School Prayer Question Essays - Prayer, Spiritual Practice

School Prayer Question Contrary to the claims, students have the Constitutional right to pray in school, either individually or in informal groups so long as the prayer is not organized by the school. But if the students only knew what they were really doing by praying in school. II. First of all they are going against the Bible. As to quote, Matthew 6:5-6: "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray..." So as you can see those who pray in places such as the cafeteria, middle of the hall or things of that nature is actually going against the bible. Now I am not saying that a person should not pray in schools, but they should do it just as the Bible says in a personal place. If a student can't find a personal place, and have an undesirable need to pray, they need to not make a big deal out of it. Praying as put in the Bible is a personal experience between that person and God. Not an event to be proclaimed up and down the hallway. III. Another problem there is with praying in schools is the fact that there are some students who don't believe in God. The purpose of a democracy is to have the majority decide but yet always respect the rights of the minority. Some administrators, teachers, parents, and most importantly, kids, just feel uncomfortable when it comes to religion. Several factors could be attributed to this problem, from too many religions and religious theories to religious pressure to lack thereof. But whatever the reason some people feel offended by seeing these students pray. They think that their rights are being infringed upon. Well in example, if a shirt some student is wearing offends a person they tell someone about being offended. Someone else is also offended and so they tell someone. These 2 people influenced by what they have heard tell more people. This chain reaction continues until that kind of shirt is not allowed in schools, in example Marilynn Manson shirts. The minority there is the students wanting to wear the shirts; the majority is the people offended by it. The majority spoke and the minority is told to fallow. But now it is the minority being offended no one cares to do anything about it. IV. The last problem I have are the advocates of school prayer say that without it there is moral decline, blaming the absence of school prayer for everything from low SAT scores to teenage pregnancy. But it just won't work. In fact, legislated school prayer would make things worse. For a school to require students to recite, for example, a Christian prayer would give Christianity a special status, implying that other religions are somehow inferior. One religion would be pitted against another, conflicts would arise, and intolerance would grow. The only palatable compromise in a directed public school prayer would be a watered-down prayer that would be meaningless to the deeply religious and an infringement on those who follow no religion. Some of our senators are trying to pass an amendment in have school prayer required. But the First Amendment begins "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." If we were to have this school wide required prayer we would be in essance establishing a religion. And even though what they are trying to pass is a constitutional amendment it goes against on of the main things our forefathers came here for. The First Amendment is one of the finest laws man has ever written. For over two hundred years, it continues to mean exactly what it was originally intended to mean: Religion and other fundamental rights should remain beyond the reach of majorities and governments, and certainly not subjected to the political whims of Congress. Bibliography "FAQ." Prayer in Schools. http://www.atheists.org/schoolhouse/faqs.prayer.html. Downloaded December 16, 1999 "Maryland teen walks out of Graduation over Prayer." Prayer in schools. http://www.freedomforum.org/religion/1999/5/28mdgradprayer.asp Downloaded December 16, 1999 "Smudge Report." Bible verse. http://www.smudgereport.com/longstories/prayer.html Downloaded December 16, 1999 "Bible Belivers should oppose school prayer." School Prayer. http://users.cnmnetwork.com/lotl2k/prayer.html Downloaded December 16, 1999 "The Bible and Public Prayer." Public Prayer. http://www.religioustolerance.org/prayer.htm. Downloaded December 16, 1999

Cost of Cloning essays

Cost of Cloning essays The Cost of Cloning in Brave New World Imagine living in a world where your child grows up to look and act like you. Human cloning can make that a reality. Cloning is the process of creating a genetic duplicate of an individual. February of 1997 marked the birth of Dolly, a sheep cloned by Ian Walnut. 7 years later and scientists seem to be on the edge of a huge breakthrough with human cloning. Since the birth of Dolly we as a society have been forced to ask ourselves whether the cloning of human embryos can be morally justified, which leads us to the discussion about whether human cloning should even be allowed. While some believe the possible improvements that the cloning of human embryos may provide to our quality of life outweigh any sort of moral restraint, others are horrified by the idea. However, no matter the persons view, we can be certain that society, religion, and upbringing play a definite role in your stance on this issue. Debaters against the cloning of human embryos say they are concerned about the medical risks and uncertainty associated with the process. Opponents also argue that cloning will cause emotional harm to our society and claim that our society may suffer from a lack of individuality or purpose in life. Many opponents cite the potential emotional harm cloning may have on children due to parents who may value how well their children can genetically meet their expectations, rather than loving them for just being their children. Activists also argue that cloned humans will lose a sense of their humanity and will eventually be viewed by society as an object rather than a person. The debaters who are for the act claim that cloning human embryos would enable doctors to determine the cause of spontaneous abortions, give oncologists an understanding of the rapid cell growth of cancer, allow the use of stem cells to regenerate nerve tissues, and advance work on aging, genetics, and medicin...

A College Degree Should Not Be This Difficult Essay

A College Degree Should Not Be This Difficult - Essay Example Her family, lacking a tradition of higher education, can't help her seek out a college or encourage her in her quest for help. Her situation is further complicated by a high school that has failed to adequately prepare her for the required entrance exams and college level courses. For thousands of seniors like Shelia, college is a dream that will never be realized. The difficulties of access, expense, and preparation have become more than just obstacles, they have become barriers that have left a college education out of reach. To assure that all students have an equal opportunity for a college degree, the process needs to be made less difficult.The most important tools an incoming college student can possess are attitude and motivation. These are only acquired by years of planning by the family for the student's eventual enrollment. Contacting schools, selecting a proper program, and preparing the student to move away and get an education may not be forthcoming from a family who has never experienced attending college. These students will have difficulty when they are faced with a new environment, new experiences, new cultures, and a lack of adequate expectations. Families that fail to encourage college will produce poorly motivated students that won't be able to develop the attitude necessary to succeed in college.

Generation X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Generation X - Essay Example urdles as well as stereotypes, the strong, appealing characteristics from the particular events, issues and people stem individuals born in generation X, making them extraordinary. Generation X is defined as the generation born in the years 1965 to 1980, immediately apparent in this generation after the baby boomers. This generation was named ‘X’ as the letter itself represents an unknown, mystery. This generation is better educated and more ethnically diverse (Rosen 4). In addition, this generation was raised at a period of increasing divorce rates, faltering economy, and two income families. From all generations, this is the only one that was pushed into early adulthood. The aspect of women liberation from traditional roles as only homemakers is broken in this generation. This is evident by several women joining the work force, leaving behind their infants. During this era women broke the traditional characteristic of being dependent to a man to being independent and self sufficient. The con of this move was the commencement of latchkey kids who had no choice, but to take care of themselves whilst their parents worked (Zustiak 32). I am a clear example of such children; both my parents worked, being the first born, I had the responsibility of taking care of my siblings. I can say that I took the role of my parents, and disciplined my siblings when they made a mistake. I lacked the emotional needs from my parents and turned out into an autonomous, self-reliant individual. The situation at home forced me to grow up faster, and also adapt parenting skills. This was a challenge, as I was struggling the balance of being a child, sibling and at the same t ime ‘a parent. This explains why individuals who are in this generation like I, demonstrate the values of resourceful, autonomy and contribution, attributes of the command of authority and structured work hours. I was raised at a time where there was the emergence of personal computers, television, and Atari

Advantages of Living with Parents in College Essay Example for Free

Advantages of Living with Parents in College Essay When we see graduation caps in the sky, accompanied with laughter, applause and cry, it is a signal that we just welcome ourselves to the new world after high school. As we step into a college world as a new and fresh collegian, there are many facets that we have to think and decide, especially accommodation. Some people choose to live in the college dorms – making new friends and having more social activities, some other choose to share a house with couple of housemates, or just simply rent a flat and live independently. But, there are some that just decide to stay in town and live with their family. This last choice has three main advantages that we can consider: expense, support, and facilities. The first basic advantage of living with family, or parents, is expense. Imagine hearing your door knocked in the morning, and facing your landlord who demands your rent paid as the start of the day? Or when you can’t dial any number in the phone because you haven’t paid the telephone bill? And, the worst, when you don’t even have enough money to buy yourself breakfast because your parents haven’t sent you any monthly money? Well, you won’t have that drove of problems when you live with your parents. Expenses like food (especially healthy and delicious food), telephone, electricity, and many other will be covered by your parents, so that you can still save your own personal money. You don’t even have to pay more for movies or other leisure things when you hang out with your family. This first aspect of living with family is very, very efficient and helpful to save money! Another important facet of living with your parents is support. Being with family and living in your own home help you a lot when you have your transition phase from high school or college. It would be easier not to face other transition major adaptations, like being lonely in your own room, feeling aloof from family, meeting new hostile roommate who you are not connected to and start to adjust your own finance. You will have your family right beside you, and you will always feel like home. You will also be discipline and controlled since you still have curfew and ‘parents rules’. You can also keep your old friends around you, and you won’t even have to give up your old routines like playing tennis with your dad every Saturday or working in the grotesque diner down the street. This second advantage can make you feel like you are still the old you and you don’t even have to give up a thing. Last but not least, facilities can also be another advantage of living with your parents. You will still have anything you need for college like computer, electricity, internet, printer, scanner, or even fax machine, and they are all for free! Yet again, no expenses wasted. You also don’t have to wait the jamming docket bus that comes late in the morning, because you have transportation that keeps you punctual – somehow going to college in your mum’s car is okay! There won’t be any piling laundry because they are all taken care of. You can also have your own bathroom with hot water and hairdryer, plus clean towels every night. The point is it will be much easier for you to have your needed facility when you’re at home, especially without spending any cent. Living outside your house, like in the dorms or flats, won’t give you this kind of comfort. These three advantages show us that living with parents might be embarrassing and less challenging, but it can be considered since it saves a lot of money and gives you a lot of comfort and support. It can even be less expensive than sharing a house with other housemates! From not paying much of expenses, living in your old room every night, and having more facilities, doesn’t it sound like fun?

Issues That Impact Individuals On The Autistic Spectrum

Issues That Impact Individuals On The Autistic Spectrum The purpose of this essay is to discuss the issues that impact on individuals on the autistic spectrum with regards to assessment, intervention, support and inclusion. Autism Spectrum disorder is a complex developmental disability which affects language and communication, social interaction, and flexibility of thought and behaviour. These areas, known as the triad of impairments (Wing Gould, 1979), vary significantly between individuals and children and young people with a range of intellectual abilities can be affected. There may also be accompanying sensory issues, for example to touch, smell, noise, taste or visual stimuli. Although there are wide ranging differences, individuals on the spectrum all have some level of difficulty in social interaction, social communication and imagination. Although the prevalence of ASC is hard to establish, it was recently estimated that it affects approximately 60 in every 10,000 children (Chakrabarti Fombonne, 2005). The additional support needs of children and young people with ASC varies widely. It is possible for some individuals to achieve very well and with limited additional support can access the full curriculum. Others may require specific interventions and strategies to help them learn and develop. Early identification and assessment of a childs additional support needs in relation to ASD is important so that the planning of educational provision and parental support can be facilitated. Assessment is crucial to meeting the needs of any child and for children on the spectrum it is even more important as educational targets should be based on an accurate assessment profile. There is no standard educational assessment or approach as any strategies put in place should consider a childs individual learning style and impact of their autism as well as environmental factors, otherwise the outcome could be inadequate or even detrimental. situation Individual assessment of children with ASD should be based on careful observation and identification of areas which require further investigation. Discussion with parents is vital, as their perspectives and difficulties at home may differ considerably from that of adults in the education setting. Other professionals may be involved to augment the information gathered as collaboration is necessary for the process to develop. The analysis of this information can then be compiled to form a holistic profile. The staged intervention process to identification, assessment and review, is embedded in sound educational practice. Staff plan strategies based on assessment, apply them and review the results in terms of progress made by the child or young person. A child in my care, John, was noted at approximately 2 years of age to be non-verbal. His play was solitary and repetitive. A stage 1 Support Plan was put in place to encourage him to develop sharing, turn-taking and simple co-operative play. He was encouraged to use early communication skills, such as pointing, gesturing and any attempts at spoken language. Following further concerns regarding his lack of communication skills he was referred to a Speech Therapist and he and his mother attended Learning to Talk programme. 2 A Stage 2 Support Plan was put in place as John would only allow one adult to share his space, he would move to different areas of the nursery but resisted attempts of interaction from other adults or children in the room and his play remained solitary and restricted to his favourite toys. Using play based intervention similar to the DIR/Floortime Model (ICDL 2000), and using his interest in cars, staff encouraged John to spend a few minutes at free play sharing his toys. Eye contact was established and he pointed in order to draw attention . Advice was sought from Short Term Advice and Response Team (START), due to ongoing concerns with speech and language and social interaction. They advised putting a photo timetable in place to help John manage and predict his day. A Stage 3 Support Plan was set up and John was referred to the Pre-school Assessment Team (PRE SCAT) for input from Educational Psychology and a Preschool Language and Communication Resource. John attended this resource 3 days per week as well as nursery 2 days per week with input from an Educational Psychologist. He was then referred to the Autism team for assessment. His first spoken words appeared at 4  ½ years. John deferred entry to school for one year. His transition to school was very intensive, visiting regularly to spend time with his class teacher, support staff and to build awareness of his surroundings. John has made significant progress but continues to find changes to his routine difficult to cope with as well as an inability to initiate and sustain interaction with peers. He now attends mainstream school 2 days per week and special school 3 days per week as well as After School Care in my establishment. This outcome would have been unlikely without the support and successful collaboration of staff, other agencies and professionals. 3 The current legislative framework of The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 requires schools to meet the needs of all children by helping parents, carers and pupils with ASD understand their strengths and challenges and put strategies in place to support their learning. All children have an equal right to access a broad and balanced curriculum with supports adapted to their needs based on continued assessment, intervention and review. Interventions should have a proven track record of success and allow ongoing evaluation in order to support the continued development of the child or young person. In research conducted by Hunt, Soto, Maier, Doering (2003), a Unified Plans of Support (UPS) team was studied. Children who had a UPS team meeting once a month to assess and re-evaluate existing plans increased in measured test scores. For a child or young person with ASD, the social curriculum is just as important as the academic curriculum. Assessment should consider social and communication skills e.g. social interaction, language and communication, self awareness, independence, play and imagination and emotional understanding. The assessment process should identify key areas for setting educational and future targets. These targets should not be solely academically based. In order to meet the needs of an individual with ASD, there needs to be a balance between purposeful self help and life skills and academic achievement.. 4 The National Autism Plan for Children (NAS, 2003) encourages multi-disciplinary assessment and proposes that family contribution including the childs developmental history and environment and observations from other settings are included. Multi-agency involvement in the assessment process is recommended by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, as it may identify different aspects of ASD and aid accurate diagnosis.'(Assessment, diagnosis and clinical interventions for children and young people with autism spectrum disorders, SIGN 2007). Although diagnosis of an ASD is ultimately the responsibility of health professionals it is not made in isolation and information should be obtained from a wider multi-agency team including parents/carers, speech and language therapists, teachers and educational psychologists. The Psychological Service can contribute to the Getting it Right for Every Child initiative, which focuses on the needs of the child and aims to streamline processes in order to deliver appropriate services thereby helping the child or young person fulfil their full potential. Other appropriate agencies e.g. health and social work services offer advice on and assist in particular and future interventions and strategies. (Educational Psychology Assessment in Scotland, 2005). Input from a Speech Language therapist is usually necessary in order to support children and young people with difficulties in communication skills as well as issues involving eating and drinking. An occupational therapist can assist with c o-ordination and movement difficulties and self-help skill such as washing, dressing and toileting. 5 Willing participation (Henneman E.A., Lee J.L. Cohen J.I. 1995) and a high level of motivation (Molyneux 2001) are central to effective interprofessional collaboration. This involves developing, planning, monitoring and evaluating mutually agreed targets and combining the knowledge and expertise of professionals (Cook G., Gerrish K. Clarke C. 2001) to assist joint decision making based on shared professional opinions (Russell and Hymans 1999, Stapleton 1998). Unless individual practitioners are aware of the role, performance and professional boundaries of others they may not be able to make an effective contribution to any planned strategies. (Bliss J., Cowley S. While A. 2000). Following assessment, an individualised educational programme (IEP) should be developed. Most children will need specific targets and the assessment process will have identified areas of difficulty for the pupil. These can then be prioritised and tackled by setting realistic, specific targets. The IEP should be reviewed regularly and progress against previous targets monitored. There are some children whose additional support needs include one or more complex factors which are likely to continue for more than one year. If they require significant support to be provided by an education authority and one or more appropriate agencies, a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) which is a legal document, is compiled. The CSP focuses on supporting the child to benefit from set educational objectives and assists in the co-ordination of services such as education, health and social work. It should be monitored and reviewed regularly, at least every 12 months. In future, the Scottish Government wants each child to have just one plan covering all their support needs, provided by health, education and social work , in line with Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC ). 6 The physical environment can be difficult to cope with for children with ASD mainly due to sensory difficulties and problems with central coherence. ( Happà ©, F., Frith, U. 2006). It is important for children with a communication impairment to ensure that realistic adjustments are made to limit as many obstacles to learning as possible, for almost any other special need, the classroom only becomes disabling when a demand to perform a given task is made. For the child with autism, disability begins at the door. Hanbury (2007). The environment should be as tidy and free of clutter as possible to reduce the level of anxiety and confusion. Structure and consistancy can reduce stress and in some cases challenging behaviour. Difficult or challenging behaviour is not a part of an autistic spectrum disorder, but it is a common reaction of pupils with these disorders, faced with a confusing world and with limited abilities to communicate their frustrations or control other people. (Jordan Jones 1998). Individual class or group charts may be required as most children on the autistic spectrum respond well to visual timetables. A planned programme taking account of the needs of the childs sensory and processing difficulties should be undertaken as stressful situations can create challenging behaviour (Waterhouse 2000). Speech and language programmes that have been correctly prepared can help improve a childs comprehension and increase their vocabulary which in turn will enhance their social communication skills and correct problems with intonation or articulation (Howlin 1998). The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), proposes that children with ASD should be educated in as open and inclusive an environment as possible. Although this legislation is necessary and does protect a childs rights to the best education possible, it can create difficulties for teachers. 7 Classroom sizes have been reduced and employment of teachers has been cut. Inclusion laws require teachers to educate children at many different developmental stages. Children with ASD require a variety of teaching strategies in order to meet their individual needs. According to Cumine, Leach Stevenson (1998), many teachers feel they have not received training to instruct children with these kinds of learning disabilities. Strosnider, Lyon, Gartland (1997) state that teachers feel under pressure in carrying out educational plans due to lack of time to collaborate with other professionals and the shortage of special education teachers. Major gaps in training have been recognised at every level and across all sectors and services. It was estimated that half (54%) of teachers who work in this field have little (34%) or no (20%) ASD training. Obstacles cited are release of staff, lack of suitable training and funding (Scottish Government Publication 2009). There are several educational theories associated with ASD. Dr. Bryna Siegels (1996) idea of reinforcement, is that the teacher takes the time to determine a childs main interest. She can then request and reinforce the required behaviour using the object of interest as an incentive. Another teaching technique is applied behaviour analysis and discrete trial training (ABA/DTT). Siegel (2003) describes ABA/DTT as a science that studies how principles of behavioural conditioning can be applied to learning. Siegel suggests that learning can be broken down into small steps, which can be built on each other, and this ultimately will lead to the overall concept. ABA/DTT is highly recommended for children with autism. Shores (2002) research explains the difficulties ASD children have with sensory perception and how they can be helped by using ABA/DTT. It is challenging for a child with ASD to make sense of the different experiences occurring throughout the school day and by applying ABA/DTT this allows the child to focus on smaller quantities of information giving them the opportunity to complete an assignment rather than becoming overwhelmed. 8 The relationship between curriculum and social education can also cause confusion. If a child is placed in a group for project work it is possible he would be so overcome by the social aspect that he would find it extremely difficult to focus on the curriculum aspect. Strosnider, R., Lyon, C., Gartland, D. ,(1997) recognize this overlap as academic, physical and interpersonal skills are all areas of difficulty for the ASD child. Strosnider, et al., (1997) compiled The Academic, Physical and Interpersonal Inclusion Plan (API Inclusion Plan). This plan helps teachers to use brainstorming strategies for each of these areas and is particularly useful if there is no availability of a special needs teacher to collaborate with. Kluth (2003) suggests that the learning environment is itself a strategy. In constructing the best environment Kluth (2003) suggests an aspect that needs to be considered is that of sounds. He uses the familiar example of nails on a chalk board sending a chill down the spine Kluth (2003) states that to a child with ASD every day sounds can have a similar effect. Kluth (2003) promotes the importance of a teacher assessing noise levels and putting strategies in place to exclude excessive noise such as allowing the child to listen to soft music with headsets during class times or using earplugs. Children should be prepared ahead if there are to be changes in their routines, to avoid excessive anxiety. Ozonoff, et al., (2002), elaborate on the suggestion of visual signs for the ASD child. Their research claims that visual instructions and schedules help the child to feel more secure and less stressed so the mind can direct its attention to learning. All of these stress factors must be taken into consideration when assessing which strategies and interventions would be beneficial to the child or young person with ASD. According to Williams (2001), reducing stress and worry, ensuring the environment is predictable and minimizing transitions is crucial to delivering an effective education for the child with ASD. 9 Having considered the environment, other strategies require to be put into place. An approach to education widely used is the Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children program. It is referred to as TEACCH. Ozonoff, Dawson, McPartland (2002) describe this method as a way to build upon the ASD childs memory strengths as many children have the ability to remember large quantities of information on subjects they are interested in. Cumine et al., (1998) indicate that TEACCH has 4 main elements. These include modifying the physical environment, setting visual schedules for the daily activities, verbal explanation of the expectations of type and length of work and verbal and visual presentation of instructions. Strategies used are designed to address the difficulties faced by children with ASD, and be adapted to their needs. TEACCH methodology is embedded in behaviour therapy on the basis that there are underlying reasons, such as lack of understand ing of what is expected of the child or what will happen to them next or sensory under or overstimulation, for their challenging behaviour. By addressing these communication difficulties, the child will be able to express his needs and feelings by other means. In line with Dr Bryna Siegel (1996) Shevitz, Weinfeld, Jeweler, Barnes-Robinson (2003) suggest a program that achieves the concept of maximizing childrens strengths as well as increasing self esteem by using their preoccupation with a favourite item or topic of interest. Social behaviours are necessary for achieving good educational standards as well as successful playground interaction. Myles and Simpson (2001) have entitled this aspect of education The Hidden Curriculum. This includes the basic how tos of living, which are not apparent to children with ASD. Knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate conversation may be foreign to an ASD child. 10 Teachers should be prepared to educate themselves on effective strategies in order to support children with ASD in collaboration with other professionals, support staff and the wider community and agree on appropriate interventions.. Inclusive classrooms give children the opportunity to have their intellectual ability challenged and fostered and it should be the responsibility of all teachers to do whatever is necessary to help these children to achieve success. Inclusion is more than a set of strategies or practices, it is an educational orientation that embraces differences and values the uniqueness that each learner brings to the classroom. (Kluth, 2003. p. 23-24). In conclusion, the increasing focus on early identification and effective intervention is a continual challenge but every child needs to be assessed, have a plan established addressing areas of weakness, and most importantly have a teacher who believes in him and has the desire to learn, implement new strategies and work effectively in collaboration with other professionals and agencies for successful inclusion. This in turn will hopefully give the child with ASD the outcome he needs and deserves. 12 References Anderson, W., Chitwood, S., Hayden, D. (1997). Negotiating the Special Education Maze. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, Inc. Bliss J., Cowley S. While A. (2000) Interprofessional working in palliative care in the community:a review of the literature. Journal of Interprofessional Care 14: 281-90. Chakrabarti, S. Fombonne, E. (2005), Pervasive Developmental Disorders in pre-school children: Confirmation of high prevalence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(6), 1133-1141 Cook G., Gerrish K. Clarke C. (2001) Decision-making in teams: issues arising from two UK evaluations. Journal of Interprofessional Care 15: 141-51. Cumine, V., Leach, J., Stevenson, G. (1998). Asperger Syndrome A Practical Guide For Teachers. London, England: David Fulton Publishers. Hanbury, M. (2007) Positive Behaviour Strategies to Support Children and Young People with Autism. London: Sage. Happà ©, F., Frith, U. (2006). The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, pp. 5-25. Henneman E.A., Lee J.L. Cohen J.I. (1995) Collaboration: a concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing 21: 103-9. Howlin P. (1998) Children with Autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. A Guide for Practitioners and Carers. Chichester: J. Wiley and Sons. Jordan, R. Jones, G. (1999) Meeting the Needs of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. London: David Fulton. Kluth, P. (2003). Youre Going To Love This Kid! Teaching Students with Autism in The Inclusive Classroom. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co. Molyneux J. (2001) Interprofessional teamworking: what makes teams work well? Journal ofInterprofessional Care 15: 29-35. Myles, B., Simpson, R. (2001). Understanding the Hidden Curriculum: An Essential Social Skill for Children and Youth with Asperger Syndrome. Intervention In School Clinic, 36 (5), 279-291. Ozonoff, S. PhD., Dawson, G. PhD., McPartland, J. (2002). A Parents Guide to Asperger Syndrome High-Functioning Autism. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Russell K.M. and Hymans D. (1999) Interprofessional education for undergraduate students. Public Health Nursing 16: 254-62. 13 Shevitz, B., Weinfeld, R., Jeweler, S., Barnes-Robinson, L. (2003). Mentoring Empowers Gifted/Learning Disabled Students to Soar! Roeper Review, 26 (1), 37-48. Shore, S. (2002). Understanding the Autism Spectrum-What Teachers Need To Know. Intervention in School Clinic, 36 (5), 293-305. Siegel, B. (1996). The World of the Autistic Child. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Siegel, B. (2003). Helping Children with Autism Learn. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Stapleton S.R. (1998) Team-building: making collaborative practice work. Journal of Nurse-Midwifery 43: 12-8. Strosnider, R., Lyon, C., Gartland, D. (1997). Including Students with Disabilities into the Regular Classroom. Education, 117 (4), 611-622. Waterhouse S. (2000) A Positive Approach to Autism. London: Jessica Kingsley. Williams, K. (2001). Understanding the Student with Asperger Syndrome: Guidelines for Teachers. Intervention in School Clinic 36 (5), 287-298 Wing, L. Gould, J. (1979) Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9 11-29

Environmental Disasters Essay

For the purpose of this article an environmental disaster is defined as a specific event caused by human activity that results in a seriously negative effect on the environment. Sometimes a natural disaster can become an environmental disaster, but that is a topic to be discussed elsewhere. In most cases environmental disasters are caused by human error, accident, lack of foresight, corner cutting during industrial processes, greed, or by simple incompetence. In other words without some kind of human intervention they would never have happened. They are also often characterised by firm authoritative denials that anything serious has even happened. Lack of foresight is a common cause of an environmental disaster. In agriculture a classic example of is the increasing salinity of soils in hot climates. With the need to produce more food, a warm climate seems ideal for European-style agriculture, once the existing vegetation has been cleared. The one proviso is that there must be plenty of water. Irrigation projects and deep wells are usually the answer, but as has been found in Australia, if this is not properly managed, salination can result and the land becomes effectively useless. A further example of a catastrophic and misguided interference with nature resulted in the dust bowls that hit North America in the 1930s. The fertile soil seemed ideal for intensive agriculture, but a combination of deep ploughing and a lack of crop rotation weakened the soil structure. Following years of drought, high winds simply removed all the topsoil and millions of acres of once fertile farmland became a virtual desert. Another unforeseen agricultural disaster was Moa Zedong’s 1958 decree to eliminate sparrows. It was considered that because sparrows ate grain seeds they were robbing the people of the fruits of their labour. The campaign was very successful that it cleared the way for swarms of locusts to descend on the farms. Crops were decimated, leading to a famine that resulted in the deaths of 38 million people. Introducing alien species can be just as disastrous as eliminating native ones. This has been the case in Australia when in 1859 12 imported English wild rabbits were released so that a local settler could go hunting. In the course of time they multiplied and it is estimated that even after serious efforts to control them, the Australian rabbit populations is still between 200 and 300 million. As well as being responsible for the loss of vast acreages of agricultural crops and grazing land, rabbits are suspected of being the most significant known factor in species loss in Australia, killing young trees by eating the bark at the base of the trunk. They are also responsible for serious erosion as they eat native plants, leaving the topsoil exposed. It is very easy to upset the fragile balance of nature. In June 1918 a steamship ran aground on a Pacific Island and while it was stranded, Black Rats escaped and got ashore. Here they thrived, causing the extinction of several of the island’s endemic birds and other fauna. They also raided the crops of the islanders, particularly the seeds of the Kentia Palm, which was the islanders’ only export commodity. In an effort to control the rats, Masked Owls were introduced but this simply compounded the environmental disaster. By introducing yet another predator to the ecosystem, the result was that many of the remaining sea birds were simply wiped out as breeding species. Industrial pollution has been the cause of so many environmental disasters that it is impossible to list them all. One of the most serious was the Bhopal disaster of December 1984 when a leak of methyl isocyanate resulted in at least 22,000 deaths plus various genetic diseases that will continue for generations. The chief causes of this disaster were negligence, corruption and the complete disregard of safety standards. A number of environmental disasters have also been associated with the oil production industry with theDeepwater Horizon disaster of April 2010 being the most recent one that comes to mind. According to White House energy adviser Carol Browner the spill was the †worst environmental disaster the US has faced†. In this case following a sudden explosion on a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the safety valve that was designed to prevent an oil spill spectacularly failed. It was months before the leakage was sealed, during which time millions of gallons of oil poured into the sea. The resulting pollution was not just from the oil, but from the chemicals used to disperse it. Whole ecosystemswere destroyed along with the livelihoods of countless people. Many endangered species are not expected torecover. In West Africa the Niger Delta covers 20,000 km2 within wetlands of 70,000 km2, formed primarily by sediment deposition. It is home to some 20 million people from 40 different ethnic groups. Its floodplain makes up 7. 5% of Nigeria’s total land mass and is the third-largest drainage basin in Africa. Its ecosystem contains one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. In addition to supporting a vast range of flora and fauna, there is arable terrain that can sustain a wide variety of crops,tropical forests and more species of freshwater fish than any other ecosystem in West Africa. Unfortunately for the Niger Delta, oil was discovered in the region. Since drilling began in 1976 there has been a complete lack of concern by the Nigerian Government or the oil operators to exert any control of the environmental problems associated with the industry. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation admits that every year as a result of around 300 individual spills, nearly 2,300 cubic metres of petroleum are jettisoned into the environment. However, this does not take account of so-called †minor† spills and one estimate put the total spillage between 1960 and 1997 as upwards of 100 million barrels (16 million cubic metres). A major reason for these spills is simply the result of poor maintenance. Pipelines are old and corroded and although they have an estimated lifespan of about 15 years, many have been in use for about 25. Leaking pipes and the use of old and corroded tankers account for 50% of all spills. Understandably there has been a major impact on the ecosystem. Enormous tracts of mangrove forest have been destroyed along with most of the flora and fauna that were once found there. The dumping of waste is obviously a serious issue and international regulations put strict controls on this. Unfortunately there will always be unscrupulous people who will try to get around the regulations. A classic example occurred in 2006 when a Panama-registered ship offloaded 500 tonnes of toxic waste at the Ivory Coast port of Abidjan. The company concerned apparently wanted to avoid paying the 1,000 euros per cubic metre disposal charge it would have to pay in Holland. The waste, that was dumped at 12 sites in and around the city was later discovered to contain a mixture of fuel, caustic soda and hydrogen sulphide. This lethal cocktail gave off toxic gas and caused burns to lungs and skin, in addition to severe headaches and vomiting and is said to have caused 17 deaths and made dozens seriously ill. The company involved originally denied all responsibility, claiming that the waste was simply dirty water. It was only after some investigative journalism by the BBC that the full facts eventually came to light. Nuclear accidents can have serious environmental effects. Prior to 2011 the 1986 Chernobyl disaster would probably have been regarded as the ost serious after an enormous explosion sent radioactive ash into the atmosphere covering most of Northern Europe, along with Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. 350,000 people had to be resettled. Then in 2011 came the Fukushima 1 accident in Japan when an earthquake followed by a tsunami hit the nuclear plant. The earthquake knocked out the public electricity supply that powered the pumping of water to cool the reactors. Shortly after the earthquake a tsuna mi destroyed the emergency back-up generators that were due to start up when the public electricity supply failed. It was then realised that the designers had failed to take this possibility into account. As a result a catastrophic situation developed and 14,000 people had to be evacuated from the immediate area. After several weeks a number of brave workers, struggling in appalling conditions, managed to bring the situation under control, but as with so many environmental disasters, once again official information was misleading, sketchy, or simply non-existent. An environmental disaster is usually caused by some form human action, or some form of human negligence. A classic example is with climate change. Vast amounts of greenhouse gas are currently being released into the Earth’s atmosphere, potentially doing untold harm to our environment by speeding up global warming. At the same time people are completely ignoring the warning signs and shutting their minds to the consequences that lie ahead. We don’t know what these consequences will be, but they are not likely to be pleasant. The world seems to be on course for what is likely to be the worst environmental disaster of all time. There is still time to slow the process down, but it will require swift and worldwide action.

Business Intelligence in a Corporate Environment Essay

The purpose of this literature review is to provide an overall perspective to the workings of business intelligence in a corporate environment. With the onset of massive technological gains in the past decade the implementation of business intelligence has grown accordingly. In the workplace the demand for business process improvement, responsive reporting, cutting edge forecasting, and internal business customer relations has triggered a need for a unit that understands the business needs as well as the impact on company technology. This review will focus on the various areas that business intelligence impacts in the workplace. There will also be an emphasis on understanding the longevity of these types of units. With these units in the workplace questions concerning departmental automation goals and the impact on the maturity stages that are involved with the creation of business intelligence units. Finally, with the growth of data collection and ease of use, the security and manag ement of company information is intertwined with the operation of business intelligence. The Age of Information The Role of Shifting Technology Throughout history technology has influenced the very fabric of business operations. The role of business intelligence in this shift is the implementation and continuous improvement of that technology. This role is ever changing because technology continues to improve. While to some the role of business intelligence seems new and upcoming the usage and practice goes back to the earliest days of industry. An example of this history would be in the automation industry. In years past large amounts of labor was done by hand. The role of the business analyst would be to collect and analyze the entire business process from start to finish. Once this was done the analyst would narrow their focus to the individual in an attempt to provide management with data to increase speed and efficiency. That role is now used  to analyze the systems and machines that are responsible for making the products. While the example above is simple the connection between the shift in technology and the role of business intelligence is clear. With any business the desire for information is strong. To be competitive a company needs to be aware of the business environment in which they operate. Business intelligence serves to meet the information and improvement goals that drive the company to greater success. For this literature review there is an article written by Elliot King that exemplifies the shift of technology and the role of business intelligence on it. King focuses on the large amount of company resources that are spent on the implementation, development, and management of business intelligence technology in the workplace. This attention has been driven by the increasing demand for such software products and personnel to manage them. Understanding this current shift King focuses on the role business intelligence has and will continue to have on the business that use data en mass. The article provides a brief look at the history of data storage and misconceptions about employee interest in accessing the data. This interest has largely been pushed down due to the complex nature of interacting with the information present within the data warehouse. With the explosion of the internet and user assimilation to it these technical barriers are slowing beginning to fall (King, 1998). With the ease of use and understanding increasing employees are beginning to grasp the value of data. This is where the role of business intelligence has thrived. Business intelligence has been implemented to bridge the gap between the employee and the business data stored in the warehouse. This is done through a variety methods that have made data more and more useful to the companies that have and utilize their data. King summarizes his article with the theory that as the internet was opened  far and wide to all this should concept should be applied to the data warehousing. While King understands that the two pieces of technology are different he affirms that they are similar enough in nature that the same approach can be applied. Overall, the article provide a good look at how the shift of technology in business can affect the demand for systems and the personnel that maintain and operate them (King, 1998). The impact of Business growth With the growth of business the world has begun to shrink. No longer are companies that employ a hundred or even a thousand considered to be impressive. In 2014 Bank of America was reported to have employed two hundred and eighty four thousand people to run its operations around the globe (â€Å"Bank of America,† 2014). The implications of companies of this size are astounding and have significantly impacted the demand for business intelligence. To truly understand why a company would spend millions of dollars on business intelligence operations a simple example can be provided. For Bank of America each employee is assigned a unique number or code that distinguishes him or her from the rest of the employees within the organization. On the other side of the table each customer that has interacted with the bank is also assigned a unique identifier. If these are added together the quantity of unique entities starts to become astounding. The example above shows why a business like Bank of America would be heavily interested in utilizing business intelligence assets to manage the data associated with its business units. While the example provided only touches on areas concerning employees and customers the amount of data associated with those people can be mind boggling. For employees this data could be anything from human resource forms to vacation day requests. For customers the data could be products purchased, recorded marketing calls, website interaction as well as a host of other areas. In 2000 Deborah Rowe an article that centered on business trends pushing database management systems to greater growth. Rowe focuses on the data  warehousing concept that has proved to meet a large majority of business needs in terms of information management. The focus of the article is to explain how progress is pushing for better and better systems for managing data. The article talks about how increasing competition has created a lean environment for data management. Companies that are complacent with their data are either failing or catching on to the need for better interaction and usage of their data. Rowe delves into the process of choosing these systems from a corporate perspective. The challenges presented by this type of implementation are rather glaring. These challenges include upfront cost, long term cost, and mismanagement of data. If a company chooses to implement a product that its employees don’t understand correctly the effects can be devastating on the business. Hiring knowledgeable employees to manage and implement the product is essential to long term success. With all of these hurdles of implementing a DBMS system the task can be daunting. Rowe discusses how the task of purchasing and implanting a DBMS needs to be done with great caution and a clear focus. If a business isn’t able to look further down the road and consider how the DBMS can be used in the future it will fail completely. Having a perspective that encompasses as much of the companies goals and visions is critical. This is why companies are constantly looking for individuals that are able to focus on a detailed system but be able to at the same time look at the broader scope of the company’s needs (Rowe , 2000). In summation the article leaves the reader with an interesting perspective on the increasing demand for these systems. Rowe concludes that the ERP industry will grow and tremendous pace in the future. With that growth the need for knowledgeable employees that understand the systems use and can translate the data to affect business needs will continuing to increase. The increasing corporate demand. At its very core business is driven by two simple concepts. These are the laws of revenue and expenses. In business these two laws drive companies on a daily basis. Popular opinion about these  concepts can sometimes sway in either direction. Proponents may put all of their support into revenue generation while others will focus on creating the perfect lean business model. Whatever the theory or opinion is the law of revenues and expenses will remain the same. As discussed in this review the expenses of implementing DBMS systems and employing highly skilled individuals can be massive. To a company that purely focuses on the expense side of the equation these systems may seem like a waste of precious assets. To others who understand the future and current impact of these systems the decision to utilize them is an easy one. Like the concepts of revenues and expenses the goals of a company can dictate the perspective of business intelligence units. The reason demand has begun to steadily increase over the past decade is the potential to affect both the expense and revenue side of the business structure. Business intelligence units are designed to support departments in ways that can amplify their current revenue production and decrease their expense habits. An article written by Ken Rudin explains how corporate demand for business intelligence in their companies is steadily increasing. Rudin talks about how business intelligence has become a very high priority for business executives who understand the values they can derive from business improvement. This demand has grown to the point where corporate leaders are focusing on moving past the traditional business intelligence processes (Rudin , 2007) . Rudin explains the implications of this progressive thought process by paralleling the impact of software applications that software products have had on industry to business intelligence services. The discussion is focused on how executives are looking into custom company specific solution provided on an instant. This type business process software is highly intuitive and seeks to provide all of the necessary tools needed to make an informed business decision. Examples of these on-demand solutions are software’s likes SQL Server Reporting Services by Microsoft. This software allows for not only the display of information but the real time interaction with the data that the web services are pulling their content from. Rudin discusses how these types of solutions are not only catching fire they are exploding all over the business world. This explosion of demand is driven by the complexity of the data being pulled as well as the cost associated with the data being collected and stored. This cost and complexity equation is what Rudin believes is the key piece to business intelligence demand. Like the example of revenues and expenses the idea surrounding on-demand solutions is the same. The question asked is, â€Å"What can these solutions do that allow a normal employee to do their job at a higher level which in turns into a higher rate of return for their employer?† Concluding Rudin’s article he discusses that a key factor associated with on demand business intelligence solutions is the usability of the product. Having solutions created that users do not understand or lose trust in can be a major drain on process improvement. Rudin emphasizes that the development of these processes needs to be done in such a way that they take into account the users that are interacting with them. This is essential to developing a trust relationship between the users and the product (Rudin , 2007). Business Intelligence Tools The Role of Reporting Reporting is one the most essential pieces of and type of business process. If a company sells laundry detergent it needs to know how much product it has, how much product it has sold, and how much it should produce. These three simple questions speak to the ramifications of good reporting data within a business. There is so much information that is gathered by companies with the singular intent of providing reports for business decisions. This gathering is done in a way that the information collected in stored in some type of server  which houses a virtual warehouse. Like a physical warehouse it is critical to understand how and where something is stored so that it can be retrieved for future use. When it comes to reporting the challenge presented to businesses is the quantity and placement of their data. If a business is unable to utilize their data efficiently they are sacrificing business opportunities every second the data is left idle. This quandary has been analyzed and the solution has been to purchase and employee people and products to provide this data in a useful format for business use. In a business intelligence unit a data analyst will focus on first understanding the overall goal of a report request. This is important because the impact of creating something purely based on the request can lead to disastrous results. These can range from customers not understanding the terminology used within the reporting system to not grasping the capability or usage of the system being used to provide the report. To make sure these requests are understand correctly a business intelligence unit is commonly found implemented within a specific area of the business. This cultivates a cross knowledge between the highly technical nature of the reporting systems to the broad scope goals of a particular business department. This type of side by side interaction can be a major benefit to not only getting more precise and accurate reporting it also serves as educating tool to the department through exposure. An article written in 2005 by Harry Debes explains this process in detail. The author of the article begins the discussion by emphasizing the importance of timely and accurate data. These two pieces are the bread and butter of business intelligence. The reason for this is that both factors are highly dependent on each other. Debes explains this concept by focusing on the energy market and the application of business reports in this area of industry. He shows that there various daily functions that are conducted that are in need of  constant monitoring to allow for efficient operation. Some of the examples include repair requests, credit collections, meter usage, demand fluctuations, and most important customers (Debes , 2005). All of the examples cited by Debes are common sense in nature but they require an entire business process to effectively report on. Using the example of meter usage by having daily reports energy companies can identify issues based on real time data and not be forced to swallow a catastrophe because of something as simple as mechanical fault. The problem could easily be identified by a simple reporting tool that was programmed to expect a specific range of usage. If the range was violated the system would send an alert with a level of priority based on the disparity of the ranges. The article written by Debes is a good example of how business intelligence reporting can be implemented in ways that benefit the company at levels of the corporate ladder. From interactive financial data and forecasting to specific customer energy consumption and history reliable and accurate reporting in the energy industry is a very powerful tool that has been used and is being continuously improved upon for future endeavors (Debes , 2005). Impact of data driven Forecasting Forecasting is an important an element of any business. At its most basic level it is simply looking to the future and making guesses to a specific result based on past and present data. This is where the role of business intelligence arrives. Data analysts like their namesake are paid to look at data and decipher how that data works and relates to the business. Once a data analyst is able to firmly grasp company data they can provide constructive advice based on the knowledge of that data. In addition to providing advice the data analyst can create reports that take past data and make estimations programmatically based on definable trends. These reports can be provided through an assortment of software’s and displayed in formats that best fit the target audience. Having a system in place that looks to past data and provides useful  forecasts can not only give a company an idea of where they are going they can also give an idea where their competition is going as well. This ability to compare company performance to the market and project where the company is headed is critical. With timely and reliable forecasting a company can discern opportunities and threats within the marketplace before they even occur. With market competition becoming more and more intense the role of forecasting has been prioritized highly by most companies that operate on a large scale. This is clearly supported by an article written by Susana Schwartz about the greater need for more robust forecasting technologies. The concept of the article focuses on the next level of forecasting that business intelligence units are seeking to achieve. The author talks about how the next set of tools utilized by business intelligence units will be integrated into the business processes that have already been laid down. The key factors that are emphasized are the broad categories that these tools can influence. Examples of these are products such as SSRS by Microsoft, ARGOS by Ellucian, and APEX by Oracle. Each of these tools provide granular interaction with business process data while still being able to be applied to other categories. These tools are used to be the developing platforms that take the business process driven data and formulates it into reportable information used for forecasting. In the article these are the types of tools that Schwartz describes when talking about integrated and real time driven tools (Schwartz, 2007). Concluding the article by Schwartz she emphasizes the value of report generation. She talks about how even if the emphasis might be redundant the need to focus on this factor is critical to accurate forecasting. This is because all of the past data collected is contained within the reports. Schwartz’s realizes that for business units to understand any of the forecast data they need to be familiar with the data that has been collected and displayed within the provided reports (Schwartz , 2007). Data analysis and Improvement The core of what business intelligence does is data analysis and improvement. Both of these factors contribute to each other in a never ending spiral of push and pull. When data is analyzed it is used to improve a process which in turn is analyzed. With this concept firmly in place understanding the role of business intelligence becomes clearer. As the facilitator of analysis and improvement business intelligence units are responsible for the flow between the two actions. When a department senses a need for analysis or improvement the business intelligence unit is used to facilitate that action. This responsibility to facilitate these actions is what drives the demand by corporate leadership. As expressed earlier in this review having units that are constantly looking at moving the expense line down and the revenue line up is very beneficial a corporate entity. An article that was created in response to a seminar on business data analysis describes how this process is essential to the strategy development and future readiness of company’s based on data analysis. The article provide insight into a couple areas within the sphere of data analysis. One of these is building the foundations and structure of the culture within the company to respect the data and make decisions off of it (Computer software .., 2012). This whole concept of creating a decision based culture is driven by the need for action in the market. If a company fails to take action on its corporate strategy it will fall behind its competition fairly quickly. The article discusses how through data analysis an attitude of decision making individuals can be created to promote action. The key of this data driven culture is the analysis that goes into making the data credible. Without credible data the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively is crippled. If employees can’t trust the data they are working with they will begin to question the entire infrastructure based on a single data set. In addition to data analysis the article talks about  improving recruitment through data analysis tools. Being able to create a clear picture of who a person is before the expense of bringing them in for an interview can be a great time and money saver. This is done through internal and external data analysis (Computer software .., 2012) . Once research is done on an individual the business intelligence units can categorize potential recruits and provide reports based on recruiters specifications. If an office manager needs someone with three years of experience and a knowledge of a specific software system a tool can be created to provide that data in real time to the inquiring party. When it comes to data analysis and improvement making sure that they are used in conjunction is essential for seamless implementation and continued success. An example of poor usage is providing a complicated and detailed report within a system that can’t handle the data correctly. Even though the data itself is good the system used for improvement is poor. This can create animosity towards certain products and mistrust in data (Computer software .., 2012). Data management The term data management is something that has been thrown around industry the past few years. When this happens the real meaning of the terminology begins to take on a life of its own based on the perception of those trying to comprehend its true meaning. A clear way to explain what the definition of data management is to show the similarities between an industries accepted practice. Like employee management data management requires a certain style to correctly guide the direction of the data. In a department setting a manager may spend time developing a plan that their employees will play specific roles in. The same is true with data management. Depending on the setting and usage data is set aside in specific formats to meet highly granular needs. A good example is list of information that is associated with a company’s employees. The data will stay the same but it requires a level of management to break into specific formats to meet different needs. The human recourse depar tment might need the list as a reference sheet to pull information about quickly and efficiently. That same information could also be used by the employee development department to conduct surveys and  gauge employee satisfaction. These examples are very simply but they do provide a good idea of how managing data in a succinct and efficient way can broaden its usage and usability immensely. There is an article written in the Journal of Digital Asset Management that describes the role of business intelligence on data management. This article provide a brief look into how the emergence of big data has pushed an emphasis on utilizing business intelligence units to provide levels of data management. The article talks about how business intelligence is beginning to play critical role in the storage, maintenance, and usability of the data. These three factors are critical in guaranteeing the reliability of information collected and scrubbed for company use. The first of these factors briefly mentioned is the storage factor. Arguably the most important of the three storage is the bucket where all unstructured and structured data is stored (Jordan & Ellen , 2009) . Within the context of the article the authors describ e how storage is the first step that business intelligence units have to consider when managing data. The tasks associated with this piece range from creating feeds to port information from various databases to creating tables and views within specific schemas. Within these tasks the question that is constantly asked is the question of available space. This question permeates each of the three factors but is most prevalent at the initial of data management. The second piece is the maintenance portion. This factor is most prevalent once data has been stored and refined into a usable manner. The article shows how this responsibility is what keeps business intelligence units in a critical role to companies data management needs. The tasks that occur with data maintenance can range from eliminating old data, archiving, inputting new systems, and creating methods to encourage more efficient data retrieval and reporting. The final factor addressed in the article is the factor of usability. This concept is what non-IT personnel will focus most of their attention on when looking at data resources. Business intelligence plays critical role in getting the data into an understandable and usable format at the customer level. This is the defining piece of business intelligence focus. Employers look specifically for individuals who are able to translate the technical data from a database perspective and be able to make that information as clear as possible for non-information technology users (Jordan & Ellen , 2009). Internal communications When considering things that business intelligence employees should do well is internal communications. In many companies business intelligence units will be the ambassador between the data and the customer. These individuals are responsible for understating the customers’ needs from an IT perspective. Once the needs have been determined the customer needs to be made aware of how close or far away from their original needs are to the ones seen by the business intelligence personnel. Being able to discern what a customer needs is extremely important. The emphasis placed on cultivating effective communications between all parties is absolutely critical to getting the information needed to create or improve business processes. There are so many adverse situations that occur within corporate setting that could have been avoided by simply establishing channels of communications with involved parties. A good way to do this is to provide updates on the progress of the project. This c an done by collaboration software, email, phone calls, and face to face interaction. By establishing a working and efficient internal communication structure customers are more at ease with the progress and process being developed. This is essentially a status gauge that shows that all parties are involved and have a say in what is happening. An article released by press wire gives a good example of how companies are understanding the importance of internal communications and the role of business intelligence in it. Based on the trends within industry the article shows how the shift of technology has affected the way internal communications are done between IT and the various corporate departments. What has occurred in recent years is the need for new strategy development with business intelligence as key factors in these strategies (Business intelligence..,2001). From a corporate standpoint these new strategies have ushered in a different perspective of IT individuals in the workplace. No longer are individuals that work with databases left out of conference calls a nd meetings that determine company direction. The article clearly explains that the need for individuals with technical and corporate goal understanding need to have an opinion in new processes and strategies. These individuals are becoming more and more important because of their perspective on how technology is being used in the marketplace. The final portion of the article by press wire addresses an important decision the  transitioning companies have to make. The authors emphasize that decisions makers need to reshape their perspective of units like business intelligence and truly value the opinions that are being shared. If this perception of the average IT worker from the 1970’s continues to permeate a company’s upper level management the likelihood of less opportunities and more threats to occur is much more likely than competitors who are understand the shift (Business intelligence..,2001). Business Intelligence Outlook From a sustainable field outlook the question has been raised is whether business intelligence as a field is here to stay. In any profession this question has been and will be asked as the world changes. No profession is one hundred percent guaranteed that the field will continue to be useful to the society in which operates. This simple truth puts into perspective the fragility of any profession. In regards to business intelligence determining whether the field is going to progress for years to come is difficult. Currently, the demand for business intelligence employees and or software is currently high. With many top competitors in various industries searching for ways to cut cost and improve efficiency the current market outlook is good. On the flip side of this equation the risk for business intelligence to improve itself out of a job is a definite possibility. With new software’s being created the technical barrier created by big data is beginning to slowly fall. The threat to the field is that companies will purchase a customer based software that provides cookie cutter reports that can be used by non-IT users to make business decisions. An article by the journal of Journal of International Technology and Information Management touches on this topic and describes how measuring the effectiveness of business intelligence on a company can determine its future market outlook. The authors take a detailed look at how in some situations a business intelligence department has been effective for some companies while for others the effectiveness has been limited (Vinekar,Teng, & Chennamaneni , 2009). The important factors that the authors cite for effectiveness center on corporate understanding of the role of business intelligence, implementation, defined goals, and perceived value opinion. Each of these factors are cited because of they are all touched at the inception of the business intelligence unit within the company. Without these factors being addressed correctly the ability for a business intelligence unit to operate effectively is severely hampered. The first of these factor is the identity of the department. Just like meeting a person for the first time the impression created on the meeting is what defines the perception of the relationship. The article talks about how it is the responsibility of those implementing the unit to clearly lay out the benefit that the department will bring to the company as a whole. These individuals include directors and manager. This push stage is the first step in gauging whether business intelligence will be effective within a company. If corporate leaders understand the benefit of the unit and put their support behind it the initial reaction is more likely to be positive than negative. The caution that is applied to this phase is that if there isn’t top down approval the unit will not succeed. The authors strongly emphasize the need for an executive push at the inception of the business intelligence unit (Vinekar,Teng, & Chennamaneni , 2009). The second factor discussed by the authors is the implementation phase of a business intelligence unit. This is the first step to making a concerted effort for a business intelligence impact on a company. The authors talk about how this phase needs to be handled in a way that allows for immediate impact. The rational for this approach is that if the business intelligence unit can prove its value at inception the perceived value of the unit will be cemented in its early success. With this approach the authors also caution at the risks involved. If the unit is not prepared the likelihood of error is high. Just like the  perceived value of the unit based on a positive rollout the same can occur for a negative one. The authors are adamant in their idea that to make a good impact the unit needs to be prepared and aware of the tentative situation in which the unit is placed on the onset. The third factor is defined goals. The unit needs be able to clearly express their goals for improving the company’s internal and external business processes. The article describes how the focus of the department needs to be grounded in the goals and direction set at the onset. This allows for an immediate understanding of what the unit hopes to achieve. The authors caution that without clear goals for the department the unit will not be able to work succinctly. The final and most important factor discussed in the article is the perceived value opinion of the business intelligence unit from the rest of the company. This perceived value is critical for unit to be able to provide opinions and trusted data. The reason cited by the authors why this value opinion is most important is because the opinion can be had by every employee within the company. The simple truth is that with more eyes watching the unit there is a higher level of critique applied to the actions done by the business intelligence unit (Vinekar,Teng, & Chennamaneni , 2009). Departmental Goal Impact In most businesses the unit structure is broken out into various departments that meet company specific needs. Examples of these include accounting, budgeting, marketing, human resources, R&D, and many more. These departments all do things that are subject specific but require a certain level of overlap with the rest of the company. For example the budgeting and accounting departments are joined at various stages of the financials that the company uses. Having an understanding of these departments is very important from the perspective of the business intelligence unit. The reason business intelligence units need to grasp the subject impact as well as overall impact of departments is because the processes built usually touch more than one specific department. What this means is that a data analyst needs to be able to determine what is best for not just one department but for all parties involved. With a macro perspective of the company the business intelligence units are able to impact broad groupings of departments. This in itself is a big benefit to the company as a whole. The reason for this is because the improved processes help promote better interaction between departments. This is like connecting various standalone silos to each other with an agreed on process. An article that addresses this departmental impact comes straight from the Business Intelligence Journal. The whole premise of the article is the authors argue that by assimilating business intelligence units into departments these units can change the departments core business practices. This can be done by embedding individuals from the business intelligence department into other departments through the company (Elbashir & Williams , 2007). The authors lay out a plan for making sure the company gets the best benefit when the embed business intelligence personnel in a different department. The authors talk about how it is important to make sure an understanding of the units function is clearly laid down before the unit is implemented. The importance of this is that the departments understand the business intelligence units are not directly under the units they are embedded in. The article makes it clear that to make the relationship work between the BI unit and the department the BI unit cannot be under the department they are servicing. The rational for this is that if the BI unit is under their own department they will be less inclined to favor a department when building a business process for multiple departments. This is important because it allows the business intelligence employees to say no to things that might be requested out of ignorance or selfishness. The second step for success when embedding a BI unit is to establish the  relationship. The authors describe how important it is to set up the way communication is supposed to occur. In most situations it is important to have the directors of the department as the individuals responsible for setting up the proper channels. The benefit of this is that it forces employees to acknowledge the support of the department’s directors. This means the BI unit will be able to get the information they need from department employees to formulate effective business process improvements (Elbashir & Williams , 2007). The final piece that the article discusses is how much leeway the BI unit has to make departmental decisions. In some cases the BI unit make most improvement decisions based on technology understanding and departmental trust. In others the unit has little leeway and requires approvals from the department to enact improvements. Whichever way the process is set up it is important to have that clearly explained and understood by all parties involved to avoid confusion (Elbashir & Williams , 2007). Tiers of maturity. In the business intelligence community there are various levels of maturity associated based on the length of time the unit has been in service to the company. Each of these levels are determined based on the progress the unit has made. These level begin at inception and end at forecasting. It is important to recognize these levels to determine the progress the department is making in the company that it is being utilized in. These levels are broken out into three specific categories. These are the inception phase, the break even stage, and the forecasting stage. Each of these stages is unique and presents its own set of challenges to the business intelligence unit. The most critical phase is the inception phase. Since this phase is what spawns the impact that the BI unit makes it is critical that it goes well. During the inception phase of the unit the challenges presented center on assimilation to the company. The unit must be able to find their place within the work environment if they are going to effective in the company. By analyzing company needs prior to actually meeting and planning with departments the unit can have a head start on how to make an immediate  impact on their departmental customers. The second tier is thoroughly described in an article by a group of authors writing for Information Technology and Management. This group of authors describes how the second phase of maturity is centered on getting to a point of break even. This term refers to the business intelligence unit being able to complete/automate enough critical tasks that they are able to look begin forecasting (Zeng & Duan, 2012). During this second phase the authors stress the importance of consistency and performance. These two ideas are what the authors believe drive the unit towards a proactive mindset and away from a reactive mindset. This transition of thought processes is what make this phase important. Once a unit can break though to a state of mind that is forward looking they can begin to develop ideas that will prevent problems before they happen and predict future opportunities before they occur (Zeng & Duan, 2012). The final phase is briefly addressed in the article and deals with the forecasting and future opportunities phase. This is tier of maturity that each business intelligence unit strives to get to at some point in its existence. With this phase the unit is able to think more creatively and follow leads and trails into data that could provide beneficial to the company (Zeng & Duan, 2012). The conclusion makes a final point in regards to the level of maturity. The point made is that these levels once attained are not concrete. With the ever changing needs of the company as well as the creation of new technologies the department can easily waver between different tiers. The authors suggest that having a proactive approach is the best way to stay at the highest level of maturity for the longest periods of time (Zeng & Duan, 2012). Marketplace perspective The final point of this literature review centers on the industries perception of business intelligence as a whole. This perception is what drives the demand for business intelligence within the workforce. If  industry believe the benefit of a business intelligence department is greater than the cost then demand for these units will be high. If the value garnered is perceived as minimal then the field will falter. The real question that the marketplace has been asking falls on longevity. There has been speculation the technology will eventually push this field out into the cold. This would be done by platforms that mimic the various functions and responsibilities that are currently being held by business intelligence employees. If this happens the need for large quantities of analysts would no longer be needed. An article written by Chen talks about the perspective of business intelligence by outside entities. He looks at how a business intelligence unit can provide a competitive a dvantage to a company based on the agility it affords. He argues that by having units that can provide data quickly the competitive advantage created is enough to sway popular opinion into the positive (Chen, 2012). Chen talks about the need for business intelligence units and his belief that the agility of these units will continue to drive demand. His entire argument is based on the unit’s ability to adapt to new technology and processes quickly enough to afford decision makers consistent windows of opportunity. Chen’s belief is that no matter how advanced technology gets the need for individuals to understand and communicate it to decision makers will always be needed. Chen concludes by describing how business intelligence units need to maintain a high level of flexibility. He addresses the issue of complacency and warns that if laziness creeps into the department then shifting technology will engulf the department. The real value is the ability to quickly analyze and develop a well thought out process that improves the current one using the existing resources at their disposal (Chen, 2012). Conclusion Business intelligence at its very core is business process improvement. This can be done through many different ways but the concept never changes. An individual working in a business intelligence department always ask the question, â€Å"How can I make this process better?† This simple phrase is the core of what business intelligence is and what it will always be. There are many companies that understand the importance of business intelligence. These companies have realized how important it is to strive for a lean work  environment. This is achieved by isolating areas of work that can be automated or improved through the efforts of business intelligence units. The impact that can be made by tasking a unit to think through a process from every perspective and redesign it to meet current needs can be a massive benefit. In conclusion, there are many areas in which business intelligence can be utilized to benefit a company. From data management to data security business intelligence departments are meeting the needs of companies as today’s technology moves faster and faster into the future. It remains to be seen whether these units will become a staple of the workplace but their current impact has been instrumental to the information technology industry as a whole. Reference Bank of america company statistics. (2014, March 3). Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/bank-of-america-company-statistics/ BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE: Internal communication excellence is critical to business success. (2001, Jun 29). M2 PresswireRetrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/444695082?accountid=12085 Chen, X. (2012). Impact of business intelligence and IT infrastructure flexibility on competitive advantage: An organizational agility perspective. (Order No. 3522073, The University of Nebraska – Lincoln). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 124. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1035336826?accountid=12085. (1035336826). Computer software; business data analysis provides key to delivering successful workforce planning strategies. (2012).Marketing Weekly News, , 286. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/926791455?accountid=12085 Debes, H. (2005). Business intelligence for the bottom line. Energy Markets, 10(4), 36-38. Retriev ed from http://search.proquest.com/docview/228760265?accountid=12085 Elbashir, M., & Williams, S. (2007, Fourth). BI impact: The assimilation of business intelligence into core business processes.Business Intelligence Journal, 12, 45-54. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/222617043?accountid=12085 Jordan, J., & Ellen, C. (2009). Business need, data and business intelligence. Journal of Digital Asset Management, 5(1), 10-20. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/dam.2008.53 King, E. (1998, October). The business intelligence technology shift. Enterprise Systems Journal, 13(10), 17+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA21260167&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w&asid=6f3bfaa58245586c92ea5fb6ad499092 Rowe, D. (2000). Business intelligence trend leads DBMS growth. Technology in Government, 7(4), 17. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/206108771?accountid=12085 Rudin, K. (2007). On-demand business intelligence. DM Review, 17(8), 26. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214676633?accountid=12085 Schwartz, S. (2007). BI 2.0 — the next generation of business intelligence tools will be integrated within business processes themselves, enabling improved forecasting and real-time data analysis. Insurance & Technology, 32(4), 41-44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/229300747?accountid=12085 Vinekar, V., Teng, J. T. C., & Chennamaneni, A. (2009). The interaction of business intelligence and knowledge management in organizational decision-making. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 18(2), 143-159. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/205859311?accountid=12085 Zeng, L., Li, L., & Duan, L. (2012). Business intelligence in enterprise computing environment. Information Technology and Management, 13(4), 297-310. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10799-012-0123-z

Individual summar Week 3 Essay

Individual summar Week 3 Essay Individual summar Week 3 Essay Accrual-basis accounting is recording transactions as the service occurs, even if cash is not received yet (Kimmel, 2009). It makes sense that most companies would choose this way to me as I feel this is the best way to keep track of money that you are going to receive and keep things more up to date. The cash basis accounting is not recorded until the transaction until the cash is received (Kimmel, 2009). This to me would get really confusing if you are awaiting payment for a job already done. If you forget to add it to your financial statements or remember what the incoming cash is for you may get turned around. The main difference between the two to me is the fact that one is recorded with out the cash being paid and the other is not recorded until the cash is actually in hand. I would also like to know in my reports that I am awaiting that cash so that I can account for it in future months. Another reason is that when looking at the numbers laid out the numbers for the cash ba sis accounting can look misleading for the company. The reason that cash basis is prohibited under generally accepted accounting principles, is that it doesn’t record revenue when it is earned, that violates the revenue recognition principle. Similarly it doesn’t record the expenses when they are incurred which in turn would violate the matching principle. In the end when comparing the differences of the two accounting types it’s easy to see why accrual basis accounting is the

The History and Geography of Greenland

The History and Geography of Greenland Greenland  is a located between the Atlantic and  Arctic  Oceans, and although it is technically a part of the North American continent, historically it has been linked with European countries like Denmark and Norway. Today, Greenland is considered an  independent territory  within the Kingdom of Denmark, and as such, Greenland is dependent on Denmark for the majority of its gross domestic product. By area, Greenland is distinctive in that it is the worlds  largest island,  with an area of 836,330 square miles (2,166,086 square kilometers). It is not a continent, but due to its large area and the relatively small population of 56,186 people, Greenland is also the most sparsely populated country in the world. Greenlands largest city, Nuuk, also serves as its capital. Its one of the worlds smallest capital cities, with a population of only 17,984 as of 2019.  All of Greenlands cities are built along the 27,394-mile coastline because it is the only area in the country that is ice-free. Most of these cities are also along Greenlands west coast because the northeastern side is comprised of the Northeast Greenland National Park. History of Greenland Greenland is thought to have been inhabited since prehistoric times by various Paleo-Eskimo groups; however, specific archaeological research does show the Inuit entering Greenland around 2500 B.C., and  it wasnt until A.D. 986 that European settlement and exploration started, with Norwegians and Icelanders settling on Greenlands west coast. These first settlers were eventually known as the  Norse Greenlanders, though it wasnt until the 13th century that Norway took them over, and subsequently entered into a union with Denmark. In 1946, the  United States  offered to buy Greenland from Denmark but the country refused to sell the island. In 1953, Greenland officially became a part of the Kingdom of Denmark and in 1979, Denmarks Parliament gave the country powers of home rule. In 2008, a referendum for greater independence on Greenlands part was approved, and in 2009 Greenland took over the responsibility of its own government, laws, and natural resources. In addition, Greenlands citizens were recognized as a separate culture of people, even though Denmark still controls Greenlands defense and  foreign affairs. Greenlands current  head of state is Denmarks queen, Margrethe II, but the Prime Minister of Greenland is Kim Kielsen, who serves as the head of the countrys autonomous government. Geography, Climate, and Topography Because of its very high latitude, Greenland has an arctic to a subarctic  climate  with cool summers and very cold winters. For example its capital, Nuuk, has an average January low temperature of 14 F (-10 C) and an average July high of just 50 F (9.9 C); because of this, its citizens can practice very little agriculture and most of its products are forage crops, greenhouse vegetables, sheep, reindeer, and fish, and Greenland mostly relies on imports from other countries. Greenlands topography is mainly flat but there is a narrow mountainous coast, with the highest point on the islands tallest mountain, Bunnbjà ¸rn Fjeld, which towers over the island nation at 12,139 feet. Additionally, most of Greenlands land area is covered by an ice sheet  and two-thirds of the country is subject to permafrost. This massive ice sheet found in Greenland is important to climate change and has made the region popular among scientists who have worked to drill ice cores in order to understand how the Earths climate has changed over time; also, because the country is covered with so much ice, it has the potential to significantly raise  sea levels  if the ice were to melt with  global warming.

Please identify the difference between unique, shared and borrowed Article

Please identify the difference between unique, shared and borrowed theories. Give an example of each - Article Example Their concepts, propositions and definitions represent a methodical viewpoint and provide a framework for standardizing and organizing nursing actions. Recently, there has been a struggle to come up with unique theories in nursing and their contribution to clinical practice and the profession itself. While the nursing knowledge is not unique, the perspective with which the knowledge is applied to the practice is unique. This can be defined and achieved through unique theories of nursing. Florence Nightingale, a central figure in the history of nursing, was the first to conceptualize the intellectual domain of nursing science. In her seminal work Notes on Nursing: What it is and What is is Not (Nightingale, 1860), she develops a unique theory of nursing, where she establishes the domain of nursing concern, which is independent of the physician’s domain. In developing this theory, she orients the nurses towards the environment of the patients, from the condition of their bandages to the layout of their sickrooms. Some more examples of unique nursing theories include Parse’s Theory of Human Becoming and Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory. Shared theories from other disciplines such as sociological, behavioral and biomedical sciences are theories that have been tested in nursing science though not entirely adopted. They, therefore, do not necessarily advance the practice of nursing. Some examples of shared theories in nursing include theories of social support, reasoned action, self-efficacy, and planned behavior, which have all been developed within the social psychology discipline (Paley, 2006). Bandura’s Social Cognitive theory, for instance, provides an appropriate framework for evaluation of the impact of training programs done to improve nursing competence in palliative care. They are regarded as shared because of their testing in nursing situations. These are theories made