Promoting Population Health Essay

Every Woman Matters is a program through the Nebraska Department of Health which is state run and federally funded. This program focuses on decreasing barriers to preventive breast and cervical cancer screenings in low-income women. They so this by raising public awareness and make these screenings more accessable and affordable to eligible women (Backer, Geske, McIlvain, Dodendorf, & Minier, 2005). Reduced cost or no cost clinical breast exams, mammograms, and Pap smear test are provided through this program. The EWM program has attempted to provide their services to physician practices to assist in the development of the program. The practices are expected to follow the GAPS model to implement this change. This includes: â€Å"goal setting, assessing existing routines, planning the modification of routines, and providing support for these improvements (Backer et al., 2005, p402). In order for this to be successful, they need to alter physician and practice behaviors. The practices resources, willingness to change, and the ability of staff to fully cooperate or work as a team should have been evaluated before the attempt to implement EWM program into each practice. It seems the practices chosen to implement the Every Woman Matters program already had its own issues or barrier for implementation to be fully possible. Some of the problems that were faced were: one practice was only focused on generating income, some were hospital owned which added barriers to approval, enthusiasm was not shared by all staff, staff was disgruntled or overextended, limited resources, resistance from staff, no active leader, prevention not being priority, and the loss of interest or elimination of goals after the first few months (Backer et al., 2005). Each practice  involved had at least one of these issues present resulting in the Every Woman Matters program not being effective in meeting its goals. Prevention Programs Two prevention programs that advocate for early screening are The North Carolina Breast Cancer Screening Program (NC-BCSP) and the Esperanza y vida health education program. Both of these programs are focused on women’s health screenings and treatment and they go about it the same way, influencing and supporting through social networks and offering culturally tailored interventions. The North Carolina Breast Cancer Screening Program focuses on African American women over 50 years old. They use a social ecological theory which targets several levels of the community from individuals and social networks to institutions and policymakers. They believe that providing â€Å"linkages† will develop communities that will endure after the research project ends (Altpeter, Earp, & Schopler, 1998). Social workers and others are used as â€Å"coaches or teachers† to develop the community participants’ skills. They help organize local efforts and provide technical assist ance or training. Social workers also identify and integrate the needs of underserved constituents into service planning to aim to improve service delivery. Three interventions are used in developing the program, Outreach, InReach, and Access. Outreach targets individual women and community nerworks to which they belong, building on the capacity of local leadership to advocate and promote breast cancer screening. This includes having agency-based community outreach specialists, county-based community advisory groups and a network of volunteers that span the projects 5-county region. The focus is to enhance awareness, generate community support, and introduce Lay Health Advisors that run focus groups. InReach enhances service delivery by restructuring clinic policies and procedures to increase efficiency of previous services that are delivered, provider education on breast cancer topics, help agencies implement community outreach efforts customized to older African American women. Key players of InReach are health care providers including private practice physicians, radiology centers, county health departments and federally funded rural health centers (Altpeter et al, 1998). â€Å"Program Champions† will advocate with the medical community and agencies for community wide screening,  referral, and follow-up plans. Access promotes accessible, equitable care by overcoming institutional barriers (cost, transportation, mammogram quality assurance) that prevent low income African American women from getting screenings. Key players are state and local agencies that are responsible for financing or delivering needed services. Radiology centers improve units or increase the quality of mammograms, the development of linkages, decrease in prices with creative use of federal or state financing with innovative plans such as â€Å"free weeks†. Promotion of ongoing availability in local health agencies of breast cancer screening activities. The NC-BCSP focuses on institutionalizing health promotion programs by establishing relationships with local health departments, rural health clinics, radiology centers, and physicians to ensure the program â€Å"me shed† with the current systems already in place in local organizations. This is important in fitting a â€Å"niche† within an organization to ensure longevity and uncover existing grassroot linkages that can fimly establish a comprehensive system of accessible, available, and affordable breast cancer screening and treatment options. Institutionalization depends on infrastructure development, community linkages at multiple levels and monitoring and providing feedback. What I find most importand in the NC-BCSP is the way they use community members to make this program work. Program Champions who have influence at the policy level and Project Coordinators who are older black women from the community. Lay Health Advisors who will gain professional knowledge and skills have existing ties within the community and social networks will initiate behavioral change. Natural helpers from within targeted communities are recruited and trained women who others turned to for advice, support, and assistance in the past. The Esperanza y vida is a peer-led health education program addressing the decreased rate of breast and cervical cancer screening and treatments in the Latina community. Sudarsan (2011 p 194) states â€Å"Individuals can not be considered separately from their social environment and background.†, which they prove by influencing and supporting Latina individuals through social networks and neighborhoods and communities. This programs’ interventions reflect the community’s priorities and culture. Culturally appropriate information and resources are provided to increase patient knowledge for self care and to decrease obstacles to health care. By offering culturally tailored  interventions, they increase the rates of screening. In their program, they use three different locations to account for geographic, ethnic, and community diversity. Along with education regarding breast and cervical cancer screenings and treatment, the Esperanza y Vida program addresses fears , concerns, and perceptions that negatively impact understandings. They also evaluate pre and post-program knowledge, testing attendance to increased screening adherence. Using ARS, an audience response system which uses Power Point questions and responses are recorded anonymously using a wireless keypad, increasing the probability of participants answering honestly. The program found differences between locations indicating varying familiarity with technology and literacy, resulting in low comfort levels. Esperanza y Vida accommodates Latino perspectives on family, religion, gender roles, and provides navigation into screening. The group settings are community-based locations, faith-based locations, or in womens’private homes. These â€Å"safe† locations are more appealing to undocumented Latinas, increasing the rate of participation. Learning by reflecting on access to various local agencies, and community structure variations. Trained peer volunteers are utilized, these are breast or cervical cancer survivors who share their persona l stories and stress the importance of early detection and regular screenings. Men are also encoursaged to attend because in Latino families the men tend to have more control over resources and decision making, promoting the health of female family members. Program sites are obtained by program coordinators who work with Community Advisory Boards, volunteers, and local community and faith-based organizations. Outreach includes providing potential sites with program details including program content, time and space needed to conduct the educational program. All participants of Esperanza y vida complete questioneers which include demographics, years in the US, current participation in screenings, pre-intervention knowledge surveys (evaluating baseline knowledge and attitudes) and post-intervention survey with the same questions (to measure any changes and success of the program) (Sudarsan, Jandorf, Erwin, 2011). The staff also tracks site setting, language the program is taught in, the type of program. The language the programs are taught in relate to the host and participants requests which reflects language preference in that specific region. Implementing Esperanza y Vida in diverse locations with  geographic considerations and variations and ethnic variables will assist in expanding the program across the US. Adaptation of the same intervention at different geographic sites will provide information to diverse populations. Cultural competence of the program has potential to decrease health disparities in Latinas (and soon other groups) in the US. The ability to recruit and educate diverse subgroups of the Latino population with success in enhancing knowledge about breast and cervical cancer screening and treatments. This program is malleable to different community needs which makes it stand out among others with similar focus. Strategies If I was the nurse leader in charge of developing a follow-up to the Every Woman Matters program, the strategies I would propose for creating a more effective prevention program would include: first, choosing practices that were financially stable, who worked well together, and where all staff was in agreement to promote change. References Altpeter, M., Earp, J., & Schopler, J. (1998). Promoting breast cancer screening in rural, African American communities: the â€Å"science and art† of community health promotion. Health & Social Work, 23(2), 104-115. Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=1998053486&scope=site Backer, E. L., Geske, J. A., McIlvain, H. E., Dodendorf, D. M., & Minier, W. C. (2005). Improving female preventive health care delivery through practice change: An Every Woman Matters study.Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 18(5), 401–408. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. Carroll, J. K., Humiston, S. G., Meldrum, S. C., Salamone, C. M., Jean-Pierre, P., Epstein, R. M., and Fiscella, K. (2009). Patients’ experiences with navigation for cancer care. Patient Education and Counseling 80, 241-247. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2009.10.024 Leeman, J., Moore, A., Teal, R., Barrett, N., Leighton, A., & Ste ckler, A. (2013). Promoting Community Practitioners’ Use of Evidence-Based Approaches to Increase Breast Cancer Screening. Public Health Nursing, 30(4), 323-331. doi:10.1111/phn.12021 Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2012167333&site=ehost-live Meredith, S. M. (2013).

My Personal Management Plan Essay

This plan will help with the discipline aspect of the classroom and helping students know what expectations are when entering into the classroom if done on a consistent basis. In the beginning of the school expectation should be given so that students are aware of the goals that are expected of them collectively and individually. With this classroom management plan there are a few things that should be taken into consideration in order for the plan to be of success. Shown below are a few steps that could be used in the classroom: Step 1, It’s Easier to get Easier, Step 2, Fairness is key, Step 3, Deal with disruption in the classroom as little as possible, Step 4, Avoid confrontation in front of students, Step 5, Stop disruptions with a little humor, Step 6, Keep High Expectation in your Classroom, Step 7, Over plan, Step 8, Be Consistent, Step 9, Make Rules Understandable and Step 10, Start everyday fresh. Having a classroom management plan set in place for your classroom will give students goals to look forward to accomplish with taking their education seriously for their future. My Personal Classroom Management Plan My personal management plan will start off with a motivational quote of the day that will encourage students daily. With this motivational quote daily will be followed along with the ten steps that makes up a successful classroom management plan. The first step is called it’s easier to get easier and this is simply setting the tone of your classroom day one with your students because believe it or not students come in scoping to see what they can and cannot get away with in their classroom. Secondly, fairness is key this is making sure that all students are treated the same overall unconditionally because they pick up on favoritism within the classroom. Thirdly, deal with disruptions with as little interruption as possible. This is saying instead of stopping completely in the middle of your lesson to chastise a student for not paying attention try calling on the student with a question in reference to what the class discussion is to alert them that you do see them off task and this should help them get back on task. Fourthly, it is important to avoid confrontations in front of students even though in some cases you can make your point that way but every disciplinary action should be handled on a personal note so that you don’t lose a chance of teaching that student because of embarrassment. Fifthly, stop disruptions with a little humor. Sometimes classrooms can seem so serious all the time and even though that student may have disturbed the flow of the teaching the class may need that moment of laughter to break the ice for second and then get back on track. Sixthly, keep high expectations in your classroom. Always expect nothing but the best from your students academically. Expect nothing but positive behavior in the classroom. Expect for your students to know that there is a time and place for everything and that they know when to determine that time at the sound of your voice when you start the day off with what the expectations are for the day. Seventhly, over plan each day so that there is no free time for the classroom to go another route in a way that you do not intend for you class to go. There is never too much work on one topic just in case the lesson doesn’t go as long as intended you will always have extra activities. Eighthly, be consistent being consistent is what makes the flow of the classroom go smoothly throughout the day and throughout the school year. As a teacher being strict one day and lenient the next day will cause for your students to lose respect for you and will tend to now try and run over you because they now feel like they can get away with misbehavior. Ninthly, make rules understandable, all rules should be short simple and precised of what is expected and what is not expected of them and consequences should be known ahead of time so that no surprises are made and when inappropriate actions are made they already know what is going to happen to them because of that action. Last but not least, start fresh every day, each day is a new day and should be handled in such a manner no action from the day before should role over into the next day. Me as a Teacher!!! As an educator I see myself as a positive role that students can look up to. As an positive role model I must conduct myself with a positive and respectful attitude. My students will know the importance of giving respect to receive respect and this is something that I go by no matter what the age is everyone deserves respect. I see myself as an educator that is passionate about what it is that I do. I want nothing but the best for my students and want to see each and every one of them prosper in success with their future endeavors. As a teacher I feel that it is my duty to go the extra mile in making sure that they are successful to face society and whatever else that may be put up against. As an educator it is my duty to nurture and love these students as if they were my own being that they are with me majority of the time in a day and five days of the seven days in a week. It is important for me to understand that all students are not coming from positive households and to make the time at school meaningful and worthwhile that there is hope and another look of life than what they may see each day when leaving school. It is my duty to be a responsible leader and educator because I have influential students’ lives in my hand. What’s expected from the Students!!! What I have come to realize is that students/ children like structure. It is important for them to know that they cannot run over their teacher or any adult. Everyday my students will be greeted and at the starting of the class they will be reminded of classroom expectations. Students will be required and held accountable for the following responsibilities: †¢ Self- Control †¢ Positive attitude as a person and in the classroom overall †¢ Saying I CAN’T is not an option †¢ Quitting is not an option when something is challenging †¢ Respect one another as they respect all adults Respect their classroom as their learning academic environment space †¢ Encourage one another!!! Atmosphere of the Classroom!!! It is important to make sure that your classroom is conducive for learning. This is simply having your classroom free of clutter. If the classroom is chaotic with mess and everything is all over the place then nine time out of ten then students and t he classroom will be ran in chaos because the brain is clouded with the unorganized materials that is around the individuals. Classrooms should display the way of learning that students take on. As the leader of your classroom sanctuary it is important that you make sure the atmosphere is positive, welcoming and comfortable for your students. Student Conduct!!! It is important that you get your students to understand the importance of their education, how valuable it is and beneficial for their future. Students must know how to conduct there selves accordingly in how they want others to see them as behaved students. I believe when students are included in making decisions in the classroom that you get a different response from them as a hold. This gives students a responsibility and makes them feel included in how they believe the classroom should be run. This helps to cherish the rules more in the classroom because they feel that they had something to do with the decision made for the rules. It is important to make sure that lessons are exciting to your students so that the lessons keep their attention throughout. Behavior Intervention Strategies!!! Behavioral strategies are very important because all students are not going to behave in a way that you expect for them to behave. In some cases you always have one student that want to see how far they can push you with their behavior. With this plan you can nip it in a bud right away and let them know that their behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the classroom. Also, there are positive and negative behaviors that either needs to reprimand or praised for what it is that they have done. Strategies that can be used are as follow: †¢ Rewarding a student when they have followed instructions or done something that was worth bringing attention to so that they know what it is that they you are expecting from them. †¢ Being consistent with consequences when rules are broken. †¢ Be mindful that some students do things because they need that extra attention that they may not be getting at home from their parents. †¢ Always, be ready for change in case the way you intended to correct a situation does not work with this particular student. Introducing the Plan!!! Introducing the classroom management plan to the classroom will simply discuss expectations of them as a group and individually. They will know and understand that our academics will not be taken lightly and should be done to the best of their ability. They know in the beginning that we all will respect one another collectively and no one will be disrespected in the classroom. This plan will be presented at the beginning of the school year to the parents and the students and expectations will start each school day so that students know that I am serious and take what it is that I do serious as well. Overall, having a classroom management plan in place for your classroom will help the day by day and school years go so much smoother. Not only having the plan makes the classroom run smoother but being consistent with what you stand by keeps students in place and in line and have a better success rate. It is important and okay for your students to know that you will do whatever it takes for them to above level but they must do their part as well and that’s with will power, courage and motivation.

How young children pay attention to directionality, shape, size, Essay

How young children pay attention to directionality, shape, size, spatial orientation in producing different writing scripts - Essay Example the reason why as they grow up, their primary school teacher may choose to stick to one or two writing scripts depending on the child so as to eliminate the chances that the child may be caught up in the mix of these writing scripts. Based on that, the aim of this research essay is to gain more knowledge about bilingual learning and/ or script writing in young children; emergent literacy; the issues related to the acquisition of literacy in young children; how children learn different writing systems; writing different scripts and the design of symbols and embodied knowledge. In a study that was conducted by Kenner et al. (2004), children who had bilingual capabilities always had the capability to communicate in between â€Å"two worlds† or â€Å"multiple worlds† for the case of those who were highly talented. In addition to that, these children had the capability to determine their unique and/ or distinct differences in their specific writing systems, other writing systems and graphic representations. From the same study, the young children involved showcased that they were not only capable of incorporating different writing scripts into their learning experience, but they were also capable of determining the fact that they were in actual fact using different writing scripts and/ or directionalities so as to communicate efficiently. A good example is that of the Chinese children who were in a position to determine that their language involved the use of symbols and not alphabetical letters when compared to other languages such as English. In addition to that, the Arabic children were able to determine that their language was different in the sense that they wrote from right to left and not vice versa as compared to the English language. Lastly, the Hispanic children were able to determine that their language vowels were different from the English spoken vowels (Kenner et al., 2004). Based on these results, it was determined that these children were highly

Siddhartha Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Siddhartha - Essay Example Theoretically, it is a justified and beautiful allegory of man's inner desire for peace and rebirth. It greatly shows the eternal oneness of man with his environment. Calvin (1996) asserted that Siddhartha is the best of Hermann Hesse's outstanding collection of work. De Rossi (1999) described Siddhartha as poetic, vibrant and extremely captivating resulting to a work of pure and inconceivable art. The Indian tale, Siddhartha, is the story of the spiritual awakening of an Indian man born from a wealthy Brahmin family. He was exposed to the extremities of man's wanting made of lust and greed and thus, he decided to leave his family and wealth to gain freedom to do whatever he likes. This stubbornness resulted to a child born out of wedlock. Yet, these material illusions caused by Siddhartha's desire to enjoy life have bored him and out of despair, he came to a river. He then heard a peculiar sound which signaled his enlightenment. This marked a new life for him, a life with inner peace and wisdom, which he never knew he had been wanting for a long time. As a young man blessed with intelligence and charm, he first believed that the true meaning of life was using his assets to live life to the fullest. In his quest for spiritual enlightenment, he wandered, hoping to eventually find what he was looking for. Then, he met a ferryman who was sitting in the shade of a banyan tree, listening to the sound of a river. The ferryman was believed by many natives as a sage but in fact, he was once a wandering shramana and a follower of Gotama, the Buddha. Siddhartha, on the other hand, was not a follower of Buddha. He grew up following his own desires without being enraptured by anyone's sermons but himself. Yet, after a long quest for truth and satisfaction, he later found what he was looking for. The ferryman and the friendships he gained in his quest has greatly helped him search his path. Neither did he found it in material things nor in other person's wealth. He found his true self, uncovered by the light of his own spirit. Overall, the book Siddhartha comprises of a mutual combination of man's angst and selfishness. It teaches life-earned lessons Siddhartha learned himself in his journey for inner peace. It is a superbly written spiritual quest. Theoretically, Siddhartha represents an ordinary man of today born with almost every material gift life has to offer. Yet, in his maturity, he later finds out that an enlightened path of life is not taught nor practiced. It is earned through experience. Hence, one has to experience years of the sorrows and joys of life before he finds what he was really searching for. Since the plot is set on India, it is a moral metaphor of Indian theology. The story, itself, depicts man's mystery of loneliness and discontent. It metaphorically shows how the protagonist goes through the various stages of life in order to gain enlightenment and complete rebirth. The happiness he later earned was the result of the complexities he earned

Exploring an art Object Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Exploring an art Object - Essay Example In 1990, the Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed for public as a rigorous restoration plan starting in the following years. It was reopened in 2001 and the scientific committee revealed a recovery in inclination of the tower in August 15, 2013 (Ridet, n.pag.). Due to its unusual tilted architecture, it is a popular tourist attraction and Pisa is one of Europe’s most visited cities as a result. The Tower of Pisa was constructed hundreds of years ago in Romanesque style of architecture. Its construction began in 1173 soon after which it started tilting. Its name comes from an ancient Greek word which literally means marsh land. Since it was a marshy land the soil was unbalanced because of its composition. The soil contained mud, clay, and sand due to which the tower’s foundations began tilting towards the north. After its engineers noticed the defect, they tried to make up for the tilt by making the columns taller in the north (Harris, n.pag.). However, the tower continued t o incline and it started tilting towards the south, the direction where it still tilts till today although efforts by the engineering bodies have reduced the inclination greatly. It reached its greatest tilt in 1990 when it was being feared that the tower might fall over due to gravity. Restoration project started so as to reduce its inclination to maintain the site as a remarkable historical building. Romanesque architecture was an early medieval style of architecture that was popular in Europe during the medieval times. The form of architecture was defined by the presence of arches shaped semi circularly. Although there are various other medieval buildings in Pisa, Italy that depict a Romanesque style, perhaps the Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most remarkable ones due to its tilted structure. Just like a typical Romanesque building, the tower has 6 galleries that have been laid one top of the other (Stalley, 202) making a total of 8 storeys. The tower stands at a height of 5 6 meters as a bell tower or campanile. The Tower of Pisa is made up of white marbles that has been inlaid towards the outside with colored marble. It is a part of the Cathedral of Pisa which is located close by. The building techniques that have been used during the construction of the tower include load bearing masonry, cut stone construction, inlaying, and round plan. Load bearing masonry is probably one of the oldest forms of construction which involves the layering of masonries one on top of the other thereby building walls and other structures. Load bearing masonry has given the tower strength although it has been tilting since years. Also, the technique has made aesthetically beautiful walls which give a structurally rich look to the Tower of Pisa. In order to cut stones to make dimension stones for the construction for the tower, the technique of cut stone masonry construction was used by the designers. These dimension stones were the used for the making of its walls. The tow er has various galleries with columns supporting the curved arches in between. Although white marbles were used as the masonry for the construction, the exterior side of the tower was inlaid with colored marble so as to give it a creatively rich appearance. The Leaning Tower of Pisa comes under the category of Romanesque architecture. It is a building that was built as a toure de force

The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster risk management plan Case Study

The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster risk management plan - Case Study Example From the data provided, it appears that a risk management plan was in existence. Some of the management plans were applied whereas some of the plans were not applicable due to some reasons. One of the examples of a risk management plan was to design a space shuttle program that would utilize both the liquid and solid propellants. The liquid propellant system is more reliable as compared to the solid propellant system. The flow of the liquid propellant from the storage tanks to the engine can be throttled and shut down in case of emergency whereas a solid propellant cannot function in the same manner. One of the drawbacks associated with the liquid propellants was that they are comparatively expensive than the solid propellants and hence it was impossible for NASA to hire a system totally functional on liquid propellant. A combination of both was manufactured. In 1972, NASA chose Rocker for the building of the orbiter. According to many industry leaders, the Rocker package did not include an escape system. An escape system is very effective and necessary in case of emergencies. NASA officials ignored the escape system and hence the Space Shuttle Program became the first the first U.S. aircraft which did not include an escape system for the crew. According to Mr. Moore, (NASA's deputy administrator for space flight), weather plays an important role. According to him, the specifications on the wind velocity need to be checked in order to avoid exceeding of crosswinds. This is done so that the commanders can have a clear view of the runway and so forth. In order to avoid any accidents that may be related to weather, crosswinds limits are maintained. These issues clearly enhance the project management factor. Some of the risk management plans were implied whereas some of them could not be reinforced. 2. Would there had been a better way to handle risk management planning at NASA assuming sixteen flights per year, twenty live flights per year or as originally planned, sixty flights per year Why is the number of flights per year critical in designing a formalized risk management plan The planner that was originally planned comprised of sixteen flights per year. With the increase in flights, the paper work tended to increase. The requirement for paper work completion was that it was supposed to be submitted approximately one week before every flight. The increase in paper work meant that the accomplishment of goals was getting difficult. With the increase in paperwork, the formulation of a risk management plan was almost impossible because half of the time was consumed in the paperwork of the flights. The employees of NASA were working very hard to cope up with the paperwork which was increasing with the increase in the number of flights. Increase in paperwork meant that the personnel had to work overtime which included the weekends. According to an interoffice memo that was sent from Scot Stein to Bob Lund the paperwork was making it difficult for them to handle the problems and formulating a risk management plan because half the time was taken up by the paperwork. He said that it was necessary to make

(Continuous Uncertainty) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

(Continuous Uncertainty) - Assignment Example However, some idealistic assumptions with some faith are also incorporated while formulating forecasted cash flows as the future is unpredictable and things can move onto the right desired track as well. In the current Dhahran Roads project, while formulating the assumptions, special care has been taken in respect of the assumptions on which the cash flows are forecasted. However, in the following paragraphs, the rationales for setting out these assumptions are outlined. Negotiations with the Transportation Ministry of the municipality of Dhahran have been finalized. According to the terms and conditions set out with the Ministry, 80% of the billing amount would be paid by the ministry as soon as the bill received by the ministry. So the element of potential delay in the payment schedule is kept minimized. Still there is a risk involved if delays come across in the payments made by the government resulting in adverse movement in the forecasted Net Present Value. So far as likelihood of overrun cost is concerned, it has been assured that the best possible estimates of overheads and other expenses are maintained. Since there seems to be â€Å"no unusual challenges† to be faced during the project life, therefore the possibility of cost overrun will likely to be at its minimum. Loss of retention looks to be one of the most critical assumption as there is exactly no surety whether the accumulated retention fund payments would be made at the end of 1997 and 1998 respectively into two equal installments by the ministry or not. The reason behind this uncertainty is that after the completion of the project, if the ministry is not satisfied with quality of project, this accumulated retention fund can be revoked by the ministry. This is kind of a negative reinforcement measure that can be taken against SADE in order to maintain the minimum requirement for quality assurance of the project. In case if the loss of retention arises, it would certainly

Argumentative Research Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Argumentative Research Report - Essay Example One of the strong arguments for legalization of drugs stems from the inadmissibility of the continuation of the current state of affairs, when hundreds of thousands of people are arrested every year and kept behind bars for possession of illegal substances for personal usage, and not for sale (Inciardi, 2005, p.133). At the same time, realistically looking at things we have to confess that even under such a harsh regime there has not occurred a significant reduction in drugs use, and there seems to be no perspective for such reduction at all, because for many people drugs offer a much valued ability to escape from the unpleasant aspects of our reality. Thus, the measures of prosecution and compulsory rehabilitation of drugs addicts substitutes one evil for another as they only add to the unhappiness of people who depend on drugs by intensifying in them an atmosphere of psychological tension that may actually contribute to the drug-oriented behavior and addiction (Zimmer and Morgan, 2 001, p. 36). Moreover, the illegal status of drugs is the single greatest boon for the criminal narco-mafia, which has become a proper symbol of evil to be fought with, and which is in fact interested in the prevention of legalization of drugs. Considering the above-mentioned, we may infer on sound grounds that the current state of affairs regarding policies towards drugs abuse are often based on superficial understanding of the essence of the phenomenon they are aimed against, so they often lead to ineffective and even damaging consequences. In fact, experiments with prohibition are definitely well known for the United States, one has just to recollect the 18th Amendment that in 1919 outlawed the production and sale of alcoholic drinks. Needless to remind that criminal activity surged, and health of now illegal drinkers was threatened by illegal alcohol of dubious quality (Haynes and Harding 2004, pp. 262-278). Besides, efforts

Environmental Analysis Essay Example for Free

Environmental Analysis Essay Introduction This essay will discussed one of the most controversial environmental issue climate change along with some of the facts including how people first discover that climate change does existed; as well as legitimation in climate change globally; public debate; and the way in which government response to this issue. Furthermore this paper will discuss the role of science to identify the existence of climate change. Identification and legitimation of the issue Climate change is one of the biggest environmental challenges that the world encounters. It has obvious impact on our planet causing higher temperature, shifting seasons, sea levels rising. These phenomenon are closely tide up with world’s economic as it affect businesses around the world. The British government report warned if no action is taken to control carbon emissions climate change would cost 5 to 20 percent of the annual global gross domestic product. (Climate change impacts, 2011). The United Nation’s intergovernmental Panel on Climate change published a report in 2007 regarding the discovery of Global Warming since the 20th Century. (IPCC, 2011). The possible reason for this phenomenon may be caused by human activity. The appropriate definition is explained by the IPCC, which states that climate change is â€Å"a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.† (IPCC, 2012) Many countries have taken the initiative to legislate appropriate regulation regarding climate change. In 2010 a published article noted that â€Å"Qinghai† is one of the first province to establish a regulation that holds local government and state owned enterprises response in coping with climate change (Xinhuanet, 2010). The statistic have shown that â€Å"Qinghai† ‘s temperature in general has been rising by 0.35 centigrade every ten years compare to the world’s average of 0.13 centigrade. (Mu Xuequan, 2010). This regulation will stress the importance and specified the local government’s responsibility on climate change. Public Debate The argument around the topic of climate change is one of the most controversial topic because it involved in whether climate change is man made or its simply nature forces. Some scientist believes that the temperature of earth is actually getting colder not warmer due to the cycle of the sun. This is known as the â€Å"Sunspot cycle†, sun gets a little bit hotter and colder every 11 years and when it gets colder it causes the temperature of earth to get colder too. Other scientist argued that the change of temperature is so small that it can barely be detected. Most scientists agree that an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming. They argued about the details of the effects of global warming on the earth. However it is generally agreed that it will lead to worldwide changes in weather patterns, gradual melting of the ice caps and rising sea levels. These changes will impact on your lifestyle, agriculture and the survival of other organism. (Haire, M et al, 2000). Energy savings, emissions reductions and water resource conservation and many other works related to climate change need to be considered Government policy response Recent years many countries have impose law relevant to combat climate change. Energy savings, emissions reductions and water resource conservation and marketing â€Å"green† have been the primary goal amongst most organization. Country like Australia is promoting energy efficiency measures through a wide range of programs and rebates. The election of Kevin Rudd in 2007 especially shows a major change of the Australian government policy through Australia’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. In terms of some specific initiatives the Australian government also continue the measure of mandatory renewable energy target scheme. And since 2010 the Government also established a climate change committee with the main purpose of investigate â€Å"options for implementing a carbon price and help build consensus on how Australia will tackle climate change† (Parliament of Australia, 2012) Role of science Science has played an important part in proving the existence of climate change by observation and experiment. This graph above depicts the global change in sea level since the end of the last ice age. During this 15,000 year period sea level has increased approximately 125 meters. Conclusion By evaluating the historical development of climate change we can conclude that climate change is the most important and challenging environmental issue. Regardless of the disagreements, climate change has been proven exist by scientific research. It has drawn the public attention and requires international cooperation among different governments. Reference Haire, M et al (2000). Core Science3. Singapore: Kyodo. P110-111. IPCC (2011) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [online] Available at; http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_cn.pdf [Accessed: 27 Jul 2012]. Parliament of Australia (2012) Australian government response to climate change. [online] Available at: http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Browse_by_Topic/ClimateChange/Governance/Domestic/national [Accessed: 27 Jul 2012]. Sunspots and climate (2000) Sunspots and climate. [online] Available at: http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/notes/chap02/sunspots.html [Accessed: 27 Jul 2012]. The Nature Conservancy (2012) Climate Change Impacts. [online] Available at;

Information security authentication program for Moonshine Mining Essay Example for Free

Information security authentication program for Moonshine Mining Essay Moonshine mining deals with the mining business related to diamond, sapphire, gold etc. Moonshine mining maintains all its intellectual properties and other important documents in 3 internal servers in Perth head office. This information is very confidential to the moon shining. This information should be available only to the internal moon shining employees and other authorized personnel’s. Moonshine has identified the potential risk for the information assets through the risk assessment procedure. To overcome these risks, proper authentication and other security procedures must be implemented in the organization. Each and every method has its own disadvantages and advantages, the proper investigation and study must be performed to choose the best fit method for the organization. Introduction Computer security must be an integral part of the organization. Computer Security is the protection afforded to an automated information system in order to attain the applicable objectives of preserving the integrity, availability and confidentiality of information system resources. Through the selection and application of appropriate safeguards, security helps the organizations mission by protecting its physical and financial resources, reputation, legal position, employees, and other tangible and intangible assets (NIST 2006). Many organizations are spending millions of dollars in computer security. Computer security policies and goals should be inline with the organization mission and policies. Computer security should be very cost effective. Specialized teams must be formed in the organization for monitoring and controlling the computer security policies and procedures. Basic Security policies should be followed in Moonshine Company Computer security policies must be accessible by everyone in the organization. Each and every single personnel in the organization is responsible for implementing and maintaining the computer security. User support must be provided for solving various problems related to computer security. Help desks are needed to be created for this type of support. Additional support can be any helpline and online chat. Software support should be available in the organization. Various restrictions are needed to be imposed on the usage of several kind of software in the organization. Licensed and authenticated software are recommended for trouble free working environment. Backup plan should be implemented and followed carefully for restoration if disaster or unrecoverable errors caused. Media should be properly maintained and periodic assessments are to be needed. Login information should be kept secret and several log records are to be assed for detecting unauthorized user access. Basic security features like firewall, antivirus software are to be made ready in the system. Integrity checks and other checks are to be performed frequently. Documentation and maintenance are the important activities needed to be done regarding computer security. Authentication Authentication is very important for maintaining the computer security. Each and every personnel must be authenticated for accessing the information resources. There are many types of authentication methods. It can be broadly classified into two categories, Biometric authentication and Non Biometric authentication. The authentication must be implemented with the proper security algorithm to avoid intrusions. Many authentication schemes are developed over the years. Several hashing and other schemes are combined to make the better authentication protocol. Privacy through Biometric Authentication It is based on identifying the person based on their personal and behavioral traits. There are several biometric authentication methods like finger print recognition, face recognition, iris recognition. Some the distinct advantages of biometric method are users need not required to remember password/codes, permanent characteristics and ease of use. Finger print authentication: Finger print authentication is the basic biometric authentication method. The patterns available on ridges and valleys of person’s finger are unique for every individual (Harris D. 2000). Several algorithms are available in the market to uniquely identify the persons based on the patterns. The finger print authentication can be implemented in moon mining company with a very small amount of investment. The cost of installing devices and other software required for finger print authentication would be very minimal when compared to other biometric authentication methods. When compared to non biometric methods the database size would be litter larger for biometrics methods. Since the numbers of users in the moon mining company is very less the biometrics method can be easily implemented without any trouble. Finger print authentication method is not very much suitable for moon shine mining company because in the mining company the person works with lot of dusts and smoke. Some readers might not recognize the dirty and dusted hands. Since it is a mining company persons may have some cuts in their hand so the readers may not work properly in those situations. Most of the time users might wear gloves in their hand, they might feel uneasy to remove for each and every time for the authentication. Face recognition Face recognition is another basic biometric authentication method. In this method, the persons face is captured using camera or infrared waves and it is authenticated with the existing database. The spatial geometry in the face is analyzed to uniquely identify the face. The face can be easily recognizes with change of facial expressions or change of hair style etc. The advantages of face recognition it is the contact free process. The database should be maintained with facial information of the users. The change in the face is very minimal. The moon mining company can prefer this method of authentication. The cost of implementation is also not so high. Some of the disadvantages include detecting the face mask and low light environment (Vijayan 2009). Since it is a mining company it would operate in low light areas, so proper methods must be chosen to avoid low light environment problems. People from some ethnic groups and nationalities won’t expose the face to outer world. In those situations the face recognition it is not possible to implement. Iris Recognition Iris recognition is one of the latest methods of biometric authentication. The colored area that surrounds pupil is used for the identification of the persons (Daouk 2006). Every people have unique color pattern. It is also a non contact method of authentication. The cost of implementation is little high when compared to other methods. It is very fast and robust. The latest iris technologies are very powerful in recognizing the patterns even though they are covered with the contact lenses and glasses. Iris based authentication is recommended if the moon mining company wants high end solution for the biometric authentication and ready for little high investment. Digital Signatures A digital signature is an automated method of verifying our usual handwritten signatures. The various features like speed, pressure, nodes etc are verified for authentication. This method is based on behavioral aspect of the person. It is simple method for authentication. It has many disadvantages like it can be imitated by others easily; signature is tending to change slowly by time. It’s not so safe to go with this type of authentication method. Privacy through Non Biometric Authentication The non biometric method for authentication is very common in the organization. It is simple and easy to implement. No extra infrastructure is required to implement these authentication methods. It is very cost effective method. RFID Authentication method The privacy can be provided by ensuring the proper authentication mechanism in practice. Several authentication protocols are used in existence systems. The authentication will be performed in the readers and authentication parameters and value are stored in the RFID tags. The RFID readers would be available in each and every computers of the moon shining company. One of the common practices is store common password in all the RFID tags to be used. Whenever the tag is read if the password matches the other processing is done else the tag would be neglected. Another method for authentication is to assign store all the RFID tags unique number in database, when the tag is detected the number is cross checked with the database for authentication. Despite the numerous benefits of RFID systems, it has few pitfalls and some common problems. The main security threat in the RFID system is the privacy security breaches. All the information is stored in the RFID tags. The RFID tags can also be read by others who have the RFID readers. The data can be read and modified in the tags by any one using the RFID readers (Moscatiell 2007). The RFID systems may be collapsed if several RFID tags are processed together. The RFID tags can communicate only to one RFID reader at instance. If two RFID readers are accessing a single tag, there may be a junk or collapse in the system. Other Radio signal interference can violate some of the properties of the RFID systems. Some other security threats also exist for the RFID systems. Device Based Authentication: In this device based authentication, some special secure devices are used to generate the passcodes. These passcodes are verified for authorizing the persons. One of the famous devices is RSA based secureId device. It uses public key encryption for generating the passcode. Each and every user will have a small hand held device to generate the passcodes. These passcode are verified using the security algorithms for authentication. This method of authentication is also suggested for moon mining company. Conclusion All the organization should follow the tight computer security principles and policies. The basic security features must be installed in each and every computer system in the organization. All the users must be educated about the computer security principles and various threat regarding. The company can also go for the third parties for implementation and maintenance of computer security in the organization. This would help the organization to have the better security. Dedicated teams must be available for performing and monitoring all the computer security activities. The organization will be in trouble if the computer security practices are not followed in the organization.