Canadas Independence from Britain

Canadas Independence from Britain Canada: An Independent Nation â€Å"A British subject I was born, a British subject I will die,† As said by the founding father of our nation, Sir John A. MacDonald, 1891. Like Sir John A. MacDonald, many Canadians have expressed full support and loyalty to Britain, as â€Å"Mother Empire.† Canada is one of the oldest established colonies of Britain and a senior member of the imperial family. Over the course of history beginning with Confederation Canada has developed a bond with Britain. This connection is rooted in common history, family ties, shared values and traditions. Though expressed support to Britain, Sir John A. MacDonald believed that Canada could be a â€Å"powerful auxiliary to the Empire,† in other words; he believed that Canada can be a powerful support to Britain as an independent country. Subsequently, it is without a doubt, that earlier on in history, Canada was meant to be a sovereign country. Certain battles and laws prove that Canada is, after all, a self-governing n ation. For this reason, the three most significant defining moments in Canadian history would be the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Statute of Westminster and D-Day when Canada emerged under the shadow of Britain, becoming a strong and independent nation. The 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge proves that Canada is a united and independent country through its ability to pull through a tough battle, as one unit. Even under British leadership, Canada was able to achieve control and gain victory at Vimy Ridge. Yet many had low expectations from Canadian troops from the start. This proves that Canadian troops are tough, well trained and can pull through any battle they are faced with. Vimy Ridge is a difficult location to capture – due to its strategic ridge – the territory was an advantage if captured. Even with restrictions, this was the first total Canadian victory under Canadian leadership with no British involvement. With the help of Canadian General Arthur Currie, Canadians created and mastered the â€Å"Vimy Glide,† a military technique used to help successfully capture the ridge. After all circumstances, the capture of Vimy Ridge became more significant due to the fact that other countries such as France and Britain fa iled to capture the ridge – and above all, Canada was successful. This helped increase Canada’s reputation as a strong, independent and professional nation, gaining the respect from many people. The Battle of Vimy Ridge is a battle contributing to Canada’s international reputation and as a united country, the first step to the growth of Canada’s independence. The Statute of Westminster, passed on December 11, 1931, officially proves that Canada is a self-governing, independent country from Britain. This law gave Canada its freedom to control it own foreign affairs and was no longer a colony of Britain. This British law outlined Canada’s full independence and freedom from â€Å"the Empire†. It is an important, defining moment in Canadian history, because it gave Canada the freedom to make decisions on their behalf, with no British involvement. Hence, this freedom was generally established during World War Two, when Canada was not automatically at war when Britain was, and was able to decide as an independent country. The Statue of Westminster contributed to Canada’s full independence from â€Å"the Empire,† revealing a supreme nation ready for anything that comes its way. The 1944 battle of D-Day is an important event for Canadians, proving the strength Canada has as a newly formed independent nation. It is one of the toughest, important battles Canadian troops had faced. Not only was battle of D-Day the largest, planned invasion against Germany, but also the turning point and end to World War Two. Being a part of this event, as an independent country, was significant for Canada. This battle made up for the Canadian efforts of the failed 1942 Dieppe raid. June 6, 1944 Canadian troops were assigned to capture â€Å"Juno Beach,† one of the five beaches of Normandy. Since Juno Beach was one of the central beaches, the most deadliest fighting took place here. Many Canadian soldiers drowned even before reaching the beach, just to show the harsh conditions experienced by the courageous troops. Although the beach was typically flat, Canadian troops had to go through a series of obstacles to advance this territory, for instance, barbed wire, mines and beach obstacles that prevented Canadian advance. As a result, Canadians successfully accomplished the mission given to them, particularly driving the Germans off the territory and capturing Juno Beach. The battle of D-Day proves to one important battle, demonstrating Canada’s independence and ability to carry out a mission. Although this was a tough battle, Canada was able to prevail during an important battle of World War Two. The Battle of D-Day proves Canada’s strength as an independent nation. In the long run, Canada gradually and peacefully emerged under the shadow of Britain, becoming a self-governing nation. As a part of the imperial family, Canada has demonstrated loyalty to Britain and has always been very close to the Empire. Events in history prove that Canada is, after all, an independent country. It was only a while ago when Canada fought alongside Britain during World War One and when Canada fought as an independent country during World War Two, proving that Canada has surely become a sovereign nation. Early on, fears of Canadian involvement in Britain’s foreign affairs were present even back to the late 1800s to the early 1900s. These fears were soon destroyed as the nation grew, revealing the true, independent side of Canada. That is to say, there was a time when Canada was dependent on Britain for most of their battles. Through the battle of Vimy Ridge, the Statute of Westminster and the invasion of Normandy when Canada grew, and developed into an indep endent nation, becoming one of the strongest, successful countries in the world.

Tobacco Essay -- social issues

Tobacco Tobacco is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the United States. Nicotine, which is an alkaloid derived from the tobacco plant, is a potent chemical that has powerful effects on the human body, especially when administered rapidly or at high doses. Prenatal exposure to nicotine is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes, including altered neural structure and functioning, cognitive deficits, and behavior problems in the offspring (9). At least 20% - 30% of pregnant women are estimated to smoke cigarettes, although smoking is associated with low birth weight, prematurity and infant mortality. In the United States, smoking accounts annually for estimated fetal deaths ranging from 19,000 to 141,000, for 1,900 to 4,800 deaths during or immediately after parturition, and for 1,200 to 2,200 death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (7). Maternal smoking has been implicated in long term deficits in infant mental development and adverse behavioral problems in children such as attention disorder. Nicotine crosses the human placenta and has direct effects on the developing fetus. Pre-clinical studies suggest that maternal smoking during pregnancy produces changes on the offspring's neural functioning, including reductions in uptake of serotonin, alterations in dopaminergic systems, alterations in peripheral and central noradrenergic neurons, and changes in DNA and RNA synthesis in the brain (9). Children prenatally exposed to nicotine consistently score lower in the two subcategories of expressive language and conceptual comprehension. Evidence from studies of human neonates suggests that maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with increased rates of neurobehavioral difficulties. Several studies have linked maternal smoking during pregnancy with childhood inattention, impulsivity, and motor hyperactivity in offspring. Similarly, maternal smoking during pregnancy has been associated with parent-teacher ratings of conduct problems in children and a criminal record in young adults. A study by Yousef Tzabi suggested that cigarette smoking during pregnancy may be one of the causes of hyperactivity and learning deficits in children. In a laboratory study with Sprague-Dawley mice, it was shown that hyperactive male pups that were exposed to nicotine prenatally had significantly higher nicotinic receptor concentrations in the... ...ironment is relatively hypoxic, and corresponding cardiac functional deficits would thus contribute to the high incidence of fetal mortality. Just as impaired cardiac function during hypoxia in neonatal rats can account for the increase in mortality with prolonged hypoxia, comparable effects in man would provide a mechanism for cardiovascular collapse and consequent brain damage or death during delivery. The consequences of smoking during pregnancy are very dramatic. If clinicians are able to convince their patients to stop smoking early in their pregnancy, a major impact may be made on the incidence of low birth weight infants, perinatal morbidity and mortality, as well as cognitive deficits and behavioral problems in the offspring. A strong statement has to be made on the issue of tobacco exposure during pregnancy. This could be accomplished by informing women that their infants may not only be "smaller" than their nonsmoking counterparts, but their infants may also have transient or permanent changes in their lung and brain ultrastructure. A patient who is informed of these possible long-term effects of nicotine on her child may be more successful with her smoking cessation.

Signs That You’ve Arrived :: essays papers

Signs That You’ve Arrived Oprah recently bought the most expensive house in California for $50 million. That barely put a dent in her pocket. How would you like to receive the respect and treatment of royalty? How about being given anything you desire, and more? Celebrity is the ultimate asset. In this frantic age of nanosecond attention spans, fame is fortune. Hollywood stars and athletes dominate the rankings of the richest, but celebrity enriches other individuals as well: successful CEO’s, chefs, models, authors, and even the newest arrival, the non-celebrity celebrity, courtesy of reality television. In a society where entertainment and the celebrity status fascinate us, it is no wonder why these people receive so much attention and define the word â€Å"famous†. A celebrity is an unique individual, set apart from the majority by an excess of sex appeal, or wealth, or talent, or impact. Many celebrities have more than one of these characteristics, but it is one of these traits that mo st identifies a person’s celebrity status. One of the most powerful characteristics a person can own is one’s sex appeal. In a society ruled by gratification, sex and the appeal one may offer fascinates and perplexes an audience. Britney Spears is the epitome of sex appeal, obvious through the celebrity status she has reached. This is her strongest attribute, winning out over talent, wealth, and positive impact. Her immense appeal receives more attention than her talent and is definitely exaggerated through her performances and her presentation. She knows she is sexy and uses it to the fullest extent in order to better herself and her celebrity status. This is the most superficial of the celebrity traits and is followed by wealth. Often times, in today’s society, wealth defines a person and their level of success. Take Bill Gates for example. As the richest man in the world, valued at over $52 billion, he is also labeled as one of the most successful. Mr. Gates is known world-wide for what is in his wallet, making him a celebrity, or as Webster defines it: famous. Gates has also had a huge impact on the advances in technology, but is more widely identified by his immense amount of â€Å"dough†. Gates has definitely reached celebrity status mainly by knowing how to rake in the dollars. Even though he is very intelligently talented, talent is not what made him a celebrity.

During the month of Kartik in the Bikram Sambat calendar Essay

During the month of Kartik in the Bikram Sambat calendar (late September and early October), the Nepalese people indulge in the biggest festival of the year, Dashain. Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the country. The fifteen days of celebration occurs during the bright lunar fortnight ending on the day of the full moon. Thorough out the kingdom of Nepal the goddess Durga in all her manifestations are worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual holy bathing, thus drenching the goddess for days in blood. Dashain commemorates a great victory of the gods over the wicked demons. One of the victory stories told is the Ramayan, where the lord Ram after a big struggle slaughtered Ravana, the fiendish king of demons. It is said that lord Ram was successful in the battle only when goddess Durga was evoked. The main celebration glorifies the triumph of good over evil and is symbolized by goddess Durga slaying the terrible demon Mahisasur, who terrorised the earth in the guise of a brutal water buffalo. The first nine days signify the nine days of ferrous battle between goddess Durga and the demon Mahisasur. The tenth day is the day when Mahisasur was slain and the last five days symbolise the celebration of the victory with the blessing of the goddess. Dashain is celebrated with great rejoice, and goddess Durga is worshiped throughout the kingdom as the divine mother goddess. In preparation for Dashain every home is cleansed and beautifully decorated, painted as an invitation to the mother goddess, so that she may visit and bless the house with good fortune. During this time the reunion of distant and nearby relatives occur in every household. The market is filled with shoppers seeking new clothing, gifts, luxuries and enormous supplies of temple offering for the gods, as well as foodstuffs for the family feasting. Thousands of sheep, goats, ducks, chicken and water buffalo are prepared for the great slaughter. All types of organisations are closed for ten to fifteen days. Labourers are almost impossible to find; from the poor to the rich, all enjoy the festive mood. Anywhere you go the aroma of ‘Vijaya Dashami’ is found. The first nine days of Dashain are called nawa ratri when tantric rites are conducted. In Nepal the life force is embodied in the divine energy and power of the female, depicted as goddess Durga in her many forms. All goddess who emanated from goddess Durga are known as devis, each with different aspects and powers. In most mother goddess temples the deity is represented simply as a sacred Kalash, carved water jug or multiple handed goddess holding murderous weapons. During these nine days people pay their homage to the goddess. If she is properly worshiped and pleased good fortunes are on the way and if angered through neglect then misfortunes are around the corner. Mother goddess is the source of life and everything. The first day of Dashain is called Ghatasthapana, which literally means pot establishing. On this day the kalash, (holy water vessel) symbolising goddess Durga often with her image embossed on the side is placed in the prayer room. The kalash is filled with holy water and covered with cowdung on to which seeds are sown. A small rectangular sand block is made and the kalash is put in the centre. The surrounding bed of sand is also seeded with grains. The ghatasthapana ritual is performed at a certain auspicious moment determined by the astrologers. At that particular moment the priest intones a welcome, requesting goddess Durga to bless the vessel with her presence. The room where the kalash is established is called ‘Dashain Ghar’. Generally women are not allowed to enter the room where Dashain puja is being carried out. A priest or a household man worships the kalash everyday once in the morning and then in the evening. The kalash and the sand are sprinkled with holy water everyday and it is shielded from direct sunlight. By the tenth day, the seed will have grown to five or six inches long yellow grass. The sacred yellow grass is called ‘Jamara’. It is bestowed by the elders atop the heads of those younger to them during the last five days when tika is put on. The jamara is taken as a token of Goddess Durga as well as the elders blessing. As days passes by regular rituals are observed till the seventh day. The seventh day is called ‘Fulpati’. On this day the jamara to be used by the royal household is brought from their ancestral royal house in Gorkha about a hundred and sixty nine kilometres away over the hills north west of the valley of Kathmandu. A parade is held in the Hanuman Dhoka Royal Palace. The fulpati, i. e. the procession bearing the jamara and other items necessary for the tika, is brought from Gorkha after a three day walk and most of the government officials are eagerly waiting for the fulpati parade to arrive at Rani Phokari in the afternoon. Rani Phokari area is filled with hundreds of government officials meticulously attired in the traditional formal dress. In fulpati, the royal kalash filled with holy water, banana stalks, jamara and sugar cane tied with red cloth is carried by Brahmans from the ancestral royal house on a decorated palanquin under a gold tipped and embroidered umbrella, led by the military platoon of the royal priest. The government officials also join the fulpati parade. Whilst the fulpati parade is heading towards the old royal palace, His Majesty the King observes the ceremonies taking place in Tundikhel, the army parade ground in the center of the city. There a majestic display of the Royal Nepalese Army is held. Guns are fired and the entire valley echoes with the resonance sound of it. The firing continues for ten to fifteen minutes to honour the fulpati. By the time the function ends the royal fulpati is already taken inside the Dashain ghar in Hanuman Dhoka Palace. With this the Dashain feasting starts. The eighth day is called the ‘Maha Asthami’. The fervour of worship and sacrifice to Durga and Kali increases. On this day many orthodox Hindus will be fasting. Sacrifices are held in almost every house through out the day. The night of the eighth day is called ‘Kal Ratri’, the dark night. Hundreds of goats, sheep and buffaloes are sacrificed at the mother goddess temples. In the darkness of the night Durga temples, army barracks, and old palaces all over Nepal hold sacrifices for the mother goddess. The sacrifice continues till dawn. The old palace in Basantapur Hanuman Dhoka, is active throughout the night with worships in almost every courtyard. While the puja is being carried out great feasts are held in the homes of common people where large amount of meat are consumed. The ninth day is called ‘Nawami’. The Taleju temple at Hanuman Dhoka is opened for the public only once a year on this day. Thousands of people go and pay their respect to the goddess day. Temples of mother goddess are filled with people from dawn till dusk. On this day the official military sacrifices are held in the ‘Kot’ courtyard at Hanuman Dhoka. The government allows foreigners to witness this function so hundreds of tourists and diplomats eagerly gather here. Animals mostly black buffaloes are slaughtered by hundreds to honour Durga the goddess of victory and might and to seek her blessing. Military bands play war tunes, guns boom and officers with beautifully decorated medals in full uniform stand there. When the function ends the courtyard is filled ankle deep with blood. On this very day the god Vishwas Karma, the God of creativity is also worshiped. All factories, vehicles, any machinery instruments and anything from which we make a living are worshiped. We also give sacrifices to all moving machinery like cars, aeroplanes, trucks etc. to get the blessing from goddess Durga for protection for vehicles and their occupants against accidents during the year. The entire day is colourful. The tenth day is the ‘Dashami’. On this day we take tika and jamara from our elders and receive their blessing. We visit our elders in their home and get tika from them while our younger ones come to our home to receive blessing from us. The importance of Dasain also lies in the fact that on this day family members from far off and distant relatives come for a visit as well as to receive tika from the head of the family. This function continues for four days. His Majesty also receives tika from the royal priests and then gives on tika to his loyal subjects. Thousands of loyal Nepalese people as well as foreigners also receive tika from His Majesty the King as this is said to be auspicious. After four days of rushing around and meeting your relatives Dashain ends on the full moon day, the fifteenth day. In the last day people stay at home and rest. The full moon day is also called ‘Kojagrata’ meaning ‘who is awake’. The Hindu goddess of wealth Laxmi is worshipped. On this day the goddess Laxmi is given an invitation to visit each and everyone. After Dashain the nation settles back to normal. After receiving the blessing of goddess Durga, people are ready to work and acquire virtue, power and wealth. Dashain thus is not only the longest festival but also the most anticipated one among all the festivals of Nepal.

Creating a Positive Classroom Environment

Creating a Positive Classroom Environment A classroom should be one of inquiry and open-mindedness. In order to foster a classroom of students who feel comfortable asking questions and are open to other students’ ideas it is imperative to create a positive, safe environment and learning community. I believe that students should feel like their classroom has high expectations, in how everyone treated each other, and in how learning took place. Creating a classroom environment where all students feel emotionally and physically safe enough to take risks is a real challenge and one that is worthy of the time it requires. The key to an inquiry-based curriculum is a safe, positive learning environment, therefore, it is foundational that the teacher work to provide, establish, and maintain that throughout the year. In the classroom, the teacher should be working on ways to develop a positive learning community by finding out more about my students. For example, each student should fill out a Who Am I questionnaire so that the teacher can get to know their student's personalities, hobbies, likes and dislikes and therefore include them in lectures, discussions and explanations through out the year. The teacher should also engage in differentiated instruction in my classroom so that he/she can tailor specific lessons to fit different viewpoints, and abilities of students. This is also a demonstration of care and respect for students as they see their teacher notice certain aspects about their learning or personalities and tailors their instruction to meet their needs. One of the ways I would engage in differentiated instruction is by walking around the room and constantly being available to assist students. By offering them one-on-one assistance I can better gauge where their personal understanding and misconceptions are and tailor my teaching to them differently than I would to the class as a whole. In order to maintain a positive classroom environment, a teacher must use the ability to make quick decisions and to be flexible in the classroom. The teacher needs to make decisions and adjustments to enhance the student motivation, engagement, and productive work. One way I would make adjustments when there are issues in the classroom hindering the productive learning community is to create a new seating chart. I find that this act is often used enough to nip any potential social problems in the bud and sends a message to students that if they want to sit with their friends, they need to earn the privilege. You would be surprised with how a new seating chart for the class can increase productivity and engagement in core subject content instead of social life information. In a science classroom, experiments and lab work are an important way for students to engage in the content. All students in the class should work on labs at the same time with minimal supervision. The teacher must also be cognizant of how the resources of time, space, activities and attention are allocated to students throughout the short hour that they are in class. However, there are more traditional strategy for lab work. The difference comes in how many materials you have for certain labs, how much time it takes for each group of students to complete the experiment, and how tricky the directions are. Deciding which method to employ for a given lab and analyzing the classroom environment to decide which will work best in a given situation. In the Collier County School District it is acceptable to have up to 30 students in each classroom. It is difficult in this type of environment for students to feel that they are an important member of the learning community. I found that it was easy for certain students to disengage from activities and it was hard for the teacher to pick up on their lack of involvement because of the sheer number of other students in the room. Therefore, I thought up of an activity that would give the teacher time to walk around to individual students and check their understanding of the material. This lesson was an ACT preparation lesson where the students would be working on writing organized essays by finding a thesis statement, supporting it and including evidence from newspaper articles. I found that students would initially be hesitant to show their work to the teacher, but when they saw that the teacher would be going around to everyone at their table they became less nervous and more open to share their problems with understanding. When observing a classroom, one student even remarked as the teacher came to her, â€Å"I don’t know what I’m doing. She was a student that has never raised her hand to ask for help, but with the teachers inevitable arrival she was open to telling her teacher she did not understand. This showed me that if the teacher had not gone around to individual students she would not have told her teacher she did not understand. In order for a classroom to become a learning community it is important that it is organized, and meets clear standards of conduct. An environment in which students are assuming responsibility, participating in ecision-making, working collaboratively and independently, and engaging in purposeful learning activities that use higher order thinking skills and are all pieces of smoothly functioning learning communities. The first lesson that I would present to the class in the fall would be attempting to engage students in a purposeful learning activity that asked them to think deeply about the issues of a the subject that they are in class for. The students would first work together as a class and then the students work individually to show understanding. They were active members of the activity so they had a hand in the decision-making and therefore could assume some ownership and responsibility for the success of the activity. A strategy for engaging students in purposeful activities that promote higher order thinking that is often used in classrooms is asking students to work in pairs to create a concept map from a list of content words. By working in pairs students are collaboratively building understanding and taking responsibility for their own learning plus their partner’s. As mentioned above, in order to have a smoothly functioning learning environment, clear standards of conduct must be established and enforced within the classroom. In order for students to feel safe enough to ask questions, engage in inquiry activities and take risks in their learning. They must feel secure and know that their teacher has clear standards of conduct that will be enforced. The first day of school is a very important day for establishing the standards of conduct that all students are expected to follow. It is also important that student behavior is monitored in a preventative way. One way is by asking a student who is very high-energy and can become disruptive to do small tasks during the hour to keep him engaged, such as feeding the class fish, or putting up the class grade sheet. This particular student can be disruptive and cause problems with other classmates, but with the teacher keeping him engaged when she sees him getting off-task, she is signaling to him that she notices him and has her eyes on his actions. This has been a successful strategy in keeping him out of trouble. However, all issues in a classroom cannot be prevented. Things do sometimes happen despite the best efforts of the teacher to create a safe learning environment. For example, say that you, the teacher had an incident in your classroom where two female students got very angry with each other and yelled loudly and violently at each other and refused to stop. This behavior is very upsetting to the teacher and to the class. And to be successful in resolving the situation, you just have to remove the two students from the class and separate them. In this situation it was important to thoroughly pick up the pieces after the incident was over. This is a very helpful way for a teachers peace of mind and further ability to create a safe learning environment. The teacher should also have individual talks with the students that created the problem. One student in particular would most likely have a very changed attitude about the class after the incident. In order to bring her back to being her enthusiastic self, the teacher should have a one-on-one talk with her, which greatly improved her attitude towards the class. One of the things that would help you to act appropriately when the incident happened in the classroom was the established standards of conduct and consequences that occur if students do not follow the standards. One way to foster students’ ability to engage in dialogue and argumentation and develop the language of thinking is to participate in Socratic seminars in class. Socratic seminars offer a tangible, engaging way for students to develop both ethics and critical thinking, actively and cooperatively. A discussion technique that I would use in my classroom would be an ethical discussion based on the merits and problems with new genetic testing that is available. Students engaged in small groups, then in the large session to discuss their opinions about genetic testing, based on a text they had all read. In order to help the discussion remain civil and productive, I used an ethical discussion framework that was very helpful. In a large classroom of 30 students it is often difficult to make time to meet with students individually to discuss their progress, but it is an important part of teaching that time must be allocated for. Therefore, a lesson plan that can allow the teacher to talk with students individually about an essay they had written. Lets just say that while students were in the Library Center working on ACT preparation tests the teacher then would be able to make time to talk with students individually about the strengths and weaknesses of their essays and what specific things to keep in mind when writing their next essay. This lesson shows a good allocation of time and attention so that students could take away concrete information from the lesson about what they need to work on with their writing and they also saw that their teacher cared about their progress enough to plan a special meeting with them. This one-on-one discussion time between teacher and student is something I do not see a lot of in school and I feel it is very important to include meaningful time talking with each student. In a science classroom it is very important that resources be used appropriately to help promote in-depth, inquiry-based understandings of content. I include it here to demonstrate how helpful it is for teachers to keep up-to-date on literature that is being written on the topics they are teaching. Through reading academic literature they can gain new ideas and insights on how to use technology effectively in their classroom in order to enhance learning and the classroom environment. Creating a positive classroom environment is a very important aspect of effective teaching. In a teachers student teaching placement it has been a priority for to establish and maintain a safe and positive environment where all students can grow, inquire, and learn. I feel strongly that a classroom should always be a safe one for students physically. At times there are going to be things said between students that cannot make it emotionally safe, but you, the teacher can always deal with the issues to send a strong message that your classroom is not a place to come down on peers. I do feel I have more to learn about enacting a true inquiry-based classroom, however. And I know that there are going to be times and lessons where I believe students should be actively involved in inquiry-based projects and if so, I would be very proud of them for their efforts. However, I would like to increase the times that this occurs and make my classroom into a place where students know they are going to question, explore and learn, and not just another stop on their school day schedule.

Best Practices and the SDLC

It has long been accepted that constant change is fundamental to IT. While most IT managers understand that change is part of the norm, the organizations that employ them often resist it. Successful IT development calls for having a clear blueprint for proper IT direction of an organization. By using a System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) model and sound best practice methods, an IT manager can define that blueprint and make the best possible IT decisions. According to http://www. bigpedia. comthe SDLC relates to models or methodologies that people use to develop systems, generally computer systems.A number of SDLC models have been created: waterfall, fountain, spiral, build and fix, and rapid prototyping. There is not a definitive correct model, but most models will include the following steps or at least a variation. The first step is the projects planning stage, in this stage the project manager (PM) decides which SDLC model to use. The PM will also survey and gather information i n regards to the current team’s skill and experience, any concerns or issues perceived by upper management, such as cost, and a process for following up the work agreement. The next step is the analysis of the system.During the system analysis the PM breaks down the entire project in to small pieces and assigns each department their applicable tasks. This step is where the plan is finalized and the PM begins to move onto the systems design. Understanding the systems design is essential to developing the system. At this step, each department head devises a plan on how their section can help develop the system. In the third step, the architectural design, these individual plans are spliced together to form the completed plan. Also during this step the work of building the system takes place.The PM’s focus shifts from planning the project to managing the development of the project. During the next step, the testing of the system takes place. This will ensure that all the bugs and flaws are removed before the deployment of the system. During the deployment step the system is used for its intended purpose. As with all systems the final step, is the maintenance of the system, which last for as long as the system is used. During this step, routine maintenance is performed to include updates. Either during or after the development of a system, certain methods or techniques are discovered to be better than other nes. In the IT industry, these ideas are sometimes called best practices. In a book titled â€Å"Electronic Government† by Jack Rabin best practices are described as an idea that suggests that there is a technique, method, or process that is more effective at delivering a desired outcome. The idea is that with proper processes, procedures, and testing, a desired outcome can be delivered with fewer problems. Best practices can also be defined as the most proficient and effective way of accomplishing a task, based on principles used repeatedl y by numerous people.Best practices are a way for a company to create standardization within their operating procedures. A great example of a best practice was displayed by Sprint recently. In August of 2008, Sprint created a guide to the infrastructure management layer to automate and speed the production of resources from within their data centers. By creating this guide, they were able to quickly manage, back up, and produce their data sets associated with each test environment build. As a result, Sprint has improved customer satisfaction, reducing the time it takes to fill requests.Another example of a best practice was in 2004 the Air Force decided that it need it network administrators (admins) to pass quality checks before allowing them to operate on Air Force domains. Each Air Force base decided to test their network admins differently. This created a lot of confusion and large amounts of money for each Air Force base because they acted independently. Therefore, the Air Forc e decided to open a best practice suggestion program, which allowed each Air Force base to submit their procedures for quality checking their network admins.Less than six months after the process started, the best practice tag was awarded to Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fl. They were allowed to implement their procedures Air Force wide. In the end, Eglin saved the Air Force six million dollars with its best practice procedures. As the term best practice has become more popular, some organizations have begun using best practices to refer to what are in fact rules, causing creativity to hamper. This will never be the case with Google.Google believes that giving their employees freedom to move about the company without middle management following them around has actually prompted creativity. In a interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Google CEO Sergey Brin explained that Google provides free gourmet breakfast, lunch and dinner—all prepared by gourmet chefs. They get free medical care, daycare, and there is even a massage chair in the lobby. All of these benefits spur creativity, which has made Google one of the World Wide Web pioneers.Google does not use best practice because they are too rigid and do not allow employees to â€Å"think outside the box†. Some best practices are needed though. This was the case with Microsoft and Netscape. They used a synchronize and stabilize method created by David Yoffie and Michael Cusumano to orchestrate a massive overseeing and managing of source code. This method allowed the two corporations to work efficiently in a parallel. During their research, they found that both companies were doing very similar tasks nightly.By creating a best practice model both companies could use they reduced production time by 15 %. Best practices along with the SDLC can help lay a great foundation for IT development. There are no set rules or guidelines for IT development. However, there is a certain structure that most successful IT projects have in common. The first step to planning a good IT project is the project selection. During this process the PM must analyze if there is a need for the system. Does someone already have a system similar that the team could use or buy?After this step if the justification for the system is still necessary, then the team must move onto the next step, which is the planning of project controls. According to the paper Indentifying Best Practices in Information Technology Project Management, project controls are defined as an estimate, estimating, and budgeting. The estimate considers how many resources are needed to accomplish this project, the act of estimating is combining the results of post project reviews, metrics, consultation, and informed assessment to arrive at time and resource requirements for an activity, and budgeting is the total cost of the project.Following this evaluation, you should assemble the team. It is important to compile a team that w ill be effective to the specific project. The team must understand the project goals and expectations. The next step is accessing the stakeholder’s involvement in the project. The stakeholder can be anyone from the management of the company to an actual customer. Some stakeholders will want as much control as the PM while other, will be hands off allowing the PM to make all the decisions.These guidelines are not all inclusive but they are a start to developing a successful IT project. Designing a good IT development project takes time and an excellent PM. There are many good models to follow, like the Arkansas best practices model. These models give a small or unorganized company the structure it needs to develop a good plan. If you follows these models along with a good SDLC you will be well on your way to creating a solid project. These two models can lay the foundation you need for a successful blueprint.

Legal Compliance Paper Essay

In order for a business to succeed, management needs to identify and comply with the laws and regulations in their area. Management needs to keep in mind that laws vary from state to state. Additionally, as laws are constantly changing, management needs to regularly update their company standards in order to comply with these ever changing laws. In the case of Baderman Island, the company first began its renovations in 1988 (Virtual Organizations Portal, 2012) the lighthouse was purchased in 1932. Since 1988, the company had to modify or change their business procedures in order to comply with laws and regulations. Legal compliance challenges that Baderman Island and other companies may have faced include employment laws, tax laws and regulations, property laws, finance laws and environmental laws. If a company does not comply with the laws and regulations in place, a company risks lawsuits, fines and possible company closure. Therefore it is imperative for a company such as Baderman Island to acknowledge the possible compliance challenges and reduce the liability of those compliances challenges. Legal Compliance Challenges Baderman Island Resort, will be expanding its operations and we believe as a team that some of the legal compliance challenges the organization will encounter are linked to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Opportunity Act (Affirmative Action Act). The organization has to ensure the selection process and promotion process, the designing of the training and implementation of the training for the employees are taken into consideration to mitigate risk (Jackson & Mathis, 2008, Chapter 9, Training  Human Resources). In addition to the selection, promotion and design of the training; Baderman Island Resort has to ensure that the 80% Rule is followed and that an environment of disparate impact and treatment is not created to reduce risk (Moran, 2008, Chapter 2, Selection). Baderman has also advised its employees and the public, that they will be hiring and training employees to speak Spanish and French to develop a better relationship with their international clientele (University of Phoenix, 2014). A blog is being used as customer relationship management tool to identify areas of concerns and opportunities. The HR department and executive management team need to review what a bona fide occupational qualification means, in the areas that they are planning to expand and mitigate risk. The organization operates in the hotel and resort industry environment in order to have sustained growth; legal compliance challenges have to be understood, researched and communicated. The legal compliance challenges can have a direct impact on their cash flow, for example, if Baderman Island Resort was found guilty of race discrimination of Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964, in 2006, the organization would be liable for paying $27,000 (Moran, 2008, Chapter 2, Selection). Discrimination and other non-compliance issues always present a possibility for legal ramifications, therefore management must constantly be aware of different methods to reduce liability. Options to reduce liability With the expansion of operations that Baderman Island Resort will be making, there will be a few different challenges that will take place and options that will help to reduce the liability of the company. Thorough and accurate training is one of Baderman Island’s primary concerns. Knowledgeable and impartial trainers not only help pave the way for new employees and continuous training, but they also represent the company and its values. Proper training perpetuates good employees with a good grasps of key concepts and knowledge. Improper training could lead to mistakes, production loss, liabilities, and possibly injuries. Hiring and training multi-lingual employees that speak Spanish and French is a great idea, to help broaden the company’s customer base. Management would need to ensure that all shifts maintain an appropriate number of multi-lingual employees, dependent upon business and shift requirements. If the resort finds that additional  languages become a majority including addition multi-lingual employees would be recommended for customer satisfaction and fairness. Customer satisfaction is always the ultimate goal of Baderman Island Resort; therefore feedback plays a critical role in implementing beneficial changes. Allowing employees to provide feedback for management review helps employees feel important and valued. Customer feedback provides an opportunity for management to spot possible weaknesses and areas in need of improvement. With three different methods of feedback and review: management, employee feedback and customer feedback management increase the opportunity for positive changes and increased repeat business and increased revenue. How employment practice compliance systems could assist liability reduction By not only creating equal opportunity employment, but creating an environment in which every guest feels as they are special, Baderman Island Resort, desires to achieve harmony within the resort. We at Baderman Island Resort take great pride in our training system. This system of training allows us to ensure every employee is trained on how to treat others, better yet, how to react when situations arise. Our trainers have all been through rigorous standardized training to ensure every employee is equally proficient with our expectations. This training helps ensure compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Training every employee with the same standardized system will help ensure everyone within the workforce is treated equally, regardless of race, sex, color, or national origin. This also includes the hiring process. By providing continuing training, Baderman Island Resort can help ensure hiring practices are also followed. Each of our employees that are fluent in another language receives a bonus due to the additional assistance they can provide our guests. Those who currently employed or in the process of being hired are offered free language classes, which will result in Baderman Island Resort keeping a multi-cultural workforce. These employees will also receive the bonus once they have become fluent in the chosen language. Continuing to educate our employees and hire the most qualified individuals will in a more responsible and caring workforce. A vast portion of Baderman Island’s success and lifespan is a direct result from complying with the laws and regulations in their area. The fact that Baderman Island has expanded since first opening its doors in 1988 and it has plans to continue to expand, reflects the constant attention to the  changing laws and regulations. Baderman Island will continue to be successful if management continues to analyze and reduce compliance challenges. References Jackson, J.H., & Mathis, R.L. (2008). Home Resource Management (12th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection. Moran, J.J. (2008). Employment Law. Employment Challenges in the Business Environment (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection. University of Phoenix. (2014). Baderman Island Resort [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, HRM420 website. Virtual Organizations Portal., Apollo Group, Inc., & Baderman Island. (2012). eCampus: Login. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/BadermanIsland/internet/index.asp