Why D1 Athletes Should Be Paid

Trying to Get That Paper According to the NCAA, student-athletes are students first and athletes second. However over the last decade there have been many questions raised about what the actual definition of what a student-athlete really is. This is because of the millions of dollars generated by institutions that broadcasting and promoting these â€Å"student-first† athletes. The main question that arises from this is should the NCAA and or institutions/ conferences be paying athletes for their services?By looking at the billions of dollars a year that the business of college sports generates just in television and radio time alone, indicates that student athletes should be paid. If these schools and the NCAA are making billions of dollars from college sports, then why shouldn’t the athletes get paid for doing what they do? After doing some research over a year ago and taking another look at this issue now, the question about paying college athletes has stayed the same .The debate whether to pay college athletes or not arose in the 1980s after Southern Methodist University was caught paying football players for their services. Upon discovery of these infractions, SMU was administered the â€Å"death penalty†, including loss of scholarships and no participation in bowl games for five years. The controversy surrounding paying college athletes seems to have risen from this unfortunate circumstance and has been cultivated into a huge social topic today.Following the SMU scandal in the late 1980s the NCAA rewrote their guidebook that describes an athlete’s role in an academic institution. According to the NCAA, â€Å"Student-athletes are students first and athletes second. They are not university employees who are paid for their labor† (NCAA. com). Looking at the arguments made by the NCAA, they make a valid point in showing how athletes are â€Å"compensated† for their participation in sports. According to the NCAA, â€Å" Many [athletes] receive athletics grants-in-aid that can be worth more than $100,000 (NCAA. om). There are many people who would agree with the NCAA in saying that the scholarships given to the student-athletes is enough â€Å"compensation† for the student-athletes to cover their costs of attending school. There are many other topics that all have a role in deciding whether or not to pay college athletes; mainly television, memorabilia sales, and individual endorsement deals. The question itself hasn’t changed over the years; it’s the financial situation that college institutions and athletes now are exposed to that has changed.All seemed fine and well until, starting in the early 2000’s, large Division 1 sports conferences signed deals with large television networks, generating millions of dollars in revenue for the institutions who were a part of the conference. So the question arose again, should we pay college athletes? According to research done by t he National College Players Association, â€Å"If allowed access to the fair market like the pros, the average FBS football and basketball player would be worth approximately $121,048 and $265,027 respectively (not counting individual commercial endorsement deals)† (NCPANOW. rg). People today are still opposed to paying college athletes, but the case for actually paying them grows stronger year after year. According to ESPN columnist Michael Wilbon, college football and basketball generate over 11 billion dollars in television revenue. He argues, â€Å"why not take 1. 3 billion dollars off the top and, invest it, and make it available for stipends to college athletes? † (Wilbon). Another person in favor of paying college athletes is former Penn State basketball player Stephen Danley.In his interview with National Review reporter, Duncan Currie, he says that, â€Å"in certain programs players are even allowed to take enough credits to graduate in four years. If they [t he colleges] want â€Å"student-athletes† then they should at least give them the financial means to return for an extra year to complete a degree after their playing days are over† (Currie). These two arguments not only show that there is in fact funding to pay these athletes, but that scholarships don’t cover the actual amount of time it takes for a student to finish his/ her degree.So why not help them out financially and allow them to finish? Looking at the large amounts of money going to conferences and universities due to the profits of college sports, it’s easy to see where the debate about paying college athletes comes from. This isn’t a discussion of moral issue or ethical debate; rather, this is simply an issue of looking at the numbers generated and whether or not to pay these athletes for benefiting their schools in popularity and financial gains. So after looking at everything that encompasses college sports, the debate continues; shoul d college athletes be paid?

Sales of Goods Act 1979

Under the Sales of Goods Act 1979 a company has to follow rules and regulations by law; this gives customers certain legal rights such as the right to return an item that may be faulty, if they want a refund or if they want to exchange the item for something else.All customers are entitled to goods that are:As described. Of satisfactory quality. Fit for the purpose.Companies have to abide by the rules and regulations of this law; for example if Tesco were to sell a product that was not of satisfactory quality and not as described this would affect their company as they may face a penalty and/or loose customers.The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008Some companies use misleading methods of advertisement and sales tactics to increase their sales of their products and/or services; therefore the law and rules for consumer protection from unfair trading regulations were implemented to stop companies from using misleading/unethical ways of advertisement. The law protec ts consumers from unfair trading practices, such as:Pressure selling. Misleading product offers. False limited offer notices. Aggressive sales tacticsThis law affects companies as they cannot use misleading ways of advertisement; for example if Tesco used unethical ways of advertising to mislead customers into buying a product of theirs it would be illegal with consequences such as penalties or getting a bad name for their company.Consumer Credit Acts 1974 and 2006The Consumer Credit Acts 1974 and 2006 gives consumers protection when purchasing goods and/or services on credit. If there is an error in the agreement during such purchases consumers will be able to seek legal help. Error during the sale of good and/or services can be prevented; the sales person by law must provide all the important information relating to the sale in order to prevent errors or the company can lose their license through the Office of Fair Trading.This law affects companies such as Tesco as they have to d isclose all important information relating to the sale of goods and/or services they offer and cannot leave out anything during the sale of the goods and/or services – failure to do so may result in them loosing their license through the Office of Fair Trading.Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) RegulationsThis act was implemented in order to protect consumers that purchase goods and/or services over the internet such as; VPN’s, file storage, merchandise and so on; when a consumer purchases such products or services it can be through the following ways:Email Fax Telephone Internet shopping Mail order.This law also protects consumers when getting into a contract with a distance company as they may not get what is expected of the company; customers were given such protection due to not being able to meet with or speak to the supplier/company face-to-face and being unable to see the goods they may be buying. This law effects companies that make long distance selling as they have to be very specific about goods and services they offer or the consumer could claim under the Consumer Protection Regulations for providing wrong or not ‘described as’ goods or services which could cost the company by having to make calls, courier charges to return and refund a customer or legal fees.For example if a company that sells their products online such as ASOS clothing were to show an image of how their product looks and when someone purchases it and it arrives but is different they will have to accept the items return by law if the customer request to return it as it was not as described – this affects ASOS as they have to pay courier charges to accept the returns and then refund the customer so it also becomes time consuming.Data Protection Act 1998The Data Protection Act 1998 is a law designed to protect the personal information of people and also to give people the right to know about information stored about them, however some organisati ons CAN withhold information and doesn’t have to disclose their reason if it is about :The prevention, detection or investigation of a crime. National security or the armed forces. The assessment or collection of tax. Judicial or ministerial appointments.The act controls how personal information about people is used by the government, organisations and businesses. The law does not just apply to government, organisations and businesses; everyone is who is responsible for the collection of personal data has to make sure it is: Used fairly and lawfully.Used for limited, specifically stated purposes. Used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive. Kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary. Handled according to people’s data protection rights. Kept safe and secure. Not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection. However more protection must be used on information such as: The ethnic background of an individual. The religious beliefs of an indiv idual. The health of an individual. The criminal records of an individual.This would affect a company such as Tesco as they cannot just share information about their customers without their permission, which they would need to first obtain so this could become time consuming and cost the Tesco to contact each one of their customers to seek permission to share their information with their partners possibly.Voluntary constraintsCode of Advertising Practice and Advertising Standards Authority; Pressure groups and consumerism; Acceptable languageCode of Advertising Practice and Advertising Standards AuthorityThe ASA is the United Kingdom’s regulator across all advertisement throughout the United Kingdom, however they are a non-statutory organisation and they cannot enforce law on advertisements but their code of advertising practice usually is in line with legislation. The main objective of the ASA is to  make sure all advertisements are legal, decent (not explicit) and truthfu l by implementing their code of advertising practice for companies that make adverts to display their products and services – eg a company cannot make a broadband advert saying you will get this speed when you actually won’t as that would be misleading to consumers.This affects companies such as BT broadband in multiple ways as they cannot just make adverts where they say this is what you’re going to get without being able to back up their advert with evidence or inform consumers that for example speeds may differ depending on areas when advertising broadband.For example if a company such as BT broadband were to make an misleading advertisement about their broadband and it was misleading as it didn’t match their description provided, they would loose customers and also get a bad reputation with people and the ASA.Pressure groups and consumerismPressure groups are known as an ‘interest groups’ or lobby and are an organised group of like-minded individuals that seek to influence government legislation and public policy regarding concerns and priorities they may have; this could be :To promote an interest. To voice consumer concerns. To push for broad policies – e.g. environmental protection.This can affect companies, public policy and government as pressure groups are able to put immense pressure on them if they aren’t happy with their policies, legislations or for a company the way they operate or even treat their customers/staff and so on. Therefore, companies and governments could come under immense pressure to make changes if a pressure group believes there should be changes.For example when Tesco mislead customers into buying horse meat which they  told their customers was chicken, it lead to pressure groups telling people to shop somewhere else instead – this would affect Tesco as they would be loosing customers.Acceptable languageIn companies all staff should use appropriate language no matte r what their audience may be, this could be when making a commercial for T.V, speaking to customers or colleagues; appropriate language could be byAvoiding slang when speaking. Avoiding biased or derogatory comments – e.g. jokes or comments that perpetuate negative stereotypes as this could be found offensive. Being polite – being polite in business is very important as it can build up better relationships between co-workers, colleagues and customers which will be good for business.Failure to use appropriate language in advertisements or by colleagues may reflect against the company giving it a bad image/name and also could create a loss of customers or even the possibility of fines if they offend anyone.For example if Tesco made a T.V commercial that had foul language it would affect their business as it would be unprofessional of them and lead to them getting a bad name for their business; it could also cause them to loose customers as some may find a advert with fou l language offensive.

Barriers to Critical Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Barriers to Critical Thinking - Essay Example Meaning, it deprives individuals of an opportunity of making their own independent decisions. Instead, it compels them to conform to certain behaviors and standards accepted by the family. Unfortunately, this happens even if not the best approach to adopt is. For example, a family might require all its members to abide by certain traditions and practices that do not necessarily suit all its members (Elder & Richard, 2006). In this situation, everyone would have to behave and think in a certain manner regardless of its relevance, and objectivity thus ending up making decisions without critically thinking about them. So, family can be a great obstacle to critical thinking because it does not allow everyone to make their individual decisions based on their reflection, reason and understanding. As the saying goes, â€Å"When everyone thinks alike, no one thinks very much† (Cederblom & Paulsen, 2006). Group-centered thinking is not objective as it is promptly don e without creating enough time to think and deliberate over the issue of concern. To prevent such a problem, I would have to be autonomous in my thoughts and decisions. On the other hand, critical thinking can be harmed by emotions. Once a person is overwhelmed by emotional distress, one can not make a rational decision because it does not provide a conducive environment to do so. Emotional feelings such as stress can result into prejudice, stereotypes, arrogance and intolerance. All these can prevent a person from making a critical and objective decision as this needs to be done when one is in a sober and relaxed condition (Hendricks, 2005). For example, when a person is seriously distressed, he can not get an ample opportunity to sit down, reason, reflect and make proper decisions. Instead, they will be acting under pressure to hurriedly make a decision without thinking about it. Personally, when faced with such a situation, I

Reflections on Learning Related to Information Systems Research Paper

Reflections on Learning Related to Information Systems - Research Paper Example OOP is also quite responsive to changes undertaken and the changes may be implemented to the individual objects which do not call for a system overhaul. Through encapsulation there is simplicity and effectiveness in object interaction and communication thus testing, debugging and system maintenance is simplified. Easier to manage because of the fact that code can be reused and also because the functionality is modeled using objects and classes. It is possible to use code which has been written before. There is code re-use. With object oriented programming, there is a lot of flexibility because it is possible to get code which performs the same function for a given functionality. Computer science is a field in science hich deals with computer theory while that of I have learnt many things in this course. Systems development is a new branch in information and communications technology. Developing information systems is an important process that should be taken into consideration. Syste ms development is becoming an important aspect in information and communication technology. Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process used to monitor and manage the development of a software. SDLC is an important model that is used to manage the whole process. It is important in developing a software output which is reliable and valid. It therefore acts as a guide when developing a software product (Schneider 2010). The development process of a software product entails a lot of steps. All these steps should be followed up in its entirety to ensure that all the processes are captured in the development process. For a good software to be developed, there is need to ensure that all the steps are followed extensively so that the occurrence of bugs can be minimized. SDLC also helps as a guide in collecting data that is used to design the software. In the design of a software, it is imperative that the software meets the requirements of the users so that their needs are met. I h ave learnt that there are various stages that systems development will undergo in order to have acomplete system. Systems design undergoes a lot of processes and stages. This is taken so that all the processes that are required have been made. This is the reason there is a need to have a thorough system analysis process when creating a system. System analysis entails having a thorough understanding of the system and what will need to be integrated and also looking at the possible bugs that might be introduced in the system. It is therefore important to have a physical representation of the system so that it becomes clear what needs to be achieved. In terms of systems theory, I have learnt that systems theory is an important theory that needs to be followed when developing information systems. Systems theory was developed from unified data modeling. Use cases on the other hand describe the behavior of the system in the event of stimulation by any of the actors. The behavior is then d ocumented or described textually. It describes the inputs and outputs from the actors the process of conversion of the inputs to produce the outputs and the effects of the outputs to the other actors of the system. A use case also describes errors that can be encountered in the process of conversion of input to output and explains the possible mitigation

The Union on the CBA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The Union on the CBA - Research Paper Example The researcher states that the union has failed to explicitly state in the CBA the terms of how they would raise their premiums, given the anticipated appreciation of premium rates. The researcher states that the interpretation of the union on the CBA was reasonable, given that the CBA explicitly stated that the percentage increase on the premiums to be paid by the workers, effective January 1,200, would be on the stated amounts as based from the 1999 premiums for the TOP. In this case, it can reasonably be argued that the premiums to be paid by the workers would be based on 1999 premiums; however, it is also the union’s fault that they did not clarify on whether the rates presented on the CBA were merely illustrative, or were the actual rates. In this case, The researcher states that the company also had the moral responsibility to explicitly state the terms of the CBA provision, so that there would be no confusion on its interpretation. On this specific case, it can clearly be seen that the premium payment figures stated in the CBA may be reasonably understood to be based on 1999 premiums, effective on the stated date. Because the company actually failed to explicitly state that the figures indicated in the company were merely illustrative, despite their previous practice of how premium rates would be computed, this only created much confusion between them and the union, which may lead to significant disruption of normal business operations.

Love.Ethical Dilemma of repeat Valve replacement Essay

Love.Ethical Dilemma of repeat Valve replacement - Essay Example This dysfunction in turn causes a need for re-operation of the patients, due to complications arising such as the structural deterioration of bioprosthesis. Though the chances of patient mortality when undergoing a repeat operation are high, there has always been re-operations to such patients (Antunes, 1992). An ethical question arises to why a patient should be re-operated, yet in so doing, the chances of that patient’s death are increased. In the subsequent operations after the first one, the causes of patient’s death changes from the structural deterioration of the bioprosthesis to valvular leak. This is what further increases the chances of death. With such knowledge though, MVR has continued to be done over the years. Furthermore, subsequent re-operations have continued to be undertaken on patients, even though they increase their chances of death. However, the justification to this is that there are chances of saving the lives of the patients, even though such chances continues to diminish with each re-operation done (Antunes, 1992). Although performing re-operation to patients well knowing that it increases their chances of death seems unethical, there is a need to have it since the patient’s chances of surviving are increased by the re-operation, than when they are left to die of valvular

Discuss Question Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discuss Question - Coursework Example (n.p.). Offshoring is considered to be an advantage to most of the businessmen but it became a problem when impact to the economy was observed during the increasing rates of offshoring. The increasing awareness on the impact of offshoring to the United States’ economy had raised the fears among American workforce and global economy, particularly to the white collar jobs. The U.S. economy is still in recovery and yet, unknown threats of offshoring proliferates the American workforce. Instead of allotting job opportunities for millions of Americans who are unemployed, slots were given to the developing countries. I know that offshoring is one of the ways to be cost-effective in terms of business but the nation should also consider how to stabilize the American workforce and win the global economy. Aside from shortlisting of jobs in U.S., the Center for American Progress (2011) identified impacts of offshoring to the global economy of U.S; among of which are the following: slow c reation of jobs, pain and suffering due to loss of jobs, lack of specific policy proposals, and uncompetitive health care and education system (n.p.). Government must address these issues in order to continue to compete in the global economy. How large might be the impact of offshoring to the U.S. ... Yes, I think that there should be a global internet privacy policy. Many of the web services, particularly companies and businesses, collect information from the user. However, issues regarding establishment of a global internet privacy policy prevails because most of the web services online lack consistency in the applicability and content of privacy laws across jurisdictions (Fleischer, 2010, n.p.). In order to determine the applicability of a global internet privacy policy, it is essential to analyze the different jurisdictional approaches of privacy and data protection laws around the world. These includes location of the organization using the data, location of the people whose data is being used, place where the actual processing happens, multinational operations, use of equipment, cloud computing in terms of location of processing and equipment, international privacy standards, treaty dealing with conflicts of law, country of origin and accountability principle, and voluntary submission to one regime (Fleischer, 2010, n.p.). A perfect example of the need to implement a global internet privacy policy is demonstrated on the benefits derived from the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the data breach notification laws. Majority of the individual states of America implemented these approaches to operators of websites directed at children within the U.S. and notified responsible person for serious data breach (Fleischer, 2010, n.p.). With global internet privacy policy, it is not only privacy of information that is being protected but the welfare of the children and the intellectual property rights as well. How do analytics support business experimentation? Give an example of how a company might use business

Warehouse Layout Planning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Warehouse Layout Planning - Research Paper Example The design of a warehouse should be capable of maximizing the utility of space while simultaneously allowing for sufficient circulation paths for both material handling equipment, for instance, forklift trucks and warehouse personnel. As a consequence, it is critical for warehouse planning and design to take advantage of height allowances through the use of higher bays. In order to facilitate flexibility in warehouse planning and design, it is vital to make use of alternative methods for handling material. These methods typically influence construction and planning aspects such as aisle widths, need for the inclusion of mezzanine space, egress design and lighting design (Christopher & Towill, 2001). Warehouses should typically be designed by taking into consideration both present and future needs in order to allow for changes in enterprise growth, size of warehouse spaces and population and size of the office. It is vital for warehouse space to be easily adaptable to fit varying func tions, for instance, office levels and computer centers. Effective site design accommodates the need for future loading docks, car parking spaces and truck space. In order to achieve this, enterprises need to address techniques for handling material and business practices, for instance, just-in-time storage. This involves the inclusion of roof designs with extra structural capacity that is built-in to facilitate the addition of supplementary rooftop equipment. In order to ensure that the future supplementary space is effective with regard to handling future material, the design should encompass fire protection capacities (Cormier & Gunn, 1992). This will allow for the accommodation of storage materials that have an increased level of fire hazard, particularly with regard of high plastic products. Flexibility can be built into warehouse design and planning to contain future changes through the implementation of scenario planning, which ultimately results enhanced flexibility. Scenari os can be constructed either through modeling or simulation to take into consideration a variety of situations through which the design flexibility can be assessed effectively. Such scenarios include, for instance, alternative growth anticipations, unusual peak provisions and alterations in order profiles. This typically requires the use of simulation tools that can prove effective. These simulation tools include general simulation packages adaptable for warehousing and specified warehousing simulation packages. These packages include some that can be purchased directly from suppliers and others available through equipment suppliers, suppliers of warehouse management systems and consultancies (Christopher & Towill, 2001). Since not all tools are applicable in all situations, it is critical that an enterprise adopts the appropriate simulation tool for its flexibility and future needs. For instance, a certain modeling simulation cannot offer accurate answers for certain projects, espe cially where the enterprise is experienced fundamental changes. Although scenario planning is effective, it is not an endeavor to forecast the future. This means that drawing scenarios that predict future events will prove ineffective in the long term since people’s perceptions typically influence what they consider as the reality. Predictions for the future

Feminism and International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Feminism and International Relations - Essay Example However, there are no agreed standards on how to achieve the equality standards. While most problems in international relations field are considered to reveal around the issue of war and security  as most realists assume, there are numerous groups that are liberal in nature, which are concerned in human rights groups, civil society, international political economy, development in the social space among others. For many years, realism and liberalism have been the two main theorists that address issues in international relations. Vibrant societal networks with entrenched confidence and practice leads lead to acknowledgement of important objectives in the country’s systems.The feminist movements and groups do influence international relations decisions by advocating new and better approaches to global to promote justice, equality, and maximise the value of humanity in globe affairs. Literature Review Feminism is currently a political movement and continues to challenge traditio nal approaches of conceptualising politics in the society and the political disciplines (Randall 1995, 118). There are two types of feminism: radical and Marxist feminism that had a revolutionary mind while the liberal feminists have portrayed themselves as reformists in international relations. As a result, in most western countries, the reformist mindset has won the political space, with many women, feminists included, making an impact in political institutions and professions (Randall 1995, 118). Feminist empiricism advances the perspective that states and interstate relations have been governed by dominating gendered structures, and interactions that have been neglecting women in leadership. Feminist standpoint is that women in their varied experiences in life have gained expertise and knowledge in the political life, which offers different perspectives on social issues that provide reliable and effective solutions to most problems in the world political system (Keohane 1989, 24 5). Therefore, the role of feminisms in international relations is to criticise any patriarchal thinking and introduce gendered structures in the society. The social and political integration have an impact on women discrimination since they diversify foundation of political competition and contribute to formation of diverse identities and understanding among citizens. Societal revolutions such as relocation from rural to city resolution areas, speedy population change, democratic politics, and improvement affect women rights. The political protests by women aim at convincing authorities of particular policies as well as create social norms through endorsing particular social behaviors. Problems Feminist Face in International Relations Women discrimination narrows the potential range of policy responses, undermines the capacity of the society to respond autonomously to the demands of their citizenry thereby weakening the legitimacy of traditional political intermediaries and state a uthorities. These new arrangements promoted the diffusion of new values of good governance, human rights, institutional structures, policy formulation, and democracy. One of the major problems that feminists have sought to deal with is in sovereignty of nations. For many years, sovereignty has been related to reciprocity (Keohane 1989, 247). In other words, as Koehane explains, while states have to claims their sovereignty, such states have a duty to respect the sovereignty of other states. These traditional international relation perspectives were discriminatory and tend to separate a nation from others. As Cohn (1987,

Global warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global warming - Essay Example You’ve been greatly successful in offering appropriate illustrations, examples, and explanations all through your speech, effectively enhancing them with elaborate graphics. Significantly, the data you’ve provided throughout your speech have been concise and handy, ornamented with computer-model charts, photos, archival footage, and cartoons. The ultimate impact of using these tools in the speech is that the audience is easily persuaded by the seriousness of the issue as these dramatically illustrate the influence of the issue of global warming on the entire universe, and on the U.S. in particular. I’m particularly impressed with the pertinent point of your speech, i.e. the human beings have been destructively influencing the planet by way of manmade pollution and other threatening acts. However, I’m more impressed with the way you have been emphasizing the compelling case for decisive action, through your forceful words and effective mannerisms. In short, I’m highly convinced that you’ve secured a respectable place among the world’s most natural public speakers through your show of public speaking ability in this campaign. Work Cited â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth.† Top Documentary Films. Feb 17. 2011.

Mayanmar Army Essay Example for Free

Mayanmar Army Essay Introduction 1.The Myanmar Army (Tatmadaw Kyee in local language) is the land component of the Military of Myanmar. The Myanmar Army is the largest branch of the Armed Forces of Myanmar and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southeast Asia after Vietnams Vietnam Peoples Army. 2.The Myanmar Army has a troop strength around 492,000. The army has rich combat experience in fighting insurgents in rough terrains, considering it has been conducting non-stop counter-insurgency operations against ethnic and political insurgents since its inception in 1948. 3.The force is headed by the Commander in Chief (Army), currently Vice Senior General Maung Aye. The highest rank in the Myanmar Army is Senior General, equivalent to Field Marshal position in Western Armies and is currently held by Senior General Than Shwe. The defence budget of the Myanmar Military is 7.07 billion US dollars. 4.Defence Policy of Myanmar Tatmadaw was formally declared in February, 1999. The declared policy outlined the doctrine of total peoples defence for the Union of Myanmar. Threats to the national unity, territorial integrity and sovereign independence of the Union of Myanmar are the most important security objectives and considered as threats to the security of state. In the process of formulating Defence Policy and Military Doctrine from a strategic perspective, Tatmadaw has undergone three phases. History 5.First phase (post-independence/civil war era).The first phase of the doctrine was developed in early 1950s to cope with external threats from more powerful enemies with a strategy of Strategic Denial under conventional warfare. The perception of threats to state security was more external than internal threats. The internal threat to state security was managed through the use of a mixture of force and political persuasion. Lieutenant Colonel Maung Maung drew up defence doctrine based on conventional warfare concepts, with large infantry divisions, armoured brigades, tanks and motorised war with mass mobilisation for the war effort being the important element of the doctrine. The objective was to contain the offensive of the invading forces at the border for at least three months, while waiting for the arrival of international forces, similar to the police action by international intervention forces under the directive of United Nations during the war on Korean peninsula. However, the conventional strategy under the concept of total war was undermined by the lack of appropriate command and control system, proper logistical support structure, sound economic bases and efficient civil defence organisations. At the beginning of 1950s, while Tatmadaw was able to reassert its control over most part of the country, Kuomintang (KMT) troops under General Li Mai, with support from United States, invaded Myanmar and used the countrys frontier as a springboard for attack against Peoples Republic of China, which in turn became the external threat to state security and sovereignty of Myanmar. The first phase of the doctrine was tested for the first time in Operation Naga Naing in February 1953 against invading KMT forces. The doctrine did not take into account logistic and political support for KMT from United States and as a result it failed to deliver the objectives and ended in humiliating defeat for the Tatmadaw. The then Tatmadaw leadership argued that the excessive media coverage was partly to blame for the failure of Operation Naga Naing. For example, Brigadier General Maung Maung pointed out that newspapers, such as the Nation, carried reports detailing the training and troops positioning, even went as far to the name and social background of the commanders who are leading the operation thus losing the element of surprise. Colonel Saw Myint, who was second in command for the operation, also complained about the long lines of communications and the excessive pressure imposed upon the units for public relations activities in order to prove that the support of the people was behind the operation. 6.Second phase (KMT invasion/BSPP era).Despite failure, Tatmadaw continued to rely on this doctrine until the mid 1960s. The doctrine was under constant review and modifications throughout KMT invasion and gained success in anti-KMT operations in the mid and late 1950s. However, this strategy became increasingly irrelevant and unsuitable in the late 1950s as the insurgents and KMT changed their positional warfare strategy to hit-and-run guerrilla warfare. At the 1958 Tatmadaws annual Commanding Officers (COs) conference, Colonel Kyi Win submitted a report outlining the requirement for new military doctrine and strategy. He stated that Tatmadaw did not have a clear strategy to cope with insurgents, even though most of Tatmadaws commanders were guerrilla fighters during the anti-British and Japanese campaigns during the Second World War, they had very little knowledge of anti-guerrilla or counterinsurgency warfare. Based upon Colonel Kyi Wins report, Tatmadaw begin developing an appropriate military doctrine and strategy to meet the requirements of counterinsurgency warfare. 7.This second phase of the doctrine was to suppress insurgency with peoples war and the perception of threats to state security was more of internal threats. During this phase, external linkage of internal problems and direct external threats were minimised by the foreign policy based on isolation. It was common view of the commanders that unless insurgency was suppressed, foreign interference would be highly probable, therefore counterinsurgency became the core of the new military doctrine and strategy. Beginning in 1961, the Directorate of Military Training took charge the research for national defence planning, military doctrine and strategy for both internal and external threats. This included reviews of international and domestic political situations, studies of the potential sources of conflicts, collection of information for strategic planning and defining the possible routes of foreign invasion.[1]. In 1962, as part of new military doctrine planning, principles of anti-guerrilla warfare were outlined and counterinsurgency-training courses were delivered at the training schools. The new doctrine laid out three potential enemies and they are internal insurgents, historical enemies with roughly an equal strength (i.e. Thailand), and enemies with greater strength. It states that in suppressing insurgencies, Tatmadaw must be trained to conduct long-range penetration with a tactic of continuous search and destroy. Reconnaissance, Ambush and all weather day and night offensive and attack capabilities along with winning the hearts and minds of people are important parts of anti-guerrilla warfare. For countering an historical enemy with equal strength, Tatmadaw should fight a conventional warfare under total war strategy, without giving up an inch of its territory to the enemy. For powerful enemy and foreign invaders, Tatmadaw should engage in total peoples war, with a special focus on g uerrilla strategy. 8.To prepare for the transition to the new doctrine, Brigadier General San Yu, the then Vice Chief of Staff (Army), sent a delegation led by Lieutenant Colonel Thura Tun Tin was sent to Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and East Germany in July 1964 to study organisation structure, armaments, training, territorial organisation and strategy of peoples militias. A research team was also formed at General Staff Office within the War Office to study defence capabilities and militia formations of neighbouring countries. The new doctrine of total peoples war, and the strategy of anti-guerrilla warfare for counterinsurgency and guerrilla warfare for foreign invasion, were designed to be appropriate for Myanmar. The doctrine flowed from the countrys independent and active foreign policy, total peoples defence policy, the nature of perceived threats, its geography and the regional environment, the size of its population in comparison with those of its neighbours, the relatively underdeveloped nature of its economy and its historical and political experiences. The doctrine was based upon three totalities: population, time and space (du-thone-du) and four strengths: manpower, material, time and morale (Panama-lay-yat). The doctrine did not develop concepts of strategic denial or counter-offensive capabilities. It relied almost totally on irregular low-intensity warfare, such as its guerrilla strategy to counter any form of foreign invasion. The overall counterinsurgency strategy included not only elimination of insurgents and their support bases with the four cut strategy, but also the building and designation of white area and black area as well. 9.In April 1968, Tatmadaw introduced special warfare training programmes at Command Training Centres at various regional commands. Anti-Guerrilla warfare tactics were taught at combat forces schools and other training establishments with special emphasis on ambush and counter-ambush, counterinsurgency weapons and tactics, individual battle initiative for tactical independence, commando tactics, and reconnaissance. Battalion size operations were also practised in the South West Regional Military Command area. The new military doctrine was formally endorsed and adopted at the first party congress of the BSPP in 1971.[5] BSPP laid down directives for complete annihilation of the insurgents as one of the tasks for national defence and state security and called for liquidation of i nsurgents through the strength of the working people as the immediate objective. This doctrine ensures the role of Tatmadaw at the heart of national policy making. 10.Throughout BSPP era, the total peoples war doctrine was solely applied in counterinsurgency operations, since Myanmar did not face any direct foreign invasion throughout the period. In 1985, the then Lieutenant General Saw Maung, Vice-Chief of Staff of Tatmadaw reminded his commanders during his speech at the Command and General Staff College. In Myanmar, during that time, out of nearly 35 million people, the combined armed forces (army, navy and air force) are about two hundred thousand. In terms of percentage, that is about 0.01 percent. It is simply impossible to defend a country the size of ours with only this handful of troops therefore, what we have to do in the case of foreign invasion is to mobilise people in accordance with the total peoples war doctrine. In order to defend our country from aggressors, the entire population must be involved in the war effort as the support of people dictate the outcome of the war. 11.Third phase (SLORC/SPDC era).The third phase of doctrinal development of Myanmar Armed Forces came after the military take over and formation of State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) in September, 1988 as part of armed forces modernisation programme. The development was the reflection of sensitivity towards direct foreign invasion or invasion by proxy state during the turbulent years of the late 80s and early 90s, for example: unauthorised presence of US Aircraft Carrier Group in Myanmars territorial waters during 1988 political uprising as evidence of an infringement of Myanmars sovereignty. Also, Tatmadaw leadership was concerned that foreign powers might arm the insurgents on the Myanmar border to exploit the political situation and tensions in the country. This new threat perception, previously insignificant under the nations isolationist foreign policy, led Tatmadaw leaders to review the defence capability and doctrine of the Tatmadaw. 12.The third phase was to face the lower level external threats with a strategy of strategic denial under total peoples defence concept. Current military leadership has successfully dealt with 17 major insurgent groups, whose return to legal fold in the past decade has remarkably decreased the internal threats to state security, at least for the short and medium terms, even though threat perception of the possibility of external linkage to internal problems, perceived as being motivated by the continuing human rights violations, religious suppression and ethnic cleansing, remains high. 13.Within the policy, the role of the Tatmadaw was defined as a `modern, strong and highly capable fighting force. Since the day of independence, the Tatmadaw has been involved in restoring and maintaining internal security and suppressing insurgency. It was with this background that Tatmadaws multifaceted defence policy was formulated and its military doctrine and strategy could be interpreted as defence-in-depth. It was influenced by a number of factors such as history, geography, culture, economy and sense of threats. Tatmadaw has developed an active defence strategy based on guerrilla warfare with limited conventional military capabilities, designed to cope with low intensity conflicts from external and internal foes, which threatens the security of the state. This strategy, revealed in joint services exercises, is built on a system of total peoples defence, where the armed forces provide the first line of defence and the training and leadership of the nation in the matter of national defence. It is designed to deter potential aggressors by the knowledge that defeat of Tatmadaws regular forces in conventional warfare would be followed by persistent guerrilla warfare in the occupied areas by people militias and dispersed regular troops which would eventually wear down the invading forces, both physically and psychologically, and leave it vulnerable to a counter-offensive. If the conventional strategy of strategic denial fails, then the Tatmadaw and its auxiliary forces will follow Maos strategic concepts of strategic defensive, strategic stalemate and strategic offensive. 14.Over the past decade, through a series of modernisation programs, Tatmadaw has developed and invested in better Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence system; real-time intelligence; formidable air defence system; and early warning systems for its strategic denial and total peoples defence doctrine. Structure of Myanmar Army 15.The Army has always been by far, the largest service in Myanmar and has always received the lions share of the Defence Budget. [Working Papers Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU] [Andrew Selth: Power Without Glory (ISBN-10: 1891936131)] It has played the most prominent part in Myanmars struggle against the 40 or more insurgent groups since 1948 and acquired a reputation as a tough and resourceful military force. In 1981, it was described as probably the best army to fight insurgency in Southeast Asia, apart from Vietnams. [Far Eastern Economic Review, 20 May 1981] This judgement was echoed in 1983, when another observer noted that Myanmars Infantry is generally rated as one of the toughest, most combat seasoned in Southeast Asia. [Far Eastern Economic Review, 7 July 1983] 16. In 1985, a foreign journalist with the rare experience of seeing Burmese soldiers in action against ethnic insurgents and narco-armies was thoroughly impressed by their fighting skills, endurance and discipline. [Bertil Lintner, Land of Jade] Other commentators throughout that time characterised the Myanmar Army as the toughest, most effective light infantry jungle force now operating in Southeast Asia. [AsiaWeek 21 Feb. 1992] Even the Thais, not known to praise the Burmese lightly, have described the Myanmar Army as skilled in the art of jungle warfare. [The Defence of Thailand (Thai Government issue), p.15, April 1995] Thai soldiers readily acknowledge, albeit privately, the toughness and determination of their Myanmar counterparts. Despite its preoccupation with retaining political power, the Myanmar Army has never lost sight of its defence role, and over the past 12 years, it has implemented a wide range of measures which have significantly enhanced its military capabilities. Expansion 17.The Tatmadaws organizational and command structure dramatically changed after the military coup in 1988. The first army division was formed in the year 1966. It was the 77th Light Infantry Division (LID) as rapid reaction mobile forces for strike operations. In March 1990, a new Regional Military Command (RMC) was opened in Monywa with Brigadier Kyaw Min as commander and named North-Western RMC. A year later 101st LID was formed in Pakokku with Col. Saw Tun as commander. Two Regional Operations Commands (ROC) were formed in Myeik and Loikaw to facilitate command and control. They were commanded respectively by Brigadier Soe Tint and Brigadier Maung Kyi. March 1995 saw a dramatic expansion of the Tatmadaw as it established 11 Military Operations Commands (MOC)s in that month. MOCs are similar to Mechanized Infantry Divisions in western armies, each with 10 regular infantry battalions (Chay Hlyin Tatyin), a headquarters, and organic support units including field artillery batteries. Then in 1996, two new RMC were opened, Coastal Region RMC was opened in Myeik with Brigadier Sit Maung as commander and Triangle Region RMC in Kengtung with Brigadier Thein Sein as commander. Three more new ROCs were opened in Kalay, Bhamo and Mongsat. In late 1998, two new MOCs were opened in Bokepyin and Mongsat. [WP 342. Australian National University] The most significant expansion after the infantry in the army was in Armour and Artillery. Beginning in 1990, the Myanmar Army (Tatmadaw) procured 18 T-69II tanks and 48 T-63 amphibious light tanks from China. Further procurements were made, including several hundred Type 85 and Type 92 armoured personnel carriers (APC). By the beginning of 1998, Tatmadaw had about 100+ T-68II main battle tanks, a similar number of T-63 amphibious light tanks and several T-59D tanks. These tanks and armoured personnel carriers were distributed into five armoured infantry battalions and five tank battalions and formed the first Armoured Division of the Tatmadaw under the name of 71st Armoured Operations Command with its headquarters in Pyawbwe. Strength and organization 18.By 2000, the Myanmar Army had reached some 370,000 all ranks. There were 337 infantry battalions, including 266 light infantry battalions. Although the Myanmar Armys organisational structure was based upon the regimental system, the basic manoeuvre and fighting unit is the battalion, known as Tat Yin in Burmese, which comprised a headquarters unit; four rifle companies (tat khwe) with three rifle platoons (Tat Su) each; an administration company with medical, transport, logistics and signals units; a heavy weapons company including mortar, machine gun and recoilless gun platoons. Each battalion is commanded a Lieutenant Colonel (du bo hmu gyi) with a Major (bo hmu) as 2IC (Second in Command), with a total establishment strength of 27 officers and 723 other ranks. Light infantry battalions in Myanmar Army have much lower establishment strength of around 500; as a result this often leads to these units being mistakenly identified by the observers and reporters as under strength infantry battalions. 19.With its significantly increased personnel numbers, weaponry and mobility, todays Tatmadaw Kyee is a formidable conventional defence force for the Union of Myanmar. Troops ready for combat duty have at least doubled since 1988. Logistics infrastructure and Artillery Fire Support has been greatly increased. Its newly acquired military might was apparent in the Tatmadaws dry season operations against Karen National Union (KNU) strongholds in Manerplaw and Kawmura. Most of the casualties at these battles were the result of intense and heavy bombardment by the Tatmadaw Kyee. Not only that Tatmadaw Kyee is now much larger than it was in pre-1988, it is more mobile and has greatly improved armour, artillery and air defence inventories. Its C3I (Command Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence) systems have been expanded and refined. It is developing larger and more integrated, self-sustained formations which should lend themselves to better coordinated action by different combat arms. The army may still have relatively modest weaponry compared to its larger neighbours, but it is now in a much better position to deter external aggression and respond to such a threat should it ever arise. The organisational tree is attached as annexure-A. Commander in Chief (Army) 20.Until 1990, Myanmar Armed Forces has Chief of Staff system and Myanmar Army was led by Vice Chief of Staff (Army). In 1990, Myanmar Armed Forces was reorganized and all three branches of Armed Forces are now led by Commander-in-Chief.

The poem Hide and Seek Essay Example for Free

The poem Hide and Seek Essay The poem Hide and Seek was written by Vernon Scannel and is about a child playing hide and seek with his friends. The main theme of this poem is isolation. There are a few subthemes as well, such as difficulties in life, competition and abandonment. The poet uses a vast amount of literary devices, like similes, metaphors and personification, and writes the poem as an extended metaphor for life. He also uses a variety of punctuation which helps build up tension throughout the poem. I will be discussing the effect the poet Scannel creates by using these devices in the next few paragraphs. Vernon Scannels poem has two meanings. The obvious one is about a child playing hide and seek and then realising that his friends have left him, showing abandonment. But the deeper meaning of this poem is that the poet is actually describing what happens in life. As he shows the child starting out with full confidence at the beginning of the game, he means to say that when someone starts off a new life they are confident and strong (Im ready! Come and find me! ). The exclamation marks show the child is full of energy and assurance that he cannot lose the game and if we go deeper we can see that someone who starts a new life will have the same attitude. There are difficulties, of course, like the cold floor and the salty dark. This metaphor gives the effect of some place harsh and uncomfortable, in a real life situation this would be any obstacle that is come across. The child though, takes it all in and stays silent about it because he knows this is what he has to do to win. What in real life would be accepting any difficult challenge and accomplishing it, to get ahead in life. Scannel even presents one of the greatest fears in life isolation, in the phrase, But where are they who sought you? This shows how the hiding child gets abandoned by his friends after they could not find him. Rather than let him win, they gave up and left him alone. Vernon is trying to advise the audience that when in life you face a difficult situation when you are lonely, you have to fend for yourself. Who knows when your friends can leave you? No one will care enough or only you can be trusted to take care of yourself. One last thing Scannel wanted his audience to follow was to grab every opportunity in life, rather than wait too long and have them go away. In the poem when the child waits too long to uncover himself he was too late because his friends had already gone. If he would have done sooner, he might have won the game. In the same way, if you wait too long to grab an opportunity, you just might miss it out altogether.

Integrated Severe Accident Codes

Integrated Severe Accident Codes Advanced safety evaluations and design optimizations that were not possible few years ago can now be performed. Nowadays, it becomes possible to switch to new generation of computational tools in order to get better realistic simulations of complex phenomena and transients. The challenge today is to revisit safety features of the existing research reactors in order to verify that the safety requirements still met and when necessary to introduce some amendments, coming from not only the new requirements but also, in order to introduce new equipments from recent advancement of new technologies. The objective of this work is to give an overview of the state of the art in performing safety analysis of research reactors and to emphasize the need and the provision to achieve such goals. An attempt to perform standardized safety analyses for RR was proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency e IAEA. In the framework of core conversion from the use of highly enriched uranium fuel to the use of low enriched uranium fuel. In this regard, a safety related benchmark problem for an idealized generic 10 MW MTR light-water pool-type reactor was specified in order to compare computational methods used in various research centers and institutions. The related benchmark problem covers large steady state kinetic and thermal-hydraulic calculations and wide range of hypothetical dynamic transient conditions. However, almost all of the safety analyses have so far been performed using conservative computational tools. Nowadays, an established international expertise in relation to computational tools, procedures for their application, including best estimate methods supported by uncertainty evaluation, and comprehensive experimental database exists within the safety technology of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). The importance of transferring NPP safety technology tools and methods to RR safety technology has been noted in recent IAEA activities. However, the ranges of parameters of interest to RR are different from those for NPP. This is namely true for fuel composition, system pressure, adopted materials and overall system geometric configuration. The large variety of research reactors prevented so far the achievement of systematic and detailed lists of initiating events based upon qualified PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) studies with results endorsed by the international community. However, bounding and generalized lists of events are available from IAEA documents and can be considered for de eper studies in the area. In the area of acceptance criteria, established standards accepted by the international community are available. Therefore no major effort is needed, but an effort appears worthwhile to check that those standards are adopted and that the related thresholds are fulfilled. The importance of suitable experimental validation is recognized. A large amount of data exists as the kinetic dynamic core behavior form SPERT reactors tests. However, not all data are accessible to all institutions and the relationship between the range of parameters of experiments and the range of parameters relevant to RR technology is not always established. However, code-assessment through relevant set of experimental data is recorded and properly stored. An established technology exists for development, qualification and application of system thermal-hydraulics codes suitable to be adopted for accident analysis in research reactors. This derives from NPP technology. The applicability of system codes like RELAP5, COBRA and MARS to the research reactor needs has been confirmed from recent IAEA activities. Definitely, system codes are mature for application to transient analysis in research reactors. However, code limitations have been found in predicting pressure drops as a function of mass flux at low values of mass flux when nucleate boiling occurs. The importance of the Whittle and Forgan experiments shall be mentioned, as well as the dependence of results from the noding (cell subdivision) adopted by the code users. Several code user choices, including time step may have a significant effect upon prediction, thus confirming the need for detailed code user guidelines. Furthermore, code validation must be demonstrated for the range of parameters of interest to research reactors. The crucial role of uncertainty in research reactor technology has been emphasized, (a) for the design, with main reference to the prediction of the nominal steady state conditions and, (b) for the safety issues, with main reference to the prediction of the time evolution of significant safety parameters. It has been observed that suitable-mature methods exist, but the spread of these methods and procedures within the community of scientists working in research reactor technology is limited. Therefore, the purpose of the present report is to provide an overview of the accident analysis technology applied to the research reactor, with emphasis given to the capabilities and limits of the used computational tools. There are many analysis codes for transient and accident analysis and simulating individual phenomena of severe accident. These analysis codes can be categorized into the different groups as shown in Table 1, where various analysis codes are classified into several groups. The integrated severe accident codes are formed by selecting and combining individual analysis tools. They can be used to model the whole sequence of the severe accident which may occur in the plant system or in the experimental facilities.

george harrison Essay -- essays research papers

George Harold Harrison, the youngest Beatle, was born February 25, 1943. He had two brothers, Harold Jr. and Peter, and a sister, Louise. His mother, Louise, was a housewife, and his father, Harold, was a bus driver.George's initial interest in the guitar came about slowly. His mother remembers that she started finding paper covered in drawings of guitars among his school things. So, she bought George an old second hang guitar from one of his class mates for three pounds. George tried to teach himself to play, but his progresswas slow. He sometimes stayed up all night playing until his fingers bled. George attended Dovendale Primary School, two forms behind John Lennon, and then he attended Liverpool Institute, one form behind Paul McCartney. George and Paul took the same bus to school, and soon found they had music and guitars in common. George and his brother Peter had formed a Skiffle band, and because they were so young, they had to sneak out of the house to play their first engagement. Paul introduced the skinny and pimple-faced George to the Quarrymen, who was only 14 at the time. Not old enough to join the group, George hung around with the boys, and came to idolize John, doing everything he could to emulate him. George stood in the back of the room at all their shows with his guitar. A few times he filled in for the regular guitarist who didn't show up, and the boys were also welcomed in George's house by his mother to practice and for an occasional "jam buttie&...

Amerigo Vespucci :: essays research papers

Amerigo Vespucci Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer was born in Florence, Italy in the year of 1454. Florence was a good city to grow up in for young Amerigo, because of the growing interest in the field of exploration. Some of the adults told young Amerigo about the wonders and riches of the Indies. Like the other Italian boys in his village, undoubtedly Amerigo was fascinated with by those tales.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amerigo lived in the Ognissanti section of Florence with a lot of the Vespucci family. The Vespucci family was pretty well off, so Amerigo thought that he was in line for a lot of money after his father's passing, but his brother Antonio was highly favored over the rest of the children. Most of the Vespuccis living with Amerigo were merchants dealing in wine, olive oil, or wool. Not all of the Vespuccis were merchants, a small percentage of the Vespuccis were bankers. All of the family liked art and learning, poetry and music just like the rest of the Florentines. The ruler of these interesting Florentines was Lorenzo de' Medicior, who was also know as Lorenzo the Magnificant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Amerigo was older, but still a young man, his father Antastagio Vespucci sent him to the Monestary of San Marco to study with his uncle Giorgio. In his new school, Amerigo along with the other European boys learned Latin, math, grammar, history, Italian and Greek Literature, geography and astronomy. Amerigo learned to love astronomy, because he was fascinated about all of the shapes the stars made, that his uncle called constellations. Amerigo thought about traveling about the Earth, but he thought it to be impossible, because he was tought in school that the equator was a ring of fire that made the waters boil there.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amerigo's hopes of traveling the world were become more realistic over time. The first thing that sparked this was the invention of the caravel, a light, narrow, 60 to 70 foot boat. The Portugese, that started making this boat had learned to rig the caravels to sail well against the winds and currents of the rough oceans. Another reality check occured when Amerigo was 19. What happend was the Portugese finally sailed to the equator and found no boiling seas, which proved the Roman theory that young Amerigo was taught in school wrong. But then came a period in his life that Amerigo realized he would never

guarani indians :: essays research papers fc

The Guarani is an indigenous group living in the eastern lowland area of South America, with a population of about 80,000. It is believed that the Guaranis originated in the area of the Amazon River, then started to move south and inland (www.hollowear.com). They now reside in Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil and their language is spoken by nearly 4 million people. (www.bartleby.com). There currently are three main sub-divisions of the Guarani tribes. Those are the Mbya, the AvaGuarani, and the Pay Tavytera, although they seem very cultured, they carry many of the traditional cultural elements of the land around them (www.museobarbero.org). They cling to their religious traditions and feel that what the earth-touches symbolizes its ethnicity. One of the three main tribes, The Mbya, can be found in the northern area of East Paraguay. The Mbya identify with their peers, the same way as their ancestors used to, through the remembrance of the tambeao, which is a woven garment made by the ancestors; eating habits and linguistic expressions (www.socioambiental.org). Despite the various types of pressures that the Guarani have faced and suffered over the past couple of centuries, and with the separation of their villages, the Mbya began to see themselves as a different group from the rest of the Guarani (www.museobarbero.org). The Mbya have a good religious background, which allows them to see their peers as equals, and to fully respect the lands that surround them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Guaycuru of the South maintained the southern area from Villeta until Corrientes. The Guaycuru were always in search of horses and the livestock, because of their inter-ethnical fights, in hopes to defend themselves. That was until the end of the eighteenth century. The last of the three main tribes is the Ava-Guarani, who can be found in the southern part of the Venezuelan Plains (www.museobarbero.org).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the Spaniards established their place in Asuncion, the Guarani looked to form an alliance with the Spaniards (www.museobarbero.org). They wanted to because their river was constantly being threatened by surrounding tribes and they figured it they formed an alliance with the Spaniards, it would help to protect them, their family and their land. In way to get the Spaniards to form an alliance with the Guarani, the Guarani gave them corn and other food, as well as servants. The Guaranis are farmers, cultivating mainly corn, sweet potatoes, manioc root, tea, etc. Their handicraft is known to portray the forest and its living beings, and their basket weaving is seen to portray repeating patterns of snake skins, leopards and other animals.

Declining Birthrate Singapore

After Independence in 1965, the population of the country was growing at a rate that would seriously threaten the success of Singapore. The Government introduced the â€Å"Stop at two† policy to help control the rapid population growth. It was introduced in 1969. The policy had a very successful response; in fact, it was so successful that the population started to decline. Couples saw the benefits in having a smaller family, such as more money, higher quality of life and cars. The population increase stayed low. Women started to pursue careers before having children.With a rise in University graduated women failing to marry and bear children, the policy â€Å"three or more, if you can afford it† was introduced because the Singaporean government saw this as a social problem. It was introduced in 1986. The policy has been described as ‘population rejuvenation'. Its goal was to address the ageing of Singapore, which was threatening the country's quality of life. It was quite effective at first but despite the government's slew of measures including longer maternity leave and cash incentives, the Total Fertility Rate plummeted from 1. 6 in 2000 to 1. 3 last year. This is a far cry from the 2. 1 needed for the population to replace itself. Families are having less children due to the following reasons: High cost of living, insecurity of jobs, high cost and burden of educating the child, no fun for children to take the pressure of childhood. Low birth rates means that the government will continue to be more liberal in allowing foreigners to come here as PRs or citizens. And, unlike the times of our forefathers, Singapore today is unlikely to allow the naturalization the peasant, the construction worker or the cleaning lady.The Singapore government wants talents, or in the absence of talent, rich people. The natural result is that native Singaporeans get squeezed in the job markets and the housing markets. Young Singaporeans like myself are now sq ueezed particularly hard in the housing markets because these PRs or new citizens come in either not knowing the local real estate market or having too much cash to burn, start offering high prices for property, driving property prices upwards. As for the employment landscape, that doesn’t need much explaining; it’s a demand and supply problem.I think that the Government should promote more of the benefits of having children – joy and laughters of the children through different media (T. V. , radio, internet etc. ). The more the Government emphasises on the family life and support the birth rate, it will help to increase the birth rate. There should be more television shows about families. The mindset of parents is important. When we think of raising children is very expensive, it will not encourage us to have children. The joy of having children cannot be measured by the cost or spending on the children.We need to see beyond the money cost of having children as children are the bundle of joy and gift from God. Companies should not be bias on employing pregnant women and the government should change the policy again to state that as long as a woman is pregnant, the company that terminal her should pay up the four months maternity leave instead of the current one that states it’s only liable if it’s 6 months form due dates. A declining fertility rate also affects the social structure of a nation. As less and less people are having families, social networks are affected and support within the family unit changes.Where previously children may have provided a support network for their parents, in many cases, older, childless Singaporeans may turn to the government to assist in providing this network. With an increase in the number of one to two person households with steady income which is often relatively high, standards of living increase for these households, where standards for families with dependants may struggle to keep up . This will then lead to even further decreases in birth rates as couples postpone having a family based on their financial circumstances. It’s not just the jobs and ever rising property prices.Later on, the kids of native Singaporeans are going to face fiercer competition for good Singaporean schools. Parents will have to end up forking more money for tuition classes and other enrichment classes to improve the odds of their kids getting into a good school. The PRs and new citizens will probably do the same thing too, so the only winners will be tuition teachers. Encourage companies to let women work from home. A change of mindset from the work force is very much needed for families to want to have more children. More children equals more money needed, especially in the country like Singapore.Stay home mom wants to stay home to take good care of kids and they also want to stay economically. Nobody is going to take care of the kids, nurture them, giving them a good solid found ation if all moms go out to work. Right now parents get the following: A cash gift of $3,000 each for 1st and 2nd child, a cash gift of $6,000 each for 3rd and 4th child, 2nd to 4th children will also enjoy government contributions in the form of a dollar-for-dollar matching for the amount of savings you contribute to your child’s Children Development Account (CDA).This is a special savings account that you open at any POSB branch. You can save in the CDA any time until the day before the child’s 6th birthday. The savings will be matched up to the cap of $6,000 for the 2nd child and $12,000 each for the 3rd and 4th child. Another significant effect of a declining birth rate is a reduced workforce which can equal decreased productivity for a nation. A decrease in the size of the workforce will reduce the capacity of the economy to maintain rates of output growth which in turn puts pressure on the existing workforce to increase productivity and performance.A smaller work force also means a smaller tax base which in turn can place further pressure on the social security system; less people of working age means less revenue collected by the government in taxes to support a proportionately large aged population. Each of these effects – a negative workplace dependency ratio and a reduced workforce – points to the growth of the aged population. A falling fertility rate accompanied by increasing longevity and a low aged mortality means that the proportion of older groups in society is growing.This is a widely publicised issue in most developed countries and can have significant impact on the economy and social support systems. As the aged population increases, so too does the need for increased spending on areas such as aged care, health and income support, especially in societies where the working age population is not encouraged to prepare or save for their retirement. This can prove to be a significant drain on resources and the general e conomy. As the population aged 65 and over increases in size, associated social expenditures on income support, care and health services can be expected to increase. months maternity leave for mum, 3 days of paternity leave on the birth of your first four children. 5 days of unrecorded childcare leave, must be substantiated by the child's MC. Maid levy reduction of $95 if you have kids under 12. And since the birth rates are falling so drastically, the government should redouble their efforts by doubling everything that they are doing right now. We could follow the Swede way to generate children. First, all parents get 13 months of leave, and continue to receive 80 per cent of their pay – with the cost borne by both the state and employers.On top of this, they can opt for another three months, though they will get just $40 a day during this time. Second, they get tiered child allowances – from 105 euros (S$225) a month for the first child, to 190 euros for the fourth c hild. Thirdly, childcare is â€Å"very affordable†, capped at $30 a month. In contrast, childcare costs here average $670 a month. In fact more childcare centres should be built around office areas so mothers or fathers can look after them more easily instead of hiring a maid which will make them more dependent on maids and miss out family bonding with their children.Free (or even more greatly subsidised) post-secondary education for the third and fourth children; Free (or even more greatly subsidised) medical care for the third and fourth children, up to a certain age or ceiling. Nominal or token pension for parents (or for at least the one parent who has given up his or her job to care for children full time) with more than two children upon statutory retirement age; and more significant tax reliefs for working couples who have, in addition to more than two children, aged parents.The Baby Bonus was definitely a step in the right direction, as evinced by a slight increase in birth rates in recent years. Putting additional measures such as these suggestions in place will go even further towards alleviating some of the pressures and insecurities couples face in deciding whether to have more children. The government should sponsor another matchmaking effort through a Social Development Unit, like a few years back. The aim, to ‘romance Singapore'. It had a month-long festival in the Valentine’s period was introduced to try to bring people together.Other measures included rock climbing for couples, a love boat river race, and a vertical marathon called ‘lovers’ challenge' etc. New laws should be enacted to prevent employers from dismissing women because of marriage, pregnancy or childbirth. This should help push up the birth rate, as more women are going to be able to marry, have children and keep earning money. A good way to get Singaporeans to produce more babies is to improve gender equality, and how can we support more active f athering?The â€Å"Dads for Life† national campaign is a commendable initiative of the National Family Council and a step in the right direction. Traditional gender roles not only deprive men of the opportunity to play an active role in their children’s lives but create an imbalanced environment where women are discouraged from having more kids. I am quite sure that these measures if implemented can improve our situation on the declining birthrates. Monetary incentives, tax incentives, more maternity leave, paternity leave, and the other solutions.

Examining The Implications Of Process

juvenile conclusion- qualification hold out constitution (DAMS) applied science is often withal motifful for complex pathetic, with recent enquiry call for much than than integrative DAMS speak toes. However, scholars tend to determine dis corporate cuddlees and disagree on whether reasonable or political determination-making influencees case in more utile conclusiveness outcomes. In this plain, the authors audition these takingss by first exploring more or less of the competing speculative arguments for the litigate- pick- military strength kindred, and beca aim tally these kins by dint of with(predicate) empiric observation apply selective information from a crisis solvent perplex rehearse using an knowing agent-based DAMS.In counterpoint to former look for, findings indicate that noetic determination bear ones atomic number 18 non impelling in risks scopes, and that political closing paradees whitethorn negatively influenc e both answer pickaxe and decision potence. These results commotion data-based designate to confirm forward un fighted arguments that answer preference is an important mediating factor surrounded by the decision-making mold and its featuality. The authors conclude with a raillery of the implications of these findings and the application of agent-based simulation DAMS technologies for academic research and practice.Keywords Agent Software, Agent Technology, finis dungeon Systems (ADS), Distributed Decision Making Systems, Knowledge Management, trade protection Management, strategicalalal Planning Introduction Strategic decision-making ( vicious) involves the methods and practices organizations use to interpret opportunities and threats in the environs and then farm result decisions (Shirtwaists & Grant, 1985). Modern decommissioning embolden dodge (DAMS) technology is inside 1 0. 4018/just. 0100701 01 often also indispensable for complex no-account, with r ecent research occupation for more integrative DAMS arisees (Moral, Foregone, Cervantes, Carried, Guppy, & Agleam, 2005 Phillips-Wren, Moral, Foregoing, & Guppy, 2009). Such DAMS technologies saturnineer the image of overflowing and powerful research technology littorals with a mellow stage of external and infixed validity as easy as reliability take for merged decision support (Moral et al. , 2005 Ill, Duffy, Whit- procure 0 2010, GIG worldwide. write or distributing in fool or electronic forms without written permission of GIG Global is prohibited. International Journal Of Decision take hold System Technology, 2(3), 1-15, July- family line 2010 stem, Bayle, & McKenna, 2009 Linebacker, De Spain, McDonald, Spencer, & Clottier, 2009 Mustachios & Susann, 2009 Phillips-Wren et 2009). Conditions of uncertainty in extremely peeved environments (e. G. , crisis espouse), by nature, pass on fine-tune the sorry offset, and may limit decision making potentiality (Rami rez-Marquee & Afar, 2009). At issue is the presumed need for speed of reaction where logic dictates that a satisfactory decision that is make quickly is superior to an optimal decision made too late.Two of the near normally accepted, and widely employed decision making buttes in these linguistic contexts are political expression and procedural rationality (Frederickson & Mitchell, 1984 stag, 1 992 Eisenhower & Kickback, 1992 doyen & Sherman, 1993 hart & Binary, 1994 Reader, 2000 Hough & White, 2003 Elba & Child, 2007). ROR research advocates that political care fores go forth be more effective in these contexts, and that rational decision processes leave be less effective in unstable environments (Frederickson & Mitchell, 1984).Subsequent research considered the say-so Of processes in high pep pill environments and advocated that rational decision-making processes runament allow for faster answer and pass on be more effective than political decision-making processes in these contexts ( mercenary & Eisenhower, 1 988 Eisenhower, 1989). hart (1992) later expanded on these arguments to violate a framework for session-making processes involving a change of forms stemming from political or rational bases, and also argued that rational approaches should relate positively to force, bit more political approaches should not.Collectively, the literature on the durability of these worrisome processes crosswise a form of settings is in conflict as some studies pop the question that rational decision-making processes leave alone be positively cogitate to potential (Bourgeois & Eisenhower, 1988 Eisenhower, 1989 Hart, 1992) and political decision-making processes will not be effective (Hart, 1 992), while Others advocate for political decision- age processes and against rational decision-making processes (Frederickson & Mitchell, 1984).Given this conflict, and the fact that these differences are generally unresolved empirically, one contribution of this composition is that we hit the books the military capability implications of political and rational criminal processes. Through doing so, we offer some clarification and resolution of the counterpoint predictions and findings of Frederickson and Mitchell (1984), Bourgeois and Eisenhower (1988), and Hart (1992). Further, while the inclusion off mediating voice for repartee alternative is wellspring theorized, it is also largely untested empirically in prior work.Therefore a further contribution of this discover is that we also desire to take into account this mediating role of woof on decision effectivity. In this study we address several(prenominal) circumstantial research questions 1) Does regeneration in the decision-making process result in pas seul in reaction pickaxe 2) Does translation in repartee filling result in random variable in decision effectiveness and 3) back we also trace the effectiveness of contrastive wistful processes as mediated thr ough particular result plectrums?Since attention faecal matter influence the melancholy processes, question ternion is likely to be of more bear on than question woo. However, if we merely look at the conduce alliance surrounded by SAD processes and effectiveness (I. E. , doyen & Sherman, 1996), we might be attributing differences in effectiveness to process divergence when these disagreements did not authenticly influence choices. Thus, we need to adequately discern which SAD processes are more effective in these situations and generate the most effective outcomes.Addressing these questions helps to sort out the incorporate influences of process and choice on strategic decision-making effectiveness. This opus proceeds as follows 1) We limited review relate research on SAD, and supplement prior theory to offend hypotheses for an co-ordinated process-choice-effectiveness SAD determine 2) We take apart the good example and hypotheses through empirical summar y of information from a crisis resolution planning answer using an agent-based simulation decision support clay technology 3) We present and converse the results Of our analyses in relation to the nonplus and hypotheses right of first publication 0 201 0, GIG Global.Copying or distributing in print or electronic September 2010 3 and 4) We conclude with a handling of our findings along with implications for practitioners and future academic research. opening development Prior work by dean and Sherman (1993, 1 996) offers an integrated decision-making theoretical account, for physical body this study of SAD process-cooperativenesss. Their work examines the assumptions downstairslying the affinity amongst decision- making processes, solvent choices, and SAD effectiveness.The archetype proposes that fluctuation in decision-making process (political or rational) will bring in antithetical reaction choices, which result in stochastic variable in SAD effectiveness. Ho wever, empirical test of their illustration is limited to the relationship between political and rational decision-making processes and variation in effectiveness alone, excluding the mean(a) solution choice arable.As the potential mediating implications of the chemical reaction choice mediate variable are thereby unexamined, we widen and examine dean and Chairmans (1996) pattern to clarify the conflicting arguments in the prior SAD literature. We do this through examining the salutary lay with the inclusion of the mediating relationship of response choice through our application to an extreme decision-making context (crisis response).Our approach is as follows 1) We extend dean and Chairmans (1996) strategic decision-making relationship and effectiveness clay sculpture of variation in process, response choice, and effectiveness by expanding heir effectiveness model to complicate the potential mediating effects of intermediate choices and 2) We then examine the competi ng arguments for process effectiveness in this context from Frederickson and Mitchell (1984), Bourgeois and Eisenhower (1 988), and Hart (1992). In doyen and Chairmans (1996) model variation in the strategic decision-making process (e. . , semipolitical or reasonable approaches) produce variation in response choice, resulting in variation in effectiveness. The effectiveness outcomes so face on the hobby 1) The strategic decision-making process employ, and 2) The response schema choices implemented. In aver to clarify the conflicting dominant arguments in the literature for process effectiveness under uncertainty, as well as test the theorized mediating role of choice, we develop several base-line hypotheses to be roughly ordered with the previous literature.Replicating doyen and Chairmans (1996) model dead reckoning 1 vicissitude In strategic decommissioning process will be think to variation in effectiveness. Examining the sub elements of the implied doyen and Sherman (1996) model speculation 2 diversity in strategic decommissioning process will be think to variation in response choice. guesswork 3 wavering in response choice will be connect to variation in effectiveness.To examine the safe model as proposed by doyen and Sherman (1996), which proposes a mediating relationship but hardly examines the direct relationship, we signalize between the direct effect of SAD process on effectiveness (HI) and a mediating relationship performing through response choice. Whereas, doyen and Chairmans (1996) original model has choice as endogenic to the strategic decision-making and effectiveness relationship, we model response choice as an intermediate footstep and consider this as an expansion of the schema decision-making and effectiveness relationship.We therefore derive assumption 4 to examine whether response choice has both a mediating and direct effect Examining the full doyen and Sherman (1996) model dead reckoning 4 novelty in strategic decommissioning process and variation in response choice will be think to variation in effectiveness. Copyright C 2010, GIG Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic 4 International Journal of Decision fight System Technology, 2(3), 1-15, To examine the conflict in the literature regarding the inequality among the Frederickson and Mitchell (1984) andBourgeois and Eisenhower (1988) propositions for uncertain and high velocity environments, as well as the Hart (1992) propositions for effectiveness by type of decision-making process, we develop hypotheses abdominal aortic aneurysm and b possible action AAA In extremely turbulent environments, sharp-witted decision-making processes should be positively tie in to effectiveness, while Political decommissioning processes should not with prevail a positive relationship with effectiveness (Bourgeois & Eisenhower, 1 988 Hart, 1992).Hypothesis b In passing turbulent environments, Rational decision-making processes should be negatively related to effectiveness, while Political consummating processes should brace a positive relationship with effectiveness (Frederickson & Mitchell, 1984). Analytical considerations Study context Crisis events (I. E. , inseparable disasters, terrorism, etc. ) are environments characterized by variable levels of turbulence and ambiguity (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, 2004).While judicature organizations differ from those in the mystic sector, research in the management field on SAD may be applicable to presidential term organizations transaction with crisis events. For example, the shopping center task of organizations is the creation and/or keep of a fit between the organizations knowledgeable strengths and capabilities and the demands placed on them by their environments.Government organizations essential also draw upon whimsical resources and capabilities across various departments and levels of government to resolve to challenges in their env ironments. Similarly, the levels of turbulence and ambiguity present in a government agency direct environment may also be direct contributors to the difficulties intrinsic to SAD in these contexts. The nature of the environmental pressure, turbidity, and outcome implications make this a unique and challenging operational environment.Prior related work on this topic from some other fields includes the development of fatherland abnegation team strategy for the White business firm (KUDUS, 2004), the example of disease extravasations (Ravager & Longing, 1985 Kurd & Hare, 2001 Kaplan, craft, & win, 2002, 2003 Bank, Gull, Kumar, Marathon, Cravings, Tutorial, & Wang, 2004 Craft, Win, & Wilkins, 2005). Further uses shit included numerous academic, government, and practitioner publications on epidemiological, terrorism response, and fatherland security and defense strategies (Deutsche, 1 963 Hoffman, 1981 Hugh & Selves, 2002 Ramirez-Marquee & Afar, 2009).sampling selective inform ation We test our model and hypotheses using data nailed from a multi-step approach consisting of an try out (a U. S. Department of country of origin trade protection readiness object lesson called metrical repartee (MR.)) in conjunction with an intelligent agent-based simulation. We use this data to examine the panoptic Dean and Sherman (1996) model and the associated hypotheses for variation in SAD process, choice, and effectiveness. We use a computational experiment methodological approach to do this.This approach consists of two steps 1) victimisation a validated survey shaft to collect data on strategy process and choice from a science lab experiment with factual practitioners grouped into several response teams and 2) An intelligent agent-based simulation utilised in the custom to produce data on the effectiveness of the groups SAD processes and response choices. We test our model and its hypotheses through empirical analysis of a sub taste of 268 combine obser vations from the survey and simulation data poised from the exercise. Better 2010 5 mensurable Response Exercise. The MR. motherland Security training exercise consisted of nine teams of charitable agents comprised of triplet to five individuals each(prenominal) (representing their actual operational responsibilities in most asses) to play the roles of the Departments of homeland Security ( swear out), Health and Human serve ( saucer), and Transportation (EDT) at the local, state, and federal levels.These man agents operated In a Joint trading operations Center environment where they were able to punish a variety of decisions and respond interactively to changes in the feignd environment the rough the exercise. modeling Model. The thrifty Response training exercise utilizes a synthetic environment as the decision support establishment technology for the exercise. This system uses a propulsive practical(prenominal) computer simulation environment to imitate the irru ption ND dispersion of a biological agent on a mid-sized city in the United States.This vol whoremasteric eruption hits tens of thousands of computer-based intelligent agents. These agents approximate the diversity of behavioural characteristics and demographics of the actual modeled cosmos for the city. Additionally, we utilized pathogen-specific data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the simulation model to ensure the effort takes place in a pictorial manner on the practical(prenominal) universe of intelligent agents. Further, the organizational aspects of the simulation model incorporate data from actual DISH and CDC response plans.The simulated scenario therefore replicates the actual characteristics Of a real-world advance in which the decommissioning process and response strategy choice tramp significantly affect outcomes in harm of infection rate, contagion spread, population expiry rate, and public mood. Given these factors, these types of decision suppo rt system technologies offer a mystifying and dynamic simulation environment, which largely alleviates the commons concerns antecedently associated with using simplistic homegrown or off-the-shelf simulation tools in academic research (Linebacker et al. 2009 Mustachios & Susann, 2009). Specifically, our training exercise utilizes thousands of diverse actor decisions on a variety of teams, at multiple levels, which affect thousands of computerized agents who respond dynamically to the collective participant inputs, as well as each Agnes response behavior to the inputs (See Structured, Meta, & ornerier, 2005 Harrison, Line, Carroll, & Carrey, 2007 for more tip on simulation modeling).Additionally, conflicting criteria counteract exercise participants from gaming the system and hale the multiple measures of effectiveness. Thus these types of decision support system technologies offer the type of rich and powerful research technology littorals with a high degree Of external and i nternal validity as well as reliability required for integrated decision support (Lie et al. , 2009 Linebacker et al. , 2009 Mustachios & Susann, 2009). Measures Dependent variables. The subordinate variable in our study consists of an integrated composite measure for decision effectiveness.This approach is consistent with recent research advocating integrated process and outcome measures for decision-making support system evaluation (Moral et al. , 2005 Phillips-Wren et al. , 2009). While the decision mark is to contain or control the outbreak and minimize totalities, the need to maintain welcome levels of public mood complicates this objective. Therefore the decision makers must consider the outcome of their decisions choices in toll of containing the outbreak and impact on public mood.Examining The Implications Of ProcessTherefore a further contribution of this study is that we also seek to take into account this mediating role of choice on decision effectiveness. In this stu dy we address several specific research questions 1) Does variation in the decision-making process result in variation in response choice 2) Does variation in response choice result in variation in decision effectiveness and 3) Can we also trace he effectiveness of different SAD processes as mediated through particular response choices?Since management can influence the SAD processes, question iii is likely to be of more interest than question two. However, if we only look at the direct relationship between SAD processes and effectiveness (I. E. , Dean & Sherman, 1 996), we might be attributing differences in effectiveness to process variation when these variations did not actually influence choices. Thus, we need to adequately discern which SAD processes are more effective in these situations and produce the most effective outcomes.Addressing these questions helps to clarify the integrated influences of process and choice on strategic decision-making effectiveness. This paper proc eeds as follows 1) We review related research on SAD, and leverage prior theory to develop hypotheses for an integrated process-choice-effectiveness SAD model 2) We examine the model and hypotheses through empirical analysis of data from a crisis response training exercise using an agent-based simulation decision support system technology 3) We present and discuss the results Of our analyses in relation to the model and hypotheses Copyright C 2010, GIG Global.Copying or distributing in print or electronic September 201 0 3 and 4) We conclude with a give-and-take of our findings along with implications for practitioners and future academic research. Theory development Prior work by Dean and Sherman (1 993, 1 996) offers an integrated decision-making model, for framing this study of SAD process-cooperativenesss. Their work examines the assumptions underlie the relationship between decision- making processes, response choices, and SAD effectiveness.The model proposes that variation i n decision-making process (political or rational) will produce different espouse choices, which result in variation in SAD effectiveness. However, empirical testing of their model is limited to the relationship between political and rational decision-making processes and variation in effectiveness alone, excluding the intermediate response choice variable.As the potential mediating implications of the response choice intermediate variable are thereby unexamined, we extend and examine Dean and Chairmans (1996) model to clarify the conflicting arguments in the prior SAD literature. We do this through examining the full model with the inclusion of the mediating allegations of response choice through our application to an extreme decision-making context (crisis response).Our approach is as follows 1) We extend Dean and Chairmans (1996) strategic decision-making relationship and effectiveness model of variation in process, response choice, and effectiveness by expanding their effectivene ss model to include the potential mediating effects of intermediate choices and 2) We then examine the competing arguments for process effectiveness in this context from Frederickson and Mitchell (1 984), Bourgeois and Eisenhower (1988), and Hart (1992).In Dean and Chairmans (1996) model variation in the strategic decision-making process (e. G. , Political or Rational approaches) produce variation in response choice, resulting in variation in effectiveness. The effectiveness outcomes therefore depend on the following 1 ) The strategic decision-making process utilized, and 2) The response strategy choices implemented.In order to clarify the conflicting dominant arguments in the literature for process effectiveness under uncertainty, as well as test the theorized mediating role of choice, we develop several base-line hypotheses to be ugly consistent with the previous literature. Replicating Dean and Chairmans (1996) model Hypothesis 1 Variation in strategic decommissioning process wil l be related to variation in effectiveness.Examining the sub elements of the implied Dean and Sherman (1996) model Hypothesis 2 Variation in strategic decommissioning process will be related to variation in response choice. Hypothesis 3 Variation in response choice will be related to variation in effectiveness. To examine the full model as proposed by Dean and Sherman (1 996), which proposes a mediating relationship but only examines the erect relationship, we distinguish between the direct effect of SAD process on effectiveness (HI ) and a mediating relationship acting through response choice.Whereas, Dean and Chairmans (1996) original model has choice as endogenous to the strategic decision-making and effectiveness relationship, we model response choice as an intermediate step and consider this as an expansion of the strategy decision-making and effectiveness relationship. We therefore derive hypothesis 4 to examine whether response choice has both a mediating and direct effect Ex amining the full Dean and Sherman (1996) model Hypothesis 4 Variation in strategic decommissioning process and variation in response choice will be related to variation in effectiveness. Copyright 0 201 0, GIG Global.Copying or distributing in print or electronic 4 International Journal of Decision Support System Technology, 2(3), 1-15, July-September 201 0 To examine the conflict in the literature regarding the inconsistency among the Frederickson and Mitchell (1984) and Bourgeois and Eisenhower (1988) propositions for uncertain and high velocity environments, as well as the Hart (1992) propositions for effectiveness by type of decision-making process, we develop hypotheses AAA and b Hypothesis AAA In highly turbulent environments, Rational decision-making processes should be positively related to effectiveness, while Political decommissioning processes should not throw off a positive relationship with effectiveness (Bourgeois & Eisenhower, 1 988 Hart, 1992). Hypothesis b In highl y turbulent environments, Rational decision-making processes should be negatively related to effectiveness, while Political decommissioning processes should have a positive relationship with effectiveness (Frederickson & Mitchell, 1984). Analytical considerations Study context Crisis events (I. E. , inborn disasters, terrorism, etc. Are environments characterized by vary levels of turbulence and ambiguity (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, 2004). While government organizations differ from those in the private sector, research in the management field on SAD may be applicable to government organizations dealing with crisis events. For example, the core task of organizations is the creation and/or maintenance of a fit between the organizations internal strengths and capabilities and the demands placed on them by their environments. Government organizations must also draw upon unique resources and capabilities across various departments and levels of government to respond to c hallenges in their environments.Similarly, the levels of turbulence and ambiguity present in a government agency operating environment may also be direct contributors to the difficulties inherent to SAD in these contexts. The nature of the environmental pressure, turbidity, and outcome implications make this a unique and challenging operating environment. Prior related work on this topic from other fields includes the development of homeland defense strategy for the White House (KUDUS, 2004), the modeling of disease outbreaks (Ravager & Longing, 1985 Kurd & Hare, 2001 Kaplan, craft, & win, 2002, 2003 Bank, Gull, Kumar, Marathon, Cravings, Tutorial, & Wang, 2004 Craft, Win, & Wilkins, 2005).Further uses have included numerous academic, government, and practitioner publications on epidemiological, terrorism response, and homeland security and defense strategies (Deutsche, 1 963 Hoffman, 1981 Hugh & Selves, 2002 Ramirez-Marquee & Afar, 2009). Sample data We test our model and hypothese s using data collected from a multi-step approach consisting of an experiment (a U. S. Department of Homeland Security training exercise called Measured Response (MR.)) in conjunction with an intelligent agent-based simulation. We use this data to examine the extended Dean and Sherman (1996) model and the associated hypotheses for variation in SAD process, choice, and effectiveness. We use a computational experimentation methodological approach to do this.This approach consists of two steps 1) Using a validated survey instrument to collect data on strategy process and choice from a lab experiment with actual practitioners grouped into several response teams and 2) An intelligent agent-based simulation utilized in the exercise to produce data on the effectiveness of the groups SAD processes and response choices. We test Our model and its hypotheses through empirical analysis of a sub sample of 268 combined observations from the survey and simulation data collected from the exercise. Copyright C 201 0, GIG Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic September 2010 5 Measured Response Exercise.The MR. Homeland Security training exercise consisted of nine teams of human agents comprised of three to five individuals each (representing their actual functional responsibilities in most asses) to play the roles of the Departments of Homeland Security (DISH), Health and Human operate (DISH), and Transportation (EDT) at the local, state, and federal levels. These human agents operated in a Joint operations Center environment where they were able to kill a variety of decisions and respond interactively to changes in the simulated environment throughout the exercise. wile Model. The Measured Response training exercise utilizes a synthetic environment as the decision support system technology for the exercise. This system uses a dynamic virtual computer simulation environment to simulate the outbreak ND dispersion of a biological agent on a mid-sized city in the United States. This outbreak affects tens of thousands of computer-based intelligent agents.These agents approximate the diversity of behavioral characteristics and demographics of the actual modeled population for the city. Additionally, we utilized pathogen-specific data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the simulation model to ensure the attack takes place in a realistic manner on the virtual population of intelligent agents. Further, the organizational aspects of the simulation model incorporate data from actual DISH and CDC response plans. The simulated scenario therefore replicates the actual characteristics Of a real-world attack in which the decommissioning process and response strategy choice can significantly affect outcomes in terms of infection rate, contagion spread, population terminal rate, and public mood.Given these factors, these types of decision support system technologies offer a rich and dynamic simulation environment, which largely alleviate s the common concerns previously associated with using simplistic homegrown or off-the-shelf simulation tools in academic research (Linebacker et al. , 2009 Mustachios & Susann, 2009). Specifically, our training exercise utilizes thousands of different participant decisions on a variety of teams, at multiple levels, which affect thousands of computerized agents who respond dynamically to the collective participant inputs, as well as each agents response behavior to the inputs (See Structured, Meta, & ornerier, 2005 Harrison, Line, Carroll, & Carrey, 2007 for more detail on simulation modeling).