Youth Violence Essay -- Papers Children Child Violent

Youth Violence Violence is a learned behavior. Children often experience violence for the first time in their lives in their homes or in the community. This first taste of violence may include their parents, family members or their friends. Studies have shown that children who witness violent acts, either as a victim or as a victimizer, are more likely to grow up to become involved in violence. During our second weekend class, we talked specifically about violence and youth. For many young people who have already developed a pattern of violent behavior, the probability that this way of life will endure into their adult lives is very likely. I believe that aggression is often learned very early in a child's life. For the growing trend in youth violence to subside, I assert that parents and many others must make every attempt to educate themselves and to implement methods that will reduce and ultimately prevent much of this violent behavior. Parents most often play the greatest positive role in a child's life by raising them in homes where they feel safe, secure and loved...

From Anxiety to Power: Grammar and Crisis in Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

In the article â€Å"From Anxiety to Power: Grammar and Crisis in Crossing Brooklyn Ferry†, by Roger Gilbert, he talks about Walt Whitman’s poem â€Å"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry†. Gilbert feels that this poem is odd for Whitman because he â€Å"never speaks directly of death† (339). He says that â€Å"Whitman’s tone remains resolutely ebullient† (341), even though death is also present throughout the poem. Whitman’s struggle with death is figured in the poem to be a struggle with writing and to cross out of writing and into speech. He wants to start writing about life and power, not death and absence. Whitman really thought out the title of the poem. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry† is a crisis poem because of his need to â€Å"overcome the deathliness of writing and to return to the spoken idiom that is Whitman’s truest mode† (342). Gilbert feels that the crossing carries the poet from the â€Å"face of death† to â€Å"a renewed sense of his own power†. In the poem, Whitman uses a second person pronoun, which is rare to see. The article asks why Whitman uses the phrase â€Å"face to face†. Gilbert says the answer is because â€Å"objects have become people, people in turn have become objects† (343). This allows them to be mastered by Whitman, but also the passengers let him know that he isn’t impervious to death. When Whitman says the word you in his poem, he in the end talks about â€Å"the future commuters† (344). As you read more into the poem, you see that the poet is â€Å"metamorphosed from a me† to a scheme that no longer goes with the object-world. Towards the end of the poem, Whitman becomes more passive, which is very uncharacteristic of him. When he says â€Å"The current rushing so swiftly and swimming with me far away†, he hints that he is disappearing from the scene. Also after Whitman talks about the sunset and falling back to sea, you can see how prominent death is in the poem. In my opinion, Gilbert does a good job of interpreting Whitman’s poem.

Corinth and the Church

First Century Corinth The Epistles to the Corinthians were written by the apostle Paul in the mid 50’s A. D. These were letters written to a church community that, according to the book of Acts, Paul had a hand in founding on an earlier journey (Acts 18:9). The epistles themselves speak much about the cultural, economic, and spiritual significance of this very heavily Roman influenced Greek city located on the Isthmus of Corinth. By examining the epistles and further historical source, the context and importance of first century Corinth will be explored. The city of Corinth as it is in the first century A. D. as founded as a Roman colony in 44 B. C. by the Emperor Julius Caesar. In just one century since it’s re-founding, Corinth had become a very cosmopolitan city through its strategic location that was conducive for trade, its large and very multicultural population, and the favor it had in the region as a colony of the mighty Roman Empire. When Corinth was resettled, the Roman Empire populated it with a diverse cross section of the cultures contained within the empire at the time. Italians and Greeks would be the primary colonists along with Hellenized Jews, but also among the settlers were freed Judean slaves and other middle-easterners. Morris 18) This made for a melting pot of traditions, customs, and beliefs. And in conjunction with the economic promise of the city, this relative freedom and safety produced some interesting problems for the spiritual life of the Corinthian church that Paul was out to address in his epistles. Corinth was located strategically on an isthmus that happened to be nearly equidistant between Greece’s other two major cities in the region, Sparta and Athens. In a stretch of less than five miles, this area contained a port on each side of the isthmus.The eastern port had easily defended water access toward Asia Minor, south to northern Africa, and to the rest of the Mediterranean. The crucial port on the west of the isthmus had access to the Italian peninsula, the heart of the Roman Empire, and further west. (Constable) Even before the refounding of the city and the Hellenistic period, a paved trackway was constructed that allowed for cargo to be transported by dry land to the other side. (The location of first century Corinth added to its prominence in the Roman Empire, added to its wealth, and attracted people from all over the empire.Paul states in 1 Corinthians 1:26 that, â€Å"not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. † So it can be said that the majority of the church in Corinth was not of the upper class, although it is likely there are plenty of important figures in the cities’ life that could be members of the church in Corinth. (Jongkind 139) In the book of Romans, also written by Paul (most probably written during his stay in Corinth), he mentions two likely wealthy people: Gaius, Paul’s host, and Erastus, the treasurer of the city (Romans 16:2 3). Morris 21) Also, within the book of Acts, it is recorded that upon hearing Paul, many believed and were baptized, including Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue (Acts 18:8). The diversity within the city was likely well represented in the demographics of the church. This diversity was deeper than just economic status. Within the city were members of the Imperial Cult, Jews, adherents to the philosophies of the day, and worshippers of the Greco/Roman gods, most predominantly Aphrodite.This caused many tensions for Paul to address, like issues regarding food that had been sacrificed to idols (1 Corinthians 8), and unity and equality based in faith and not in social status (2 Corinthians 8). First Century Corinth was not unlike the New York City of today, diverse, esteemed, wealthy, and alive. Works Cited Constable, Thomas. â€Å"Notes on 1 Corinthians: Historical Background. † SonicLight. com. Web. 2012. Elwell, W. A. , & Beitzel, B. J. 1988. Baker encyclopedia of the Bible. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, MI Freedman, David Noel, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible.Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. Garland, D. E. 2003. 1 Corinthians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, MI Jongkind, Dirk. â€Å"Corinth in the First Century AD: the search for another class. † Tyndale Bulletin. 2001: 139-148. Print. Kistemaker, S. J. , & Hendriksen, W. 1953-2001. Vol. 18: Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. New Testament Commentary. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids Morris, Leon. The First epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: an introduction and commentary. Leicester, England Grand Rapids, Mich: Inter-Varsity Press Eerdmans, 1983

Englands 2018 World Cups Host Bid

Englands 2018 World Cups Host Bid Introduction Different scholars from different fields and background give varying definitions of the concept project. However, they are all in agreement with regard to some of the defining features of a project. A distillation of these definitions views a project as a temporary set of activities with defined time frame and conditions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on England’s 2018 World Cup’s Host Bid specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The activities have a clear starting point and an ending point, and several parties or stakeholders are involved in execution of the various tasks (Reiss 2005). A project has several characteristics that set it apart from other activities that are undertaken in an organisation or by a group of people. One of them is a budget, given the fact that a project operates with a clearly set budget. There is also a set of clearly defined responsibilities, meaning that each party in the project is tasked with the performance of given duties aimed at meeting the objectives. A projective also has objectives, which are the aims or goals that the project intends to achieve within a defined timeframe. Several factors lead to the success or failure of a project. Frese and Sauter (2003) bemoan the fact that not all projects that are initiated can be deemed as success. They cite the case of projects that are initiated in the information and technology (herein referred to as IT) sector, where almost 70 percent of all the projects that are initiated ends up as project failures (Frese and Sauter 2003). This is despite the amount of resources, financial and otherwise, that has gone into these projects. A project is defined or conceptualised as a success if it meets the objectives that were set out in the planning phase. It can also be deemed as a success if it is completed within the defined time frame, and using the budget that was allocated in the planning phase. This me ans that not all projects that are completed are deemed as success stories (Bartholomew 2007). For example, a project may have been completed within the set deadline but failed to meet the objectives of the target clients.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, there are several attributes that defines a project as a failure. This is for example a project that failed to beat the deadline, meaning that it stretched way beyond the set end point (Bartholomew 2007). Another is a project that used more resources than initially allocated or planned for, in other words, a project that could not be completed within the set budgetary allocation. A project may also be considered as a failure if it is not completed for various reasons. This is for example the withdrawal of the sponsors, or if the implementers found out that the objectives of the project will not b e met. Most importantly, a project that fails to meet the objectives that were set out in the planning phase is also regarded as a failure. This is regardless of whether the project was completed or not. There are several factors that may result into project failure. This is for example inadequate resources, lack of commitment on the part of the personnel or stakeholders that are involved in the project, lack of clearly identified goals and objectives, as well as lack of adequate project planning among others. This means that project management is very crucial, and it has to be undertaken before the implementation of the project in order to identify potential risks and ways to deal with those risks should they arise. Various projects have received considerable media publicity as a result of them having been regarded as failures. This is especially so if the projects were implemented on a grand scale and a lot of resources went into them. A case in point is the unsuccessful Englands bid to host 2018 world cup, a bid that was lost to Russia (Nakrani 2010). This bid drew a lot of attention for various reasons. First, England is regarded as the â€Å"mother of football† (Nakrani 2010), considering the fact that the game is said to have originated in this country. Second, a lot of resources went into this bid, considering the fact that the campaign cost the tax payer approximately 15 million pounds. Third, despite this large scale spending, the country lost the bid. This paper is going to look at project failures, the reasons why projects fail and recommendations on how these failures can be averted or mitigated using project management techniques. The paper will take Englands 2018 world cup host bid that failed as the case study. The bid will be regarded as a failed project for the purpose of this study.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on England’s 2018 World Cup’s Host Bid specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The researcher will explain why they have selected this bid as a failed project, recognising the various aspects of the project that identify it as so. Second, the project will be critically analysed with the aim of detailing the probable underlying reasons on why the project failed. Finally, recommendations will be provided on how effective project management could have helped in averting the failure. England’s World Cup’s 2018 Host Bid: An Overview It is important at this juncture to take a look at the bid and the various aspects that surrounded it. This will provide a context for the rest of the discourse that will follow throughout the paper. This overview will also highlight on some of the aspects of this bid that qualified it as a project worth noting. The bidding process has a long time frame, having been set in motion in the year 2007. On October 31 this year, Englands Football Association (herein referred to as FA) announced that th e country will be placing a bid to host the 2018 world cup finals (Fitzgerald 2010). This set the start date for the bid, giving it an appearance of a project. The following year mostly involved the compilation of the team that will head the bid. On October 12 2008, Lord Triesman, who was the Football Association chairman at the time, was appointed and confirmed as the chairman of the team that will be pushing the bid (Seamark, Shipman and Martin 2010). Board members and other technical support staff are named and confirmed this year. This culminated in the appointment of Andy Anson as the chief executive of the bid team (Seamark et al 2010). On January 27, the official bid is submitted to FIFA (Fitzgerald 2010), and this was followed shortly by the official launch of the bid on May 18 (Nakrani 2010). The latter took place in Wembley stadium, a star studded event that brought together David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Gordon Brown, creating a nexus between sports and politics in the b id (Nakrani 2010). The bid process faced a lot of challenges, ranging from media criticism to resignation of board members. For example, the board team was criticised for leaving out members of the England premier league, and this led to a hasty inclusion of Sir Richards into the team (Nakrani 2010). The team is also criticised for the slow progress it was making, with the public fearing that the deadline for the submission of the bid will not be met. Later on in the year, sir Richards resigned from the board, creating another round of negative publicity for the bid team.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On May 14 2010, the bid book is officially presented to FIFA president Sepp Blatter in the federation’s headquarters in Zà ¼rich, Switzerland (Seamark et al 2010). A crisis was to follow two days after the submission of the bid book, as the chairman resigned following a scandal in which he was taped making negative comments about the conduct of some countries in 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. His place is taken by Geoff Thomson, a few months into the announcement of the successful bid by FIFA. On December 2, 2010, the announcement is made after 22 FIFA officials have cast their votes. England is eliminated in the first round of the voting, having attained only two votes. Russia emerges victorious in the second round of voting, winning the bid to host 2018 world cup finals (Nakrani 2010). There are several reasons that are cited as having led to the failure of the bid, given the fact that Englands bid was regarded as one of the best technically. The chief executive of t he bid team was of the view that last minute switch of sides by members of the voting team may have led to the loss. There are also aspersions that a media exposure by BBC into the alleged corruption of FIFA top officials may have played against the country’s bid. Prince William, Prime Minister David Cameron and the bid team chief executive Andy Anson had spent the last hours leading to the voting lobbying the FIFA officials that were going to vote, but this did little to create a win for the nation (Seamark et al 2010). The bid had several characteristics that defined it as a project. For example, it had a budget, which was set at 15 million pounds, a characteristic of a budget. The activities of the bid were temporary, and had a clear commencement and end date. There were also individuals or members of staff that were involved in actualising the activities of the bid. Given the fact that the objectives of the bid were not achieved, it can be regarded as a failed project. En glands 2018 World Cup Host Bid: A Failed Project There are several characteristics that are distinct to a failed or a failing project. An analysis of a project that has already failed reveals that there are features that separate it from a project that was considered as a success. Similarly, a project that is on its way to failure can be distinguished from a project that is destined for success (Bernard 2007). Englands world cup 2018 host bid was identified earlier in this paper as a form of a project. It was later regarded as a failed project, given the fact that it shares some distinct characteristics with a typical failed project. These characteristics are as discussed below: Lack of Planning One major characteristic of a failed project is the fact that it lacks planning. Meredith (2008) is of the view that project planning is one of the most important stages in the project cycle. This is given the fact that it is at this stage potential risks and obstacles that could hinder the implementation of the project are identified. However, if the project is implemented without sufficient planning, it is likely that some issues will emerge during project implementation and they will endanger the success of the project. A critical analysis of Englands bid will reveal that there was little planning that went into the project, if any. It is a fact beyond doubt that a feasibility study was carried out before the initiation of the bid (Nakrani 2010). However, apart from the feasibility study, there was no other discernible form of planning that went into the implementation of the bid. For example, there was no collection of data regarding the attitude of FIFA towards the bid. The bid team relied on comments that were made to media by Sepp Blatter and other officials of FIFA regarding the likelihood of Englands success in the bidding process (Seamark et al 2010). There was no scientific collection of data before the implementation or initiation of the bid. Unmet Objectiv es Another major characteristic of a failed project is the fact that it fails to meet the objectives specified in the mission and vision of the project (Kerzner 2001). When every project is initiated, the intention of the implementers is to meet certain objectives or goals. The inputs in the project are organised in such a way that specified outputs are met. However, there are cases where, for a number of reasons, the outputs desired or envisaged are not attained. The bid placed by England was no exception to this end. The inputs, which included the money used, the activities of the bid members among others were meant to attain specified outputs. The aim was to successfully lobby the FIFA officials to make them vote for England to host the world cup finals. However, this was not attained, and as such, the project can be regarded as having failed. The bid team was unable to convince the FIFA officials to vote for England, meaning that all the inputs that were used in the project did not give rise to the desired outputs. Lack of Stakeholders’ Representation It is noted that most of the projects that are regarded as failures have failed to include all the stakeholders in the planning and implementation of the project. There are several stakeholders in a project, and the number and type of stakeholders depend on the type of project that is being implemented (Pinto 2007). They may include the end users, the project financiers, and the implementers among others. All of them need to be included in every step of the project cycle. A critical analysis of Englands bid, an analysis done through the lens of project management, will reveal that some stakeholders were left out of the process. This means that the perspectives of those stakeholders that were left out were not taken into consideration during the implementation of the project. For example, the premier league is a critical stakeholder in Englands football. This being the case, it was a foregone conclusion that this team would be included in the bid team. However, this was not the case. It was only on March 2009, two years after the bid process was initiated, that the premier league was included in the bid (Seamark et al 2010). This was after criticisms were levelled at the technical team in the bid committee, and the representative of the premier league, Dave Richards, was only in the team for a period of eight months. He resigned on November 24 the same year, meaning that the premier league was not represented in a larger part of the bid process. Low Staff Morale According to Hides, Irani, Polychronakis and Sharp (2000), there is need throughout the life of the project to maintain the morale of the members of staff that are involved in the implementation of the project. This ensures that all the members of the team act in unison, pulling in the same direction. However, if there is no staff morale, the members of the team are likely to act individually, and coherence of action will be lacking. Low staff morale manifests itself in high rate of staff turnover, infighting within the team, lack of co-operation among others. These characteristics were visible in the bid project, indicating low staff morale and in extension, a failed project. For example, there was a lot of infighting within the bid team. For example, on November 16th, 2009, Kris Dent, who was the communications director of the team, withdraws from the bid team (Nakrani 2010). He is followed shortly by premier league chairman, Dave Richards, who withdraws on November 24th, the same year. The latter cites infighting in the bid team as the major reason why he withdrew. These are all indications of the fact that things were not good within the bid team. There was low morale, which might have led to the failure of the project. Englands 2018 World Cup Host Bid: Why Did the Project Fail? There are several reasons why the Englands bid to host the 2018 world cup finals was a failure. Several factors led to this failure, and these factors will be analysed in this section. Every project, as earlier indicated, has inputs and outputs. The inputs are integrated during the activities of the project, and they give rise to the outputs. The figure below depicts the relationship between inputs (resource), activities (function) and the outputs (performance) of a project: Figure 1: Project Inputs and Outputs Source: Frese and Sauter 2003 Going back to the Englands bid, it is obvious that the inputs did not give rise to the desired outputs. Something might have gone wrong either during the input stage, or during the activities or functions of the project. A detailed analysis of possible underlying reasons for failure follows: Poor Risk Management Every project is likely to face unexpected events in the course of implementation, events that may put at risk of becoming a failure. These are what Maylor (2002) refers to as risks. These unexpected happenstances may lead to delays or budget overruns, m aking the project a failure. This is for example when the project runs out of resources in the course of implementation due to unforeseen increase in the price of inputs. Another factor that may lead to this is when members of staff start leaving, leading to deficiency of technical expertise in the project. Other unforeseen events may be external to the project, such as change in environment and such others. One unforeseen event may lead to a domino effect, where other events come on its wake, further jeopardising the project. This being the case, there is a need to take formal risk management during the planning stage of the project cycle. This is where contingency plans are put in place to cushion the project against unforeseen events. This is for example setting aside some extra funds to cater for budget overruns. The bid by England appeared to be mired by a lot of risks in the course of implementation, risks that the project manager, in this case Andy Anson, appeared ill prepare d for. One of them is the investigative piece that was done by BBC on the corrupt dealings of the FIFA officials. Andy Anson appeared unable to respond to this risk, and this is one of the reasons why the FIFA officials failed to vote for England. There were also other cases of negative media publicity. This is for example when Lord Triesman was secretly recorded by the media making negative comments regarding the 2010 FIFA world cup finals in South Africa. Over Optimism This happens when the project manager underestimates the requirements of the project. For example, the project manager may assume that the project will take a short time to be fully implemented, failing to take into account unforeseen events that may hinder it. The project manager may have lacked enough information or knowledge regarding the full extent of the project (Burke 2006). The England bid team appeared to be over-confident, assuming that the country will win the bid and the bidding process was just a formal ity. Their spirits were falsely buoyed by comments that were made to media by some of the FIFA officials. For example, on July 5th, 2009, FIFA official Franz Beckenbauer said that England was ready to host the finals â€Å"tomorrow† (Seamark et al 2010). The bid team appeared to be arrogant in the process of making the bid, as they assumed that the country will win the hosting bid. They failed to plan for unforeseen events such as the switching sides of some of the delegates a few days before the voting process. Lack of Project Management Pinto (2007) is of the view that some project managers fail to plan for their project for several reasons. For example, the deadline may be tight, meaning that they lack to take a detailed project planning before the onset of the project. This means that when the project gets out of control in the process of implementation, it is hard to recover it due to lack of contingency plans. As earlier indicated, there was no adequate planning in the bidding process. There were a lot of assumptions made by the bid team members, for example the fact that they stood a better chance to win the bid. As such, the bidding process, or the project, was just a formality. Recommendations: How Effective Project Management Could Have Helped Avert the Project Failure How to Handle Poor Risk Management To avert the failure that comes with poor risk management, there are several strategies that the project manager can adopt. One of them is listing all the activities that need to be carried out in the course of the project. During this listing, potential risks will be identified. It is also important for the project management to try and figure out what can possibly go wrong in the course of project implementation (Reiss 2005). To this end, project managers are advised to avoid looking at only the major risks that may occur; they should look at the small risks also, as these may get out of control and endanger the project. Each of the risks ide ntified needs to be prioritised, meaning that they need to be listed as high, medium or low (McManus and Trevor 2011: Hinchcliffe 2009). The prioritised should be in terms of the likelihood of the risk to occur, and the impact that the risk is likely to have on the project (Meredith 2008: Bernard 2007). Plans should then be made on how to deal with the risks, depending on their likelihood to occur and the impact on the project. Andy Anson and the bid team should have planned for these risks before the implementation of the project. In this phase of planning, possible risks such as the negative publicity from the media, the switching of sides of the delegates and such others would have been identified. Prioritising of the risks would have enabled the bid team to come up with contingency plans to deal with the risks. Project Management and Over Optimism One of the strategies to deal with this problem is to take enough time before the implementation of the project to comprehend the wor k that will be carried out during the implementation (Bernard 2007: Frese and Sauter 2003). If the project manager feels that the project is not possible, or it is hard to attain the objectives of the project using the resources set aside for the project, they should communicate the same to the stakeholders such as the financiers. The manager should ensure that they agree to the project only if they are sure that the project can be implemented (Meredith 2008). This will help in averting failures or challenges that may be insurmountable as the project is underway (Meredith 2008). These are the strategies that the bid team should have adopted to avoid the pitfalls of over optimism. Instead of blindly agreeing to the task, Anson Andy and his colleagues should have taken the time to fully understand all the dynamics that might have come into play during the implementation. For example, they should have taken into consideration the fact that they were dealing with humans, who are very un predictable. Anson and colleagues should have taken into consideration the fact that there are many things that would have gone wrong in the implementation of the project. For example, even if the country stood a good chance of winning the bid, they should have been aware of the fact that England being the mother of football is not enough to win the bid. Lack of Project Management Project managers should be aware of the fact that project planning is very important, and it is like creating a road map for the whole project cycle (Reiss 2005). This is the roadmap that will be followed during the implementation of the project, with alterations as necessary. Adjustments should be made to the project plan as needed, given the fact that there are unseen events that may arise during the implementation of the project. A project that is not planned is likely to fail, given the fact that the environment within which the project is carried out is very unpredictable. Things can change without no tice, and if the project manager was not prepared for these changes, the project is likely to fail. Anson Andy and the rest of the bid team needed to carry out project management to attain the objectives of the project. Apart from the feasibility study that was carried out, there was not any other form of planning that was evident in the whole of the bidding process. This means that the bidding team was ill prepared for the changes that they encountered during the implementation of the bid. For example, they had not planned on the action to take should the delegates they were relying on switched sides. This lack of preparation was evident in the reactions of the bid team when the country lost the bid to Russia. Anson was quoted as saying that â€Å"it really (hurts) when people you were counting on let you down† (Nakrani 2010: 3). This means that they had not planned for such an event. Conclusion Not all projects that are initiated ends up as successes, despite the fact that a huge amount of resources may have been used on the project. There are several reasons that make a project be regarded as a failure. This is for example when the project fails to achieve the objectives envisaged, or when the budget overruns the budget or deadline set aside. This failure if brought about by several factors. This is for example the lack of planning on the part of the project management team, over optimism and lack of project management. This is in addition to poor risk management, meaning that there were not contingency plans that were in place. This paper looked at Englands bid to host 2018 world cup finals, a project that was deemed as a failure. The project was a failure because it failed to achieve the objectives set and it had no discernible plan among other factors. The project also lacked risk management, was mired my over optimism and lacked project management. Recommendations on how project management may have averted this failure were identified. References Bartholomew, D 2007. 4 steps to prevent project failure. Web. Available from: baselinemag.com/c/a/Projects-Management/4-Steps-to-Prevent-Project-Failure/ . Bernard, A 2007. 10 warning signs of project failure. Web. Available from: cioupdate.com/budgets/article.php/11051_3686106_1/10-Warning-Signs-of-Project-Failure.htm . Burke, R 2006. Project management, planning and control techniques. London: John Wiley Sons. Fitzgerald, G 2010. ‘Liars’: FIFA accused over world cup vote. Sky News, December 3, 2010. Frese, R., and Sauter, V 2003. Project success and failure: What is success, what is failure, and how can you improve your odds for success? Web. Available from: umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis/6840_f03_papers/frese/ . Hides, M T., Irani, Z., Polychronakis, I., and Sharp, J M 2000. Facilitating total quality through effective project management. International Journal of Quality Reliability Management, 17(4/5), 407-422. Hinchcliffe, D 2009. 14 reasons why enterprise 2.0 proje cts fail. Web. Available from: zdnet.com/blog/hinchcliffe/14-reasons-why-enterprise-20-projects-fail/718 . Kerzner, H 2001. Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. London: Wiley Sons. Maylor, H 2002. Project management. London: Prentice Hall. McManus, J., and Trevor, W 2011. A study in project failure. The Chartered Institute for IT, January 2, 2011. Meredith, J 2008. Project management. London: McGraw-Hill. Nakrani, S 2010. World cup 2018: How Englands bid faltered. The Guardian, December 2, 2010. Pinto, J K 2007. Project management: Achieving competitive advantage. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Reiss, G 2005. Project management demystified: Today’s tools and techniques. 3rd ed. London: Spon. Seamark, M., Shipman, T., and Martin, D 2010. We’ll never bid again to host the world cup, says team England boss (as Putin turns up to gloat over ‘mafia state’ Russias win). Mail, December 3, 2010.

Biography of Bill Gates

Biography of Bill Gates Free Online Research Papers William (Bill) H. Gates III is co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, the worlds leading provider of software for personal computers. Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955. He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Mary Gates, their late mother, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent and chairwoman of United Way International. Gates attended public elementary school before moving on to the private Lakeside School in North Seattle. It was at Lakeside that Gates began his career in personal computer software, programming computers at age 13. In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, who is now Microsofts president. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer the MITS Altair. BASIC was first developed by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz at Dartmouth College in the mid-1960s. In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers. Gates foresight and vision regarding personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. Gates is actively involved in key management and strategic decisions at Microsoft, and plays an important role in the technical development of new products. Much of his time is devoted to meeting with customers and staying in contact with Microsoft employees around the world through e-mail. Under Gates leadership, Microsofts mission is continuously to advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers. The company is committed to a long-term view, which is reflected in its investment of some $2.6 billion for research and development during the current fiscal year. In 1995 Gates wrote The Road Ahead, his vision of where information technology will take society. Co-authored by Nathan Myhrvold, Microsofts chief technology officer, and Peter Rinearson, The Road Ahead held the No. 1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list for seven weeks, and remained on the list for a total of 18 weeks. Published in more than 20 countries, the book sold more than 400,000 copies in China alone. In 1996, while strategically redeploying Microsoft to take advantage of the emerging opportunities created by the Internet, Gates thoroughly revised The Road Ahead to reflect his view that interactive networks are a major milestone in human communication. The paperback second edition also has become a bestseller. Gates is donating his proceeds from the book to a non-profit fund that supports teachers worldwide who are incorporating computers into their classrooms. In addition to his passion for computers, Gates is interested in biotechnology. He sits on the board of the ICOS Corporation and is a shareholder in Chiroscience Group of the United Kingdom and its wholly owned subsidiary, Chiroscience RD Inc. (formerly Darwin Molecular) of Bothell, Wash. He also founded Corbis Corporation, which is developing one of the largest resources of visual information in the world a comprehensive digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe. Gates also has invested with cellular telephone pioneer Craig McCaw in Teledesic, a company that is working on an ambitious plan to launch hundreds of low-orbit satellites around the Earth to provide a worldwide two-way broadband telecommunications service. In the dozen years since Microsoft went public, Gates has donated more than $800 million to charities, including $200 million to the Gates Library Foundation to help libraries in North America take advantage of new technologies and the Information Age. In 1994 Gates established the William H. Gates Foundation, which supports a variety of initiatives of particular interest to Gates and his family. The focus of Gates philanthropy is in four areas: education; world public health and population; non-profit, civic and arts organizations; and Puget Sound-area capital campaigns. Bill and Melinda French Gates were married on January 1, 1994. They have one child, Jennifer Katharine Gates, who was born in 1996. Research Papers on Biography of Bill GatesThe Project Managment Office SystemRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanOpen Architechture a white paperNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaDefinition of Export QuotasTwilight of the UAW

Common German Idioms, Sayings and Proverbs

Common German Idioms, Sayings and Proverbs Ein Sprichwort,  a saying or a proverb, can be a fun  way to learn and remember new vocabulary in German. The following sayings, proverbs,  and idiomatic expressions (Redewendungen) are our favorites.   Some expressions are more common than others. Many of these  work with Germanys love affair with its endless variety  of Wurst (sausage). Some may be a little more  contemporary, some may be a bit old-fashioned, but they can all be used in everyday conversations. Tips for Learning German Phrases The best way to learn these is to read each sentence to yourself and immediately  read the English equivalent. Then say the same sentence aloud in German. Continue saying these aloud in German and, with practice, youll automatically remember the meaning; it will become subliminal and you wont even have to think about it. A good exercise: Write each phrase or sentence out as you say it the first two times. The more senses and muscles you engage as you learn a language, the more likely you are to remember it correctly and the longer you will remember it. A third time, cover the German and read the English version; then task yourself, as in a dictation, with writing the sentence in German. Keep in mind that the symbol  ÃƒÅ¸ (as in heiß)  stands for a double s,  and remember  correct German word order, which is different from that in English. Dont forget that all German nouns, common or proper, are capitalized. (Even Wurst.) Below youll find expressions, the colloquial English translation, and the literal translation. Expressions About Sausage (Wurst) and Other Things to Eat Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei. Everything must end.Literally: Everything has an end; only the sausage has two. Das ist mir Wurst. Its all the same to me.Literally: Its a sausage to me. Es geht um die Wurst. Its do or die / now or never / the moment of truth.Literal: Its about the sausage. Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen. Comparing  apples and orangesLiterally: Comparing apples and pears In des Teufels Kà ¼che sein. To get into hot waterLiteral: In the devils kitchen Dir haben sie wohl etwas in den Kaffee getan. Youve got to be kidding.Literally: Youve probably  done something in/to the coffee Die Radieschen von unten anschauen/betrachten To be pushing up daisies (to be dead)Literally: To see/view the radishes from below Expressions With Animals Die Katze im Sack kaufen To buy a pig in a pokeLiterally: to buy a cat in a sack Wo sich die Fà ¼chse gute Nacht sagen The middle of nowhere/the  back of beyondLiterally: Where the foxes say goodnight Stochere nicht im Bienenstock. Let sleeping dogs lie.Literally: Dont poke around in the beehive. Expressions With Body Parts and People Daumen drà ¼cken! Keep your fingers crossed!Literally: Press/hold your thumbs! Er hat einen dicken Kopf. Hes got a hangover.Literally: He has a fat head. Was ich nicht weiß, macht mich nicht heiß. What you dont know, wont hurt you.Literally: What I dont know wont burn me. Er fllt  immer mit der Tà ¼r ins Huschen. He always gets right to the point/just blurts it out.Literally: He always falls into the house through the door. Was Hnschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr. You cant teach an old dog new tricks.Literally: What little Hans didnt learn, adult Hans never will. Wenn man dem Teufel den kleinen Finger gibt, so nimmt er die ganze Hand. Give an inch; theyll take a mile.Literally: If you give the devil your little finger, hell take the whole hand.

A critical discussion of Porters view that the economic structure of Essay

A critical discussion of Porters view that the economic structure of the restaurant industry determines the pattern of competition in that industry - Essay Example The global restaurant industry is highly saturated and in a mature stage of development along the industry life cycle, a factor that is driven by the economics of the industry. The economic structure is influenced by the tangibles along the value chain for food services organisations, including the volume of suppliers along the supply chain and the pricing structure of procurement, which impacts all restaurant organisations. The industry is also impacted by the demographics of the consuming public in terms of income as well as the availability of financial capital or ability to raise capital in the regions where the food services organisations operate. Hence, there are a variety of factors that will determine the methods and strategies by which competitors attempt to compete to attain some form of competitive advantage that are all linked with the economics of the industry. The restaurant industry In China, as one example, there is a high concentration of Western fast food companies that have saturated the industry. Growth in consumer demand for Western food brands has given food service companies ample opportunities for expansion out of the North American and European markets. However, it not only consumer demand that has provided these opportunities, it is the investment by a more liberal Chinese government that has stabilised the regional economy that provides advantages for market entry and expansion. The government has injected considerable financial capital into urban development, there is more interest by venture capitalists for this same pursuit, and government policies have provided much more incentives for foreign direct investment in the country (Areddy 2009). Inflation has been largely stabilised by government intervention and policy development, thereby offering consumers much more disposable income that is crucial for sustaining profitability. In 2012, the government invested 57.92 billion USD to motivate more effective corporate borrowing and to control interest rates (Safe Trading 2013). From a social perspective, as Chinese culture begins adopting more ideologies and principles associated with a capitalistic economy, lifestyle preferences are changing that are favourable for new entrants in the fast food industry. In contemporary China, 50 percent of consumers prefer eating in restaurants over that of household consumption (Ganster 2006), which provides a potential market of approximately one half billion consumers. In 2008, consumers in Shanghai spent approximately seven percent of their total disposable income on restaurant dining which represented a whopping 20 percent increase in spending from that of 2007 (Rentz and Xu 2010). Therefore, the economic structure of the industry, coupled with higher guarantees of consumer expenditures on food services, establishes an industry environment that can satisfy profit expectations for a variety of major competitors and new market entrants into the country. The entire fast food industry in China, from a market value perspective, increased 16 percent between 2010 and 2011 and is estimated to be worth 74.8 billion USD in revenues to all competitors (Ho 2011). Therefore, major fast food companies, such as KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, have found considerable profit success by entering the Chinese fast food market. Prior to recent years, however, in order for the aforementioned companies (and their large variety of other competitors) to achieve market success, they were forced to import food products from the West which significantly raised operating