Real ‘Angle of Mercy’ During the Crimean War Essay Example for Free

Real ‘Angle of Mercy’ During the Crimean War Essay Do you agree with the view that Mary Seacole , and not Florence Nightingale , was the real ‘angle of mercy’ during the Crimean War? During the Crimean war, both Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale showed aspects of being angels. The word ‘angel’ suggests a heavenly person who is attentive to the soldiers’ needs, and ‘mercy’ means showing kindness and forgiveness, and the ‘angel of mercy’ basically suggests a compassionated and kind-hearted person who empathizes and helps soldiers in need. Although Nightingale had showed the aspects of being an â€Å"angel of mercy†, the amount of work and commitment Seacole had put in outweighs Nightingale’s; therefore I believe Mary Seacole deserves the title of the real â€Å"angel of mercy†. Florence Nightingale actions mainly focused on the hygiene and cleanliness, and the organization of the hospital since the majority of the death was due to neglect of sanitation. Source U is a lithograph of one of the wards in the Barrack Hospital in Scutari, where Nightingale was in charge of. It showed the hospital was clearly clean and organized with windows opened, clean floor, wide space between organized beds, suggesting that the soldiers’ conditions were getting better. Nightingale was also very hardworking, because even at night she used to walk around the hospital carrying a lamp to check on the patients, hence she is also known as the â€Å"The Lady with the Lamp† throughout the history, which shows her commitment in her work as a nurse. She certainly had â€Å"formidable gifts of organization† as it says on source V, and her involvement in the war had also made a huge impact on the death rate, which reduced from 42 per 1000 to 2 per 1000 in June 1855. Despite the fall of the death, 5000 men died in her hospital due to poor hygiene in the winter of 1854-1855 before the sanitary commission arrived, yet she refused to acknowledged that it was from the lack of sanitation and said the men were â€Å"half dead† when they were brought in, because at that time she didn’t know that the hospital was built on top of a cesspool. On top of that, it was revealed in the letter written by Lord Palmerston to Lord Panmore that the sani tary arrangement was actually done by Dr. Sutherland and Dr. Grainger, and still Nightingale took all the credit. Even though, Nightingale has made positive impacts on the course of the war and paved a way for improving in the nursing field, her actions aren’t enough to fit the image of an â€Å"angel of mercy†, since she was a harsh, cold woman who criticized her own nurses and only checked the patients from a distance, completely neglecting the importance of consoling and communicating with the soldiers, as it is also shown on the source U – on the lithograph Nightingale is seen leading the wounded; however, she keeps a distance inbetween. This shows that Nightingale is recognized through the image of the clean organized ward, rather than a kind-hearted and compassionated nurse treating the patients, and the ‘angel of mercy’ ought to provide both physical and mental needs to the soldier as the title says, since they will not only suffer physical attacks but will also be mentally affected by the war, and Nightingale failed to provide mental treatment. On the other hand, Mary Seacole’s engagements fit the image of the â€Å"angel of mercy† and source V praises Seacole and her involvement during the war, despite being rejected by the British authorities due to her race and background. She went to Crimea by herself to help the wounded, whereas Nightingale who went there in request of the Minister of War, Sidney Herbert, to go to help in the war. Seacole had no hospital to take care of the wounded, but she built her own â€Å"British Hotel† in Balacava by her money, unlike the government funded â€Å"admirable hospital† in Scutari, which took days of boat trip from the battlefield. In source v, it also tells how Seacole was â€Å"in the very front line† treating the wounded, which was truly a heroic act because during that time females were seen weak and delicate, let alone belong on the battlefield, but â€Å"she showed courage under fire†, â€Å"unlike some officers† and risked her ow n life to save others. This also links to the idea of ‘angel’ because like a guardian angel she was protecting them, and she may also have appeared physically like an angel to some of the soldiers as she drifted through the battlefields healing people. This shows the bravery and effort of Seacole puts in helping the soldiers, and the fact that she treated the wounded at the scene might have contributed with the drop of death-rate. Her â€Å"British Hotel† was also an important refuge to the soldiers, which again comes to the idea ‘mercy’, as it says in source V that the soldiers felt more at ease with â€Å"Mother Seacole† than in the hospital, because the hotel was more homelike. Unlike Nightingale, briefly checking the patient and ordering the nurses, Seacole was more socializing and hands on approach to the individuals, therefore she was closer with the soldiers since she ran the hotel by herself and did everything by herself, on the other hand Nightingale did ver y little nursing and more works on the running and organizing of the hospital, which shows that she was more of an administrator than a nurse. Seacole approach of treating wounded and â€Å"patients suffering from cholera and dysentery† was more effective than Nightingale’s method, showing that Seacole was more skilled and had more knowledge on medicine. Source V points out that, Seacole was certainly kind, caring, empathizing like an ‘angel of mercy’, because she was the figure of a ‘mother’ to the soldiers and â€Å"attentive to their practical needs†. She nurtured them, like a mother would for their children, providing physical and mental when they are away from home and family, and also providing them with pocket handkerchief for the winter. She was admired and loved by the soldiers and that is how she received the name â€Å"Mother Seacole†, and the soldiers also arranged an event after the war to thank her. However, media neglected Seacole’s achievement because of her race and attributed the title of â€Å"angel of mercy† to Nightingale. But there are evidences which prove that the hospitality that Seacole provided was better and more effective than Nightingale’s. Seacole not only treated the wounded because she was a nurse, but that helping soldiers was her passion; the strong, brave, determine, motherly characteristic of Seacole allowed her to provide the best for the soldiers during the war. She did everything from scratch on her own, whilst Nightingale was just appointed to run the hospital; on top of that Seacole put in more effort in taking care of the soldiers and was more compassionated than Nightingale. â€Å"Mary Seacole was on hand for the troops in the long months when nothing much appeared to be happening† just like a ‘mother’, which is figuratively close to an ‘angel’, showing that she was indeed the real â€Å"angel o f mercy†.

Strategic Planning Human Resource Management Commerce Essay

Strategic Planning Human Resource Management Commerce Essay Strategic human resource is a strategy or plan that carried out by organization to guides an organization in accomplishes its vision and mission. Through a strategic plan, the organizations can develop an effective human resource plans that will enable the organizations to make a management decisions especially something that will give a benefit to their employee and organization in the present and to support and guide the direction or flow of the organization. Human resource strategies are designed to ensure that organizations have the staff they need to meet customer demand. Lately, whether we realize it or not, the strategic human resource planning has been used widely in organizations. A discussions highlight several key term of strategic human resource that can affect the business in organization. There are characteristic of strategic human resource, planning process and the way of the organization implement their strategies. Usually, based on the strategic plan, it will guide the organization to be more competitive. Through this journal, it is explore about the strategic human resource management that has been practiced in organization for a small business. Other than that, it is also has been practices in staff training and development to ensure that the staff achieve their standard and perform better. INTRODUCTION Human resources is a set of individuals who form a organization workforce, business or an economic sector. Other terms sometimes used to replace the term human resources as workforce, talent, labor or simply people. Human resource management is reflected in the professional disciplines and business functions of overseeing human resources of an organization. Different with human resource management, strategic human resource management pay attention to human resource activities with the long-term objectives. Strategic human resource management also focuses on issues of internal human resources. In addition, the strategic focus of human resource management is to manage and resolve the problems that effects people management programs in the long-term and often globally. Therefore, the ultimate goal of strategic human resources to improve productivity of workers by giving attention to the business barriers that occurs outside of human resources. This journal focuses on Strategic Human Resources Planning. Human Resource Planning as a process of systematic review to determine human resources requirements to Make sure That the number of employees in line with the required skills. Human resource planning is a step in identifying human resource needs of the present and future of an organization to achieve the goal. HR Strategy will need to demonstrate that careful planning of people issues will make it significantly easier for organizations to achieve greater strategic and operational goals. Better strategic planning is needed to ensure that the organization obtain competitive opportunities from other organizations in the future. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The mainly purpose of this study is to examine whether strategic planning human resource management can support the achievement of business goals. This goals and objectives are attainable when the strategy aligned with organizational goals. The next purpose is to develop and expand the workforce in organization and meet future demands. Furthermore, strategic human resource also develops plans for the future and to make sure all employees meet company goals and expectations. Besides that, provide individual member of staff with information relating to staff development and training opportunities, and their task. FINDINGS What is Strategic Human Resource Management According to Huselid and Jackson, strategic human resource management specifically develops, implemented and executed based on a deliberate linkage to a companys strategy. Strategic human resource management also means that employees are strategic resources for example human capital that must be managed and leveraged in executing corporate strategy. The SHRM paradigm were predicated on the belief that specific human resource practices need to promote behaviors designed to deliver firm strategies and were focused on the relationship between employee behavior and company strategy (e.g. Snell 2001; Schuler and Jackson 1989; Fisher 1989). It also focuses on strategic context that influences on individual and later systems of technical human resource management practices. Managers were expected to employ the system of individual practices based on considerations of external threats and opportunities and internal resource capabilities, resources, and competencies their firms strategy, to e licit and reinforce the required behavior. Besides that SHRM is align with traditional human resource management practices such as recruitment, selection, training and development and rewards to a companys strategy. It also means place the policies and procedures that facilitate proficient strategy execution, using teams to leverage cross-functional knowledge and competencies, improve the knowledge management capabilities that facilitate the leveraging of best practices and effective also being efficient to capture the economy of scope opportunities, improve learning organizations that facilitate the constant adoption, utilization, ownership, and internal dissemination of best practices, and executing change management approaches that contribute to building and maintain the strategy supportive of corporate cultures. The researcher also said that the SHRM includes developmental performance feedback, management by objectives techniques, and balance scorecards; competence development maps and frameworks; open book management pra ctices to reduce worker-manager status differential; cross-functional teams and project teams profit sharing, team based compensation, merit pay, and long term incentives; enterprise resource planning human resource management solutions; and enhanced involvement of the human resource function in crafting, implementing, and executing strategy and also structured interviews, bio-data, cognitive ability tests, and assessment center. Next according to assumption by Arthur, fundamental to the strategic HRM perspective is that firm performance is influence by the set of HRM practice firms have in place. The expectation by external stakeholder relevant in shaping technical HRM activities include the government, which regulates a wide range of employment practice, and various professional organization (Baron , Jennings Dobbin, 1998; Tolbert Zucker, 1993). The expectations of these stakeholders tend to be similar for all firms, and they fell some pressure to conform. Key internal stakeholder like line managers and executive prefer high- quality technicalHRM activities (Tsui, 1987).The stakeholders are not yet likely to hold strength expectation or put pressure on organization to adopt these practice becausethe HRM activities are relatively recent innovations (cf.John, 1993; Wright McMahan, 1992). Characters of strategic human resource management Emphasize the ability of value creation The important path that organization must consider is a strategy that will be used based on their strategic resources. The organization must allocate their resources with effectively and then can decide the main objective. For organizations, the purpose to determine a strategic key of human resource is to identify employees that have a high achievement and have talents to compete with others. Think highly about the value chain management The key term of value chain management describe about strategic integration of the human resource with each function. The strategic human resource management will consider each function and try to create effective plans that can maximize the policies, procedure and also systems in the organization. Thus, the organization can implement the strategy and to use efficiency at the maximum level. Emphasizes contributions to the organizations strategy The success of the strategic human resource can contribute to the organization growth. The strategy must be aligning with the organizational objectives. First of all, there must be a clear tasks and relevant that affect organizational efficiency. There are also basic functions and skills that will be combining to develop a strategic human resource. Therefore, the organization can perform the task with excellent and thus can accomplish the organizations strategic objectives and at the same time can contribute to the growth of the organization. Should be recognized The approach taken to the management of human resources will be found that there is a mutually critical. For example, when the organization was changed and has redefined the role of the individual, indirectly it will affect to the way in which individual performance is managed, and the way in which the pay structure should be designed to reflect and support new ways of performing work. Specific human resource management initiatives will ensure that the sequence changes occur in the correct order and indirectly recognizes the need to understand where you are now in relation to each different area. (Roy Massey, 1994) (Taking a Strategic Approach to Human Resource Management Roy Massey) Approach to strategic human resource Blending strategies is one of the approaches to achieve an organizational vision, mission and objectives. An appropriate element of human resource strategy is required in order to formulate and implement these strategies. A blended strategic approach combines face to face methods through computer activities between each employee. The trainer and also trainee will interact with each other from time to time to share their information or any ideas about development. By this strategy, they can meet thru their organizations websites and discuss for any progression. The strategic human resource planning process Assess the current human resource capacity The most important steps in organization based on strategic plan are to assess the current capacity of human resource. The employees will be identified their knowledge, skills, behavior and also abilities before perform a tasks. Thus, the management can describe each type of employee based on their capabilities while handle the tasks given. Therefore, the management can evaluate employees performance and from that they can find a right employee that must undergo a training program to enhance their abilities. Forecasting human resource capacity The second step based on the strategic plan is to forecast human resource requirements for the future. The management must forecast the demand and supply for the organizations future. Forecasting can support the organizational goal and give the important information especially human resource capacity to management. Gap analysis The third step is to identify the gap between the organization present and in the future. This gap analysis will identify the number of staff will be employed in the future, the scope of the organization will be carried out, the skill and technology required and so on. It is important because through this strategic plan, management can improved or there are new practices to make the organization move forward, always up dated and achieve their strategic goal. Developing human resource strategies There are several strategies that the organization may take advantage in order to meet their goals in the future. The organization can do a training program to develop their employees. The management also can send their employee to take courses to become expert or certificates them. This training is to upgrade and enhance the employees skills and it will give advantage to the organization. Strategic implementation Future performance capabilities HR must analyze the capabilities inherent in the organization to determine the core competencies that will be needed to implement the strategy in the future. The basis for the strategic contribution of HR is to close any gaps between actual competencies required of the future. Values and culture HR policies should be examined from the perspective of core valuesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹, to ensure that the value are accordance with the new strategy. To maintain stability in the middle of turbulent change, HR must play an important role in communicating the companys core values à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹and operational changes to employees. Learning and system thinking Regeneration strategies must be combined with strategic HR learning program. Teamwork, communication, problem solving, statistical analysis processes, and continuous improvement are just some of the skills that must be learned and adapted to meet the new strategy. Passion to improve HR must help develop a healthy respect for the bridle view, so that they can be heard and discussed, especially when dealing and strengthen with the company weaknesses. HR must replace the hardcore, bureaucratic policy to friendly lines, flexible framework that does not damning line managers. Partnerships and collaboration HR can do a lot of action to help resolve the structural stress and cross-functional teams. HR will be a third-party collaborators allows others to become successful, productive partnerships that need to intensify the companys ability to achieve new strategies. Communication and commitment HR has an actual cheerleading role to play in the follow-up to the strategic planning session. Given the role of HR neutral organization, it can and must be followed up to make sure that the commitment and passion for the new strategy to be experienced. HR can proceed the planning process across the organization so that everyone taking part in the continuous organic strategic planning process. (Ivey business journal strategic HR by Doug Treen) http://wwwold.iveybusinessjournal.com/view_article.asp?intArticle_ID=206 Strategic Implementation practices in Small Business According to ORegan Ghobadian ,the strategic planning is setting of long-term business goals, and the developing and implementing of formal plans to achieve these goals. From a comprehensive reviews of the small business,it suggest thatstrategic planning is generally more common in better performing enterprises (Hormozi, Sutton, McMinn, Lucio, 2002; Lurie, 1987; Miller Cardinal, 1994; Schwenk Shrader, 1993). For example, small businesses that strategically plan ,compared to those that do not strategically plan are more likely to be those that get a higher sales growth, higher returns on assets, higher profit margins and higher employee growth (Berman, Gordon, Sussman, 1997; Bracker, Keats, Pearson, 1988; Carland Carland, 2003; Gibson Casser, 2005). Strategic planning involves the systematic setting of comprehensive business goals. In the present study, business ownership motivations were compared against four planning criteria that is the use of business plans (yes vs. no), the formality of business plans (written vs. unwritten/in my head), the timeframe of business plans (short-term only vs. long-term only vs. both short- and long- term), and the timely review of business plans (at least half yearly/yearly vs. less than once every two years). Usually , small business operators engaged in strategic planning can be expected to: Have a business plan, Have a business plan that was written, Have a business plan that covered both the short- and long- term periods; and, Have a plan that was reviewed regularly. Following Huselid, Jackson, and Schuler (1997), strategic human resource management (SHRM) can refer as a critical element in fostering operational efficiency and firm performance. The reseachers agrees that the characteristics of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) strategic human resource management practices determines how people managed their capabilities and on the effect side, is directly related to its value as a strategic partner. It contend that the factors affecting the quality of a SMEs of SHRM resource management capability include the industry and competitive condition of its partners and direct competition from other SMEs and businesses intention to provide value to a SMEs partners. SHRM and Business Strategy Fit or Integration SHRM existence increasingly enhance the value of to the organization. SHRM strategy refers to moving pattern organization and management techniques or approaches used to achieve organizational objectives and to continue mission of the organization (Inyang, 2004:20). In an attempt to be successful or achieve a competitive advantage, organization must pick and follow a variety of approaches. Academic support as mentioned has consistently stressed the need for HRM to be strategic business partners. This means that the SHRM integrated with business strategy. Integration or fit refer to the SHRM involvement in the formulation and implementation of organizational strategy and SHRM alignment with the strategic needs of the organization (eg Buyens De Vos 1999; Schuler Jackson, 1999). Human resource managers should join together with other senior managers in the organization during strategic decision-making process in order to become a strategic business partner. Membership at this level in the hierarchy of the organization offering the opportunity to SHRM to represent the concerns and influence the strategic direction of the business from the beginning of the decision making process. SHRM and the Resource Based View (RBV) of the Firm A firm that acquire and develop human resources can achieve a competitive advantage (Hamel Prahalad (1989). Resources owned by the firm that helped it reach ongoing competitive advantages must be satisfy four requirements. Resources should be precious, rare, inimitable, and can not be replaced. If the firm uses resources that are not easily substituted or duplicated by other firms, the firm can take this opportunity to get a competitive edge not simultaneously pursued by other firms. Among the most essential factors competitive advantages is the capability of to distinguish what the business provide to the customer than those provided by competitors. Purcell et al (2003) maintain that such discrimination can be achieved by having the HR strategy, policies and practices that ensure that: The firm has high quality employees from competitors. Unique intellectual capital owned by organization are developed and nurtured. Organizational learning is encouraged, and Certain organizational values à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹and culture exist that binding the organization together gives it focus. The RBV of the firm is related to developing strategic capabilities, investing in sufficient organization workforce to increase value to the firm. RBV purpose is to enhance the capacity of resources reach strategic fit among resources and opportunities, and obtain added value from the efficient allocation of resources. Business strategy designed to reach objectives of the organization are not likely to succeed when HRM was not undergo the formulation and implementation of strategies. Organizations should provide a conducive environment for the integration of HRM with business strategy from HR to provide energy to drive the organizations strategy. Wei (2006) stated that HR systems and practices are important in helping to accelerate the achievement of business strategy through people management. Strategic human resource practices in staff training development Firstly, by strategic planning, the organization can achieve their specific strategic business objectives. These planning implement an action with follow the procedure that related to the study and discuss to resolve the difficulties and any matters in the organization. Strategic planning can actively solve the conflicts such as culture conflicts through effective communication with each other members, full participation from the combination of organization and any department and get a high support from the members. Hence, staff training can achieve their training and accomplish business strategy goal for development. Secondly, the strategy oriented training more concern about sharing and initiative, carries out the training transfer, creates conducive working environment that stand for lifelong training and enhances the training productivity. It different from traditional training because this training focuses on long term objective and guide the organization development. In organization, training transfer is about the transformation of the training results. It is a process where the staff training applied the knowledge, skills, and behavior into practical work. Thirdly, implement the strategic training that focuses on core competitiveness of employees and organization. Give expand spaces to staff to develop their competitiveness and through training also they can increase their knowledge, skills and work achievement. Hence, the staffs understand the concept and can effectively adaptation the strategic goal of the organization. Thus, it can be consider that the success of strategic human resource can produce qualified excellent talents in the organization. CONCLUSIONS The success of the strategic human resource can contribute to the organization growth. The strategy must be aligning with the organizational objectives. There must be a clear tasks and relevant that affect organizational efficiency. It is also a basic functions and skills that will be combining to develop a strategic human resource. Therefore, the organization can perform the task with excellent and thus can accomplish the organizations strategic objectives. Then, the strategic planning can refer as a broad managerial process of developing a vision, mission statement, goals and objectives that can be serve as influential guides to employees using the top bottom management approach (Warner, 2000). Next, for small business ownership motivations are diverse and significantly influence how operators manage their businesses. As we can see, the operator is the business and accordingly, research into small business strategic planning needs to focus on the operator and his/her personal motivations and ambitions. The role SMEs can play in fostering the competitiveness of big businesses and the challenges they need to overcome have been well documented. Further insights on the factors that aid or inhibit successful partnering, can only be of strategic importance not only to SMEs but to their big business partners. However, powerful strategic partnership and alliances between small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and big businesses is critical to the ability of big business to build and maintain the sustainable competitive advantage.

Complete Summary Of The Tempest Essay -- essays research papers

Act 1 Scene 1 On a ship heading back from his daughters wedding, the king of Naples and his men are swept up in a huge storm. The crew does everything they can, but the ship crashes on an apparently deserted island. Act 1 Scene 2 Stranded on the same deserted island for twelve years, the former duke of Milan tries to explain the situation to his daughter, Miranda. He tells her the story of his brother and the king, who arranged for he and Miranda to be lost at sea, so his brother can have his title. He explains also that he conjured up the storm by magic and ensured that no one was harmed. Prospero then charms Miranda and to sleep, and summons his spirit servant, Ariel, to hear about the results of the storm. Prospero awakens Miranda and decides to visit another of his slaves, Caliban. The slave tries to get out of his enslavement, but because of previous crimes he’s committed, Prospero threatens him into labor. Ariel makes sure that Ferdinand, the prince of Naples, runs into Prospero and Miranda. The young ones fall instantly in love, and in order to keep them so, Prospero enslaves Ferdinand. Act 2 Scene 1 The King and his men have reached the island safely but they are saddened by the loss of Ferdinand. The men try to encourage the king telling him that they will find his son and heir, but he won’t be easily cheered. Trying to delay their search, Ariel places a spell on everyone but Sebastien and Antonio. The spell makes the men go to sleep, and while their comrades are asleep, Antonio convinces Sebastian to kill Alanso. Sebastian is Alonso’s brother, and since the heir to the throne is missing, if the king was killed Sebastian would inherit the throne. After some deliberation, Sebastian agrees and they start to attack the sleeping men. Ariel, seeing their plan, suddenly wakes the king and his men thwarting their plan. The men decide to continue the search for the missing Prince. Act 2 scene 2 A servant of Alsono’s named Trinculo has also washed up from the boat, but separate from the other entourage. A storm comes up and Trinculo tries to find shelter from the storm. He runs into Prospero’s servant Caliban and joins him under a cape to escape from the storm. While under there he hears the voice of Alsono’s drunken butler, Stephano. The gentlemen meet up and Caliban tells them about the island in return for some of Stephano’s alcohol. Wanting to leave Pr... ...s revenge, Caliban also tries to plan his own. His revenge for being a servant is, at first, trying to take Miranda. After that, when he enlists the help of the drunkards, is to win the island for himself and kill Prospero. Greed, however, is the most powerful motive in the play. Antonio and Sebastian are shown to be the greediest characters because they are willing to kill their own brothers to inherit the power they seek. Caliban, as well, seeks to rule the island, and uses that as another incentive to attempt to kill Prospero. His cohorts, taken with the thought of being leaders and not servants, go along with him and are willing to commit heinous crimes for it. The only two characters in the play who are not greedy are the ones who fall in love. Since love is often associated with innocence, this is not surprising. Even Prospero, though often thought of as a righteous character, creates the plot in order to gain things for himself. Ariel too, helps Prospero in hopes of buying his freedom from his servitude. The tempest was one of Shakespeare’s last plays and even though it has a different style and themes than some of his other plays, it still remains a great classic today.

Extinction of Dinosaurs due to Asteroid Impact Essay -- Exploratory Es

Extinction of Dinosaurs due to Asteroid Impact Nobody knows for sure exactly how the dinosaurs became extinct. However scientists have speculated for decades about possible events that caused the dinosaurs to die out. Possibilities range from asteroids, to volcanoes, to climate changes. One of the more popular or well-known extinction theories involves the belief that an asteroid struck the Earth, causing devastating effects, and triggering mass extinctions around the end of the Cretaceous period. The asteroid impact extinction theory began in 1980 with Luis and Walter Alvarez, a father and son team. They theorized that an asteroid struck the Earth at the close of the Cretaceous period, causing devastating effects and mass extinctions (Botzer 2004). Then, in the early 1990s, Alan Hildebrand, an associate professor at the University of Calgary, discovered the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. This crater was 186 miles in diameter and six miles deep, and it was created when an asteroid hit the Earth approximately sixty-five million years ago. This asteroid is said to have strike the Earth with a force of 100 million to 300 million megatons of TNT (Recer 1993). With the discovery of the crater came the theory that this particular asteroid killed the dinosaurs and caused other mass extinctions. It was believed that the impact of the asteroid increased temperatures to above 20,000 degrees, sent massive tidal waves and earthquakes across the Earth, and fill ed the atmosphere with dust and chemicals, which blocked the sun. It was then hypothesized that the blocking of the sun led to drastic climate changes, allowing the Earth to cool, and creating a climate too cold for the warm-blooded dinosaurs (Re... ...me 300,000 years after the impact. We still don’t know for sure what happened to the dinosaurs, and there is a possibility that we never will know. However, several signs indicate that the Chicxulub asteroid probably created conditions that begin the decline of the dinosaurs. This was most likely followed by a second large impact, or several smaller impacts that caused drastic changes in the environment and resulted in the mass extinction. Works Cited Botzer, Angela. â€Å"That Asteroid Didn’t Kill Dinosaurs, Study Says.† National Geographic News. 9 Mar 2004. 31 Mar 2004 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news Keller, Gerta, et al. â€Å"Chicxulub Impact Predates the K-T Boundary Mass Extinction.† PNAS Online. 2 Mar 2004. 5 Apr. 2004 http://www.pnas.org/cgi Recer, Paul. â€Å"Crater Theory: Big Space Rock Did in Dinosaurs.† Times 17 Sep. 1993: National.

Australian Climate Change in the Last 50,000 years Essay -- Climate We

Who were the first settlers of Australia and when did they arrive? Both questions have yet to be answered definitively. The most common view is that the Aborigenes’ ancestors came from southeast Asia more than 50,000 years ago (50,000 BP). That date is based on a few sites in northern Australia where thermoluminescence-dating—a technique for determining the time at which material was formed by measuring the light energy released when heating it—was used. Because a comparatively greater number of sites have been radiocarbon-dated to around 40,000 BP, ho we ver, some researchers have come to doubt the accuracy of the thermoluminescence technique (indeed, thermoluminescence dating of the Jinmium site in the Northern Territory improbably suggested human settlement as early as 120,000 BP). Given the dating-tools currently at the disposal of the natural sciences, the saftest bet is to infer that the first human population likely arrived in Australia somewhere bet we en 40,000 and 50,000 yeas ago (www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Australia). One point on which there is no disagreement is that the first settlers most likely arrived during the earth’s last glacial period when cooler temperatures and increased glaciation lent to oceanic recession. Because the lo we red sea level effectively â€Å"created great stretches of dry land almost linking Australia to Asia †, it facilitated the migration of peoples to the Australian continent (Lamb, 112). Admittedly, there do seem â€Å"to have remained some open water straits which the people somehow managed to cross†, but the majority most likely traveled by land (112). One stretch of level terrain, for example, actually joined Australia with New Guinea and enabled humans to walk into Australia for thousands of... ...adal time scales. Its ecosystems â€Å"contain a large proportion of endemic (solely Australian) species, reflecting their long evolutionary history and isolation from other landmasses†Ã¢â‚¬â€except during the last glacial period (www.greenhouse.gov.au/science/guide/pubs/chapter1.pdf). While its population of 20 million is still concentrated on the continent’s coast, this is a different coastline than that on which early settlers made homes for themselves 40,000 years ago; moreover, since the period of British colonization, it is a different population too. Bibliography Lamb, H.H. Climate, History, and the Modern World. 2 nd ed. New York: Routeledge, 1995. www.greenhouse.gov.au/science/guide/pubs/chapter1.pdf www.rsphysee.anu.edu.au/nuclear/news_events/mediarelease1.pdf www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Australia www.wrc.wa.gov.au/srt/publications/landscape/resource/climate.html

Contract and Procurement Essay

Contract and procurement are imperative operations that should be done appropriately for the success of an organization. More often than not, people who are in judge of procurement do take these activities less seriously (MOLENAAR, 2007). Due to such concern most institutions have put in place stringent measures that control all the procurement transactions. In addition to that, people should be employed to be responsible for this duty according to the policies of many institutions should be highly trained (MOSEY, 2009). This sudden change that has taken place in many companies and organizations has real improved the output of the department of procurement hence most activities run smoothly as scheduled. The directors of the department of procurement partly determine the success or the failure of a project that is undergoing. Therefore, the managers of projects work very closely with the procurement officers to ensure that everything that is required is provided whenever its need arises. It is significant that, there exists a good relationship between the project managers and the procurement officers (MOSEY, 2009). If that is not the case, then there shall be contradicting ideas that will jeopardize the progress of the project. It is worth noting that, the duties and responsibilities of the procurement officers vary in accordance with the structure of an organization. This shows that, different procurement divisions have got structures which are designed to make management coordination and monitoring. This arrangement is imperative in improvement of the efficiency of the procurement activities. As aforementioned, the project manager should coordinate the transaction in collaboration with procurement manager to acquire all the requirements. The transactions which are carried out to achieve this are done un der the interpretation of the set policies, rules and regulations (BOWER, 2003). The rules and regulations set by the institution to ensure that the activities are carried out in harmony within all the departments that exist in a company. Unlike in the past, procurement process has dynamically changed and incorporated more activities. It only used to involve purchasing of goods and services required, but that is not the case nowadays (MOSEY, 2009). In procurement planning is done first. It determines whether to purchase a given commodity and if it should be bought the way it should be bought and quantity to be supplied. After this, reliable and potential supplies are determined, and contracts made with to supply the goods ordered (MOLENAAR, 2007). Before a contract is signed, thorough scrutiny is done by evaluating the proposals of the shortlisted vendors and interviews conducted to select the one that is unparalleled in offering those services and goods. After that, the one that emerges the best is awarded the contract. Supervision of the supply is done by the procurement office. Procurement process gives support to the internal activities that are done within an organization. The operations served include management, production and marketing services. It supports all the processes, infrastructure and systems required by the projects. In other the dimension, a procurement body that is independent and separate provides all the things required by the project on a transaction basis (BOWER, 2003). In this case, the director of the project gives a list of things which are required and the procurement officer buys and coordinates the goods until they reach at the company to be used. In either organizational structure, the procurement manager is involved in generating and managing the operational transactions and the linkage that exists between all the stakeholders of the project. This relationship that is created by the procurement manager exists in the whole procurement cycle period (MOSEY, 2009). The relationship between procurement professionals and the project management team is significant in that it creates a better environment for cross functional participation of all stakeholders. Moreover, it enables the procurement department to produce the best services to the project (DINSMORE & CABANIS-BREWIN, 2011). Therefore, for the procurement office to fit properly in the organization it must be well acquitted with the management strategies of the project. In a project based organization, there are about five general steps of procurement. Foremost, in collaboration with management, the procurement office should determine the requirements of the project. After determining what the requirements, the supplier is selected, who in agreement with project managers and the procurement professionals is given a contract to supply goods and services. The procurement department supervises and conducts routine assessment on the performance of the supplier until the contract ends (DINSMORE & CABANIS-BREWIN, 2011). In centralized corporate management, there is an interaction between the principal stakeholders; the corporate purchasing coordination team, the chief executive officer, the chief purchasing officer, the managers of the business units and the purchasers of the business unit (SANKAR & RAU, 2006). All of them have well defined roles and responsibilities in the procurement process. Most companies use formal organizational mechanisms like working groups and commodity teams, non-formal mechanisms of networking like employing competent people and initiating development programs, advanced systems of communication and use of complex management strategies (PENFIELD, 2010). In the centralized business unit procurement, the business units operate autonomously despite the fact that they are under one enterprise. The business unit creates a procurement order ships it to another business unit for supplier. Proper accounting records are kept to show the financial transactions between the two business units (SANKAR & RAU, 2006). References BOWER, D. (2003). Management of procurement. London, Thomas Telford. DINSMORE, P. C., & CABANIS-BREWIN, J. (2011). The AMA handbook of project management. New York, American Management Association MOLENAAR, K. R. (2007). Alternative project delivery, procurement, and contracting methods for highways. Reston, American Society of Civil Engineers. PENFIELD, P. C. (2010). A primer on negotiating corporate purchase contracts. [New York, N.Y.] (222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017), Business Expert Press SANKAR, C. S., & RAU, K.-H. (2006). Implementation strategies for SAP R/3 in a multinational organization: lessons from a real-world case study. Hershey, Pennsylvania, CyberTech. MOSEY, D. (2009). Early Contractor Involvement in Building Procurement Contracts, Partnering and Project Management. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons.

Homeschool vs. Public School

Final Essay Home Schooling: From Home to Harvard We're all familiar with the popular images of homeschoolers in America: Extreme fundamentalist families shutting out all other points of view. These stereotypes are touted freely by the popular media and conventional schooling experts alike. But they have little to do with the realities of homeschooling for most families today, and are rarely backed by factual data. The average home-schooled student scored â€Å"81 points higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than did the general population in 2000†. Winters) At the National Spelling Bee in 2000, the top three winners were home-schooled. Studies show that, â€Å"home-schooled children also tend to score higher on basic skills testing than do public school children†. (Winters) According to the Wall Street Journal, â€Å"Evidence is mounting that homeschooling, once confined to the political and religious fringe, has achieved results not only on par with public educ ation, but in some ways surpassing it. † (Reider) However, one subject continues to surface whenever the issue of home schooling arises. Public school administrators, teachers, and parents are all concerned about whether home schooling can be considered a good process of education. Therefore, I intend to prove that home-schooled children are properly socialized, fully educated and college admissions increasing acceptance rates of home schooled applicants prove that they’re prepared for the next level of education. Supporters of public schools maintain that public school students learn to work well with others, including those of differing backgrounds, and that they can achieve greater independence by attending public school. Negotiating the communal spaces of schoolyard, classroom, athletic field, and laboratory prepares them for â€Å"real world† experiences, they contend. Critics of home schooling believe that home-schooled children miss out on these important opportunities. Without the chance to interact with those of diverse backgrounds, critics are concerned that home-schooled students will fail to appreciate and understand one of the core values of American life: to tolerate and appreciate the differences between cultures or groups and among individuals. They fear that isolation breeds intolerance, prejudice, and even fanaticism. In response to such criticism, proponents of home schooling answer that home-schooled children have plenty of social opportunities. The National Home Education Research Institute conducted a study and found that â€Å"an average home-schooled child participates in 5. 2 activities per week outside the home†. (Dr. Brian Ray) These children are involved in music, dance, drama, and art classes, visit museums and zoos, and join home-schooling groups or local churches. They form athletic teams and compete in home-school tournaments. They participate in book and foreign language clubs, scout groups, and have pen pals. In fact, home school participants believe that, because â€Å"the average time spent â€Å"in class† can often be compressed to about half a day, home-school students have more time available to them than do students in public school to pursue special interests†. (Golden) These activities may include practicing the piano, learning lines for a play, or studying ballet. Being a home-schooling student opens up many hours in a day do be able to do specific things they would not have been able to do if they had attended public school. Advocates of home schooling maintain that in the process of participating in outside activities, home-schooled children benefit by socializing with people of all ages, not just those of their peer group (Stevens 35). They note that the world does not consist of people who are all the same age and that students are at a disadvantage if they spend their day with their peers. One home-schooling researcher claims that home schooling â€Å"reduces that degree to which children find themselves constantly and obsessively being compared to, and comparing themselves with, other children their age. (Gaither) A home-schooled child’s days, he believes, are more like the â€Å"real world† than that of students in public school. Research conducted on the socialization of home-schooled children lends support to the arguments of home-schooling advocates. Home schooled children are found to be as well adjusted as public school students when measuring â€Å"aggression, reliance on othe rs, perception of support from others, perceptions of limits to be followed, and interpersonal relations among family members. † (Lines) Another study indicated that home-schooled children had less behavioral problems than children attending public school. Supporters of home schooling will often â€Å"turn the tables on their critics, pointing to the negative influences present in public schools†. (Kranzow) In particular, a sizable percentage of home-schooling parents worry about the â€Å"wrong kind† of socialization found in public schools and keep their kids at home primarily for that reason. They believe the prevalence of illicit drugs, alcohol, smoking, and premarital sex undermines the moral principles taught at home. They fear the negative influences of peer pressure and want to protect their children from American pop culture. As a result of the recent growth of homeschooling in the US, colleges and universities have received an increasing number of applications from home-schooled students. Admissions offices have found it necessary to assess whether and how their admissions requirements should be modified to allow fair review of the credentials submitted by homeschooled students. It is estimated that â€Å"50% of homeschooled children attend college, the same percentage as children educated in public schools†. (Klicka) But are these students skilled enough to compete successfully with conventionally-schooled students in the college setting? Klicka concludes that homeschoolers and traditionally educated students demonstrate similar academic preparedness for college and academic achievement. Through my research on the homeschooling process, I have discovered that home schooled children’s test score and their home school â€Å"portfolios† have impressed many colleges, most of them prominent or ivy league. Each year  Harvard University  takes up to 10 applicants who have been homeschooled. â€Å"In general, those kids do just fine,’ says David Illingsworth, senior admissions officer at Harvard University. He adds that the number of applications and inquiries from homeschoolers is ‘definitely increasing. ’†(Klicka) The students' average scores were typicality in the â€Å"70th to 80th percentile, with 25% of homeschooled students enrolled one or more grades above their age-level peers in public and private schools†. (Klicka) Peer groups have less influence on this population than they generally have in lives of those who are educated more traditionally, while faculty members looked to play a critical role in the transition to college process, above and beyond the role they play in the lives of more traditionally educated students. One might contest that, whether at a public school or in a homeschooled environment, grasping the learning material can be difficult for a child due to teaching style and their coordination with learning. Much of this is due to teaching style and its coordination with learning style. Because it’s extremely difficult to teach in a way that best fits each student, a child may be â€Å"left in the dust† due to the lecturing of the teacher according to the majority of the students learning style. Homeschooling, on the other hand, allows flexibility to define a curriculum that still meets the requirements, yet takes into account the best learning style for the child. Generally, educational success tends to measured in academic achievement. If this standard alone were applied to home schooling, most people would agree that home schooling can be a successful alternative to public school. In terms of academics, sociability and the higher level of education, the home schooling process has indicated through test-scores evidence and increasing acceptance rates by college admissions to be a highly effective method of education. Alyssa Statham Professor Clifford EH 102; MW 930 December 8, 2011 Work Cited Page Kranzow, Jeannine M. â€Å"Taking a different path: The college experience of homeschooled† Diss. Indiana University, 2005. Pro Quest Winters, Rebecca. â€Å"Home Schoolers: From Home to Harvard† Time, 156, 11 September 2000, 55. Cogan, Michael F. â€Å"Exploring Academic Outcomes of Homeschooled Students† Journal of College Admission. 208. Dec. 2010 p. 18 Gaither, Milton â€Å"Home schooling goes mainstream† Education Next. 9. 1 2009. P. 10 Stevens, Mitchell L. â€Å"Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement† Princeton University Press. Sep 2001 Jones, Erika M. L. â€Å"Transition from Home Education to Higher Education: Academic and Social Issues† , Volume 25, Number 3, 2010, p. 1-9. Reider, John , Stanford's senior associate director of admissions, as quoted by Daniel Golden,  The Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2000, pg. 1 Daniel Golden,  The Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2000, pg. 1 Klicka, Christopher J. â€Å"Homeschooled Students Excel in College† Esq. Senior Counsel for Home School Legal Defense Association Ray, Brian Dr. â€Å"U. S. Homeschool Population Size and Growth† NHERI December 23, 2008