Earned Value Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Earned Value Management - Essay Example The most vital component of EVMS is recognizing the real time investment occurring within the project compared to planned value and actual cost. This will illustrate whether the project is exceeding costs and whether it is behind schedule. It is important to recognize that PV is also considered the Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled, which is imperative for determining earned value. Projects have technical performance aspects (progress) that is related to budget and should be assessed in comparison to actual costs incurred. Planned budget of $180,000 with an actual cost of $200,000 would, without EVMS, be $20,000 over budget. However, EVMS might illustrate that the technical progress started earlier than expected, thus the project is now ahead of schedule and might be more apt to meet PV budget. This is why EVMS is linked directly to cost and performance. My view is that EVMS is a more practical assessment of a project since it takes more into consideration than just costs. It recognizes expert progress based against time schedules, to make a more accurate assessment of project value or potential losses. It is a viable tool for assessing projects because it takes time and talent into consideration (Goodpasture, 2004) along with recognition of costs, something needed for strategic project management in order to gain a broader picture of whether the project is meeting its intended budget and progress

Child Soldier Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Child Soldier - Research Paper Example They end up being victims of trauma due to exposure to violence; they are deprived of education are at risk of ending up as child soldiers (Ozerdem & Podde, 13). There is a high probability that children who live in conflict areas get deprived of basic needs such as food, shelter and medical attention. To add on to this, the issue of relief for children tends to be given the last priority when in war. This results in insufficient or zero protection for minors. Due to their physical constitution and growth, children are most vulnerable to being deprived of basic needs such as food and medical assistance and this has a severe impact on how they develop. Since 1998, armed conflicts that involve child soldiers have been recorded in at least 36 countries (Child soldiers; global report 2004). The traumatic scars that are left on these children are just one out of many post war problems that face such countries. There are other problems such as food shortages, refugees and mourning for rela tives lost in the war. Former Child Soldiers are in most cases forgotten about and if remembered it will be for the purposes of blaming them for the war. Children who come from families that are poor and disadvantaged and who may be seeking for a sense of belonging, physical support or revenge for losing their families are particularly vulnerable to exploitation in periods of conflict. In some cases, children are kidnapped and forcefully trained to become fighters. Estimates indicate that in the last 15 years the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) alone has kidnapped over 15,000 children from areas around Gulu, northern Uganda (Wessells 35). The targeting of children is deliberate as they are easily manipulated compared to adults and can be made to perform atrocities and crimes without asking questions. The accessibility of light weaponry is also a contributor to child soldiering as it makes it possible for even the very young children to use and bear arms. Efforts made by the Unit ed Nations in naming and shaming governments and rebel groups that do not abide by the international and domestic laws that uphold children’s right have had very limited effect in combating this vice. The annual report by the Secretary General lists dozens of groups and several governments that continue to use or recruit children in their armed forces. Africa has the largest number of child soldiers despite the signing of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 1999 which is the only regional treaty that outlaws child involvement in armed conflicts in the world (Child soldiers; global report 2004). In 2010, the United Nations together with other rights organizations launched the Zero under 18 Campaign which is aimed at attaining universal ratification of the child rights protocol by the year 2012. The ultimate goal is to ending impunity for those who violate children rights and strengthen enforcement of laws against such violations. Graca Machel (UN 1996 ) states that war is a violation of the right of a child to life and the right to have a family that nurtures and respects the child. Process Analysis The main sources of material used in this research were anecdotal reports and academia journals. These reports gave valuable insight and information on the issue of child soldiers. Relevant literature on the topic was obtained

The Impact Of Issue Voting

The Impact Of Issue Voting Dealignment is the change from voting according to class. In recent times there has been a change from partisan alignment, voting based on class, for example people within the AB category have historically been more likely to vote conservative whereas people in the C2 and DE category have been more likely to vote Labour. From 1997-2005 the amount of people voting for conservative in the AB category fell by 6% and the amount of people in the C2 category went up 12%. This shows that class alignment may no longer be the main deciding factor that people use when voting in an election. b) Using your knowledge as well as the extract, asses the impact of issue-voting on the results of general elections. Issue voting is when somebody votes in an election based on the politicians or partys stance on a certain current political issue. Issue voting have become more prevalent than it was in the twentieth century and the valence theorises that electoral success is based on a partys ability to deliver on key issues. Past examples of partys focusing on issue voters are sleaze and the economy in 1997, raising standards and elimination poverty in 2001, war and immigration in 2005 and Labours handling of the economy in 2010. The focus that election candidates have put on current issues instead of just party ideology in recent years show that issue voting is becoming an increasing factor that the electorate takes into consideration when voting for one party or another. Issue voting may be as cause or product in the decrease of other types of voting such as alignment voting. Issue voting might also signify the decrease in emphasis on ideology stopping partys from focusing on what the ideal future for the country and instead fixing issues that the UK has currently. In conclusion I think that even though issue voting is more popular than it has ever been in the past that there are still important factors such as class and age are still present and while not as popular as in the past they are still the basis of a large portion of the populations vote. c) A link still exists between class and voting. Discuss the extent to which social class still influences the voting behavior of Britains electorate. The statement is partially correct because in the past social class was one of the biggest factors that affected voting behavior in the UK and although it is no longer as strong a factor as it used to be in deciding votes it is still there. In the 2005 General Election the amount of senior and middle managers / executives (AB class) was 28% for Labour and the same class for Conservatives was 37%. This data shows that although the statistics for the upper classes are much closer than they used to be there is still a large difference in the amount of people in the AB class bracket that vote conservative rather than Labour. The cause of this could be that people who work in higher positions feel that conservative ideology and policy is more beneficial for them because of policies like privatisation, because they are more likely to afford private health care. Also tax cuts of up to 4 billion which voters in the AB category might feel that if they can afford pay for private health care then why should the be expected to help fund the NHS. The Semi and Unskilled Workers/ Casual Workers/ Unemployed (DE classes) shows even more clearly that there is still a link between class and voting. In the General election of 2005 48% of voters in the DE bracket voted for Labour whilst only 25% voted conservative. These statistics show that there is an even stronger link to social class and voting behavior with the lower classes than the higher classes. This may be due to Labours policies of not wanting to privatise aspects of public services like the NHS which Conservatives have policies wanting to do so. However even though there is clear evidence that class effects voting behaviour in major way there is also a lot of evidence to show that the link between class and voting is getting smaller each election. For example from 1997-2005 the results of voters in the AB bracket voting conservative fell by 6% and from 1997-2005 the results of voters in the DE bracket voting Labour fell 10%. A reason for this change in voting over the past few election could be the increasing popularity of the Liberal democrat party which from 1997-2005 increased its share of the vote by at least 3% in every class bracket. The most noticeable gain for the Lib Dems was in the AB bracket in which they increased their share of the vote by 8% which could attribute to the decline in both Conservatives and Labours AB bracket. From 1997-2005 the total vote for the Liberal Democrats has increased by 21% emphasising that people are no longer just voting for the party which has traditionally represented their class. Arguments can be made that there is no longer a single working class, instead the working class has been split into two, the old and the new. The old working class consists of manual workers belonging to trade unions and the new working class which are workers with better qualifications that work in the public sector. In conclusion I believe that although the link between class and voting still exists it is getting smaller and smaller each election and people are starting to vote due to different qualities such region, age, ethnicity and media rather than class alignment which never truely existed in the first place because there was always a percentage of upper classes that voted for Labour and lower classes that voted Conservative or people of all classes that voted for small partys.

Mericans :: World Literature Sandra Cisneros

In the short story "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros, we appear to be reading about a small place in Mexico. The author uses many details in the story for us to visualize the cultural environment. The mix of Spanish words in the story such as, La Virgen de Guadalupe and la ofrenda give the sense of a different culture. The use of the awful grandmother kneeling at mass makes you visualize a specific heritage and cultural behavior. The word "barbarian" that the grandmother uses to describe the birthplace of the children, also points out cultural differences. It seems the author is trying to make us sense a native culture, and not to make assumptions based on physical characters. The "awful grandmother" (Cisneros p.30) is an example of a person in the story living in two cultural worlds, while she clings to her cultural heritage, she still doesn't want to accept the American culture of the children. The children, in the story, may look like Native Americans or Mexicans, but their main language is English. The children also use examples of American culture with the comic characters, "Flash Gordon" and "Ming the Merciless." The children in the story embrace more of the American culture than a native culture with the use of the comic characters. The little girl tends to struggle understanding her grandmothers cultural heritage, and it seems to take her quite a bit of effort doing it. The children seem to be content playing and carrying on without the bother of what the grandmother is doing, and they have no references to heroes of their native culture. The story tends to have a familiar setting to me, one that I am around, especially with the children running around and playing carefree. My grandmother is quite religious and she also does many of the things that the grandmother in the story does.

“Journey’s End” by R.C. Sherriff Essay

How does R.C Sherriff present life in the trenches for the soldiers or World War 1 and the conditions they had to endure? In the play â€Å"Journey’s End† by R.C. Sherriff, he describes many conditions that the soldiers had to endure. Life in the trenches was bad, but the men who were signing up for the war were told that it was all a big game, a walk in the park. However, when they got there they got a shock. R.C. Sherriff wanted to tell them all to know the truth about the war. First he starts the play by describing the living conditions: [A pale glimmer of the moonlight shines down the narrow steps into one corner of the dugout.] The words â€Å"narrow† and â€Å"corner† show that they live in a small, narrow and cramped place. Not only was it cramped but it was muddy, cold and wet, and it would be very uncomfortable. If the moonlight can come into the dugout and hit onto a corner of the wall, shows that it is very small and with a company of soldiers living their then that will make it even tighter and there wouldn’t be much privacy. The soldiers had to sleep in their uniforms to stay warm, and incase there was an attack at any point, then they would be ready at a moments notice. [As he carefully turns his sock this way and that – feeling it against his face to see if it’s dry,] Having it on constantly would cause moist to appear in the boots and any crevices in the body so they had to stay as clean as possible. But when they took off their boots, because they had them on for a long time, often their toes would come off as well. When reading this, I thought about how uncomfortable they must feel, and this same message would be out to all other readers, and would put people off from going to war. As well as the cramped, cold and wet conditions, they had to put up with little rations of food that tasted horrible, but on occasions, a nice piece of chicken. These are the men that are fighting for our countries, and our lives, and all they get is a small ration and a â€Å"cheer up† from the next poor sap who has to suffer: Trotter: What’s this? Maison: Meat sir. Trotter: I know that. What sort? Maison: Sort of cutlet, sir. The words â€Å"sort of cutlet† shows that the food that they get is low quality, a sort of meat that not good enough to be actual cutlet, and it’s not good enough to feed the British Army. They are being fed the bare essentials, and if they got any less then I think that they would die from malnutrition. This would also put people off from going to war, because they know that if they are not going to be treated accordingly, and not like animals, then they wont go to war. If the soldiers weren’t worrying about their food, then they were definitely worrying about the war itself. Many men went mad because of the loud crashes of the bombs and the constant rattle of the guns, some soldiers were so afraid of the war, and because they were told that it was a game, then they would make up conditions so that they didn’t have to fight: â€Å"I don’t think that I can manage any supper tonight, Stanhope. It’s this beastly neuralgia. It seems to be right inside this eye. The beastly pain gets worse every day.† The words â€Å"beastly† â€Å"pain† and â€Å"worse† shows that the conditions were so bad, that Hibbert would pretend that he had neuralgia so that he could be sent home. There were many men out in the war who didn’t want to be there, but had to go, and they would try anything to get home. Some soldiers, because of the pressure to go out and fight, they would kill themselves, but this was rare. Along with the pressure of war, they had to deal with other things that affected the mind, like sleep and other people’s thoughts. When they didn’t get enough sleep they would get agitated and would spend days without sleep, and if they got on the wrong side of someone, then this would agitate them more, and could lead to outburst at the smallest things: Stanhope: Sit down. Raleigh: It’s all right, thanks. Stanhope (Suddenly shouting) Sit down! Stanhope had not slept for days and just the little thing of Raleigh getting on the wrong side of him made him snap. R.C. Sherriff shows that Stanhope is angry in the stage directions: (Suddenly shouting). He gives the reader the impression that Raleigh, because he is the newest, that he doesn’t fit in with the rest of the group, that what he is doing is wrong, because he doesn’t know any better. Because of this Stanhope gets very angry very quickly. All of these are ways of showing the conditions in which the men had to face during the war. Not only was it the war itself but the pressure of being in a cramped environment, with lots of other men, in the cold and dirt, with little food. R.C. Sherriff brings to the readers what the conditions of war are really like.

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Biography of Judith of France Saxon English Queen

Judith of France (843/844–870), also known as Judith of Flanders,  was married to two Saxon English kings, first the father and then the son. She was also both stepmother and sister-in-law of Alfred the Great. Her son from her third marriage married into the Anglo-Saxon royal line, and his descendant Matilda of Flanders married William the Conqueror.  Her consecration ceremony set a standard for later wives of kings in England. Fast Facts: Judith of France Known For: First woman to be crowned Queen of England; daughter of the King of France; grandmother of Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the ConquerorBorn: October 843 or 844 in Orleans, FranceParents: Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orlà ©ansDied: April 870 in Burgundy, FranceSpouse(s): Saxon king of the West Saxons, Aethelwulf of Wessex (m. October 1, 856–858); Aethelbald of Wessex (m. 858–860); Baldwin I, Count of Flanders (m. 861–870)Children: Charles (b. 864); Baldwin II (865–918); Raoul, Count of Cambrai (867–896); Gunhilde (b. 870), all children with Baldwin I Early Life Judith of France was born in October 843 or 844, the daughter of the Carolingian king of West Francia, known as Charles the Bald, and his wife Ermentrude of Orlà ©ans, daughter of Odo, Count of Orleans and Engeltrude. The Saxon king of the West Saxons, Aethelwulf, left his son Aethelbald to manage Wessex and traveled to Rome on pilgrimage. A younger son Aethelbehrt was made the king of Kent during his absence. Aethelwulfs youngest son Alfred may have accompanied his father to Rome. Aethelwulfs first wife (and mother of his children including five sons) was Osburh; its not known if she had died or was simply cast aside when Aethelwulf negotiated a more important marriage alliance. Returning from Rome, Aethelwulf stayed in France with Charles for some months. There, he was betrothed in July 856 to Charles daughter Judith, who was about 13 years old. Judith Crowned Queen Aethelwulf and Judith returned to his land; they were married on October 1, 856. A consecration ceremony gave Judith the title of queen, making her the first crowned queen of England. Apparently, Charles had won from Aethelwulf a promise that Judith would be crowned queen upon their marriage; earlier wives of Saxon kings were known quite simply as the kings wife rather than carrying a royal title of their own. Two generations later, the queens consecration was made standard liturgy in the church. Aethelbald revolted against his father, perhaps fearful that Judiths children would displace him as his fathers heir, or perhaps just to keep his father from taking control of Wessex again. Aethelbalds allies in the rebellion included the bishop of Sherborne and others. Aethelwulf pacified his son by giving him control of the western part of Wessex. Second Marriage Aethelwulf did not live long after his marriage to Judith, and they did not have children. He died in 858, and his eldest son Aethelbald took over all of Wessex. He also married his fathers widow, Judith, probably in recognition of the prestige of being married to a daughter of the powerful French king. The church condemned the marriage as incestuous, and it was annulled in 860. That same year, Aethelbald died. Now about 16 or 17 years old and childless, Judith sold all of her lands in England and returned to France, while Aethelwulfs sons Aethelbehrt and then Albert, in turn, succeeded Aethelbald. Count Baldwin I Her father, perhaps hoping to find another marriage for her, confined her to a convent. But Judith escaped the convent in about 861 by eloping with a man named Baldwin, apparently with the help of her brother Louis. They took refuge in a monastery at Senlis, where they were likely married. Judiths father Charles was quite angry over this turn of events and got the pope to excommunicate the pair for their action. The couple escaped to Lotharingia and may also have had help from the Viking Rorik. They then appealed to Pope Nicholas I in Rome for help. The Pope interceded with Charles for the couple, who finally reconciled himself to the marriage. King Charles finally gave his son-in-law some land and charged him with dealing with Viking attacks in that area—attacks that, if unchallenged, might threaten the Franks. Some scholars have suggested that Charles had hope that Baldwin would be killed in this effort, but Baldwin was successful. The area, first called the March of Baldwin, became known as Flanders. Charles the Bald created the title, Count of Flanders, for Baldwin. Judith had several children with Baldwin I, Count of Flanders. One son Charles (b. 864), did not survive to adulthood. Another son named Baldwin (865–918), became Baldwin II, Count of Flanders; and a third, Raoul (or Rodulf, 867–896), was the Count of Cambrai. A daughter Gunhilde, born about 870, married Guifre I Count of Barcelona. Death and Legacy Judith  died in about 870, a few years before her father became Holy Roman Emperor. Her significance to the British crown, however, lasted for generations. Judiths genealogy has some important links in British royal history. Sometime between 893 and 899, Baldwin II married Aelfthryth, daughter of the Saxon king Alfred the Great, who was a brother of Judiths second husband and the son of her first husband. One descendant, the daughter of Count Baldwin IV, married Tostig Godwineson, brother of King Harold Godwineson, the last crowned Saxon king of England. More importantly, another descendant of Judiths son Baldwin II and his wife Aelfthryth was Matilda of Flanders. She married William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England, and with that marriage and their children and heirs, brought the heritage of the Saxon kings into the Norman royal line. Sources Drake, Terry W. The History of the Drake Family and the Times They Lived. Xlibris, 2013.Geary, Patrick J. Women in the Beginning: Origin Myths from the Amazons to the Virgin Mary. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.Oksanen, Eljas. Flanders and the Anglo-Norman World, 1066–1216. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  Ward, Jennifer. Women in England in the Middle Ages. London: Hambledon Continuum, 2006.