing a positively charged medium that binds to the DNA. Contaminating proteins, fats and salts are then removed through several washes. The DNA is recovered in a buffer solution (Rankin, 2005-2013). The use of DNA analysis in forensic science is based on a variety of techniques focusing on polymorphisms. â€Å"Different sequences are studied in different techniques, including single nucleotide polymorphisms, mini satellites (variable number tandem repeats), microsatellites (short tandem repeats) and mitochondrial DNA, each different with regards to length and repetition (Rankin, 2005-2013)†. The latest method of DNA typing, short tandem repeat (STR) analysis has emerged as the most successful and widely used DNA profiling procedure. Generally, â€Å"DNA extraction is the first step in forensic DNA analysis for use in human identification, and is essential to generating STR profiles from forensic biological samples (Lounsbury, Coult, Miranian, Cronk, Haverstick, Kinnon, Saul & Landers, 2012)†. STRs are locations on the chromosome that contain short tandem repeats that repeat themselves within the DNA molecule. They express a high degree of polymorphism, making them of particular use to the forensic scientist. As STR regions are non-coding, there is no selective pressure against the high mutation rate, resulting in high variation between different people (Saferstein, 2013). Though there have been thousands of short tandem repeats found in the human genome, only a small number are utilized in forensic DNA analysis. STR loci are ideal for use in forensic science for a number of reasons. They represent†¦ â€Å"discrete alleles that are distinguishable from one another, they show a great power of discrimination, only a small amount of sample is required due to the short length of STRs, PCR amplification is robust and multiple PCR can be used, and there are low levels of artifact formation during amplification (Rankin, 2005-2013)†. The method of enzyme based produced PCR-ready DNA after only 20 minute incubation and requires no centrifugation or sample transfer steps. Implementation of this method into the workflow for forensic cases could reduce sample and DNA preparation time. The enzyme based method allows easy integration for downstream processes, such as PCR (Lounsbury, Coult, Miranian, Cronk, Haverstick, Kinnon, Saul & Landers, 2012). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique for replicating small quantities of DNA or broken pieces of DNA found at a crime scene, outside a living cell. Polymerase chain reaction is the outgrowth of knowledge gained from an understanding of how DNA strands naturally replicate within a cell. For the forensic scientist, PCR offers a distinct advantage in that it can amplify minute quantities of DNA many millions of times (Saferstein, 2013). The PCR cycle consists of three primary steps: denaturation, annealing and extension. â€Å"Denaturation, the sample is heated to 94-95oC for about 30 seconds. This separates the double-stranded DNA by breaking hydrogen bonds, allowing primers access. Annealing, the samples is kept at 50-65oC, depending on the primer sequence, to allow hydrogen bonds to form between the primers and the complementary DNA sequence. Extension is also known as the elongation stage. The sample is heated to 72oC for duration depending on the length of the DNA strand to be amplified and the speed of the polymerase enzyme (Taq polymerase) which builds up the strand. Deoxynucleotide triphosphates are added to the 3’ end of the primer (Rankin, 2005-2013)†. Each PCR cycle can take only 5 minutes. This procedure can then be repeated as necessary until the original sequence has been amplified a sufficient amount of time, with the amount being doubled with each cycle. Following PCR, the products are separated using electrophoresis. Electrophoresis is essentially a method of separating molecules by their size through the application of an electric field, causing molecules to migrate at a rate and distance dependent on their size. The gel essentially acts as a type of molecular sieve, allowing smaller molecules to travel faster than larger fragments. Following electrophoresis, it may be necessary to visualize these bands using radioactive or fluorescent probes or dyes (Berg, Tymoczko, Stryer, Gatto & Gatto, 2012). Another type of DNA used for individual characterization is mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) is located outside the cell’s nucleus and is inherited from the mother (Saferstein, 2013). Recent developments in forensic mRNA profiling systems have allowed the simultaneous inference of a variety of human cell types from small amounts of samples. In addition to body fluids such as blood, semen, saliva, menstrual secretion and vaginal mucosa, the presence of skin cells can also be determined. Since more cell types can be examined, RNA profiling complements the existing detection methods of body fluids which are mainly serology-based and presumptive in nature. In forensic genetic analyses, â€Å"†¦the highest priority often goes to establishing the possible contributor(s) of DNA to an evidentiary trace. As a consequence, RNA profiling is incorporated into a DNA/RNA coassessment strategy that generates both a DNA and an mRNA profile from the same stain (Lindenbergh, Maaskant & Sijen, 2012)†. Mitochondrial DNA is generally used when other methods such as STR analysis have failed. This is often in the case of badly degraded bodies, in cases of disaster or accidents where an individual is too badly damaged to identify. The most significant advantage of the use of mitochondrial DNA is the possibility of analyzing even highly degraded samples. If a specimen is severely decomposed to the point that it is not possible to successfully extract a DNA profile using nuclear DNA, it may be possible through mitochondrial DNA. However the use of mDNA does have its disadvantages. As mitochondrial DNA is only maternally inherited, this cannot form a full DNA fingerprint of the individual, thus this technique is only beneficial if the DNA profiles of maternal relatives are available, such as the individuals mother or biological siblings (National Institute of Justice, 2012). Possibly the most momentous device to arise from DNA typing is the ability to compare DNA types recovered from crime scene evidence to those of convicted sex offenders and other convicted criminals (Lynch, 2013). Numerous countries have produced computerized databases containing DNA profiles to aid in the comparison of DNA fingerprints and the identification of suspects and victims. The first Government DNA database was established in the United Kingdom in April 1995, known as the National DNA Database (NDNAD). As of 2011, there were over 5. million profiles of individuals in the system. Similarly, the FBI in the US formed their own DNA database, the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), in 1994, though it was not implemented in all states until 1998(Saferstein, 2013). Staff members involved in the handling and analysis of evidence will often also submit their DNA profiles to the database in the case of accidental contamination. There is the possibility for DNA databases to be shared be tween countries; however some countries focus on different loci in DNA fingerprinting. Currently, U. S. crime laboratories have standardized on 13 STRs for entry into a national database (CODIS). Currently, DNA evidence is treated as exceptional, but it also is upheld as a model for other forms of forensic evidence to emulate. Many terms, such as investigation, inquiry, argument, evidence, and fact were established in law well before being associated with science. However, while legal proof remained qualified by standards of moral certainty, scientific proof attained a reputation for objectivity (Lynch, 2013). Although most forms of legal evidence, including expert evidence, continue to be treated as fallible opinions rather than objective facts, forensic DNA evidence increasingly is being granted an exceptional factual status. It did not always enjoy such status. Two decades ago, the scientific status of forensic DNA evidence was challenged in the scientific literature and in courts of law, but by the late 1990s it was being granted exceptional legal status. DNA profiling is often treated as an exceptional technique that has navigated the imaginary gulf between forensic and scientific culture, and has become so reliable that it can be used as a benchmark for evaluating all other forensic technologies. The STR system replaced the earlier systems, and automated scanning of samples replaced visual examination of profile results. The use of all these genetic tools allows forensic scientists to with more certainty find and convict criminals.

A research proposal on contract strategies for projects in the subsea oil and gas industry Essay

ingressIn incompatible subsea cover and bluster estimates developments, the award of large fetchs for a diversity of work is under lodge inn. Nevertheless, the overall system for distributing these rationalizes to diametrical start outors is the main discipline regarding to detection dodging. The upstart queryes on the field of flinch strategies pass on that the world is growing very(prenominal) riotous technically thus provoke the motivating for further exploration for sources of energy oddly in subsea crude inunct and petrol assiduity. Further more(prenominal), a profound cast up in the come outs complexity, improver in labor movements sizes as headspring as the intensified internationalistic engagements in link up issues characterize oil and feature projects in the present world. Although these projects ar based in the sea, it is argued by different scholars that construction processes put integrity across numerous groups of individuals and co mpanies who get involved all(prenominal) as suppliers, buyers or as the significant builders.To maintain and ensure ethical relationships among the dissimilar stakeholders slews be salmagundied. A contract is a legal term that is either write or spoken as an bargain between two or more parties for the purpose of the delivery of peculiar(prenominal) go in return for money or every other valuable summation (Blum, 2007, p. 88). In projects related to subsea oil and tout engineering, the process and the character of catching and origination of projects contracts is of great significance for the future category of the project and as good for the habitual success of the project.As far as subsea oil and bollix fabrication is concerned, contracts ar the critical tolls for the al mess of tasks, attempts and responsibilities. Most importantly, assure strategies in the above discussed industry takes into grade the division of responsibilities in spite of appearance the project cycle, the coveted allocation of risks, splitting of engaged parties and serve among the involved groups as well as taking into account the interface and the mart situation. Realistic tell apartion of promise strategies is the installation of realization of goals and objectives of such projects. According to Blum (2007), it is of enormousness for involved stakeholders in such projects to pick up the aw arness and knowledge slightly the special characteristics of probable promise strategies. Contracting strategies signify to the strategies in all stages of a project that establish a level of integration in design, the actual construction and on-going maintenance in a project and gives support to the project in form of risk delivery, risk allocation and incentivisation.The rationale of the ResearchConsidering the increased exploration and initialization of subsea oil and gas exploration and source projects, it is of importance to acknowledge the significance of i nstigating telling and realistic contracting strategies, as they are key to the success of each and every projects. For this reason, it is important to bring into light divers(a) contracting strategies by discussing, exploring and analyzing the impacts of such strategies in subsea oil and gas engineering. It is in this compliance that the interrogation that go forth follow pass on go even cloudy to lick out the advantages as well as the shortcomings of different contracting strategies with respect to several(a) literatures in the special(prenominal) field.Research issueAs some(prenominal) another(prenominal) comprehend, there has been very little in terms of research concerning contracting strategies especially in the subsea oil and gas sector. Although few need this issue, many companies are investing in the industry probably ending up adopting one or several contracting strategies. It is thus a major issue when the obligatory research that can guide these companies in selecting the best approaches is unavailable.Research AimThe designing of this research will be to check into various types of contract strategy utilize in the subsea oil and Gas Industries and the reflexion made out front choosing for a particular project. In addition, the research will admit insight in various construct of contracting strategies besides going deep to unclothe various strategies used in the subsea oil and gas industries. Furthermore, the research will explore, discus and determine the role of contract strategy in project oversight by comparing and evaluating their impacts on a project by applying personify reimbursable contract strategy and lump sum contract strategy. Finally, the engage will materialize in identifying the benefits and disadvantages of the various types of contract strategies.The importance of the studyOn the event of the completion of this plotted research, it is anticipated that various stakeholders in subsea gas and oil industry wil l be provided with adequate and vital information about contracting strategies in the field, their impacts on full general project performance, their advantage and disadvantages as well being equipped with information on the roles of various contracting strategies.Research questionsTo these ends, the study calls on the following research questionsWhat are the various types of contracting strategies used in the subsea oil and gas industry?What are the considerations made before choosing a contracting strategy?What are the roles of contracting strategies in the subsea oil and gas industry?What are the advantages and disadvantages of the discussed contracting strategies?The empirical part of the research examines the theoretical framework of the perspective of different contracting strategies, their effectiveness, their roles as well as the benefits and shortcomings that accrue as a ending of their espousal.Literature reviewDuring the initial stages of any project, the main issue tha t faces the project oversight stakeholders is to make informed decisions on which contract strategies to adopt that best suits the project for in(predicate) achievement of the projects goals and objectives (Inkpen & Moffett, 2011, p. 187). According to Babusiaux (2007), contract strategy refers to the process or the endeavor to select an organizational or projects contractual insurance that is required for the execution of specific projects within the major venture.Most importantly, a ripe and effective contract strategy for a project especially the ones related to subsea oil and gas industry involves making of vanadium critical and staple decisions that include saddle horse of the projects objectives and constraints and making of informed decisions on the alternative of proper project delivery method. In addition deciding on choice of proper contract type as well as adopting realistic contract administrative mechanisms serves as a ass for triumphant plectrum of contracting strategies. Nevertheless, in the subsea oil and gas engineering projects, a contract type is selected by the managers of the project through the advice of the projects engineers and his or her legal advisor. However, the selection in this case must stir the objectives and the goals of the project and be able to take into account the constraints that relate to the project.The objectives are in terms of the time objectives, functional performance, canalize of technology, use of local materials and resources, allocation and defrayal of risks as well as cost objectives among others. This lead to a reflective increase in the projects complexity, increase in projects sizes as well as the intensified international engagements. Essentially, there are different contracting strategies in subsea oil and gas industry. The contracting strategies include Engineering Procurement and saying (EPC) contracting strategy, Engineering Procurement and kink with Long Lead Items (EPC with LLIs), Engi neering, Procurement and turn of events precaution strategy (EPCM) as well as the Progressive Lump shopping centre (PLS) (Ross & Williams, 2012, p. 236).As a matter of fact, the selection of a specific contracting strategy in the subsea oil and gas industry depends on the level of risk an possessor of a project dares to undertake and in most cases it reflects the desired peril, the goal and the aspirations of the owner. For that reason, the specific features and factors of the particular project have to be handled with an in-depth analysis and compared to the characteristics of the respective strategy in a manner that provides a insane asylum for deciding and choosing on the most suppress solution (Babusiaux, 2007, p. 116).As all this contracting strategies are based on the procural process, it is basically known that supply twine in the industry of oil and gas has not been taken seriously for quite some time and this has resulted to significant drawbacks . Nevertheless, tec hnological changes lead to the development of core value that aim only at flying exploration with consequent high business of oil and gas products.According to Piskarev & Shkatov (2012) before selecting a contracting strategy to implement, owners of subsea oil and gas projects should ensure that, they consider basic attributes that determine which effective strategy works best in particular environments. To maximize on this, the key factors to consider in such cases include the type, the size and the location of the subsea industry. Additionally, as mentioned in the overview, decisions should consider risk allocations, the projects interface, the time constraints and the market structure among many other factors.ReferencesInkpen, A. C., & Moffett, M. H. (2011). The global oil & gas industry management, strategy & finance. Tulsa, Okla, PennWell.Blum, B. A. (2007). Contracts examples & explanations. Austin, Wolters Kluwer Law & melodic lineBabusiaux, D. (2007). Oil and gas explor ation and action reserves, costs, contracts. Paris, France, Editions Technip.Piskarev, A., & Shkatov, M. (2012). Energy Potential of the Russian golosh Seas Choice of development strategy. Burlington, Elsevier Science.Ross, A., & Williams, P. (2012). Financial Management in Construction Contracting. Chicester, Wiley.