Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Coursework Example Higher interest rates mean that lenders in a particular economy are able to enjoy higher return, more that in countries where there are low interest rates. Further, high interest rates are able to attract foreign capital and lead to high exchange rates. The effects of high interest rates are solved if inflation in a particular country is slightly higher than in other countries. There are also cases whereby the impact of high interest rates can be mitigated through other factors that function to lower the currency (Madura, 1998: 14). Effective exchange rates are usually used to determine country’s currency value in relation to other strong currencies in the index. Some of the world’s currency indexes include the U.S dollar, Japanese Yea and the euro. These currencies are adjusted to lower the effects of inflation in some countries. In addition, effective exchange may also refer to the value consumers are likely to pay for an imported commodity. The price usually comprise s of any tariffs and other costs incurred as a result of the process of importation (Somanath, 2011: 220). 2. Inefficiencies in Exchange Rates and Arbitrage Profits Arbitrage profits are made when traders purchase and sell their assets so that they can take advantage of the difference in the price. In particular, arbitrage profits arise due to the exploitation of price differences and takes place in similar financial instruments. In addition, prices can be exploited on different markets as well as in different ways. Arbitrage profits arise due to the efforts geared towards ensuring that prices do not fall from fair value over long periods of time (Clark and Ghosh, 2004: 2). Further, arbitrage refers to the simultaneous buying and selling of a commodity or asset in different markets with the main aim of making profits from the difference in buying and selling prices. For example, the dollar price of a British pound may be 1.70 pounds in London but 1.40 pounds in Paris, a trader can b uy 1 pound in Paris then sell that pound in London and make some profit (0.3) per pound sold. If the trader buys 10 million pounds, 3000,000 pounds profit will be realized before any transaction costs, if any exist (Clark and Ghosh, 2004: 2). Arbitrage can be seen as an exploitation of the misalignment of market quotes. In a perfectly competitive market, the evident price differentials that lead to arbitrage profits cannot exist. In essence, arbitrage profit is as a result of market imperfection in which traders buy cheap and sell expensively. In foreign exchange markets, traders have the opportunity to buy and sell continuously. This takes place through the exchange of one currency for another and again for another currency, finally getting back to the original currency in the series of instantaneous transactions, and thus leading to profits (Clark and Ghosh, 2004: 2). 3. Problems of Making Payment in a Foreign Currency in the Future The demand of a foreign currency will certainly affect the price of products to be purchased from that country. Trader therefore, needs to know demand on foreign currencies. The cost of a product may be higher compared to domestic substitutes when the demand of a foreign currency is high. Further, the choice of foreign currency also depends on the investment opportunities available in the particular country and those available in the domestic market. A trader will demand a foreign currency if he or she can transact business cheaply. The demand of a

Evidence of a Glass Ceiling Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evidence of a Glass Ceiling - Assignment Example It would send a very positive message throughout the organization and externally if the company affirmatively recruited a pool of candidates in which there is adequate representation by women and minorities. This does not mean that a woman must be selected if she is not most qualified, but rather than an effort must be made to bring in qualified female candidates. The next time there is an opening within the senior leadership, the employees at large should draft a petition demanding this kind of affirmative action. If women and minorities had access to equal pay and opportunities for advancement, everyone would benefit in some way primarily because it would be truly just. When people are treated differently because of their gender or skin color, it sets up a severely unethical system that ultimately harms everyone in an organization, and contributes to the harm of society at large. Even if white men currently earn more on average than women and minorities, they are not really benefiting, particularly since the expectation is not that their pay would be reduced, but rather that the pay of women and minorities be increased in order to achieve equality. Real justice ultimately benefits everyone, and so there are no stakeholders who would not benefit. I once attended a business lunch with clients from the Far East.

Dss Analysis And Decision Support System Information Technology Essay

Dss Analysis And Decision Support System Information Technology Essay Abstract During our study and research on DSS we came to mutual agreement that DSS is an ever evolving domain. Lot of research has been carried out on the usage of DSS in many different domains especially in Clinic. But we found that research on the DSS System as a whole (regardless of which domain) has not been conducted many times in the past. Based on the initial study we have identified the following problems 1. There is no universally accepted definition for DSS, 2. There have been a many reports of failure of DSS systems. In the research paper below we have tried to define DSS system based on the Characteristics and the Targeted users. Paper also covers the decision making process, the decision analysis cycle, Framework of DSS which form the base of the DSS. We have also made an attempt to formulate the Critical success factors of the DSS and Reasons for the failure of DSS. We have tried to collect most of our data through secondary research which involves collating of data from existing research documents and books.   In 1960 J. C. R. Licklider wrote a paper on his observation of how the interaction between man and computer can improve the quality and competency in recognizing and problem solving. His paper proved to be like a guide to many future researches on DSS. In 1962 with use of hypertext online system helped in storage and retrieval of documents and creation of digital libraries. SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Environment) built by Forrester is probably the first data driven computerized DSS. In 1964 Scott Morton built up an interactive model driven management decision system which could help managers make important management decisions. In 1970 John D.C. Little noted that the requirement for designing models and system to make a management decision was completeness to data, simplicity, ease of control and robustness, which till date are relevant in improving and evaluating modern DSS. By 1975, he built up a DSS called Brandaid which could support promotion, advertising, pricing and product r elated decisions. In 1974 the focus was on giving managers with information which was from accounting and transaction processing system with use if MIS(Management Information Systems) but MIS was found to not helping out managers with making key decisions. Hence in 1979 Scott Morton and Gorry argued that MIS just primarily focused on structured decisions and hence the system which also supports unstructured and semi-structured decision should be termed as Decision support systems. Gorry and Scott Morton coined the phrase DSS in 1971, about ten years after MIS became popular. (David Arnott, An Analysis of Decision Support Systems Research, p.1) Decision support system now-a-days are critical for the daily operation and success of many organizations. Due to which there is a huge investment being made on development, customization, implementation and upgradation of these systems. Despite the rapid growth of information technology over the past decade, the success of Decision Support System remains questionable due to the lack of insufficient studies on the outcomes. As David Arnott and Gemma Dodson stated in Decision Support System Failure (David Arnott, Gemma Dodson, p.1) The development of a decision support system is a risky affair. The Volatile task environment and dynamic nature of managerial work means that DSS Projects are prone to Failure. As per David Arnott and Gemma Dodson definition above its very important to understand why organization take such a big risk and invest in a Decision support system. (Efraim Turban, Ramesh Sharda, Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems, 8th Edition, p.12) Some of the factors why company use DSS Systems suggested by Efraim and Ramesh are: Speedy Computation Improved Communication and Collaboration Increase Productivity of group members Improved data management Managing Giant Data warehouses Quality Support Agility Support Overcoming cognitive limits in processing and storing information The paper here deals with the study of how decision analysis happens in DSS, Problems and there types, Why DSS are required or implemented by organization, Decision making process, Types of DSS, Reason for the failure of DSS, Critical success factor of DSS. Activities that require decision making form a set or a group of problems, varying from structured problem to unstructured problem. As Simon States The boundary between well structured and ill structured problems is vague, fluid and not susceptible to formalization.  (The structure of ill structured problems, 1973, Herbert A. Simon) the Decision making process, decision made and the style of making decision can be influenced by the personality of the individual and their cognitive style, and which is one of the major reasons for different decision aids being sought. (Management Information System 8/E Raymond McLeod, Jr. and George Schell) Decision types in terms of problem structure: Structured problems can be solved with algorithms and decision rules. A structured decision can be defined as one in which three components of a decision-the data, process, and evaluation. Structured decisions are made on a regular basis in business environments. If a rigid framework is placed for the decision making process it helps to solve the problem. Unstructured problems have no structure in Simons phases. These decisions have the same components as structured ones-data, process, and evaluation- but there nature is different. For example, decision maker use different set of data and process to reach a decision or goal. In addition, as the nature of the decision is different a few numbers of people within the organization are even qualified to evaluate the decision and to confirm one. Semi structured problems have structured and unstructured phases. Most of the DSS System is focused on Semi Structured decision. Characteristics of this type of decisions of this type are Having some agreement on the data, process, and/or evaluation to be used, Efforts to maintain a level of human-judgement in the decision making process. To determine which Support system is required it is necessary to analyze thoroughly and understand the limitations and ill effects, which the decision maker are manifested with. Apart from which it is also important to understand the objectives of the system. (Management Information System 8/E Raymond McLeod, Jr. and George Schell) Decision Support System Objectives: Efficiency of the system. Making decisions. To support managers, not to replace people. Used when the decision is semi structured or unstructured. Incorporate a database. Incorporate models. It is also important that like any other computer based system the DSS should be: Simple Robust Easy to Use Adaptive Easy to communicate with. Now that we have a brief idea about the type of problems that are faced by the managers and the qualities that the DSS system should pertain understanding the decision making process would give an insight to the how a decision is made. Decision Making: (Administrative Behavior, Herbert Simon, 1947) Herbert Simon in 1947 defines decision as the behavioral and cognitive processes of making rational human choices, that is, decisions. It states that any decision making is a behavioral and cognitive process of making choices from a set of options available. So, it is important for the DSS, to be accurate enough for making a choice from many different options available. To make accurate choices from the options available DSS takes help from constrains defined and the goals that it has to achieve. (Administrative Behavior, Herbert Simon, 1947) Simon states in his journal The human being striving for rationality and restricted within the limits of his knowledge has developed some working procedures that partially overcome these difficulties. These procedures consist in assuming that he can isolate from the rest of the world a closed system containing a limited number of variables and a limited range of consequences. By this Simon mean that people with limited knowledge about a particular task or domain will develop some technique that will help the person to overcome these difficulties. This in a sense defines the basic purpose of DSS system to make help managers with making decision. It is also important to understand the term isolated from the rest of the world, by this Simon meant that the decision should be purely be based on the goals to be obtained and based on the criteria defined it should not come under any other influence. He also formulated a model of decision making. (David Arnott, An Analysis of Decision Support Systems Research, p.1) Simons model of decision-making has been used in DSS research since the fields inception and was an integral component of Gorry and Scott Mortons seminal MIS/DSS framework. (Image Taken from Wikipedia, Figure 1) In Simon model of decision making (Figure 1) there are several phases through which an individual goes through to reach his objectives or goal. Phases of Decision Making as per Simon Model are as follows: Intelligence: Identify reality. Get problem/opportunity understanding. Obtain required information. Design: Make decision criteria. Make decision alternatives. Look for related unmanageable events. Identify the links between criteria, alternatives, and events. Choice: Logically assess the decision alternatives. Make recommended actions that best meet the decision criteria. Implementation: Consider the decision  analysis  and assessment. Evaluate the cost of the recommendations. Have confidence in the decision. Make an implementation plan. Secure required supplies. Set implementation plan into act. Based on the Decision making process by Simon and the problem structure described above we can define the accuracy of decisions can be measured by the following criteria: The methods or technique with which it achieves the desired results or goals; and The efficiency with which the goals and sub goals are obtained. By this we mean members of the organization may focus on the method and technique used to reach to the result or goal, but the administrative management must pay attention to the efficiency with which the desired result was obtained. To understand the efficiency of the decision made it is necessary to analysis the decision made. Decision Analysis in itself is a vast field and deals with many methodologies to measure the efficiency of the decision. Decision Analysis: (Ronald Howard, 1965, Decision Analysis: Applied Decision Theory)Decision Analysis is a discipline which was developed to deal with the challenges of making important decisions which involved handling major uncertainty, long-term targets and complex value issues. Decision Analysis comprises the philosophical, theoritical, methodological, and professional practice necessary to formalize the analysis of important decisions. (Ronald Howard, 1965, Decision Analysis: Applied Decision Theory) Decision analysis is a logical procedure for the balancing of the factors that influence a decision. The procedure incorporates uncertainties, values, and preferences in a basic structure that models the decision. Typically, it includes technical, marketing, competitive, and environmental factors. The essence of the procedure is the construction of a structural model of the decision in a form suitable for computation and manipulation; the realization of this model is often a set of computer programs. Decision-making consists of assigning values on the outcomes of interest to the decision-maker. Thus, decision analysis evaluates the decision-makers trade-offs between monetary and non-monetary outcomes and also establishes in quantitative terms his preferences for outcomes that are risky or distributed over time. Ronald A. Howard in his paper Advances: Foundations of DA Revisited goes on to discuss the Pillars of Decision Analysis The First Pillar: Systems Analysis Systems analysis grew out of World War II and was concerned with understanding dynamic systems. Key notions were those of state variables, feedback, stability, and sensitivity analysis. The field of systems engineering is currently in a state of resurgence. Decision analysis and systems engineering have many complementary features (Howard, 1965, 1973). The Second Pillar: Decision Theory Decision theory is concerned primarily with making decisions in the face of uncertainty. Its roots go back to Daniel Bernoulli (Bernoulli, 1738) and Laplace. Bernoulli introduced the idea of logarithmic utility to explain the puzzle called the St. Petersburg paradox. In the most influential book on probability ever written (Laplace, 1812), Laplace discusses the Esperance mathematique and the Esperance morale. Today we would call these the mean and the certain equivalent. The Third Pillar: Epistemic Probability Jaynes taught that there is no such thing as an objective probability: a probability reflects a persons knowledge (or equivalently ignorance) about some uncertain distinction. People think that probabilities can be found in data, but they cannot. Only a person can assign a probability, taking into account any data or other knowledge available. Since there is no such thing as an objective probability, using a term like subjective probability only creates confusion. Probabilities describing uncertainties have no need of adjectives. This understanding goes back to Cox (2001), Jeffreys (1939), Laplace (1996) and maybe Bayes, yet somehow it was an idea that had been lost over time. A famous scientist put it best over 150 years ago: The actual science of logic is conversant at present only with things either certain, impossible, or entirely doubtful, none of which (fortunately) we have to reason on. Therefore the true logic for this world is the calculus of Probabilities, which takes account of the magnitude of the probability which is, or ought to be, in a reasonable mans mind. (Maxwell, 1850) The Fourth Pillar: Cognitive Psychology In the 1960s few appreciated the important role that cognitive psychology would play in understanding human behaviour. At the time of DAADT, we just did our best to help experts assign probabilities. In the 1970s the work of Tversky, Kahneman, and others provided two valuable contributions. First, it showed that people making decisions relying only on their intuition were subject to many errors that they would recognize upon reflecting on what they had done. This emphasized the need for a formal procedure like decision analysis to assist in making important decisions. The second contribution was to show the necessity for those who are assisting in the probability and preference assessments to be aware of the many pitfalls that are characteristic of human thought. Tversky and Kahneman called these heuristics methods of thought that could be useful in general but could trick us in particular settings. We can think of these as the optical illusions of the mind. An important distinction here is that between descriptive and normative decision-making. Descriptive decision-making, as the name implies, is concerned with how people actually make decisions. The test of descriptive decision-making models is whether they actually describe human behaviour. Normative decision-making is decision-making according to certain rules, or norms, that we want to follow in our decision-making processes. The underlying premise of decision analysis is to distinguish between a good decision and a good outcome. A good decision is termed as logical decision which is based on the information, values, and preferences of the decision-maker. A good outcome is one that benefits the end user. The aim is to arrive at good decisions in all situations which would go on to ensure as high a percentage of good outcomes. But at times it may be observed that even a good decision has achieved a good outcome. But for majority of the situations we may face making good decisions is the best way to ensure good outcomes. A decision can be defined as a choice among alternatives that will yield uncertain futures, for which we have preferences. To explain the formal aspects of decision analysis the image of the three-legged stool shown in Figure 3.1 (Howard, 2000). The legs of the stool are the three elements of any decision: what you can do, the alternatives; what you know, the information you have; and what you want, your preferences. Collectively, the three legs represent the decision basis, the specification of the decision. Note that if any leg is missing, there is no decision to be made. If you have only one alternative, then you have no choice in what you do. If you do not have any information linking what you do to what will happen in the future, then all alternatives serve equally well because you do not see how your actions will have any effect. If you have no preferences regarding what will happen as a result of choosing any alternative, then you will be equally happy choosing any one. The seat of the stool is the logic that operates on the decision basis to produce the best alternative. We shall soon be constructing the seat to make sure that it operates correctly. Decision Analysis provides a formal language for communication for the people involved in the decision-making process. During this, the basis for a decision becomes clear, not just the decision itself. The views may differ on whether to adopt an alternative because individuals possess different relevant information or because they may value the consequences differentlly. Decision analysis Cycle: The professional practice of decision analysis is decision engineering. Creating a focused analysis requires the continual elimination of every factor that will not contribute to making the decision. This winnowing has been a feature of decision analysis since the beginning (Howard, 1968, 1970). Since DAADT, the process has been described as a decision analysis cycle, depicted in Figure 3.4 (Howard, 1984a). The application of decision analysis can be modeled in form of an iterative procedure called the Decision Analysis Cycle. Decision Analysis Cycle: The procedure is divided into three phases: Deterministic phase: the variables affecting the decision are defined and relations between the variables established, the values are assigned, and the importance of the variables is measured upto a acceptable level of certainity. Probabilistic phase: the associated probability assignments on values are derived. We also take into account the assessment of risk preference, which identifies the best possible solution in the face of uncertainty. Informational phase: the results of the first two phases are reviewed to determine the economic value of eliminating uncertainty in each of the important variables in the problem.It is the most important phase among the three because it evaluates in monetary terms to have the perfect information. Decision Support System: There is no universally accepted definition for the DSS system as of now. It is the major reason we have to rely on the Characteristics and Objectives of the DSS to understand the system. Below are a few famous definition for the DSS we would refer to formulate a definition for the system. (Decision Support Systems: An Organizational Perspective, Keen Scott-Morton, 1978) Keen and Scott define DSS as Decision support systems couple the intellectual resources of individuals with the capabilities of the computer to improve the quality of decisions. It is a computer-based support system for management decision makers who deal with semi structured problems. If we correlate the definition from Keen and Morton and Simons definition stating The human being striving for rationality and restricted within the limits of his knowledge has developed some working procedures that partially overcome these difficulties. These procedures consist in assuming that he can isolate from the rest of the world a closed system containing a limited number of variables and a limited range of consequences. We understand that the base of the DSS system is to support the manager. But one of the drawbacks of the definition from Keen and Morton is that they state that the system deals with only semi structured problems but the present DSS system also handles Unstructured and Structured issues. Peter Keen in 1980 defined DSS as Personal System to assist Manager must be built from the Managers perspective and must be based on a very detailed understanding of how the manager makes decision and how the manager organization functions. (Donald R. Moscato, 2004, p.1) In the above definition Peter Keen tries to define DSS in terms of the implementation and customization of DSS and states that it should be done based on Managers perspective, styles of decision making and the organizations function. Drawback with this definition is that it defines DSS as a personnel system and with the introduction of Group DSS and Communication DSS the definition becomes obsolete. Bonczek, Holsapple and Whinston (Foundations of Decision Support Systems, Bonczek, Holsapple and Whinston, 1981, p.19) argued the system must possess an interactive query facility, with a query language that is easy to learn and use. The above definition tries to explain that DSS systems should be interactive and should have a language of its own so that constrains of the decision and the goals can be addressed to the system and is easy to understand and use. (We have stated in the section objectives of DSS). (Daniel J Power, 2001, p.1)Sprague and Carlson (1982) define Decision Support Systems broadly as interactive computer based systems that help decision-makers use data and models to solve ill-structured, unstructured or semi-structured problems. Sparague and Carlson explained the DSS system as an interactive system and which can help managers solve ill-structured, unstructured and semi-structured problem. If you observe the definition is a co-relation of definition provided by Peter Keen, Keen Scott-Morton 1978 and Bonczek, Holsapple and Whinston-1981 by removing there drawbacks. A few more definition that we thought explains DSS are as follows: Marakas in 2002 (Marakas, 2002, p.4) stated the following is a formal definition of DSS: A decision support system is a system under the control of one or more decision makers that assists in the activity of decision making by providing an organized set of tools intended to impose structure on portions of the decision-making situation and to improve the ultimate effectiveness of the decision outcome. Importance of Marakas definition is that it takes into consideration the tools that a manager can use to work with DSS system (can term it as third party tools in some cases) other that the query language or the normal interactive screen of the DSS. From the above example it is pretty clear that to define a DSS not only we will have to study the characteristics and the tools, types of DSS but also the framework of the DSS to select a definition or to define one. (Ralph H. Sprague, Hugh J. Watson, Decision Support System Putting Theory into practice, 3rd edition, 1993, p.4) Characteristics of DSS: They tend to be aimed at the less well structured, underspecified problems that upper level managers typically face. They attempt to combine the use of models or analytic techniques with traditional data access and retrieval function They specifically focus on features which make them easy to use by non-computer people in an interactive mode They emphasize flexibility and adaptability to accommodate changes in the environment and the decision making approach of the user. Framework of DSS: From (Daniel J Powers, 2001, p.1) we come to know that the framework for the Decision support system should be based on the following factors: (by this Daniel J Power meant System should be discussed and explained in terms of four descriptors to maintain better communication:) Dominant Technological Component The Targeted Users Purpose Deployment Technology (Daniel J Powers, 2001, p.1) And the Five generic categories of DSS are: Communication Driven Data Driven Document Driven Knowledge Driven Model Driven decision support system. (Daniel J Powers, 2001, p.1) DSS Deployment technology can be: Mainframe Computers A client server LAN Web Based Architecture Marakas (2002) meant that it is important to understand the type of DSS to determine the best design and approach of a new DSS. In 1976 Steven Alter, a doctoral student created a taxonomy of seven DSS types on Gorry and Scott-Morton framework based on a study of 56 DSSs. In 1980, Steven Alter (Daniel J Power, 2001, p.2) proposed his taxonomy of Decision Support Systems. Alters seven category typology is still relevant for discussing some types of DSS, but not for all DSS. Alters idea was that a Decision Support System could be categorized in terms of the generic operations it performs, independent of type of problem, functional area or decision perspective. His seven types included: File Drawer Systems Data Analysis Systems Analysis Information Systems Accounting and Financial models Representational Models Optimization Models Suggestion Models. Alters first three types of DSS have been called data oriented or data driven; the second three types have been called model oriented or model driven; and Alters suggestion DSS type has been called intelligent or knowledge driven DSS. Importance of Alters Study was: Supports concept of Developing Systems that address particular decisions. Makes clear that DSS need not be restricted to a particular Application Type. Based on Alters study Daniel J Power formulated an expanded framework. The purpose of expanded DSS framework is to help people understand and apply the framework to integrate, evaluate, implement and select appropriate means for supporting and informing decision-makers. Expanded Framework suggested by Daniel J Power (Daniel J Power, Expanded DSS framework, June 2001, p.5) Dominant DSS Component Target Users: Internal / External Purpose: General /Specific Deployment Technology Communications Communications- Driven DSS Internal teams, now expanding to external partners Conduct a meeting or Help users collaborate Web or Client/ Server Database Data-Driven DSS Managers, staff, now Suppliers Query a Data Warehouse Main Frame, Client/ Server, Web Document base Document-Driven DSS Internal users, but the user group is expanding Search Web pages or Find documents Web or Client/ Server Knowledge base Knowledge- Driven DSS Internal users, now Customers Management Advice or Choose products Client/Server, Web, Stand-alone PC Models Model-Driven DSS Managers and staff, now customers Crew Scheduling or Decision Analysis Stand-alone PC or Client/Server or Web (Ralph H. Sprague, Hugh J. Watson, Decision Support System Putting Theory into practice, 3rd edition, 1993, p.4) Three Technology Levels: Specific DSS System which actually accomplishes the work might be called the specific DSS. DSS Generator This is a set of related hardware and software which provides a set of capabilities to quickly and easily build a specific DSS. DSS Tool These are hardware or software elements which facilitates the development of a specific DSS or DSS Generator. Based on the details above we would like to define DSS as DSS can be defined as use of computer application that can help managers, staff members, or people who interact within the organization to make decisions and identify problems by using available data and communication technology. It is also very important to understand the reason for the failure of DSS. And what are the factors that could cause the failure of system and which factors are to be termed as the success factors of DSS. Reason for Failure of DSS System: Despite the benefits that DSS offers the implementation of such system has been limited. Some of the reasons can be the following: Proper evaluation of the DSS preceding and during DSS development. DSS output does not fit the producers decision-making style. Complexity involved while operating the DSS. Post Implementation support. Benefits from these systems are not always realized Other than the above reason few disadvantages of the DSS system are: Over dependency for Decision making Assuming it to be correct. Unanticipated effects Deflect personal responsibilities Information overload. Considering the above reason, to increase the rate of success of DSS implementation and customization, the following factors should be considered and managed. Critical Success Factors of DSS: Hartono (Hartono et al, 2006, p.257) uses the following words to describe their interpretation of Critical Success Factors: Success antecedents are those key factors that organizations can manage so that the management information system is favorably received and the implementation is deemed as successful (Johannes Johansson; Bjorn Gustafson, Critical Success Factors affecting Decision Support System Success, from an end-user perspective,2009, p.1)Johannes Johansson and Bjorn Gustafson identified three factors that significantly affect end-users perceived net benefits, namely Data Quality, Problem Match and Support Quality. (S. Newman1, T. Lynch, and A. A. Plummer; Success and failure of decision support systems: Learning as we go, p.1)The case study HotCross, a DSS under development to evaluate crossbreeding systems in northern Australia, provided evidence of a shift in the development process because greater emphasis was put on the learning process of breeding program design by end-users rather than emphasis on learning how to use the DSS itself. Greater end user involvement through participatory learning approaches (action learning, action research, and soft systems methodologies), iterative prototyping (evolving development processes), as well as keeping DSS development manageable and small in scope, will provide avenues for impr

SARS Essay -- SARS Health Essays

SARS It has been a tough week for my family and I. It is no longer safe for us to go outside. Last month, I noticed that the Taipei General Hospital located two blocks from my house has been taped off. At first, I didn't understand why all the sick children and elders were not seeking medical treatment there. As days went by, brother and I started taking a different route to school and I no longer saw any activity of patients and doctors going in and out of the hospital. At school, our teacher discussed the new lessons for the next few weeks to us, and told us to work on our lesson book each day. She told us that we were excused from school and that we would not be attending classes until it was safe to do so. The daily news on television is now filled with stories about the quarantine of major hospitals in Taipei city and other hospitals in northern Taiwan. The outbreak of an airborne disease called SARS has infected and killed several Taiwan citizens. SARS is short for severe acute respiratory syndrome. Big Aunt (Da Yi) says SARS originally came from China. Th...

Break Before University Essay

It goes without saying that people like having the things they don’t have. Students always want to have a break after a long time they were very busy with studying, especially before they come to universities – a new environment with lots of challenging. It’ll be not good for a student to have a year break before going to university because it’s really a waste of time, and they might forget their knowledge. Today, both of adults and children always try to learn hard. Knowledge is unlimited; we never have everything in our mind. We learn bit by bit every day. If one stops working for one day, one eventually loses his knowledge. For one year, people can learn a lot of knowledge and experience, and you’ll be worse than others. Secondly, if you have a break for one year, it will take you more than one year to come back your work. In some case, the inertia is so great that one can’t go back to school.  Last but not least, one might forget your lessons easily when one doesn’t practice. When one comes to a university, one’ll continue learning your program in high school in a different way. One’ll have to learn by himself more than following teachers. It takes a lot of times to learn this new habit. Taking a long break seems like a cool idea, but I will not jeopardize my college education. A student will have to coup with many problems after such a break. One should consult his teachers and his parents before making that decision.

Multinational Corporations (MNC’s) Essay

Introduction What is a Multinational Corporation (MNC’s)? Multinational companies are firms with their home base in one country and operations in many other nations. Most of these very immense firms establish in third word countries or developing countries where they could manufacture the same identical product for very low costs compared to establishing the same firm in the western countries producing that product. Although transnational corporations (TNC’s) are commonly thought to be synonymous with MNC’s they are infact different in several regards. The primary defining factor is that they keep their financial headquarters offshore to protect them from taxes. Ideally MNC’s are one which are global operating across borders with no single national emphasis. The first multinational, appearing in 1602, was the Dutch East India Company. A key concern with regards to MNC’s is their mobile nature. Logically they establish subsidiaries in countries where conditions are most favorable to their business operations. Very large multinationals have budgets that exceed those of many countries. Countries often offer incentive to MNC, such as tax breaks or lax environmental standards, in order to attract MNC into their country. They can be seen as a power in global politics. MNC’s are important vehicle for the movement of direct foreign investment. With Direct foreign investment, a firm in the country creates or expands a subsidiary in another through the use of international capital flows. Companies such as Reebok, Nike, Mcdonalds, DeBeers, Enron, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Toyota, Colgate, Cadbury are some of the multinational companies. Text. Positive Aspects of Multinational Corporation in an Economy -Creating Competitive Environment – Competition is not destructive; it has compelled multinational corporations to provide the world with an immense diversity of high-quality and low-priced products. Competition, given free trade, delivers mutually beneficial gains from exchange and sparks the collaborative effort of all nations to produce commodities efficiently. As a consequence, competition improves world welfare while dampening the spirit of nationalism and, thus, promoting world peace. -Boasting the Economy – There is evidence, which was supplied by World Bank and United Nations that multinational corporations are a key factor in the large improvement in welfare that has occurred in developing countries over the last forty years. These firms rent buildings and land, or sometimes buy them thus generating higher incomes for the owners. In 1998, 75% of foreign direct investment went to developed countries. Besides, labor costs alone do not determine where multinational corporations base their affiliates; other variables-such as political stability, infrastructure, education levels, future market potential, taxes, and governmental regulations-are more decisive and a boaster in the economy. -Help to reduce poverty – They can bring money into a country through employment and investment. Three quarters of international investment in developing countries is from MNCs and private sources. They create jobs, raise labour standards as in their absence, the people would have had fewer or much lower paying jobs. For instance in Bangladesh, Mexico, Shanghai, Indonesia, Vietnam, and elsewhere figures show that multinationals actually pay what economists call a â€Å"wage premium,† that is, an average wage that exceeds the going rate in the area where they are located. Affiliates of some U.S. multinationals pay a premium over local wages that ranges from 40 to 100 percent. -Welfare Activities Carried Out – MNC also organizes charitable funds for the welfare of the people of the countries where they are located. For example after the tsunami Schlumberger a well know MNC agreed to support four  children’s activity centers that now are being administered by the two charitable trusts. Each will accommodate 50 to 100 children who will receive nutrition, counseling, and education. -Spillover – This is a very good effect on developing economies; this refers to the fact that domestic firms learn productivity-enhancing techniques from foreign corporations with better technology and management practices. Production workers often learn better techniques while employed by foreign firms. Managers may learn about better practices by observing, or by having previously worked at multinationals themselves. And increased competition pushes all companies in an area where multinationals are operating to become more productive. -Reliability & Awareness – When a product is associated with an MNC it is considered to be a good quality product and genuine as these firms follow the same standards and procedures to manufacture it wherever they are, which goes with their goodwill and reputation all over the world. For instance a burger at Mcdonalds will taste the same in Paris or India. This reliability helps the consumers to distinguish between the MNC product and local product thus creating awareness. -No contribution to external Debts for Developing Countries – If the investment does not do well, the multinational corporations may lose their investment and the developing country does not receive the aforementioned benefits, but the developing country owes no restitution. As a result, multinational corporation investments do not contribute to the external debt problems of developing countries. Negative Aspects of Multinational Corporation in an Economy. Incidents such as the improper use in the Third World of baby milk formula manufactured by Nestle, the gas leak from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, and the alleged involvement of foreign firms in the overthrow of President Allende of Chile have been used to perpetuate the ugly image of MNCs. The fact that some MNCs command assets worth more than the national  income of their host countries also reinforces their fearful image. And indeed, there is evidence that some MNCs have paid bribes to government officials in order to get around obstacles erected against profitable operations of their enterprises. Here are some negative impacts on the economy: -Exploitation of Labor – This can be proved by examples like companies like Reebok, Nike have exploited the labor in Indonesia. Workers live in deteriorating, leaky, mosquito – infested apartments and only earn a mere 39$ a month for producing thousands of products worth well over 100$ each. They encourage child labor as in poor countries where population is rising poverty is everywhere and children cannot afford to study are employed by these big firms thus jeopardizing their health and future. For instance in India one of the gem cutting industries DeBeers employed six-year-old children at work on dangerous polishing wheels, people living and sleeping at their workplaces, and trash, human feces and industry waste clogging the open sewers that run between the warren of gemstone workshops. In one factory almost half the workers were under-age. As diamonds are ground, fine dust enters and infects the lungs. Diamond cutting is among the top 10 hazardous and the employment of children under 15 is banned. However, the number of children employed in recent years has been rapidly expanding. -Polluting the Environment – Some MNC’s are also responsible for polluting the environment like throwing industrial waste in rivers, polluting the air etc. We had a very serious case in India the Bhopal Gas Tragedy where in over 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate, hydrogen cyanide and other gases leaked from a hazardously designed pesticide factory in Bhopal owned by US based multinational Union Carbide Corporation. Over 500,000 men, women and children were exposed to the poison clouds and at least six thousand people died within the first week of the disaster. The current death toll is well over 16,000. Hundreds of thousands of survivors continue to suffer from multi-systemic injuries. -Harming Domestic Investment – By pumping in foreign investments it  discourages domestic investments it is like the big fish eats the small fish in the ocean. Local products suffers and this intern discourages domestic investments -Monopolistic Power – Due to a large share in the economy they can exploit the countries on the basis of this like causing problems in aspects of human rights, economic fragility, corruption etc. -Human Rights Violations – Due to having substantial amount of power it allows them to easily find cheap labor in large quantities as a result the workers are exposed to hazardous conditions, over exertion and overall are subject to abuse of capital -owners. -Corruption – MNC can easily get their work done like acquiring a licence for manufacturing products which may cause damages to the environment or people by Bribing the officials and also exploit the government due to their stake in the economy thus encouraging corruption. Like the Enron project raised controversy for a number of reasons: there was no competitive bidding for the project. The project costs and power tariffs were higher than other power projects and the cost of electricity from Enron would be higher than before. The Maharashtra Electricity Board promised to buy all the high priced power produced by Enron even if cheaper power was available. No environmental impact assessment has been done. Natural gas is 90% methane, which is 20 times more damaging to the global climate than CO2. Each well produces thousands of tons of toxic drilling mud that contains arsenic, lead, and radium that severely affects the health of people. Conclusion. Determining the positions (in favor or against) of nation-states towards MNCs is a bit complicated and not always logical. Generally developed countries usually favor MNCs as it allows firms to make more profit with cheaper labor. With developing countries the stance is not very clear usually they will favor this in order to boost the economy and infrastructure. Thus delegates  must consider many complex economic factors that would help explain whether it is in their favor to support or oppose multinational corporations based on whether that particular developing nation has comparative advantage or not.

Creating Data Driven Content With Susan Moeller From BuzzSumo

Creating Data Driven Content With Susan Moeller From BuzzSumo Data-driven marketing is a magnet for traffic, backlinks, and word of mouth. To produce it, you need to do some research and present it in an appealing way. In return, you’ll be able to boost the traffic to your site. Today we are talking to Susan Moeller, the business development manager at BuzzSumo. She’s going to tell us about how she finds, analyzes, and translates data for her readers. A bit about BuzzSumo and what Susan does there, as well as her marketing background and what brought her to BuzzSumo. How Susan defines data-driven content and how she uses it in her position at BuzzSumo. Why it’s important for your content’s authority to research and have sources for things you know to be true. Why using data in your content can boost backlinks and shares. How Susan determines which questions to ask to find the data that her readers are looking for. Susan’s processes for gathering, analyzing, and translating the data that she finds. Susan’s best tips for starting to create data-driven content for someone who hasn’t done it before. Links: BuzzSumo BuzzSumo Expert Webinar Series Anders Pink BloomBerryIf you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Susan: â€Å"I like to actually do the research and see what comes out of that even if the result does tell you that yes, puppies and babies are popular on Facebook.† â€Å"There’s a lot of data available to people and there are a lot of posts that are not about data. But there isn’t nearly as much content out there that is developed based on research.† â€Å"I look for patterns. I look and determine if there are any patterns that emerge.†

Devils Arithmetic essays

Devil's Arithmetic essays The book, Devils Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen was about the Holocaust. The type of book is historical fiction. The main character is Hannah. Her name is Chaya when she travels back in time, but her original name was Hannah. She is about 13 years old and is average height and weight fir her age. During a normal Seder, Hannah goes to open the door and is all of a sudden taken back into a strange village. The two people call her by the name of Chaya. Gitl claims to be her aunt and that Chaya was brought to her because her entire family was killed back in her homeland, Dublin. As they go to a wedding for her uncle, Nazis come and take everyone away. They say that they are just relocating them to a safer place, but Hannah knows who they are and where they are taking her. However, no one listens to her and they said that the trauma of losing her family has made her tell strange stories. Everyone is crammed into the back of trucks and taken to trains. On the train, again everyone is crammed into a little storage car. They stay in there for days. The odor that is developed in there was awful. Once the train ride was over, they were at a Nazi death camp. Hannah met a girl named Rivka that told her basic rules on how to survive in the death camp. They included to contin ue working and never speak out your opinions. Hannah did not agree too much with the rules, but she went along with them. When the commissioner came in to inspect his camp, all children under the age of 13 had to hide in the midden. Everyone was fed very little food and the time there was horrible. Hannahs aunt and uncle thought of a plan to escape. They tried it one night, no one was caught, and the aunt and uncle got away. One day Hannah remembered how she had been sent back in time, and was really from later in the century. She began to tell the story to Rivka, but a guard caught them not working. He said that one of them could ...

Adams Aircraft Analysis Report

Adam aircraft is a company that mainly deals in designing, building and certifying new products. The main factor that brought this company into being was that in the aviation industry for many years it lacked a company that wanted to get involved in the business of making new aircrafts from scratch. The above was experienced due to two factors lack of financing and lack of government support. These two factors can be elaborated by the following sentiments:   it’s not until 1994 when the government stepped in to protect aircraft manufacturers from lawsuits that emanated from dealing with aircrafts that were older than18 years. Before this the industry had died because of the many suits that had been filed. Thus not many people wanted to join an industry that would cost them more money in running other than the investment itself. To build a single aircraft is valued at the price of 250 million dollars this value is minus the certification process which takes a lot of money. The two factors are the main contributors of lack of innovation when it comes to the aviation industry. Adam Aircraft Company is an example of a company that has defied all odds in the aviation industry by escaping such hurdles as technology, capital, competition from staunch players like the Cessna and Boeing builders, and skeptics’ from players of the aviation sector, to come to a point of success by creating A500 and A700. The company is faced with major responsibilities which include the need of more finances to improve their innovation models in this industry as they have majored in light weight jets. In the past they have been using a lean budget to oversee their innovations. The company has opted to this kind of plane to increase its utility and increase efficiency. Another major responsibility faced by the company is the need of working through a lean budget, to deliver planes in good time that are not behind schedule or which will be carried out in a slow pace attracting the attention of competitors who will end up using their ideas to make better planes. Adam aircraft company has done well from its conception of humble begins they have grown to beat some of their competitors just by being innovative and timely in their actions. By the fact that they take anything that comes their way with outmost confidence they work with ultimate swagger of understanding their strategies well and to the core. They have taken the advantages of technology and used it to their advantage, this they have done by making it possible the designing of plane structures using the computer which tends to give them preciseness and accurate findings. The fore-mentioned idea helps the company to beat deadlines. Its engineers are always ready to upgrade new ideas and learn more as they work hence their ingenuity is affected to the maximum. When faced with challenges they tend to face it with an attitude of possibilities other than brushing it away to oblivion. Take for the case of john being asked if they can be able to solve the problem of putting an overhead window on an A500 plane to increase visibility of the tanker high and right, the engineers at Adams aircraft could do it in a week’s time. The engineers at Adams aircraft are committed people who are adaptable and flexible flourished and with their years of experience. Key recommendations include the need of motivation which should be revived daily in the company as the spirit of innovation is kept alive. Recruiting new engineers as their market flourishes should be inculcated as the new employees come in, in-training and key company strategies should be instilled in them. Introduction This analysis report on Adam Aircraft Company will mainly dwell on two issues how to waiver competition from established companies in this sector and the challenges that they face as they try to sell their product and new innovation ideas to a market that seems to be resilient to change. The market seems to be inflexible and question new comers who come to the arena. Will the company be able to sell its new innovative ideas because they need the money when it comes to expansion and carrying out research as they invent new products in the aviation industry? The art of selling themselves in market that has lain dormant for more than 3 decades is a major hurdle this report is going to evaluate the market, try to comprehend what the market needs in terms of approach, what kind of problems the industry faces when it comes to a stringent, inflexible, neglected market. (Sheehan 2003) How will they counter the problem of competition in relation to timeliness? They have to invent ways on which they can increase their speed when it comes to the time given to research new findings and the time of implementation of research findings. This is the main factor that will distract their competitor’s stables. How to go about it has to be brought to the light by the basis of finding the strengths and weakness characterized in the sector. Marketing Adam Aircraft Company has a market plan already set in place this is by the fact that it sells its product to the government and private owners. It has specialized in selling of the A700 Models twin engine aircraft and A500 Models thrust twin engine aircraft meaning it has a goal in place.   But how can they increase their market space in order to increase transactions which will alleviate the problems of job cuts brought about by the economic melt down that is being experienced world wide? One market area they should expound in, is the private owners through the charter system. They can make them their biggest customers by approaching and selling their ideas to them. With their A700 Model which can carry an approximate number of three people per trip it can go down well because the charted planes operate like taxis or cabs. Though people would like to travel in charted planes the ability to do so sometimes is unachievable. Hence Adams Aircraft Company should be able to provide affordable rates when it comes to their chattered services. Availability and accessibility of their planes should also be improved. The second market group is the private jet charters, this group can be considered a unique group which brings about specializing the services. People who make up this group consist of entertainers, athletes and celebrities these kinds of people are always on the move and are on tight schedules. Thus they need to have packages that are efficient and reliable. These private planes should be constructed in such way that will enhance privacy, comfort ability and convenience. By making them spacious, by having in built refreshing areas and other essentials that will be needed by this group of people. (Sheehan 2003) The advantage of investing in chartered airplanes is the fact that security details are given full cover. In that the charter company takes full responsibility when disaster strikes like terror attacks. Another advantage posed by private jets is that the customers are exposed to the equipments of the plane thus knowing and gaining full knowledge of the plane thus the eventual buying of the plane. A private charted plane also encourages employees and workers to communicate with each other without much ado of others hearing their work matters. In chartered planes the customers get the advantage of using a wide variety of services offered with different planes for various kinds of operation needed by the customer. This is because small planes have variable speeds and different kinds of equipments installed hence it gives the user an opportunity to experiment with all planes and one day perhaps will buy the best of them all. To reach the clients the company needs to employ various marketing skills such as employing sales personnel, employing direct customer contact and reaching out to other companies that offer the same kind of services to rent the companies planes. To penetrate the market even further Adam Company can develop a soft ware that will enable the market to respond to problems experienced while using its services. This will make the definition of the customers problem to be highlighted and alternative solutions be delivered. The company also should diversify its network to other countries especially developing countries who have the older models kind of planes that tend to have major snarl ups especially when it comes to visibility problems. Due to the high research inn put being put by the company it should find ways of approaching governments of other countries on the advantages of using their highly motivated air planes that have spare parts availability. Adams Aircraft Company can also venture into creating spare parts of old models. Thus this will increases their market share, because of the vacuum created due to the dormant years. It can take the initiatives of inventing more susceptible spare parts that will be used on old models. This initiative will go along away in increasing their capital standings, because it will cover even models that are not of their company. Thus beating their competitors at their own game, taking for instance they will increase their innovativeness when it comes to these said spare parts. This venture will mean more money being pumped in for research purposes but the out right benefits to be found afterwards are of outmost gain. They can take the above measure into two ways, one creating spare parts that are compatible with what they are specializing in that is for A700 planes and A500 planes, here they only need to upgrade the spare parts of other models to be compatible with theirs, this will enhance saving on capital subjected to the project. The second way is creating new spare parts from scratch for the old models. This will mean a lot of research input and capital investment. In conclusion it’s a venture that will increase its market share and pump in more money to the company. Competition Competition is another area of concern. Adam aircraft company should device ways on how to combat competition from their detractors. Adam Company is a new company in this arena compared to pipers, Cessna and Boeing which have rooted their operations world wide.   By taking advantage of their research and innovativeness they can increase their profit margin. But their lean budget tends to restrict them to progressive meaningful steps. This is to imply that timely acts can differentiate between the space of actual innovation and implementation. (Sheehan 2003) Adam aircraft company should pump more money to its research programs this will enhance its innovative programmes. This should be followed by specializing in the manufacturer of light weight jets only. This will mean they will go into research to improve what they already have meaning, not much money will be needed because it’s a continuation of the first process. They will be aiming to improve in efficiency, increase in capacity, and increase speed. By concentrating on a selected set of items more energy is directed to one certain point thus the end product will be a good product that doesn’t waiver because of economic recessions. The time between innovation and making a complete revolution of a product should be decreased with appropriate money set aside for certification process which is quite expensive. Business in mini jets and jets is anticipated by the majority of the population which likes to save time that is usually wasted at the airports and a population that likes to enjoy privacy and convenience thus this factor should motivate Adam Aircraft Company to continue producing its series of light weight jets. (Sheehan 2003) Two specific trends that favor the innovation of jets are as flows: proliferation of fractional ownership programs and the introduction of relatively low cost mini jets. As explained in other paragraphs increased flexibility in trip scheduling has improved by the accessibility of mini jets. Fractional ownership can be defined as the process where by a company buys a fraction of a fleet owned by lets say Adam Aircraft Company. This entitles that particular company to use that fleet at their own convenient time while paying for the services rendered. This includes the use of every kind of aircraft that Adam Company owns in its fleet this is arranged on the basis of the company paying a small fraction of the typical purchase price. This arrangement provides the user with a fixed number of hours that can be used per year. Another more innovative way of practicing the above idea is that of having jet cards program that entails individuals and companies to accesses flight time in 25 hour increments, hence increasing accessibility and lowering the cost than buying into a fractional ownership program. The above area hasn’t been exploited to its limits thus Adam aircraft Company can specialize in it. (Sheehan 2003) Manufacturers of these small jets should be well equipped to serve its clients who are more interested to efficiency and service delivery. The demand of these small airplanes has risen as years go by, Adam Aircraft Company should innovate smaller piston engines that can impact high altitude air space and air space around major metropolitan areas. It is expected by 2015 the growth and idea of plane taxi would have spiraled to up to 20% this should be factor on which Adam aircraft company should rely on to beat its competitors. The main cause of the two problems that is market penetration and competition can be attributed to one, a market that has lain dormant for over thirty years without the introduction of new products. The market was used to having models made in the sixties and seventies whose wiring systems and engines had been elapsed by time and technology, though they had adapted fine to its defects. The entry to this sector of manufacturing small jets and planes needs a lot of money for starters and incase of lack of time management a good innovation can be elapsed by occurring events leading to innovation of a product being back scheduled. A company needs a team of experienced engineers who are able to innovate better, efficient and faster planes compared to the planes made in the seventies. Security and safety measures should also be taken for consideration. (Sheehan 2003) The second problem of competition arises by the fact that in this field there are large companies that have been in the playing field for ages. For example large companies such as Boeing and Cessna have a large market and capital base thus for a company like Adam aircraft company to weaver that competition it needs to strategies its services and production levels. Adam Aircraft Company needs to increase their capital base in order to increase their competitive rates, by this they can materialize on specialization, increase innovation, increase and expand their delivery boundaries by involving charter companies. Conclusion For a successful company to affect its course it has to have a strategy that is well organized. In our case study the Adam Aircraft Company has that; it has specialized in an area that is perceived by many in the aviation sector as minor. But times are changing and the mode of having taxis and cabs on road will invade the air space and soon this industry of light weight jets will pronounce its vastness. As other big players continue to ignore the fertile grounds that small jets offer if innovation is instilled, their sector of heavy planes will be adversely affected by the competition it will experience in coming years. As more people venture for efficiency, more personalized services, and privacy that only the small jets and planes can offer. It is by the above fact that Adam aircraft company should take the pioneering role of establishing a company that will dully specialize in creating jets that have increased efficiency. By now their might be a negligent growth when it comes to usage of light weight jet but as civilization takes its course and sophistication improves the market will flourish for this kind of business.

The Summary & Strong Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Summary & Strong Response - Essay Example It is also a fact that parents force their children to win in order to realize their ambitions to win. While it is important to have competitive skills in adult life, parents decrease the quality of childhood experiences. Statsky states that sport games are very selective and they do not let all children to participate. The fear of failure is supported by this selectiveness as all children become afraid of being worse than others. Finally, the author suggests that it is better to focus on skills to cooperate with other children until children are psychologically ready to compete. The article by Statsky touches upon very important issues, which exemplify how parents make their children grow up too quickly. Pieces of evidence she provides draw a comprehensive picture where childhood seems to different from what it should be. When a 7-year old boy makes himself vomit, children hit each other or fear to lose the game, it means that something is going wrong with sport activities they join. Basically, children are forced to compete instead of enjoying the process of playing and communicating with each other. Young children learn to meet the demands established by adults to master their performance in sports. Children have to face the ugly reality where the winner takes it all and it often makes them suffer. They need to show that they are the best to make their parents feel proud of them or demand rewards for their achievements. At the same time, they have to stand the fear and the stress after the communication with their coaches, which is not always friendly. Even though Statsky mentions that Little League coaches have to attend psychology workshops to regulate their ambitions and be more sensitive to children, the reality shows that they do not rush to follow those guidelines. In most Hollywood movies about sport competitions, coaches are depicted as irritated, shouting and strict people.

Fragmentation from Christendom to the Protestant Reformation Was Not Research Paper

Fragmentation from Christendom to the Protestant Reformation Was Not Beneficial to the Evolution of European Culture - Research Paper Example Radically, the world shape had been altered; creating a fresh identity of European communities of what was once Catholic Christendom. Knowledge about their culture had been growing rapidly from thirteenth century (Hillerbrand 89). Across the Atlantic, a new world had been discovered and accurate knowledge of the oceans and the lands beyond Islam became widespread. This coincided with the fragmentation of the old idea of Christendom, replaced by a new geographical idea, Europe that included all people from different European cultures and who shared a common history. This included the protestant sects, Roman Catholicism, and those in the Orthodox. Whether or not protestant reformation comprised improvements in the lives of European communities is debatable, since there were negative and positive impacts in personal, cultural, social, theological, and political pragmatisms. The impacts of Fragmentation from Christendom to the protestant reformation on Culture and political thought Cultu rally, arts with an exception of architecture and music realized a loss of ecclesiastical support from protestant reforms, and more so, Luther reforms. The movement of reformers used vernacular as opposed to Latin and thus popular music was not as weakened as the Liturgical language used by the church. Consequently, this helped raise the music status since composers were free to develop pieces which were more appealing to people of a specific culture and language, thus encouraging diversity (MacCulloch, 75). Architecture remained exuberant and grand as the numerous denominations competed to put up worship houses. However, other arts lost denominational recognition by protestant restructurings. The patronage of visual arts and religious images were not supported by the protestant churches. At the beginning, struggles among reformers about iconoclasm resulted in conflicts over the images place in the sanctuary. For instance, the differences between Luther and Calvin’s hostility to visual images hampered the support given by churches for art. Culture was affected in such a way that, financing art needed a huge amount of resources, both in creation of the art and in supporting the artists. The Catholic Church drew funds and other resources from many churches diffused over continental Europe, while the Protestants had limited resource base. The situation was made more severe since the princes and the break-away churches were struggling to prevent their recap back to Christendom and the struggle for survival prioritized. This cultural insolvency led to a loss of visual arts for Protestants who would have otherwise gained a deep sense of pleasure and satisfaction from viewing art to reinforce their religious convictions. However, the vernacular Bible version such as the King James Version and Luther’s played a significant role in the development of modern English and German literature (Mitchell & Buss 67). Protestant revolution was not beneficial to the lives of European communities politically since autonomist groups gathered support via identifying with certain denominations. This led to breakup of Western Christianity despite the fact that, for a Christian to put more loyalty towards a political group or nation instead of their faith contradicts with the idea of brotherhood and Christian unity found in the Bible. The fragmentation of Christianity basing on nationalistic lines changed the

Joint Functions Course of Action and Sketch Coursework

Joint Functions Course of Action and Sketch - Coursework Example The operation occurs in NATO nations and allied forces (Elsner, Hanappi & Hanappi 12). Strategic significance It is a necessity for law and order. During wartime, it is indispensable for offences such as treason, betrayal and defection to be punished by death. It is for the greater good of both the country and the army in terms of security. In executing, say, a traitor, it will help in terminating further leakage of strategic and crucial military secrets that in failing to stop them, will jeopardize the security status of the country. Therefore, the death sentence is the only foul- proof means to put an end to these heinous crimes. There comes a time when logic is beaten by necessity, and necessity being the best solution to the incumbent problem. Therefore, the United States of America’s constitution has recognized these times and put the death sentence in place to cater for it. Thus, the death penalty is in place due to this necessity (Elsner, Hanappi & Hanappi 14). Goals an d objectives The policy of the United States aims in promoting a regional stability and to ensure that the available resources are safe for the citizens and allies. The main objective is to coordinate and maintain an effective mechanism to deter the enemies through a counter defense mechanism. The policy intends to deny the enemy access to the regional communication and resources. The aim is to design a system that improves regional stability, deter ear, and demonstrate the commitment levels to the region. Once the government of the United States has established a combat power to generate an adequate defense strategy, an implementation is carried out to counter attack and restore peace in its territory (Elsner, Hanappi & Hanappi 18). Purpose The concept plan gives an idea of deployment and employment of the war forces in an counter force. The civil war was a fight to keep the union of the United States of America. Conflicting opinions arose due to the federal government on the conce pt of the constitution. A rift between the handling of governments run by the federal and executive governments created the civil war. A union meant that the two run under one constitution. The war continued for four year. The division between the north and south conflicted against the election of Abraham Lincoln. The northern state was free while the southern state comprised of slaves. The union formed from eleven southern states lead to a disagreement after Lincoln declared the acts illegal. The sketch of the command structure The responsibilities of the tactics The fight over power paints a different picture if pasted in today’s happening. The reaction is the same only that people do not go into a civil war. The war experienced today involves individuals withholding necessary resources until certain regions accept the given ruling. The civil war began after the battle of Bull Run in 1861. The war showed signs of lasting for years. The states experienced huge battles in the states in America. The central reason behind the war was slavery, but until the Battle of Antietam in 1862 is when the slavery issue subsided. The slaves finally gained their freedom after the war during the thirteenth amendment. Expectations of the law The war started the poor economic circle that we experience today. For the northern part of America, they experienced a boon while for the south it was an economic disaster. The civil war created not time for business

Should The Government Have Control Over The Minimum age requirement to Research Paper

Should The Government Have Control Over The Minimum age requirement to get Married - Research Paper Example (Popper) In most of the Arab countries most of the underage marriage occurs without the permission of the girls. They were unaware about what marriage is all about and also the consequences of underage marriage. They were forced to follow the custom at an early age when they were mostly studying at their schools. Though underage marriage is common in Arab countries, western culture is also not far behind. One of the recent news paper reports from America has shown that a girl of 13 conceived from a boy of 15. Though most of the states in America has prohibited marriage below 18 years some states allow such marriages if the girl happens to be conceived from a boy who is ready to marry her without the consent of the parents. In some countries underage marriage is a custom while in some other countries, poverty forces people to engage in such things. But in countries like America, the above factors are not at all prevalent but still underage marriage occurs because of the cultural problems and attitudes of young children. The question is should the governments put restrictions on underage marriage or staying together. Though in countries like Saudi Arabia, underage marriage is a tradition, in other poor countries like Yemen, which observe tribal traditions; girls are married to older husbands even before puberty because of poverty. (U.S. calls Saudi child marriage a rights violation) Marriage before a girl attains puberty will cause lot of physical and psychological problems to the girl. A girls before puberty may not be matured enough to understand the consequences of marriage and also if she conceives at an early age, she may not be able to withstand with the immense psychological problems occurs at pregnancy period. Even girls over 21 years find it difficult to adopt with the psychological changes happen at the pregnancy period. Apart from psychological problems, underage marriage often results in the destruction of physical health of the girl who

By outlining in some detail a piece of structural contingency Essay

By outlining in some detail a piece of structural contingency research, evaluate the contributions of this general approach to s - Essay Example The report will discuss the theory in detail and how it affects the performance of an organisation. The report will also discuss the change on the organisation due to the various contingency variables. The contingency cycle, which changes an organisation from fit to misfit, and then again brings it back to fit though organisation structuring, is explained with examples. Discussion Till the late 1950s, school of classical management dominated the organisational structure. According to this school of thought, one single organisational strategy was effective for all kinds of organisational structure. It was categorised by high degree of planning and decision making. There was a strict hierarchy in this structure and the job responsibilities were well detailed to the lower level staff in advance, by the senior management. From 1930 onwards, this school of thought was challenged extensively by the new school of thought, known as school of human relations. According to this approach, indiv idual employees possessed social and psychological needs. Bottom-up approach was followed here and the lower level departments were increasingly motivated to participate in the decision making processes of the organisation. Many researchers and theorists such as J. W. Lorsch and P.R. Lawrence, (1978) suggested that firms which operated in less stable environments were found to be operating more effectively. Less formalization of the organisation leads to more reliance on mutual agreement between the various departments of the organisation. On the other hand, in case of companies operating in a certain and more stable environment, effective functioning was recognised only when the firm was more formalized, decision making was centralised and there was less reliance on the mutual agreement between different departments. There are many theories of contingency approached. But the most accepted and popular ones are those which are related to leadership, management or organisational struc ture (Tuai, 2011). According to the overall approach of this, whatever happens in a firm depends upon particular circumstances or factors. In general, when whole or parts of an organisation fits together, they are referred to as organisational structure. More specifically, structures include factors such as complexity, formalization and centralisation (Martinez-Leon and Martinez-Garcia, 2011). The dimensions of complexity can be categorised as, spatial, vertical and horizontal. In case of formalisation, the options for individuals are little. There is a higher vertical differentiation where a manager’s work is defined by other senior manager and the senior manager’s work is defined by other managers. This results in division of labour and decrease in discretion. It is different than spatial differentiation because in spatial differentiation, there are organisation wide procedures that limit the discretion. Examples of higher formalisation are bank call centres, superma rkets. Examples for lower formalisation include lawyers, doctors, academics and that formalisation which are associated with skill. Centralisation refers to the extent of decision making, authority and power. Centralisation is inversely correlated with complexity because increase in complexity reduces the central power by distributing these powers through hierarchies and functions. Centralization is weakly correlated to

Joint Functions Course of Action and Sketch Coursework

Joint Functions Course of Action and Sketch - Coursework Example The operation occurs in NATO nations and allied forces (Elsner, Hanappi & Hanappi 12). Strategic significance It is a necessity for law and order. During wartime, it is indispensable for offences such as treason, betrayal and defection to be punished by death. It is for the greater good of both the country and the army in terms of security. In executing, say, a traitor, it will help in terminating further leakage of strategic and crucial military secrets that in failing to stop them, will jeopardize the security status of the country. Therefore, the death sentence is the only foul- proof means to put an end to these heinous crimes. There comes a time when logic is beaten by necessity, and necessity being the best solution to the incumbent problem. Therefore, the United States of America’s constitution has recognized these times and put the death sentence in place to cater for it. Thus, the death penalty is in place due to this necessity (Elsner, Hanappi & Hanappi 14). Goals an d objectives The policy of the United States aims in promoting a regional stability and to ensure that the available resources are safe for the citizens and allies. The main objective is to coordinate and maintain an effective mechanism to deter the enemies through a counter defense mechanism. The policy intends to deny the enemy access to the regional communication and resources. The aim is to design a system that improves regional stability, deter ear, and demonstrate the commitment levels to the region. Once the government of the United States has established a combat power to generate an adequate defense strategy, an implementation is carried out to counter attack and restore peace in its territory (Elsner, Hanappi & Hanappi 18). Purpose The concept plan gives an idea of deployment and employment of the war forces in an counter force. The civil war was a fight to keep the union of the United States of America. Conflicting opinions arose due to the federal government on the conce pt of the constitution. A rift between the handling of governments run by the federal and executive governments created the civil war. A union meant that the two run under one constitution. The war continued for four year. The division between the north and south conflicted against the election of Abraham Lincoln. The northern state was free while the southern state comprised of slaves. The union formed from eleven southern states lead to a disagreement after Lincoln declared the acts illegal. The sketch of the command structure The responsibilities of the tactics The fight over power paints a different picture if pasted in today’s happening. The reaction is the same only that people do not go into a civil war. The war experienced today involves individuals withholding necessary resources until certain regions accept the given ruling. The civil war began after the battle of Bull Run in 1861. The war showed signs of lasting for years. The states experienced huge battles in the states in America. The central reason behind the war was slavery, but until the Battle of Antietam in 1862 is when the slavery issue subsided. The slaves finally gained their freedom after the war during the thirteenth amendment. Expectations of the law The war started the poor economic circle that we experience today. For the northern part of America, they experienced a boon while for the south it was an economic disaster. The civil war created not time for business

By outlining in some detail a piece of structural contingency Essay

By outlining in some detail a piece of structural contingency research, evaluate the contributions of this general approach to s - Essay Example The report will discuss the theory in detail and how it affects the performance of an organisation. The report will also discuss the change on the organisation due to the various contingency variables. The contingency cycle, which changes an organisation from fit to misfit, and then again brings it back to fit though organisation structuring, is explained with examples. Discussion Till the late 1950s, school of classical management dominated the organisational structure. According to this school of thought, one single organisational strategy was effective for all kinds of organisational structure. It was categorised by high degree of planning and decision making. There was a strict hierarchy in this structure and the job responsibilities were well detailed to the lower level staff in advance, by the senior management. From 1930 onwards, this school of thought was challenged extensively by the new school of thought, known as school of human relations. According to this approach, indiv idual employees possessed social and psychological needs. Bottom-up approach was followed here and the lower level departments were increasingly motivated to participate in the decision making processes of the organisation. Many researchers and theorists such as J. W. Lorsch and P.R. Lawrence, (1978) suggested that firms which operated in less stable environments were found to be operating more effectively. Less formalization of the organisation leads to more reliance on mutual agreement between the various departments of the organisation. On the other hand, in case of companies operating in a certain and more stable environment, effective functioning was recognised only when the firm was more formalized, decision making was centralised and there was less reliance on the mutual agreement between different departments. There are many theories of contingency approached. But the most accepted and popular ones are those which are related to leadership, management or organisational struc ture (Tuai, 2011). According to the overall approach of this, whatever happens in a firm depends upon particular circumstances or factors. In general, when whole or parts of an organisation fits together, they are referred to as organisational structure. More specifically, structures include factors such as complexity, formalization and centralisation (Martinez-Leon and Martinez-Garcia, 2011). The dimensions of complexity can be categorised as, spatial, vertical and horizontal. In case of formalisation, the options for individuals are little. There is a higher vertical differentiation where a manager’s work is defined by other senior manager and the senior manager’s work is defined by other managers. This results in division of labour and decrease in discretion. It is different than spatial differentiation because in spatial differentiation, there are organisation wide procedures that limit the discretion. Examples of higher formalisation are bank call centres, superma rkets. Examples for lower formalisation include lawyers, doctors, academics and that formalisation which are associated with skill. Centralisation refers to the extent of decision making, authority and power. Centralisation is inversely correlated with complexity because increase in complexity reduces the central power by distributing these powers through hierarchies and functions. Centralization is weakly correlated to

Fears & Phobias Opinion Paper Essay Example for Free

Fears Phobias Opinion Paper Essay â€Å"A strong dislike of flying is a fear, whereas a pathological fear (an intense, uncontrollable, unendurable, physical fear) is considered to be a phobia† (Rob Kelly). Not many people know the difference between fears and phobias neither did I until I began researching for my project. Many people have fears such as a fear of mice or a fear of the dentist. For some people there fears are very minor but what happens when a fear takes over a person’s entire life and disrupts their daily activities to the point they can no longer continue on with their day, it than turns into a phobia. â€Å"The number of people who suffer from phobias is estimated at more than 6 million people in the United States† (Melissa Stoppler). In today’s society many people don’t thoroughly understand what a phobia really is and how much of an issue a phobia can really be because of this people who do suffer from phobias and aren’t aware may think that what they’re going through is normal and is just a fear. The problem with people having this disorder is that not treating a phobia can change a person’s life drastically simply because they individual is giving the phobia more time to grow and dominate their life. It can become so drastic to the point they can push away any tasks that they are meant to complete on a daily basis and decide not to do anything that may lead to their phobia actually taking place. An example of this could be a man with a phobia of dogs; yes many people are afraid of dogs but what if the man decided to never leave his house due to the fact that there might be a slight chance of him having an encounter with a dog. Society isn’t aware of the actual impact that this disorder can cause. Fears and Phobias is a mental illness but many people aren’t aware of that. Because of the many stigmas attached to mental illness when people here about Fears and Phobias and someone being treated for this illness they are labeled as someone who is distressed or being delirious. â€Å"Coupled with their own feelings of sadness, these individuals often do not seek help† (cmha.ca). Due to the labels that come with Fears Phobias and the individuals own feelings of embarrassment and guilt they may decide to not get help for their situation even though there is a treatment available. A common stereotype associated with fears and phobias is the meaning of both of the words â€Å"The difference between fears and phobias is really in degree of suffering. Though both words are often used as if their meaning is the same† (Elly Prior). Most people think that fears and phobias both mean being afraid of something which isn’t true just as Elly said it depends on how much the person is suffering from their fear if they are able to function every day or not. Society believes that fears and phobias aren’t a real concern and don’t deserve to be a mental illness. I feel as if the reason society feels that way about this is because of the individuals who suffer from it to the point it dominates their lives decide not to get help or share their story. While researching for this CPT I chose to do case studies so when I started my search there weren’t as many as I thought there would be. To me that was proof about what I’ve learned about people suffering from this disorder.

Tribological audit on Gears

Tribological audit on Gears Tribology has been there since the beginning of recorded history. Tribology is the word basically derived from Greek in which ‘tribos means rubbing. From this we understand that â€Å"Tribology is the scientific study of interacting surfaces and of related subjects and practices†. [1] The 3 factors that are considered to be a major factor in tribology are friction, wear and lubrication. Friction is defined as the opposite force created when 2 surfaces are in contact. Friction can cause damage to the parts in contacts due to the heat generation and this can be studied using tribology. Wear is defined as the irregularities caused in a surface due to the external factors. Running a machine with weared parts can reduce the life of the machine. Lubrication is defined as the viscous liquid applied between two surfaces in contact for better performance and longer life. Untitled.jpg Gears are means by which power is transferred from the source to the application. [2] In the present world it has been used in most of the mechanical machines so that power can be transferred in an easier and sufficient way. The gearing technology started at about 100 years before and it was carried out by the Europeans in the ‘Dark Ages to bring out the development in the gears. [2] As years passed by more developed versions of gears were introduced which were lightweight, with high speed and gears that could withstand high loads. The gears are used as an important component in automobiles so that power is transmitted from the engine to the wheels to cause an increase in the speed of the vehicle. Hypoid gears are one of the common gears used in automobiles to do this operation. [2] Transmission which is defined as two or more gears working in tandem is used as an important principle in automobiles. In todays world many gears have been developed and these gears are being used for different purposes. These gears have been been divided into 2 such as: External Gears: In these types of gears the teeth can be found outside the cylinder or cone. Internal Gears: These types of gears have teeths in the inner surface of the cylinder or cone. Spur GearsWith either internal or external gears a lot of gears have been developed for different purposes and these gears are explained below: a) Spur gears: This is one of the most common types of gear. These gears have teeth perpendicular to the face of the gear and the edge of the tooth is parallel to the axis of rotation. The disadvantage of these types of gears is that they are a little noisy at low speeds and this reduces to a minimum at higher speeds. [7] b) Rack and pinion gears: This type of gears consists of a rack more like a spur gear with infinite radius of curvature and a pinion gear which keeps on rotating over the rack. These types of gears are mainly used to convert circular motion into linear motion. Trains run on railway tracks based on this principle. Racks Gears c) Helical gears: Helical gears are almost similar to the spur gears. The difference is that the teeths are in a helicoids shape and are not parallel to the axis of rotation. [7] It is less noisy than the spur gears and is widely used in industries. [7] Double helical gears are also used which has helical gears kept inversely on both sides. Helical Gears d) Worm gears: These are the type of gears that consists of a concave teeth profile and this teeth is usually engaged to helical gears. It is used where power is to be transferred at 90 degrees. Here sliding motion is caused rather than helical motion. [7] Heavy lubricants with good film thickness is used to prevent contact of the metals because since the teeth is small there is a chance in breakage of the teeth causing higher maintenance of the gears. Worm Gears e) Bevel gears: These types of gears have conical shaped teeths. It is mainly used to connect shafts to intersecting lines. The angle between 2 bevel gears can be between 0 to 180 degrees depending upon the purpose. Bevel gears with equal number of teeths and shafts at 90 degrees are called miter gears. Spiral bevel gears also known as hypoid gears are used in automobiles. These gears will always have shafts at 90 degrees. Bevel Gears f) Epicyclic gears: Here 2 or more external gears move inside an internal gear as shown in Fig. 8. These types of gears are mainly used in mechanical differentials. In all the types of gears above due to their contact with each other a frictional force is created between them and due to these frictional forces it can cause wear to the gears. Here the tribological factors come into play and reduce the life cycle of the gears. This can also cause the tooth of the gears to break. So lubricants have to be used to an extent to improve the life of the gears and materials have to be used according to the kind of environment in which the gears are to be used. Materials used for making Gears: Gears can be made from a wide variety of materials such as wood to high steel alloys depending on the requirements. Gears in different mechanical machines needs different materials to overcome the surrounding obstacles, for longer life of the equipment and the machine and also to reduce the cost. Due to these the design of gears will always depend on the accuracy level needed for the gears, load to be applied on the gears, speeds to which the gears will rotate, the noise limitations and the material to be used. So the cost of the gear will always depend on these factors. [2] So while selecting materials we should consider the tribological factors that would affect the gear while its operation like: * Allowable bending and Hertz stress because as the bending stress is low there is a chance for the gear to get bend at higher temperatures. * Wear resistance as the gears and gear tooths should not get weared at higher speed of rotation of the gears. * Impact strength as the gears should not break when it is engaged with higher force with another gear. * Water and corrosion resistance to resist against corrosion due to lubricant action. * Manufacturing cost to make the gears profitable * Size and weight so that the gears can be used in all machines * Lubricant requirements to see that costly lubricants are not required to maintain the gears. * Dimensionally stable and reliable. * Stress free structure [3] Depending upon these factors, different materials are used and the details about properties of the materials and the conditions on which these materials are used are given below: 1) Plastics: In the past, gears were made of wood or phenolic-resin impregnated cloth and as years passed by more light weight, low cost gears were required. With the invention of new polymers in plastics it gave more opportunities for the preparation of light weight, low cost gears. For this the most common plastics used today are acetate and nylon resins. This plastic gear reduces the cost of the gears when produced at large quantities and also is sometimes mixed with metals for longer and quieter operation of the gears. But since these acetate and nylon resins gears are limited to certain conditions such as strength, temperature resistance and accuracy it was required to make a different polymer for the preparation of the gears and a different polymer called ‘Polyamide was developed. This polyamide molded gears could resist higher temperatures and could be used in certain situations in place of metal gears to overcome the tribological factors but due to its higher cost for p roduction its still not used in all situations. [2] 2) Non-ferrous alloys: Titanium is also another material that can be combined with other metals to form a gear. Also the die cast materials like zinc, aluminium, brass, bronze are also used for gears due to its high corrosion property, high strength, less machining. These non ferrous alloys can be used for making gears because it can overcome most of the tribological factors. But these metals cannot be produced at large quantities due to its high cost of production. [2] 3) Cast iron: Cast iron is used for the preparation of gears because of its low cost, machinability and moderate mechanical properties. There are 3 types of cast irons differentiated basically depending on the structure of graphite in these irons. These are gray iron, malleable iron and ductile iron. Out of these the malleable and ductile irons have good shock resisting property and are mostly used in most of the gears by mixing it with other metals so that the gear made from this will be able to overcome most of the external factors affecting tribology. [2] 4) Sintered Powder Metals: These metals are used where high production is required with low cost. The process is simple where powder is put into the suitable high pressure die. A wide variety of selections of powders are available in this section of powdered metals. This sintered powder is also widely used in automotive industries by hot forming process which was recently developed to improve the mechanical properties of gears and resist against the effects of tribology. [2] 5) Hardened steels: This is one the most commonly used material in all industries for the manufacture of gears. These types of materials are used based on the factors like load, time period for which the material will work, lubricants to be used and the surrounding conditions that affect tribology such as temperature, pressure and humidity. When the gears are to be run at moderate temperature a low alloy material will be used for the production of gear and if the work load on the gear is to be high a high alloy material will be used after case carburizing or case nitriding to increase the fatigue strength. Of the 2 processes the case carburizing will have more distortion than the case nitriding process and would require an additional grinding process that would cause an increase in the cost of the gears. [2] Steel alloy is mostly used for the production gears more than normal steels. The materials used for gear preparation are an important factor for the preparation of gears as the working, the life of the gear, strength of the gear will all depend on the material. The material chosen must also be able to withstand the friction, wear and lubrication and have to be overcome to have long lasting and strong gears. If correct material is not chosen according to the criteria the machine can be of a complete failure and may not work properly. While selecting the materials the following factors have to be considered: Surface of the gears: The surface of gear has an important part in the life cycle of the gear as it must be able to withstand friction, wear and it must be able to properly engage with other gears and provide the required power to the required output shaft. For gears the surface texture which is defined as â€Å"the combinations of imperfections on a surface† [11] must be smooth and the gap between two teeths must be of proper size so the the 2 teeths are engaged correctly to each other. Eventhough gears now produced are with poor geometrical perfection or quality of surface texture companies is trying hard to produce gears with reduced surface texture by processes such as honing, lapping and super finishing methods. This is the opposite force caused when one body moves tangentially over another. The force can cause heat between the surface and can lead to the wear of the parts. The quality of the material used and the surface roughness decides the amount of friction that would occur on the surface of gears and this inturn decides the depth of wear that would occur on gears.The different types of wears that occurs on the surface of gears are given below: Ø Adhesive wear: This type of wear occurs on the tooth surface and is very difficult to find. Here the surface of the tooth gets a quashed look due to the long running of the gears. A moderate adhesive wear can also be caused on the gear surface due to variable loading of on the gear at different times. [15] The moderate adhesive wear will appear bright and can be seen with the naked eye 9as shown in fig. 11). Ø Abrasive wear: This type of wear occurs on gear surfaces when fine or severe dust particles are present in the lubricant used to reduce friction between the engaging gear surfaces. This type of wear is mainly seen in machines used at cement factories, road laying machines, mining machineries etc. The abrasives can cause the surface texture of the gear to change which in turn causes the application of more lubricant to the surface for the smooth running of the machine. [15] The abrasives in the lubricant can be of 2 types and cause wear to the gear in 2 methods which are classified as mild abrasion and severe abrasion.  · Mild Abrasion: This type of wear is caused when mild or fine particles are present in the lubricant and this causes wear on the surface of the gear. This cause only small marks on the surface of the gear and wear increases in the longer run of the gears. [15]  · Severe Abrasion: This type of wear is caused when large particles are present in the lubricant. It causes a larger wear in the gear and also can cause the breakdown in the machine. [15]  · Corrosive Abrasion: This type of abrasion is caused when the chemicals in Lubricating oil reacts with the surface. [15] Conformity: It is defined as â€Å"the degree of agreement between the surfaces†.[1] The degree of conformity must be maximum for gears to exactly engage and run for a longer period of time. Initial wear can increase the conformity between the gears. If the right amount of lubricant is added during the initial wear period the initial wear will stop by itself and increase the conformity between the gears. High conformity is found mostly between 2 flat surfaces. The lowest conformity is found between a flat surface and a ball.[1] Surface Texture: It is surface condition that depends on the material of manufacture, the way in which the material was processed, the lubricant used on the surface and the type of wear that occurs on the surface. Surface texture is an important factor for gears movement of the gears and the degree at which the gears touch each other depends on this property. Below the shows the terms that are used for defining the surface texture: The irregularities in the surface of gears must be reduced to minimum while making a gear so that the thin film lubricant can run smoothly between gears and reduce the tribological factors between the gears. The surface finish should be smooth and must be free from sharp irregularities to increase the fatigue strength of the gear and this should be maintained throughout the gears to have a quieter operation. [3] The surface of the gear which is to be in contact with the other gear has to be of higher strength so the tooth dont get weared out easily. The precision of the gears structure should be considered for long lasting of the gears. The surface of the gears can be improved using methods like polishing, heat treatment methods, Lubrication for smoother operation of gears: Lubricants are a viscous fluid applied between 2 gears for reducing the heat generated between them and to lubricate the teeth to reduce the friction between the gears. The selections of lubricant have to be correct to in order to provide high efficiency, good reliability, low maintenance and long life for the gears. [4] Generally the gear operates in 3 modes of lubrication mainly boundary, mixed, full film and hydrodynamic lubrication. The boundary condition is attained when the gear is started or stopped. With increase in relative motion the mixed lubrication condition is obtained and with further increase in speed the gear is said to run at full film lubrication.[3] â€Å"If there is a lubricant between the 2 contact surfaces and it is sufficient to protect the gears from contact then the lubrication is called as hydrodynamic lubrication†. [1] The lubricant differs from the normal liquid by the property of viscosity. Viscosity is defined as â€Å"the measure of the fluids resistance to flow†. [13] Since gears would be under high pressure and sliding it would require a medium to high grade lubricant. As the viscosity of lubricant increases the lubricant is said to be more reliable for the gears. A gear lubricant is said to have the below factors for obtaining a good performance from the gear: * thermal and oxidative stability * thermal durability * compatibility with seal materials * protection against excessive gear and bearing wear * high-temperature extreme pressure protection * gear and bearing cleanliness * emulsibility characteristics * rust and corrosion protection, especially to yellow metal components * antifoaming characteristics [5] The major tribological factors of the lubricant are:  · Viscosity: It is a property of the lubricant for providing the lubrication affect to the engaging gears. The viscosity of the lubricant can protect the gear from friction. Higher the viscosity greater the protection to the gears.  · Additives: It is a chemical substance added to oil to increase the property of oil and protect the gear against wear. Additives can protect the gear from wear and overheating. Better the additives greater will be the protection for the gear.  · Contamination: It is the addition of an external component in the lubricant that could reduce the property of the lubricant. This is a disadvantage for gears. If the contaminated substance is large it can cause a breakdown to the gears.  · Degradation: It is the wearing out of some parts of the gear due to chemical reactions. This is also a disadvantage to the gears. More the degradation more the chance for the tooth to break off. The below table explains the factors affecting selection of industrial gear lubricants: Factor Requirement Gearing Type * Spur and bevel * Helical and spiral bevel * Hypoid * Worm Low slide, low speed Moderate slide, moderate to high loading High slide, high loading Excessive sliding,moderate to high loading Loading High loaded industrial gear drives requires the use of extreme gear pressure gear lubricants. Surface finish Rougher surfaces requires high viscosity oils Smoother surfaces can use low viscosity oils Transmitted power As load is increased viscosity must be increased. Gear speed The higher the speed of the gear drive the lighter the viscosity needs to be Materials compatibility Some types of extreme pressure additives can attack yellow metals like brass and bronze Temperature The industrial gear lubricants viscosity must be selected based on the lowest and highest operating temperature. Types of gear lubricants: There are lots of oil used as lubricant for gears to reduce wear,to protect against corrosion, to protect the gear against oxidation and to prevent the formation of foam between the 2 gears. [12]  · Inhibited oil: This is a lubricant used to prevent the corrosion and foaming between the gears. [12]  · Extreme Pressure Oils: These oils contain inhibited oils and chemically active substances and are used for modifying the friction acting between the 2 engaging gears.[12]  · Compounded oils; These are oils made from steam cylinder stocks compounded with fatless additives. The purpose of this oil is also to reduce friction.[12]  · Open gear compounds: This lubricant consists of additives and is used for high, slow speed heavily loaded gears. This lubricant protects the gear teeth from damage.[12]  · Greases: This is one of the commonly used lubricants. It consists thick soap contents. It can only be used on low speed gear surfaces.[12] Methods of lubrication:  · Grease Lubrication: This type of lubrication is used at gears with0 to 6 m/s tangential speed. It can be applied on all types of gears operating at low speeds. Excess of this lubricant can lead power loss and viscous drag.[5]  · Splash Lubrication: This type of lubrication is applied to gears with speed of 4 to 15 m/s tangential speed. Here the lubrication is done by running the gear through an oil bath. The lubricant is effective only from 3 m/s speed of the gear and the oil should be prevented from mixing with some other liquid or particles which could cause a damage to the gear teeth.[5]  · Spray Lubrication: This type of lubrication is applied to gears with more 12m/s of tangential operating speed. Here the oil for lubrication is sprayed through a nozzle. The nozzle should be engineered properly as there is a chance for the oil to get deflected out of path of flow by centrifugal force or by the air that is flowing out. [5] Lubricants can protect the gears from the tribological factors such as friction and wear. We know what are the types of lubricants to be used, their applications and the types of lubrication processes. It is important that we select the right amount and quality of lubricants for the gears so that they have a longer life and dont get weared out easily. Engineers are still now researching to find the best lubricant for gears so that defects in gears like scoring, scuffing, pitting doesnt occur at all for gears. The gear noise is also prevented to an extend by lubrication. Operating Conditions for Gears: Operating conditions are important tribological factors for gears as this will determine the lubricant to be used, the material to be selected for making gears. The operating conditions of gears are determined by the factors like load applied on the gear, the speed at which the gear is about to rotate,relative motion between the gears, environmental condition, the product of pressure and velocity acting on the gears and the temperature on which the gear is about to work. These operating conditions which are to be considered for operation of gear are applied below: 1) Load: Load is the determining factor for the strength of a gear which determines the material to be used for the gear production, the amount of rubbing that would occur between the gear surfaces, the whole network of surface stresses that would occur in the contact zone of the gear surfaces and the coefficient of friction that would occur between the gears. The load also influences the behaviour of a lubricant or the abrasive particles present in the lubricant which would cause an impact on the gear tooth directly. The other area where the load influence is known is at the bonding between the gears that is directly dependent on the degradation of the surface films, increase in contact area and on temperature. In fact loading has a major impact on the change, age and wear characteristics of the materials. The schematic diagram of the influence of load on the operation of gear is given in the fig. 11.the explains the stresses produced due to load applied and the effects of these sub stances on the element.So in order to keep the gear in good condition and free from wear the following points have to be taken into account: * To keep the gears in good condition progressive loading of gears is a best way. * Decrease in load variation as it would reduce the rise of cavitation in the gears * Decreasing fatigue loading in gears to prevent surface fatigue wear.[14] 2) Speed: Speed of gear is an important factor as it varies from one mechanical component to another and is an important factor for the working of the machine. The parameter of the gears that are greatly influenced by the speed of gears are : a) Temperature: Temperature is a factor which is greatly influenced by the speed of the gear. As the speed of the gears increases the temperature between the gears also increases leading to more heat dissipation. Inorder to maintain the temperature between the gears we have to consider a good coolant and a good heat conducting surrounding medium. b) Friction coefficient: The effect of speed on the friction coefficient comes into play especially in a lubricated circumstance, where this factor determines the hydrodynamic load carrying capacity. At very low speed of the gears there is a chance for the stick-slip phenomenon due to the fluctuation in friction coefficient. [14] 3) Relative motion: The relative motion involves motions like sliding, rolling, spinning and bouncing. These motion can decrease the performance of the gear and also can cause wear in the gear. The use of correct material, lubricant and designing the gear correctly can increase the performance of the gear and also give longer life to the gear. [1] 4) Environment: Environment can cause a decrease in performance of the gear. This is caused by the contamination of the lubricant and also due to the chemical reaction of the lubricant with the gear metals. [1] 5) Product (PxV): Here the quantity of heat generated by friction is calculated from the energy at the contact which is given by the equation E = QVf (where Q = load applied to the contact, V = displacement velocity, f = friction coefficient). Here the term PxV is used as a reference to estimate the limiting conditions for materials such as polymers, solid lubricants, self lubricating sintered materials etc. This in turn can be used as a basis for the selection and comparison of materials. Thus we are able to know the maximum PxV for certain materials and us them for the production of gears. [14] 6) Temperature: Temperature has a major effect on the contact zone of the 2 surfaces of a gear. The temperature increase in the tooth of the gear can cause geometric distortion or loss of clearance in the tooth. It can also cause an increase in the coefficient of friction and wear to the gear. Temperature can also cause deterioration in the mechanical properties of the materials and change the properties of the lubricants. An increase in the interfacial bonds is also caused which lead to a chemical reaction between the materials. [14] Conclusion: Thus the audit of gears using the tribological factors such as material, surface, lubrication and operating conditions was conducted. It is found that gears are useful in most of the mechanical applications and also have a lot of properties that are to be taken care of while the operation of the gear. In todays world, a lot of materials are available for the manufacture of gears. These materials can only be used in different conditions and have their own advantages and disadvantages. So in future a much modern material with zero wearing property and that provides longer life to the gears have to be developed. In the case of surfaces of gears smooth finished gears are already been produced these days. A surface with normal surface texture and conformity will provide smoother running of gears in future. A lots of lubricants are available in todays world. In future a more advanced lubricant can be developed that can reduce wearing of gears completely and also help to increas e the performance of gears to the fullest. All gears today are developed for performing at a particular load and temperature above which the gear can get damaged. So in future gears have to be developed that can operate at maximum temperature and load so that wear of gears due to these characteristics can be reduced to minimum. References: [1] J.A. Williams, Oxford Science Publications, OUP, 1994, pp.1. [2] Coy, J.J., Townsend, P.D. and Zaretsky, E.V., â€Å"Gearing†, NASA RP-1152, December 1985. [3] Gear Materials, Ashoka Group [online].[Accessed on 6th December,2009]. Available from: http://www.gearshub.com/gear-materials.html#selection [4] Gearology, Boston Gear [online].[Accessed on 2nd December,2009]. Available from: http://www.bostongear.com/training/gearology.asp [5] Gear Lubrication [online].[Accessed on 4thDecember,2009]. Available from: http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Drive/Gear_lubrication.html [6] Lawrence G. Ludwig, Jr., Schaeffer Manufacturing Company, Lubrication Selection for Enclosed Gear Drives.Machinery Lubrication. January 2005 [7] Gear Types, Engineers Edge [online].[Accessed on 4th December,2009]. Available from: http://www.engineersedge.com/gears/gear_types.htm [8] Precision Gears,Inc [online]. [Accessed on 4th December,2009]. Available from: www.precisiongears.com [9] Gears,Monarch Bearing [online]. [Accessed on 4th December,2009]. Available from: http://www.monarchbearing.com/gears.html [10] Surface Finish [online].[Accessed on 6th December,2009].Available from: http://www.mfg.mtu.edu/cyberman/quality/sfinish/index.html [11] Surface Texture –Definition [online].[Accessed on 6th December,2009].Available from: http://www.toolingu.com/definition-350140-22499-surface-texture.html [12] Gear Systems – A Tribological Review [ online].[Accessed on 6th December,2009]. Available from: http://www.chunbotech.co.kr/techinform/ti-13.pdf [13] Viscosity [online].[Accessed on 6th December,2009].Available from: http://www.princeton.edu/~gasdyn/Research/T-C_Research_Folder/Viscosity_def.html [14] Neale.M.J, Polak.T.A., Priest.M, â€Å"Handbook of Surface Treatments and Coatings†, Professional engineering Publishing Limited London and Bury St Edmunds,UK,2003,pp. 24-27. [15] Gear Failures[online].[Accessed on 6th December,2009]. Available from: http://www.nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/IIT-MADRAS/Machine_Design_II/pdf/2_7.pdf