Evolution of ERP system

The rapid changes in speed and power of computing hardware, introduction of sophisticated software in Accounting and Finance, growth of businesses in size and complexity are some of the factors that led to evolution of ERP System.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Evolution of ERP system specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These factors can be grouped into growth of information and communication technology (ICT) and development of business enterprises. These developments and growth require a system that can provide efficient flow of data in the business and communication environment. This helps in different fields such as accounting, human resource, procurement, inventory management and decision making procedure. For a business organization to compete effectively with other businesses they need an efficient information system which provides better logistics at a reduced cost. The ERP system was introduced into the mar ket in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s based on the weaknesses of MRPII such as lack of focus in manufacturing, poor budgetary and many others. The need to introduce new techniques which would integrate transactions of an organization led to the development of ERP system. The ERP system is widely used in large business organizations but lately the vendors of the system are repackaging it for small and medium enterprises (Pandit n.d). Definition of Legacy Systems A legacy system is an old or outdated computer system which is used in business organization even with the introduction of modern systems. The system uses old programs, software and hardware which are no longer available in the market. The legacy systems are usually used because they hold data that cannot be changed to new formats, the application programs cannot be upgraded and because the company may have spent a lot of money and time installing it. However, the available new softwares are designed to import data from the legacy systems.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most business organizations continue using legacy systems to avoid the expense of installing a new system, the risk of losing data and to avoid interruption of normal flow of work in the organization. Some people believe that the legacy systems are important because they have been tried and have worked for them. Many old organizations rely on legacy systems that were used by their predecessors. MRP System The systems used in the 1960’s were based on inventory control packages; they used programming languages such as COBOL and ALGOL which are no longer used today. Material requirements planning system (MRP) was developed in 1970’s it focused on order launching, product scheduling and interacting with the master planning schedule to produce practical plans. MRP II System Manufacturing resource plannin g (MRP II) was introduced in 1980’s. This system improved the MRP system by adding other departments besides manufacturing such as engineering, accounting, human resource and finance among others into the planning schedule. The main focus of MRP II was on integrated financial planning, making the manufacturing planning schedule a decision variable and creating capacity resource planning. The software emphasized on optimizing by synchronizing the materials with production requirement (Shehab, Sharp Spedding 2006). Definition and Structure of ERP System Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a computer system that incorporates all procedures and information of an organization into one system. The ERP system integrates all the aspects of a business organization such as marketing, engineering, manufacturing and sales among others into a common system for all. The system is used to manage business resources both internal and external resources. The software used assists business m anagers in performing activities such as inventory, order launching and tracking, maintaining financial and human resource systems. ERP software integrates all facets of an operation, including development, manufacturing, sales and marketing. The software used in ERP system assists in the flow of information between the internal and external processes of the supply chain(Klaus, Roseman Gable 2000).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Evolution of ERP system specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Structure of ERP System The ERP system is based on the concept of integrating all aspects of an organization while the traditional programs separated them. The ERP system manipulates and organizes data just like any other application but the results are integrated to achieve quick and accurate information for different departments. The results can also be viewed by several users at the same time from different locations (Altekar 2 004). For a system to generate information in this manner it should be flexible so that it can react to the varying needs of an organization. ERP uses a centralized server which serves clients in several locations. The system has to have independent units that can be combined with others or interchanged (modules). Information should be freely shared and transferred in a centralized manner through a single database. The modules of ERP system include engineering data control, sales, purchase and inventory, MRP, resource flow management and works documentation among others. The system should be comprehensive and be able to support a variety of functions of the organization. The system should be able to function beyond the boundaries of the organization i.e. it should web-enabled. The ERP system’s operating system is mainly UNIX, Windows NT and Linux (Boykin 2001). Major stages in the Evolution Process ERP system has evolved in several stages for more than 40 years. The rapid gro wth of business organizations and the continuous improvement in CIT has caused the system to be quickly developed. In the early days organization used applications such as Economic Order Quantity. They developed this application to the widely used Inventory Control packages (IC). In the 1970’s, Material Requirements Planning (MRP) was introduced. MRP was a good tool for management of inventory because it reduced inventory production; it improved coordination, improved customer service and avoided delays. However, the system was cumbersome, time consuming and did not take into account other organization resources (Filinovich nd).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The need to integrate financial resources with manufacturing activities resulted in the evolution of MRP II. The system was capable of planning all the organization’s resources. Its main purpose was to integrate functions such as production, marketing, finance with human resource, purchasing and inventory into the planning process. As a result of the weaknesses of MRP II such as focusing on planning and scheduling of internal resources, the ERP System was developed in the late 80’s and early 90’s (Sudalaimuthu Vadiyu ). The ERP system which focuses on integration of internal and external resources was introduced, and it included functions such as order management, quality control, asset management and human resource management among others. Further development of ERP system has included functions such as supply chain management, sales and e-commerce. The ERP system has been termed as a ‘Do-it-all’ system because it integrates the entire organizatio nal functions in one system (Davenport 1999). Main Features of Present day ERP Systems The ERP packages vendors offer almost similar packages to the market. However, the basic feature of an ERP system such as BI, CRM and SCM are included. One should opt for a package that is easy to use for all levels of work in an organization. Business Intelligence (BI) is a new component of ERP System. It assists users to share and analyze data collected in the system. This feature helps in report making which assist decision makers and improve performance. Another feature of ERP system is the Customer Relationship Management (CRM), it helps improve customer service organizing the needs of customers, responding to customer orders and creating marketing campaigns (Rashid, Hossain Patrick 2002). Financial Management (FM) is most used tool in ERP. It includes general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, fixed asset management and billing. The FM should be able to support several currencies such as US dollar, Euro, SA Rand and many others. Human Capital Management (HCM) deals with human resource management matters such as payroll, time and labor tracking, performance management and many others. Operations is another feature of ERP which helps to simplify manufacturing operations. The main tools used here are product data management, forecasting and shop-floor control. Finally, Supply Chain Management (SCM) improves the flow of materials in the supply chain. This feature can be divided into supply chain planning, logistics and procurement (Broatch 2001). Main ERP Vendors in the Market today There are five major vendors controlling about 60%-70% of the global market. The big five as they are commonly referred to are, SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Baan and J.D. Edwards. Each vendor has a specialty in one or two modules that they offer. For example, Baan specializes in manufacturing, PeopleSoft in human resources Management, SAP in logistics and Oracle in financials (Gable Stewart 1999). Besides the big five, there are smaller sized upcoming vendors competing for the same market. To stay on top of the competition the vendors have to keep updating and improving their products. SAP AG which owns the R/3 products was started in 1972 in Germany. It launched its first ERP product (R/2) in 1979, which later improved in 1992 to R/3. SAP is the world’s largest ERP vendor with a market share of about 36%. SAP has over the years added other modules such SCM to make it the broadest supplier of ERP modules (Gable Stewart 1999). Oracle Corporation was founded in 1977 in the US, it is known for its flagship product Oracle Application. It has more 50 modules of ERP under finance, accounts, human resources, supply chain and front office among others. Oracle competes and partners with SAP, Baan and PeopleSoft in the ERP market. PeopleSoft was founded in 1987 in California, it specializes in human resource and financial management modules. PeopleSoft competes closely with SAP and Oracle who are the market leaders. Its flagship product is PeopleSoft8 which is a pure internet-based system. It has a market share of about 10% and is third after Oracle Corporation (Rashami 2006). The Baan Company was founded in 1978 in Netherlands, it has a market share of about 5%. Baan offers tools in finance, procurement, distribution and planning among others. Its flagship product is Baan ERP which was launched in 1998, its best known for aerospace, automotive and defense software. Finally J.D. Edwards Co was founded in 1977 in Denver. Their flagship product is OneWorld which is capable of running in multiple platforms. It has modules for finance, manufacturing, distribution and human resources (O’Leary 2000). The aim of ERP system implementation is in establishing connections between all the departments and creating the unified information storage that keeps all the necessary information about the company, its services, production and the performance of all the departments (Kuldeep 2000). ERP solutions are developed for business organization and industries for the purpose of computerization of the working system. ERP was used by large scale organization in the past but now SMEs are adopting the use of ERP system for production and services. The ERP system implementation gives a possibility to use one integrated program instead of several independent ones. Using ERP system it’s possible to manage handling, logistics, billing, accounting and many other functions of an organization (Bruch Vinnincheko 2006). References Altekar, R (2004). Enterprisewide Resource Planning: Theory and Practice. New Delhi: Prentice Hall publisher. Boykin, R.F. (2001), â€Å"Enterprise resource-planning software: a solution to the return material authorization problem†, Computers in Industry, Vol. 45, pp. 99-109. Broatch, M. (2001). Making the ERP connection. Computerworld New Zealand. Bruch, M Vinnichenko, S (2006) Comparative Analysis of E nterprise Resource Planning Systems in Russia and Sweden. Noderstedt: Auflage. Davenport, T. H. (1998). Putting the enterprise into the enterprise system. Harvard Business Review, 76( 4), 121-131. Gable, G. and Stewart, G. (1999), â€Å"SAP R/3 implementation issues for small to medium enterprises†, Proceedings of the 5th Americas Conference on Information Systems, Milwaukee, WI, pp. 779-81. Filinovich, P (n.d) History and Evolution of ERP-Considered as the Evolution of MRP II. Retrieved from  https://www.apsense.com/ on 23rd March 2012. Klaus, H; Rosemann, M Gable, G (2000). What is ERP. Information Systems Frontiers Journal p 141-162. Kuldeep, K (2000). ERP Experiences and Evolution. Communication of the ACM Journal. O’Leary, D. E. (2000). Enterprise Resource Planning Systems : Systems, Life Cycle, Electronic Commerce, and Risk. UK: Cambridge UniversityPress. Pandit, K. (n.d) Your Guide to ERP: Structure of ERP. Retrieved from  http://www.erppandit.com/ on 23rd March 2012. Rashami, A (2006). Oracle 11i:The complete Reference. New Delhi: Firewall Media. Rashid, M; Hossain, L Patrick, J. (2002) The Evolution of ERP Systems: A Historical Perspective. Web. Shehab, E; Sharp, M; Supramaniam, L Spedding , T (2004) Enterprise Resource Planning: An Integrative View Web. Sudalaimuthu, S Vadiyu, N(nd). Role of ERP in textile industries. Web. This essay on Evolution of ERP system was written and submitted by user Emmy Whitfield to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Battle of Eniwetok in World War II

Battle of Eniwetok in World War II Following the US victory at Tarawa in November 1943, Allied forces pressed forward with their island-hopping campaign by advancing against Japanese positions in the Marshall Islands. Part of the Eastern Mandates, the Marshalls had been a German possession and were given to Japan after World War I. Though held as part of the outer ring of Japanese territory, planners in Tokyo decided after the loss of the Solomons and New Guinea that the chain was expendable. With this in mind, what forces were available were moved to the area to make the islands capture as costly as possible. Commanded by Rear Admiral Monzo Akiyama, Japanese troops in the Marshalls consisted of the 6th Base Force which originally numbered around 8,100 men and 110 aircraft. While a relatively large force, Akiyamas strength was diluted by the requirement to spread his command over all of the Marshalls. Also, much of Akiyamas command consisted labor/construction details or naval troops with little infantry training. As a result, Akiyama could only muster around 4,000 effective. Anticipating that the assault would strike one of the outlying islands first, he positioned the majority of his men on Jaluit, Millie, Maloelap, and Wotje. Armies Commanders United States Vice Admiral Harry W. HillBrigadier General Thomas E. Watson2 regiments Japan Major General  Yoshimi Nishida3,500 men American Plans In November 1943, American airstrikes commenced eliminating Akiyamas air power, destroying 71 aircraft. These were partially replaced by reinforcements brought in from Truk during the following weeks. On the Allied side, Admiral Chester Nimitz initially planned a series of attacks on the outer islands of the Marshalls, but upon receiving word of Japanese troop dispositions through ULTRA radio intercepts elected to change his approach. Rather than assault where Akiyamas defenses were strongest, Nimitz ordered his forces to move against Kwajalein Atoll in the central Marshalls.   Attacking on January 31, Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turners 5th Amphibious Force landed elements of Major General Holland M. Smiths V Amphibious Corps on the islands that formed the atoll.   With support from Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitschers carriers, American forces secured Kwajalein in four days.   Capture of Engebi With the rapid capture of Kwajalein, Nimitz flew out from Pearl Harbor to meet with his commanders.   The resulting discussions led to the decision to immediately move against Eniwetok Atoll, 330 miles to the northwest.   Initially scheduled for May, the invasion of Eniwetok was assigned to Brigadier General Thomas E. Watsons command which was centered on the 22nd Marines and 106th Infantry Regiment.   Advanced to mid-February, plans for capturing the atoll called for landings on three of its islands: Engebi, Eniwetok, and Parry.   Arriving off Engebi on February 17, Allied warships commenced bombarding the island while elements of the  2nd Separate Pack Howitzer Battalion and the 104th Field Artillery Battalion landed on adjacent islets (Map). The next morning, the 1st and 2nd Battalions from Colonel John T. Walkers 22nd Marines began landing and moved ashore.   Encountering the enemy, they found that the Japanese had centered their defense in a palm grove in the islands center.   Fighting from spider holes (concealed foxholes) and the underbrush, the Japanese proved difficult to locate.   Supported by the artillery landed the previous day, the Marines succeeded in overwhelming the defenders and secured the island by that afternoon.   The next day was spent eliminating the remaining pockets of resistance. Focus on Eniwetok and Parry With Engebi taken, Watson shifted his focus to Eniwetok.   Following a brief naval bombardment on February 19, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 106th Infantry moved towards the beach.   Encountering fierce resistance, the 106th was also hampered by a steep bluff which blocked their advance inland.   This also caused traffic issues on the beach as AmTracs were unable to move forward.   Concerned about the delays, Watson instructed the 106ths commander, Colonel Russell G. Ayers, to press his attack.   Fighting from spider holes and from behind log barriers, the Japanese continued to slow Ayers men.   In an effort to quickly secure the island, Watson directed the 3rd Battalion of the 22nd Marines to land early that afternoon. Hitting the beach, the Marines were quickly engaged and soon bore the brunt of the fight to secure the southern part of Eniwetok.   After pausing for the night, they renewed their attack in the morning and eliminated enemy resistance later in the day.   In the northern part of the island, the Japanese continued to hold out and were not overcome until late on February 21.   The extended fight for Eniwetok compelled Watson to alter his plans for the attack on Parry.   For this part of the operation, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 22nd Marines were withdrawn from Engebi while the 3rd Battalion was pulled from Eniwetok.    In an effort to expedite Parrys capture, the island was subjected to an intense naval bombardment on February 22.   Led by the battleships USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and USS Tennessee (BB-43), Allied warships hit Parry with over 900 tons of shells.   At 9:00 AM, the 1st and 2nd Battalions moved ashore behind a creeping bombardment.   Encountering similar defenses to Engebi and Eniwetok, the Marines steadily advanced and secured the island around 7:30 PM.   Sporadic fighting lasted through the following day as the last Japanese holdouts were eliminated. Aftermath The fighting for Eniwetok Atoll saw Allied forces sustain 348 killed and 866 wounded while the Japanese garrison incurred losses of 3,380 killed and 105 captured.   With key objectives in the Marshalls secured, Nimitzs forces briefly shifted south to aid General Douglas MacArthurs campaign in New Guinea.   This done, plans moved forward for continuing the campaign in the Central Pacific with landings in the Marianas.   Advancing in June, Allied forces won victories at Saipan, Guam, and Tinian as well as a decisive naval triumph at the Philippine Sea.

Case Study Project . SEE DETAILED INSTRUCTION BELLOW Essay

Case Study Project . SEE DETAILED INSTRUCTION BELLOW - Essay Example conflict, as well as multiple contributing factors are explored, and secondly, the study addresses issues of timeliness, adequacy and effectiveness of the international reaction. The logic behind this structure of the research is as follows – while the former could produce sound understanding of both the duration of the conflict and the extent of the atrocities perpetrated by all belligerent parties, hence the scale of the disaster, the latter – the evaluation of the international response – inter alia might help explain the relative failure of the humanitarian efforts, as demonstrated by the current situation in the region (IRIN, 2014). The crisis in the Darfur – which literally means land of the Fur – region of Sudan could be said to have begun in October 2002 when the Janjaweed militia, trained and equipped by the Sudanese army, carried out violent attacks on the local people from camps in Jabal Kargu, Boni, and Idalghanam in southern Darfur (Collins, 2005: 156; de Waal, 2005: 129). Being characterised by extreme cruelty, involving killings, mutilations, rapes, and abductions, those raids also bore indubitable signs of ethnic cleansing – not only the Fur, Massalit, and Zaghawa were targeted, but also the fields, wells, irrigation works, schools, clinics and other infrastructure was methodically destroyed in order to drive the local population from their holdings (Collins, 2005: 156). In the early 2003, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA/M) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), who are believed to have themselves attacked civilians in Darfur, started attacking the government forces in response to raids mounted by the government-backed militias (Bellamy, 2005: 31; Collins, 2005: 156; BBC News, 2010). The killings and displacement escalated during the summer and autumn of 2003, while the Sudanese army defeated the SLA north of Kutum in late August; in September 2003, the Chadian government mediated a ceasefire between the belligerent sides, which

News Release Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

News Release - Essay Example Mr. Watts said, â€Å"we have trained masseurs and masseuses for each type of massage, from Thai, to Swedish, reflexology, and even stone massage. I’m so excited that we have all these services for our patrons.† For a holistic healing, Pearl Cove also offers ventusa therapy, paraffin wax treatment, aromatherapy and ayurveda. And when speaking about beauty, the fitness club has body wraps for weight loss, facials, manicure and pedicure, exfoliation, skin rejuvenation treatments, eyebrow trimming, and ear cleaning. The club has an in-house dermatologist and medical doctor who will oversee that the customers are fit to undergo certain treatments. The existing swimming pool of the hotel underwent renovation and its management will be transferred to the manager of the fitness club. At the health and fitness store, customers can buy aromatic oils that they can bring home, facial creams, health books, swimming gears and ear plugs, as well as snacks and drinks. The hotel guests are entitled to a 20 percent discount when they use the club facilities. As a promotional offer, upon opening of the facility to the public in April, the first 1000 customers to sign for an annual membership will be given a 50 percent discount. Hotel guest who sign for membership will be given a total of 70 percent discount provided they fall within the 1000 customer quota. Patrons may reserve a slot by contacting 06-562456, but they should pay the membership fee within three days. Pearl Cove conceptualized the fitness club two years ago to increase health awareness of people and promote healthy body and living. The services can be availed of by teenagers and even elder people provided they have no physical contradiction to the

Considering all the legal developments of the last few years, what is Essay

Considering all the legal developments of the last few years, what is there left to improve in the field of Employment Law in th - Essay Example The Pope does not come down from his thrown very often. No one would ever deny that the Papacy has not wielded some influence in secular politics through the course of Western History. At the same time, that it is true that Pope's oppose fairly infrequently. Pope's don't hang around chambers after Question Period in the Commons trying to pitch stories to the media. It is in this sense, that it is being emphasized that Pope's do not come down from their pillar''s very often to directly make political statements. As was articulated in 'Pope Benedict attacks government over Equity Bill' [BBC, 11:30 GMT, Tuesday, 2 February 2010]: Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said the Pope's comments were a "coded attack on the legal rights granted to women and gay people" [BBC, Feb. 2, 2010]. The Equity Bill envelopes a number of arguably diverse legislation's that preceded it. While the Pope did protest The Equity Bill, he did not oppose Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, and the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. By no means was this the only context or situation where employee rights were overlapping with human rights. Thus, what influenced the constituent parts of the Equity Bill might also include some legislation progressions dating at least back to 1970 which was the date of the Equal Pay Act. Between the tripartite components of 2006, 2003, and 2003, was also the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Race Relations Act of 1976, and finally, Disability Discrimination Act which was introduced in 1995: As it was described in the BBC News Magazine in 2007: â€Å"It is not a piece of legislation welcomed by all and it was bitterly opposed by parts of the Catholic Church† [Geoghegan, BBC News Magazine BBC, April 30th 2007]. As is consistent with principals and practices of equity under the British legal system, basic rights have been extended by acknowledging that same sex-partnerships have every right to be recognized. It is a form of legal reform that is prevalent through Europe and in North America. While the Equality Bill is â€Å"for the purposes of anti-discrimination legislation, The Government considers that it is important to maintain current models of disability, which draws on different models for different purposes† [The Equality Bill: Oral and written evidence, p. 210]. Another significant body of legislation that has impacted employment law in recent years, was the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations in 2006. This was a legal challenge to the Default Retirement Age [Davies, Ed., 204]. While the judge did not find that any of the regulations had been breached with regard to the Default Retirement Age in accordance with the European Union's Equal Treatment at Work Directive. It is important to employment law because of the obvious connection with work-related retirement, but also because of the human rights issue involved with the legislation. Age discrimination has been one of the strong arguments made against the Default Retirement Age. It has been argued in court, that forcing someone to retire at any one particular age, is a form of discrimination: â€Å"this term encourages the perception that age discrimination is less important than other forms and can obscure discrimination arising from multiple intersecting identifies of people of all ages† [Meenan 290]. Just as an employer cannot legally tell someone that they are too old for a

Factors that contribute to quality of life

Factors that contribute to quality of life A report by Garavan, Winder and McGee (2001) Health and Social Services for Older People, Consulting Older People on Health and Social Services: A Survey of Use, Experiences and Needs concluded within its findings that older women viewed that they had a low quality of life. Stuart-Hamilton (2000) states that an element within the ageing concept is that men for varying reasons die at a greater rate than women after the age of 70 and that therefore it could be concluded that the ageing experience could be a longer process for women. The elderly population in Ireland is increasing in that according to Connell Pringle (2004) the projected population of older women in 2021 is expected to be between 375,000 and 389,000 which would indicate a rise of over 50 per cent from that in 2002. Ageing can be defined as the process of progressive change in the biological, psychological and social structure of individuals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦aged 60 or over (Stein and Moritz, 1999;4). According to Greenstein (2006) social research is abstract in general in that the concepts are not easily measured because of the subjectivity of the topics and that a way of gaining a vague measure within the research is to ask the participants their level of satisfaction or dis-satisfaction in relation to the sub-themes. Ageing has a direct biological decline and because of this quality of life has been regarded to be directly linked by the health of the person versus ill-health. But health being defined by the World Health Organisation cited in (Bond and Corner, 2004:2) as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing have resulted in the concept that quality of life is much more complex and varied depending on other factors rather than being traditionally associated solely with health (Bond and Corner, 2004). Definition of Quality of Life Quality of life is not scientifically measureable in that it is very subjective to the individual depending on their experiences of ageing and that the terms well-being and life satisfaction are often used as a means of gaining an insight into the degree a person views that they are experiencing quality of life (Vincent, Phillipson and Downs, 2006). Research has shown that quality of life is subjective to the person, Abrams (1973) cited in (Bond and Corner, 2004:4) defines quality of life as the degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction felt by people with various aspects of their lives. This literature review will act as a base for a thesis that will explore the views of older women in Cavan as to the factors that contribute to quality of life. The definition of what is quality of life is not easily determined and many authors offer different domains as the priority but in fact the priority will be subjective to what the individual older person measures as the most important aspect to them (Nay and Garratt, 2009). There has been much focus on what is quality of life in recent years in terms of social policies that have in turn directed service provision and providing care that is impacting positively on a persons quality of life according to Vincent et al (2006). Quality of life according to Nay and Garratt (2009) typically measures general health, physical, cognitive, sexual and emotional functioning while also measuring the happiness of the person but it is subjective to the person in that what one person views as important may differ from another person. Factors such as employment, social networks, social activities, self-identity, financial security and cognitive and physical function are considered to impact on quality of life (Renwick et al (2003) cited in Nay and Garratt, 2009). Also that quality of life in relation to older people is often used as an assessment measure of whether a service is supporting the needs of its clients in that it is not just a measure of quantity of life but that the life has quality within it so that the outcomes of supports or services are impacting positively on quality of life (Nay and Garratt, 2009). That measurement of quality of life is sometimes measured within one domain such as general health while others measure cover several domains. But in general the largest measurement of quality of life is the concept that it is directly connected to the health of the person and their satisfaction regarding their health (Nay and Garratt, 2009). Therefore Health Related Quality of Life is a term that is often used by service providers as a directive for their care provision (Nay and Garratt, 2009:352). Focusing quality of life within the domains of general health can create what is called the disability paradox in that older people rather than viewing their decline in health as an indicator of low quality of life that the expectation of inevitable physical and health decline has resulted in other factors such as social networks and their overall well-being as the domains used to measure their view of quality of life and that it is presumptuous to view that general health is the sole measure of quality of life (Carr and Higginson, (2001) cited in Nay and Garratt, 2009:353). According to Vincent et al (2006) people will view health, social networks and standard of living as important factors within their lives but that the importance of the factors will vary as the person proceeds along their life course. Research sources have shown the complexity in defining the key factors within quality of life and the initial reading by the researcher highlighted that the many elements could be loosely grouped within three sub-themes in relation to quality of life: (1) physical factors general health and physical mobility, (2) economic factors income, and standard of living and (3) social structure factors social networks, cultural environment but further reading has emphasised that even though these concepts are applicable that expanding them further will allow greater exploration and description. In that according to Stuart-Hamilton (2000) that focusing on a narrow of domains could result in some domains appearing more important within the research than they possibly are. That domains such as health, income, and environment have an impact on a persons life satisfaction in general and are all inter-related but that the personality of the person will also impact on the how they measure their life satisfaction (Stuart-Hamilton, 2000). Walker (2005) suggests that as quality of life has no distinct key factors that most research focuses on health, environment, employment and relationships. That the environment has within it the physical, social, cultural and economic elements that can either enhance or reduce quality of life. Health has within it general health and the physical, mental and emotional health of the person. Employment covers income and can be related to the wealth of the person. The key concepts with regard to quality of life as suggested by Hughes (1990) cited in Bond and Corner (2004) are: (1) Physical environmental factors which include quality of accommodation, access to public services such as shops, transport and other public services such as libraries and other leisure outlets. (2) Social environmental factors which include family members, social networks, the level of support obtainable from family and social networks and the levels of leisure activities that the person is involved in. (3) Socio-economic factors which include the general standard of living, the income available to the person and other means of wealth. (4) Cultural factors which include the age, class, gender and religious leaning of the person. (5) Health factors which include general health, mental well-being of the person and physical mobility. (6) Personality factors which include whether the person is an optimist or pessimist, will all impact on the subjectivity by the person on their measure of life satisfaction. (7) Autonomy factors which include the degree that a person has the capability to make their own decisions. (8) Satisfaction subjective to the individual the level of satisfaction over all the areas of their life that they judge as important. There is no definitive on what factors contribute to quality of life, therefore (Arnold (1991); McDowell Newell (1996) cited in Nay and Garratt 2009:355) suggest that the measurement of quality of life should include objective indices such as economic circumstances and housing, those that measure subjective aspects such as morale, happiness and life satisfaction and those that contain both objective and subjective components, such as health related quality of life But according to Bond and Corner (2004) the subjective and objective aspects are interrelated an illustration of this being in that the objective element of health related quality of life could be subjectively not important to the older person who as of yet has not experienced any health issues that they view as impacting on their quality of life. There is a view according to Stuart-Hamilton (2000) within society that the busier the life of an older person the more quality of life that they have. That the subjective measure of life satisfaction can be directly linked to the activities that an older person participates in that give a meaning to their life can be directly linked to one of the theories of ageing Activity Theory (Bond and Corner, 2004). That an indicator of life satisfaction can be the degree that an older person maintains activities within their community, in that the more activities indicate higher levels of life satisfaction. Bond and Corner (2004) disagree and agree with elements of this theory in that they state that although social networks and activities can maintain and support physical and mental health such as reducing depression that ageing has a biological element that can impact on health and reduces an older persons social network as confidantes become ill or eventually die and that it is wrong to e xpect an older person to engage in levels of activities to the degree that they did when they were much younger. Stuart-Hamilton (2000) suggests the concept that engaging in activities for the sake of them does not allow the older person the ability to make their own choices and that within the provision of services for older people that by assuming that any activity is better than none could be directly linked to the application of Disengagement theory whereby it is believed that the older person accepts that death is eventual and therefore prepares for death by choosing to dis-engage from society and that also it has a function of reinforcing the expected process of ageing in Western Society. Personality: And its link to health: One element within a persons personality is that it will relate to their choices with regard to their lifestyle such as diet, exercise all which can aid the life expectancy of a person but what if the persons personality has within it a negative outlook will this impact on how they view the ageing process and the biological decline and that rather than trying to improve their physical well-being by a healthier lifestyle that they approach death and illness as unavoidable and then reduce their activities and disengage from society (Stuart-Hamilton, 2000). Link between psychological well-being and personality and health: Research has shown a link between physical well-being and mental well-being in that according to Whitbourne (1987) cited in Stuart-Hamilton (2000) people that exercised and had levels of what they measured as physical well-being had a general feeling of overall well-being but therefore could it be said that people that have a poor physical well-being are more less satisfied with life (Stuart-Hamilton, 2000). Personality: Preference for lifestyle link: That the personality of a person whether they are an introvert or extrovert will also impact on the lifestyle they choose in that if they are an introvert it will probably follow that as they are older that they will not seek out social activities (Stuart-Hamilton, 2000). Disengagement theory Cumming and Henry, (1961) as cited in Stuart-Hamilton, (2000) suggest that as people get older that they automatically start to disengage from society in degrees as if in preparation for death and this is also supported by society in that the structures have come to expect this disengagement. This disengagement according to Stuart-Hamilton (2000) can be as a result of many factors such as illness, loss of family members, low income that does not provide for activities and also their personality type in that what if they are introvert or extrovert and that disengagement theory has been criticised for the overall image that older people are cutting ties with society in preparation for inevitable death. According to Maddox (1970) cited in Stuart-Hamilton, (2000) this disengagement may simply be a an aspect of the persons personality and that it is not an element of ageing at all. Merriman (1984) cited in Stuart-Hamilton (2000) also criticises disengagement theory an d states that ageing policies within many countries encourage that older people have an high profile within their community. Activity theory was proposed as a way of combating disengagement theory according to Stuart-Hamilton (2000) in that it was proposed that the more activities that an older person engaged in the better their life satisfaction. But this does not allow for choices for the older person and what if their personality is such that enforced activities is wrong (Stuart-Hamilton, 2000). Issues related to measuring Quality of Life There are issues relating to the measurement of quality of life in that the domains are both subjective and objective. The objective indices, such as economic circumstances and housing; those that measure purely subjective aspects, such as morale, happiness, and life satisfaction; and those that contain both objective and subjective components, such as Health Related Quality of Life measures (Arnold, (1991) cited in Nay and Garratt, 2009:355). Vincent et al (2006) agrees that there are both objective and subjective domains but unlike Nay and Garratt (2009) attributes social factors within the objective domains by stating that the number of social networks that a person has is objectively measureable but that the quality of these social networks is a subjective element. Likewise Vincent et al (2006) states that health although measureable in terms of whether an illness was present and therefore objectively measureable that the domain is also subjective in that the importance of health to quality of life will depend on what the individual views health to be. The view by Vincent et al (2006) that the meaning of what is health is subjectively defined by the individual is illustrated by the disability paradox as per (Carr and Higginson, (2001) cited in Nay and Garratt, 2009:353). In that older people rather than viewing their decline in health as an indicator of low quality of life in that the expectation of inevitable physical and health decline have resulted in other factors such as social networks as the domains used to measure their view of quality of life and that it is therefore presumptuous to view that general health is the sole measure of quality of life (Nay and Garratt, 2009). Anderson Bury (1988) cited in Vincent et al (2006) state that people can adjust to illness and develop coping skills so that the illness no longer factors as a significant domain to the person and this would therefore affect the measurement of health within quality of life research. Health and physical functioning as an objective measure in the domains of quality of life are mentioned continually and can in its simplest form according to Nay and Garratt (2009) be that if a person has a condition or range of illnesses be considered to have a low quality of life. But what if the adjustments suggested by Anderson Bury (1988) cited in Vincent et al (2006) were accommodations such as medication or lifestyle changes and were to adjust how the illness impacts on the person could it then be considered that although the health status remains the same but that the accommodations have resulted in the meaning of what is health to not be defined by illness or physical functioning. Therefore in relation to this research the aim is to explore the subjectivity of what the participant views as health and if any accommodations have impacted on the meaning of what is health. Economic factors such as standard of living are objectively measured according to Nay and Garratt (2009) in that income can be an indicator of a standard of living but according to Vincent et al (2006) this objective measure has to be balanced by the subjective measure of what is the expectation of a standard of living and according to Stuart Hamilton (2000) will be directly linked to past experiences of standard of living in that if a person has in the past had a particular standard of living the subjective measure will be linked to whether the same standard of living was expected by the person or not. Therefore in relation to this research with regard to economic factors as a domain within quality of life previous standard of living and expectations of standard of living as an older person and direct experience will be explored. According to Vincent et al (2006) quality of life has no scientific measurement that can define the exact objective degree of quality of life because there are so many variations of what is quality of life. That the experience of life may support or contradict what the objective measure describes as quality of life. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Quantitative methods are often the means of gaining information regarding what is quality of life but using quantitative methods will not allow for the subjectivity of individual experiences and their views on quality of life. That using structured questionnaires still conform to the researchers view of quality of life and does not allow for the exploration of the views of the older person. That these approaches do not allow for the symbolic nature and meaning of life to the individual (Vincent et al, 2006:158). Taking the view that as the person proceeds along the life course that their view of life will remain the same. Stuart Hamilton (2000) suggests that the life course Another challenge in relation to measuring quality of life and with particular reference to older people is that there can be such differences between each person in that as they age the experience in relation to physical, social, emotional, sexual and cognitive functioning is not as homogenous an experience and that these differing experiences will impact on what factors are key to quality of life (Stewart et al (1996) cited in Nay and Garratt, 2009). The setting that the older person lives within will impact greatly on the factors that are viewed as contributors to quality of life in that if a person is living within a residential unit that this group orientated setting will have different routines and rules in comparison to an older person living within community in general, and that for those within a residential setting that research has shown that dignity, self-determination and participation and accommodation of resident needs were considered to be the factors that impacted on quality of life (Nay and Garratt, 2009:357). That measurement of quality of life needs to consider the domains that are considered contributors within quality of life and that how the research is conducted in that the way that questions are asked can create a bias. As already stated biological decline is a natural aspect of ageing therefore if an indicator of quality of life were to be considered the level of physical functioning it would be inappropriate to ask the participant if they were physically able to do as much and for as long as they used to when they were younger and that this would not be a realistic indicator of quality of life according to Nay and Garratt, (2009). Measurement tools are World Health Organisation Quality of Life Instrument (whoqol) (Skevington et al 2004), cited in Nay and Garratt, 2009. Conclusion This literature review has explored the concept of quality of life and that the factors that are considered to contribute to quality of life are varied and can contain subjective and objective components and that older people in order to measure quality of life should not be viewed as a homogenous group.

A Poetry Explication :: Shakespeare Sonnet Poem Essays

A Poetry Explication "Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal [but] which the reader recognizes as his own." (Salvatore Quasimodo). There is something about the human spirit that causes us to rejoice in shared experience. We can connect on a deep level with our fellow man when we believe that somehow someone else understands us as they relate their own joys and hardships; and perhaps nowhere better is this relationship expressed than in that of the poet and his reader. For the current assignment I had the privilege (and challenge) of writing an imitation of William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 87". This poem touched a place in my heart because I have actually given this sonnet to someone before as it then communicated my thoughts and feelings far better than I could. For this reason, Sonnet 87 was an easy choice for this project, although not quite so easy an undertaking as I endeavored to match Shakespeare’s structure and bring out his themes throu gh similar word choice. As far as structure goes, Shakespeare’s sonnet and my own are very similar. My 14-line sonnet is written in Iambic Pentameter and follows the abab-cdcd-efef-gg rhyme scheme within three quatrains and a couplet, as does that of Shakespeare. For this reason, my poem follows a meter very close to Sonnet 87. This is also due to the fact that both sonnets contain 10 syllables per line, as well as an eleventh in most lines that derives from weak, or "feminine" verb endings such as "keeping" in the first line of my poem, and "possessing" in that of Shakespeare. Thus, the finality residing in the 10 syllable lines that use masculine endings is accounted for. In addition, my sonnet mirrors Sonnet 87 by starting with "farewell" and ending with Shakespeare’s couplet modified, and one can see his influence in the third quatrain of my poem, which echoes back the last 4 lines of Sonnet 87’s third quatrain. In this way, I was able to mimic most of Shakespeare’s structure while inserting phrases of my own. Throughout the poem I attempted to remain true to Shakespeare’s sonnet by way of word choice, while adding my own twist. My poem alternates between the more archaic (but arguably more beautiful) "thou" and the more modern "you". This is done to tie my poem, written in the present, to Shakespeare’s work of the past.