Driving Age Essay Example for Free

Driving Age Essay Driving age Turning the age of fifteen is a huge step in the life of a teen. When becoming this age a new challenge is brought into the persons life, the task of driving a car. But are fifteen year olds ready for this task. Driving a car is a task that should only be taken on by teenagers over the age of eighteen, because they are more responsible and understand the risks involved. In this essay I will explain and give reasons on why I think that the driving age should be raised to be able to get your drivers license at. 102 First Argument Teenagers not needing vehicles In todays society the idea of fifteen, sixteen and seventeen year olds operating cars has become a way of life. But if one stops to think about it, there is no need for these drivers to be on the road. Most of these drivers still live at home and have no Job because theyre still in school. So they have no Job to drive to or from. To go to school they can take the bus or be dropped off by their parents. I know theres so many times when I want to drive somewhere because my parents arent home or I Just want o be by myself outside of the house. Im sure a lot of teenagers that are younger than sixteen cant wait to be able to get on the road. Maybe they arent responsible enough, but then they shouldnt be driving. 144 Second Argument Accidents are caused mostly by teenagers The dramatic increase in teen accidents has lead major portions of the public to favor the driving age to be raised to eighteen. The direct concern is over fifteen, sixteen and seventeen -year-old drivers if they are responsible and experienced nough to drive on the road. Most New Zealand citizens agree that accidents involving teen drivers are their lack of Judgment and irresponsibility as a driver, and as well as their lack of experience and poor attention to details. I believe that the increase in teen accidents may decrease if the driving age is raised to eighteen. 98 Teenagers between the ages of fifteen, sixteen and seventeen years of age are more prone to get in a car accident then an eighteen or nineteen-year-old driver. There is a mall percent of teens on the road that obey the traffic laws, but there are many teen drivers that are reckless and showoffs. They rather gamble their life away drag racing down the freeway or down the street then acting responsible and mature while driving. The consequences of unsafe or irresponsible teen driving a cause 77% of automobile accidents. Parents and other supporters may argue that there is no difference between an eighteen-year-old driver to a sixteen or seventeen year old driver between the amount of experience they have. 123

Management Information System Thesis Essay Example for Free

Management Information System Thesis Essay

The Importance of Feasibility Analysis

The Importance of Feasibility Analysis This report analyses the importance of Feasibility Analysis to businesses when they are deciding on the viability of a proposed business venture involving the implementation or improvement of an information system. This report is split into three parts the initial part defines a feasibility analysis, the second part explains how an IT feasibility analysis should be conducted using the template of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and the last section in this report examines a completed feasibility study by Powerco, a utilities distribution Company in New Zealand. What is a feasibility analysis? As the words feasibility analysis suggests a feasibility analysis is carried out to decide on the viability of a proposed venture; basically it answers the essential question of is it a viable option and should the project be implemented. All stages of the analysis are carried out in order to answer this question. When researching it is clear that the majority of all large successful businesses conduct a feasibility study to ensure they embark on a viable project, for example Microsoft have a large research department situated in many different cities throughout the globe, this department collaborates with many institutions producing many feasibility analyses a year. When examining successful businesses such as Microsoft, I discovered they will not commit to a new project without first thoroughly assessing all of the variables and reviewing the probability of success through a feasibility study. The feasibility analysis process As a feasibility analysis is often time consuming and expensive (many companies pay consultants to perform the analysis), a preliminary study is undertaken to determine if it would be worthwhile to proceed to the feasibility analysis, within this preliminary study the evaluation of alternatives is made along with brief cost and benefit analysis. A feasibility study is usually conducted after the project managers have discussed all project ideas and every possible scenario, only if the results are positive the feasibility study begins. The content of feasibility Analysis Within a feasibility study it is necessary to discuss a number of areas including; details of the present system; what are the functions and objectives, who are the Stakeholders and the reasons to improve or replace the current system for example inconsistencies / inadequacies in functionality or performance, is there any possible solution alternatives and the advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives. Feasibility analysis can be split into four types; Operational factors; Operational feasibility is used to assess how well the information systems will work if implemented in the given environment. Define the urgency of the project If the project is implemented, will it be a success? Does management support the project? How do end users feel about the new system? People tend to resist change can this problem be overcome? Can management and end users adapt to the change? Has the proposed venture conflicted with organisational or government regulations? Schedule factors; It often takes time to build and implement an information system solution; will the project still be necessary on completion? The technology may exist, but are there the skills available to not only complete the project but complete it on schedule? Is the project deadline reasonable? Is the deadline desirable or mandatory? What are the results of failing to meet the project deadline? Technical; Technical feasibility is the measure of the practicality of specific technical information system solutions and the availability of technical resources. Often new technologies are solutions looking for a problem to solve: Is the technology for the information system solution practical? Does the necessary technology exist? Is the technology proven? Is the technology practical and reliable? Are the necessary skills available to design and implement the system? Is there the infrastructure to cope with ongoing maintenance (problems, upgrades) Economic; This is regularly the most important analysis made, it asks important questions; Is the project justified (i.e. will benefits outweigh costs)? Can the project be done, within given cost constraints? What is the minimal cost to attain a certain system? Which alternative offers the best return on investment? How much will it cost to maintain? The 12 Stages of an ITIL Feasibility Analysis ITIL is a global guidance document that provides worlds best practices for IT service management companies. ITIL guidelines are often used in feasibility studies and are broken down into twelve stages. These twelve stages are described in this next section and if necessary a brief example has been given; Introduction It is important that an introduction to the feasibility analysis is made; this introduction includes the content, the intent, the intended audience, the purpose, and organizational details of the feasibility analysis. Management Summary This stage summarises, what the other stages within the template will explain in more detail; this section provides a quick overview of the feasibility analysis and would include the following, an Introduction, Management Summary, Background of the Project, Objectives, Situation, Benefits, Problems and Risks, Technical Requirements, Options, Cost/Benefit Analysis, Financial/Budget Implications and Recommendations Background to the Project A project is proposed for a specific scenario and this step describes the reason the proposal exists. For example; current sales are at a low due to increased competition, the proposal is for a new company website, where customers are able to buy directly. Objectives The high level business purposes of the proposal, including the long-range management goals. For example, the proposed project is to increase sales by an estimated 15% per annum over the next ten years. Situation This step describes the present condition, without the service in place, including market conditions, it is necessary to highlight the need for the proposed system, and the consequences of the proposal not being authorized. Benefits In the benefits section, it is necessary to focus on the short term benefits of the proposal; this is different to the objective stage which focuses on the long term gains and the cost-benefit step which focuses primarily on the financial benefits. An example of this could be the increased customer satisfaction of the proposed website. Problems and Risks It is important to identify and assess possible problems and risks of the proposed project associated with it within the development, design, and deployment stages. This is done by doing a risk assessment on the proposed system; this will be used to identify problems in many different areas, including technologies, lack of user support, or resources. Technical Requirements Has the business the technological infrastructure for the proposed system? These requirements include knowledge of the hardware and software required, for example, does the business possess the database architecture, network structures, and hardware to sustain the website, will it be necessary to outsource? Options It is recommended in the ITIL framework that a feasibility analysis includes any alternatives to the proposal, including advantages and disadvantages and costs. An example of this could be advertising to increase sales and would show the estimated cost of this. Cost/Benefit In this step, the total cost of the project is calculated; this includes development, design, deployment, and maintenance of the new service. Costs include facilities, hardware, labor, and software. The project cost is compared to the financial benefits provided by the proposed system. What are benefits? These are examples of benefits, more accurate / timely information. Improved operation, increased flexibility of operation, increased output, error reductions, cost reductions; benefits can be placed into three different categories; Monetary; when money values can be calculated, Tangible; when benefits can be quantified, but monetary values cannot be calculated. Intangible; when neither of the others apply, this applies there is a benefit, but it cannot be quantified. There are different types of costs; Project related; development, purchasing, Installation, training costs, Operational costs; these costs are often ongoing costs and include; Maintenance on the hardware; maintenance, lease, materials Software; maintenance fees and contracts Personnel; operation, maintenance There are a number of tools used, which helps in the economic section of the feasibility analysis these are; Cost-benefit analysis (CBA); which estimates and totals up the equivalent money value of the benefits and costs of proposed projects to establish whether they are worthwhile. Payback Analysis; which is used to calculate how long it will take to pay the costs of the project Return on Investment Analysis; which compares the lifetime profitability of alternative solutions, Net Present Value Analysis: using current monetary values, profitability is determined of the proposed project, Return On Investment (ROI) compares the lifetime profitability of alternative solutions, (Lifetime benefits Lifetime costs) Lifetime costs and finally you can compare alternatives with the feasibility analysis matrix. Financial/Budget Implications Once the overall costs have been established, it is necessary to verify if the necessary funds are available, if so how? This may result in changes to the budget or priorities and reducing expenditure to accommodate the costs. Recommendations In this final step recommendations regarding the proposal are made including scheduling and budgeting Summary In summary these twelve steps that make up the ITIL is among the first activities a manager will undertake in preparation for a proposal for a new IT service, though it is important to remember these steps make a general guide and different information systems may require amendments. Examples of feasibility analysis Though the majority of businesses keep their own feasibility analysis private, research identified an interesting feasibility analysis conducted by Powerco. In this section I will briefly review this feasibility analysis in a case study due to the word restrictions on this essay and the extensiveness of the ITIL framework. Powerco has an estimated 410,000 consumers which makes it one of New Zealands largest utilities Companies. These customers expect a reliable service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Powerco applications are split between two platforms; Oracle RAC and Microsoft SQL Server, which has meant that the business had additional expenses of licensing, supporting, operating, and maintaining two systems. Additionally it was awkward for staff to alternate between the systems when working. As the Oracle platform of Powercos warranty cycle was approaching expiration, and the financial system was scheduled an important upgrade, it was clear to the company that it was time to reassess its options and whether it should consolidate to a single server platform or replace existing hardware. Powerco acknowledged that to consolidate the database platforms would create a more simple IT environment and would reduce the total cost of the database system significantly. The case for consolidation was simple why maintain two systems if you dont need to? explains Mr. Griffiths, Infrastructure Manager, Powerco. Powerco undertook preliminary study of the solutions and assessed the pros and c ons of Oracle versus SQL Server. This analysis pointed towards some significant advantages in choosing SQL Server over Oracle. These included reduced licensing and maintenance costs, ease of management and fewer requirements for a specialised skill set to manage and service the system. A feasibility study of migrating to SQL Server was then completed by consultants on Powercos behalf including a cost/benefit analysis, a risk assessment, analysis of the alternatives and the four factors discussed earlier in this report, this confirmed Powercos applications could be supported on SQL Server, with the remaining end of life applications being replaced with SQL Server compatible ones, the feasibility study showed that unlike other options Microsoft SQL Server, serving could be done in-house. Microsofts SQL Server was the cheapest option to license, maintain, and support, particularly because of the specialised nature of Oracle. The business would be more streamline and efficient with just the single platform. Increases security. Further Tangible and Non-tangible benefits. Due to the results of the feasibility study, Powerco changed from the two platforms to solely Microsoft SQL Server, the result of this consolidation has meant Powerco has been able to reduce costs significantly, also ensuring it was easier to maintain and manage in-house and eliminating the need for external consultants. The migration to SQL Server has cut the overall cost of ownership by $390,000 a year, also helping to streamline Powercos IT systems and have given a number of other Tangible and Non-tangible benefits. Conclusion In conclusion this report has explained what a feasibility study is and when it should be used, I have then reviewed the various stages which are recommended by the IT industry experts at the ITIL and have given an example of a successful feasibility study undertaken by Powerco. I believe to be objective this report should have explored examples of a unsuccessful feasibility study, however this was not possible due to my research not providing any suitable cases, but still the findings of this report are clear, it is advisable to do a feasibility analysis, as it is tried and tested and the vast majority of large and established companies use this method to check the viability of a proposed venture and are taking a substantial risk if a feasibility study is not carried out before embarking on new project.

Kurt Vonnegut :: Writers Authors Literature Essays

Kurt Vonnegut Coming from a German background, the first thing I thought of was the name of a writer that had written one of my favorite books. I went onto the internet to try to find out if he had in fact come from the same origin as my family. This was tough at first because the only thing it revealed was that Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indiana on November 11, 1922 (Grolier Incorporated). After looking to find out where his great-grandfather came from, it revealed that Clemens Vonnegut Sr. emigrated from Germany in 1848 (Shaping the Circle). I picked writing about this writer because he has written one of the most interesting books in my mind, Slaughterhouse-Five which I will use as my topic. In the book many different adventures take place that makes this novel have a different feel. The adventures that take place happen for a multitude of reasons. It gives this book a twist in a way that you seem to have an outside view of what is going on in the plot. Billy's memories and his stream of consciousness are used to give sensory impressions of his actions and thoughts by his time travel, as well as also provide other details in his life and World War II (Schatt 89). Billy encounters a sleep-like state when he becomes â€Å"unstuck in time (Vonnegut 29)† and this occurs for different reasons. One of the major reasons for Billy to become â€Å"unstuck in time† is the atrocities of the Holocaust, together with the firebombing of Dresden, make for such painful memories. â€Å"Because of the shock of this event, Billy becomes a perpetual prisoner of war, returning again and again in his mind to this scene (â€Å"Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade†).† Within the book, Dresden seems to be the center of all the major action taking place. It is no wonder almost all Billy's thoughts is his remembrance of his wartime encounters during his captivation as a prisoner. Kurt Vonnegut then has Billy put into the sleep-like state in which he only remembers pieces at a time to put his mind more at ease. This method makes the story rather confusing, but puts what is going on more into perspective. It shows how a man th at experienced such a catastrophe might have to deal with what he went through by his thoughts (Schatt 88-89). Kurt Vonnegut :: Writers Authors Literature Essays Kurt Vonnegut Coming from a German background, the first thing I thought of was the name of a writer that had written one of my favorite books. I went onto the internet to try to find out if he had in fact come from the same origin as my family. This was tough at first because the only thing it revealed was that Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indiana on November 11, 1922 (Grolier Incorporated). After looking to find out where his great-grandfather came from, it revealed that Clemens Vonnegut Sr. emigrated from Germany in 1848 (Shaping the Circle). I picked writing about this writer because he has written one of the most interesting books in my mind, Slaughterhouse-Five which I will use as my topic. In the book many different adventures take place that makes this novel have a different feel. The adventures that take place happen for a multitude of reasons. It gives this book a twist in a way that you seem to have an outside view of what is going on in the plot. Billy's memories and his stream of consciousness are used to give sensory impressions of his actions and thoughts by his time travel, as well as also provide other details in his life and World War II (Schatt 89). Billy encounters a sleep-like state when he becomes â€Å"unstuck in time (Vonnegut 29)† and this occurs for different reasons. One of the major reasons for Billy to become â€Å"unstuck in time† is the atrocities of the Holocaust, together with the firebombing of Dresden, make for such painful memories. â€Å"Because of the shock of this event, Billy becomes a perpetual prisoner of war, returning again and again in his mind to this scene (â€Å"Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade†).† Within the book, Dresden seems to be the center of all the major action taking place. It is no wonder almost all Billy's thoughts is his remembrance of his wartime encounters during his captivation as a prisoner. Kurt Vonnegut then has Billy put into the sleep-like state in which he only remembers pieces at a time to put his mind more at ease. This method makes the story rather confusing, but puts what is going on more into perspective. It shows how a man th at experienced such a catastrophe might have to deal with what he went through by his thoughts (Schatt 88-89).

General George Smith Patton Essay -- Papers

General George Smith Patton A burning desire to go forth and reach personal conquests exists inside every man. This passion often navigates the would-be hero into a state of tragedy involving pain and suffering for those around. One individual, in particular, inflicted strain and duress on others with a harsh, and often criticized unorthodox style of leading when he took his campaign across Europe and into Germany. General George Smith Patton, Jr. led an expedition across a continent to rid the world of its Nazi powers. This journey marked the conquest of perhaps the world's greatest war general and his reputable demeanor. Patton experienced respect and admiration throughout his life, starting very early when he was just an infant. He was born into a highly respected and extremely wealthy family in San Gabriel, California. It was this early taste of good fortune that allowed Patton to develop a taste for fine things such as horses. Growing up he was an avid polo player and became very good especially in college. After attending exquisite private schools, Patton left and attended the U.S. Military Academy and graduated in 1909. (WB 140) After his graduation, Patton joined the cavalry and eventually served in World War I. Patton was an excellent physical specimen and a strong addition to any early fighting battalion. Along to go with his sleek build was a strong mentality of perseverance and excellence, which he drilled into his life everyday. "From his earliest years, he believed himself destined to be a soldier. Much of his life was spent in the limelight. As a young cavalry officer and well-rounded athlete, he competed in five events during the 1912 Olympic games held in Stockholm, Sweden. He placed ... ... Essame, H. Patton: A Study in Command. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1974. Farago, Ladislas. The Last Days of Patton. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company. 1981. Mysak, Joe. "Patton: The Man Behind the Legend 1885-1945." National Review. 38 (April 25, 1994): 52-53. "An Educated Army." Africe News Service. 11 Feb. 2000: 179. Patton. Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner. 20th Century Fox, 1970. New Line Home Video, 1985. "Patton." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Second Edition. 12. Orozco-Radisson. Cole. Detroit. 1998. "Patton's Plan for Winning the War." Newsweek. 8 Mar. 1999: 48. "General George S. Patton, Jr. Biography." 2000 WriteForCash.com. http://www.allsands.com/generalgeorgep_ra_gn.htm. "George Smith Patton, Jr." GSP. 1 Jun. 1998. http://www.angelfire.com/sys/popup_source.shtml.

Creative Story: In Short :: essays research papers

Creative Story: In Short   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It all started not so long ago. In fact, though I can't be completely sure about it, I think it was only five months ago. My name is Jeff Washburn and I am a surgeon. Not that long ago my life under went a huge change. Unfortunately a huge misfortune had to take place first. Not that long ago, I had a terrible thing happen to me. A misfortune led to my being expelled from the hospital and my medical license being revoked. Two patients died on me. I might have gotten away with only one but the board of directors are good at finding patterns. Don't get me wrong, I want these people to die. I just happened to be drunk at the time. Now I drink even more just to soften the constant hangover. The hearing were probably the worst part of whole ordeal. Three weeks of being put in the spotlight. Every inch of my life was put under a big magnifying glass. Every mistake I made in the last fourteen years was read bunch of know-nothings who sit and pretend to run a hospital. The mistakes weren't very frequent, at least, not until I started to drink.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I suppose you want to know the reason I started to drink. Well, I mess up big time during a triple bypass and killed a patient. That's when the drinking started and the drinking lead to the death of another patient. Now I drink even more and remember even less which means its working.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  About a month ago I left England, which is where I worked, and moved here to a small fishing island off the coast of France. There is no doctor on the island so they welcomed me, sort of. I scare them I suppose. They're afraid they might catch me when I'm to drunk to work properly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But now things are different. About three weeks ago I had a big wake-up call. I was sitting in my normal Sunday drunken stupor when a man was brought in to my office. This man had been seriously injured by gun shot wounds. Apparently he had be found in the ocean by a group of fishermen. I knew that I could not perform the necessary surgery in my present condition. I bandaged him up and stooped the major bleeding. Then I took two hours and did all I could to dry out. With my condition a little better I performed the most delicate surgery of my life. For another hour I scrubbed at the wound in his head.

Project Report on Performance Appraisal Essay

It is not constituted by individual sounds but by their accurately measure the performance of its members and use it objectively to optimize them as vital resources. The performance of an employee is his resultant behavior on task which can be bserved and evaluated. It refers to the contribution made by an individual in the accomplishment of organizational objectives. Performance can be measured by combining quantity, quality, time and cost. People do not learn unless they are given feedback on the results of their actions. For learning to take place, feedback should be provided regularly and it should register both successes and failures. It should also follow soon after the relevant action or actions. Performance appraisal system provides management an opportunity to recall as well as give feedback to people. This feedback is pertaining the performance of the worker. This helps them to correct their mistakes and acquire new skills. Performance appraisal (PA) refers to all those procedures that are used to evaluate the personality, the performance and the potential of its group members. Evaluation is different from Judgment. The former is concerned with performance and the latter is concerned with the individual. While evaluation deals with achievement of goals, a Judgment has an undercurrent of personal attack and is likely to evoke resistance. Performance appraisal could be informal or formal. Informal performance appraisal is a continuous process of feeding back information o the subordinates about how well they are doing their work in the organization. The informal appraisal is conducted on a day-today basis. For example, the manager spontaneously mentions that a particular piece of work was well performed or poorly performed. It is due to the close connection between the behavior and the feedback on it, the informal appraisal quickly encourages desirable performance and discourages undesirable performance before it becomes permanently ingrained. Therefore, informal appraisal should not be perceived merely as a casual occurrence but as an important activity and an integral part of the organization’s culture. The formal performance appraisal occurs usually annually on formal basis and involves appraise and appraiser in finding answers to the following questions: 1 . What performance level has to be achieved during the period? 2. Has it been achieved? 3. What has been the shortfall and constraints? 4. What are we going to do now? 5. How will we know that we have done it? 6. What kind of feedback can be expected? 7. What assistance can be expected to improve performance? 8. What rewards and opportunities are likely to follow from the performance appraisal? When the employees have this type of information, they are aware of the following pecifications:- 2. What assistance is available? 3. What can they expect when the required level of performance is achieved? This increases employee acceptance of the appraisal process and results in the trust that the employee has in the organization. An environment that affords an opportunity for further growth while minimizing stressful situations certainly enhances appraisal acceptance. Establishing this type of environment goes far beyond the performance appraisal process. Every aspect of managing people and their work relates to the improvement of their quality of work life. Performance appraisal is an integral part of trusting, healthy and happy work environment that goes a long way in promoting the same. Performance appraisal has been used for the following three purposes: Remedial Maintenance Development A performance appraisal needs to cover all these three purposes with the same focus. If any purpose predominates, the system becomes out of balance. For instance, if remedial purpose is foremost, then the performance appraisal may become a disciplinary tool, a form of a charge sheet and a tool of power instead of instrument of evaluation.