Job Stress Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Job Stress - Research Paper Example The research recommends that the management of DSI clinic restructures operations and job distribution. It recommends that managers should be trained so that they get to understand how job stress impacts on employees at various times. It also recommends that a the DSI clinic establishes a guidance and counseling unit that will help employees going through stressful times. DSI is a conglomeration of clinics that provide dialysis around the United States for people suffering from chronic kidney failure. DSI provides quality care for patients in areas like nephrology and other specialized aspects of dialysis. It is made up of highly qualified nephrologists, nurses, doctors, administrators and support staff members who work hard to maintain the image of DSI as a leading dialysis center in the United States. However, due to the current financial crises, the management of the clinic have had the unpleasant duty of laying off a number of workers. This has led to many workers doing extra hours and others expanding the scope of their work. This has led to a strain on the staff of the company. There have been numerous cases of mistakes, low productivity and a high turnover because of the new arrangements. This has clearly created a situation of low morale amongst staff and workers of DSI. There is clear evidence that the low morale is caused by stress and the increased workload of the company staff. This has led to poor performance. The group that is mostly affected by this spate of stress is the female employees who constitute 88% of the total employees in the clinic. The purpose of this research is to use scientific tools to empirically study the relationship between job stress and low morale and low productivity at DSI Clinic. It will identify the possible solutions to the problem and recommend actions that must be taken to reduce the effects of low morale at DSI clinic. There have been a lot of complaints against the way and manner in which the clinic operates.

Relationship Between Depression and Addiction Essay Example for Free

Relationship Between Depression and Addiction Essay Depression is a psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty thinking and concentrating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and low self-esteem. I’m going to show how it all can affect each other. Depression can be both genetically inherited and brought on by a traumatic experience either as a child or adult. â€Å"Community studies have estimated the 24% of women and 15% of men will at some point in their lives is clinically depressed. † (Zautra. Emotions, Stress, and Health, pg. 133). Depression is an extended period of disturbance in both positive and negative affect systems. A black period in a person’s life can have a lot of negative emotion and very little positive emotions. You could have a great day and then next thing you know you’re in a depressive state. This can be attributed to various stressful events or small instances that can set a depressive state into motion. Everyday emotions or stressors can lead to feelings of hopelessness and low self-esteem. â€Å"Large depression is the stuff of breakdowns. † (Solomon. The Noonday Demon, pg. 17). Depression is like a building rusting over the years but with grief and insecurities that eventually collapse. There are two models of depression: The first is the dimensional: it is on a continuum with sadness that represents an extreme version. The second is the categorical: this describes depression as an illness separate from other emotions. Within depression one of the first things to go is happiness, but soon after your other emotions follow. Some of these other emotions are sadness, your sense of humor, and your belief in and capacity for love. Depression is highly dramatic and visibly different. Depression exists in time. Depression also doubles the risk of heart attacks. It’s insipid, fogs the days, disables the color in each day and weakens ordinary action. It leaves you tired, bored and self-obsessed. It takes away trust in any relationship, you start to think that people are talking about you or they don’t love you. You start to think that they don’t care. Some people are so debilitated that they shut down and push everybody away. Depression is an intense dark place; it causes uncertainty and loss of control. When you have an episode you can’t find your balance to right it. When it comes it degrades one’s self and ultimately eclipses the ability to give or receive affections. You end up going along the gradual path or a sudden trigger of emotion that brings you to a place that’s generally different than reality. You feel you are turning into something feeble, like a child that more and more of you will just blow away in the wind. It makes you feel less and less than normal. It makes you feel insignificant and you start to doubt your worth. It’s not the consequence of a reduced level of anything we can measure. It hits people in different ways. Some are predisposed to resist or battle through it; some are helpless in its grip. According to recent research, about 3% of Americans – some 19 million – suffer from chronic depression. More than 2 million of those are children. †(Solomon. The Noonday Demon. Pg. 25). Depression claims more years than war, cancer and AIDS. Pills and love are 2 ways forward. It now exists as a personal and a social phenomenon. In order to treat depression you need to understand the experience of a breakdown, the mode of action, medication, and the most common talking therapy. Intelligent treatment requires close examination on specific variants of depression. Children, elderly and gender are some of these variants. Substance abusers form a very large subcategory of their own. They disguise the depressive illness by self-medicating with alcohol and drugs. Depression and substance abuse form a cycle. People who are depressed abuse substances in a way to free themselves from feeling depressed. Some people who abuse substances disrupt their lives to the point that they become depressed. Drug and alcohol addiction can be classified as genetic. Addiction is also considered an illness. Some people abuse drugs and alcohol to escape the horrors of their family and work situations. Some use because they were abused physically and mentally. Other because of losing their children, employment or marital breakdowns. Substance abuse results in enormous costs to the abuser and their families. As in depression, feelings of loneliness and lack of positive emotion are a source of why addiction starts. I found as an addict myself that to control my emotions; I would use cocaine to escape. I abused drugs to survive through my emotions. This avoidance of pain, combined with the misinterpreting of the feeling of wanting may be what underlines the treadmill of addiction. Cocaine seems to block dopamine uptake, so that you have more floating around in your brain; morphine causes the release of dopamine. Research shows that if the brain is constantly flooded with dopamine it will develop a resistance to the drug. It’s why we as addicts need more and more to get high. When addicts go into recovery, they no longer have the excessive release of dopamine. They start to feel flat and depressed. Others with family histories of addiction tend to have lower levels of endorphins than those who are genetically and inclined to addiction. A depressed individual is likely to become addicted more rapidly than a person who isn’t depressed. Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are the legal substances abused. Alcohol can do a great job of drowning out the pain. Cocaine is an expensive drug that causes a major crash after 48-72 hrs. It consistently depletes your neuron stores. This causes the crash. When you finally crash you have major fatigue, agitation and depression. Cocaine is considered to be a long term depression augmenter. Depression enables addicts. Depression weakens you and weakness is the surest path to addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step programs provide supportive settings in which people can safely share about their experiences with alcohol, depression and their own fears. With a sponsor and a therapist you can start on the path to healing yourself. Realizing what you need to change about yourself gives you the power to move on and eventually help others. It one of the hardest processes admitting that you are an addict. I know for me going back will kill me. Depression for me depletes my energy and causes me not to care about anything.

Theories of Attention and Perception

Theories of Attention and Perception Moses Nhamburo How have psychologists sought to explain selective attention? To what extent have they been successful? According to Psychologists, selective attention is defined as an act where an individual tries to focus on a specific subject or object for a specific period of time, whereas at the same time ignoring several other irrelevant things which might be occurring around that person (Renninge et al, 2014). Such kind of situation occurs with everyone and every day. Psychologists have explained that since it is impossible for a normal human being to give attention to every stimulus in our environment, we tend to select or give attention to only those stimuli, which we believe is important for us. Psychologists have been successful in explaining the concept of selective attention to a larger extent. Their explanation is relevant to what we observe in our day-to-day lives. They have also explained that degree of selective attention can vary from one person to another, finally impacting their ability to focus or concentrate on some particular task. Distraction is one of the way through which psy chologists believe that selective attention can be minimised. For example, if one person is hungry, then he will probably focus more on his meal rather than checking an incoming call on his smart phone (Serences Kastner, 2014). Word count: 229 Compare and contrast two of the major theories of perception and evaluate their impact on psychologists understanding of how we perceive the world Two major theories of perception which can be used for this task is: Constructive aspect of perception Ecological aspect of perception. Joel Norman (2000), states that both these theories differ from each other, however both approaches towards perception can be considered as a valid definition of the perception, but they represent different aspect towards perception. In the constructivists approach, it is believed that the stimulus that reaches our senses are generally insufficient which triggers another perceptual system, and is considered to be intelligent (Warren Wertheim, 2014). It is important to understand that the perceptual system relies on a mechanism, which has inferential characteristics. Majority of the individuals face inherent equivocality associated with the stimulation, it can be said that the perceptual system enable an individual to overcome this equivocality. However this is in contrast to what several psychologists believe. Many psychologists believe on the ecological aspect of the perception further mention that information, which is present in the environment around us, is more than enough to fulfill the requirement of creating a perception and cannot be considered as equivocal in nature. That is why there is no requirement to pick any specific or relevant information. Psychologists who support the constructivists approach or perception believe that this theory of perception is multistage in nature where there are intermediate processes interlinking stimulation and perception. Or in other words this theory suggests that perception is indirect, whereas ecological theorists believe that perception is not a multi stage aspect but is single stage process, and can be considered as immediate and direct (Bevan Sparks, 2014). Psychologists supporting the constructive theory of perception believe that in formation of perception in this theory memory schema or metadata, which stores the past experience, play a critical role. On other hand ecological theory advocates the fact that in formation of perception there is hardly any role of memory and perception is generally formed on the basis of what a person experience at that very moment (Flom, 2014). It has been observed that people with constructivists approach excel in a process where analysis is involved, and there is certain mechanism of underlying perception. On other hand people who follow the ecological approach of perception excels at the analysis of the fact that how a stimulus might reach to the observer. Both these theories to a large extent have impacted psychologists in their understanding of how we perceive the world. Based on their experience psychologists believe that ecological approach of perception majorly parallels the dorsal system. Dorsal system is a system, which basically focuses on transformation of information, which is visual in nature into a framework, which is egocentric in nature, which allows the individual to grasp the object. On other hand constructivists approach parallels the ventral system (Stojanov Indurkhya, 2014). Ventral system is considered to be one of the most basic fundamental, which drives the entire visual processing in the brain. Ventral system is different from the dorsal system, as it transforms the visual information in such a form that it can be considered to be exocentric in nature. This in turn enables an individual to create a perception of the object and a relation with the real world is established. Thus it can be said that ecological theory of perception follows a dorsal system, which is focused more on seeing the motion such as a person grasping an apple to eat. On other hand the constructivists approach focuses on the ventral system, which is focused more towards understanding or knowing the environment rather than physically sensing the object. Word count: 598 Much has happened in the field of perceptual development since the early studies of Fantz, Bower, Gibson and Walk. Analyse how the nature/nurture debate today has been advanced by these early studies. Perceptual development can be defined as a process, which lays down a foundation through which we are able to interpret various types of events of the world-taking place in our environment. Much has changes after initial studies on perceptual development by Fantz, Bower, Gibson and Walk was done. Nature vs. Nurture debate to a large extent has advanced over a period of time. In this argument or discussion of perceptual development the basic argument that has existed since ages, that what exactly drive the process of perceptual development. There has been argument on the fact that whether it is nature, genetics, nurture or experience which his important for the sensory system of the human beings to operate (Augustinova Ferrand, 2014). Often it has been argued that in the process of perceptual development on one hand there is genetic position which is all required by the sensory system of the human beings and is considered to be the most critical factor of life, whereas on other hand it is considered that human beings are like a blank slates at the time of birth, and as we experience new things and aspects in life accordingly our perception is formed on that blank slate and we start perceiving things in life. Word count: 210 TAQ 5: Describe 2 pieces of research that has been used to investigate selective visual attention. Use the Stoop 1935 study and one more recent piece research, which use a more robust method than the original Stoop experiment. In psychology Stroop’s study in 1935 demonstrated that there could be possibility of interference in the reaction time of the task. For example when name of a color is printed in a color which is not denoted by the name, for example word ‘Blue’ printed in Red then in such situation it was found that naming of the word takes longer time as is prone to error. In Stroop’s experiment stimuli was divided into 3 groups namely: neutral, incongruent and congruent. Thus in a neutral stimuli in which only text or color is displayed (Ikeda et al, 2014). Congruent stimuli is the one in which the color of the ink and the word refer to the same color. Lastly in incongruent stimuli ink color and word both differ from each other. One of the relatively recent theories is Feature integration theory of attention, which was developed by Anne Treisman, and Garry advocated the fact that when a human being perceives a stimulus then in that process features are registered first in parallel whereas objects are identified separately. Thus according to this theory the visual attention goes through various stages from the point an object is seen till the point perception is made about the same. As per this theory first object is analysed, then its features are combined and ultimately perception is made. To a large extent this theory further substantiated the Stroop’s experiment with more logical explanation. The Animal Stroop task with children is a quite neat study. Evaluate both the piece of research. Why may the second piece of research be better than the original Stroop experiment Animal Stroop task was basically developed for kids, as the initial test on which Stroop’s experiment was based on the words and colors and due to limited reading abilities of the kids that test was not much successful when applied to the kids. Original Stroop task didn’t consider the visual aspect to a large extent (Anderson, 2014). It was more focused on how an individual reads a particular word and how he perceives that word on the basis of the color. It did not include the image aspect of the perception. On other hand the second experiment, which was based on the images of the animals, included both reading as well as visual perception. This tested the visual perception power of an individual as well. Unlike first test, which was purely based on how an individual perceives and interprets only the textual content, the second research also focused on testing of visual attention when images are displayed to the individual. It can be said that the second Stroop experime nt was more inclusive in nature as it included various other aspects as well, that is why it can be considered to be more comprehensive in nature and revealed more information about the perception making process in an individual Using the information from your answer above, explain how the research on selective visual attention has been applied practically in everyday life. As discussed in above sections, it can be clearly said that selective visual attention definitely has important role to play in our everyday life. Even though most of the time we don’t even realize that the phenomenon is taking place, but we do apply selective visual selection. Practically the concept is applicable in every possible aspect of life. For example you are scrolling through news feed of an online e-paper, however you will never read each and every line, but you will still be aware of that what the content is talking about. The moment we find some content, which we perceives as interesting we will stop scrolling, and start reading that content. Similarly, we are travelling by a local train, but we are not focused on our surroundings and are looking on our smart phone and ignoring the surroundings (Sperling Hsu, 2014). Thus this is a typical example through which it can be understood that how we are visually segregating our attention to only those things which we pe rceive as important. This capability allows human being to avoid getting distracting when the person is trying to focus on some important task. However distraction is the way through which the selective visual attention can be reduced as well. Word count: 707 References Renninger, A., Hidi, S., Krapp, A. (Eds.). 2014.The role of interest in learning and development. Psychology Press. Serences, J. T., Kastner, S. 2014. A multi-level account of selective attention.The Oxford Handbook of Attention, 76. Warren, R., Wertheim, A. H. (Eds.). 2014.Perception and Control of Self-motion. Psychology Press. Bevan, J. L., Sparks, L. 2014. The relationship between accurate and benevolently biased serial argument perceptions and individual negative health perceptions.Communication Research,41(2), 257-281. Flom, R. 2014. Perceptual narrowing: Retrospect and prospect. Developmental psychobiology. Stojanov, G., Indurkhya, B. 2014. Perceptual Similarity and Analogy in Creativity and Cognitive Development. InComputational Approaches to Analogical Reasoning: Current Trends(pp. 371-395). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Augustinova, M., Ferrand, L. 2014. Social priming of dyslexia and reduction of the Stroop effect: What component of the Stroop effect is actually reduced? Cognition,130(3), 442-454. Ikeda, Y., Okuzumi, H., Kokubun, M. 2014. Stroop-like interference in the real animal size test and the pictorial animal size test in 5-to 12-year-old children and young adults.Applied Neuropsychology: Child,3(2), 115-125. Anderson, N. H. (Ed.). 2014.Contributions To Information Integration Theory: Volume 1: Cognition. Psychology Press. Sperling, G., Hsu, A. 2014. Deriving the acuity and the capacity of visual spatial attention.Journal of Vision,14(10), 521-521. MOSES NHAMBUROPage 1

Salaries of Athletes are too High Essays -- Professional Athlete Athle

Salaries of Athletes What should athletes deserve to be paid? Many players have risen to stardom by becoming a professional athlete. Athletes have come from many different backgrounds; some from wealthy and some from poverty raised backgrounds. Salaries are continuing to rise, and money doesn’t seem to be an issue. Athletes are getting what they want from the owners by negotiating through their agents. Athletes’ salaries aren’t from their owners, but they come from other sources (â€Å"Athletes’ Salary†). Athletes get paid an extremely high salary for the work they do, and should consider the value of their work. They do not deserve the extreme amount they get paid and something should by done about it. One issue that these high salaries cause is that having all this money spoils the athletes. Athletes buy so much unnecessary stuff after they get their money. For example, Michael Jordan has about 28 cars. Who needs all these cars? He didn’t buy all of these, but there is a certain limit on how many cars a person needs. Athletes spend their money on cars, entertainment, clothes, and their big mansions. Another instance of athletes spoiling themselves is the use of illegal drugs (â€Å"Pro Salaries†). Michael Irvin of the Dallas Cowboys has been involved in many of these altercations. He has been through all the punishments there possibly is and still makes his money (â€Å"Pro Salaries†). Athletes think they are at a higher level and that they can do whatever they want. An issue that everyone hears about everyday that a pro athlete has committed a murder/crime. Ray Lewis, a safety for the Baltimore Ravens, is being tried for two accounts of murder. He is an excellent athlete. He is on the pro-bowl team for the 1999 season and led the league in tackles. He has just ruined his career by even being involved in a situation like this. Another player is Robert Lewis, a 20 year-old basketball player from the Dallas Mavericks. He was convicted of beating his girlfriend almost to death. A 20-year-old basketball star doesn’t need to feel that he is a king to be a leader. What kind of role model is he setting to other youngsters that want to follow in the same footsteps? The salaries of athletes are extremely high for the effort that they put through. For example, basketball, baseball, and hockey athletes only compete for about 6-8 months a year. Then they have... ...r salaries are too high to compare. They do entertain the public, but the expense for the entertainment is too steep. Athletes should make a decent salary, but they should have control over their limits. They deserve a salary that would compare to other officials who are more important to the people and that have a role which effects the people as a whole. Something must be done before a drastic change occurs. Bibliography: â€Å"Athletes’ Salary.† CQ Researcher. 2000. Bagnato, Andrew. â€Å"Against the (cash) flow as revenue streams into college coffers, Some athletes are clamoring for their cut of the profits.† Chicago Tribune 23 Feb. 1997: 1. Bryjak, George J. â€Å"The Name of the Game is Money.† USA TODAY Sept. 1998: 67-69. Danziger, Lucy S. â€Å"Sweet Inequity.† Women’s Sports and Fitness July 1999: 17. Kindred, David. â€Å"In the name of sanity.† The Sporting News 20 Apr. 1998: 63. â€Å"Pro Salaries.† n. pag. On-line. Internet. http://www.nonline.com/procon/html/prosalary.htm. 12 Jan. 2000. Spiegel, Peter. â€Å"Athletes.† Forbes 22 Mar. 1999: 220. Wigge, Larry. â€Å"Millennium mind-set: Open up game and close wallets.† Sporting News 10 Jan. 2000: 58-59.

Five Phases of the Project Lifecycle Essay

Abstract The project lifecycle describes the tasks that must be completed to produce a product or service (NYS Project Management Guidebook, 2003). The Project Lifecycle has been divided into five phases. The first phase of the Project Lifecycle is the Define Phase in which the project concept is evaluated, selected and defined as the solution to a specific need or set of needs. In the second Plan phase, the concept is developed into a practical plan for implementation. The Launch phase of project lifecycle constitutes the third phase. This is a phase in which management activities are carried out to establish clear terms of reference and a clear management structure. The Manage phase of project lifecycle is the penultimate phase in which the implementation plan is executed. The final phase is termed the Close phase in which the project is completed and documented. The deliverables are then handed over to the care and control of the owner. The Five Phases Each phase of the project lifecycle is associated with a number of activities. The number of activities in a project depends on the class of the project and also on the judgment of the project manager. The different activities associated with each phase of the project lifecycle are described below: Define Phase The Define or Initiation Phase is the first phase in the Project Life Cycle and essentially involves starting up the project. A project is initiated by defining its purpose and scope, the justification for initiating it and the solution to be implemented. (MPMM, 2007) Project Request Approval: Approval of the project request formalizes and institutionalizes the project. This activity ensures that only projects that deserve the kind of investment that is envisaged are selected for implementation and executed. It helps in managing the workload of individual departments. In the ideal situation, anyone can make a project request on a prescribed project request form signed by the operating unit head. The project approver evaluates the report on the basis of pre-specified criteria. The output of this activity is in the form of either an approved or a denied project. If the project is approved, a project manager is assigned. Project Overview Statement: The Project Overview Statement (POS) provides the essence of the project. It is a short document that establishes the purpose of the project and its relevance to the organization in terms of the business value that it will provide. The Project Overview Statement identifies the problem which the project addresses and determines the goals and objectives of the project. The effort that would be required in completing the project is estimated, and the assumptions, risks and obstacles are identified. The primary objective of the POS is top impress the importance of the project upon the senior management and to secure its support for the project. Once the management is convinced, the project manager gains the authority to use organizational resources for the project. During the course of the project lifecycle, the POS becomes the point of reference for the project. Business Case: This activity helps to build a case for the project by justifying it as a business need. All the costs and benefits of the project are weighed before taking the decision to investment in the project. Dependencies, fund requirements and risks are identified. A cost-benefit analysis is undertaken. Project Governance: In this activity the roles and the activities of the different team members and stakeholders are identified and fixed. The decision making hierarchy and structure of the project are defined. Escalation procedures are also drawn up. Management Approval for next phase: This activity concentrates on acquiring the approval of the management to move to the next planning phase of the project. Each phase of the project lifecycle constitutes of a transition activity to move into the next phase. In this activity, the senior management analyzes status report and feedbacks from customers. The senior management together with the project manager then takes a decision whether the project should move into the next phase or not. This activity ensures that projects that are found unworthy or not feasible are rejected early in the lifecycle. Plan Phase The focal point of this phase is developing the project scope into a stable project plan, which will be later used to guide the project through the project life cycle and fulfill the business requirements (Hinds IT Management). Start-off meeting: This is the kick-off meeting in which the project manager sets guidelines for project execution, reviews the Project Overview Statement and lays down the expectations from the project team. Timelines, approach, assumptions and constraints are discussed in this meeting. There is a conscious effort to dispel any doubts that team members may harbor. The minutes of this meeting is documented. Project Approach: The objective of this activity is to define a solution for the project and to identify the method to deliver the solution. An implementation approach to meet the project goals is developed. Policies and standards are laid down. This activity also validates the planning activities required. Various methods in which the project objectives can be achieved are evaluated and the best adopted. Components from other projects that can be applied in the project under consideration are identified. A rationale is provided for the adoption of the particular project approach. The project approach is documented. Quality Strategy: The quality strategy to be adopted for the project is determined. The project manager and his team decide which Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities will be carried out during the course of the project lifecycle. A list of Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities is developed. Work Breakdown Structure: The project is broken down and decomposed into smaller components of activity units, sub tasks and work packages. This enables the manager to estimate the duration of the project more objectively, determine the resources that would be required and also work out a schedule for project execution. It provides the management with enhanced control. A work break down structure evolves out of this activity. This activity is an element of the work plan. Time and Cost Estimate: The time and cost for each task is estimated depending upon the resources available and capability. The time and cost estimate that is drawn up becomes an input for the work plan. Schedule Development: This activity documents the various tasks that need to be executed during the course of the project lifecycle and then assigns responsibilities and establishes timelines for the tasks. Dependencies between various tasks are highlighted. Resources are assigned to the tasks, quality reviews and testing are planned. This activity ensures that the project is completed on time and that the business aspect of the overview statement is addressed. Once the overall schedule is available, the project manager is responsible for monitoring the progress closely. The deliverable of this activity is the work plan. Risk Management Strategy Plan: This activity develops a complete plan for handling risks pertaining to the project. It defines how risks will be identified, who will do so and at what frequency risks will be identified. It adopts a risk monitoring toll, sets the risk escalation matrix and defines how to handle issues with high risk probability. The roles and responsibilities for the risk management process are accorded. Communications Management Plan: This plan is developed to ensure flow of required information to all team members. Access methodologies are worked out, information is categorized according to target groups and overall communication systems defined. Issue Management Plan: An issue management process is defined in this activity. The objective of the activity is to ensure that issues are identified, evaluated and assigned for resolution. An issue log is documented and tracked. Quality Assurance Plan: This plan is implemented to validate that the major activities and processes are completed with an acceptable level of quality. Acceptance criteria for deliverables, quality assurance activities, in-process control plans, and quality-related responsibilities are defined. Frequency of project plan reviews, frequency of receiving and sending status reports, and frequency of checking for process improvements are determined. Resource Plan: This plan is developed to determine the resources that will be required during the various phases of the Project Lifecycle. It also takes into consideration the need training programs or other value-addition processes. The type and amount of resources needed are determined. The estimated output, availability, and cost of the resources are determined. Procurement Plan: This plan draws up the procurement strategy. The scope and type of products and services that are to be procured are outlined. Procurement responsibilities are fixed and assigned. Vendor evaluation criteria and approval procedures are set. Operational Transfer Plan: This activity ensures the smooth activation of the project. Installation processes and related roles and responsibilities are identified. Pre-requisites for smooth rollout of processes are tracked and planned for. Stephenson et. al. (2000) in the Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board puts high importance on this activity. Referring to NASA operations it states that â€Å"close attention should be paid from project outset to the plan for transition between development and operations. Adequate systems engineering staffing, particularly a mission systems engineer, should be in place to provide a bridge during the transition between development and operations, and also to support risk management trade studies.† Integrated Project Plan: This activity enables proper co-ordination of the project. Roles and responsibilities are identified. Reviews are planned; all aspects of the project are examined to ensure that all relevant factors are taken into consideration. Team Assignment: Team assignment is done to ensure that individuals with appropriate skills are assigned to the relevant group and area of work. The Project Manager balances resource availability with the Work Plan. Work packages are defined and assigned and any questions and conflicts regarding work packages are resolved. Management Approval for next Phase: Management approval is given for the next phase based on analyses of status reports and feedbacks. Planning takes a lot of patience. A traditional mistake is to leap before one is ready. When there is pressure to deliver, the temptation is to ‘get the ball rolling’ (Jenkins, 2006). Launch Phase Initial Meeting: The project manager informs the team members of the ground rules of the project, the working style, the communication plan and the escalation process for conflict resolution. The minutes of the meeting is documented for reference. Initial Risk Identification: Risks are identified and categorized during the course of this activity. For each risk identified, the risk event is assessed in terms of likelihood of occurrence and its effect on project objectives if it were to occur. The objective is to ensure that the entire team is involved in the identification of risks for the project. This ensures that all perspectives are taken into account while planning for risks. Team Readiness: This activity consists of preparing each member of the team to handle the roles and responsibilities that has been assigned to the person. Training programs, workshops and seminars are organized for skill and knowledge updating. Key goals are identified for each team member. Within the team, each role is accountable for the activities necessary to achieve its own quality goal (Microsoft, 2002). Manage Phase The project plan is executed in the Manage Phase. The primary purpose of project management during this phase is to monitor, evaluate and communicate project progress and to define and implement corrective measures if progress does not meet the expectations defined in the Project Plan (Heinsights, 2003). This phase comprises the following activities: Performance Tracking and Reporting: The overall objective is to track the progress of the project and to ensure that the project is progressing at a satisfactory rate. Cost, time, scope and quality are tracked along with actual accomplishments and results. All persons associated with the project are provided access to the progress records. Team meetings are held to exchange information. The status of the project is reported to the relevant stakeholders. Weekly status reports and tracked project schedules are the outcomes of this activity. Schedule Control: The objective of this activity is to ensure that tasks are executed as per the Work Plan so that the deadline for the project can be met. If there is any possibility of delays, the relevant stakeholders are informed.   The project manager tracks the various tasks in a project by exchanging task status information with team members and then incorporating the latest status information into the project Work Plan. If the any task, schedule or resource information changes, the Project Manager communicates the revised Work Plan to the project team. The outcome of this activity is the tracked work plan. Change Control: However meticulous the planning may have been, all projects need to accommodate changes. The objective of this activity is to ensure that all changes to scope are documented and authorized by the relevant stakeholders.   Any change to the scope is communicated to the project manager. Change requests are put up to the project manager who approves or denies the request in consultation with the management. Cost Control: This activity ensures that the project cost adheres as closely as possible to the budgeted cost. Since costs are agreed upon at the beginning by the sponsors, the project manager has to monitor the costs and report any deviation of project cost from the budget cost to the sponsor or customer. A status report documents project costs in the various phases of the project. Quality Assurance and Control: This process comprises project reviews, product reviews, code reviews, testing, and any other process that the Project Manager might think necessary. Defects are identified, and categorized. Root causes are analyzed. This activity is carried out with the objective of ensuring that the project team meets the project requirements in terms of all requisite quality criteria. Monitoring and Controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project (Wikipedia, 2008). Procurement Management: The objective is to ensure adherence to the procurement plan and procedures so that the selection procedure is fair and the quality of supplies and services are acceptable. Risk Management: Risk management follows the Risk Management Plan that was adopted in the Plan Phase. The management monitors all risks with a risk exposure over the threshold limit. Risk mitigation strategies are planned and contingency plans are developed. The Risk Matrix is revisited at an appropriate frequency. Information Distribution: This activity ensures that all parties concerned have easy access to relevant information in accordance with the information sharing plan. All relevant information needs to be communicated to the appropriate parties at the right time and in the appropriate format. Time Tracking and Management: This activity is concerned with the logging of all time spent on the project. Time spent is tracked at a project level, and analyzed at an organizational level. The output is in the form of time sheets and variance reports. Management Approval for next phase: Management approval is given for the next phase based on analyses of status reports and feedbacks. Close Phase This consists of bringing the project to an orderly end: formalizing and communicating the acceptance or conclusion of a project, handing over to the ongoing accountable area, completing an Activity Completion Report and, for major projects, holding a post implementation review (QUT, 2008) Transition to Production: The Operational Transfer Plan is carried out after the required checks are done. This activity ensures that all planned testing is carried out, all customer requirements are met and that the product is fully operational. Customer acceptance of the product is ensured before commencing production. Wrap-up Meeting: This final meeting is again called by the project manager to take stock of everything that has happened in the course of the project. Lessons Learned: Lessons learned during the project are documented and incorporated in the knowledge base for future use. The ‘lessons learned’ document is developed and deposited in the knowledge base. Administrative Closure: The Project Manager ensures that the project is approved and accepted by the relevant stakeholders. All documentation and records are reviewed, organized and archived. Backups are taken. Resources are released and the project is closed. This activity marks the final closure of the project. References -01 Heinsights, 2003, Project Management Lifecycle, Development Standard. Hinds IT Management, Project Management Life Cycl, Lilla Nyby; Valmerdalen, Sweden. Jenkins, N., 2006, A Project Management Primer, Creative Commons, California, USA. Microsoft Solutions Framework, 2002, White Paper, MSF Project Management Discipline. MPMM, 2007, Project Management Life Cycle, [Online] Available http://www.mpmm.com/project-management-methodology.php [March 1, 2008] NYS Project Management Guidebook, 2003, Project Management Lifecycle, [Online] Available. http://www.oft.state.ny.us/pmmp/guidebook2/Origination.pdf [March 1, 2008]    QUT, 2008, Project Phases, [Online] Available. http://www.its.qut.edu.au/pp/framework/pmfphases/   [March 1, 2008] Stephenson, A., G., Mulville, D., R., Bauer, F., H., Dukeman, G., A., Norvig, P., LaPiana, L., S., Rutledge, P., J., Folta, D., Sackheim, R., 2000, Report on Project Management in NASA, Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board Wikipedia, 2008, Project Management, [Online] Available http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management   [March 1, 2008]   

History of the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp

History of the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp The 1920 Olympic Games (also known as the VII Olympiad) closely followed the ending of World War I, being held from April 20 to September 12, 1920, in Antwerp, Belgium.  The war had been devastating, with massive destruction and monstrous loss of life, leaving many countries unable to participate in the Olympic Games. Still, the 1920 Olympics went on, seeing the first use of the iconic Olympic flag, the first time a representative athlete took the official Olympic oath, and the first time white doves (representing peace) were released. Fast Facts: 1920 Olympics Official Who Opened the Games:  King Albert I of BelgiumPerson Who Lit the Olympic Flame:  (This was not a tradition until the 1928 Olympic Games)Number of Athletes:  2,626 (65 women, 2,561 men)Number of Countries: 29Number of Events:  154 Missing Countries The world had seen much bloodshed from World War I, which made many wonder whether the wars aggressors should be invited to the Olympic Games. Ultimately, since the Olympic ideals stated that all countries should be allowed entrance into the Games, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Hungary were not forbidden to come, they were also not sent an invitation by the Organizing Committee. (These countries were again not invited to the 1924 Olympic Games) In addition, the newly formed Soviet Union decided not to attend. (Athletes from the Soviet Union did not reappear at the Olympics until 1952.) Unfinished Buildings Since the war had ravaged throughout Europe, funding and materials for the Games was difficult to acquire. When the athletes arrived in Antwerp, construction had not been completed. Besides the stadium being unfinished, the athletes were housed in cramped quarters and slept on folding cots. Extremely LowAttendance Though this year was the first that the official Olympic flag was flown, not many were there to see it. The number of spectators was so low- mainly because people could not afford tickets after the war- that Belgium lost over 600 million francs from hosting the Games. Amazing Stories On a more positive note, the 1920 Games was notable for the first appearance of Paavo Nurmi, one of the Flying Finns. Nurmi was a runner who ran like a mechanical man - body erect, always at an even pace. Nurmi even carried a stopwatch with him as he ran so that he could evenly pace himself. Nurmi returned to run in the 1924 and the 1928 Olympic Games winning, in total, seven gold medals. The Oldest Olympic Athlete Although we normally think of Olympic athletes as young and strapping, the oldest Olympic athlete of all time was 72 years old. Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn had already participated in two Olympic Games (1908 and 1912) and had won five medals (including three gold) before appearing at the 1920 Olympics.   At the 1920 Olympics, 72-year-old Swahn, sporting a long white beard, won a silver medal in the 100-meter, team, running deer double shots.