KFC in India Case Study Assignment (Ethical Issue) Essay

Abstract The case highlights the ethical issues involved in Kentucky Fried Chicken’s (KFC) business operations in India. KFC entered India in 1995 and has been in midst of controversies since then. The regulatory authorities found that KFC’s chickens did not adhere to the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. Chickens contained nearly three times more monosodium glutamate (popularly known as MSG, a flavor enhancing ingredient) as allowed by the Act. Since the late 1990s, KFC faced severe protests by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights protection organization. PETA accused KFC of cruelty towards chickens and released a video tape showing the ill-treatment of birds in KFC’s poultry farms. However, undeterred by the protests by PETA and other animal rights organizations, KFC planned a massive expansion program in India. (see http://www.icmr.icfai.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Ethics/BECG044.htm) Objectives Understand the significance of cultural, economic, regulatory and ecological issues while establishing business in a foreign country. Appreciate the need for protecting animal rights in developed and developing countries like India. Understand the importance of ethics in doing business. Examine the reasons for protests of PETA Identify solutions for KFC’s problems in India. Key Terms KFC, Business Ethics, International Business, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Food Adulteration, Selling Junk Food, Cruelty against Animals, Animal Welfare Legislation, KFC’s Poultry Welfare Guidelines. â€Å"Each bird whom KFC puts into a box or a bucket had a miserable life and a frightening death. People would be shocked to see our footage of a KFC supplier’s employee who walks through a barn, carelessly lighting lamps and letting flames fall on the terrified birds. The air inside these filthy barns reeks of ammonia fumes, making it difficult for the birds to breathe. No one with a grain of compassion should set foot in KFC.† Ingrid Newkirk, Director, PETA. â€Å"The chicken they serve is full of chemicals, and the birds are given hormones, antibiotics and arsenic chemicals to fatten them quickly.† Nanjundaswamy. PROTEST AGAINST KFC On August 20, 2003, a five-foot tall chicken complete with an ensemble of feathers and beak hobbled on a pair of crutches outside Kentucky Fried Chicken’s (KFC) Indian outlet in Bangalore. The chicken was brought by PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) activists, who carried placards reading, â€Å"Quit India† and â€Å"Stop Playing Fowl† (a pun on â€Å"Foul†). The chicken was placed at the centre and a peaceful protest was held against the alleged ill treatment of birds in KFC’s poultry farms. Media persons were called to give the demonstration a wide coverage. Explaining the rationale behind the protest, Bijal Vachcharajani, special projects coordinator of PETA, said, â€Å"Ours is the land of Gandhi. Just as 61 years back our leaders gave a call for colonizers to quit India, we too are saying we will not tolerate cruel multinationals.† On the 61st anniversary of the ‘Quit India’ movement, PETA India wrote a letter to the Managing Director of Tricon Restaurant International, the parent company of KFC, asking them to close their sole KFC outlet in India. They got no reply. PETA activists decided to protest against KFC by carrying crippled chicken, which represented the birds suffering in the KFC’s farms. PETA claimed that after two years of intensive campaigning to increase animal welfare standards in poultry farms, other foreign fast food restaurants operating in India like McDonald’s and Burger King had improved the treatment of animals specially raised and slaughtered for food. Only KFC had not acted. Though PETA had organized other protests earlier, the crippled chicken campaign became the precursor for more intensive protests. PETA’s was one of the many shows of protest against KFC’s Indian outlet. BACKGROUND NOTE KFC was founded by Harland Sanders (Sanders) in the early 1930s, when he started cooking and serving food for hungry travellers who stopped by his service station in Corbin, Kentucky, US. He did not own a restaurant then, but served people on his own dining table in the living quarters of his service station. His chicken delicacies became popular and people started coming just for food. Kentucky Fried Chicken was born. Soon, Sanders moved across the street to a motel-cum-restaurant, later named ‘Sanders Court & Cafe,’ that seated around 142 people. Over the next nine years, he perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and the basic cooking technique of chicken. Sanders’ fame grew and he was given the title Kentucky Colonel by the state Governor in 1935 for his contribution to the state’s cuisine. Sanders’ restaurant business witnessed an unexpected halt in the early 1950s, when a new interstate highway was planned bypassing the town of Corbin. His restaurant flourished mainly due to the patronage of highway travellers. The new development meant the end of this. Sanders sold his restaurant operations. After settling all his bills, he was reduced to living on a meager $105 social security cheque. But Sanders did not lose hope. Banking on the popularity of his product and confident of his unique recipe for fried chicken, Sanders started franchising his chicken business in 1952. He called it Kentucky Fried Chicken. He travelled the length and breadth of the country by car, visiting as many restaurants as possible and cooking batches of chicken. If the restaurant owners liked his chicken, he entered into a handshake agreement that stipulated payment of a nickel for each plate of chicken sold by the restaurant. By 1964, Sanders franchised more than 600 chicken outlets in the US and Canada. The same year, he sold his interest in his company in the US for $2 million to a group of investors. However, he remained the public spokesperson for the company. KFC grew rapidly under the new owners and issued shares to the public on March 17, 1966. In July 1971, KFC was acquired by Heublein Inc. for $285 million. By then, KFC had over 3,500 franchised and company-owned restaurants in the world†¦. Sources/Links/References Peta protest KFC – part 1 Peta protest KFC – part 2 NY Times Article http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/peta.htm http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/245005 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115108,00.html http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/mm0196.03.html Analysis There are a number of issues relating to this incident that demonstrate the ethical and moral issues surrounding business. KFC’s business in India leads to a wide range of direct and indirect employment related to the business as a result of the investment by the company. KFC claims that it does not own chicken the farms. How honest are the claims that KFC is making? How reliable are the claims made by those who oppose KFC’s activities? What conflicts arise between the responsibilities that KFC has to the treatment of chickens and the local community, and to its shareholders, suppliers and employees, other external stakeholders? Your Assignment This is an independent assignment. Download and complete the KFC case analysis document. Save the document as named but by adding your last name then first to the end of the file name (separated by an underscore _ ) where indicated. In this document: Answer the above questions. You are to research this case using the above sources and others that you discover. Provide a work cited list only of those sources that you USE. . For full marks, use terminology and concepts from the course and its text. See the rubric at the end of the KFC case analysis document. Submit your completed copy of the KFC hard copy in class and electronic copy to the class email address by deadline date (see class website for due and deadline dates). NO EXTENSION WILL BE ALLOWED.

Check Point

#1 The three types of leadership styles that should be used for the Denver Airport Project are transformational, directive and empowering leadership. Transformational leadership should be used because the City of Denver seemed to have high expectations and this type of leadership motivates the team to work toward the goals and do more than expected. Issuing instructions and commands that align with the goals would include the use of Directive leadership. Lastly empowering leadership should be used as it encourages independent action, opportunity thinking, teamwork, self-development, self-reward and participate in goal setting.Similar to what our book says about transformational leadership, it can be defined as â€Å"Transformational leadership is essentially leadership that motivates followers to transcend their self-interests for a collective purpose, vision, and/or mission. This form of leadership tends to foster trust and admiration toward the leader on the part of followers, and thus they may be inspired to do more than they were originally expected to do. † The Denver Airport project can benefit from this type of leadership since the collective purpose is to complete the building of the airport to meet the needs of the City of Denver.This type of leadership suggests that there is a consensus and collective mindset among team members. This type of leader demonstrates positive behaviors. The team members tend to perceive the goals and activities the same way as the leader. Everyone is on the same page and the tasks and goals can be completed successfully. â€Å"A transformational leader is one who should have been able to provide a consistent image to followers through his or her actions and behaviours and thereby create consensus among followers† (1). A directive leader issues instructions and commands based on the goals.This will help to keep all members of the team on track to complete the tasks of the entire Denver Airport Project. Accordin g to Bernard M Bass who developed this model, the directive leader tells his followers what to do, and how to do it exactly. He specifics standards required of his followers and exercise firm authority over them. (2) The last type of leadership that should be used is empowering leadership. According to our text, empowering leadership includes encouraging independent action, opportunity thinking, teamwork, self-development, self-reward and participates in goal setting.They observe the team and behaviors they display. Based on these observations, they make the proper adjustments to get the work done. From my research, empowering leaders can’t rely on innate observation abilities. They need to hone their awareness to make their interpretations reliable guides for action. (3) This will be beneficial to the Denver Airport project to keep the employees engaged in what needs to get done as the project had many extensions added to get completed. Using these recommended types of leade rship styles should set the Denver Airport Project up for success.Hopefully, minimizing conflicts and providing the proper tools to overcome any obstacles along the way. The combination of these styles will provide the communication, teamwork and the completion of tasks to meet the goals of the project. Thompson, Leigh L. Making the Team; A Guide for Managers, 4th edition. Prentice Hall, 2011 (1) Feinberg, B. J. , Ostroff, C. , & W, W. B. (2005). The role of within-group agreement in understanding transformational leadership. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78, 471-488. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/199371433? accountid=44759 (2) Yihan, L. 2011). Five styles of leadership. Retrieved from http://www. leadership-with-you. com/directive-leadership. html (3) Derby, E. (2011, June 17). Empowering leadership. Retrieved from http://www. estherderby. com/2011/06/empowering-leadership. html #2 The traits of the leader and the type of team will dis play how confidence is managed based on the statement â€Å"When a project seems well within reach, dampening overconfidence can ensure that energy remains focused on achieving it; when it appears almost out of reach, encouraging greater confidence can ensure that the motivation remains focused on achieving it† (Useem, 1998, p. 22). The Denver Airport project encountered many delays in opening which could impact the performance of the team to get the tasks done to complete the project. According to our text, â€Å"Self-directed teams offer the most potential for innovation, enhance goal commitment and motivation and provide opportunity for organizational learning and change. (Thompson 9)†. This type of team would depend on each other to adjust confidence based on where the project is, within their reach or out of reach. 3M has proven that hanging to self-directed teams has increased productivity, the 3M Hutchinson facility increased production gains by 300 percent. â⠂¬Å"By backing self-directed work team efforts with effective training for both employees and management, 3M has developed a high-involvement work culture that contains multiskilled jobs, promotes empowerment, is customer-focused, has moved decision making to the lowest effective level and rewards group performance and continuous improvement†. (Williams, 1995) Communication of many different parts of the project (The City, UPS, the airlines) seemed to cause the delays in the Denver Airport project.Communication between the different companies is crucial and can make or break a project. March 1993, October 1993 and March 1994 were all delays announced by the city, each blamed another part of the project for the delay. Scheel Construction states that communication is a critical component to failure or success of a project. Construction of the Denver Airport was obviously a big part of the project. â€Å"We must not allow distractions or pressures to meet deadlines detract from due diligence in setting up proper communication prior to beginning work. (Scheel) It seems as if proper communication was not setup before hand among all that were involved, The City, UPS and the different airline companies. The organizational structure can impact confidence and focus. It seems that the project management company for the Denver Airport Project was possibly using a functional structure, one manager who assigns and monitors their work. The disadvantage of this for this project was that nobody was knowledgeable about the baggage system (DCV system). They were already designing and building the terminals before a decision was made about the baggage system.The matrix organizational structure may have been a better fit in this case. This type of structure works best for long term projects. This type of structure creates teams based on the skill set of the employee. Employees would be placed based on their skills and they can focus on that task and not be pulled in many d irections or multiple tasks at one time. Communication will improve. Since employees have constant contact with members of different functional areas, the matrix structure allows for information and resources to travel more fluidly between those functional areas.The collaboration between functional areas allows a project team to better handle complex challenges and objectives. ( Guzman, 2012) By utilizing self-directed teams, improved communication will enable the teams to achieve the proper confidence that is needed whether the project is well within reach or almost out of reach. Using the matrix type of structure will also enable the right employees to do the right job based on their skills. The proper information and resources provided to the employees will allow the project team to handle each situation to meet the project goals.Thompson, Leigh L.. Making the Team: A Guide for Managers, 4th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions. . Williams, R. (1995, November). Quality digest. Ret rieved from http://www. qualitydigest. com/nov95/html/self-dir. html Scheel. (n. d. ). Communication: Key to project success. Retrieved from http://www. scheelconstruction. com/communication-key-to-project-success/ Guzman, O. (2012). The advantages of matrix organizatoinal structure. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness. chron. com/advantages-matrix-organizational-structure-286. html

Kinky and the Lost Tooth: A Book Review in Relation to Child Play

A Book Review in Relation to Child Play, Learning and Development Ask any child why they love to read, reread and sometimes even reenact their favorite book or story, and chances are you won’t get a response related to educational value. As expected, children will not see behind the magical characters and imaginary places they encounter with each story they choose to immerse themselves in. According to Whitebread and Jameson (2005, p.64), children are usually engrossed in what they are doing when they are at play. Of course, we adults know much better than that. We know that there is much more to fairy tales and children’s books than just their escapism or entertainment value. Research upon research has proven time and time again that children’s literature plays an important role in a child’s learning and holistic development. This is why authors of children’s books put much thought (and some, much research) into producing reading material that is educational without compromising its entertainment and marketing value. But what happens when the story is written or made up by a child? Does it accomplish more or less than what the average adult-written literature does? The main difference lies in how adults and children perceive stories, especially children’s literature. Children see stories as an extension of their play activities; almost everything is, for them. What exactly goes on when a child engages himself into a story? A very appropriate way to get a â€Å"behind-the-scenes† look at what happens when a child engages into literature is by studying a student-made story and its learning effectiveness. Just the fact that this came from a child all the more changes the dynamics in this research. The story chosen for this paper is Kinky and the Lost Tooth, written by V. Mansaray (2008): Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl called Kinky who lived in a town called Matotoka. One day she was playing with her friends Pikah, Krit and Kemzo, they decided to play a game called Koo-Koo! (hide and seek). As Kinky is running to hide under the Bao Bao tree, she fell down and lost her tooth. Kinky doesn’t realize that a new tooth would grow, she felt very, very sad because she had a party to go to and she cried all day and all night!! Suddenly she heard a loud voice calling her name. â€Å"Kinky, Kinky, K-i-n-k-y†¦ I am the tooth fairy. I am here to help you. Listen carefully. Stretch your hands, close your eyes.† Kinky did exactly what the tooth fairy asked her to do. †Now, can you open your eyes?† said the tooth fairy. When Kinky opened her eyes and looked in her hand she saw that she was holding a pink box. Guess what was inside the little box? When Kinky opened the tiny pink box she found her lost tooth. What do you think she will do with the tooth, now that she has found it? This story is a modern-day fairy tale, obviously because of the reference to the tooth fairy. The voice in the story is very simplistic and direct-to-the-point, making it clear and obvious that the words come from a child’s mouth (although this is a common approach and style that writers of children’s literature usually employ; more like stooping down to a child’s eye level to connect with them while communicating). The lines do not rhyme that much, but the proper names used are catchy & interestingly unique, for a kid (not much unlike Dr. Seuss’ famous characters). In addition, there is an evident pattern in how the proper names are coined; monosyllables repeated twice (Koo-Koo, Bao Bao, and even Kinky). This indicates that the author is of a young age. It is also noticeable that the most repeated word in the entire story is the protagonist’s name, Kinky. If one were to take this literary creation as an extension of the author’s playtime, then it would also be safe to assume that the protagonist could be the author’s actual self-projection. Tina Bruce (2001) has mentioned that in their play, children more often than not use the first hand experiences that they have in life. There weren’t that many descriptive words used to describe the plot settings, the protagonist, the fairy, even Kinky herself. This might imply that the child drew illustrations as he/she wrote this story, or even used his/her illustrations as his/her storyboard itself. Children are much more interested in visual and colorful images rather than in verbal imagery. A very visual book will be needed to pique the students’ interest, and there could be nothing more visual than a child’s active imagination. Considering the voice used, the language level employed, and the way the story flows in logical succession, this story would be best appropriate for children transitioning from the Concrete to the Formal Operational Stages. The question the author leaves for his readers at the end implies that the author is already capable of problem solving and inferencing, which are characteristics of a child around those stages (Piaget, 1954). Reading along the lines of Erik Erikson’s theory on psychosocial development, one can assume that the author/protagonist is at the School Age stage, since the protagonist shows that there is a basic conflict between Industry vs. Inferiority (Erikson, 1959). In this story, Kinky’s main problem was she had to go to a party but she couldn’t because she just lost a tooth. There was the social demand of going to a party (where it is assumed that everybody else is going), but then again missing a tooth (especially if it was a front tooth) would mean she would be somewhat inferior to the other kids. The eventual resolution of her problem, however, is still interestingly abstract; it took the tooth fairy’s magic to give Kinky a happy ending. The tooth fairy is one of the most popular characters children encounter in their young lives; and surprisingly, it can be a social tool in more ways than one. This story says a lot about how a child seems to cope with the stress and social repercussions losing a tooth brings in a child’s life. Kinky’s dilemma could or could not be reflective of the author’s real life struggles; but whatever the case may be, it is still a real issue many children face at this stage. Kinky’s story can be used to teach children of an appropriate age how to cope with their self-identities and with seemingly stressful situations that need their own decision and action. We can further examine Kinky’s story by comparing and contrasting it with a published book (presumably written by an adult). Taking for example Selby Breeler’s 1998 book Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions All Over the World, this book takes the focus away from the child and focus more on other children around the world. By depicting how other children around the world cope with losing a tooth, Breeler introduces the child to world geography and being conscious of other nationalities and customs at the same time. Breeler does not take away the magic by refuting the validity of the tooth fairy, but instead affirms the child by showing that some children in other countries also believe in the tooth fairy, or an equivalent entity. The author also assures the child that he/she is not alone in losing his/her tooth, that it’s normal. Breeler ends the story with reassurance, leaving the child reader with hope for renewed confidence: â€Å"Teeth fall out every day, all over the world. What do you do with yours?† Moyles (2005, p.9) discusses that â€Å"play in educational settings should have learning consequences.† In this light, every piece of children’s literature should have some educational merit. Mansaray’s and Breeler’s stories could be used within the class curriculum to stress several learning points, especially those related to reinforcing the child’s self-confidence and social awareness. In that way, these resources can actually be used to support children’s learning and development. The authors may actually consider extending their work into other literature by expanding these stories into series that tackle different issues and conflicts children face from day to day. A good way to implement these resources in the classroom setting is to allow each student read, analyze and interpret these stories in their own ways. Bettelheim (1989) theorizes that when children get to read about the problems, victories and failures experienced by the heroes and heroines of fairy tales (and in this case, children’s books),   they are given the chance to get a greater sense of meaning and purpose, and in effect prepare them for their own conflicts in their own lives. Bandura (1977) reinforces this by his theory on social learning: â€Å"Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.† This just emphasizes the need to lead children of operational age to learn how to analyze situations, identify the conflict/s, and then come to their own conclusions and solutions. Children find it easier to do so when they have a model (in this case, a symbolic one, found in the literary protagonists) they can relate to and follow. Another way one might employ these sample resources is to let the students have a chance to be able to relate or connect their own personal experiences with those of the protagonists’. Bowlby’s Attachment Theory (1969) comes into play here, revealing that if the educator or parent lets the child use a literary protagonist as their own attachment figure, then one can promptly use that attachment to direct or lead the student to the learning point at hand. Children, especially those in the operational stage, need someone with whom they can identify. Johnson’s treatise on the interrelation of child development with learning and literature backs this up in quoting that â€Å"knowledge cannot be given directly from the teacher to the learner, but must be constructed by the learner and reconstructed as new information becomes available† (Ryan & Cooper, quoted in Johnson, 2003). Johnson later on concludes that â€Å"learning is not the result of development; rather, learning is development.† By looking through Bandura’s â€Å"sociocognitive glasses†, so to speak, this interaction between the child and the literary protagonist plays an important role in the child’s intellectual development. This means that what a child learns socially is related to what he/she learns cognitively, and vice versa. What a child learns by interacting with other people adds to his/her own schema and thus increases his/her understanding in some cognitive processes. (Bandura, 1977) Mansaray’s story about Kinky and the lost tooth in itself has little educational merit; but if one would look at it by using sociocognitive theories, then the educator/parent can certainly use such output from the child as clues and tools for further sociocognitive learning. Using a story that uses the child’s own language and vocabulary, and that is based on the child’s own personal conflicts and issues, proves to be a very important tool in child development. Not only does the child get to learn about certain subject matter, but the educator/parent can also use it to teach very important life lessons as well. Bibliography Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall. Beeler, S. (1998) Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions All Over the World. New York, Houghton Mifflin. Bettelheim, B. (1989) The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. Vintage Books. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Attachment (Vol. 1). New York, Basic. Bruce, T. 2001, Learning through Play, Babies, Toddlers and the Foundation Years. Hodder and Stoughton. Erikson, E. H. (1959) Identity and the Life Cycle. New York, International Universities Press. Johnson, D.C. (2003) The Role of Child Development and Social Interaction in the Selection of Children's Literature to Promote Literacy Acquisition. Early Childhood Research ; Practice [Internet], Fall, 5 (2). Available from: ;http://www.ecrp.uiuc.edu/v5n2/johnson.html; [Accessed 9 April 2008] Mansaray, V. (2008) Kinky and the Lost Tooth [written by student]. Piaget, J. (1954) The Construction of Reality in the Child. New York, Basic Books. Whitebread, D. ; Jameson, H. (2005) Play, Storytelling and Creative Writing. In: Moyles, J. ed. The Excellence of Play. England, Open University Press, McGraw-Hill. ; ; ; ; ;

Literature review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Literature review - Assignment Example Cahill, K. E., McNamara, T. K., Pitt-Catsouphes, M., & Valcour, M. (2015). Linking shifts in the national economy with changes in job satisfaction, employee engagement and work–life balance.  Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics,  56, 40-54. Chumg, H. F., Cooke, L., Fry, J., & Hung, I. H. (2015). Factors affecting knowledge sharing in the virtual organisation: Employees’ sense of well-being as a mediating effect.  Computers in Human Behavior,  44, 70-80. Hsu, J. S. C., Shih, S. P., Chiang, J. C., & Liu, J. Y. C. (2012). The impact of transactive memory systems on IS development teams coordination, communication, and performance.  International Journal of Project Management,30(3), 329-340. Wu, L., Rusyidi, B., Claiborne, N., & McCarthy, M. L. (2013). Relationships between work–life balance and job-related factors among child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services Review,  35(9), 1447-1454. Yu, Y., Hao, J. X., Dong, X. Y., & Khalifa, M. (2013). A multilevel model for effects of social capital and knowledge sharing in knowledge- intensive work teams.  International Journal of Information Management,  33(5),

Examine the use of animal imagery in modern short stories and their Essay

Examine the use of animal imagery in modern short stories and their symbolic significance - Essay Example In addition, the degree to which a character is related to the animal in question may have some impact on the characteristics that are brought out in each. A nanny closely related to a busy parakeet might cause both woman and animal to take on stronger characteristics of nagging and cleanliness, for instance. A man closely related with his bulldog might also seem to be watchful, noisy and largely for show. What is interesting about this use of animal imagery in stories is the way in which this relationship develops to bring out specific characteristics in both animal and character. Two stories that provide a great deal of insight into this relationship are Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Larissa Lai’s Salt Fish Girl. Although the story takes up less than 100 pages, Franz Kafka’s story Metamorphosis lends itself to a wide variety of interpretations as it uses the image of the cockroach to emphasize attributes of its main character. From its small size to a brief summary of its events, there doesn’t seem to be all that much to the story itself upon first glance. The story follows the experiences of Gregor Samsa after he wakes up one morning to find himself turned into a giant bug in his own bed. As he reveals himself to his family and his employer, it becomes obvious that this change is not meant to be a figurative change on the part of the author, but is also a physical change. Although the family continues to care for him, providing him with food and water and cleaning his room once a day, Gregor becomes more and more detached from them, eventually finding it difficult to keep track of what has been happening around him. His room becomes dirtier, his family becomes less attentive a nd he becomes less concerned with their welfare in connection with his own. As his sister and mother move his personal furniture out of his

Word history to 1400 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Word history to 1400 - Essay Example At the time Islam was introduced into the south Asian communities they had different ways of worshiping. Additionally, they had different sets of beliefs. They initially believed in the power of the invisible spirit. The spirit belonged to the people’s ancestors and nature. Both the spirits had their own ways in which they helped the living by influencing their fortunes on earth (Felipe 422). On the introduction of Islam, all the beliefs and the ways of the natives were assimilated to the ways of Muslims (Felipe 428). Even so, at the time of the start, the rulers and their followers were not so strict about following the ways stipulated under the Muslim religion. Islam influence was present but not categorically strong as observed in the current world. For instance, not all people bought the idea of renouncing eating pork and not all people in the community engaged in the five times prayers as stipulated by the Islam religion within a day (Felipe 431). One great achievement in terms of influence is the fact that the Islamic religion strived to achieve an Islamic society in the south Asian communities. The people who introduced the religion made sure that they created an influence in the nature of belief that people had (Xinru 84). They introduced Allah as the God of Islam and made sure that the people of south Asian community worshiped him. People adopted the expectations of Allah, and most of them set these expectations to guide them in their daily lives. The south Asian communities developed a code that binds them with Allah as their creator (Xinru 86). For instance, men in the south Asian community adopted the Islamic inheritance code that stipulated that they should inherit `twice as much as women (Xinru 87). They were also supposed to support their wives, daughters, and sisters. The people of south Asian communities adopted the polygamous ways of life as Islam had allowed it. The people of south Asian communities adopted the

Article Critique Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critique - Article Example These articles have provided sufficient background information for the study. Key words are necessary in every research and should be stated in the research paper. Wilson et.al (2005) addressed the use cohorts or isolation to prevent or reduce the spread of MRSA in ICU’s. Willey et.al (2008) discusses the risk factors for MRSA in roommates who are infected with MRSA in acute-care hospitals. Fernandez et.al (2002), is focused on the role of patient isolation is the control of the spread of MRSA in acute care. Gholson, Landry and Ribner (1986) talks of modified versus strict isolation in prevention of MRSA spread. b. Research objectives Gholson, Landry and Ribner (1986) examine the various infection control methods to prevent the spread of MRSA. Wilson et.al (2005) and Fernandez et.al (2002) aims at determining whether patient, staff or visitor compliance with the isolation practices have effects on the nosocomial transmission of MRSA. Willey et.al (2008) investigates the differ ent risk factors for MRSA acquisition in those patients who are exposed to MRSA colonized roommate. Fernandez et.al (2002) evaluates the efficiency of the isolation practices towards the minimization of the spread of MRSA. ... This means that the research aimed at achieving all the set objectives. c. Planned behavior theory The four articles used the planned behavior theory in underpinning the study to determine the characteristics and behaviors of the patients before and after the study. The framework chosen is quite clear and well stated and fit well with the research objectives and problem. The theoretical framework for the study is well explained and referenced. For example, the author on the article about â€Å"Strict vs. modified isolation of prevention of transmission of MRSA† has used Infect Control 1986; 7(6):317-320 to reference the foundation of the study where all hospitalized patients suffering from MRSA were put in modified isolation precautions. The theoretical frameworks for the other studies apart from the study on â€Å"Isolation of patients in single rooms in order to reduce MRSA spread in ICUs† have been well referenced. d. Methods Independent and dependent variables The v ariables chosen in each study are highly linked to the research objectives as they were adopted to help the researchers in achieving the stated research objectives. All the four studies have chosen different study institutions for a given study period of 4- 12 months. Wilson et.al (2005) undertook a one year study in ICU’s and the variables were MRSA colonization as the independent variable and weekly screen as the dependent variable. Willey et.al (2008) used MRSA infection and infection control logs as the study variables. Gholson, Landry and Ribner (1986) used daily reviews of all organism and infection control program as it variables while Wilson et.al (2005) used infection control program and various isolation

In what ways was globalisation not a peaceful process Assignment

In what ways was globalisation not a peaceful process - Assignment Example Globalisation can be stated as an accelerator of the social change and may act as a vehicle for conflict aggravating the tensions in any known society along with even generating new ones. It is a qualitative shift towards a worldwide economic system which is no longer dependent on independent national economies but on a consolidated global marketplace for production, distribution & consumption. It has opened the door for liberalisation, but the concerned process created a number of conflicts globally. For this reason, globalisation can be termed as a conflicting process. Globalisation and conflict, both are interconnected phenomenon. Though the process of globalisation serves the entire globe in terms of facilitating in comprehensive and multi-faceted development but over the past two decades it has created a number of issues or conflicts as well. Multiculturalism comes with the facet of globalisation but it at times brings a conflicting situation around it. In addition to this, migr ation has had a major role to play in relation to developing a problematic scenario for the countries. Globalisation leaves various impacts towards the society such as various diseases related to human, animal and plant can easily spread at a rapid speed due to its affect. For example, imports of the bird flu affected chickens can affect the country which particularly makes an import of those chickens. Globalisation promotes easy transfers of the foreign business nationals from one country to another which amplifies the threat of transfer of diseases. Peace of any country can be destroyed if that particular country does not enjoy equality in global affairs. Globalisation over the years has been continuously increasing the gap between the poor and rich in terms of earnings (from both country-wise and individual perspectives). It can be viewed that only developed countries generally enjoy the advantages that originate from globalisation. In general, representatives from developed coun tries largely participate in building policies with regard to globalisation. Consequently, poor countries such as African countries get poorer (Manitoba, n.d.). With these considerations, the research study particularly aims to provide an explanation to the fact which suggests that globalisation was not a peaceful process. The various ways in which globalisation can be said to be not a peaceful process have been determined. In this regard, various examples related to the conflict generated during the process acclimatising globalisation have been depicted that support the fact that globalisation was not a peaceful process. Moreover, the study also exemplifies certain criticisms and arguments against globalisation. Conflicts Associated with Globalisation There have been various conflicts in and around the process of globalisation. The greater proportion of proponents of this global economic policy primarily came from the most powerful and richest countries. Contextually, the US govern ment set globalisation as an official objective of its economic and foreign policy about eight long years ago. More or less each country of the globe has faced the negative facets of globalisation. For example, owing to globalisation, a large number of employees have lost their jobs overnight on a global basis especially in the developed nations as their jobs had been outsourced to the countries such as India as well as China where cost of operations is

How population growth can spur economic prosperity and promote Research Paper

How population growth can spur economic prosperity and promote progress - Research Paper Example However, in this context it is worth mentioning that rapid rate of growth of population also creates negative effects upon the degree of growth of economies, by reducing the amount of effective labor force in the economy (National Research Council (U.S.), 1986, p. 47). There are several policy issues related to the process of creation of positive effects of higher population growth upon the process of economic prosperity and the process of promotion of economic growth. These policy issues are closely related to the generation of different fiscal as well as monetary policies which are undertaken by governments of developed, developing as well as less developed countries across the globe (Bloom et al., 2001, p. 6). One of the most important policies is creation of effective amount of natural and productive resources in the economy, so that the volume of excess of demand and thus rise in prices of goods and services do not happen in the concerned economy. This policy is largely abided by the government through effective increase in the volume of government expenditure on production processes. Also the monetary policy is implemented by the government in respect to creation of effective amount of money supply in the economy through creation of new empl oyment opportunities (Bloom et al., 2001, pp. 6-7).In this context, the policy which has been implemented in the USA, regarding the creation of larger number of jobs for the older people of the country, because of the fact that the mortality rate is very low in the country, has been highly significant (Bloom et al., 2001, p. 20). There are different ethical as well as legal issues in regard to the process of creating of progressive effects of population growth on economic growth. These ethical issues are related to large number of issues, including environmental issues, resource allocation and distributional issues,

Company stock profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Company stock profile - Essay Example The success on foretelling harmful geological disasters aids in determining future contracts and payments. The second division includes the Division of Resources, which aids in the exploration and extraction of mineral, water and rock for profit. GEO updated its monetary report for the whole year of 2014 and issued a guidance report for investors towards the second quarter of the year. The organization expects its net income to rise from $1.78 to $1.86 per share. Secondly, it also anticipates the annual revenue to range between $i.60 billion and $ 1.62 billion. The enterprise also increased its Net Operation Income to an array of $452 million to $458 million. For the second part of the 2014 financial year, the total amount of diluted shares aims at increasing at a range of $55 million to $57 million. Additionally, the expected revenue for the second quarter of the year is bound to range between $404 and $409 million. The organization’s expenses are low contrast to the revenues making it gain profits rather than lose (The Geo Group 3). For the GeoHazard division, the department secured a number of insurance contracts in order to develop electronic monitoring devices that aid in the prediction of geological catastrophes. The step improved the company’s detection and mitigation skills allowing it to manage its future risks hence aiding in securing future contracts and payments. Furthermore, its ability to predict future occurrences enables it to facilitate its operation services. The Geo Energy Resource Division reports a return to profitability with a net profit of $0.1 million compared to a previous loss of $0.9 million experienced in 2013. The gross profit margin shows a gradual improvement compared to the year 2013 with an raise of $7.2 million, and the company expects an increase towards the second quarter of the year. Generally the profitability and performance levels of the

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 89

Reflection - Essay Example Moreover, we chose a crew chief Eric who gives each one different task. The team leader writes down the requirements’ for me and responds to questions discussed while finding solutions. This is more efficient in this course because, for example, someone who do not know how to cut the handgrip from the racket, we can solve it together. I am not good at writing; the team leader helps us to fix the grammar. Consequently, I am unable to achieve the primary objective of Senior Design Projects, utilize knowledge as a senior student, and perform an important open-ended design project. The object of this project is to improve the treatment method for the patient that needs a lot of professional knowledge. For example, we need to design games for this project and still I have not learned how to compile a complete 2-D game. However, for the 3-D design, I can use Abaqus CAE, which I learned, from Miami University to develop the initial model for the handgrip. I also used the knowledge from physics class to cut the handgrip from the rocket (Marshall 1). The course achieved the Miami Plan requirements for a capstone experience. It provided a real business environment while doing the project. First, we need to understand context by defining and considering the boundary of the problem through conducting research and considering realistic constraints. The limitations include technical and economic factors, social implications, and environmental considerations. Secondly, thinking critically by solving open-ended problems, establishing objectives and criteria by brainstorming ideas and alternatives. Finally, we need to communicate designs and results effectively with Birkdale Pediatric and Neuro Clinic. For this project, I have limited professional knowledge such as neural therapy. Besides, I never contacted the neural therapy before I entered the Birkdale Pediatric and Neuro clinic. Real business industrial environment, designers improve the function

United States as an Imperialist and Expansionist Nation Essay Example for Free

United States as an Imperialist and Expansionist Nation Essay Imperialism is the influential expansion of a country’s power through territorial invasion creating a financial and political control of other countries. Imperialism is used to refer to the period of 1880 to 1918 wherein the developed countries look for new territories to dwell in, creating their command to the African and Asian countries so that they will have the most useful location. The United States pursue an aggressive policy of expansionism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to expand the nation’s political and economic influence worldwide. The United States general public observed the first expansion attempts as a means to help other nations for a righteous reason but as it goes by they changed their mind and viewed the United States as an imperialist nation. Manifest Destiny was created in 1845 to somewhat justify American expansionism. United States would still be the sole strong power even without expansion but it was America’s goal to reign supreme above others. In 1860’s when American Imperialism was isolated, it affected the affairs of other small countries but it had no effect whatsoever to the Great Powers which the United States has not fully reached. Initially the United States wanted expansion to be able to compete with the European markets. In The People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn commented about the demand of expansion: Appleman Williams has described in The Roots of the Modern American Empire that there were need for expansion by many commercial farmers. Populist Congressman Jerry Simpson of Kansas told Congress in 1892 that with a vast agricultural excess, farmers ‘must of necessity search for foreign market. True, he was not calling for violence or invasion but once foreign markets were seen as significant to success, expansionist procedure, even war might be appealing. The period of Imperialism began when United States helped Cuba to drive away the Spaniards and helped the Cuban gain their independence. The Americans then had a navy base in Cuba and they wanted to help the Philippines next but instead of giving them independence they build their own empire. The American people come to realized and viewed their nation as an upcoming imperialist nation because prior to the Spanish American War, the American military did not subsist. The national identity of the people of America changed significantly since they were able to show to the whole world that they can survive even without the help of Great Britain. The Manifest Destiny was created to rationalize to the citizens the expansion that was happening. The United States expansion enabled them to be competitive to the European market but later on the expansion became more of imperialism like what happened in the case of the Philippines. By becoming an imperialist nation, the United States has to build their military from scratch and the people who object their expansion was viewed as unpatriotic by the government. The United States without expansionism would be just like one of the numerous nations that is incompetent in absorbing millions of immigrants, without the ability of protecting itself against great nations and without the capacity of spreading and preserving its culture worldwide. Work Cited Zinn, Howard. The People’s History of the United States. New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 1999.

The Pros And Cons Of Each Approach

The Pros And Cons Of Each Approach The project management team at Parallel Services is having a debate about how to define tasks in the work breakdown structure used to construct a Gantt chart. Ann, the project manager, wants to break tasks down into the smallest possible units. For example, she objected to a broad task statement called Develop a training schedule. Instead, she suggested three subtasks: (1) Determine availability of training room, (2) Determine availability of attendees, and (3) Select specific dates and training times. Karen, another project team member, disagrees. She feels that the broader task statement is better, because it allows more flexibility and will produce the same result. Karen says that if you break tasks into pieces that are too small, you risk over-managing the work and spending more time on monitoring than actually performing the tasks. (a) Discuss the pros and cons of each approach. Breaking down tasks into smaller and manageable units, makes the inter relationship between those units clearer, effectively helps the planning process, easier to revise and update plans when needed, assign work packages to appropriate skill groups, which makes it easier for the project manager to macro manage the project. Tracking the progress of work packages is more accurate because the timeline feature of Gantt chart carries over to WBS. Smaller tasks also carry some disadvantages like need for excessive communication, unending status reporting, loss of productivity and more. For example, the below figure shows that a project that is twice as large will be much more than twice as complex. Only one interaction among team members exists in Project A. In Project B, as many as six different interactions can take place. Unless carefully coordinated, multiple interactions can lead to misunderstanding and delays. Large work packages (Broader tasks) can be unclear as team members may not be sure of what they are supposed to do. There are chances that your team members could assure you about meeting the delivery date of the large chunk of work and approach you for schedule extension just when you thought the work would have been done. In addition below are some more disadvantages of large/broader tasks. You receive less feedback to overcome this, smaller tasks are better because people can learn sooner if the tasks are smaller and provide better feedback. Work might expand after the initiation of a project. Large tasks usually have long due times. Hence there might be no sense of urgency which leads to low motivation. Tasks fail if they are big After spending half of the budget, you discover that resources are not enough to finish the task on time. The only solution would be fight with neighbor projects to find more resources which is again expensive because you cannot just cancel the project after spending half of the budget. So, your task would drag on forever, and consume even more resources. (b) Explain which approach you would advocate and justify why. I would like to support smaller tasks. Project manager plans, monitors and tracks the work done by the team members, so tasks should be small and manageable. Trying to manage a project as one large task would be impossible. Instead, i would like to break the project down into many smaller tasks that can be easily managed. People who procrastinate often comment that when they wait to the last minute to complete a project, they often feel overwhelmed, and the task seems insurmountable. Breaking the task into smaller units and setting priorities, the work would be more manageable and less intimidating. Finding the correct size for the work packages is very important when planning on work breakdown, not too big, not too small, but just correct size. If the tasks were smaller we always have option to increase it later if needed. However the opposite is always not possible. Work breakdown structure would help assigning tasks to individuals, monitor the work status on a regular basis and also hold people accountable for the work assigned to them. Preparing the work breakdown structure properly, you can easily maintain your schedule and people will be responsible for their part of work (tasks assigned to them). A project task can be represented by one or several team members. In a workgroup, to complete a task, the workgroup leader should consult with the workers in order to develop the task list. A task should be broken down in to a level where an individual is able to do a task without further breaking it down into smaller units. The project task list does not necessarily describe task sequence, but the task leaders will often think in these terms. It is important for the project manager to keep in mind that these tasks must be broken down into smaller, discreet, independent work units, and that none are left out. Breakdown is satisfactory when individu als are identified who can determine exactly what has to be done, how long it will take, and who will do it. If, on one unit of effort, several groups are each working independently of each other, the unit needs even further breakdown. Each autonomous team should have its own task. Below is a simple example of work breakdown structure. Question 2 Point value: 10 Many companies are undergoing server virtualization. This is the concept of putting multiple virtual servers on to one physical device. The payoffs can be significant: fewer servers, lower electricity and cooling costs, lower infrastructure and administrative costs, increased flexibility, more effective use of space, and lower maintenance costs. The costs of doing so include licensing virtualization software, labor costs in establishing the virtual servers on to a physical device, costs of updating tables, and access. However, determining return on investment can be a challenge. Some companies have lost money, while others claim that they have gained a positive return on investment. (a) Suggest ways in which a company could determine its actual return on investment from server virtualization and how this would be accomplished. Server virtualization increases the rate of investment for an organization. Below are some of the ways in which server virtualization can help the organization to increase their ROI. 1. Reducing server maintenance, storage and networking costs 2. Reducing growing power, cooling and costs pertaining to facilities 3. Increased IT productivity 4. Reduce business risks Server virtualization allows an organization to save money on hardware, floor space and resources. Virtualization uses existing servers to provide better performance without adding additional capacity, which results in savings from hardware. For example, deploy three virtual servers on one physical machine and it saves the need to buy three separate machines, which may be used less frequently that too at full capacity. When the physical number of servers in an organization is decreased, this means less storage space is required. Office rents are a major expense for any business, so less space is definitely a plus. It is necessary to calculate the money to be spent on the licenses for virtualization products. Buying more RAM and software licenses are more feasible than buying new machines. In the long run virtualization can save money because it reduces energy consumption. Server virtualization makes an organization more effective by making use of the existing infrastructure in a better way. Migration is easier in virtualized environment. With virtualization we can just deploy an image of the existing or a new system or solution on the present server without a need for a new server deployment. (b) Discuss whether this is a type of project in which a systems analyst would become involved and why. A systems analyst would be involved in this type of project. Though server virtualization is a great choice there are factors to consider prior to the implementation of product. The analysis and planning phase should be done properly to avoid any type of virtualization failure. A systems analyst should have better understanding of server virtualization concepts before trying to implement it in an organization. The leading virtualization solutions are easy to deploy and user friendly however might require close inspection based on the requirements of the organization. This doesnt mean that you shouldnt consider virtualization, but you should look carefully at the numbers and run a test bed before committing to the idea. Below are some of the notable factors that a systems analyst needs to consider before deciding on server virtualization idea. Single point of failure When failures occur on a server on which all the virtualization solutions are hosted and running, when the virtualization solution itself fails, the system crashes. Need for powerful machines Virtual servers demand powerful hardware. It is still possible to deploy virtualization solutions with less powerful systems; however the performance decreases greatly if there is no sufficient RAM and CPU power on the main system. Lower performance Issues Problems show up after the application has been virtualized. Application performance would differ when it experiences lot of stress from different processes running on the same server. Performance issues cannot be predicted in advance. Not always possible There are applications where virtualization is not possible or not feasible. One practical example is database, since databases require frequent disk read and write operations, virtualization, which takes time to perform is not at all suitable for the database environment. Security Security configurations and concerns must also be considered when analyzing a virtualization solution. It is the job of systems analyst to carefully weigh the pros and cons while considering to go for a virtualization solution. Question 3 Point value: 15 The vice president of accounting says to you, the IT director, This systems development life cycle stuff takes too long. She tells you that her people know what they are doing and that all systems requests coming from her department are necessary and important to the organization. She suggests that the IT department bypass the initial steps for any accounting department request and immediately get to work at the solution. (a) Justify your departments use of the SDLC and the consequences of omitting stages of the lifecycle in systems analysis. The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model that describes the stages involved in a system development project starting from Identifying problems, opportunities and objectives through maintenance of the application. There are several models developed to guide the process involved. Documentation is crucial regardless of the type of model chosen for any application and is usually done in parallel with the development process. Success of a project depends on how closely the plan was followed and implemented throughout the project development. During the initial phases, systems analyst is concerned with correctly identifying the problems, opportunities and objectives. The success of the rest of the project depends on this because if the problem is not identified correctly at the initial stages or skip this stage then the rest of the team would be addressing the wrong problem. The cost of fixing a defect in the early stages of the project is very less when compared to fixing a defect at later stages of the project development because it would cost a lot to fix the defect when project is in production stage. Below is a simple graph of cost and time graph that can explain the cost of change as we progress in the project. http://www.ambysoft.com/artwork/costOfChangeCurve.jpg (b) Explain to her the alternative design methodologies used in systems analysis, how they are similar to and how they differ from the SDLC, and the appropriateness of each for different types of projects. Agile methodology and object oriented methodology are the other two alternative methodologies used in systems analysis. Agile methodology is an approach based on values, principles and core practices. Agile methodology not only reduces the risk of misunderstanding, it also minimizes the cost of addressing any defect. Object oriented best suits situations where complex systems undergo continuous maintenance, adaptation and redesign. Understanding the organization, budgeting time and resources, developing a project proposal, gathering information and sampling data from existing reports are the activities that are common in all the three methodologies (SDLC, Agile and Object Oriented methodologies). SDLC and object -oriented approaches require extensive planning and diagramming. The Agile and object-oriented approach allow subsystems to be build one at a time until the entire system is complete. The agile and SDLC approaches are concerned about the way data logically moves through the s ystem. SDLC approach can be used when there are adequate resources and time to complete the full SDLC. Agile methodologies can be used when applications need to be developed quickly in response to a dynamic environment. Object-Oriented methodologies can be used when organization supports the UML learning and when systems can be added gradually, one subsystem at a time. Question 4 Point value: 20 points FlexTime is a regional chain of fitness centers that provides workout facilities as well as a variety of fitness classes to its members such as aerobics, martial arts, yoga, Zumba, and kickboxing. The chain has 50 facilities located in the northeastern region of the United States. Each facility employs approximately 80 individuals including managers, personal fitness trainers, fitness instructors, receptionists, on-site physical therapists, and maintenance personnel. The owners of the chain would like to replace their antiquated database system with an integrated system that keeps track of payroll, employee and class scheduling, inventory, and membership dues at each of its facilities. They have asked your systems analysis team to conduct a feasibility analysis and to develop the system for them, assuming that it is feasible. (a) Explain how you would conduct the feasibility analysis for FlexTime. I would start with defining the potential impact of the integrated system which can help decision makers to determine whether or not to replace their antiquated database system with an integrated system. Feasibility study report should be prepared in such a way that FlexTime can decide about cost estimation, funding and important decisions which are very essential for them to be stable and run profitably. Systems analyst should analyze the current system with the proposed integrated system and prepare detailed report that contains information related to technical, economic and operational impact and will also include both pros and cons of both the current system and proposed system. Interviewing managers, personal fitness trainers, fitness instructors, receptionists, on-site physical therapists, and maintenance personnel, developing and managing questionnaires to interested sponsors, such as potential users of the information system, monitoring users of the current system and determi ne their requirements as well as their like and dislike with the current system, gathering, investigating, and analyzing documents, specifications, reports, procedures, user guides, and any other documentation relating to the operations of the current system, modeling, detecting, and simulating the tasks of the current system are some various methods a systems analyst can use to collect data. It pursues to determine the resources required to develop an information systems solution which includes the cost and benefits and the feasibility of the new solution (b) Provide three examples of why this project might lack technical feasibility. This project may lack Technical feasibility because Flextime doesnt have enough information technology staff to execute the project. The existing resources (hardware or software) might not be able to support the business needs. Lacks financial resources to support the proposed system. The organization might lack the expertise, time or personnel required to implement the new project. (c) Provide three examples of why this project might lack operational feasibility. This project is not adequate in terms of operational feasibility because the project might not be easy to operate. The users (managers, personal fitness trainers, fitness instructors, receptionists, on-site physical therapists, and maintenance personnel) of the project lack proper training or knowledge of the system. The project procedures might be too complex for the personnel as the system has integrations with multiple applications. (d) Provide three examples of why this project might lack economic feasibility. This project might lack economic feasibility because they might lack the finances required to wait for return on investment, so the project implementation might halt due to longer payback period. They can use the profits gained with this and reinvest in other technology. In addition, benefits and costs can both be intangible, hidden and/or hard to estimate. Alternative financing arrangements like renting or leasing or purchasing required hardware or software. When compared to existing system the proposed system would be integrated with many other applications, the organization may want to invest more on labor. Costs may have been underestimated (However, we did compare our costs to a comparable services startup costs). Furthermore, although we hoped to exhaust the potential list of project costs, there will likely be items that we must purchase. (e) Explain which of the systems development methodologies discussed in the text would you choose to use to develop the system for FlexTime and why. I would like to use SDLC to develop the system for FlexTime. SDLC model can answer questions like Do we have the hardware or software to handle the system?, Do our computers have enough memory?, Does the new proposed system do what it is supposed to do? and many more. SDLC is used to identify the need for the system initiation, ship out the new system to the user(implementation), and de support when no longer needed(Disposition) because if we dont have a clear plan for doing all these, then it can become an expensive mistake. As each phase of SDLC requires documentation, reporting and approval, it assures that a project does not go out of hand either by changing the direction or becoming a financial black hole. There will not be any surprises when the system is shipped to the user because the management is aware of every step and it is documented. In short because of the planning, approval, testing and documentation activities SDLC can assure that the system can, and will work as exp ected. Question 5 Point value: 45 points City College is considering introducing a new online system through which faculty and students will place textbook orders which will be implemented in fall 2011. As the systems analyst assigned to this project, you have been asked to obtain information from different user groups who will be using the new system. (a) Identify the different user groups that you would want to gather information from, and explain why. Administrators They are responsible for setup and maintaining user accounts, maintaining system, verifying whether all the hardware and software used are working properly, monitor system performance, creating backup and recovery policy to use whenever there is a disaster, setup security policies for users, monitor network communication. Librarians It is always important to collect information from librarians because they create records for library catalogs, process library materials for collection, assist users in locating materials, circulate library materials and handle overdue processes, managing user records, operating customer service points, in fact librarian is the person who would have knowledge of everything in the library. Students They use library more than any other user groups identified in this case so it is very important to gather information from students to build the new online system. Faculty/Reviewers/Evaluators/Teaching Assistants As most of these people use library for traditional printed resources, inter-library loan, electronic journals, and electronic databases/article indexes. Gathering information from them would help developing online system and provide all options they need. (b) Develop an interview protocol that you would use to interview members of the user groups. In doing so, identify the types of questions that you might ask as well as the appropriate structure for conducting the interview. When interviewing administrators and librarians I would like to follow the protocols that include open ended questions and then move on to closed ended questions to be more focused with the interview and finally with some open ended questions and appreciate the interviewee for taking time out of his/her schedule. I might even use general probes in interviews to enable the user being interviewed to be as informative as possible in their responses. I might ask questions like Is there anything else you would like to add?. I would like to use diamond structure for conducting the interview as this structure combines the strengths of the both pyramid and funnel structure. When interviewing students and faculty I would like to start with open ended questions and then narrow the possible responses by using closed ended questions. I might ask questions like How do you use the library resources?. I feel funnel structure best suits to conduct the interview for this users group. (c) Make a case for or against the use of joint application design (JAD) sessions to gather information. Joint application design (JAD) sessions to gather information would not suit because JAD sessions require commitment of a large block of time from all participants, JAD requires minimum of two to four day commitment where participants may not do any other activities concurrently. Inadequate JAD session preparations in any regard or if the follow-up report and documentation of specifications is incomplete. The necessary organizational skills may not be sufficiently developed to enable the concerted effort required to be productive in a JAD session. JAD may not be possible in our case as students may have their classes/exams going on or faculty may be busy teaching in class at the time of JAD schedules. (d) Develop a questionnaire that you would use to elicit information from members of each user group. Students Group Which Department are you in? What courses are you taking? What types of books are required for your course? What authors books do you prefer or are preferred by your instructors? Any specific publications? Is there anything else you would like to add? Faculty Group Which Department are you in? What courses are you teaching? What type of books do you propose to the students? Any specific authors? Any specific publications? Is there anything else you would like to add? Librarians Group Library catalogs? Any library material for collection? Any overdue processes? What books do you see students using/requesting most? Any new journals/magazines required? Any editions of books to be updated? What type of user records? Is there anything else you would like to add? Administrators Group Types of user accounts? What type of tools required to upgrade the search capabilities in the online library system? System performance monitoring options? What type of security policies? Is there anything else you would like to add? (e) Explain how the questionnaire might be distributed to members of each user group. Make sure to describe the benefits and drawbacks of each distribution method that you suggest, and provide a final recommendation with justification. I think we can distribute questionnaire to users in all groups via email and web survey because we can reach the users quickly. Cost of taking opinions from the groups with paper is completely reduced since the surveys are taken electronically and email is free, user privacy is maintained. Responses can be automatically collected and stored electronically at users convenience. Reminders can be sent easily and are inexpensive via email and by using software we can turn email data into data tables for use in spreadsheet. (f) Determine what sampling methodology you would use to distribute the questionnaire. Justify your selection. I would use stratified sampling methodology to distribute the questionnaire. To develop an online system for text book orders the data gathered should be effective and stratified sampling methodology is often essential in such cases. Using this sampling methodology a systems analyst can gather information from different group of users/people say for example you may want to use a survey to gather data from students, faculty but you might prefer to use personal interviews to gather similar data librarians and administrators. (g) Suggest a strategy for analyzing any existing documents that are used in the textbook ordering process. Explain why you would choose this strategy and why you would select certain documents (You can be general in specifying the types of documents.) Systems analysts should consider both quantitative and qualitative documents for analyzing. Quantitative documents include analyzing reports, records and forms to determine where the organization stands currently and what the vision for the proposed system is. Qualitative documents include email messages, memos, web pages, procedure manuals and policies because they contain details of the expectations of behavior, the ways in which users expect to interact with information technologies. Systems analysts can take help of guidelines to systematically approach to this sort of analysis. The focus of the document analysis should be a critical investigation, rather than a mere description, of the documents. The analysis should include questions about the educational purpose of the document; how librarians, faculty and students are using it, and how it is contributing to learning. Records provide periodic updates of what is occurring in the business, it can provide much useful information t o the analyst. Systems analyst should make a note of performance measurement. This measurement can help analyzing the actual and intended performance of the system. Analyzing policies allows the systems analyst to gain an awareness of the values, attitudes and beliefs guiding the organization.

Islamic Feminism: An overview

Islamic Feminism: An overview Introduction Feminism is a secular ideology and Islam today rests on fundamentalist foundations. Those who advocate that feminist projects be conducted within an Islamic framework have clearly despaired of secular options for change without considering how have elaborated Lilas argument against the possibility of the coexistence of Islam and feminism because it explains the anxiety many Muslim women public intellectuals, including Chandra Talpade (2003), Jasmine (2004), and Martin (2003), feel as they watch the Taliban taking away womens rights in Afghanistan, the Algerian Front Islamique de Salut targeting women intellectuals, the fundamentalist Sudanese government oppressing its women. Many are sure that compromise with such a religion is fatal. Some women are joining religious groups despite their gender conservatism. Others are fighting these same groups, fearing the dangerous chemistry of politics and religion. Whether through or against religion they are choosing to become part of the struggle for a better world. The question many pose to women who voluntarily Islamize is: Do they accept their communities reactionary norms or do they appropriate and in the process subvert them? If there are some who can be considered feminists according to my definition of the term, how do they adapt their convictions that women have certain rights with the perceived need to subsume them to the community interest? How will the ways in which they position themselves to assert responsibility for the construction of their own, new religious identity change the face of Islam? How does participation in jihad allow for feminist activism? These are the questions which are imposed and discussed by Amina Wadud, Badran (1995), Hamid (2006), Saba ( 2005), Lila (2002) and other writers in their respective books and articles. Feminism according to Holy Quran The Quran is unequivocally opposed to gender equality, and the Sharia is not compatible with the principles of equality of human beings (Afshar, 1996, p.122). Despite its growing currency throughout the Muslim world, Lila asserts that Islamic feminism has no coherent, self-identified and/or easily identifiable ideology or movement. Those who advocate its utility as a concept and a marker for a specific brand of feminism are not women from within Muslim societies but rather diasporic feminist academics and researchers of Muslim background living and working in the West (126). These women she later characterizes as exceptionally forgiving, postmodern relativist feminists in the West whose indigenized and exotic form of Western feminism excludes core ideas of legal and social equity, sexual democracy and womens control over their sexuality (146). The attitudes to Islamic feminism span the gamut of leftists like herself who reject its possibility because they consider divine laws inherently hostile toward feminism, to those who posit that feminism within an Islamic framework is the only culturally sound and effective strategy for the regions womens movement (134). The latter group may include secularists overwhelmed by the political and discursive influence of Islamic fundamentalism (134). Here lies the major problem in Lilas argument: she confounds Islam and Islamic fundamentalism, as though the two were the same. This affirmation, she dramatically asserts, relies on twisting facts or distorting realities, ignoring or hiding that which should be clear (135). Her very real fear is that to celebrate Islamic feminism is to highlight only one of the many forms of identity available to Middle Eastern women, obscuring ways that identity is asserted or reclaimed, overshadowing forms of struggle outside religious practices and silencing the secular voices which are still raised against the regions stifling Islamification policies (137-38). An Anti-Modern Feminist Perspective A considerably different perspective is presented in Anouar Majids â€Å"The Politics of Feminism in Islam.† Majid is wary of the dangers of imposing Western feminist traditions on non-Western cultures and attempts therefore to recuperate a feminist tradition within traditional Islamic culture, though he is not entirely successful in doing so. Majid recognizes that the problems women face in Islamic societies cannot be divorced from European colonialism. For Majid, the political and economic structures that have resulted from independence from European domination have not emancipated the poor (341). He feels that nationalist elites have established Eurocentric models of government, namely nation-states (342, n. 17). For Majid, representations of Islamic culture as undemocratic and patriarchal reify the history of Muslim culture and downplay the impact of imperialism on gender relations in Islamic countries (349). Majid finds that a major problem in attempting to develop Islamic feminist perspectives is the difficulty of overcoming the Western and often Orientalist biases that pervade feminist thought. These biases include a dehistoricised notion of human rights and â€Å"an implicit acceptance of the bourgeois political apparatus as a reliable mechanism for negotiating the grievances of the exploited† (339). Western feminism cannot be readily separated from hostility to Islamic culture, according to Majid. To illustrate the point, he cites the example of upper-class Islamic women who have sometimes embraced Western feminist values and in the process â€Å"condemned native customs as backward, proclaimed the superiority of the West, and uncompromisingly equated unveiling with liberation† (338). Females in Islam Even though women may have high-status professional jobs and make important decisions in the course of the day, and even though Islamic sharia insists that women have the right to keep their income, it appears that husbands continue to control the decisions concerning expenditures. The husband is pivotal in allowing his wife to work in the interest of the welfare of the family, he is also the final arbiter in defining what constitutes that welfare. In many instances, while accepting that she may work outside the home, he will not allow her to participate in public events. As already noted, Oven the power of the constitutions of various countries affirming the determination of the sharia that men are in charge of women, there is little chance for change in the foreseeable future. Modernization and urbanization, however, have brought about certain changes in family life. One is a preference for nuclear families. This has altered the traditional power of the mother-in-law which has been undermined by the new system. Instead of being a guest in her mother-in-laws home, the bride gets to be in charge of her own household. But, if she also has to go out to work in order to maintain private residence, her workload is doubled. In addition, the change in housing design from the traditional open courtyard with a garden and opening to the sky to the small apartment has confined the woman and restricted her contact with other members of the family as well as with nature. If her husband restricts her going out, she feels imprisoned and lacks contact with friends and intimate relations. Zine identifies what she sees as the roles for women, determined by the tripartite class structure of Arab society: the working class, the middle class, and the upper class. In the working class, she says, a sharp distinction is made between feminine and masculine characteristics (Zine, 2006, p.19). Conclusion One of the themes that emerges from contemporary writing about Muslim women is that of woman as victim of the experience of oppression in developing countries. The oppression is not unique to the Arab context but is a consequence of disempowerment and feelings of impotence. The condition of the woman serves to demonstrate the extremes of disempowerment. She has become the projection of the inadequacy of the society, shackled with the burden of failure and weakness. Her inherent worth is devalued in relation to her physique, intellect, gender, productivity, and status. At the same time, her role as mother is symbolically elevated. Islam provides security and equivalence to the females and it has made many laws which secures the importance of females in this male dominant world. References Abu-Lughod, Lila 2002. Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others. In American Anthropologist, Vol. 104, No. 3, pp. 783-790 Afshar, Haleh 1996. Islam and Feminism: An Analysis of Political Strategies. In Feminism and Islam: Legal and Literary Perspectives, ed. Mai Yamani. NY: New York University Press, p.122-138 Badran, Margot 1995. Feminists, Islam and Nation: Gender and Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gender and the Making of Modern Egypt. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press. Hamid, Shadi 2006. ‘Between Orientalism and Posrmodernism: the changing nature of Western Feminist thought towards the middle east’, HAWWA 4,1:76-92. Mahmood, Saba 2005. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject (Princeton: Princeton University Press). Mahmood, Saba 2006. ‘Performativity, Agency, and the Feminist Subject‘, in (eds) Ellen Armour and Susan St. Ville, Bodily Citations: Religion and Judith Butler (New York, Columbia Uni Press). ISBN 0-231-13407-X Majid, Anouar 1998. The Politics of Feminism in Islam, Signs, Vol. 23, No. 2, p. 321-361 Martin F McLelland 2004 ‘Re-placing queer studies: reflections on the queer matters conference’, in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies vol 6, number 2: 299- 311. Talpade, Chandra 2003. Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Durham London: Duke University Press. P.71 Zine, Jasmine 2004. Creating a critical faith-centred space for antiracist feminism, in Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. Vol. 20, No. 2, Pages 167-187 Zine, Jasmine 2006. Between Orientalism and Fundamentalism: The Politics of Muslim Womens Feminist Engagement, Muslim World Journal of Human Rights: Vol. 3, p.19 Public Health Issue Analysis: Smoking Public Health Issue Analysis: Smoking ENHANCING HEALTH AND WELLBEING ACROSS POPULATIONS: INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this essay is to identify a public health issue related in my field. To facilitate the discussion smoking as a public health issue has been chosen. The holistic impact smoking have on the wellbeing of an individual will be explored. The stage of change model and the Healthy Lives (2010) policy will be explored in relation to smoking. The rationale for choosing this topic is because smoking is an important public health issue. The smoke is very toxic to every human tissue it touches on its way into, through and out of the smoker’s body (Ewles 2005). Smoking is considered as a health hazard because Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a poisonous alkaloid, and other harmful substances such as carbon monoxide, acrolein, ammonia and tars.Gorvenment initiatives like the Public Health White Paper, choosing health; Making Choices Easier (DH 2004) will be addressed. The nurse’s role and other professions involved will be highlighted .Confidentiality shall be maintained throughout this essay as prescribed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008). The impact of tobacco smoking on public health extends beyond the direct effects on the individual smoker and their personal health, plus taking into account the effect on their economic, environmental and social effects (Ewles 2005).). Smoking harms nearly every org an of the body thereby causing many diseases, reducing quality of life and life expectancy. Also it has been estimated that in England, 364,000 patients are admitted to NHS hospitals each year due to smoking related diseases which translates into about 7,000 hospital admission per week and 1,000 admissions per day (ASH 2006). In the UK, smoking causes about a fifth of all deaths, approximately 114,000 each year, most of which are premature with an average of 21 years early (Ewles 2005). According to Peto et. al. (2003) cited in Ewles (2005), most premature deaths caused by smoking are Lung and coronary cancer, chronic obstructive heart diseases and coronary heart diseases with 42800, 29100 and 30600 deaths respectively every year. In addition, smoking is known to also bring increased risk of many debilitating conditions like impotence, infertility, gum disease, asthma and psoriasis (Ewles 2005). Research has also shown that non-smokers are put at risk by exposure to other peopleâ₠¬â„¢s smoke which is known as passive or involuntary smoking and is also referred to as second-hand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) (Cancer Research 2009). According to the Oxford Medical Companion (1994) cited in the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2008, â€Å"tobacco is the only legally available consumer product which kills people when it is used entirely as intended†. Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the World which causes one in ten deaths among adults worldwide and in 2005, tobacco caused about 5.4million deaths, an average of one death every six second Certain behaviors have been labeled as risky behaviors associated with negative health outcomes among which smoking is and which has been the subject of UK national health strategies (Naidoo Wills 2005). Smoking causes about one fifth of all deaths in the UK, most of which are premature and has hugely significant impacts on the wider environment and community through causing air pollution, fires, litter and environmental damage (Ewles 2005). Prevalence of smoking among the low paid groups has been observed to be twice those of the affluent groups because of the great difficulty people in the less affluent groups experience in stopping smoking (Ewles 2005). Tobacco smoking is also widely recognized as a cause of health inequality in the UK because it is common among the deprived groups and also compromises the already poorer health of deprived population such as those that fall within the marginalized groups. Examples are people with mental problems and prisoners, who are more likely to smoke and less likely to have access to mainstream smoking cessation services (Ewles 2005). The Index of multiple deprivation ranks areas from the most deprived to the least deprived and the odds of smoking increases as deprivation in the area increases (The NHS Information centre 2008). Children smoke for all sorts of reasons. Some smoke to show their independence, others because their friends do while some smoke because adults tell them not to and others do smoke to follow the example of role models. There is no single cause. Parents, brothers and sisters who smoke are a powerful influence. Also is the way it is been advertised and the tobacco companies sponsor sport which makes children want to try it (DH 1998). The problems of smoking during pregnancy are closely related to health inequalities between those in need and the most advantaged. Women with partners in manual groups are more likely to smoke during pregnancy than those with partners in non-manual groups: 26 per cent of women with partners in manual groups smoke during pregnancy, compared with 12 per cent with partners doing non-manual work (DH 1998). Health promotion is a complex activity and is difficult to define. Davies and Macdowall (2006) describe health promotion as â€Å"any strategy or intervention that is designed to improve the health of individuals and its population†. However perhaps one of the most recognized definitions is that of the World Health Organization’s who describes health promotion as â€Å"a process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health (WHO 1986). If we look at this in relation to the nurse’s role in smoking cessation and giving advice to a patient, this can be seen as a positive concept in that with the availability of information together with support, the patient is then able to make an informed decision, thus creating empowerment and an element of self control. Bright (1997) supports this notion suggesting that empowerment is created when accurate information and knowledgeable advice is given, thus aiding the development of personal skills and self esteem. A vital component of health promotion is health education which aims to change behavior by providing people with the knowledge and skills they require to make healthier decisions and enable them to fulfill their potential. Healthy Lives Healthy People (2010) highlight the vital role nurses play in the delivery of health promotion with particular attention on prevention at primary and secondary levels.Nurses have a wealth of skills and knowledge and use this knowledge to empower people to make lifestyle changes and choices. This encourages people to take charge of their own health and to increase feelings of personal autonomy (Christensen 2006). Smoking is one of the biggest threats to public health, therefore nurses are in a prime position to help people to quit by offering encouragement, provide information and refer to smoking cessation services. In 2010 the white paper Healthy Live Healthy People set out the government long term policy for improving public health and in 2011 a new tobacco control plan was published (Department of Health 2011). The Whitepaper Healthy Life Healthy People set out a range of measures aimed at preventing people from starting to smoke and helping them to stop, such as banning cigarettes advertising on billboards, in size and action on tobacco intensified (DH, 2011). WHO defines health promotion a process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve, their health. It implies that the ideology moves beyond a focus on individual behavior towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions. Naidoo and Wills (2010), states ‘health promotion is based on theories about what influences people’s health and what are effective interventions or strategies to improve health.

Comparison of the Two Speeches in Julius Caesar -- comparison compare

Comparison of the Two Speeches in Julius Caesar    In William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, two speeches are given to the people of Rome about Caesar's death. In Act 3, Scene 2 of this play Brutus and Antony both try to sway the minds of the Romans toward their views. Brutus tried to make the people believe he killed Caesar for a noble cause. Antony tried to persuade the people that the conspirators committed an act of brutality toward Caesar and were traitors. The effectiveness and ineffectiveness of both Antony's and Brutus's speech to the people are conveyed through tone and rhetorical devices. Brutus made his speech effective in persuading the people by using tone and rhetorical devices. Brutus was compassionate when referring to how he loved Caesar as much as Caesar`s friends of his speech. Brutus was showing compassion on lines18 - 20 when he said, "If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say that Brutus's love to Caesar was no less than his." Brutus said this to help the people understand the sorrow he felt for the loss of Caesar, but he felt he killed Caesar for the good of Rome. Brutus anticipated an objection by the people when he said he loved Caesar , so he went on to say on lines 20 - 23, "If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I love Caesar less, but Rome more."Brutus manipulated the people with rhetorical questions. He asks them on lines 29 - 33, " who is so base, that they would be a bondman, who is so rude, that they would not be a Roman, and who is so vile, that will n ot love his country," the people do not want to be against their country nor do they want to be so base to be a slave.... ...ns. This made Antony's speech more effective in the fact that he used detailed reasoning for why Caesar was not ambitious. This was why the people came to his favor in the end. The tones and rhetorical devices they used helped to capture their audience by appealing to their emotions and helping to move the views of Antony and Brutus's views across to their listeners. Comparing effectiveness and ineffectiveness of both speeches was important in determining which way the people would be swayed. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Chelsea House Publisher; Connecticut, New York, & Pennsylvania. 1988, Pg. #33 - 36 Durband, Alan. Shakespeare Made Easy: Julius Caesar. Barron's Educational Series, Inc.; New York. 1985. Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Ed. Alan Durband. London: Hutchinson & Co. Publishers Ltd., 1984.

Flea Control for Dogs and Cats :: Pets Dogs Cats Essays

Flea Control for Dogs and Cats Many Americans have a four-legged member of their family in their home. Most people deal with housebreaking problems, pet hair on furniture, and an occasional broken lamp because all the friendly welcomes home outweigh these minor problems. When the weather begins to get warmer, these pet owners begin to cringe with the thought of spring. It can only mean one thing; flea season and the circus of giving flea baths and dips is about to start. But in the past few years, there has been a break through in scientific technology allowing both owners and pets to rest easier. The scientific community has come up with a liquid that can be put on the pets skin that kills adult fleas. These liquids are safe for people and animals, and do not wash off. But which one is the best choice? While only a veterinarian can choose the right product for each pet, owners can definitely look into the choices by asking their vet or by simply logging onto the internet. There are three products on the market that are currently most often advised by vets: Frontline-Topspot, Advantage, and Revolution. By examining each products webpage, one can gain more information about each product that they can use along with their veterinarians advice to find the right product. Each website is different in the way they represent their products information through audience choice, layout, presentation of information, and general style. Before looking at the difference between these websites, it may be helpful to know exactly what these products are. These products are meant as a flea control measure by killing the adult fleas that bite the pet. The product comes in a small ampule and is in liquid form. The liquid is applied directly to the skin of the pet between the shoulder blades. It is then absorbed into the fatty layer of the skin and into the blood system. The product cannot be washed off after application, which allows the pet to be bathed and to play in water and it does not rub off into the environment. Flea Control for Dogs and Cats :: Pets Dogs Cats Essays Flea Control for Dogs and Cats Many Americans have a four-legged member of their family in their home. Most people deal with housebreaking problems, pet hair on furniture, and an occasional broken lamp because all the friendly welcomes home outweigh these minor problems. When the weather begins to get warmer, these pet owners begin to cringe with the thought of spring. It can only mean one thing; flea season and the circus of giving flea baths and dips is about to start. But in the past few years, there has been a break through in scientific technology allowing both owners and pets to rest easier. The scientific community has come up with a liquid that can be put on the pets skin that kills adult fleas. These liquids are safe for people and animals, and do not wash off. But which one is the best choice? While only a veterinarian can choose the right product for each pet, owners can definitely look into the choices by asking their vet or by simply logging onto the internet. There are three products on the market that are currently most often advised by vets: Frontline-Topspot, Advantage, and Revolution. By examining each products webpage, one can gain more information about each product that they can use along with their veterinarians advice to find the right product. Each website is different in the way they represent their products information through audience choice, layout, presentation of information, and general style. Before looking at the difference between these websites, it may be helpful to know exactly what these products are. These products are meant as a flea control measure by killing the adult fleas that bite the pet. The product comes in a small ampule and is in liquid form. The liquid is applied directly to the skin of the pet between the shoulder blades. It is then absorbed into the fatty layer of the skin and into the blood system. The product cannot be washed off after application, which allows the pet to be bathed and to play in water and it does not rub off into the environment.