Thursday, September 12, 2019

Week 2 - IT STRATEGY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 2 - IT STRATEGY - Essay Example Therefore, by determining both the short and long term impact of the project to the organization through evaluation, the governance body finds stable grounds to prioritize an IT project (Dye & Pennypacker, 1999). Secondly, IT projects can be prioritized, by the governance body, through analysis of the value of the business to all the stakeholders (both external and internal). This analysis need to define the business value in terms of cost, quality, efficiency and flexibility. All these factors are crucial as they allow the governance body to identify or rather find the priorities of different stakeholders. Involving the key stakeholders is as important as the business itself because they need to have an understanding of the projects’ nature and how they will impact on the entire business. This levels the playing field for all stakeholders and cuts across the culture and political aspects in the organization. Therefore, an IT project can be given priority according to the preferences or priorities of the business’ stakeholders (Rad & Levin,

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Sexuality Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sexuality - Term Paper Example Biology, culture and ecology influences various aspects of sexuality and intimacy in the Aka and Ngandu communities of central Africa; for instance, human beings have inborn tendencies to feel sexual desire, thus, an unconscious drive to reproduce, and to sustain the survival of their species (Hewlett Bonnie and Hewlett Barry 46). In this respect, both men and women in the Aka and Ngandu communities are biologically predisposed to express sexuality and intimate relations like all other species; culturally, the two communities idea of sexuality and intimate relations is the ability to procreate and to sustain the communities through the birth of new babies. In this respect, both men and women in Aka and Ngandu communities play specific gender roles that have been pre-determined by their sexuality; because the essence of sexuality and intimacy is to create children, men, and women couple up for procreation, and sex is not for pleasure but a night work in search of babies. However, Aka wife-husband relations are more intimate, close, giving, unlike the case for Ngandu (Hewlett Bonnie and Hewlett Barry 52); Aka husband and wife stick together in many net subsistence activities such as hunting, and fathers provide regular childcare. Whereas Aka men and women express affection by working together in close proximity, Ngandu women consider gifts from their husbands as a sign of affection and the men, the respect of their authority. Q2 There has been evidence of progressively changing attitudes towards acceptance of homosexuality in the Canadian society, with the pervasiveness of this sexual behavior in the country. In Canada, the proportion of people who support homosexuality has grown rapidly in recent years by at least ten points since 2007, especially because religion is not central in people’s lives; currently, about 80 percent of Canadians are tolerant to homosexuality compared to about 70% back in 2007. Unlike in Canada, where society is more tolerant towards homosexuality, the Aka and Ngandu communities have very negative attitudes towards this sexual practice and they remain strongly opposed to the practice. In Aka and Ngandu communities, sexuality is defined by very strict and rigid socio-cultural norms, which enforce the appropriate sexual behavior among individuals; the primary role of intimate relationships is procreation, thus, acceptable unions are those that can fulfill this societal expecta tion. However, the Canadian society is more tolerant to homosexuality, particularly because of value changes, and the collapse of conventional family structures; Canadian courts began to legalize same sex marriages back in 2003 (Matthews 841). Q3 According to MacIntosh, Reissing and Andruff (79), the removal of homosexuality from Canada’s criminal code in 1969 was a significant change in the advancement of equal rights and protection of all citizens; in 1996, discrimination of people on the basis of their

The Dome of St. Peter's Basilica Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Dome of St. Peter's Basilica - Essay Example Peter’s towers 445 feet in the air from the floor to the very tip of the cross on that famous dome above and it was a tall building even by sixteenth century standards. â€Å"That dome is a revered part of the Roman skyline and it is an amazing architectural design all by itself. None other than Michelangelo himself designed the great dome and that famous Renaissance artist employed a double-shell design technique that was created by San Gallo. Even though Michelangelo was made the architect in charge of St. Peter’s in 1546, the completion of the masterpiece came long after his death.† (When In Rome, Visit St. Peters Basilica - A Vatican City Delight) Thus, it was Giacomo della Porta, one of his students, who went on to complete the work in 1590, following the death of the great master and the design plans of the brilliant architects have been modeled in other famous buildings of the world. â€Å"From distance one can clearly see the dome of St. Peter’s r ising above the nave and wide faà §ade, although Michelangelo’s dome, designed for a naveless church gradually recedes from view as one comes closer to the building.† (Moffett, 357) Therefore, the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica is a magnificent construction which has great historical and architectural value and this paper makes an analysis of the work of architecture to comprehend the historical facts as well as the factors that influenced its design, etc. The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica has been so well designed that the first two centuries since its construction found no cracks or other issues. In a reflective analysis of the architectural value of the dome, it becomes lucid that St. Peter’s Basilica served as a model for churches as well as government buildings and the dome of the church is its most magnificent construction. Significantly, the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica illustrates the relationship between politics and power and it is important to realize the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Hierarchy vs Heterarchy in Organizational Structures Research Paper - 1

Hierarchy vs Heterarchy in Organizational Structures - Research Paper Example Conversely, a heterarchical structure supports the autonomy of the workers from the various departments of an organization. In essence, this structure advocates for horizontal management of the affairs of an organization, as opposed to a vertical management, embraced by a hierarchical organizational structure. The management of an organization can take either a centralized control of operations or decentralized control of operations. Depending on the structure that an organization adopts, both structures have their merits and demerits in terms of improving the operations of an organization. In some organizations, the management often prefers controlling every aspect of operations under their supervision. This calls for a situation where employees work according to the management’s preference. On the other hand, there are organizations that prefer giving employees space to undertake their own initiatives within the work environment so long as these initiatives can improve the o rganization’s performance (Diefenbach and Sillince 1518). In this paper, I will examine the debate that surrounds hierarchy versus heterarchy in organizational structures and their successes and limitations in an organization’s setting. Having a command center in any organization is essential because of those under the top management work according to orders from the management. This is a key feature of organizations based on a hierarchy structure. Organizations operating in this line often embrace a vertical line of authority where there are levels and each level has an authority figure. In essence, this involves embracing an office cadre where authority starts with CEO moving to the bottom level of the organization. At each level, there is an authority figure with employees under him or her. This organization helps to simplify the chain of command, but the overall authority lies with the CEO of the organization.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Why Many International Students Get a Failing Grade in Academic Essay

Why Many International Students Get a Failing Grade in Academic Integrity and Plagiarism from a Cross-Cultural Perspective - Essay Example As the paper outlines, there are many causes of the plagiarism that can be categorized as intentional or unintentional.   This becomes a problem because most of those who commit plagiarism are international students which James Bradshaw and Tamara Baluja have anecdotally set the figure at over 50% that makes up about 12 percent of the total student body at U of T (2011).   This is a serious issue because plagiarism is considered as a serious infraction in Western universities that has a consequence that ranges from the reminder to expulsion. There are a number of reasons cited for committing plagiarism as well as solutions to minimize and avoid similar occurrences in the future. This paper will compare the various solutions presented to minimize plagiarism such as language tutorials, familiarization with academic expectation and taking the online quiz and from among these solutions will evaluate the most tenable option for international students. Often, plagiarism is committed by international students not because they intend to â€Å"cheat or steal one’s idea and claiming it as one’s own† but rather unintentional. This is attributed more to cultural differences rather than the blatant intention to cheat. Western students are more accustomed to their native individualist culture and language it, therefore, it is easier for them to adapt and express their own thoughts in their native language and to be critical with the paper that they are doing. This is entirely different from foreign students. First, they have to struggle with the language that they are not accustomed to and their vocabularies are often lacking. Second, there is a huge difference in the perception of among foreign students about what constitutes cheating in an academic setting. Take for example the case of Middle Eastern students as exemplified by Magied Also, an international student from Saudi Arabia and President of the International Students Association at St. Clou d State University who articulated the cultural differences of Saudi Arabian students with western students that puts them in trouble; I think people in Saudi Arabia are very close to each other and so we grow up helping each other. It’s a good thing, but it becomes a problem for Saudis in the U.S. We often get out of an exam and share questions with others and we think it’s a common thing because we grow up in a society that tells us to share things and wish the best for your friends. In Saudi Arabia, your accomplishments are not recorded by your name, but by your tribe or family. For instance, when a guy from Najran succeeds, it’s considered as a success for the whole city. In the U.S. this is not the case (Al Jamiat, nd). This is a classic example of what is the virtue in a certain cultural context is a misdemeanor in another’s. Saudis typify the Middle Eastern sense of community to share and help each other but this does not sit well in the west espec ially during exams. Also, there is a misdemeanor shared by almost all international students – that is their tendency to mug and mimic a teacher’s words in their academic works without proper citation. Middle East students, as well as Indians, believe that the more they take notes of what the teacher says, the higher their chance of getting good grades. Asians are more notorious in this aspect because culturally, they are very respectful of figureheads especially teachers that the non-use of their teacher’s words and language would constitute disrespect.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Social Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Entrepreneurship - Essay Example It is antithetical to innovation, too political, wasteful, inefficient, and bureaucratic. Dees thinks that counting on independent social entrepreneurs provides society with more opportunities at a lower risk. Social entrepreneurs tend to be more inventive when compared to government in finding solutions to problems since they respond to failures by the government by creation of parallel tracks while inventing new models, which improve public, institutional performance. By that, he means that social entrepreneurs play a crucial role in supplementing or complementing government functions. Dees also feels that the use of charity as a means of dealing with poverty cannot be relied on since it avoids dealing with the real problem. Consequently, he believes that social entrepreneurs build sustainable refinement rather than offer temporary relief by use of charity. In Taking Social Entrepreneurship Seriously, J. Gregory Dees (2007, p. 25) writes, â€Å"While this focus on government as a social problem solver has led to some notable successes, such as increased access to education and health care for many, the experience also revealed the limits of government as the vehicle for social problem solving†. ... Social entrepreneurs do not place a limit on their activities because of the available resources. Rather, they first focus on the opportunity, then think about its implementation later. This is in contrast to the government administrative mindset, which is dependent on budget constraints that derail the planning processes and offer priority to projects, which are ready to go. Entrepreneurs mainly focus on developing their entrepreneurial idea, then start thinking of how to acquire the money to finance the venture. An entrepreneur willing to drill a borehole in Africa devotes time to identifying the area most in need, gets the residents involved, sets the wheels in motion, then finally looks for resources. On the other hand, government will have to fit in the project in its already stretched budget, which may see it given decreased priority. Social entrepreneurship came about, in part, because of the disappointment faced by entrepreneurs with projects run by the government. Recently, an Indian bank, Ecobank started offering savings for very low-income citizens after its partnership with government to offer credit, slowed down because of the government’s bureaucratic and rigid laws and regulations. Ecobank felt that private for-profit ventures have the ability to stimulate increased innovation and economic growth. Another issue that interests me and I would like to discuss from this article is that Dees (2007, p. 27) writes, â€Å"They aim to create sustainable improvements and are willing to draw on self-interest, as well as compassion to do it†. That is to say, social entrepreneurs, through motivation by self-interest, give their charity in order to establish

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Why do I have to take economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why do I have to take economics - Essay Example The main question is that why should I take economics as a course? There are a lot of reasons supporting the cause. First of all the world relies on economics. All the activities and happenings in the world are based on economics. Economics is the mother of all social sciences. Although the subject is lengthy but still it’s interesting and gives you a clearer view about what is happening around you. For example you are watching BBC, or reading a news paper suddenly you come to the business section. You see that price of a share is increasing or decreasing, you get curious about the factors causing the price to rise or fall but you don’t know about it. Taking economics will give you a basic idea about the business world and how it operates. Microeconomics, as the name suggests, deals with the basic concepts like demand and supply, elasticity, returns and more basic things. The change in price of a product due to a shift in demand is a basic thing. One other point in favo r of opting economics as a summer course is that the student gets to know about the working of an economy.