Issues and Problems in Previous IT Projects-Samples for Students

Question: Write a review on the issues and problems in previous IT projects. Answer: Introduction There are various IT projects that have failed in the past, nevertheless the project that would be discussed in this report would be the U.K. National Health Service system. This system would be discussed in this report and the reasons for its failure. This particular IT project failure is being considered for study as it may be on the top of the list for IT project failures with the most loss of revenue till date and this money belonged to the UK taxpayers money (Connolly, 2018). The purpose of this report is to analyze the Chaos report of the aforesaid IT project failure. Main body The U.K. National Health Service system was aimed at connecting the health data of all the citizens across UK into one system (Guest et al., 2015). This was a top-down project as the project was initiated for political reasons (Kerzner Kerzner, 2017). This was indeed a project that was highly influenced by the political parties and therefore by probability such a project is bound to fail. The abandoned project was estimated to have costed around ten billion pounds of the tax payers money. This project was therefore at the pinnacle of IT project failure as it involved such high losses. The aim of implementing such a system definitely deserved high praise. However, the plan was more theoretical in nature and practical consideration and ideas were not implemented before rolling out the plan for developing such a massive system (Meredith et al., 2016). A successful ICT project must involve the views and opinions of its key stakeholders especially the people who are going to use the syst em. The future users of the healthcare system had raised their concerns about the accessibility criteria of the system and the reasons that would not prove beneficial for the system. However, the political parties and the project planners did not take those opinions into consideration and instead went ahead with their planning as usual. The procurement process was very hasty and that time it was termed as efficient. Future contracts awarding procedures were supposed to be awarded using the same procurement technique as a reference model. However, such a fast and efficient technique was not appropriate for the procurement purposes. The contract terms that seemed viable were accepted up front without any investigation into the matter as to the requirement of the terms. Lack of negotiation has hasted the procurement process nevertheless at the cost of bad procurement strategies. This resulted in extremely poor contract generating process. The service providers did not get paid until th ey delivered the items. This had in turn created a lot of disarray among the vendors. The project demanded a lot of last minute changes to procurement and even addition to existing purchase orders. Large scale service providers can absorb such risks and mitigate them by making a good margin in the process. However, the small service providers could not always handle the enormous risks that entailed the project and would therefore in a matter of time would just get removed from the process eventually. Different regional service providers were thus appointed for the same reason. Contracts got terminated in the course of the project and the remaining service providers had to compensate for the empty slot. Finally, it was about the accountability decision of the project director that led to the dismissal of the system that showed the excellent predicative skills that an ICT manager must possess to determine the success and failure of a project even before it is completed (Saad, Dong Wa n, 2015). Findings The findings suggest that the project failed primarily because it was a large-scale project. Every project consists of some particular steps that must be completed to ensure its success. This project was no exception. The opinions of the users were not taken into consideration as a top-down approach was used. Therefore, the system was not approached with usability and accessibility of the system. The procurement method was hasty and it instead had adverse effect on the whole in the long term as the terms of procurement were harshly implemented. The rapid changes to the project requirement also contributed to cost overrun and therefore project failure. Conclusion Therefore, it can be concluded that the U.K. National Health Service system was a failure due to not one but several reasons. The huge size of the project with lack of realistic approach to it were the primary reasons behind the failure. The project faced cost overrun due to unregulated technical changes and that in turn resulted in the dismissal of the project. The fundamental structure of every ICT project remains the same and must be handled accordingly Reference List Connolly, B. (2018). Top 10 enterprise IT disasters. www.cio.com.au. Retrieved 30 March 2018, from https://www.cio.com.au/article/542245/top_10_enterprise_it_disasters/?pp=2 Guest, J. F., Ayoub, N., McIlwraith, T., Uchegbu, I., Gerrish, A., Weidlich, D., ... Vowden, P. (2015). Health economic burden that wounds impose on the National Health Service in the UK. BMJ open, 5(12), e009283. Kerzner, H., Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Mantel Jr, S. J., Sutton, M. M. (2016). Project management in practice. Wiley Global Education. Saad, R. G., Dong, H., Wan, H. (2015). Factors of project manager success. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 10, 63-80. Syal, R. (2018). Abandoned NHS IT system has cost 10bn so far. www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 30 March 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/18/nhs-records-system-10bn.

Why Is There Gravity Essays - Physics, Theoretical Physics

Why Is There Gravity? When you pick up a stone and release it falls to the ground. This seemingly simple concept has been known throughout history as gravitation. Isaac Newton managed to explain gravity in terms of its effects, but few have come up with a working explanation for the driving force behind it. The mysterious nature of some of the more peculiar effects of gravity, as well as the simple ones, indicate that explaining why there is gravity will be a long, difficult, yet intriguing task. Ohanian (1976) writes that without other forces interfering, mass attracts mass. This is the fundamental concept behind gravitation. Newton explained it as "there is a power of gravity pertaining to all bodies, proportional to the several quantities of matter which they contain? The force of gravity towards the several equal parts of any body is inversely as the square of the distance of places from the particles." This description of gravity creates the simple mathematical explanation of gravity: that the force of attraction, F, equals G * ((m1 * m2) / r^2). This holds true for most gravitational interactions on earth, so any proper theory of gravity would have to include similar results for these interactions. Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler (1973) explain that there are, however, some more complex aspects of gravity that this law does not account for. One of these strange gravitational effects is observed in the "perihelion shift" movement of planets, the most dramatically affected of which is the planet Mercury. Feynman, Leighton, and Sands (1963) contest that another hole in Newton's predictions about gravitation is that repercussions of changes in gravitational state are felt instantaneously. In other words, gravitational effects travel faster than the speed of light, which is in direct contradiction with Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. This led Einstein to develop a more advanced theory of gravitation. This was known as the General Theory of Relativity and is the closest and only thing that mankind has as an answer to " Why is there gravity?" Einstein's General Theory of Relativity introduces the idea that space itself can be curved. Just as the ground on earth appears to be flat though it is actually curved, Einstein suggested that space may behave much in the same way. Misner et al. (1973) compared the curvature of space to an ant walking on the surface of an apple whose direction was perfectly toward the stem of the apple. The shortest possible path on the surface of the apple to the stem was a curved line. Thus Einstein has theorized that the shortest possible path in a gravitational field is actually a curve, which is contrary to traditional Euclidean geometry. The other basic concept of general relativity is that gravity is essentially indistinguishable from acceleration. A person standing inside of a stationary elevator on earth could drop a ball and it would fall, accelerating at approximately 9.8m/s^2. A person standing in an elevator free from gravitational fields, but accelerating upwardly at 9.8m/s^2 would exp erience the same effect. Einstein used this similarity between gravity and acceleration in the creation of the General Theory of Relativity. One of the most stunning things about Einstein's theories is that they were created with virtually no experimental verification. Only later, after his death, have we been able to prove various aspects of the General Theory of Relativity experimentally. In this sense, Einstein was well ahead of his time. One such prediction that was ahead of its time was that time moves slower in the presence of a gravitational field. In Einstein's day, they simply did not have the resources to test this experimentally. In more recent times, however, through the use of atomic clocks we have shown this to be true. It is certainly amazing to make predictions about something so abstract on a purely theoretical basis and then later have those predictions verified through experimentation. Unfortunately, Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is the only theory of gravity that has never failed experimentally. Other theories that work experimentally are essentially tweaked versions of the same ideas that Einstein had in the General Theory of Relativity. I feel this "theory monopoly" that Relativity has is detrimental to physics in general, being that it has

History of Slavery and Its Impact on Contemporary Society

History of Slavery and Its Impact on Contemporary SocietyMy History of Slavary and its Impact on Contemporary Society is a sample essay for students of English composition, working in the field of public speaking, or just about any area where the importance of correct structure and diction are evident. I am a former English teacher who taught high school English, as well as a writer, copywriter, and editor.This sample essay began life as a memoir by my brother, Robert. Now, the essay has gone through a fair amount of editing, and I have condensed and greatly condensed its content. Nonetheless, I would like to provide some insight into my thinking about the essay, which you will find in the next section. It is important that you understand why I wrote the essay, and what it is trying to convey, before reading the rest of this description.To begin with, I had some misgivings about my past work as an English teacher. Some of my students and colleagues expressed a worry that they were no t able to properly teach English, and that I was actually afraid to speak in front of them. I was not in fact afraid to speak in front of them, but there were many times when I did not feel that I was explaining the material correctly. It is important that the student feels that the material being taught is well understood. Many times, I found myself addressing issues that had no bearing on the learning process, and that I had to resort to remedial homework assignments in order to help my students become more skilled at the subject.One issue that I was quite troubled by was the problem of knowing the history of slavery and its impact on contemporary society. That is to say, I knew that the Renaissance period was one of tremendous change, and that many of the key historical figures of the period were essentially remarkable personalities, but that these individuals did not always enjoy widespread popularity. On the other hand, it could be argued that the generally benign image of Al C apone probably played a role in his continuing popularity. It is no mystery that in the 21st century, many people are not aware of the difficulties that faced many Americans in the middle years of the 20th century. For me, it is important that students are able to appreciate the nuances of these periods, and that they are better able to examine the implications of events that occurred in those periods for the entire course of their lives.There are many who argue that the English language is not a natural language, and that it can only be learned through the study of other languages. I do not share that view. I believe that language can be learned, and that the best way to learn it is to be exposed to English at a very early age. That is why I felt that teaching English as a second language, through immersion in a language that is native to that country, is very important.The History of Slavery and its Impact on Contemporary Society is a sample essay that enables students to have the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the changes that occurred in the culture and the political environment during the middle years of the 20th century. As I was writing the essay, I realized that much of what is used in class today is borrowed from history textbooks and movies. The idea of using such sources does not sound appealing, particularly when it involves facts that are very difficult to access.In the end, I wanted to use the history of slavery and its Impact on Contemporary Society as a vehicle for examining the philosophy of art, the politics of the individual, and the relations between family and society. If you look closely, I believe that this sample essay does an excellent job of demonstrating all of these points.

Iconology and Semiotics Comparison Essay Example

Iconology and Semiotics Comparison Essay Example Iconology and Semiotics Comparison Essay Iconology and Semiotics Comparison Essay 11/11/2013 Edgar Gomes Prof. Brooks, Art History and Appreciation II Art Paper # 2: Iconology and Semiotics Comparison We as humans all have an item or two that has been passed down or inherited. Whether it is from a family member or a close friend, we have received something that has a deep meaning and/or tells a story about someone or something that extremely relates to ones self. The meaning the original object or story holder has, does not mean it is understood by others who hold the same story or object. As a 2 years old kid, I received a tiny sphere shaped black stone pendant, with white polka ots and gold plates on the north and south points. As I got older and was explained what it meant to our culture, I started understanding and appreciating it as I grew older. The sphere is supposed to protect the person who receives it from all evil and bad luck. It is usually given to the children from the mother or a close family member. Also the purpose and meaning is defeated if someone gives their selves the sphere. To other cultures, or people I am sure the sphere is considered Just a gifted sphere from someone with nothing else but an object and over seen as such an intangible meaning and beliefs. In the art world this situation is consider iconology and/or semiotics. During this paper I will be discussing how I think iconology and semiotics are very similar. In our everyday lives we go through things we dont know the meanings of or how it came about. Iconology is a great deal of this concept. Iconology is the study of visual imagery and its symbolism and interpretation, especially in art, social and political terms. This term was given by the Erwin Panofsky (1892 1968) when he published Studies in Iconology during 1939. In Panofskys study of art objects and images there are 3 points. The 1st level is as simple as identification. For example, if I showed you a picture of a man with armor on his body and sword in his hand, you are going to automatically identify the man as a warrior without anyone telling you that. The 2nd point is connecting artistic patterns with concepts, themes or conventional meaning. This step is linking what you know about the artist patterns based on theme and concepts. His 3rd point is probably best explained when quoted, It is apprehended by ascertaining those underlying principles which reveal the basic attitude of a nation, a period, class, a religious or hilosophical persuasion qualified by one personality and condensed into one workl . In other words Panofsky is saying that we have to use our own interpretation from common knowledge of the art product in order to comprehend it. If I asked anyone to think of and draw an old school cowboy, I would most likely have the same description of one as they would. He would have mulatto/dark skin, bow and arrows, fit/muscular body and a gentleman on a horse. However, if I asked for someone to think of a modern cowboy, they would think of the latest Caucasian, wild west, big ough hands, horse riding, with a gun on the waist or ankle holster and whos an asshole to most people. I am sure these are the image that comes to most peoples mind who thinks of those two different cowboys. This here to me is a great example cowboys thru pictures, art, movies and stories. The items/obJects and descriptions of the cowboys are icons to us and how we relate to who they are and what period of time it is. Semiotics is the study of symbols, signs and interpretation. In other words, it is the observation and use of signs and symbols. In the art worlds the nterpretation is all about the audience/viewer. Whatever it is they intake and digests about the art work, symbol or signs is what matters in this case. Semiotics happens to use in an everyday life basis and some of us dont even know or care for. Just as iconology, it has to do a lot with cultural, religion, nation, and period in time. All those points that connect iconology and semiotics are Just plain knowledge and experience in my opinion. With both having very strong similarities as one basically makes the other. Also it wouldnt be far fetching if someone can said they basically make each ther. I would not disagree with someone that says that because I find that totally acceptable. With iconology comes a symbol and representation of what you know and can identify with a person or a thing. That meaning comes from the persons logic, knowledge, culture, nation and period in time. In my opinion, the only little difference from the two mythology is where the person has no info or knowledge personally or given of the art work. For example, in 1943, Pablo Picasso described this to photographer George Brassal about his Bulls Headii artwork, Guess how I made the bulls head? One day, in a pile of objects all Jumbled up together, I found an old bicycle seat right next to a rusty set of handlebars. In a flash, they Joined together in my head. The idea of the Bulls Head came to me before I had a chance to think. All I did was weld them together [but] if you were only to see the bulls head and not the bicycle seat and handlebars that form it, the sculpture would lose some of its impact. 2 This is why I believe that both mythologies are so similar and feed off one another. In iconology terms this object could be a symbol that people have seen most nd relate the most from before throughout their life time, and it would most likely and up signifying a bicycle which most people have seen and relate to, appose to a bull. At the same time, someone can get to that same conclusion using Semiotics because if all one sees visually is what they had experienced in the past, which in this case I am sure most people have seen and dealt with a bicycle more than a bulls head. So naturally those people are going to relate to the sculpture as a bicycle. Experience and knowledge has a lot to do with these two mythologies and how one reacts visual, emotionally, and mentally. Another example I can give about how these two are very similar but yet a bit different is on the title. Without the title of the art work, there is no telling what a persons idea of the sculpture would be. However, given the title, which would affect the iconic knowledge of a person, people would surely have the idea that the sculpture is a bulls head. That little difference of where someone or something tells you what something means can be the difference in how you intake something solely based on your own opinion, emotion, or knowledge. To conclude, iconology and semiotics have extreme similarities but however do have a mall difference in my opinion. They actually even collaborate with each other because seeing and understanding something means you need the base knowledge of something. Something involving iconology is when an icon or object has been given to you over time with other art work knowledge, which is sometimes slightly perspective of the art work can be different since is Just based on the persons own emotion, knowledge, experience and time. As the example that I gave earlier about the Bulls Head, The mythologies are so similar that they basically lead to the same utlook and view on how one might end up getting the same perspective of the art work. However, they are still a tiny different and a small change to the detail as the title being given. Also knowing that Picasso was a Spaniard, and having the very common knowledge that it is a yearly tradition that they have the running of the bulls in Spain, can make the difference within the two mythologies. i Cape Verdean spirit sphere/ball pendant ii Penrose, Roland (1981). Picasso: His Life and Work, Third edition. University of californta press. p. 345. ISBN 0-520-04207-7.

The Common App - New Questions for 2013

The Common App - New Questions for 2013 The Common Application keeps a-changing! This admissions season we have both a new word limit (650, increased from 500) and new question choices. Here are the questions you will be asked to choose from if you are applying to college this fall: Some students have a background or a story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn? Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community or family. As pointed out by the Huffington Post, these questions are designed for you to demonstrate what you would contribute to your college class. What is special about you? What character do you possess? What are your values? What’s important to you? Do these questions seem daunting? Said one of my clients, â€Å"These questions all seem so theoretical!† He did not know where to start. Allow me to make a suggestion: Consider that these questions are only theoretical if you don’t know what you want to say in your essay. Once you choose a topic, I’m willing to bet you can find a way to talk about it in response to one of the five Common App questions. There’s a trick for interview preparation where you write a list of things you want to talk about, and then use whatever questions the interviewer asks to say what you wanted to say. It’s an art to succeed in this method, as you do need to answer the question (you can’t answer a different one). Let’s look at an example as it applies to the Common App. Let’s say you want to talk about your love of music and what it’s like to perform. You could answer any one of the Common App essay questions and say what you want to say. Perhaps your musical abilities are central to who you are (#1). Perhaps you played a wrong note in a concert, or struggled in some other way as you learned (#2). Maybe your parents or teacher wanted one thing for you, and you wanted another (#3). Is the stage a place where you feel completely at peace? If so, maybe question #4 is for you. And certainly if music is important enough to you for an essay, you might have some accomplishment there that marked a transition to adulthood (#5). As you consider how your topic might apply to each question, you might learn something about yourself you didn’t know before! â€Å"OK,† you might be saying, â€Å"Now the questions seem less theoretical, but I’m still daunted: If I could write a great answer to every one of the questions, how do I possibly choose which one to answer?† I would suggest outlining a response to as many of the questions as you think you might want to answer; then evaluate which question allows you to express yourself most fully. In which answer do the most aspects of yourself get revealed? And, perhaps most important, which answer is most interesting to read? Important: The most interesting answer will not necessarily be the easiest to write. It might be less straightforward and take more thought and creativity- which is exactly what admissions committees are looking for! What if I don’t have a topic in mind? If you don’t have a topic you know you want to write about, try going through the questions one by one and having a conversation with someone (most likely someone other than your parents) about how you might answer each question. Brainstorm ideas and see what arises. Give it some time. Sleep on it. Have conversations with more than one person. You might discover a topic you didn’t know could become an essay! And of course, if you’re still stuck, it might be time to work with a professional essay coach. The Essay Expert would be happy to help!

Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Finance - Essay Example The capital structures of the companies were affected strongly since the availability of debt capital financing as well as equity capital financing declined considerably. Under influence of the financial crunch firms reduced security issuance and financial institutions reduced issuance of loans by a large extent (Fosberg, 2012). Among many consequences, the major consequence faced by the firms was in their capital structure. The defaults of mortgage loans led to significant increase in debt amount of the firm’s capital structure. Results of recent research show that between the years 2006 and 2008 the market debt ratio (MDR) of the firms increased on average by 5.5 percent (Fosberg, 2012). The financial crisis was supplemented by severe recession in the US economy which boosted the soaring market debt ratios of the firms. If the effect of recession is removed then debt accumulation of the firms solely due to the financial crisis has been found to be approximately 5.1 percent ( Fosberg, 2012). This affirms the severity of the effect of the financial crisis on debt accumulation by the corporations and their capital structure. ... n capital structure made by the financial crisis, different factors were adjusted, such as, reduced profitability of the firm that resulted from recession. Although the effects cast by the financial crisis were major, the effects of recession were also huge and put significant effects on the debt capital financing by the firms. This paper evaluates the effects of the crisis critically from the points of view of three most recognized theories of capital structure and provides explanation with the help of real examples of companies that have suffered the impacts of the crisis. Literature Review Brigham and Ehrhardt (2002) explain in their book, Financial Management, that capital structure is one of the important instruments that allow firms to maintain control of its administration. Improper capital structure might be fatal for any organization. Capital structure relates to the various components of the financial policies made by the firms regarding investment activities (Jones, 2011). It is related to bankruptcy risk that high leverage firms might face during financially instable times. While the use of more leverage magnifies returns for equity holders, the downside threat of holding a large amount debt is very high. Therefore, firms should carefully consider their capital structure in their financial policies (Gunay, 2002). Debt financing The proportion of debt financing in the capital structure of a firm differ between firms and also depend on the existing capital structure. The type of debt incurred and the extent up to which the debt is extended are decided by the factors such as the cost of the debt and its availability to the firm. Without taking bonds into consideration, debt financing can be categorized in to two types, namely, financial credits and trade

Marketing and Marketing Strategy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing and Marketing Strategy - Coursework Example The first product that I choose was an automobile. This was a high involvement purchase. This is because the product was expensive and would have a significant impact on my life. Moreover, this was a product that I had to spend a considerable amount of time and also effort searching for. This was also so because there were significant differences between the brands that were available at the time in terms of their performance and quality ("Indmedica - CyberLectures - High Involvement Purchase Decisions", n.d., p. 2). However, the second product that I chose, newspaper, was a low involvement purchase since the product was that which is habitually purchased and therefore the decision of choosing it required very little effort. It was also a low involvement purchase because the newspaper had insignificant effect on my lifestyle and was not that an important investment. 1st Product: Automobile The following are the 5 buying decision process that I followed in buying this product. a) Prob lem recognition This is the stage I realized that I actually needed a car. I would want to conveniently travel to my job place every morning but could not do so as I did not have a convenient means of transport. b) Information search This is where I started looking for what could solve my transport problem. I looked for information on the convenient means that I could use to travel to my workplace and concluded on buying a car. c) Evaluation of alternatives Here, I took into consideration all the car models that were available and which one of them would best fit my needs. I also considered the alternatives that were available for me including their prices and the shops selling them. d) Purchase decision After all the considerations and consultations, I decided to buy a model of my choice. This is where I also walked to the shop that I had chosen and actually paid for the car. e) Post-Purchase evaluation This I did after the purchase. I evaluated the car that I had bought; its impor tance and how convenient having it would be. I also confirmed that I had made the right choice. 2nd Product: Newspaper I only followed two processes for my second low involvement purchase. a) Problem recognition This is where I discovered my need for the newspaper and decided to buy one. b) Purchase evaluation Here, I went straight to the nearest and easily accessible shop and bought the newspaper that I wanted. Question 2 My first purchase was a high involvement purchase and this meant that I had to follow all the processes of consumer purchase. I had to make sure that I had put into consideration all the facts and information concerning the product that would make me chooses the right one. Unlike the first one, the automobile was very expensive and therefore there was no room for mistake in my purchase. This required me to carefully evaluate all the then available alternatives and make a solid decision based on facts considerations. In buying this high involvement product, automob ile, I had to first look for information after identifying my problem. I also had to evaluate all the possible alternatives before making my final purchase. Contrary to this, for the second low involvement purchase, newspaper, I did not have to do a lot. This was a product that I usually bought so I knew what I needed. The only thing that I wanted was a shop that was nearby and a place where I could easily; conveniently and quickly buy the newspaper. For these reasons, unlike