Analysis of Learning Weekly at University of Phoenix Essay - 1

Analysis of Learning Weekly at University of Phoenix - Essay Example Class discussions were very helpful and interesting. Communication is an important aspect of any academic work. Once a piece of academic work is complete, it should be communicated to relevant persons through means such as presentation. I learned how to prepare for a presentation and how the same can be presented to various stakeholders using platforms such as cell phones, text messaging, and e-mail. Understanding the concept of the presentation will enable me to present my research as well as academic work through online or digital platforms supported by our mode of online learning. As a professional, I will be in a good position to do research and present my findings using available web communication platforms. Communication in the digital age was very interesting to learn. Cell phones, text messaging, and e-mail has certainly changed the role of formal writing since they are increasingly becoming preferred methods of communication. However, formal writing ensures that communication standards are maintained so that it remains relevant to all the stakeholders  involved.

Article Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Analysis - Article Example To argue this point Hardin develops the thesis of the tragedy of the commons as being borne out of a system that treats the public domain as something that is self-correcting to stasis, and that man works in accordance with what seems to be selfish interests but are in fact actions that in the end work toward the good of all. The tragedy of the commons is the idea that society and people seem blindsided by an appeal to the commons as something that is to be had by all, even when the commons that is referred to here, whether food, or land, or the ability of the environment to take in pollution and waste, are finite things. Hardin essentially says that in fact the individual cannot be trusted to work for the common good, and that society, hardwired as it is to treat the commons as something that is unlimited in supply, is in effect perpetually in a course to deplete the commons and to wreak havoc on the very same things that sustain it. Hardin essentially says that in a world of explod ing populations there is less and less room for the notion of the commons as something that can be exploited and used without restraint or conditions. This outdated notion worked when the populations were low and the actions of men individually and collectively had little effect on the quality and availability of those common things, in the same way that adding a pinch of salt to a glass of water would not alter the taste of the water substantially, but adding more and more salt would eventually change the character of the water and its taste fundamentally. This is the same with the commons and the way the commons has been conceived and abused by society. This old notion of the inexhaustible nature of the commons must go, according to Hardin. Already he says, there have been curbs set in place with regard to the land and the tilling and grazing of the land; in the disposal of

mental disorder; DSM-IV

mental disorder; DSM-IV DSM-IV DSM-IV is a classification of mental disorders that was developed for use in clinical, educational, and research settings. What the DSM attempts to do is have specific criteria for specific disorders, but at the same time, not have the manual be used in a cookbook fashion. Meaning that the specific diagnostic criteria in the DSM are meant to serve as guidelines concurrently with clinical judgment. As we all know, each disorder included in the DSM has a set of diagnostic criteria that signify what symptoms must be present in order to meet the criteria for a diagnosis. Conversely, there are some disorders where there are symptoms that must not be present in order for an individual to be eligible for the diagnosis. A strong point of this particular set-up of the DSM manual makes finding the disorder and its diagnostic criteria easier because of its conciseness. The use of the DSM diagnostic criteria to diagnose has been shown to increase diagnostic reliability. As noted above, the DSM-IV is a manual that helps outline mental disorders. A major strength is that healthcare professionals such as physicians, psychologist, psychiatrists, and others combined their resources and knowledge to create a universal manual (Well in the US anyways). Also, the DSM is used for appropriate coding for billing and insurance purposes which, for most psychologists, is imperative in order to receive reimbursement for treatment. DSM IV allows researchers anywhere to gather together a group of patients who meet the described criteria for the disorder, try different treatments, and compare the results. The diagnosis is universal. Thus, a given percentage of patients with social phobia might be helped by placebo, and if a greater number will be helped by paroxetine, or gabapentin, or cognitive behavioral therapy, or whatever the treatment in the research design might be, then these treatments can be designated effective if statistical significance is reached.  "Evidence based treatment† appeals to the FDA and, more importantly, seemingly appeals to common sense. Empirical data is usually far more valuable than theories and controversy that cannot be backed up by a test of the facts. In recent years â€Å"evidence based medicine† has become a rallying cause. Pressures are exerted for it to become the standard of care. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the United States. It is intended to be applicable in a wide array of contexts and used by clinicians and researchers of many different orientations (e.g., biological, psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, interpersonal, family/systems). DSM-IV has been designed for use across settings, inpatient, outpatient, partial hospital, consultation-liaison, clinic, private practice, and primary care, and with community populations and by psychiatrists, psychologists, soc ial workers, nurses, occupational and rehabilitation therapists, counselors, and other health and mental health professionals. It is also a necessary tool for collecting and communicating accurate public health statistics. The DSM consists of three major components: the diagnostic classification, the diagnostic criteria sets, and the descriptive text. They have again missed the opportunity to note that although terms such as neurosis, hysteria and neurasthenia are not disorders in the DSM system, they are widely used throughout the rest of the world; none of these three terms is given an entry in the general index to the volume. This is a particularly unfortunate omission with regard to neurasthenia, since it means that the claim about taking notice of recent research cannot be taken very seriously. ? One of the weaknesses of the DSM system has always been the frequently available option of including the social effects of disorders in the criteria by which the same disorders are identified. The DSM-IV is a categorical classification system. The categories are prototypes, and a patient with a close approximation to the prototype is said to have that disorder. DSM-IV states, â€Å"there is no assumption each category of mental disorder is a completely discrete entity with absolute boundaries† but isolated, low-grade and noncriterion (unlisted for a given disorder) symptoms are not given importance.[18] Qualifiers are sometimes used, for example mild, moderate or severe forms of a disorder. For nearly half the disorders, symptoms must be sufficient to cause â€Å"clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning, although DSM-IV-TR removed the distress criterion from tic disorders and several of the paraphilias. Each category of disorder has a numeric code taken from the ICD coding system, used for health service (including insurance) administrative purposes. Despite caveats in the introduction to the DSM, it has long been argued that its system of classification makes unjustified categorical distinctions between disorders, and uses arbitrary cut-offs between normal and abnormal. A 2009 psychiatric review noted that attempts to demonstrate natural boundaries between related DSM syndromes, or between a common DSM syndrome and normality, have failed.[4] Some argue that rather than a categorical approach, a fully dimensional, spectrum or complaint-oriented approach would better reflect the evidence.[38][39][40][41] In addition, it is argued that the current approach based on exceeding a threshold of symptoms does not adequately take into account the context in which a person is living, and to what extent there is internal disorder of an individual versus a psychological response to adverse situations.[42][43] The DSM does include a step (Axis IV) for outlining Psychosocial and environmental factors contributing to the disorder once someone is diagnosed with that particular disorder. Because an individuals degree of impairment is often not correlated with symptom counts, and can stem from various individual and social factors, the DSMs standard of distress or disability can often produce false positives.[44] On the other hand, individuals who dont meet symptom counts may nevertheless experience comparable distress or disability in their life. Despite doubts about arbitrary cut-offs, yes/no decisions often need to be made (e.g. whether a person will be provided a treatment) and the rest of medicine is committed to categories, so it is thought unlikely that any formal national or international classification will adopt a fully dimensional format.[4] Reference

thier eyes were watching god :: essays research papers

â€Å"Baby Janie† Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel about a woman named Janie who grows up and finds out what life and God have in store for her. The story is very similar to Black Women by Georgia Johnson. This novel and poem share similar themes, characters, and symbols. This similarity is seen through out these two works within their writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These two stories both tell a basic theme of being born into a harsh world and the choices which must be made by the characters. The themes main focus is on the development of the baby and Janie and the paths they chose to follow. In â€Å"Black Woman† the child is ready to be born, but the mother isn’t willing to have the baby just yet. Her reasoning for not wanting to have the baby is the fact that the world is full of â€Å"cruelty and sin† and the â€Å"monster men† (Johnson, 4) who inhabit the earth are bad. The mother in this poem can see the world is harsh and that raising a baby in such a world would be difficult and a struggle. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s grandma wants her to get married to an older man right away. Her reasoning is because she too also has seen how harsh the world is and doesn’t want her baby Janie to be stuck alone and have to live in hardship. Janie, like the unborn child, is determ ined to go her own path and set her own life. They both seem to feel that they are ready for what life has in store for them. Janie wants to live her own life by her own decisions, and the baby wants to go on the same path and be born into the world to start its’ â€Å"path†. These similarities in theme are very apparent through the novel and relates to Black Woman’s story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Their Eyes Were Watching God and â€Å"Black Woman† have very similar characters due to their decisive and protective qualities. Janie is very happy with life as she sees it and wants to make her own decisions. Her grandma wants to protect her from a wrong choice, so she decides Janie must marry Logan. †I wants to see you married right away† (Hurston 12). Like Janie, the unborn child is ready to come into the world and live a beautiful life of happiness.

Internal Control and Risk Evaluation Essay

In today’s society, internal controls are applied to support an organization’s managers to become more successfully to release the responsibilities by applying and understanding internal control concepts. Internal controls are most frequently saw as â€Å"a lot of red tape†; however, internal controls have different circumstances when confirming high moral and ethical values which should be communicated in an organization. Internal controls are essentially composed of five interrelated components which are communication and information, monitoring, control environment, risk assessment, and control activities. The four areas of concerns are accounts receivable, payroll, accounts payable, and inventory. The identification of risks in the system, how the risk would be merged into the flowcharts, the internal controls that must be used, and an evaluation of the internal control system, and outside controls must be used. The biggest vulnerability area is accounts rece ivable because of an auditing and accounting perspective this is where the point money is received into the organization. In the flowchart, account receivable is recognizable as the point where payments will be posted. Account receivable has a secondary risk area in which the late charges, interest and other fees are added. The area of payroll is where the main risk concern will always be an individual superseding payroll internal controls. An additional internal control that can be applied by use of flowchart designs will be for authorized individuals having access to the authentic payroll processing function that provide access for authorizations of direct deposit/ or the printing of the payroll checks. Authorization is the main internal control area with accounts payable. The nonexistence of authorization is the major weakness, which can be in the form of control overrides in the AIS and physical form. As associated to the flowchart, there is an important weakness that will  exist in the process from the requesting department to other areas. The most critical internal control point is the inventory because of the physical counts corresponding with the AIS records. On the flowchart, inventory is identified as the point where inventory levels are maintained and tracked because of the easy access the area poses the biggest risk. Risks in System The risk with using any accounting software will always have uncertainties. Some of the risks are human error data input, security breaches, and fraud that put increase pressure on management staff in maintaining or achieving financial targets which have intensified the risk of inappropriate accounting or disappointment to disclose associated party transactions. The statement above only means that the organization needs to have security controls that forbid management from manipulating data for investor purposes. Another essential risk would be the establishment of illegal programs which delete or access files, corrupt files by the installation of a virus, changing the programs that cause unacceptable data to process. â€Å"Threats and risks to databases might include unauthorized access that allows altering, deleting, corrupting, destroying, or stealing data† (Beard and Wen, 2007, p. 212). To conserve the loss of important data using backup files are crucial that will be over whelming to an organization. The organization’s good reputation will be at risk if essential information reporting is misused, misdirected, and could cause damage to the competiveness of the organization. Internal Risks and Controls In the society today many hackers is known to have both external and internal risks that can ruin an organization security systems. Therefore, the collection of data is critical to establishing virtuous security controls for external and internal that ensure complete secure transactions, verification of the data is valid, and free from errors. â€Å"Tapping into the organizations telecommunication lines can be an activity that may seriously impact the data collection† (Beard and Wen, 2007, p. 217). Integrating exceptional internal control methods are a requirement to address exposure to major risks in an organization electronic accounting system because the responsibility primarily on the management staff. Creating and maintaining active internal controls includes the assessment, testing, and documentation  of internal controls which includes operations, access, program development, and changes. Internal Controls to Mitigate Risk Eliminating risk of internal controls is by establishing some of the following: Maintenance of records that detail and reflect all transactions Disposition of said transactions including the disposition of the assets Record transactions accurately to permit valid financial statements in accordance with GAAP Implement timely and decisive detection of unauthorized transactions Evaluation of Internal Controls For Kudler Fine Foods to certify appropriate application of internal controls into the organization systems, control activities must exist. The internal controls will include but are not limited to activity or functional management evaluations, transaction assessments, reconciliations, statistics processing and physical controls, and separation of duties. The evaluation of application of internal controls inside an accounting system should be ongoing and frequent. Kudler Fine Foods must make sure the organization maintain acceptable resources, make available financial, operational, and compliance with correlated information. The organization employees’ obligations and control responsibilities should be successfully communicated while ensuring compliance is the number one imperative factor. Kudler Fine Foods channels must exist for every individual to report alleged improprieties and the employee recommendations are petitioned and acknowledged. References Beard, D. and Wen, H.J. (2007). Reducing the Threat Levels for Accounting Information Systems. Challenges for Management, Accountants, Auditors, and Academicians. Retrieved August 12, 2009 from: http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2007/507/essentials/p34.htm University of Pennsylvania, (2009). Internal Controls Self-Assessment: A Guide to Internal Controls. Retrieved August 13, 2009 from: http://www.sru.edu/pages/1511.asp

College Isn’t for Everyone

The words â€Å"You can’t†, have been apart of my mind set since day one. I was always told that it isn’t possible for me to be as smart as my sister, or on the same level of my brother who is special needs. I was always in the in between, but the main reason I am striving for success is because I know I can and even though at times I don’t think college is for me, I know I can achieve anything I set my mind to. In less than three years I will have a whole new life started for myself, all because I made it possible for myself to receive a college degree and start the perfect life full of success, money and happiness.Throughout W. J Reeves â€Å"College Isn’t For Everyone†, he point outs many topics that I believe effects me personally but also my peers. Attendance, happens to be one of them. If you don’t give your classes the time needed, you begin to slack in every way possible. â€Å"After four years, the bad habits of not being on time and attending sporadically have become second nature. Such habits are unlikely to make for a very productive worker†.In all honesty, this is one of the main things that I have problems with, because of health issues and the thirty minute drive to class sometimes I believe it isn’t worth it. But almost 99% of the time it is worth it, for all I know missing a class could end in my failing the class cause I missed certain notes or a quiz. With that in mind, referring back to â€Å"College Isn’t For Everyone† Reeves says â€Å"It is hard to be a productive worker if one appears occasionally, yet token appearances, sometime just cameos, are tolerated in college†.I believe if I make the effort to not miss class then I’m not wasting my education or money, I’m making it possible for the life I want three years from now. Experiencing college so far at community college has been everything I expected but so much better. I take pride in tell ing others I am a college student, because it shows that I have the initiative to strive for higher education to become the woman I want to be and have the life I dream of. With having only a day or two to socialize and spend time with friends, school has been my main priority.Which includes less time on my phone texting, or any social media sites. This relates back to Margaret Soltan’s essay â€Å"Better Living Through Consciousness: Why You Should Take Your College Education Seriously†, she discusses how technology should be limited to reduce distraction of students. She wrote â€Å"Students are gazing at all manner of stuff on their laptops (and in doing so distracting those students trying to pay attention to the front of the room); professors are staring down at their PowerPoint slides and reading the words on them aloud.In some classrooms, professors report that groups of students are gathering in various corners to watch films together on someone’s scree n while the professor attempts to lecture†. Many students use technology whether it’s a laptop, cell phone or IPad almost every class period you will find at least one student on a device. College depends on the amount of time and effort you put into it, I recently examined the amount of time I spend on work, school and the free time I do have.According to my time blog, I spent 8 hours working, 12 hours studying or doing school related things, and my free time was limited to sleeping. In total I spent 20 hours out of those two days working, studying or sleeping. With that in mind, my determination to be as successful as possible shines through, even with some struggles along the way. I truly believe success comes from your desire to be successful. As long as your mind is right about the life and future you have planned out then that dream can come true with a few dozen essays, a few math tests, maybe some biology labs too.But in today’s society a high school dipl oma can get you a job as good as a waitress at a restaurant, not a Oncology Nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The reason behind me attending college is because I want to have my dream job of being a nurse at night, a stay at home mom during the day and the money and happiness to have the lifestyle I had growing up. According to Margaret Soltan’s; Better Living Through Conciousness, â€Å"All brains eventually fade, but we shouldn’t, before our time, collude in that fading.We should cultivate the highest forms of consciousness that we can, while we can (Soltan). To me, I believe that if I’m not giving something my all from the beginning then there is no point in my doing it. I believe by sitting in this classroom today, I am saying yes to my education and to my future. Also in one of W. J Reeves articles, he says, â€Å"that 70% of the workers in the coming decades will not need a four-year college degree, but, rather, an associate degree from a community college or some type of technical certificate (Reeves).I have never been more shocked by a statement in my life, with this many people won’t have to say yes to their education for four years but two which might strike people to want to further there knowledge NEED HELP ON CONCLUSION! Works Cited Reeves, W. J. â€Å" College Isn’t for Everyone. † USA Today. CBS Interactive, 01 May 2003. Web. 29, Feb 2012. Soltan, Margaret. â€Å"Better Living through Consciousness: Why You Should Take Your College Education Seriously. † Inside Higher Ed. (2008): Web. 29 Feb. 2012.

Report on Tesco Essays

Report on Tesco Essays Report on Tesco Essay Report on Tesco Essay All corporations have to work at expanding themselves within the region as well as internationally. They have to work at framing and adapting different strategies in order to reach optimum success. This report analyzes the external environment and scans it thoroughly so that strategies can be implemented and adopted later on. Company Background Tests is a company that originated from the ELK, but has now expanded globally. Starting from Worcestershire, it is now operating within Asia, Europe as well as USA. Back in the year 201 2, Tests had 2975 stores within the United Kingdom which brought in a revenue of 64. 5 billion pounds per annum. By 2014, these stores have expanded within 14 countries with 6531 stores. Tests also offers other services like insurance, online shopping and banking. Vision and Core Values The vision of the organization is the addition of an important position in the minds of the clients they serve, community altogether, keen and steadfast staff and the shareholders. The organizations visions is to develop and change themselves into a creative and present day association through applying their aptitudes all internationally. The core value of Tests is to expand its retail organization which would help to convey the organizations core purpose. In addition, the organization lives up to expectations devotedly to win clients faithfulness and to make brand value. 2. 0 Strategic Position With a large number of stores, Tests ranks amongst the global giants. The principle of strategy of Tests and their strategic position is the design of the shareholder value with the help of focus and innovation upon the customer satisfaction. Their strategic position is based on their seven principle theory which includes: Nurturing business primarily within the entire United Kingdom Achieving strengths in all departments Retailing all over the world successfully Serving the society with premium advantages Defining values and purposes with the help of team work Becoming the founder of new brands Expanding internationally and globally 2. 1 Passionately Political Factors The political system of every country Tests expands within has an effect on the company. Tests is also bound to the European legal system There will be multiple employment regulations Economic Factors Tests has the effect of exchange rates on all its revenue Any decline in European market could cause damage to Tests Socio-cultural Factors Bulk shopping Trend of eating out Increase in aging population Increase in female workers Technological Factors Enhanced operations Enhanced communications Strong online presence Saving of time and money Environmental Factors Increased pressure on environmental awareness Organic food provisions Legislative Factors Tests is bound to legal policies Competition creates price wars There is a strong need for product differentiation 2. 2 Porters Five Forces Michel E. Porter has created five powers through which the organization can recognize its position in the business and figure out if the position of the organization is more aggressive than the others. He has recommended that the appeal of the business sector can be measured through the long haul degree of profitability of the firm. The significant five strengths of the model are discussed as below. 2. 2. 1 Threat of Substitute Product and Services In the retail business, the danger for the substitute items is typically low for the food items and medium for the non-food items. However if there should be an occurrence of the food items the risk of substitute items is high with respect to the non-food things there are little chains of comfort stores. Be that as it may these accommodation stores, off permit and natural shops are not considered as the real danger for the general store like Tests. Then again, to face these issues Tests is opening more stores in the remote region to offer the helpful transportation framework for the clients. 2. 2. 2 Threat of New Entrants To come in the sustenance retail industry, Tests needs gigantic measure of UAPITA interests so as to be aggressive and to make a solid brand name. Thus, the risk of new participants in the nourishment retail industry is moderately low. The greater part of the brands that have effectively caught the sustenance retail showcase in UK are Tests, Kingsbury, SAD and Morrison comprising of more than 80% of all shopping in the ELK. This is likewise backed by the string brand picture of the current organizations who as of now have caught a great deal of devoted clients through their prevalent strategies and methodologies. 2. 2. Competition among the Existing Companies The power Of the opposition among the current organizations in the retail business in UK is to a great degree high as there are a ton of organizations with high capital venture and solid approaches. These contenders like Waitress, Morrison, Kingsbury and SAD are continually attempting to switch clients from one another over value, items and advancements irregularly. As the major contenders like aforementioned brands have picked up the development of their business impart however the general business sector development is moderate. This shows that this enormous player in the retail business is catching the clients bringing them from different contenders, so the opposition gets more serious. Then again, a few organizations like Laid and Lid are likewise offering generally low value items who need to catch the clients amid the monetary down turn and they picked up a development of 25% amid the financial retreat of 2008. 2. 2. 4 Bargaining Power of Buyers As there are a considerable measure of rivals in the business, the clients have the choices with zero exchanging expense to move from one organization to others. In this way, the position of the clients is unequivocally high in the event of dealing force. On the off chance that the clients find that the cost of the results of an organization is generally modest contrasted with different organizations that offer the same quality then the clients will move to that organization. Here, in the retail business, the clients need both the lower cost and quality items. Along these lines, all the organizations in the retail business need to accentuate on keeping the cost moderately judicious keeping the quality high. 2. 2. 5 Bargaining Power of the Suppliers In the retail business in UK, the suppliers position is not all that solid. This is on account of the top general store organizations like SAD, Tests and Sunbursts have contract with the suppliers and suppliers dread losing the agreement with these huge organizations. Therefore the suppliers dont have a solid position if there should arise an occurrence of the bartering force. Notwithstanding this, the suppliers consider giving the supplies to the top general store as one Of the opportunities for the business development. 2. 3 SOOT Analysis 2. 3. 1 Strengths Tests has a strong financial position. Tests operates globally (Retail Business Review, 201 2) The sales of Tests are more than its competitors Brand image of Tests is coupled with reliability and superior quality Tests has the largest online supermarket within UK The market share of Tests is up to 13% 2. 3. 2 weaknesses The company is dependent upon the I-J The company is not enough diversified geographically The prices at Tests are higher as compared to other multinational organizations Transportation costs are also higher as compared to other resources 2. 3. 3 Opportunities Entry into the Asian market can lead to greater diversification The online community is growing, bringing in more sales for Tests Multiple business strategic alliances can help Tests grow stronger 2. 3. 4 Threats Financial crisis within Europe Heavily competitive retail market Decline in income and increase in unemployment Presence of Walter and Careful 2. 4 Strategic Capabilities There are two strategic capabilities of Tests: 1. Resources 2. Competence Base Any superior performance needs to be evaluated in the way by which the resources of the company are used for creating competence within the activities of an organization. Competence within Tests includes processes or activities that have the power of effectively underpinning the competitive advantage of the company. Tests therefore has the capability of recognizing its competitive rivals, achieve market power and position, and thus ultimately focus on advantage. 2. 5 Conclusion of Strategic Strategy Overall it can be concluded that Tests has a great influence within the European market, but it needs to look into global expansion more seriously in order to avoid being cut off from the bottom if in case economic crisis strikes thin Europe.