Models and Concepts of Recruitment

The European Renaissance Essays - Medieval Philosophy, Renaissance

The European Renaissance Essays - Medieval Philosophy, Renaissance The European Renaissance The Renaissance was a period of European history, considered by modern scholars as that between 1300 and 1600. Many dramatic changes happend during the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a period of new inventions and beliefs. The Renaissance was drastically different from the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages the church held most of the power and it's economy was agriculturaly based. Exploration and learning was almost put to a stop. During the Renaissance society was transformed into a society increasingly dominated by central political institutions with an urban commercial attitude. Also, people's curiosity overcame thier fear and many people started to venture out and explore. New schools and colleges became more and more common. The Renaissance was started by many rich Italian cities, such as Florence, Ferrara, Milan ,and Venice. Because these cities were very wealthy, many merchants started to spend money on different things, such as painting, learning, new banking techniques, and new systems of government. These things gave rise to a new type of scholar, the humanist. Humanism was subjects concerned with humankind and culture. They stutied various things such as Latin, Greek language, literature and philosophy. Music and mathmatics were also studied as well. The Renaissance gave way to new forms of painting , art and sculpture. During the Renaissance, artist were no longer regarded as mere artisans, as they had been to the medieval past, but for the first time emerged as independent personalities, compared to poets and writers. Many artisans merged mathmatics with art , in order to become more precise in their measurements and to make sure an object was supported both rationally and porportionally. As a result painters tried and often suceeded into making their painting a window into the world. Artists also studied the way light hits objects and the way our eyes percieve light. A new kind of paint called oil paint was used. This allowed the artist to create texture , mix colors, and allow more time for corrections before it dried. The printing press was probaly the most important advance in technology. Europeans first used movable metal type to print a book. On small pieces of metal they engraved single letters of the alphabet. These could then be arranged and rearranged to form words and sentences. Johan Gutenberg is usually given credit for the first book printed, a copy of the Bible. By the 1500's printing presses where fairly well spread. The printing press had many effects on the world. First of all, it made books much easier to come by, wich made them cheaper. That ment common people could afford them. As a result literacy became more widespread, in contrast to the Middle Ages where usually monks and church officials were the only able to read. Second, since many more people were able to read, they wanted to read subjects other than religious or scientific work. So books on other subjects were published as well. Also many books were published in languages other than Latin, such as English, Portugeese, Spanish, French, and Italian. A third effect was that scholars had better access to one anothers work. They could also read the great works of the ancient and medieval periods. The Renaissance also had an effect on the general society. Many people became interested in politics. Also, people became interested in the world outside of thier towns. Many became explorers, merchants, and mapmakers. Religion especially changed during the Renaissance. In the Middle ages people were primarily concerned with serving the church and getting to heaven. But the increase in arts and education gave people something to look forward to, and a life worth living. So inturn, people based thier lives around various other things instead of the church. Because of the increase in literacy people learned that the Catholic Church only told the populus what they wanted them to hear. This caused many people to break away from the churh and form Proteezt religions. The Renaissance produced many great minds. Leonardo da Vinci was one of these. Although he was not regarded as a genious in his time. He had numerous works of art such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. He also is now

Ethical and Professional HRM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethical and Professional HRM - Assignment Example Since that time, the organization has faced a number of lawsuits relating to provision of suitable seats which has proven costly due to budgets allocated for litigation matters. This situation means there is need for the organization to develop a framework that would help end complaints by employees based on the issue of suitable seats. I will assume that the employees have made a genuine claim about the working condition being detrimental to their health although there have not been medical any medical case concerning employees of Wal-Mart whose condition has been attributed to the working conditions provided by the organization. Consequently, I will argue that the Wal-Mart should introduce suitable seats to the employees to prevent further complaint that might arise in future. To achieve this, the report is organized into three sections where the first section makes an analysis of the conflict of interest between Wal-Mart and the employees. Second part will analyse available option s to determine what would be the best option to satisfy both the employees and the company. The third part is about which one among the presented options is the best ethical and professional option before making a brief conclusion. A number of organizations have in the past years faced legal suits because of the manner in which they have treated their employees. Class action on seating during working hours is among the areas of conflict between employers and their employees. There has been considerable law suits where employees have complained that they were not provided with seats in their workstations a situation which compromised their health due to being on their feet for long periods of time. A case in example concerns the employees at the giant retailer, Wal-Mart who have gone to court to protest the retailer’s requirements that workers should perform their duties

My Personal Life, Education, and Aspirations Essay

My Personal Life, Education, and Aspirations - Essay Example Ever since I was a child, I have been having big dreams of becoming an accomplished businessperson. In this regard, I have made strong resolutions to pursue an international business degree in the United States since the U.S. universities are some of the most recognized in the world. In addition, my coming to the United States was inspired by my urge to meet new people, especially people from diverse cultures. As an aspiring international entrepreneur, I have to understand most if not all cultures in order to do my business efficiently in the future. I thought the United States was the hub multicultural learning and this fact really motivated me to come to the U.S. I hope to make friends with many people from across the globe, some of whom may become my future business partners. As far as personality and education goals are concerned, it is worth noting that the two match to a greater degree. It is so in the sense that I am a calm person who likes paying attention to details and never misses an opportunity. This personality has given me the impetus to explore my dreams exhaustively and make a concrete career decision. In this respect, I am planning to Study business up to the Masters’ level after which I will venture into business practice as a small entrepreneur.  

IT project management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IT project management - Assignment Example It is a field that gives and collects all the services and processes that have a relationship with computing of data. Projects are one of the best practical experiences that are meant to achieve goals for the technology. They are normally endeavors that are temporal by having the start and end date and at the end a goal is achieved. IT Project management is the key role and responsibility of project managers to use in order to achieve the desired goals. The projects need some methodologies and processes including the tools which assist in the planning, moderation, and execution of the projects. The managers in the projects are the ones who are in charge of the gathering and organization of the resources needed in the development of the project. They also direct the usage of the resources in order to achieve the best production and results of the project. The IT project managers only manage the project relying on the data management and the information that is collected. It is the duty of the IT managers to ensure that the highest productivity is achieved from the project (Kerznar 2002). Software management is another key in maintaining the IT Project because it has the ability and capability of giving accurate information on the data being collected. Data that is being collected goes through stages for the result of the project to become successful. It is the duty of the staff management in the project staff to learn to solve large problems that are very crucial in the IT management team. In the management of projects, finding the solutions is moving to another world whereby the software is treated as a service. This optimizes the requirements needed in the IT project as directed by the project manager. Most of the tools used in the IT project are web based making the information of the project not to be in one place. This makes the project to have several database points creating communication that is quick

Making a Central Bank Independent

Making a Central Bank Independent Why has the idea of enhancing the independence of a central bank gained such popularity in recent years around the globe? Do accompanying accountability arrangements matter? The desirability of Central Bank Independence (CBI) has snowballed since (Alesina, A 1988) stated that his paper argues tentatively that independent Central Banks have been associated with a lower average inflation rate and may have been responsible for reducing politically induced volatility of monetary policy and inflation. As a result, we may be lured into the assumption that CBI was the brainchild of Alesina or Rogoff (who produced literature with similar results around the same time) and that it is a brand-new, groundbreaking concept. However, the issue of CBI is as old as central banking itself with David Ricardo arguing its benefits (or certainly the drawbacks of non-independence) in a paper written in 1824. Keynes articulated his thoughts on central bank independence while testifying to the 1913 Royal Commission into an Indian central bank. He stressed that the ideal central bank would combine ultimate government responsibility with a high degree of day to-day independence fo r the authorities of the bank. Clearly, as it is government legislation that created and gave powers to the central banks, there has always been a relationship between the two and they cannot be entirely distinct. Debate surrounding CBI considers the appropriate level of distinction (if any) and the potential benefits to the economy at large that such a separation would provoke. So if the theory behind the benefits of independence is almost two centuries old, then why has its popularity only soared in the last few decades? (Goodhart, C.A.E 1994) utilises Friedmans analysis of the Phillips Curve (1950s) to suggest that stagflation in the 1970s is a primary factor behind the surge towards CBI. The Phillips Curve displays the apparent inverse relationship (when the pressure of demand in an economy is low) between inflation and unemployment. Thus, Phillips suggested that the authorities were able to choose an optimal combination, or find a sufficient trade-off between the two, which is exactly what Governments attempted to do in the 50s and 60s. However, this theory was shot to pieces in the 1970s when the rate of inflation consistent with a given level of unemployment kept rising: stagflation. Friedman explained this by stating that the inverse relationship only ran true in the short-run. In the medium and long-run, he argued that the Phillips Curve would in fact be vertical and that there was no trade-off between inflation and unemployment. The implication of this was that those in charge could now use m onetary policy as an instrument to control inflation in the medium and long term without compromising growth or employment within the same time horizon; thus enabling fiscal policy and supply side measures to be utilised in stabilising shocks in the short term. Governments soon adopted medium-term financial strategies for bringing down inflation and began to use supply-side measures for promoting growth. Herein lay the problem, in that now a conflict of interest arose for those in charge. In the short-run, with expectations given, expansionary monetary and fiscal policies would raise employment and allow excess growth above the long-term level. However, Ministers were aware that although it may take some time to show up, higher inflation will be the inevitable result in the long-run. (Goodhart, C.A.E 1994) holds a very cynical view of politicians and suggests that they may forgo their medium-term economic responsibilities and lower taxes or raise expenditures before elections to ind uce a feel-good factor that would get them re-elected. The resulting inflation would only rear its ugly head after the election when they could tackle it by raising interest rates and thus maintain the boom/bust cycle. If they did not get re-elected it would be the next Governments problem and hence political short-mindedness and lack of credibility is laid bare for all to see. (Fraser, B.W 1994) is a lot less sceptical of politicians and argues that it is uncertainty rather than exploitation of the short-term inflation/unemployment trade-off that can inject inflationary bias into the policy making process. He argues that because no-one knows with any confidence what the long-term growth capacity limits are or what the natural rate of unemployment is, it is very difficult for politicians to heed warnings about operating above these limits whilst under pressure from the electorate to maintain or stimulate growth. Similarly, they do not know the length of the lags between policy chang es and their impact on growth and inflation, thus Fraser implies that it is only natural for politicians to believe that they can push the economy a little bit further. Or, as William McChesney-Martin, the Governor of the US Fed from 1951 to 1970, said They may be reluctant to take away the punchbowl just when the party gets going. Irrelevant of your personal degree of cynicism towards politicians, it is clear that an independent authority with a long-term vision of price stability and no inclination towards inflation is the only remedy to rescue the electorate from a spiral of inflationary doom inflicted by governments. Pre 1971 a large degree of price stability was autonomous in the developed world with first the Gold Standard, then the Bretton-Woods system anchoring prices to a fixed level. (Fraser, B.W 1994) proposed that the earlier arrangements had imposed an international discipline on countries but when those arrangements passed into history, the responsibility for maintaining price stability reverted to national authorities. This perhaps adds more credibility to Frasers lack of scepticism as for example, (excluding war times) the UK government had not had this burden since 1717, a completely incomparable financial era. Coupling this 250 year knowledge gap, with the temptation of short-term benefits at long-term costs, it is of no surprise that Government-managed monetary policy was doomed to collapse. After this was realised, the move towards an Independent Central Bank evolved naturally as it solved both the politicians and publics concerns. Following over a decade of failure, politicians wanted rid of the price stability burden and someone else to blame for its failure (Kane, E 1980) and the public wanted monetary policy to be controlled by an institution with credibility (Rogoff, K 1985) so that their expectations were met. Despite conveniently tying together, these two arguments are not exhaustive in explaining the rise in popularity of CBI in recent times. Under the Maastricht Treaty, all states wishing to enter the European Union must have an independent national central bank so as to complement the ECB and the European System of Central Banks, whose job it is to ensure that the Euro area benefits from price stability. The EU has adopted such a hard-line stance on the basis that the success of the German economy of maintaining low inflation has arisen from the independent nature of the Bundesbank. Therefore, the installation of an independent central bank (the scope of independence is not legislated) has been forced upon all twenty-seven member states regardless of whether they had previously suffered inflationary problems. However, it must be noted that by applying to join the EU, each member state is already willing to concede its control over monetary policy in the long-term to the ECB, so an inte rmediate step to a national independent central bank would not present a significant hurdle. Many commentators have looked at who in the economy benefits most from CBI and have drawn conclusions on the reason for the growth of central bank independence from there. Those emphasising the interests of the financial sector as key are perhaps the most logical. (Posen, A 1993) and (Bowles, P White, G 1994) suggested that independence has been encouraged by financial interests and global institutions taking advantage of a crisis of governance in the 1980s and 1990s. The benefits for such institutions are obvious; a credible monetary policy allows for accurate expectations within a business plan and low inflation maintains real wages and ensures low interest rates for accessing credit. Therefore we can accredit some popularity of central bank independence to the shift in political power towards large corporations, with the most notable example being the USA. Linked to this, (Maxfield, S 1997) proposed that Governments in some fast-growing economies hold the perception that foreign investment from such large corporations will therefore be more forthcoming if they have an independent central bank. Other commentators have looked elsewhere in society with (Piga, G 2000), suggesting that the aging of some populations has promoted creditor interests. However, this is not supported by the speed of reform as although populations are aging, they do not do so suddenly whereas the popularity of central bank independence took off very rapidly. So it can be seen that there may be many different reasons behind the surge in popularity of CBI and as a result it seems natural to conclude that different levels or types of independence would be more suitable for these different variations. Similarly, the different nature of governance and democracy in countries dictates the need for a reasonable amount of flexibility and varying accountability within central bank independence. The norm within the literature is to follow Fischers (1994) dichotomy between goal and instrument independence, although many different measures of independence have been investigated and published; most notably (Cukierman, Webb, and Neyapti, 1992) and (Grilli, Masciandaro, and Tabellini, 1991). Goal independence refers to the central banks capacity to choose policy goals without being under the direct influence of the fiscal authority (usually the Government). The Bank of England lacks goal independence because the inflation target, which is very specific measure, is set by the government. In the USA, the Humphrey-Hawkins Act requires the Federal Reserve to conduct monetary policy to promote the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. These goals are described in vague terms providing the Fed some leverage to translate these into operational goals and thus allowing it a high level of goal independence. Instrument independence alludes to the central banks ability to freely adjust its policy tools in pursuit of the goals of monetary policy (Walsh, C 2005). Despite lacking goal independence, the Bank of England has instrument independence: it is provided its inflation mandate by the government and then it is able to choose its instruments without any further direction. However, the Federal Reserve has complete instrument independence in addition to having a large degree of goal independence. How can a nation that prides itself for being democratic justify handing over complete control of monetary policy to a group of un-elected officials? In addition, such a system would surely not resolve the issue of uncertainty regarding inflation policy as the public, who clearly distrusted them before, now have to rely on politicians to choose suitable people to control monetary policy. The simple solution is accountability; if central banks make their decisions transparently and/or are held acco untable for their actions, the public can feel a lot more confident in making expectations. The reputation of a central bank plays a key role in how much accountability is required; the longer the CB has delivered its promises/targets, the more trustworthy it is deemed to be and the less accountability is required. The empirical evidence seems to support this assertion. The German Bundesbank, often compared to Rogoffs Conservative Cental Banker (Rogoff, K 1985), has a very high level of independence but almost no accountability and this is sustainable only because of its reputation. Since the hyperinflation of the 1920s the Bundesbank has been careful to reflect, or even cultivate a public acceptance of the need for price stability (Bank of England 1996). This means that the inflation-averse German people are happy to trust the Bundesbank to deliver low inflation because of its impeccable track record over the last 50 years. This suggestion is strengthened by the following graph, where low inflation is related positively to low accountability: At the other end of the spectrum, the Bank of England and even more so the Reserve Bank of New Zealand are held accountable for their results, despite their comparative lack of independence. This may be explained by their relative infancy within the realms of CBI (The BoE became independent in 1997 and the RBNZ in 1989) and so in either case there has not been enough time to build a reputation. With regards to the UK, the terrible collapse of the Medium-Term Financial Planning system under Thatcher may remain a coal stoking the fire of the publics political cynicism, adding further need for a high level of accountability. There are three main channels by which the BoE demonstrates its transparency and accountability to both the Government and the public at large. Primarily, the inflation target itself is the cornerstone of the authorities medium-term price stability objectives and provides an indisputable measure of failure or success that is simple to understand. This is in stark contrast to the MTFS where numerous measures (e.g. Â £M3, M1, PSL2), which were not immediately recognisable to the man on the street, were used and muddied the water if targets were missed. In addition the minutes of the meetings between the Chancellor and Governor, where monetary policy decisions are made and discussed, are published each month along with the Inflation Report, detailing the Banks own scrutiny of inflationary patterns. In comparison to The New Zealand Approach, where the Governor can be sacked for missing an inflation target, having the Governor of the BoE write a letter for the same crime seems particular ly soft. However, if we compare the relative successes of the two banks since they adopted independence, we see that until 2007 the BoE never missed a target and that in 1990 New Zealand had 8% (RBNZ Website) inflation when its target was 0-2%. This evidence seems to add credence to the suggestion that more accountability is required with a lesser reputation. The 1990s saw both developed and developing countries move in their droves towards increased central bank independence. This trend was sturdily influenced by empirical analysis of the relationship between macroeconomic performance and independence [see Alesina and Summers (1993), Jonsson (1995), andEijffingeret al. (1998)], which among the developed countries suggested a negative relationship between independence and inflation. For this reason alone it is of no surprise that CBI popularity grew, but coupled with the earlier stated reasons it seems to have become a necessity to successfully run a modern Government and economy. By adopting independence, a restriction on government interference in monetary policy is imposed; while making the central bank transparent and accountable imposes a restraint on how it utilises this independence. Both of these constraints are desirable as they allow those more knowledgeable to influence policy and provide those responsible for making policy someone else to blame if it fails. However, transparency by itself is not necessarily adequate for a monetary institution; after all, what good is the CB missing its objectives but just being very honest about it after? Instead, transparency can help the institution combat inflation bias and promote confidence in expectations, either by itself or in conjunction with central bank independence or even a formal central bank contract (Bank of England 1996), as in New Zealand. Finally, the empirical evidence linking independence, accountability and low inflation is conclusive. From the graphs above we note the inverse relationship between accountability and independence, which suggests that they are substitutes rather than compliments (Bank of England 1996). Hence, we can conclude that in terms of inflation targeting, accountability is equally as important as central bank independence, as one or the other (not necessarily both) is required for success. In addition the positive relationship between accountability and inflation history suggests that, at least for a short time period, accountability can be used as a substitute for a reputation of low inflation. Thus providing an instantaneous removal of the problems associated with the rational expectations model and allowing low inflation to be enjoyed by all. References: Alesina, Alberto. Macroeconomics and Politics. In NBER Macroeconomics Annual, pp. 17-52. Cambridge, 1988. Alesina A, Summers L.Centralbankindependenceand macroeconomic performance: some comparativeevidence. In Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 25: pp 151-62(1993) Bank of England. Central Bank Independence Accountability: Theory and Evidence. In Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, February 1996, pp-63-68 Bowles, P and White, G. Central bank independence: A political economy approach.In The Journal of Development Studies31(2) (1994), pp. 235-264 Cukierman, A., S. B. Webb, and B. Neyapti. Measuring the Independence of Central Banks and its Effects on Policy Outcomes. In The World Bank Economic Review, 6, pp. 353-398. 1992 Fischer, S. Modern central banking. In The future of Central Banking (1994), Eijffinger SCW, Schaling E, Hoeberichts M.Centralbankindependence: a sensitivity analysis. In European Journal of Political Economy 14: pp.73-88 (1998) Fraser, B.W. Central Bank Independence: What does it mean? In Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, 1994. Grilli, V, D. Masciandaro, and G. Tabellini. Political and Monetary Institutions and Public Financial Policies in the Industrial Countries. In Economic Policy 6, pp 341-392. 1991 Goodhart, C.A.E. Central Bank Independence. In Journal of International and Comaparative Economics, 3. 1994. Jonsson G. Institutions and macroeconomic outcomes theempiricalevidence. In Swedish Economic Policy Review 2: pp.181-212. (1995) Kane, E. Politics and Fed Policymaking: The More ThingsChange, the More They Remain the Same,In Journal of Monetary Economics,6,2(April 1980), pp. 199-211 Maxfield, S. Gatekeepers of Growth: The International Political Economy of Central Banking in Developing Countries 1997 Piga, G. Dependent and Accountable: Evidence from the Modern Theory of Central Banking,In Journal of Economic Surveys vol. 14(5), December 2000, pp 563-95 Posen, A. Why Central Bank Independence Does Not Cause Low Inflation: There is No Institutional Fix for Politics. In R. OBrien (ed.), Finance and the International Economy. 1993, pp 40-65. Rogoff, K. The optimal degree of commitment to an intermediate monetary target.In Quarterly Journal of Economics100(1985), pp. 1169-1189 Walsh, C. Central Bank Independence Prepared for The New Palgrave Dictionary December 2005 RBNZ Website: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/keygraphs/Fig1.html

A Separation of Life :: essays research papers

Water, the median of life. Growing up in a small town nestled tightly in the arms of the wasatch front, I learned early the importance of nature. There was a fine line drawn between religion and the outdoors, and the quest of my life was to determine an appropriate balance. Water, signifying the line between the spiritual and physical, played an important role in my secular teachings. Cutting through the center of town it was the very phenomenon that I had grown to love, the river. Soul restored and imagination stirred, the words of the river echoed the marks of God. Although by nature I stood alone, untutored and untouched, the waters of life left me free to understand the natural side of God’s order. With its flowing properties and unbridled passion to move forward, the water was my spirit. An old weathered palm tree emerged from the seemingly impenetrable sandy beach. I leaned back against its rough surface as the waves of the emerald blue ocean slowly crawled to my feet. They lapped relentlessly against the shore as if trying to take me back with them. The wind blew gently over the top of the distant incoming waves as they mirrored back the competing rays of sun. With each reflection, I narrowly squinted my eyes and continued to marvel at this picturesque interaction of color and beauty. I raised my hand to my brow, wiping off the beads of sweat that saturated my face. As my fingers moved across my sensitive skin, I could tell the sun had left its mark. I felt their was no escaping the blanket of rays only the clouds above seemed to be able to control. The pain was uncomfortable, but disappeared quickly as I scooped up the cool water and splashed it on my face. I knew that I could not drink the seemingly infinite volume of water which surrounded me, so I headed for a nearby stream. Kneeling down, I penetrated the stream with cupped hands and raised the fresh water to my dry lips. I was unable to control the water as it sifted through my fingers and ran down my arms, as if trying to escape back to the stream. I licked my salty lips and drank. I had never before tasted a more refreshing drink of water. This euphoric experience was one that I savored, as I reached for a second handful. There have been few experiences throughout my life that I remember more vividly than of that day on the beach. I often think about where the water would flow, and who would be the recipient of its aqueous forgiveness.

Group Practice Manager on Administrative Applications

Group Practice Manager on Administrative Applications Group Practice Manager on Administrative Applications An Air Force (AF) military treatment facility (MTF) will normally have two or more group practice managers (GPM). The facility where this interview takes place has three; they are co-located at LakenheathHospital with duties equally divided between in and outpatient care areas. The duties of a GPM consist of assessing clinical business practices, forecasting demands on medical services, and determine how well the MTF is meeting the business plan. They are responsible for the evaluation of each provider regarding relative value unit (RVU) and relative weighted unit (RWU). Additionally, they are evolved in budgeting, marketing, strategic planning and lead facility initiatives addressing patient satisfaction of in and outpatient medical services (AFMS Kx, n. d. ). The GPMs interact with numerous administrative applications to achievesuccess at their job. This paper will discuss three key applications; Management Analysis and Reporting Tool (M2), United States Armed Forces Europe (USAFE) Decision Support System (DSS) and Air Force Surgeon General’s Executive Global Look (SG EGL) utilized by the GPM in assess data. M2 is a Business Objects query tool GPMs use to aid decision makers in overseeing military health system(MHS) operations. The benefits of M2, provides a detailed summary of population, clinical and financial data from all MHSworldwide. Data includes, purchased care, eligibility and enrollment data (Executive Information Decision Support, n. . ). GPMs use M2 to evaluate encounters, business practices, perform trend analyses, conduct patient, and provider profiling studies. This application also identifies areas of healthcare services paid to the private sector that are available at the MTF and transfers those services back to MTF. Disadvantages of this system identified by the GPM include, complicated excel spreadsheet s requiring extensive data cleanup and performing multiple pivots to present reportable data. Data lag time is forty to sixty days, so today the GPM can only assess data as recent as the end of February. This system is preferred to the Composite Health Care System (CHCS I), a Virtual Memory System (VMS) where ad-hoc reports are built, requiring clean up, then pasted in to Excel for more data clean-up and pivoting (Beyster & Economy, 2007). Another administrative application favored by GPMs is the Air Force Surgeon General’s Executive Global Look (SG EGL). SG EGL assesses MTF effectiveness of meeting measures in customer satisfaction, provider availability, appointment booking, business plan and the command’s overall performance. One innovation all three GPMs agree upon is SG EGL, this administrative application provides â€Å"Push Report,† which pre-builds graphics of the aforementioned data that they do not have to pivot down. The SG EGL website allows requested reports to be sent directly to e-mail inbox monthly (Air Force Surgeon General’s Executive Global Look, n. d. ). Reports received have the same information contained on the website, so the user receives information in a dashboard format that is easily copied into PowerPoint for presentation tothe hospital leadership. One limitations of SG EGL noted by the GPM is the same data lag time as M2. Another problem with this application is the website frequently is inoperative and if updates are implemented you may not be able to see data until the Pentagon figures out the issue. One of the strengths of the website regardless up or down the â€Å"Push Reports† are always sent and contain viable data. Another tool for analyzing data used by the GPM is DSS. DSS is located in Ramstein, Germany and supports USAFESG on data regarding medical services provided throughout USAFE. DSS is a team of informatics specialists that generate custom reports, create and manage web-based applications (USAFE DSS, n. d. ). GPMs find DSS a favorite place to request custom built reports not covered in other applications such as M2 or SG EGL. Additionally, the informatics experts have the ability to mined data and perform clean-up, the GPM would normally have to accomplish. The report is still received in excel format,but data is specific to the request. The negatives of DSS, if a requested report needs additional data fields added, the report has to be rebuilt to include the new fields. Furthermore, extensive directions must be given to guide the informatics section on building the report. Once the report is built to specifications the potential for assessment of data is tremendous. The administrative application discussed in this paper address just a few currently used by GPMs. There are additional unique databases at major commands (MAJCOM), developed to assess unique data requiring evaluation by the command. The development of unique databases occurs due tothe demand for quick acquisition of data â€Å"in real time. Unfortunately, development at the DoD level takes years for implementation and the user want current data, not data forty to sixty days out of date. GPMs at this facility greatly desire one administrative application to obtain tables, graphs and reports, but such an application is years in the making. References Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) Knowledge Exchange (Kx). (n. d). Group practice manager’s position description. Retrieved from https ://kx. afms. mil/kxweb/home. doAFAF (Air Force Surgeon General’s Executive Global Look n. d. SG EGL)Air Force Surgeon General’s Executive Global Look. (n. d. . SG EGL. Retrieved from https://egl. afms. mil/ (Beyster R J Economy P 2007 SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Comapny)Beyster, R. J. , & Economy, P. (2007). The SAIC solution: How we built an $8 billion employee-owned technology company. John Wiley & Sons, 88. (Executive Information Decision Support n. d. EIDS)Executive Information Decision Support. (n. d. ). EIDS. Retrieved from http://www. ha. osd. mil/peo/59810_Axiom_Bro_EIDS. pdf United States Armed Forces Europe (USAFE) Decision Support System (DSS). (n. d. ). Retrieved from https://sg2. usafe. af. mil/DSS/

Hogs and Pigs - Suidae - The Animal Encyclopedia

Hogs and Pigs - Suidae - The Animal Encyclopedia Hogs and pigs (Suidae), also known as suids, are a group of mammals that includes domestic pigs, babirusas, pigs, warthogs, forest hogs, red river pigs, and bushpigs. There are sixteen species of hogs and pigs alive today. Hogs and pigs are stout, medium-sized mammals that have a stocky torso, an elongated  head,  short legs, and small pointed ears. Their eyes are often small and positioned high on the skull. Hogs and pigs have a distinct snout, the tip of which consists of a round cartilaginous disc (called nasal disc) with their nostrils on the end. The nasal disc is attached to muscles that enables pig to move their nose with precision as they sniff their way along the ground foraging for food. Hogs and pigs have an acute sense of smell and a well-developed sense of hearing. Hogs and pigs have four toes on each foot and are therefore classified among the even-toed hoofed mammals. Hogs and pigs walk on their middle two toes and their outside two toes are placed higher on their leg and do not come into contact with the ground when they walk. Hogs and pigs range in size from the pygmy hog (Porcula salvania)- a critically endangered pig that when full grown measures less than 12 inches tall and weighs less than 25 pounds- to the giant forest hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni)- a bulky suid that grows to more than 3.5 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs in at an impressive 350 pounds or more.  Adult female hogs and pigs and juveniles form groups known as sounders. Adult males either remain solitary or form small bachelor groups. Pigs are not usually territorial and exhibit aggression between individuals during the mating season. Hogs and pigs once inhabited a native range that extended across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Humans introduced domesticated pigs, derived from the species Sus scrofa, to areas throughout the world including North America, New Zealand, and New Guinea. Fossil hogs and pigs occur in the Oligocene in Europe and Asia and in the Miocene of Africa. Diet The diet of hogs and pigs varies among the different species. Many  hogs and pigs  are omnivores but some are herbivores. In general, the diet of  hogs and pigs  includes: Plant material such as grass, leaves, and rootsInvertebrates such as insects and wormsSmall vertebrates such as frogs and mice Classification Hogs and pigs are classified within the following taxonomic hierarchy: Animals Chordates Vertebrates Tetrapods Amniotes Mammals Even-toed hoofed mammals Hogs and pigs Hogs and pigs are divided into the following taxonomic groups: Babirusa (Babyrousa) - There are four species of babirusa alive today. Members of this group include the  golden babirusa,  Sulawesi babirusa, Togian babirusa, and  Bola Batu  babirusa. Babirusa  are noted for the long upper canine teeth that, in males, curve back over their face.Warthogs (Phacochoerus) - There are two species of warthogs alive today, the desert warthog and the common warthog. Warthogs inhabit the dry grasslands and scrublands of sub-Saharan Africa.Forest hogs (Hylochoerus) - There is one species of forest hog alive today, the giant forest hog,  Hylochoerus meinertzhageni. The giant forest hog is considered to be the largest wild member of the Suidae. The giant forest hog inhabits woodland habitats in central Africa.Bushpigs and red river hogs (Potamochoerus) - Only two living species belong to this group, the bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) and the red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus). Both species inhabit sub-Saharan Africa.Domestic and wild pigs (Sus) - There are six species of pigs alive today. Members of this group include domestic pigs and wild boar (Sus scrofa), Visayan warty pigs (Sus cebifrons), and Philippine warty pigs (Sus philippensis). References Hickman C, Roberts L, Keen S.  Animal Diversity. 6th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2012. 479 p.Hickman C, Roberts L, Keen S, Larson A, lAnson H, Eisenhour D.  Integrated Principles of Zoology  14th ed. Boston MA: McGraw-Hill; 2006. 910 p.

3 Tips for Writing Stellar UNC Chapel Hill Supplement Essays

3 Tips for Writing Stellar UNC Chapel Hill Supplement Essays SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re applying for admission to UNC Chapel Hill, you’ll have to write a total of three essays as part of your application. Your UNC Chapel Hill supplemental essays are a great way to tell the admissions committee more about yourself while also showing your interest in UNC and your dedication to your education. In this article, we’ll break down what the UNC essay prompts are, what you should talk about in each, and offer tips for writing great UNC supplemental essays. What Are the UNC Essay Prompts? UNC Chapel Hill uses the Common Application for its admissions process. As a first-year applicant, you’ll be required to write a total of three essays: one Common Application essay and two UNC-specific essays. The UNC supplemental essays are two 250-500 word essays that respond to UNC-specific questions. There are a total of four UNC supplemental essays to choose from; you get to pick whichever two you would like to answer. Here are the four UNC essay prompts: Tell us about a peer who has made a difference in your life. What do you hope will change about the place where you live? What is one thing that we don’t know about you that you want us to know? What about your background, or what perspective, belief, or experience, will help you contribute to the education of your classmates at UNC? In the next section, we’ll talk about how to answer each of the UNC supplemental essays. UNC Supplemental Essays, Analyzed Each of the four UNC essay prompts asks you to share about something in your life that the admissions committee wouldn’t know from reading the rest of your application. The key to writing great UNC supplemental essays is to be personal and specific. Let’s take a look at what the admissions committee wants to know in each prompt. Tell us about a peer who has made a difference in your life. This prompt wants to know about the lessons you’ve learned from your peers - friends, classmates, teammates, etc. Basically, people who are your contemporaries. Don’t talk about a teacher, coach, or other adult - the prompt specifically states that you should talk about someone who is your age. The key to this prompt is to be specific about the lessons you’ve learned from your peer. This UNC essay isn’t the place to talk about how awesome your friend is or how much fun you have together - unless there’s a lesson built in, like that you can always persevere in the face of extreme obstacles. The story you choose to share doesn’t have to be hugely transcendent or impressive - all you need to do is speak honestly about how this person has influenced your life, even if the lessons learned seem small. What do you hope will change about the place where you live? While this prompt may seem serious, it doesn’t have to be. You don’t need to do in-depth research into the changes in laws in your neighborhood, but you do need to pick a change that has personal meaning for you. For instance, maybe you and your neighbors don’t know each other well and you’d like to have a greater feeling of community with the people you live near. That reason has nothing to do with legislation, but would have a big impact on your life. Show how and why those changes would affect you. The reasons you give will help the admissions committee get a better understanding of who you are a person. What is one thing that we don’t know about you that you want us to know? The possibilities for this prompt are endless! You can really talk about anything here - from your love of cooking to your passion for creating enamel pins to the flag football games you always play with your cousins at family reunions. For this prompt, pick something specific. It’s better to focus on one aspect of your personality rather than writing a big list of qualities. Go deep on one thing, rather than barely scratching the surface on a number of characteristics. Make sure that whatever you choose to highlight isn’t talked about anywhere else on your application. This prompt is your chance to tell the admissions committee something they don’t know about you - don’t waste it! What about your background, or what perspective, belief, or experience, will help you contribute to the education of your classmates at UNC? This prompt is a pretty standard diversity prompt which seeks to get a better understanding about your identity and perspective. The committee isn’t looking for you to demonstrate any particular qualities or understanding of identity, but it is looking for you to be authentic. Don’t say anything about yourself that is an exaggeration or isn’t true. If you don’t feel that your perspective or beliefs are all that unique, or if you don’t have a lot to say about either, it’s probably best to go with a different prompt. 3 Tips For Mastering Your UNC Essays Hoping to write two amazing UNC supplemental essays? Follow these key tips to do so! #1: Use Your Own Voice The point of a college essay is for the admissions committee to have the chance to get to know you beyond what’s featured in other parts of your application. Your admissions essays are your chance to become more than just a collection of statistics - to really come alive for your application readers. Make sure that the person you’re presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don’t just write what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you’re not - it will be really easy for the committee to tell you’re lying. If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere, which will at best diminish its effectiveness and at worst make the admissions committee think twice on accepting you. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are, not who you think UNC wants you to be. #2: Avoid Cliches and Overused Phrases When writing your UNC essays, don’t use cliches or overused quotes or phrases. The college admissions committee has probably seen numerous essays that state, â€Å"Be the change you want to see in the world.† You can write something more original than that! Each of the UNC essays asks you something specific about your experience or background. Your essay should be 100% you - you don’t want the admissions committee to think, â€Å"Anyone could have written this essay.† #3: Check Your Work Your UNC essays should be the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your UNC Chapel Hill application, edit and proofread your essays. Run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit and ask someone else to read your essays. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check and make sure you haven’t missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be. Final Thoughts Your UNC supplemental essays are your chance to show the admissions committee what makes you special and different from the other tens of thousands of students applying for admission at UNC. In your essays, make sure you are authentic, well-spoken, and polished so you give the admissions committee the best possible understanding of who you are as a person. What’s Next? Need more help with your scholarship search?Read our expert guide on how to find college scholarships. Need help writing your Common App essay?Our tips will show you how to write a Common App essay guaranteed to make you stand out from other applicants! How does UNC's selectivity compare with those of other top colleges? Get the answer in our guide to the most selective schools in the nation! Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

The Coca-Cola Financial Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Coca-Cola Financial Accounting - Essay Example Vertical analysis. The assets have increased significantly from 34% to 35% because the company invested more. The short term investment rose from 7% to 9% raising the assets turnover. In addition more assets were held for sale by the company and this increased the total assets significantly. The total equity reduced significantly from 37% to 33%.This was because of the reduced shareholders who run away due to low prices of share and dividends. The shareholders reduced by 4 % and this affected the total equity significantlyHorizontal analysis. In 2014 when revenues were 95% of the base year amounts, cost of goods sold was less—only 93% of the base year amount. There has been a degree in revenue from 98% to 95% because the company has decreased the prices of the products and the brand. The selling price of the products was reduced due to the lower costs of production. In addition, the inventory cost could have declined significantly. This has significantly affected the net incom e which has reduced from 95% in 3013 to 78% in 2014.The Gross margin has increased significantly over years and this means that the business is doing well and its rising in profitability as the year’s progresses. This also implies that the company has a lot of money to spend on other business operations including marketing as compared to other companies.The company is not facing liquidity issues since the working capital ratio is more than one. Normally, a ratio that is less than 1 makes a company to face liquidity issues.

Civilizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Civilizations - Essay Example The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, which is largely known as modern-day Iraq, Egypt, India, and China were the first to qualify as classical civilizations of the axial age. According to the majority of famous historians, a civilization is basically a process in which people belonging to a specific area shape their cultural and religious beliefs. By the same definition, the ancient Greeks qualified themselves as a unique civilization with one remarkable difference, which was the dominating priesthood that claimed a control on the sole lines of communication with the powers of mystery. In this paper, we will discuss the environmental, economic, and socio-political attributes of Greece, Roman Civilization, India, and China and compare them in order to highlight similarities and differences, which influenced the development in human history. Along with the discussion on similarities and differences, we will also discuss the decline of these famous civilizations in order to get a b etter understanding of the causes of their decline. The Axial Age The period from 800 B.C. to 200 B.C.E. is generally known as the Axial Age. It was the period when a large number of today’s most famous religions were introduced to the people of that time. Modern day Iraq, Greece, and Persia are some of the most prominent civilizations of the Axial Age. At this time, the politics of the whole world mostly revolved around the area of the Middle East, which was the most stable area of that time. In that age, the civilization of Greece was reaching its peak in all aspects of life whether it was philosophy, politics, culture, or any other aspect of a good civilization. Muesse found that the rise of Zoroastrianism in Persia, emergence of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism on the Indian subcontinent, and the introduction of Daoism and Confucianism in China are some of main religious development s related to the Axial Age.1 Major Ancient River-Valley Civilizations Let us now discuss th e environmental, economic, and socio-political attributes of the ancient civilizations of Greece, Roman Empire, India, and China in detail. There are remarkable coincidences which allowed these ancient societies to attain a high degree of development which qualified them to be called as civilizations. It was a coincidence that all of these ancient civilizations were located in highly fertile geographical regions of the world. This was a strategic similarity because without the fertility of the soil, these ancient civilizations would not be able to develop further from their previous precarious existence. The locations of Greece, China, India, and Rome allowed the people to develop quickly from a hunting or gathering way of life to a more peaceful and respectable way of life. Mesopotamia itself lied between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates that encompassed parts of northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran. Gunnell states, â€Å"They developed in the valley betwee n the Tigris and Euphrates, along the Nile, the Indus and Ganges, and Yellow Rivers respectively†.2 Both rivers had origins in the Armenian region of modern-day Turkey fed by tributaries from the Zagros mountains. The early people of Mesopotamia used to harness the fertility of soil only if they had