The Impact of Information System on Business Process Design Research Paper

The Impact of Information System on Business Process Design - Research Paper Example The use of information systems also enables the company to expand and grow its operations outwards to scales that were almost unimaginable through the analog system of business design and engineering, such as globalization processes through the creation of the subsidiaries by multinational corporations. Furthermore, the organizations also benefit from the large market sphere and control brought about by the introduction of business technology and information systems within the processes of conducting business. As such, the paper considers the best methods undertaken by businesses in expanding and modernizing their operations using and adoption of technology and information systems. In fact, information systems brought about a major revolution in specific organizational sectors such as the executive and management roles, as well as, the manner and style by which people work at their organizations. This is phenomenal through the redesign processes of these business operations, and the benefits achieved through the transformation of these new company practices. A business process is a structural procedure of diverse activities, tasks, or procedures within a business in order to achieve a specific goal, or produce a certain kind of service, product, or brand for meeting a particular demand from a customer, a market, or a business client. A business process incorporates a flowchart kind of operation whereby a sequence of integrated activities operate together through a process matrix based on a varied rules provided by the data in the processes. However, there are varied versions on the definition of business processes and how they affect the operations of a business.

Pick one of the topic on the attachment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pick one of the topic on the attachment - Essay Example It is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that the organization selects the right project. For the survival of the project, adequate resources are vital which will ensure its sustenance to the final stage. The projects requires being in line with the organizational goals. Periodical review of the program is necessary for the achievement of its set goals. In case, the planned outcome and the actual outcomes are not in unity, the management team conducts a review on the entire project regarding the allocation of resources and carries out necessary changes to ensure the achievement of major objectives (Brennan, 2011). The team company assists in the formulation and the enforcement of different policies and standards that govern the implementation of the program. For example, the team comes up with some strategic goals, such as those related to the IT area and be able to weight the project basing on the outcome. The reason for weighting the outcome is to determine if the project is significant enough and hence worth undertaking. The team company monitors the projects progress and reports to the project management team for necessary actions. The step is thus subject to consider as being among the best practices in project management due to the active monitoring of the projects. The issue here is that companies come up with projects but fail in implementing them due to lack of adequate management of company strategies. In this regard, project portfolio management becomes an essential tool for the success of a project. The team company engages in outlining the resource requirements for the completion of the projects followed by seeking necessary funds to finance the expenses. Every stage of the project lifecycle is important for its success. The processes begin from the conception of the project, planning, implementation,

Da Vinci †The Genius at the Venetian Las Vegas Essay Example for Free

Da Vinci – The Genius at the Venetian Las Vegas Essay While plenty of people are familiar with Da Vinci the painter not as many realize his prowess as a Renaissance man. Perhaps he was the first true man of so many talents that it was hard to peg him as one type of individual. In Da Vinci – The Genius you get a good look at the results of a great mind. You won’t see original works of art but instead you’ll see what has transpired from notes and drawings that Leonardo da Vinci created. Da Vinci was an artist, scientist, mathematician, architect, inventor and so much more. This enormous amount of brain power from one man has been highlighted in various forms before but this traveling exhibition highlights some of his inventions that today we might take for granted. As a result of the research to put together such an exhibition the idea of one large exhibition that celebrated Da Vinci and his Genius was created and can be viewed in Las Vegas. For the Mona Lisa he used oil paint, on poplar wood, there doesn’t seem to be any brush specifications, so we can just assume he used normal brushes. He employed a couple of techniques called sfumato and velature. Sfumato, roughly translated from Italian, means evaporated or vanished. This technique involves mixing light and dark paint, using tiny brush strokes, to create a smoky blend between the two colors. Velature is when an artist mixes paint on the canvas, instead of on a palette. Leonardo perfected both these techniques, as well as having his general knowledge of the human anatomy and the laws of nature to make his paintings more realistic. Da Vinci was left handed and did not force himself to switch like most people did then. In his day with quill pens, it was important to pull the writing instrument rather than pull it. When a right handed person writes left to write he or she pulls the pen and his or her hand does not smear wet ink. When a left handed person writes left to write he or she pushes the pen for less control and his or her hand smears the ink for less legibility. Rather than change his writing hand, he changed the direction in which he wrote. This allowed him to more quickly and easily write notes to himself without having to conform to the stifling conventions at the time, an overall goal of the renaissance.

Effect Of Heavy Metals On The Environment Environmental Sciences Essay

Effect Of Heavy Metals On The Environment Environmental Sciences Essay Heavy metals are most abundant forms of pollution in Malaysia either in the forms of solid or liquid. With the vast industrialization and economic development in coastal region, heavy metals are continuing to be introduced to the estuarine and coastal environment which eventually end up into the river, runoffs and land based area (Yu et al., 2007). Metals diffuses into the aquatic environment will settle down and be incorporated into sediments together with organic matters, Fe/Mn oxides, sulfides, and clay (Wang and Chen, 2000). However, heavy metal mobility or availability in contaminated materials depends to large extent upon the different chemical and mineralogical forms that occurred (Song et al., 1999). Therefore, sediments seem to be an excellent medium in the assessment of the metals bound to the particulates. Nonetheless, sediments are known to act as a sink for heavy metals to be introduced into waters either from both natural and anthropogenic sources thus providing an exce llent proof of mans impact (Pempkowiase et al., 1999; Guevara et al., 2005). In addition, they may also act as traps for various types of pollutants including heavy metals (Poh and Mun, 1994). Indeed, changes in environmental conditions such as pH and redox potential should be monitored since it may results in remobilization of heavy metals. Unfortunately, due to the scarcity of information available to establish the heavy metal concentration in sediment using sequential extraction, no data is presented concerning the heavy metal pollution in the rivers except for one author Shazili et al., 2008 on Langat River Basin. Heavy metals element is particularly crucial because any slight changes in availability may cause these elements to become either toxic or deficient to plant (Krishnamurti et al., 1995). In fact, sequential extraction analysis is a technique which is used to investigate the geochemical partitioning of heavy metals amongst solid mineral and organic phases in sediment or other earth minerals (Howard and Vandenbrink, 1999). Sequential fractionation also frequently used in approaches to evaluate metals distribution into different chemical forms present in solid phases. Although direct methods provide an unambiguous identification of the heavy metal forms and ways why they occur, they might not be sufficiently sensitive where heavy metals occur at relatively low levels and they do not provide quantitative information on heavy metal mobility and availability (Song et al., 1999). However, sequential extraction approach is undoubtedly useful since few attempts have completed and few modification have been made based on Tessier et al., (1979); such as Silviera et al., (2006); Krishnamurti et al., (1995); Song et al., (1999); Forghani et al., (2009), Poh and Mun, (1994). 2.0 Problem Statement Langat river, Bernam River and Klang River basin is located in the state of Selangor in which known to be the most developing states in Malaysia other than Kuala Lumpur. All of these rivers are primarily important as water source not only limited to supplying water to consumer but also for other purposes such as aquaculture and agriculture activity, fishing, effluent discharge, irrigation and even sand mining. With the vast industrialization held in the river such as sand mining it generate the release of metal bound in sediment into the water promoting metals diffussion into the aquatic organisms and eventually ends up into humans body. Moreover, each metals poses their own threat to human, particularly Cadmium (Cd) are known for causing adverse health effects, once ingest into our body it will cause lung cancer moreover it seldom important as a cause of phytotoxicity in paddy field (Chaney, 2010). On the other hand, Zinc (Zn) is a deficient and phytotoxic element in sediment which causes abdominal pain to humans, the latter due to industrial contamination (Chaney, 2010). Copper (Cu) in sediments strongly adsorbs to clay minerals, iron and manganese oxides and organic material. In addition, it tends to remain in horizons that have a greater organic content whereas sandy sediment with low pH poses the greatest potential for Cu leaching. On contrary, lead (Pb) is considered to be one of the major environmental pollutants and has been incriminated as a cause of accidental poisoning in domestic animals more than any other substance. In a nutshell, these metals are emboldened to be analyses since this metal endured high toxicity in the environment thus poses high potential threat and risk to humans and living organisms. 3.0 Significance of Study This study is prominent since in Malaysia there is only few attempted study using sequential extraction as medium in determining the fate of metals in environment. Particularly, this study will be useful as a baseline data for goverment bodies to be more sensitive on the issues related to heavy metals. On the other hand, this study will provide a delineation on the sources of metals which contribute the most anthropogenically or naturally to the environment since the major contributor on the environment deteroriation is a non point source. Therefore, identifying the potential sources is crucial in maintaining the environment. Nonetheless, by conducting this study it ables to generate a profound understanding on the sources and parent materials of which heavy metals are highly introduce to the estuary. Thus, contribute to the discovery of metals strength and percentage of binding to organic or inorganic pollutants. Hence, providing an illustration on the status of pollution in the sel ected rivers based on screening of the forms of metals associated in the river. In addition, the attempted method will utter a method development in assesing the metal in the environment. This study is beneficiary especially by the Department of Irrigation on the overview of the river status thus able to mitigate a scheme on reducing the metal accumulation into the river by identifying the source of pollution. 4.0 Research Objective To ascertain the chemical and mineralogical forms of Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn in selected polluted river. To profile the metal speciation (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn) in the sediment at selected polluted river in Selangor. To determine the heavy metals affinity for specific geochemical phases in the recently deposited sediments in the river. To identify the pollution sources and active component of heavy metals accumulate into the surficial sediment and its chemical behavior in the aquatic environment. 5.0 Literature Review A river is component of water cycle. Mostly rainfall on land will passes through a river on its way to the ocean and smaller side streams will joins the river forming a tributaries (DID, 2010). In Malaysia, the water within a river generally originates from precipitation through surface runoff, groundwater recharge (as seen at base flow conditions / during periods of lack of precipitation) and release of stored water in natural or man-made reservoirs, such as wetlands, ponds or lakes (DID, 2010). Therefore, the rainfall will generate the surface runoff and flows into the river. While the runoff will collect all the suspended particulates on the land surface into the river. This is why source of metal is very hard to trace since it is a non point sources elements which diffuse into the river Basin. Therefore, in this case sediments play an important role in identication of the metals since it acts as transport and storage of potentially hazardous metals (Yu et al., 2008). Bernam River is approximately about 3335 km2 and it forms a boundary between States of Perak in the north and Selangor in the south. The undulating hills of Bernam River merge into an undeveloped peat swamp area where the downstream of the peat swamp is a densely populated coastal strip along the Bernam River. Rice is cultivated in the lower areas ad- jacent to peat swamps and rubber, oil palm, coconuts and cocoa are cultivated in estates and smallholder schemes. Agrochemicals (fertilizers and herbicides) used on agricultural lands suggest a potential non-point source of pollution and toxicity affecting the aquatic ecosystems (Yap and Ong, 1990). Logging generates pollution through soil erosion, siltation and sedimentation in the streams. On the other hand, Langat River basin covered an area of 1300 km2 in the south of Kuala Lumpur and the length of Langat River is approximately about 120 km long (Sarmani, 1989). Langat river known as an important water source not only limited to sup plying water to consumer but also for other purposes such as recreation, fishing, effluent discharge, irrigation and even sand mining (Juahir, 2009). Whereas, Klang River is notable as a highly polluted river in Selangor which flows through Kuala Lumpur and suburban area of the densely populated and highly industrialized Klang Valley (Tan, 1995). The upper reaches of the Klang River serve as an important source of water supply to an estimated population of two million people in this region, together with its growing industrial activities (Tan, 1995). According to the Environmental Quality Report (Department of Environment, 2007), the Klang River is regarded as one of the rivers which have been seriously affected by pollution. Discharges of wastewater from industrial activities in the Klang River basin have also contributed to increasing levels of organic chemical pollutants in the waterways. However, metals in sediment comes in various forms of elements. Therefore, each metals may give beneficiary and may also cause a potential threat to human. Once consumable in our body it might cause a significant imbalance thus causing deformities and poor health (Birungi et al., 2008). Sediment are an important features in the river any activities occured related to sediment such deepen or mining may cause the release of heavy metals into the river. This is because heavy metals may enter into natural water and become a part of the water sediment system and their distribution processes are controlled by a dynamic set of physical-chemical interactions and equilibrium (Jain, 2003). Therefore, the metals may bind to the aquatic organisms. Since these river is an essential water source in the state of Selangor, any aquaculture activity held in the river may have a significant potential of heavy metals accumulate into the fish or prawns. On the other hand, the deposition of metals in sedi ments usually occurs through an interaction between sediment and water (Piron et al., 1990), whereby changes of metal contents of sediments and water depend on changes of water chemistry, such as, temperature, pH and solute concentration. That is why such study is prominent since metals interactions between bed sediment and water in aquatic environment play an important role on water quality and the fate and transport of metals. There are series of modification of sequential extraction technique have been made upon the suitability of the study. The recent modification are introduce by Silviera et al., 2006 which proposed to the studies specifically on the tropical soil. This method listed out seven fractionation steps which each illustrates the metal bound particulate in the sediments. The first three fractionation steps explains the geochemical condition of the sediment whereas the fourth to the seventh steps refers to the anthropogenic conditions. This method is an alternative way to determine the source of metals, because the anthropogenically sourced metals preferentially partition to the non-residual phase of the sediment while the residual phase generally reflects background geochemical conditions (Forghani et al., 2009). Moreover, this method were chosen since it selectively extracts metal bound by specific sediment fractions with minimal effect on the other sediment components (Silviera et al., 2006) . In addition, this method are an important tool for predicting the potential effects of environmental changes and land application of metals on the redistribution of chemical forms in tropical sediments (Silviera et al., 2006). 6.0 Research Methodology Sediment Sampling Thirty representative surficial sediments (0-20cm depth) will be taken from selected polluted river in Selangor from upstream to downstream of the river. Surface sediments samples will be collected in triplicates and homogenised in a zip lock polyethylene bags. The sampling will be conducted during low tide to enable the source of pollution from the mainland to be determined without the influence of input from seawater compared to sampling during high tide. Sediment samples will be collected using plastic scoops, Eckman Grab or core sampler and place into acid-washed double zip-lock polyethylene bag. All samples will be stored in cool box at 4 °C during transportation to the laboratory prior to analysis. Sampling preparation The laboratory apparatus are also acid washed and rinsed thoroughly first with distilled water to ensure any contaminants and traces of cleaning reagent were removed before the analysis. Pre-clean polycarbonate centrifuge tube with soaked overnight in 5 % (v/v) nitric acid rinsed with distilled water after 24 hours prior to analysis. It is performed in clean laboratory to minimize the potential risk of contamination. Laboratory Analysis Physicochemical parameters such as pH, redox potential, salinity and conductivity will be measured using the 1:2 ratio of sediment and double deionized water (DDW). In addition, cations exchange capacity (CEC) and loss on ignition (LOI) will also be determined in the study. Physicochemical Parameters The sediment physicochemical analyses will be determined by mixing 10 g of air dried sample ( Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) Sediment samples for CEC determination will be prepare in two 10 g portions, one for treatment with a 1 M NaCl solution and other with a 1 M NH4Cl solution. Approximately about 10 ml of 95% ethanol will be carefully poured on sediment sample and drawn through the sediment by suction. The ethanol remaining in the sediment will later be removed by overnight evaporation. Then, the sediment will be transferred to small 50 ml Polycarbonate centrifuge tubes. Hence, about 30 ml of 1M NaCl was applied to one set of sub samples and 1 M NH4Cl solution was added to other set. The centrifuge tubes contains with the sediment pre-treated with NaCl and NH4Cl then will be shaken end over end for about 10-20 minutes and subsequently centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 30 minutes in order to settle the fines. After the samples are centrifuged, the supernatant will be removed with syringe and filter through a 0.45  µm filter. About 15 ml of sample will be used for the analysis of Ca, Mg, and K from the NaCl supernatant solution and preserved with 1% 7M HNO3. Meanwhile, the solution from NH4Cl supernatant will be used for determination of Na and also preserved with 1% 7M HNO3. Sample analysis for Ca, Mg, Na and K adopted similar procedure as in the case of major cations determination. The exchangeable cation concentration are converted from meq/100g to equivalent fractions (ÃŽÂ ²T) as (Apello Postma, 2005) ÃŽÂ ²T = meqI-Xz_____ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬ËœI, Jà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. meqI-Xz Where I, J,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. are exchangeable cations, meqI-Xi is normally given in meq/100 g dry sediment and à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ meqI-Xz is essential equal to CEC, ignoring minor amounts of Fe, Mn, etc. Loss of Ignition (LOI) Dry a sample in an oven at 105 °C to constant weight. Accurately weigh 1g of this dried sample and pour into a preweighed dry crucible. Optionally, a few drops of H2O2 may be added at this stage to promote oxidation. The samples will be transfered into muffle furnace and gradually increase the temperature to 500 °C. Leave inside the oven at this temperature for at least 4h or overnight if convenient. Cool, transfer to a dessicator and allow it to cool to room temperature. Weigh and calculate loss on ignition in % as: LOI (%) = 100 x (M1 M2) M1 Where M1 is the initial weight (g) and M2 is the weight after ignition (g). Sequential Extraction Procedure The methods that will be used in this study are based on modification methods from (Silviera et al., 2006). The fractionation of heavy metals in sediments will be carried out in triplicate, using 1 g of air-dried sediment. Then, sediment samples will be placed in 50 ml polycarbonate centrifuge tubes, mixed in a stepwise fashion with various reagents as shown in figure 1, and the suspensions equilibrated. By following equilibration, the solution and solid phases will then be separated by centrifugation at 1225 g for 10 min. In between each successive extraction, the solid residues are suspended in 5 ml of 0.1 M NaCl, shaken by hand, and centrifuged to displace extracting solution remaining from the previous step. The supernatant will be added to the former extractant. The steps are intended to reduce sample dispersion and to minimize read sorption of the metal. The supernatants will be filtered through a 0.45  µm membrane, and the solid residues are preserved for the subsequent extr actions. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in the various extracts will be determined by Inductive Couple Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Mass balances, calculated by summing individual Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn masses recovered from fractions, were compared with the independently determined total metal masses. Data Analysis Further data analysis will be conducted using the raw data obtained from the sample analysis. Descriptive analysis, cluster analysis, factor Analysis will be conducted using few softwares such as SPSS version 17 and Multivariate Statistical Package (MVSP) and AQUACHEM. Enrichment factors (EF) will be calculated to determine the level of trace metal contamination of the sediments. 7.0 Project Benefit Research Publications 2 research journal with impact factor Output expected from the project It is expected that several publication can be produced from the data obtained in this study which useful as a reference for future research. It will provide the latest information on the level of metal pollution in Selangor which useable for relevant authority to make the future planning and management purposes. Economic contribution of the project By using the information gathered in this research, the relevant government bodies can make better planning and take preventive measures to avoid further contamination of the river as it is crucial source for the nation fisheries and aquaculture activity. Moreover, important because a lot of the population which resides near the mangrove area depend on it for their livelihood. Since, the destruction or contamination of this area will affect their source of income. The reduction in fisheries produce from the mangrove area due to metal pollution will results in higher imports of fish products which in turn increase the outflow of money from the country. 8.0 References Apello, C.A.J Postma, D. 2005. Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution. 2nd edition. Roterdam: Balkema. Birungi, Z., Masola, B., Zaranyika, M. F., Naigaga, I. and Marshall, B. (2008). Active biomonitoring of trace heavy metals using fish (Oreochromis niloticus) as bioindicator species:the case of Nakivubo wetland along lake victoria. Chaney, R. L., 2010. Cadmium and Zinc. Trace Element in Soils. Wiley Publication. United Kingdom. Department of Environment, 2007. DOE Annual Report 2007. Retrieved from http://www.doe.gov.my/files/multimedia141/AR_JAS.pdf on 10 October 2010. DID, 2010. Department of Irrigation. River Management-Activities. Retrieved on 5 October 2010 at http://www.water.gov.my/index.php?option=com_contenttask= Forghani et al., 2009. Geochemistry and speciation of metals in sediments of the Maharlu Saline Lake, Shiraz, SW Iran. Environment Earth Science (2009) 59:173-184 Guevara et al., 2005. In Yu, R., Yuan, X., Zhao, Y., Hu, G., Tu, X., 2008. Heavy metal pollution in intertidal sediments from Quanzhou Bay, China. Journal of Environment Science 20, 664-669. Howard J. L., Vandenbrink W. J., 1999. Sequential extraction analysis of heavy metals in sediments of variable composition using nitrilotriacetic acid to counteract resorption. Jain, C. K., 2003. Metal fractionation study on bed sediments of River Yamuna, India. Water Research 38 (2004) 569-578 Juahir, H., Zain, S., Yusoff, M., Hanidza, T., Armi, A., Toriman, M. and Mokhtar, M., 2010. Spatial water quality assessment of Langat River Basin (Malaysia) using environmetric techniques. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. Krishnamurti, G. S. R., Huang, P. M., Van Rees, K. C. J., Kozak, L. M. and Rostad, H. P. W., 1995. Speciation of particulate-bound Cadmium of Soils and its bioavailability. Analyst, 120.851. Pempkowiase J., Sikora A., Biernacka E., 1999. Speciation of heavy metals in marine sediments vs their accumulation by mussels. Chemosphere 1999:39(2):313-21. Piron, M., Pineau, A. and Mabele, R.M., 1990. Sediment, parameters and distribution of metals in fine sediments of the loire estuary. Water, Air, Amp; Soil Pollution 50(3), 267-277. Poh E. L., Mun Y. K., 1994. Determination and speciation of heavy metals in sediments of the Juru river, Penang, Malaysia. Environmental Monitoring Assessment 35:85-95, 1995. Sarmani, S., 1989. The determination of heavy metals in water, suspended materials and Sediments from Langat River, Malaysia. Hydrobiologia 176/177 : 233-238, 1989 . Shazili, N.A.M., Yunus, K., Ahmad, A.S., Abdullah, N. and Rashid, M.K.A., 2006. Heavy metal pollution status in the Malaysian aquatic environment. Aquatic Ecosystem Health Management 9(2), 137-145. Silviera, M. L., Alleoni, L. R. F., OConnor, G. A., Chang, A. C., 2006. Heavy metal sequential extraction methods A modification for tropical soils. Chemosphere 64 (2006) 1929-1938. Song, Y., Wilson, M.J., Moon, H.S., Bacon, J.R. and Bain, D.C., 1999. Chemical and mineralogical forms of lead, zinc and cadmium in particle size fractions of some wastes, sediments and soils in Korea. Applied Geochemistry 14(5), 621-633. Tan, G. H., (1995). Residue Levels of Phthalate Esters in Water and Sediment Samples from the Klang River Basin. Environment Contamination and Toxicology 54:171-1769 1995 Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Tessier, A., Campbell, P. G. C., Bisson, M., 1979. Sequential Extraction Procedure for the Speciation of Particulate Trace Metals. Analytical Chamistry, Vol 51, No 7, June 1979. US EPA, 1996. Method 3050B. Acid digestion of sediments, sludges and soils. Available from http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/testmethods/sw846/pdfs/3050b.pdf viewid=16Itemid=395 Yap, S.Y. and Ong, H.T. (1990) The effects of agrochemicals on an aquatic ecosystem: a case study from the Krian River basin, Malaysia. The Environmentalist 10(3), 189 ±202. Yu, R., Yuan, X., Zhao, Y., Hu, G., Tu, X., 2008. Heavy metal pollution in intertidal sediments from Quanzhou Bay, China. Journal of Environment Science 20, 664-669.

history :: essays research papers

The Black Death A World know Tragedy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Black Plague was an epidemic that occurred in 1347. The plague ravaged and destroyed the Far East. After time it destroyed the outskirts of Easter Europe. For months Europe was disturbed from everything trying to escape the claws of the plague. After destroying Europe it rapidly spread to North Africa, Germany, Scandinavia, France and many other neighboring countries. The plague decapitated Europe’s population, taking about 25 million souls during its occurrence. The Black Plague was known as the most brutal demographic catastrophe human kind has ever encountered. Because of this big down fall on humanity the Black Plague was then known as the Black Death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Black Plague (Black Death) was a tragedy that was more than just a disease. According to statistics this plague was known as a disaster, another problem was the religious fervor. When the Black Death struck people though that it was a punishment form God. Most of the population was religious and felt that way. In the story it seemed like the way the people were thinking and their attitudes led to the spread of the plague. Another factor that didn’t help the situation was that crops were failing and most of the people in Europe were malnourished.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to physician there were two types of plagues that attacked Europe: the two were pneumonic and bubonic. The first one a person would die with in three days, the symptoms were spitting up of blood and continuous fevers. The second one lasted five days, the symptoms were also fever and carbuncles on the outside of the body mostly near the armpits and the groin. A lot of people that lived in Europe fled to get away from this disaster. The main people that left left many behind and they were rich professionals. All the other people that weren’t rich relied on their religion by staying in the abbeys.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Black Death changes the world with its presence. For example: with this happening the language gained respect and was spoken even more that usual. Even art of this time period was affected. After this occurred a lot of the artwork was depicted as death, basically showing some of the scenes that were going on during the 13th century. The art works were mainly depictions of the Black Death. For example: the danse macabre genre was a famous artwork during this time depicting skeletons and corpses.

The Illiteracy Problem in America :: Teaching Education Essays

The Illiteracy Problem in America It continues to be a big problem with the ranks swelling each year. Although safety nets are everywhere, illiteracy is still abundant. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in 1998, ten million children between seven and eleven years of age performed below the most basic level of reading achievement. Illiteracy is not limited to children, teenagers, adults, a particular socio-economic level, or a particular race. When George, now 68, was a child he moved frequently because his father ran a small circus. He never stayed in one place long enough to learn how to read. Finally, he quit school, never to return. Now after retirement, he has decided to learn how to read. He arrived at the library reading room to find the door was locked. The sign indicated that a key was available at the information desk, but George did not know what the sign said. So he sat down and waited several hours for someone to open the door. Meh Chin from China, the mother of a third grader, is interested in communicating better with her children, who have already become fluent in English at an early age. Literacy programs should be an integral component of every community. Not only do these programs serve adults and foreigners, but they also serve those that live with the problems of poverty throughout their daily lives. In 2000-2001, 15.7% of students missed 21 or more days during the school year. Students who miss many days of school because of illnesses beyond their control often fall behind in their studies. Many literacy programs help these students excel in what otherwise would have been a deficiency in their learning. Opportunities abound to stamp out illiteracy at the federal, state, and local level. Are these enough? For those in need, maybe not. Most everyone’s needs are unique. National Family Literacy Program helps those families nationwide with literacy problems. In our own state of Florida, Governor Jeb Bush has set up the Governor’s Mentoring Initiative Program which has helped over 9,000 adults and children improve their reading programs.

Decision Driven Organisation

The Decision-Driven Organization Harvard Business Review – June 2010 The subject discussed in the article â€Å"Decision–Driven Organization† is that structural reorganizations should be done based on the decisions that matter the most to the organization instead of the goals that the organization is trying to reach. The coauthors stressed on how important this issue is and that it should be taken into consideration by organizations while preparing for reorganization since.As shown in the examples provided, a lot of companies went through structural changes for the wrong reasons aiming at a better performance and ended up decreasing it instead of increasing it. On the other hand, the examples about decision-driven reorganization had better results in improving the company’s performance.The coauthors focused in specific on the reasons why reorganization should be done around the set of critical decisions for an organization and supported it with examples an d surveys about reputed companies showing that reorganizations around goals failed in view of the facts that it ignored the decision making process and that performance and structure don’t have a strong relationship. The arguments that the authors used to demonstrate his point are the performance and the importance of decisions.As per the coauthors, the main goal of all reorganization is to reach better performance. What the managers fail to see is, that the performance of an organization is not only determined by the organization’s structure; as shown by the examples provided in this article, sometimes changing the structure to meet a certain goal can slow the decision making and create problems rather than help solve them which results in a poor performance.The methodology used in this point is very convincing especially that it shows the result of a survey conducted on a large amount of organizations worldwide, and the coauthors added a short test to give the reader s the ability to compare the result of their organization to the result of those who were subject to the survey. The coauthors also debated the fact that using a SWOT analysis is not the right tool to be used while starting reorganization and suggested to start it with decision audit instead; a decision audit is done by considering two types of critical decisions, big decisions which have separately a major impact and small decisions which have altogether an important impact; and then, if and only if reorganization is necessary it should be applied where the decisions matter the most. The authors also supported this suggestion with an actual example dated from 2006 which strengthened their point.Each suggestion in the decision audit was supported with an example which attracted the reader towards using this strategy. Another tool used by the coauthors to help the readers rethink twice before reorganizing a company is a small survey that should be conducted on the company in hand in order to check if the reorganization is needed or not. The authors also discussed how to conduct a decision-driven structure and what are the steps to be followed chronologically.