Early Intervention Essay Example for Free

Early Intervention Essay Early intervention is essential to achieve the best possible outcome for the child. However multi-agency working is important too, when all the professionals involved with a child share information and co-operate with each other lives can be improved and even saved. Baby P is an example of multi-agencies not working together properly, early intervention and working together will help prevent more unnecessary deaths. Early years practitioners can provide information for local services which may be helpful to disadvantaged or vulnerable families, we can work together with social workers, health professionals and even DHSS by helping to complete forms for additional benefits the family may be entitled to. The best interest of the child is always the priority, policies and guidance must also be followed when a referral is being made to an outside agency. Working together for the benefit of the child. Early intervention is also at the heart of the Governments national strategy on child poverty. They hope to provide support and de-stigmatise services, provide more health visitors for Sure Start Children’s Centres and are providing an Early Intervention Grant for local authorities to invest in addressing their local needs. The impact of all these measures for early intervention, will hopefully be a more stable society with less children in workless homes. Parents will be able to work and support their children, providing better homes, healthier food and a stable home life. Children will appreciate their education and strive to achieve their full potential. They will be safer, healthier and hopefully happier. They will have access to facilities to improve their health and well-being as well as their physical, social emotional development. Services will be in place to provide support to families in need, helping families stay together and become more stable. By 2020 our society will have changed for the better if the Governments strategy works.

Economy on Food Essay Example for Free

Economy on Food Essay Many Americans consume food at an alarming rate without even stopping to think of what they really might be eating or how it ended up on their plate. If we just took the time to see how our food systems worked, we would notice the domino affect trickling down from government to average day Americans. In order for us to be able to grow and produce food, farmers are paid by our government in the form of subsidies. These crops often times do not grow naturally from the ground. Chemicals are pumped into the Earth causing problems for our environment. That food is than sent on journeys all over the world, including stops at feed lots. Animals are fed the crop which has more cons than pros to their digestive system and their bodies causing meat to have a higher concentration of fat. Of course these products are then distributed to our grocery stores and we buy them without the slightest bit of hesitation. Each one of these steps has an affect on the other and it might all be controlled by one problem government subsidies. Without this control farmers might have the initiative to grow with their minds set on quality over quantity which in turn will have healthier affects on each level of our food economy. Farmers are large contributors toward the food for our society. The government pays farmers by controlling the supply and demand through subsidies keeping the farmers their jobs. However, the subsidies are based on how many bushels a farmer can grow, which leads to an overproduction. An example of a highly subsidized crop is corn. Alone, this crop causes environmental, animal farming, and society health issues. According to Michael Pollan, an author, activist, and Professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, for farmers to grow an abundant amount of corn it requires more chemicals and pesticides to maintain growing conditions. These chemicals eventually find its way into the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, killing marine life (45). When this crop is sold, farmers with livestock buy it as animal feed, for it is cheap. Most of the animals we eat (chickens, pigs, and cows) today subsist on a diet of corn, reguardless regardless of whether it is good for them (Pollan, 44). Cattle are not use to an all corn diet which causes farmers to feed them antibiotics to fight off any illness and or infections. Once these animals pass inspections they are sent off to a slaughter house to become the meat we eat, which is filled with antibiotics and corn. Corn comes in a sugar additive form be more accurate -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:25 PM called high fructose corn syrup. It is commonly found in soft drinks because it is so sweet and cheap. Due to the subsidy, it took the place of sugar. There is no coincidence that the wholesale switch to corn sweeteners in 1980s marks the beginning of the epidemic of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in this country (Pollan, 44). Since the subsidy caused overproduction and extremely low prices, America has let itself go in becoming one of the fattest and laziest nations by turning to fast food restaurants instead of home cooked meals. The government pays farmers to grow these commodities (i. e. corn, soy, wheat, rice, and cotton) for their overproduction and the farm bill what farm bill? offer context for quote -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:26 PM does almost nothing to support farmers growing fresh produce The reason the least healthful calories in the supermarket are the cheapest is that those are the ones the farm bill encourages farmers to grow (Pollan, You Are What You Grow). While fruit and vegetable prices increased 40 percent from 1985-2000, the price of soft drinks, containing corn, declined 23 percent (Pollan, You Are What You Grow). Through government subsidies and the farm bill, it has caused several problems concerning the environment, and animal and society health. Government subsidies need to be looked at and changed considerably. Farmers need to stop overproduction and instead of being paid by bushels, be paid to limit production and support prices (Pollan, You Are What You Grow). By supporting prices and limiting production, crops may not be so high in demand, further resulting in animals eating what they are accustomed to and Americans eating healthier with fewer unknown additives put into their food. Here you have moved to possible solutions save it for that section. -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:28 PM The overproduction of corn in America has raised many questions regarding the process and production of corn and how it is affecting us Americans today. Need a different transition here, one that spins off from last paragraph -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:29 PM Many documentaries about corn, the production, process, and distribution have been experimented with and caught on tape, while more problems have risen about conditions of corn and farming. Such Aforementioned problems have revealed that though corn is cheap and easy, it increases health risks for our bodies and to animals as well. Michael Pollan author of When A Crop Becomes King, writer for the New York Times states that â€Å"nowhere have humans done quite as much to advance the interests of this plant as in North America , where zea mays has insinuated itself into our landscape, our food system-and our federal budget. † Pollan is revealing that people may question the food production and if producers are looking out for our best interest or not. We still buy the same products and dont ask the important questions, though, we just accept that it is a way of life. We complain that food is unhealthy and there are rarely any alternatives that are just as quick and tasty as fast food, instead, we need to choose our own alternatives rather then blame the fast food industry. Corn has been processed and has become an American product for the past few decades, were sacrificing the health of both our bodies and the environment by growing and eating so much of it[ ]thats cause for our concern states Polan in another quote from The New York Times. Though we have the production of corn processed in foods and fed to animals to make there meat more fatty, the best strategy that has kept the zea mays in business is the development of high fructose corn syrup. Look on the backs of soda cans, candy bars, even apples and you will notice that there is high fructose corn syrup in our americanized products. Corns being processed into all of our foods, drinks, and animals is only part of the problem, Polan states that Modern corn hybrids are the greediest of plants, demanding more nitrogen fertilizer than any other crop also requiring more pesticide then any other crop. Corn isnt as cheap as we suspect it to be, the diet for corn consists of a plethera of water and is sprayed with chemicals each time its grown. Due to the chemicals that are sprayed, these chemicals find its way to the Mississippi River which carries it to the Gulf of Mexico, which has already killed marine life in a 12,000 square mile area. Polan again reveals that if we take a step back, we will realize that our environment is suffering just as much as we are, we are temporary on this earth we need to remember that the environment is not to be tempered with, but natural. The process of cornification and new developments if cheap and easy products, has cause a domino affect in our health system. Although our environment is suffering due to over use of chemicals, we do not end there. nice T -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:33 PM According to the U. S Department of Agricultures National Agricultural Statistics Service, each year in the United States, 10 billion land animals are raised and killed for meat, eggs, and milk. To an average American with no prior knowledge of our food economy this might seem like a minuscule fact, however; it is the way in which these animals are farmed which has dire consequences on our societies health. Farm animal welfare expert Dr. Donald Broom states; Efforts to achieve earlier and faster growth, greater production per individual, and efficient feed conversions and partitioning are the causes of some of the worst animal welfare problems. The farming of livestock has changed dramatically over the past centuries. Many still think of farming as the rural collections of barns and field where animals are free to graze and move about until they are executed effectively, in reality, some farms are massive industrial-type facilities owned and operated by large corporations [and] although they make up a small percentage of American farms, they handle a large percentage of the animals killed for food in the United States (Breakdown of Livestock Farms, North American Industry Classification System in Census of Agriculture). These factory farms are also known as CAFOs or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Because of the over production of corn, these animals diets consist of nothing but it. Since corn is a high-starch, high-energy food, it decreases the time it takes to fatten the cattle and increases the yield from these farms. According to the documentary, King Corn, cattle are fed for anywhere between 140-160 days and than slaughtered, however; corn is not the natural diet of cattle and since it is not, many problems have stemmed from this abnormal diet. They are becoming fatter at an alarming rate which is good for the companys wallets but not for our waist lines considering 65% of calories from burgers are energy calories from fat causing a direct line between obese cows, and obese Americans (King Corn). The problem lies within the cattles digestive system. The heavy corn diet acidifies the cows digestive tract and causes bacteria to form. Under normal circumstances a bacteria known as E. coli 0157: H7 would be killed by stomach acids but the increased amounts of acid allows for the more acid resistant bacteria to thrive and reproduce (Richard J.Arsenault, Corn Fed Cattle: Bigger Cows, Bigger E. coli Threat. )nice addition of detail, but paraphrase wording not worthy of quote status 🙂 -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:37 PM Cattle are being forced to consume products which end up killing them slowly, and if it were not for the time of slaughter they would eventually die. Either way in which they die is not usually pleasant. awk -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:38 PM Cows may be raised in one state, fattened in another, and then slaughtered in yet another. During the transportation of these animals they are packed into trucks where they suffer from trampling, temperature extremes, and lack of food, water or veterinary care. When they reach the slaughterhouse, cattle may be hoisted upside-down by their hind legs and dismembered all while being conscious since the techniques for slaughter are surrounded around yield and not efficiency. The kill rate in a typical slaughterhouse is 400 animals per hour, and the line is never stopped simply because an animal is alive, according to a former slaughterhouse worker and author of They Die Piece by Piece, Joby Warrick. Are you drifitng away from topic? -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:39 PM There are no animal welfare laws regulating the treatment of billions of animals raised for their mean meat, eggs, and milk while they are on the farm. While all of the 50 states have cruelty laws, many exempt common farming practices. As a result of this, farm animals suffer immensely due to the fact that animal welfare is overlooked since the economic interests of the producer often conflict with the animals well-being. But the animals well-being is not the only consequence; factory farming effect the environment as well as society itself. The effects fast food has on Americans is a wide variety of different things, and society is one of them. Wendell Berry from The Pleasures of Eating says people buy what they wantor what they have been persuaded to wantwithin the limits of what they can get. (Berry 1) Berry feels that the advertisers of fast food companies make people feel that they need things that are not necessarily good for them because it is provided to them cheaply and with easy access. Society has been blind sided when it comes to where there food is from, the most an average urban shopper could tell you is that their food came from a farm. They are unaware of any further information such as; what farm it came from, where the farm is located, and how far the food had to travel to get to them. (Berry 1) Most Americans view food as something that does not concern them until it is put in front of them. They dont spend any extra time thinking about the health aspects of their food until it comes time to purchase it or make it. Even then, Americans lives are so fast paced they dont have tome time to worry about what is in their food. It is very obvious through commercials and other forms of advertisement that the industry does not care about the health of society. They advertise to young children and teens who do not know any better, this section seems to be about causes rather than effects -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 4:01 PM as well as hire immigrants that will work for low pay. It is very clear they are not aware of what they are providing their customers with. The industry has been able to create a vicious circle by advertising to children. These children grow up and feed it to their children, thus continuing the never ending cycle. As long as fast food restaurants are able to provide food at a cheap price, quickly the health of society will be a problem. There is no way we could possibly shut down all of the fast food restaurants but there are different things we could do just to make people more aware of what they are eating. When dining at a fast food restaurant it is hard to come across health information on the food they are providing you with, pamphlets providing this information should be offered to every customer much like how they offer you to super size your meal. Another idea would be to provide the dietary facts on the outside packaging of the product how they do at grocery stores on every item sold. And this section seems to be about solutions -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 4:02 PM Societies health problems may be growing but our knowledge is also growing and we should get smart and look further into what we put into our bodies. What we put into our bodies has a lot to do with the increased health problems in society today, in years prior to 1994 diabetes in children was typically a genetic disorder that they had inherited and Type 2 diabetes only accounted for 5% of childhood cases now it accounts for at least 30%. (David Zinczenko Pg 1). This is actually on topic the negative effects on health -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 4:03 PM So who do we blame for the fact that our health is going downhill? People should know how to eat properly and know better than to eat several meals a week from a fast food restaurants, I dont think its the fact that people dont understand what it could do to there body, its the lack of alternatives and the FDA does not require prepared foods to be labeled with health information. We have covered every street in America with fast food restaurants and made it almost impossible to come by a health food store. Why would Americans spend time looking for healthier alternatives when we have strategically placed several other unhealthy alternatives right in front of them. Fast food is not just affecting the health of people but also of our environment packaging from fast food restaurants can take up anywhere from 20-30% of our landfill space belongs in a different section -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 4:05 PM and add pollutants to our air. Fast food has a huge affect on society that witha few east steps in the right direction we could create a healthier America. A major downfall for the US is how we are able to provide food at such a cheap cost. It is awesome for the customers but for the people providing it (farmers) it is more of a cost to them. Michael Pollan, author of When a Crop Becomes King from the New York Times explains exactly how farmers are paying more money for corn in the long run, because the average bushel of corn (56 pounds) sells for about $2 today; it costs farmers more than $3 to grow it. (Pollan 1). If farmers are spending more money on corn than customers are paying for it how are they making any money themselves? Congress has decided to subsidize corn by the bushel, America is covered in 125,000- square miles of corn fields. Subsidies are grants given to an enterprise provided by the government that benefit the public. Does cheap food ever mean healthy food? Typically no. Advertisers will promote anything to get you to eat it! They target young children with anything from commercials to action figures. New York Times David Barboza author of the article If You Pitch it, They Will Eat says, Big food makers like McDonalds and Kraft Foods Inc. are finding every imaginable way to put their names in front of your children. (Barboza 1) Companies view their sale pitches as harmless but they are a huge reason of Americas rise in obesity. Cheap food from fast food restaurants like Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Taco Bell and KFC are targeting teenagers and cheap is all that the average teenager can afford. Thats what they eat, cheap food that will clog their arteries and if it is eaten constantly could lead to some major health problems. If fast food was pricier maybe it would encourage teenagers to make there way to the grocery store and spend their money on foods that are better and more nutritious for them. The problems that have arosearisen -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 3:56 PM due to the new developments with corn and subsidies have drawn Americans and health developers to question the health risks. Corn has been a new popular development for the past few decades with the booming fast food industry and even to grocery stores across America. Cheap food and cheap prices not only make it easy for parents, but are quite a tasty treat to people anywhere. The solution to end the change and chemicalization of our environment will be too change the agricultural act as Wendall Berry, author of The Pleasures of Eating stated. The video, King Corn, has shown that corn has been genetically changed and is grown closer together which not only makes the food unhealthy, but it is unhealthy for the soil as well. Corn is distributed into many different products, sprayed with chemicals, and genetically altered so that it flatters the human eye. Corn also feeds the animals, in which farms put them in a box to feed instead of grazing along pastures, healthily. Berry states that animals are fed with antibiotics so they wont die from the change in diet, and so they can fight off bacteria in their bodies. Our environment is where the earth began, slowly but surely we are killing off plants and animals for our benefits as heavy consumers. We want to make a solution to stunting environmental growth because it is all a domino affect. One part affects the whole puzzle, take away corn, and we are forced to find alternative sweeteners for soda, candy, fruit, and other products. An alternative to corn syrup is sugar, though more expensive, it is worth it if it benefits our bodies and environment. In King Corn, the college students say that there is 30% more sugar used in corn form than before. This suggests that high fructose corn syrup is more unhealthy than sugar itself. Researchers at University of Minnesota also made the point that high fructose corn syrup causes trygliceride levels in men to increase shortly after eating, which links to an increased risk of obesity and heart disease. Our problem is corn and the production, we find alternatives such as going back to sugar, and letting the animals, plants, soil, grow healthier so that humans will be healthier. Lets face it, we dont know what we are eating, but do we care to ask questions? Rather, we complain about how there are no alternatives to the fast and easy drive-thru. Our change in society with our environment will be slow, one less person going to McDonalds, is one less employee making a hamurger, which is one less manufacturer making money on his or her product. Lets come together and find our own alternatives, rather than having society determine for us. It is easy to say that Americans are victims when it comes to eating unhealthy. We are heavily influenced by fast food and marketing industries. Together, they promote and reel consumers in by making their products cheap and convenient. So, how do we fight back? According to Wendell Berry, an author and farmer, we need to start by eating responsibly. This includes preparing your own food, knowing where your food is grown (preferably closer to home), dealing directly with the farmer or gardener, and learning, about the economy, farming, and through observations (40). Eating responsibly is a life style one chooses, it definitely wont happen over night. Blaming fast food companies for making America fat may be the easy way out of personal responsibility but America is to blame. Daniel Weintraubs article states that Statewide, the Center said 26 percent of schoolchildren are overweight (42). 5 tips prob -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 4:14 PM The lack of exercise has caused childhood obesity to rise in consideration with the intake of fast food. Since fast food companies clearly play a role in the obesity problem America has, the change should start with them by offering healthier alternatives, smaller portion sizes, and nutritional facts on the food and beverages being consumed. But the bigger pictures focuses on the farm bill. The reason fast food companies can sell their food cheap is because of the subsidy system. Pollan states that eaters want a bill that makes the most healthful calories in the supermarket competitive with the least healthful ones. Eaters want a bill that feeds schoolchildren fresh food from local farms rather than processed surplus commodities from far away. Enlightened eaters also recognized their dependence on farmers which is why they would support a bill that guarantees the people who raise our food not subsidies but fair prices (You Are What You Grow). The only way that our nation can change the health problem its suffering from now is by taking the time to understand and know what they are really eating, along with what was done to it to make it taste the way it does. Originally, Government subsidies were intended to ensure that American people had enough food. Our Government wanted to make sure that our country would never have a problem regarding the amount of food we produce. Though the intentions of our nation were only to make sure that every person can have food in their belly, the result of starting the subsidy system, in fact, made things worse. Without subsidy, corn costs much more than it does with a subsidy. Since the Government decided that subsidies would be a good idea, farmers have taken advantage of the opportunity to increase their income. Over the years, chemicals have been put into corn to change its color, its ability to grow closer together, and how fast it grows. Not only that, but chemicals must be put into the soil to make it grow in general, because farmers have abandoned their old method of rotating crops and leaving the land fallow. Making these modifications to the corn crop has done what they wanted: increased the amount of corn produced, therefore increasing the amount of money farmers recieve. Unfortunately, it has also caused major problems in the health of the food. As mentioned previously, corn is fed to livestock. Since corn has such chemicals put into it, thats exactly what the animals consume, and it makes the meat have nine times as much saturated fats as grass fed animals(King Corn). This means that the meat that humans consume, in addition to the corn itself, and corn syrup that humans consume, are much less healthy than we think. Paragraph should start here. Most of above is repeating what should have come before -Meline Akashian 11/27/10 4:17 PM The Subsidy system is flawed in that its intentions were for the health of the country, but its results are that all food is less healthy than it once was. Eliminating subsidies on corn will raise the price on corn, which in turn will raise price on meat, change the diet for livestock, and force companies to use natural sugar rather than corn syrup. These changes will result in less health issues, considering that corn syrup [alone] has a higher risk of type 2 diabetes(King Corn). If the government really was concerned with the health of our country, officials would have considered the health of not only the people, but the land, plants, and animals we depend on for survival. Getting rid of subsidies will only help the country toward its dream of better health.

Hardware Requirements For Pizza Systems Information Technology Essay

Hardware Requirements For Pizza Systems Information Technology Essay Introduction and Problem Statement- We are primarily interested in implementing Information Systems to all the working units of the pizza shop, so that we are able to provide better services and thus, an enhanced experience to both offline (in-store) and on-line (web-based) customers. Since the pizza shop is interested in expanding their business from  a small-size business into a medium-size enterprise by opening up branches in various new locations and also has an objective to provide better online services (developing their company in e-business aspects) and gain online popularity, we have to make analysis and thereby apply several information system techniques so that the company succeeds in its motive. Analysis of Hardware Requirement for the Pizza Shop- Making decisions about the hardware requirements is based on the analysis of various factors such as the projected budget and the speed required. But the large variety high utility of hardware available often makes the hardware decisions a little difficult because of the fact that computer technologies become obsolete more quickly than other organizational technologies. Basically, hardware refers to the physical equipment used for the input, processing, output, and storage activities of a computer system. In our case we make use of the following hardware components: Central processing unit (CPU) we have decided to make use of Intel core i7processor [1] or Intel core2 processor [2] in the CPU. Primary storage- A storage capacity of 6GB-8GB in the hard-drive, for better speed in processing and multi-tasking situations. Secondary storage- A storage capacity of up to 1 terabyte for storage of information such as databases of employees, customers, products used in the shop, etc. Input technologies- We have decided to make use of basic devices such as keyboard, mouse and advanced devices such as touch screens (to make work easier and faster), Voice recognition [3] for access of confidential information only by authenticated persons (we do not make use of protection mechanisms provided by passwords because in todays era of technology it is not fully safe since password cracking has become very easy and common). Output technologies- Liquid crystal display (LCD) screens and printers. Communication technologies- Internet connections. Transportation of products- The transportation of the products can done by appointing a team of employees for this department, since our main objective is to expand and promote our business, initially we would require a minimum of 20 personnel equipped with fast and fuel efficient road transportation facilities, for each branch in case of local(within the same city branches), now in case of inter-city transports we have to appoint equivalent number of personnel and also have to make tie-ups with transportation management of rails and air transport. The transaction of products and allotment of duties to the employees should be done and all the details must be saved in hardware memory. Analysis of Software Requirement for the Pizza Shop- Computer hardware can be only effective according to the instructions we give it, and those instructions are contained in software. Software has become an everyday feature of all the businesses. For our business plan we will require the following software- Operating system- Windows 7[4] Spreadsheets- Microsoft Excel 2010, for managing tabular information, or any information which requires storage in tabular form. Word Processing software- Microsoft Word 2010, for managing all types of text files. Data Management- Microsoft Access, for efficient management of all data. Personal Information Management software- Microsoft Outlook, this software allows users to create and maintain management calendars, appointments, etc. Personal Finance software- Microsoft Money, which allows users to maintain checkbooks, track investments, monitor credit cards, bank and pay bills electronically. Web Authoring software- Microsoft FrontPage, which allows users to design Web sites and publish them on the web. Communications software- Netscape Messenger, which allows users to communicate with other people over any distance. Security Suite software- McAfee Internet Security Suite (www.mcafee.com) Anti-malware Product VirusScan (www.mcafee.com). Firewall[7]- McAfee Internet Security (www.mcafee.com) Anti-spam Software SpamKiller (www.mcafee.com) For restoring backup files- We will use the Windows Backup utility to restore the backup copies on the hard disk. Analysis of data and databases that can be employed by the company- All the business applications require data. For managing data and databases in the pizza shop, we would require a database management system (DBMS), in order to manage data in all aspects of our business such as employee data, customers data, product stores data etc. Its main usage is to store all the essential data in files. The application of a DBMS [5] at the pizza shop will provide the following benefits- Minimization of Data redundancy- i.e., the storage of the same data in many places is avoided there preventing unnecessary usage of memory space. Prevention Data isolation- Applications will be able to access data associated with other applications, thereby preventing creation of exclusive data sets for all the applications, and also leading to efficient memory management. Prevention of Data inconsistency: Creation of various copies of the data is not agreed upon. Enhanced data security. Maintenance of data integrity- In many cases, data needs to have certain constraints, such as no alphabetic characters in a Social Security number field and DBMS helps in achieving these. The administrator can also add, delete, access, and analyze data stored in one location. He can access the data by using query and reporting tools that are part of the DBMS or by using application programs specifically written to access the data. All these advantages in the database system can considerably optimize the handling of high volumes of orders by customers, since the manager/employee will be able to store and retrieve data about customers very efficiently. In case the same customer places an order again, since the data about which is already stored (upon his first order) can be retrieved very fast using DBMS and the overall processing of the store will become increasingly efficient especially in peak hours(timings for lunch and dinner). This feature would also provide ease to the customer, since he would not have to explains his location over and over again, and this may lead to the customers increased interest in availing the pizza shop services again in the future. Implementation of Data Warehousing- We have implemented data warehouses for the following type of cases- If the manager of the pizza shop wanted to know the profit margin on sales of vegetarian pizzas, he could find out from his database, using SQL [6] (structured query language) or QBE (query by example)[7]. However, if he needed to know the trend in the profit margins on sales of vegetarian pizzas over the last 3 years, he would have a very difficult query to construct in SQL or QBE. The pizza shop managers problem shows us two reasons why organizations are building data warehouses. First, the organizations databases have the necessary information to answer his query, but it is not organized in a way that makes it easy for him to search for needed information and also, the organizations databases are designed to process millions of transactions per day. Therefore, complicated queries might take a long time to answer and also might degrade the performance of the databases. As a result of these problems, companies are using data warehousing tools to make it easier and faster for users t o access, analyze, and query data. Data mining tools (discussed in the next section) allow users to search for valuable business information in a large database or data warehouse. Implementation of Data Mining- Data mining can perform two basic operations: predicting trends and behaviors and identifying previously unknown patterns. This analysis provides users with a view of what is happening. Data mining addresses, why it is happening and provides predictions of what will happen in the future and also automates the process of finding predictive information in large databases. In the pizza shop, implementation of data mining will lead to the following benefits in the business- In the aspect of sales- Predicting sales, preventing theft and fraud, and determining correct storage levels and since the business has been projected to expand, data mining will also lead to knowledge of distribution schedules among various outlets. In the aspect of Manufacturing and production- Predicting machinery failures and finding key factors that help optimize manufacturing capacity. Marketing- Classifying customer demographics that can be used to predict which customer will respond to a mailing or buy a particular product. E-Commerce Solutions to generate an online business presence- The concepts of E-Business comprise of buying and selling of goods and services, it also refers to servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, and performing electronic transactions within an organization. We have planned to put into use the following features of E-business for the pizza shops- Online direct marketing- Using this feature the pizza shop can directly sell its services to customers via websites in the internet. Advertising- Since a majority of the people today access internet, advertising on the internet would be very useful and profitable to the pizza shop. Electronic Payment Systems- Usage of this feature will enable clients to pay for goods and services electronically, rather than writing a check or using cash. Electronic payment systems include electronic checks, electronic credit cards, purchasing cards, and electronic cash. Payments are an integral part of doing business, and using electronic payment system would be of ease to both the client and the business.   E-Business Solutions that can be utilized to improve the management  of supply chain- The function of supply chain management (SCM) is to plan, organize, and optimize the supply chains activities such as flow of materials, information, money, and services from raw material suppliers, through factories and warehouses to the end customers. The e-business solutions that we will use here are- Information Sharing along the supply chain over the internet For instance if we provide access to information about usage and daily requirement of cheese on a daily basis by every branch of the pizza store to the manufacturer whom we are dealing with, then this knowledge will enable the manufacturer to provide timely and efficient replenishment of cheese to every branch of the pizza store. Using Electronic Inventories In order to deal with the unexpected uncertainties of supply chain in the pizza shop, we can build inventories so that customers can have what they want at the correct time, and a minimal amount of standardized stock can also be maintained. Information about these inventories can be efficiently stored and updated in the electronic databases. The electronic storage of information reduces the probabilities of errors, and also free employees from manual labor of maintaining information about the stock of products. Efficient Telecommunication Networks used to attract customers- In order to attract customers and provide them an enhanced experience we will make use of the following- Publishing information and attractive offers for customers, at various social networking sites such as www.facebook.com, www.myspace.com, etc. Uploading video advertisements about the pizza shop at www.youtube.com, which is a social networking site for videos. Conducting online surveys, for the betterment as well as knowing about the current popularity and likes/dislikes about the pizza shops. Blogs can also be created, a blog is a personal Web site, open to the public, in which the site creator expresses his or her feelings or opinions. Accordingly, modifications can be made in order to increase profitability Internet telephony (voice-over Internet protocol or VoIP) i.e., use of the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls. This can enable the customers to make internet calls, thereby providing ease in communication to the pizza shop. Decision Support Systems for our system- Decision support systems (DSSs) basically combine the models and data in an attempt to solve unstructured problems with extensive user involvement. DSS will provide interactive to data, enable manipulation of these data, and to provide business managers and analysts of the pizza shop the ability to conduct appropriate analyses. For application of Decision support systems in the pizza shop we have decided to carry out the following steps- Sensitivity analysis [8]- the managers of the pizza shop will conduct this analysis in order to predict how their decisions can have impact on other decisions. For instance, promotion of non-vegetarian pizzas at a time where the non-vegetarian ingredients are expensive in the market, would considerably impact the pizza shops profitability. For countering these problems the manager can make use of sensitive model or nonsensitive model. What if analysis [9]- the manager of the pizza shop will conduct this analysis in order to deal with unexpected uncertainties or problems and also predict its impact. For instance, what will happen to the total inventory cost if the originally assumed cost of carrying inventories is not 10 percent but 12 percent? In a well designed Business intelligence system[10], managers themselves can interactively ask the computer these types of questions as many times as they need to. Goal-Seeking Analysis [11]- Goal-seeking analysis would enable the manager to predict future situations in comparison to the current scenario. For instance, the manager of the pizza shop would want to project future sales or meeting a target of profits based on current profits, let us consider for example that the current profits are of $2million, now he might want to know, what sales volume and additional advertising would be necessary to generate a profit of $3 million. To find out he would perform a goal-seeking analysis. Group Decision Support Systems[12]- This would make managers located at different physical location to communicate through computer support systems which serves primarily as a vehicle for improving communication, coordination, and problem solving. Technologies to enhance business processes- Usage of Digital Dashboards [13]-This feature will be used by the top-level executives of the pizza shop. Using this technology they can have access to information all the levels of information in a fast and efficient manner. Usage of Expert Systems[14]-This technology can aid the managers in the decision making process since expert systems possess the abilities that can reach a level of performance comparable to a human expert in certain or specialized problem areas.   Enhancing the online presence by selling products with customers over the web- We have projected to achieve an enhanced online presence by providing better services for online transactions by establishing a contract with the online e-commerce website Paypal. We have chosen this site because it provides features such as funding with an electronic debit from a  bank account  or by a  credit card, easy user interface and secure transactions which also relieves the customers of thefts and other threats of online transactions. Since PayPal operates in 190 markets,  users of most locations can access and easily make transactions through Paypal for services of the pizza shop. Also PayPal allows customers to send, receive, and hold funds in 24 currencies worldwide, so when in future branches of the pizza shop are opened in several countries, this feature will be very useful. References- James OBrien, 2009. Introduction to Information Systems, 15th Edition. 15 Edition. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. R. Kelly Rainer, 2010. Introduction to Information Systems: Supporting and Transforming Business. 3 Edition. Wiley. Ralph M. Stair, 1997. An Introduction to Information Systems. Edition. Course Technology. James A. OBrien, 1997. Introduction To Information Systems: An Internetworked Enterprise Perspective. 2 Sub Edition. Richard D Irwin. R. Kelly Rainer, 2009. Introduction to Information Systems, Binder Ready Version: Enabling and Transforming Business. 3ird Edition Edition. Wiley. Judith C. Simon, 2000. Introduction to Information Systems. Student international edition Edition. Wiley.

Creation Stories of Babylon, Egypt, and Genesis Essay -- Creationism C

Creation myths of Babylon, Egypt, and Genesis There are many similarities in the Babylonian, Egyptian, and Genesis stories. In all the stories one god creates man and explains how all things on earth come to being. They also set up their calendars and show examples of evil within each story to set up moral rules for man to live by. How do these elements compare between each of these stories? In the Babylonian myth the God Marduk creates man from the blood of another god Kingu. â€Å"Blood will I compose, bring a skeleton into being, Produce a lowly, primitive creature, ‘Man’ shall be his name.† In Egyptian myth the God Rae creates man and takes this form. In the Genesis story there is only one God, he creates man in the image of himself. In the Babylonian and Egyptian stories, the major difference is they have many Gods. Also, in the Genesis story God creates man in his likeness, this might be the case with the Babylonian story, but that is not clear. The major similarity is that all three of the stories only have one God that creates mankind. All the stories show how things came onto the Earth and how it was made; they also set up their calendars at the same time. In the Babylonian story, Marduk is granted the power of speaking something and it will come to being and if he spoke it again it would come out of being. Marduk becomes king, greater than all the Gods, after slaying the God Tiamat. Then later the defeat and capture of Tiamat’s army and commander Kingu. â€Å"He ma...

Philosophic Thought in Whitmans Song of Myself :: Song of Myself Essays

     Ã‚   The Heath Anthology of American Literature repeatedly refers to Walt Whitman and his poetry in terms of being American, yet as I read Song of Myself, my thoughts are continually drawn to the philosophies and religions of the Far East. Like the Tao Te Ching ideas are expressed in enigmatic verse and each stanza is a Zen koan waiting to be meditated on and puzzled out. Even Emerson called Whitman's poetry "a remarkable mixture of the Bhagvat Gita and the New York Herald" ("The Whitman Project"). Song of Myself contains multitudes of passages that express Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist thought. Hinduism is an ancient religion of India and the Bhagvat Gita mentioned above, is among its holy texts. Meditation is emphasized in Hinduism and the point of meditation is explained in a famous metaphor: the mind is a tree and in this tree there is a monkey and a bird. The monkey, called the slippery monkey, races about, chattering constantly. If one can silence the monkey then the bird sings. Whitman could be describing the concerns of the slippery monkey when he writes: "The latest news . . . . discoveries, inventions, societies . . . . authors old and new,/ My dinner, dress, associates, looks, business, compliments, dues/ . . . But they are not the Me myself" (lines 60-65). A description of the bird can be taken from the same passage: "Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am,/ Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary" (lines 66-67). Whitman requests of the bird, which he refers to as the soul: "Loafe with me on the grass . . . . loose the stop from you r throat" (line 75). When the bird complies, Whitman writes that the bird "plunged . . . tongue to my barestript heart . . ./ Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and joy and knowledge that pass all the art and argument of the earth" (lines 80-82). By stilling the slippery monkey and hearing the song of the bird one gains enlightenment (this is similar to shedding the ego in order to attain enlightenment in Buddhism. Sidhartha, the founder of Buddhism, was a Hindu before he rejected its tenets). Part of Hindu enlightenment is the realization that all is Brahma and Brahma is all. Hinduism is polytheistic, but all its many gods are only aspects of the one God, Brahma.

A Review: The Day Of The Jackal :: Free Essay Writer

A Review: The Day of the Jackal The Day of the Jackal, written by Fredrick Forsyth, is a fictional novel that displays the author's brilliance by setting a mood and connecting you with the characters. The Day of the Jackal takes place in post World War II in France. The Jackal is a professional assassin, whose name is not revealed, who is hired by a French terrorist group to kill Charles de Gualle, the President of France. This terrorist group has had several failed attacks on the President, and the Jackal is their last hope. The mood the author sets is exceptionally suspenseful. When Rodin, the leader of the terrorist group hears of the failed attacks, the reader can feel his frustration and hatred towards the French government. When Jean-Marie Bastien is vigorously preparing for the first assault on de Gualle, the reader can sense the tension in the air and the feeling of accomplishment when Bastien says, "That's it! One hundred and fifty bullets will have passed through the presidential car by the time it comes abreast of the van. By God we've got it." All this points to Fredrick Forsyth's amazing mood setting talent in this novel. The reader feels at one with the many characters as they each take part in the many small ventures that give rise to the climax. In a scene where the Jackal is purchasing a fake identification card, the reader can tell that the man making the card is an expert. Not because it was mentioned, but because the man has such a large amount of information about I.D. cards to offer. This same writing talent that displays the characters with subtle suggestion instead of giving specific details is also shown when the Jackal goes to purchase his sniper rifle. It is not mentioned earlier, but the way the armorer talks about the mechanics involved with making a gun in which the Jackal described shows that he is one of the best in the business. Forsyth takes characterization to new level with the Jackal. The reader gets to know the Jackal with a detached understanding of him. Forsyth keeps him a mysterious being with no past and, as far as the rest of the characters in the book are concerned, no present. The reader gets to know the Jackal's meticulous personality and his great care for

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Thirty-Three

Ethan was, Matt observed, totaly freaking out. The guy's usual cheerful composure had worn off, and he was supervising the initiation arrangements with the intensity of a dril sergeant. â€Å"No!† he snarled from across the room. He darted over and slapped the leg of a girl who was standing on a chair and weaving roses through the welded metal V at the top of the central arch. â€Å"Ouch!† she yel ed, dropping the roses to the floor. â€Å"Ethan, what is your problem?† â€Å"We don't put anything on the V, Lorelai,† he told her coldly, and bent to pick up the flowers. â€Å"You must respect the symbols of the Vitale Society. It's a matter of honor. When our leader final y joins us, we must demonstrate to him that we are disciplined, that we are capable.† He shoved the roses back into her hands. â€Å"We don't do that by draping garbage al over the symbol of our organization.† Lorelai stared at him. â€Å"I'm sorry. But I thought you were the leader of the Vitale Society, Ethan.† Everyone had stopped working to watch Ethan's melt-down. Noticing that he was the center of attention, Ethan breathed deeply, clearly trying to regain his composure. Final y he addressed them al , biting off his words sharply. â€Å"I am trying to prepare you al , and to prepare this chamber, for the initiation ceremony. For you.† His voice was steadily rising as he glared around at them. â€Å"And this is when I learn that, despite al your promise, you're a bunch of incompetents. You can't even place a candle or mix some herbs without my help. We're running out of time, and I might as Welljust be doing everything myself.† Matt glanced around at the other pledges. Their faces were shocked and wary. Like him, al along they had been looking up to Ethan and were flattered and encouraged by his praise. Now their role model had turned on them, and no one seemed to know how to react. Chloe, setting out candles by the arch, was anxious, her lips pressed together tightly. She looked quickly at Matt and then away, back toward Ethan. â€Å"Just tel us what you want us to do, Ethan,† Matt said, stepping forward. He tried to keep his voice level and soothing. â€Å"We'l do our best to make everything perfect.† Ethan glowered at him. â€Å"You couldn't even get your friend Stefan to join us,† he said bitterly. â€Å"One simple task, and you failed.† â€Å"Hey,† Matt said, offended. â€Å"That's not fair. I got Stefan to come talk to you. If he's not interested, that's his decision. He doesn't have to join us.† â€Å"I question your commitment to the Vitale Society, Matt,† Ethan said flatly. â€Å"And the conversation with Stefan Salvatore is not over.† He walked straight past Matt, glancing briefly at the rest of the pledges gathered around him. â€Å"There's not much time, everyone. Get back to work.† Matt could feel the beginnings of a headache starting at his temples. For the first time, he wondered if maybe he didn't want to join the Vitale Society after al . â€Å"I could have this door open in a single second,† Damon said irritably. â€Å"Instead we stand here, waiting.† Meredith sighed and careful y wiggled the bobby pin in the lock. â€Å"If you force the door open, Damon, they'l know right away that someone broke into the campus security office. By picking the lock instead, we can keep a low profile. Okay?† The bobby pin caught on something, and she careful y slid it upward, trying to turn it to catch the pins of the lock so she could move the tumbler. Then the bobby pin bent, and she lost the angle. She groaned and dug into her bag for another bobby pin. â€Å"Twenty-seven weapons,† she grumbled. â€Å"I brought twenty-seven separate weapons to col ege and not a single lock pick.† â€Å"Well, you couldn't be prepared for everything,† Elena said. â€Å"What about using a credit card?† â€Å"Being prepared for everything is sort of my job description,† Meredith muttered. She sat back on her heels and stared at the door. The lock was pretty flimsy: not only Damon but either she or Elena could have easily forced it open. And yes, a credit card or something similar probably would work just fine. Dropping the bobby pin into her open bag, she took out her wal et instead and found her student ID. The ID slid right into the crack between the door and the doorjamb, she gave it a careful little wiggle, and, bingo, she was able to easily slide the lock back and pul the door open. Meredith smiled over her shoulder at Elena, arching one eyebrow. â€Å"That was strangely satisfying,† she said. Once they were inside and the door was locked again behind them, Meredith checked to make sure the windows were covered, then flicked on the lights. The security office was simply furnished: white wal s, two desks, each with a computer, one with a forgotten half cup of coffee on top, and a filing cabinet. There was a dying plant on the windowsil , its leaves dry and browning. â€Å"We're sure that none of the officers are going to show up and catch us?† Elena asked nervously. â€Å"I told you, I checked their routine,† Meredith answered. â€Å"After eight o'clock, al but one of the security guards on duty is patrol ing the campus. The one who isn't is sitting in the downstairs lobby of the administration building, keeping in radio contact with the others and helping students who lock themselves out of their dorms and stuff.† â€Å"Well, let's get it over with,† Damon said. â€Å"I don't particularly relish the idea of spending the whole evening in this dismal little hole.† His voice sounded both Wellbred and bored, as usual, but there was something different about him. He was standing very close to Elena, so close that his arm was brushing against hers, and, as Meredith watched, his hand came up to touch Elena's back very lightly, just with his fingertips. There was a slight secretive curve to his mouth, almost as if Damon was even more pleased with himself than usual. â€Å"Well?† he asked, gazing back at Meredith. â€Å"What now, hunter?† Elena stepped away from him and knelt in front of the filing cabinet before Meredith could answer, sliding the top drawer open. â€Å"What was Samantha's last name? Her file's probably under that.† â€Å"Dixon,† Meredith told her, pushing away the little shock she kept getting whenever anyone referred to Samantha in the past tense. It was just †¦ she'd been so ful of life. â€Å"And Christopher's was Nowicki.† Elena rifled through the files in both drawers, pul ing out first one thick folder and then a second. â€Å"Got them.† She opened Samantha's folder and made a sick little sound in her throat. â€Å"They're †¦ worse than I thought,† she said, her voice shaking as she looked at pictures from the murder scene. She turned over a few pages. â€Å"And here's the coroner's report. It says she died from blood loss.† â€Å"Let me see,† Meredith said. She took the file and made herself study the crime scene pictures to see if she had missed anything when she was there. Her eyes kept flinching away from Sam's poor defenseless body, so she swal owed hard and focused on the areas away from the body, the floor, the wal s of Samantha's room. â€Å"Blood loss because she was kil ed by a vampire? Or because there's so much blood everywhere else?† She was proud of how steady her own voice was, steadier than Elena's anyway. She held out the folder toward Damon. â€Å"What do you think?† she asked. Damon took the folder and studied the photos dispassionately, flipping a few pages to read the coroner's report. Then he held out his hand to Elena for Christopher's file and looked through that one as Well. â€Å"I can't tel anything for certain,† he said after a few minutes. â€Å"Just like with the bodies I found, they could have been kil ed by werewolves, who are primitive like this. Or it could have been sloppy vampires. Demons, easily. Even humans could do this, if they were sufficiently motivated.† Elena made a soft sound of denial, and Damon flashed his bril iant sudden grin at her. â€Å"Oh, don't forget that humans can come up with far more creative means of violence than some simple hungry monsters do, sweetheart.† Serious again, he looked down at the photographs once more. â€Å"I can tel you, though, that more than one creature – or person – was responsible.† His finger traced a line across one of the pictures, and Meredith forced herself to look. Bloodstains were spattered in wide arcs across the room, beyond Samantha's outstretched arms. â€Å"See the way the blood sprayed here?† Damon asked. â€Å"Someone held her hands and someone else held her feet, and at least one other, maybe more, kil ed her.† He flipped open Christopher's folder again. â€Å"Same thing. This might be evidence that werewolves are the culprits, since they like to travel in packs, but it isn't firm proof. You can get groups of almost anything. Even vampires: they're not al as self-sufficient as I am.† â€Å"Matt saw only one person – or whatever – near Chris's body, though,† Elena pointed out. â€Å"And he got there real y soon after Christopher screamed.† Damon waved a disparaging hand. â€Å"So they were fast,† he said. â€Å"A vampire could do it before a human had time to even react to the scream. Almost anything supernatural could. Speed comes with the package.† Meredith shuddered. â€Å"A whole pack of something,† she said numbly. â€Å"One would have been bad enough.† â€Å"A pack's much worse,† Damon agreed. â€Å"Are you ready to go now?† â€Å"We'd better check and see if there's anything else and then clean up,† Elena said. â€Å"Do you want to stand guard outside? I feel like we're real y tempting fate by staying here so long. You could give some kind of signal if you see someone coming or use your Power to get rid of them. Please?† Damon smiled at her flirtatiously. â€Å"I'l be your watchdog, princess, but only because it's you.† Meredith waited until he left to say dryly, â€Å"Speaking of dogs, remember when Damon kil ed Bonnie's pet pug?† Elena opened the top file drawer again and started going through it methodical y. â€Å"I don't want to talk about this, Meredith. It was Katherine who kil ed Yangtze, anyway.† â€Å"I just don't think you realize what you're getting into here,† Meredith said. â€Å"Damon's not terrific relationship material.† Elena's hands faltered in their efficient progress. â€Å"I don't †¦ it's not like that,† she said. â€Å"It's not a relationship, I don't want a relationship with anyone but Stefan.† Meredith frowned, confused. â€Å"Well, then, what – â€Å" â€Å"It's complicated,† Elena said. â€Å"I care about Damon, you know that. I'm seeing where things might go with him. There's something between us, there always has been. With Stefan gone† – her voice cracked – â€Å"I have to give it a chance. Just †¦ just let it alone for now, okay?† She picked up Samantha's folder to put it back in the drawer. Her lips were trembling, and Meredith was about to pursue the subject: she wasn't going to let it alone. Not when Elena was upset and somehow involved – more involved than she had been before – with Damon the dangerous vampire. But Elena interrupted her. â€Å"Huh,† she said. â€Å"What do you think this means?† Meredith craned to see what she was talking about, and Elena pointed. On the inside front of Samantha's file was written a large black V. She picked up Christopher's file. â€Å"This one, too,† she said, showing Elena. â€Å"Vampires?† Elena asked. â€Å"The Vitale Society? What else starts with V and might have to do with these murders?† â€Å"I don't know,† Meredith started to say, when they suddenly heard the rumble of a car engine pul ing up outside the building. A raucous caw came through the window. â€Å"That's Damon,† Elena said, shoving Christopher's file back into the cabinet. â€Å"If we don't want him to have to compel the whole security force, we'd better get out of here fast.†