Extracurricular activities Essay

People may say that extracurricular activities are a waste of time for everyone but that’s not the case, since extracurricular activities help with getting fit, working on focus, and management. I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to let students do extracurricular activities since it will help their students tremendously. Although sports or clubs might not be for everyone it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be there because it could be beneficial for others. One of the main struggles with not just students but people in general is fitness. Practice is; key if you ever want to get better at sports and it’s the same with school. For students practice gets them in a stronger and fit condition. Without practice you can’t be your best and get fit. Sports also include lifting weights, since sports want students to get as fit as possible and set up lifting days. Coaches are some of the most enthusiastic people. Coaches not only encourage train ing and working hard but they will also help without hesitation if you are struggling and need help. Every student has at least a little problem with focus. Focus is gained with hard work and practice, which is easy to obtain in sports because it is used so frequently. If you don’t focus in sports you will miss the catch or a play. Sports have so many plays and techniques that without focus you will ever learn them. Focus is in sports just like it is in school. Students are more likely to learn focus in something fun like sports than something more boring like school. Sports also teach students to focus on the details which are important in things like tests and projects. One of the other problems with kids these days is they can’t manage their lives. Many students can’t manage their time properly but with clubs and sports they can learn to set times to do homework, study, and etc. students also have to manage their time so they can make it to practice and club meetings. Students also have a rough time managing homework. Without the discipline of sports or some clubs, students will just slack off. Clubs also teach students school before all else, plus without good grades you will be kicked off the team. Most students have short attention spans and bad work ethics since students have an attention span of around 8 seconds. Sports teams and clubs want you to stay on the team so they are willing to help.

Video Games Cause Violence

Video Games Cause Violence Video game violence is an increasing problem in today’s youth with violence as one of the most popular themes. Games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty are among the most popular games and have been scientifically proven to have a major effect on teens. Many people try to argue that there is a difference in the effects between genders, however it has been proven wrong. Video games have the same effects as other forms of entertainment but do not get attacked like video games because the other forms are much larger than video games and have a much wider audience. Violence in video games is a rising problem in the United States, causing teens to have less self-control and more emotional disturbances, requiring more attention from parents and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Background Violent video games are gaining popularity around the world and are causing more and more problems among teen violence. Seventy-seven percent of people between ages 14 and 18 who took place in a survey reported that they play fighting or shooting games sixty-seven percent of the total time that they play games. Rashawn Blanchard, author of â€Å"Video Games Do Not Cause Violence†, stated â€Å"violence in video games simply helps players find release from the frustrations in their daily lives. † The survey also supported this with most people saying that it is just a game and that they play it to release their anger on something fake that cannot hurt anyone in the real world. They say it all depends on the person though; everyone is different and react to things differently. Younger players would be more influenced by the games, while older players would know what is fake and real. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rates all the games that are sold to the public. The ESRB rates the games among the content in the games, whether it is a learning games to teach younger kids or a game that you are a person working for the mob, killing people and earning cash to go pay a prostitute. Some people say that the ESRB needs to be stricter to stop younger players from playing more mature games, while others say the ESRB needs to be less strict because if the kid wants it the parents are most likely going to get it for them to make them happy. The ESRB gives parents the ability to make decisions about the video games they choose for their families through the age and content ratings depending on the action in the game and what it allows you to do. One incident was on April 20, 1999, in the small, suburban town of Littleton, Colorado, two high-school seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, enacted an all-out assault on Columbine High School during the middle of the school day. The boys' plan was to kill hundreds of their peers. With guns, knives, and a multitude of bombs, the two boys walked the hallways and killed. When the day was done, twelve students, one teacher, and the two murderers were dead. Klebold and Harris seemed to spend their time doing normal teenager activities. They worked together in a local pizza parlor, liked to play Doom (a computer game) in the afternoons, and worried about finding a date to the prom. For all outward appearances, the boys looked like normal teenagers. Looking back, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris obviously weren't your average teenagers (Rosenburg). It is hard to tell if someone is being affected by video games until they tell someone or act out their plan that that has been influenced by the violent games. Another incident happened in Germany when Tim Kretschmer dressed himself in black commando suit and opened fire at random at the Albertville-Realschule school in South Germany, killing nine students and three teachers, before fleeing the scene. He would later shoot another person near a psychiatric hospital, before hijacking a car and forcing the driver to take him to the nearby town of Wendlingen. Police eventually tracked him down and shot him dead, but not before a gunfight that claimed the lives of two more passers-by, and wounded two police officers. Germany's already strict gun laws are being examined in the wake of this shooting, while politicians cluck about violence in the media and look at videogames as a possible cause. The country already has a reputation for banning outright any games that offend their censors, and a lot of material fails to (legally) make it to German gamers without heavy edits. This latest murder spree is not going to help matters at all (Sterling). This type of actions could eventually spread to the United States and make it hard for game makers to make a violent game and cause them to lose prophet and go bankrupt having a small toll on the economy. The Effects of the Games Violent video games are significantly associated with: increased aggressive behavior, thoughts and also cause increased physiological arousal and decreased pro-social behavior (Anderson). At the Indiana University School of Medicine, researchers say that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition, and attention. However what was not clear was what the MRI images indicate a lingering–or worse- permanent effect on the child’s brain, and what the effects longer playing times might have (Kalning). All of which are negative effects. Evidence form brain scans in another test seem to support a connection between playing video games and activation of regions of the brain associated with aggression (Kierkegaard). In the test that Kristin Kalning observed, 44 teens were split into two groups with one group playing â€Å"Need for Speed: Underground† (non-violent) and the other group playing â€Å"Medal of Honor: Frontlines† (violent). The scans showed a negative effect on the teens who played â€Å"Medal of Honor: Frontlines† for 30 minutes. The same effect was not present for the teens who played â€Å"Need for Speed: Underground†. In some cases the high levels of violent video game exposure have been linked to delinquency, fighting at school, and violent criminal behavior (Anderson), which would also support what happened at Columbine High School and in Germany. After visiting the Video Gamers Voters website I found many facts such as: Sixty-seven percent of American heads of households play computer and video games, which would allow these types of players to have more access to weapons. However people at the age old enough to be head of household would know what is right and what is wrong and would have less chances to do something bad. The average game player is 33 years old and has been playing games for 12 years. With the average age being that high, it might lead to problems with the ESRB restricting younger players from playing more violent games and not damage the industry. Eighty-six percent of game players under the age of 18 report that they get their parents' permission when renting or buying games, and 91 percent say their parents are present when they buy games. With the parents approving the games there would be less chances for a young player to play games over the age limit. Thirty-six percent of American parents say they play computer and video games. Further, 80 percent of gamer parents say they play video games with their kids. Sixty-six percent feel that playing games has brought their families closer together. With the parents participating in the games with the children there would be more guidance for the children to prevent the violent behaviors and the parents could also explain the different things that might happen in the game. Thirty-eight percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (31%) than boys age 17 or younger (20%). Which leads to PC Magazine saying that women have receive less effects than men, however they are not as likely to play a violent video game reducing the amount of violent video games sold. In 2007, 24 percent of Americans over the age of 50 played video games, an increase from nine percent in 1999. With a wider audience playing video games more people will understand the effects of the games and will work to prevent it. Forty-nine percent of game players say they play games online one or more hours per week. With the online play it can not be controlled to what other people do or say to each other, maybe causing other players to get angry and want to release on something else. 97 percent of the people that participated in a survey at Pasco High School stated that they played online most of the time that they played video games exposing them to more uncontrollable violent behavior. After conducting a survey among 57 peers at Pasco High School, I found that 11 of those 57 did not play video games at all. 1 percent of the males that participated in the survey did not play video games. 75 percent of the males surveyed played violent video games with 71 percent playing them most, if not all, of the time. Among the ones that played the violent video games, 100 percent of their parents approved the games and bought the games for them. 31 percent of the females surveyed do not play video games. 53 percent o f the females that play video games play violent ones. The females that played the violent games played them most of the time, with all their parents approving. How to Solve the Problem One way of solving the problem is for the ESRB to become stricter. Most of the gamers do not want this to happen and think it should be less strict allowing them to play the games that they want to play. However with all the crimes committed by younger people being blamed on video games the ESRB might not have a choice and be forced to raise the age limits for the more violent games. Another is for parents to control the games the kids play and not allow them to play the more vulgar games. Parents should not only know what the games are they should know what is in the games to see if they approve the games. If the parents just don’t care about the games the kids have more chances of being effected by the games and become more violent, making it partially the parents fault for not supervising their kids and allowing them to play the games. Another very unlikely thing to do is for the players to not play nearly as long as they normally would. This would reduce the effects on the players and still allow them to play. With the kids not playing as long it would allow them to do other things such as homework or go outside and play giving them exercise, however it is not something that the players want because most are addicted to the games. Any of these would drastically reduce the violent behavior and most likely reduce other problems in society. Violence in video games is a mounting problem in our society and needs to be stopped. In order for things to change everyone needs do their part to solve the problem and stick to what they choose. Once this is done the society will be much better.

A Mothers Love: Summary

Nothing comes close to having love that a mother haves for her children. Most women are great mothers to their children. Women that carry their children before they are born and then continue to take care them throughout their childhood and even into adulthood. Moms make sure that their children are safe and happy through their childhood. It is the unconditional love that a mother feels for her children that drives these feelings. It is hard to describe the feeling that a mom has towards her children. Most people don’t understand this love unless they are mothers themselves.Raising a child comes with a lot of frustrations, starting the needy new born baby that needs regular care to a teenager, a mother's job is everything but easy. A famous saying states that â€Å"God could not be everywhere and so he invented mothers†, these words are an inspiration to mothers all across the world. A mother puts her children before anything else, including their own comfort and happin ess. Mothers give alot of support to their child, whether it is visible support or background encouragement. Not only do mothers support their children, but they hold the whole family structure together.This role is not always plain sailing. Mother’s can also be mad or hurt. Mother’s often takes the fallout for the toddler tantrums and the teenage angst. Despite this, mothers will love their children no matter what they do. Mothers were meant to be the cheerleaders for their children, sometimes in loud and visible ways, sometimes in unspoken way in the background. Mothers can often be the backbone of families. A mother’s job is not always the easiest one. Moms have to make sacrifices and can also have their hearts broken.The great thing about mothers is that they usually understand and love their kids in all ways. Every year there is a day set aside to celebrate the role of a mother. This day is called Mother's Day. This day is a good opportunity for children of all ages to show their appreciation for the work of a mother. Every year there is one special day put aside for mothers. What else could it be called but â€Å"Mothers Day. â€Å"? This is the day that their sons and daughters who are grown make the long distance calls or take their moms out for dinner. Mother's Day is a special day when mom gets the flowers she deserves.Mother's Day is a day when children stop and say thank you to mom for all she has done over the years. Young children make mothers homemade cards that bring tears to mother's eyes and make her realize that it is all worth it. Describing a mother's love is impossible. It is a feeling that can only be understood by those who are mother’s. In time, a mother's daughters will grow up to be mothers themselves. Never underestimate what a mother has over a child. It may not always seem this way, but children look to their mother for guidance on how they should deal with certain situations in everyday life.On the r are occasions that a mother is unable to look after their children, maybe through illness or death, it can have a tragic impact on the life of the children. Mothers have incredible power over their children that they must be respected. It is a tragedy for a child when the mother is not someone who looks after the child properly. It is a tragedy when a child or children lose their mother's at a young age. Official Essay A Mother’s Love Nothing can come close to the love that a mother feels for her children. Most women are inherently excellent mothers.Women carry their young before they are born and then continue to nurture them throughout their childhood and even into adulthood. Mothers make sure that their children are safe and happy throughout their childhood. It is the unconditional love that a mother feels that drives these feelings. It is hard to describe the feeling that a mother has towards her children. In fact, most people do not understand unless they become a mother themselves. Raising children comes with its own share of frustrations, from the needy new born baby that requires regular care to the sullen teenager, a mother's job is anything but easy.A famous saying states that â€Å"God could not be everywhere and so he invented mothers†, these words are a great inspiration to mothers across the world. When all is well, a mother puts her children before anything else, including their own comfort and happiness. Mothers give an awful lot of support to their children, whether it involves very visible support or simple background encouragement. Not only do mothers support their children, but they also often hold the whole family structure together. This role is not always plain sailing. A mother can also be upset or hurt.Remember that a mother often takes the fallout for the toddler tantrums and the teenage angst. Despite this, mothers, generally, will love their children no matter what they do. Mothers are meant to be the cheerleaders of t heir kids, sometimes in loud and visible ways, sometimes in sublet or unspoken ways in the background. Mothers are often the backbone of families. Mother’s job is not always an easy one. Mothers have to make sacrifices. Mothers can have their hearts broken. Mothers must be the conscience of young children and are often the brunt of their anger and pain as they grow into adulthood.The great thing about mothers is that they usually understand and love their kids anyways. Every year there is a day set aside to celebrate the role of a mother. Unsurprisingly, the day is called Mother's Day. This day is a great opportunity for children of all ages to show their appreciation for the work of a mother. Gifts and cards, often handmade with care, are given as a sign of love. Every year there is one special day put aside for mothers. What else could it be called but â€Å"Mothers Day. â€Å"? This is the day that sons and daughters who are grown make the long distance calls or take the ir moms out for dinner.Mother's Day is a special day when mom gets the flowers she deserves. Mother's Day is a day when children stop and say thank you to mom for all she has done over the years. Young children make mothers homemade cards that bring tears to mother's eyes and make her realize that it is all worth it. Describing a mother's love is virtually impossible. It is a feeling that can only truly be understood by those that experience it. In time, a mother's daughters will grow up to be mothers themselves. Never underestimate the influence that a mother has over a child.It may not always appear this way, but children look to their mother for guidance on how they should deal with situations. On the rare occasions that a mother is unable to look after their children, maybe through illness or death, it can have a tragic impact on the life of the children. Mothers have incredible power over their children that they must be respect. It is a tragedy for a child when the mother is n ot someone who looks after the child properly. It is a tragedy when a child or children lose their mother's at a young age.

Advance coaching in sport (topic expertise) Assignment

Advance coaching in sport (topic expertise) - Assignment Example Competition works as a platform of evaluating the effectiveness of previous training. Expert Coaches have distinctive characteristics that will either make them win or lose competitions. Levels of expertise in coaching depend on the number of tiles athletes win and the period the Coach serves in the field of sports (McCarthy & Ahrens 2011). Coaches would take most of their times in areas with athletes to improve their performing standards. Coaches should be precisely smart in planning and executing their mandates. Development of an athlete relies on the behavior and beliefs of expert coaches. Core objective of this task is to ascertain the development process to qualify as an expert coach, establish the characteristic of an expert coach, and enhance relationship between a coach and an athlete (Gallo 2015). There are a number of theories explaining the significant of sporting and coaching in lives of the people and the society such as behaviorism (knowledge of coach), Dynamic and environmental changes (coach contexts). This article should stand toll in describing various critics surrounding the coaching expertise. It focuses on conceptualizing the whole notion of coaching expertise (Goldsmith, Lyons & McArthur 2012). Theoretical models are relevant variables that affect coaching course and the overall result of coaching. Various theories relate to coaching’s effectiveness and expertise. These theories are based on coaching contexts, athletes’ outcomes, and the coaches’ knowledge (behaviors, dispositions, education, and coaches’ experiences). First component of a conceptual model is the coaching contexts, which is all about dynamicity of the environment. This part explains settings that a coach would lay to improve performance of an athlete. Parameters are critical in effective coaching (Potrac, Jones & Armour 2002).

W200 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

W200 - Essay Example Because, the brothers were drunk the brothers do not think they should be held liable for causing the bodily harm to Carol. Even though Andrew and Bob are trying to pass off that they would have never committed this crime if they had not been drunk. The two of them still knew what they were doing despite being drunk. The crime against a person is that they were attempting to abuse, and scare Carol, but Carol ended up injured. When Carol ended up injured there was a criminal act committed. The criminal act was negligence on behalf of Andrew and Bob, but it was still a criminal act. Andrew and Bob can both be prosecuted on charges of criminal negligence. Because, Andrew and Bob were drunk they were negligent and caused harm to carol. If Andrew and Bob would not have been so childish to move the latter then Carol would not have fallen. Just because Andrew and Bob were drunk does not give them an excuse to shake the latter, and to move it off of the wall. This is the only reason Carol fe ll from the latter. Neither of the brothers made an attempt to catch Carol as she fell backward from the latter. So, Carol was seriously injured with a fractured skull. If Andrew, or Bob would have attempted to catch Carol as she fell from the latter, Andrew and Bob might not be facing criminal charges. However, neither brother attempted to catch Carol, so both Andrew and Bob will be brought up on criminal charges of negligently causing bodily harm to someone. The charge is negligently because they were not in their right states of mind. If Andrew and Bob had not been drinking, Andrew and Bob would not have moved the latter away from the wall, or at least attempted to catch Carol as she fell from the latter. B.) The criminal liability the brothers will face for the attack on Dennis is that they attacked a police officer. When a citizen attacks a police officer it is a criminal offense. Police officers are protected from the average citizen harming the police officer. When the two br others attacked Dennis the two brothers infringed upon the protections offered to police officers. Dennis can criminally charge the two brothers for an offense against a police officer. Andrew and Bob are also resisting arrest by kicking and cutting Dennis. If Andrew and Bob would have surrendered to the police officer then Andrew and Bob would not be in so much trouble. But Andrew and Bob were resisting the attempts of Dennis to arrest the brothers the brothers assaulted Dennis by kicking, and cutting him. The brothers then proceeded to run. When the brothers ran the officer could charge the brothers with resisting arrest. Then the brothers were also charged with the criminal offense of assaulting a police officer. This is of course on top of the charges for the criminal negligence on the assault of Carol. Now the brothers face more charges than they did prior to the officer coming to the home. Now the brothers have to consider what to do when they are arrested and brought up on mo re charges than the original charges. This could add more time on to the sentence Andrew and Bob faced for the criminal negligence in the attack on Carol. When Andrew and Bob negligently assaulted Carol the police allowed them to return home on bail. Then the police came back to arrest Andrew and Bob, but Andrew and Bob did not want to get arrested. If they would have just allowed themselves to be taken down to the

Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966) & Williams v. Florida 399 Assignment

Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966) & Williams v. Florida 399 U.S. 78 - Assignment Example The unprecedented penetration of contemporary communications and the extreme difficulty associated with obliterating prejudicial publicity from the perception of the jury, necessitate the trial courts to adopt stringent measures to prevent a bias against the accused. The US Supreme Court found that the accused had been denied due process and reversed his conviction. With regard to the balance to be maintained between the First and Sixth Amendment rights, the Court held that collaboration between the press and counsel, regarding information influencing the fairness of the trial was subject to regulation, and was extremely censurable and merited disciplinary measures. The US Supreme Court decried the absence of decorum in the trial court, and the free reign given to the press during the hearing. The prejudicial posturing of the press had biased the jury, which declared the accused guilty, on the basis of the adverse publicity promoted by the press and not the evidence. In Williams v Florida, the prosecution admitted the deposition of an alibi witness to establish the guilt of the accused. The latter was convicted, and the conviction was upheld by the appellate court. At the US Supreme Court, Williams contended that his Fifth Amendment rights had been breached, as the evidence of the alibi witness had been utilized for convicting him. He also contended that his Sixth Amendment rights were violated, as the denial of a 12-man jury had deprived him of his right to trial by jury. (U.S. Supreme Court, Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78 (1970), 1970). In this case, the US Supreme Court set aside precedent and legal tradition and declared the 12-man jury to be the perpetuation of a traditional idiosyncrasy. Accordingly, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the six-man jury, and held the 12-man jury to be its operational counterpart. The US Supreme Court held that the Florida criminal procedure did not force petitioners to provide courts

Comparative reflection paper on literature Essay

Comparative reflection paper on literature - Essay Example ..6 Comparison & Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.7 Racial Discrimination & Youth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..9 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.11 Introduction Literature is the reflection of a society. From past history, to present scenarios, li terature presents social phenomena in a very effective manner. It not only gives the description of the facts but gives value-addition to them which helps us understand life and its various facets in the most beautiful manner. It also helps us to highlight and understand the various problems occurring in the society. Racial discrimination is one such issue. Many authors have written books, short stories, poems etc on this much debatable topic. In this paper, we discuss the impact of racial discrimination by comparing two poems which highlight the issue. Racial Discrimination Racism can be defined as negative beliefs, attitudes, actions, or behaviors that are based on various different characteristics or ethnic affiliations (Patcher et al., 2010). It is the unfair treatment of any individual based on his race or because of the personal characteristics associated to his race. One of the examples of this is treating people unfavorably because of their color complexion. While racism hap pens all over the world in various countries, racism by Western powers toward non-westerners had a significant impact on history as compared to any other form such amongst Asians, Africans etc. The most renowned instance of racial has been slavery when referred to the West, particularly developing Africans into slaves. This happened because of the racist belief that Black Africans were not as human as white Europeans and their descendants. Racism affects every individual who becomes target to it. It particularly has effect on children and the youth. They are already struggling to find meaning to their life at this sensitive age, and such time of discrimination has adverse consequences on them. Racism as a stressor may produce negative biological or psychological responses to the behavioral and emotional health of children and may also explain within-group variability in health status and health results (Clark et al., 1999). Based on this my thesis statement would be: ‘Racial d iscrimination has far-reaching effects on the youth’ Literature Comparison The two pieces selected for this comparison are Child of the Americas by Aurora Levins Morales and What it’s like to be a Black Girl by Patricia Smith. Both are poems written by American authors having African origin. These poems highlight the discrimination against Blacks in America. With this analysis however, we will try to understand how racial/color discrimination is disturbing in any part of the world against any kind of race and its effects on the youth who are trying to settle in, trying to understand life, and trying to grow up; are much more. Let us first analyze each work separately and then compare them. Child of the Americas The author of this poem, daughter of an American Jewish father and a Puerto Rican mother, was born in Puerto Rico and moved to America at the age of 13. In this poem,

High Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

High Performance - Essay Example is, the company should institute efficient ethical standards, which will boost its general performance and especially those of the executives, since approximately 90% of the corporation’s future leadership/management will emanate from workforce already evident in the firm. Despite having shown significant progress for the past ten years, the company lacks the necessary requirements which are key aspects prior venturing into the international market. These requirements are mainly resources that entail both human and physical assets, for instance, adequate funding (AMA, 2007). The company ought to establish an effective mechanism directed towards identifying high performing employees and rewarding system. Since an executive normally assumes the center role in enabling an organization to reach and establish itself in the competitive global market, a slight fault might yield to its collapse if its management is incompetent (Kimberly, 2008). Besides, the firm should concentrate on internal operations while correcting the evident inadequacies like evaluation of their workforce performance, motivation, augmenting budget and managerial training. This is because during expansion to the global levels, it will utilize almost 90% of its management besides incorpo rating extra experienced international executive. Hence, reducing numerous wrangles and divisions that are currently evident amid the workforce where some are contented with the firm’s current position (AMA, 2007). In addition, the firm must institute extra consistent strategies aiming to reach the international standards and dominate the arena, which is contrary to the current state (Scott, 2003). This will enable each to undertake all the aspects seriously because the firm’s philosophies are in line to their strategies, hence, no confusion. Besides incepting adequate policies meant to augment its budget in preparation for international venturing, the firm needs to start developing its personnel. This will be

What is national healthcare, and how does Obamacare differ from that Essay

What is national healthcare, and how does Obamacare differ from that definition - Essay Example On the other hand, Obamacare is the unofficial name given to a United States federal statute called The  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  (PPACA or Affordable Care Act (ACA) that was enacted at the encouragement of Obama administration and consequently signed into law on March 23, 20102. Obamacare healthcare reform particularly seeks to enhance the quality, affordability and availability of both public and private insurance through its provisions some of which include subsidies, new regulations, taxes and mandates among others. The differences between the National healthcare and Obamacare are mostly related to their funding/ financing system. For example, the national healthcare is based on single payer healthcare system while Obamacare offers a universal healthcare system. A single payer healthcare system refers to healthcare program in which everyone pays into a single fund controlled by an agency and the fund is then used to pay all the medical services, though delivery of the care may be private. The National healthcare would expand the Medicare program to ensure all US citizens are provided with tax funded healthcare. At the same time the act prohibits any institution from taking part in the healthcare system unless it is nonprofit or public institution and instead seeks to expand the existing Medicare program thereby ending the need for private health insurance or premiums. Finally, under this system, the private insurers would be prohibited from selling any health care insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits offered by the National Healthcare Act. Although there are currently many healthcare organizations in the United States, a single payer system would only bill one entity for their services and this may save on the administrative costs and time wastage. However, opponents of the national care have argued that it is an expensive medical insurance cover compared to

Can international law change the world Essay Example for Free

Can international law change the world Essay Sir Christopher John Greenwood was born in 1955. Currently he is a judge of the ICC whereby he was elected to the position on 6th November 2008. Before being elected as an ICC judge, Sir Christopher John Greenwood was a professor at London School of Economics where by taught international law. In addition, he was a barrister who most often made appearance before the international court of justice, the English Courts and the European Court Of Human Rights among other tribunals. During an interview as evidenced in the video, Judge Sir Christopher John Greenwood puts it clear that the international law has the power to change the way world operates. He further argues that, while each system of the national law strives to regulate affairs within only a single society, the international law has the concern of the whole world. In contrary, judge Sir Christopher John Greenwood argues that, though the international laws has the power to change the world and the way different systems of the world operate, there is yet no methods of enforcement available to the national legal systems. According to Sir Christopher, the international law can change the security and political stability of the different nations of the globe if only there could be efficient and effective measures put in place that would ensure the different national systems comply. Moreover, Sir Christopher says that if the different national systems could comply with international laws like those concerning weapons and international peace, international health like those stipulated in the world health organization (WHO) among other laws made to ensure that the social welfare of the different socio-economic classes of people would change the world to a greater extend. In addition to this, Sir Christopher further argues that following compliance to the different international economic laws would change the way business is carried globally by different nations. Compliance to the international laws would make the transactions between different nations secure since are governed. Moreover, international economic laws would standardize how business is carried in the world. In a broad spectrum, the international laws can only change the world if the different nation systems comply. It will be of great importance if the different world systems comply to the international laws for better so as to steer development through trade standardization among other things. References Source document

Gender-Based Assumptions of War Victims

Gender-Based Assumptions of War Victims IS THE VIEW OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN MERELY AS VICTIMS OF WAR TOO SIMPLISTIC? International actors faced numerous Humanitarian crises throughout the 1990s, leading to a New War thesis, made particularly prominent by Mary Kaldor. Whilst wars have historically been concerned with violence against the most vulnerable, only recently have studies focused on massive civilian casualties, largely women and children (Kaldor 2013: 133). In mainstream thinking, war remains an exclusively male issue where men are ‘naturally’ those who perpetrate violence; meanwhile, women and children are seen only as victims. Empirical data, however, reported that men as potential fighters are most likely to be targeted in armed conflict, including sexual aggression (Carpenter 2006: 88). Wars create all sorts of victims and perpetrators, spanning gender and roles. Thus, is the role of women and children merely as victims too simplistic? Want This paper examines how common gender-based assumptions and unclear victim-related terms led observers to consider victimization as intrinsic and gender specific. As Cynthia Enloe (2004: 10) stated, ‘naturally’ is a dangerous notion that depicts women as life-giving versus men as life-taking (Coulter, Persson and Utas 2008: 7). However, men, women and childrens roles are much more diverse and complex. Analysis of the Syrian crisis illustrates this argument and provides evidence that men, women and children may be victims, perpetrators, or even both. ‘Women and Children First’. The necessity to have a ‘victim’. Thinking about armed conflict and human security, victims are often at the heart of leaders’ decision-making and civil society’s policies. The search for adequate victims’ and humanitarian programs raised the debate about which side or communities should be acknowledged as victims and revealed the many faces of victimhood (Huyse 2003: 54). Part of the dilemma comes from the political-biased connotations and the legal definition(s) of the term victim. To discuss the former argument, we choose to use the definition provided by the 1985 UN Declaration, which defined a victim as: a person who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States (UN 1985). Women and gender-based violence. Gender-based violence, especially wartime rape, is as old as war itself. For a long time in history, the ‘inferior’ position of women or certain ethnic or racial minorities was considered as natural, following Browmiller’s thesis that ‘War provides men with the perfect psychological backdrop to give vent to their contempt for women’ and became inherent to territorial advance (Brownmiller 1975, 32). During the liberation of Europe in 1945, the Russian Army raped over two million German women (Beevor 2007). However, women had to wait fifty years with the atrocities of Bosnian, Sierra Leone and Rwandan reports on rape camps to finally obtain the ear of the International community. The mediatization of armed groups using the enemy’s women to achieve ethnic cleansing, genocide and occupation goals upon the enemy raised awareness about the use of rape as a weapon (The Economist 2001, Farwell 2004). Pressures by feminist lobbies and academics led to an attempt by the UN to reinforce the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence, recognizing this ‘regrettable aspect of the war’ as a crime against humanity (Farwell 2004: 389, Erturk 2008: 1, DEDAW 1993). Nonetheless, sexual violence is not the only form of conflict-related victimization of women. The over-classification of women as ‘bush wives’, camp followers, and sex slaves undoubtedly raised the world’s awareness on gender-based violence but also diverted policy makers to address and establish efficient policies for all the range of victims (Coulter, Persson and Utas 2008: 8). For example, concerns about the health needs of women in conflict-zones – especially pregnant mothers and their children are annually expressed. In 2009 the Red Cross reported the highest rates of maternal deaths happen in war-torn countries (Puechguirbal 2009). Besides physical sequels, women suffer also from long-term and indirect psychological, social, and economical related-forms of violence. For example, women injured by sexual violence endure physical sufferings but also psychological pressures such as shame when they are back in their communities or economic deprivations and sanctions. Those issues are particularly contentious in cases where women are culturally dependent and subjected to their husbands. (Puechguirbal 2009, Erturk 2008, Tickner 1997: 628). Children as victims The same reasoning occurs with children. UNICEF recently alleged the number of children affected by civil wars has more than doubled over the past years, exceeding more than 5.5 million (UNICEF 2014: 3). However, the numbers do not reflect the form of violence and oppression nor do they specify a time distinction. Children are mainly described as ‘direct victims’ suffering from the direct effects of violence. Nevertheless, more attention should be given to the many other invisible victims, such as those children who lost one or more family members and suffer from the aftereffects of the violence they witnessed (Huyse 2003: 57, Worldvision 2014). Usually defenceless and vulnerable, children are killed, physically abused, kidnapped, recruited as soldiers, and/or displaced. In Syria, more than 1.2 million children have fled their homes, most of them are under 12 (UNICEF 2014: 18). In refugee camps, children are particularly exposed to malnutrition and unsanitary conditions, leading to all kinds of disease. Separated from their family, and/or without support from parents who could barely afford to feed and protect them, children suffer socio-economic deprivation and usually have no access to basic necessities. They are prevented from going to schools and are either enrolled as child labour and/or forced into sexual slavery, – or in the case of young women, married off to older men – to supplement their family’s meagre income (Shivakumaran 2014). In addition to physical abuses, children suffer from long-term psychological traumas from their experiences. In Syrian refugee camps, psychologists noticed unusual level of distress and visible signs social and physical dysfunction among displaced children (Atlas 2014, Winter 2014). Isolated and socially rejected, children who have been traumatized during the conflict develop sequels that can lead to new forms of violence –child soldiers, street gangs, juvenile delinquency or vendetta— (Boyden 2006: 4). In war-torn societies, the observations can generally be extended to second-generation victims; from children who suffered high levels of stress from the adults around them and children born in camps[1], to the grandchildren who carry memories from elder generations (Huyse 2004: 54, 57). Victims of Man’s war For a long time, there was a belief that men fight wars to protect vulnerable people, defend their family’s wealth, and the interests of the nation. This stereotypical role of the ‘active male protector’ naturally defined women and children as ‘passive-protected’ actors. Nevertheless, this common understanding about women and children’s victimization largely diverted the international debate from other under-acknowledged realities (Tickner 1997: 627, Enloe 2012: 7, Rygiel 2006: 150) First, armed groups are not always protecting the weak; second, the assumption that victimization is gender specific overlooks the presence of female fighters among armies (Goldstein 2001: 59). Finally, keeping in mind the fate of children as victims, recent researches indicate empirical evidence about children’s contribution to armed violence, including child soldiering. From victims to active participants Violence committed by children or women has an important symbolic power on people’s minds, because it challenges traditional social constructions that women and children are the most vulnerable (Hunt and Rygiel 2006: 2). Children as weapons Child soldiers have been in use for a long time: regular armies before the Geneva agreements made use of children. As a result of changing societal values and greater awareness of the issue, child soldiering increasingly gained political salience over the last decades of civil wars intensification. Images of tens of thousands small boys with an AK-47 –considered as a ‘cheap’ and ‘disposable goods’ by African War-lords (Rosen 2005)– created terrifying damages worldwide (Erwin 2002, Hoge 2014). However, child soldiers are generally portrayed as direct or indirect victims, forced and pressured by adults to commit brutal atrocities. Numerous testimonies by former child soldiers show the dilemma for those children who killed to defend themselves, either from their captor or an opposing armed faction (BBC 2005). The recent video released by the Islamic State (IS) shows the process of indoctrination and militarization: children carry guns as big as them, and are trained in radical ideology (Vinograd, Balkiz and Omar 2014). Many of those children are around 12-13 and do not actually have a choice, but some of them are already adults. This also leads to the debate around the capacity of youth to exercise a measure of personal autonomy in their decisions and actions (Maclure and Denov 2006: 120). Since 2002, ‘child soldiers’ definition relies the UN straight 18 principle and outlaws all major forms of children involvement in hostilities under that age (OPAC 2007). However, this strict definition tends to obscure the weight of experience, social-context and environment in which youth are evolving (Boyden 2006, Maclure and Denov 2006) Latest psychological analyses demonstrate the necessity to differentiate childhood and adolescence: much of the analysis so far has infantilized the young people as receptors of environmental stimuli, or of adult pressures, often disregarding particular cognitive and behavioural dynamics (Boyden 2006: 1). In some cases, children join for ideological reasons or for other advantages and opportunities war can bring – e.g. money, resources and power to name a few reasons. The prospect of getting a better life is worth war, leading young people to join the rebellion for the same reasons as adults (Hoeffler and Collier 2001, Boyden 2006: 4). Moreover, some scholars tend to explain instability in certain region as a consequence of demographic changes and increasing masses of youth. Post-conflict zones are primarily addressed taking into consideration the limited capacity of war-torn states to handle youthfulness (Maclure and Denov 2006, Boyden 2006: 10). For example, re-recruitment of child soldiers into war is particularly difficult to address (Hoge 2014). In response to evidence of child soldiering by the Kurdish rebel group, the International Criminal Court signed an agreement with the YGP establishing a ‘non-combatant’ category for children between 16 and 18. However and despite Demobilization, Demilitarization and rehabilitation (DDR) programs, dozens of children have tried to re-join local Kurdish military unites on their own (Geneval Call 2014). Women and Men on the moral continuum. From Antigone[2] to the Ozalp[3], women have actively participated in all aspects of war. Historical records show that women perform successfully in war –sometimes even more than their male colleagues. The quasi-exclusion of women as ‘combatants’, refers to the gender constructed discourse and dichotomy between women (peaceful) and men (warlike) which denied the active participation of women as individual perpetrators of violence (Hunt and Rygiel 2006). For example, in 2003, when were released the images of Lynndie England abusing Iraqi prisoner at Abu Ghraib surfaced, the first comments were not related to the atrocities perpetrated on the Iraqi prisoners nor the executors —no one knew, knows, or remembers the names of the other U.S. guards (Brittain 2006: 84). The shock was particularly focused around the picture of the ‘little white woman’ holding a leash tethered to the prisoner’s neck (Struckman 2010, Brittain 2006: 84) Consequently , it has become necessary to critically analyse women’s role as ‘perpetrators and perpetuators’, regarding the estimated number of women engaged today in ‘unwomanly’ behaviour worldwide, including Western armies (Goldstein 2001, Cohen and al. 2013). Fighting for freedom – The case of Kurdish Female fighters The recent growing progress of IS has given particular attention to the fighters for freedom, which fight to prevent the expansion of the Islamic caliphate. In reporting on Kobani attacks by IS, media have begun focusing specifically on the increasing proportion of female fighters who joined the Kurdish movements under the banner of the Women’s Protection Unit (YPJ). Never before has such international concern been given to female combatants and the role they can play in a major combat zone. In the region of Kobani, one in three of the city defenders are female (Pratt 2014, Mezzofiore 2014). From passive ‘protected’ to active ‘protector’, Kurdish female fighters represent a category of women that diverge from the one previously encoded in the society. Besides their abilities to shoot multiple types of weapons, they developed a full range of other skills based on physical and cognitive differences between men and women. For instance, they are mostly marksmen and snipers, as it requires ‘calm, patience and finesse,’ a typically female trait (Pratt 2014). Contrary to the images of vulnerable women, YPJ soldiers almost reveal signs of masculinity by accepting ‘death as a sacrifice that is part of the life choice they have made’ (Pratt 2014). And yet, motivations could be almost identified as feminist ones. IS treat women as objects, giving female fighters even more power against ISIS; some say that Islamic rebels are more terrified of being killed by women because if they do they cannot go to heaven (Mezzofiore 2014) The Kurdish example raises many concerns among scholars since it contrasts the common perception of women’s role. The YPJ’s struggle proves that women can be perfectly capable and willing of performing violent acts to ‘defend the Kurdish people against all evil’ (Pratt 2014). Some suggest that this could lead to the empowerment of women in the region, since female fighters are being taken much more seriously today than in the past (Mezzofiore 2014, Gatehouse 2014). Under fire – All victims? The institution of war has never been good for women and children (Farwell 2004). To a larger extend, war has never been good for anybody. Even if women and children are among the worst victims, they are not the only ones. The held idea that women and children are most likely to be displaced is not always giving justice to the data. Regarding the statistics about Registered Syrian Refugees, Males represent 48.7% and Female 51.3% of exiles. Refugees also include elderly persons, wounded warriors, minorities, people with disabilities, etc (UNRHC 2014). By qualifying women and children only as victims or combatants, scholars conceal the large range of positions they can occupy during a conflict. The mobilization of the society in the war effort has existed as long as war itself. During the First World War, the Munitionettes[4] and their children worked in factories to provide for men at war. They have been enrolled in offices, communications, intelligence, maintenance and many other under-acknowledged ways (Goldstein 2001: 78). Partly victimized, partly victimizing, women are often considered as those who sacrifice the most during war (Huyse 2003: 56) In Africa, women who must fight in armed groups have often been doubly victimized – forced to join the rebellion and raped by enemies and comrades. Consequently, it is impossible to draw a sharp line between the two categories, preventing the implementation of programs to address these women and girls’ actual lived experiences (Coulter and al. 2008 XXX). For example in post-reconstruction policies, they have failed to include women and young girls in DDR programs. Part of it is due to policy-makers’ refusal to recognize woman as combatants (Coulter and al 2008: P). Thus, depending on the policies implemented, women can suffer from deeper discrimination mainly related to the structural roots prevailing in society before the conflict (Cohen and al 2013:5) Porter’s study about rape in Uganda found that rapists are more often husbands/boyfriends or men from the same community rather than enemies (Porter 2013, Utas 2005). Or they can expect better positions with regard to equality between women and men. For example women were generally granted the right to vote after World War Two. Moreover, by emphasizing on the large proportion of women who have been abused, the debate on gender-based violence on men has been overlaid. Barring a few exceptions, the literature does not pay attention to the fact that men are also victims of poor treatment, thereby tortured more violently. Sexual violence is an issue commonly defined as affecting women and young females and yet, male rape, genital mutilation and other forms of emasculation have an important impact on men that should be documented (Cohen and al 2013: 7, Sivakumaran 2013). Aggressors often abuse male enemies or political prisoners intentionally dehumanize and humiliate them (Sivakumaran 2013, Carpenter 2006). Nevertheless, because of the psychological and social implications of male victimization, less attention is given to male adults and adolescents who have been oppressed and/or forced to commit crimes (rape, mass killings, kidnapping), leading to a bias in human security studies (Carpenter 2006). From ‘Women and Children’ to ‘Women’ and ‘Children’ Gender-based common assumptions have largely shaped the way people perceive men, women and children’s roles in war. The persistent idea of a masculine monopoly on force promotes a simplistic view of war as the continuation of politics, where men are the main actors (Enloe 2004). By categorizing men as life-taking, women as live-giving and children as the next generation, it appears that scholars have misjudged the role of women and children, especially during wars. After the mediatisation of the Bosnia Civil War and the Genocide in Rwanda, policy-makers and NGOs mainly focused on those visible atrocities that reduce the role of women and children to mere victimhood. The proportion of women and children suffering from conflicts is substantial. However, the amalgamation of ‘Women and Children’ under a unique category because of their relative ‘vulnerability’, diverted attention away from existing structural realities. Following this myth, scholarâ€℠¢s researches have exacerbated the idea of ‘tough men’ dying to protect ‘tender women and children’ and failed to question if women and children are merely victims of war. 1 [1] The huge number of child refugees is not only driven by the recent Syrian conflict but also by the growing number of Syrian, Afghan and Somali children that were born in refugee camps. (UNHCR 2014) [2] Antigone†¦ (Anouillh [3] With a lack of ammunition and in a hopeless situation, Ozalp killed herself not to fall into the hands of the rapists (Mezzofiore 2014) [4] Women working in munitions factories during WWI.

The liberlization and privatization of the indian economy

The liberlization and privatization of the indian economy Rajiv Gandhis government initiated the policy of liberalization since mid-80s. The liberalization initiatives have been undertaken in India with a view to increase a production, improve quality and get access to market for products and service abroad. Radical liberalization or globalization measures have been brought in since July 1991 to make the Indian economy progressively market oriented and integrate it with the emerging global economy structure. These measures include reduction and rationalization of excise duty and customs duties, delicensing of several drug and pharmaceutical products, ready access to import of raw material and capital goods and so on. It has created an environment conducive to an enterprise, investment and innovation. Indian industries have started to attract foreign portfolio investment and equity participation in new ventures. The government is committed to make foreign players feet at ease to invest directly and bring with it new technology and marketing skills. There has been impressive growth in FDI inflows to India with the introduction of policy reforms. As compared to a near total concentration in manufacturing till 1991, the bulk of new inflow has come in the energy and service sector. Liberalization The New Industrial Policy, 1991 A number of significant economic changes introduced by many a number of countries all the world over, the encouraging results of the liberalization measures introduced in 1980s by the Government of India, and the precarious economic situation that prevailed during the later part 80s have encouraged and forced the then Congress government, which came back to power at the center, under the leadership of Shri. P. V. Narasimha Rao-a non Nehru family member, to take some bold measures to rejuvenate the economy and to accelerate the pace of development. In this background, the Government of India announced its New Industrial Policy (NIP or IP) on July 24, 1991. The important objectives are: (a) to correct the distortions that may have crept in, and consolidate the strengths built on the gains already made, (b) to maintain sustained growth in the productivity and gainful employment, and (c) to attain international competitiveness. Therefore, the basic philosophy of the New IP, 1991 has bee n the continuity with change. Because, the new policy represents a renewed initiative towards consolidating the gains of national reconstruction at this crucial stage. But what is more important is the change (in continuity with change)-change in the attitude of the state towards the industrial society, change from centrally planned economy to market led economy, change from excessive government intervention to minimal intervention, change from nationalization to privatization, change from subsidization and cross-subsidization to gradual withdrawal of subsidy, etc. But these changes, which the government has introduced, represent a sharp departure from the earlier industrial policies. These changes pertain broadly to five areas viz., (a) Industrial licensing, (b) Public sector policy, (c) MRTP Act, 1969, (d) Foreign investment, and (e) Foreign technology agreements. Industrial Licensing This is one of the areas in which substantial change has been made by the government. With a view to give effect to these changes, the government issued a notification [viz., Notification No. 477 (E)] on July 25, 1991 and this notification has exempted the industrial undertakings from the operation of the following Sections of Industries Development and Regulations Act, 1951 subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions. Section 10 (which deals with registration of existing industrial undertakings); Section 11 (which is concerned with the licensing for new industrial undertakings); and Section 13 (which is concerned with the licensing requirements for substantial expansion). Further, the second schedule appended to the notification cited above [viz., No. 477 (E)] lists the industries which are subject to mandatory industrial licensing. According to this notification, only 18 industries were subject to compulsory industrial licensing. Further, five more industries have been excluded from the list of industries which are subject to compulsory industrial licensing subsequently. That means, only 13 industries are now subject to compulsory industrial licensing. Public Sector Policy A large number of Public Sector Enterprises have failed to achieve at least a reasonable rate of success. Some of the factors which have contributed to this situation are over staffing and over managing, price and distributions controls, etc. Hence, the government, in its Industrial Policy, 1991, introduced the number of significant changes pertaining to the PSEs. Some of the important changes envisaged by the New Policy are summarized below. Prior to the announcement of New Industrial Policy, 1991, seventeen industries were reserved exclusively for the state for their future development. Further, with respect to another 12 industries, the state was to play an important role by taking initiative to establish new undertakings. Besides, the state had power to enter into any other area reserved for the private sector. However, the failure on the part of majority of PSEs has forced the government to review its earlier decision. Consequently, the government in its New Industrial Policy, 1991 has pruned the list of the industries reserved for the public sector to only 8. Further, the government has dereserved 2 more industries. As a result, only six industries are now reserved for the public sector. They are: (a) Arms and ammunition and allied items of defence equipment, aircraft and warships, (b) Atomic energy, (c) Coal and lignite, (d) Mineral oils, (e) Minerals specified in the schedule to the Atomic Energy Order, 1953, and (f) Railway transport. Hence, the focus of the public sector will be only on strategic and high tech industries and on basic infrastructural projects. However the objective of the New Industrial Policy has been to withdraw the public sector investment from the activities which can successfully be taken up by the private sector enterprises. The emphasis of PSEs in future will be on: (a) Basic and essential infrastructural facilities, (b) Mineral resources, (c) Crucial areas in the interest of the economy in the long run and where the private sector investment is inadequate, and (d) Defence equipment. With a view to mobilize the resources and to have a wider public participation, apart of governments share holdings in its enterprises will be offered to the mutual funds, financial institutions, employs of PSEs, and the general public. The New Industrial Policy also proposes selective privatization of PSEs. Further, the policy also proposes to close down the PSEs which have become sick and which cannot be rehabilitated. The sick PSEs which can be revived will be refered to Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction for the formulation of revival packages. The New Industrial Policy also aims at providing greater operational and managerial autonomy to the management of PSEs and making the managements accountable for the performance through a system called Memorandum of Understanding. MRTP Act, 1969 The New Industrial Policy, 1991 proposes to amend suitably the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969. To remove the threshold limits of assets in respect of MRTP companies and the dominant industrial undertakings. The important objectives of this were two in number. They are: Prevention of concentration of economic power in the hands of few which will be detrimental to the common interest; and Regulation of monopolistic, restrictive and unfair trade practices which are pursued by the business community and which are prejudicial to the public interest. The New Policy proposes to renew the threshold limits of assets and therefore, to repeal the Provisions of MRTP Act, 1969 pertaining to the first objective. Hence, the MRTP Act now concerned only with the prohibition of monopolistic, restrictive and unfair trade practices followed by the industrial undertakings and the trading communities. Foreign Investment As far as the direct foreign investment is concerned, the New Policy proposes to give automatic approval up to 51% of equity in the case of high priority industries and it has also identified 34 such industry groups. Further, the policy proposes to allow majority foreign equity holdings up to 51% of equity for the trading companies which are engaged in export activities. This is to enable the domestic companies an easy access to international markets. With a view to negotiate with the large international financial institutions and to approve the direct foreign investments proposals in selected areas, the New Policy proposes to constitute a special committee. Foreign Technology Agreements The New Industrial Policy proposes to give automatic permission for foreign technology agreements in identified high priority industries. Further, it also proposes to allow other industries to import foreign technology subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions. Conclusion The New Industrial Policy, 1991 certainly differs significantly from the earlier philosophies, approaches, etc. of the government. For instance, prior to 1991, scope of public sector was expanded by reserving more number of industries for the public sector. But now, its scope has been reduced drastically by reducing the number of industries reserved for the public sector. Like this, a large number of changes can be noticed in the new policy. This process has been continuing even in post liberalization era. Adding to this, the government has taken a number of steps to give effect to its policy decisions included in the New Industrial Policy, 1991. Though the economy has been benefited significantly from these measures, the economy has not been able to reap the full benefits of the Economic Reform Package owing to the political instability, etc. Privatization Privatization of PSUs Majority of the industrial enterprises in the public sector have failed to achieve the desired result. Of course, a number of factors-internal and external, controllable and non- controllable are responsible for his precarious performance. A look at the history of public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the country reveals the continuous expansion in the role of PSUs. Consequently, a number of enterprises have been established and huge amount of borrowed capital has been employed by the state even in the non-core, non-strategic and not so essential area. Hence, the state has made a number of changes in its New Industrial Policy announced on July 24, 1991. Introduction In the sixties and seventies, the public sector policy has been largely guided by Industrial Policy Resolution, 1956 which gave the public sector a strategic role in the economy. During the last four decades, massive investments have been made to build a public sector which has a commanding role in the economy. Today, many key sector of the economy are dominated by the mature public sector enterprises that have successfully expanded the production. In the early post-Independence years, there was virtual consensus about the need for the government intervention in economic activities. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru described the public sector as Temples of Modern India. At that time, virtually neither questioned the strategy nor raised any doubts about its implementation. The number of central public sector enterprises increased from 5 in the year 1951 to 240 by the end of 1995 and investments in public sector undertakings (PSUs) increased from Rs29 crore in 1951 to Rs. 1,72,438 crore by the end of 1995. They contributed nearly one third of our exports. They made significant contribution to import substitution. Government undertakings account for more that 70% of the work force employed in the organized sector. They have greatly reduced the imbalanced of regional development and have laid strong base for the rapid development of the country. Some of the PSUs have earned a reputation par excellence at the international level. Some giant public sector units (e.g., Indian Oil Corporation, Steel Authority of India, Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Coal India Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd) figure in Fortune Internationals large companies. Further, the public sector accounts for one-fourth of the countrys GDP. There are two million employees in government undertakings and the average emoluments per annum amount to more than Rs.50, 000 each. Besides paying higher salaries, public enterprises assure job security, good working condition, attractive incentive scheme, participative management, higher degree of safety, adequate facilities, etc. Meaning of Privatisation The revolution of privatization started in 1980 and spread to many parts of the world. Several countries are privatizing their public sector enterprises. India is no exception to it. Privatization was meant to improve the performance of public enterprises. Privatization techniques have been tried in countries like Great Britain, China, US, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, etc. Privatization, in the narrow sense, means transfer of ownership, or sale of public enterprises. However, privatization has been used in different ways as detailed below: Liberalization Approach: Privatization may be used in the sense of liberalization having fewer controls and regulation by the state in economic activities. This also means slowing of new controls and regulations and also dismantling of the existing controls and regulations. Relative Share Enlargement Approach: Privatization may relate to enlargement of the share of private enterprises in the production of goods and services in the economy. This means that faster economic expansion of goods and services produced by private sector and slowing down of production of goods and services in the public sector. Association of Private Sector Management Approach: This approach suggests utilizing the services of managerial personnel or executives of private sector enterprises for the conduct and management of PSUs. Transfer of Minority Equity Ownership Approach: Privatization may be defined as the transfer of minority equity ownership of public enterprises to private individuals and institutions so that the ultimate control continues to remain with the state. Transfer of Complete Ownership Approach: Privatization is also used in the sense of sale of all the shares to the private parties so that the public enterprises are converted into private enterprises. In India, privatization is taking place by adopting two common methods viz., (a) Having fewer controls and regulations by the state in economic activities, and (b) Transferring ownership of state equity in PSUs to private individuals and institutions. Benefits of Privatization It is expected that privatization will ensure the following benefits: Increasing overall efficiency: Improvement in the quality of management and decision making: No government financial backing, and therefore, capital market will compel these enterprises to be more efficient; Substantial reduction in governments budgetary support resulting in reduction in budgetary deficit; Recovery of government fund which could more productively be used in development activities; Reduction in political and bureaucratic interferences; Better industrial relations management; etc. Shortcomings Though the PSUs have contributed heavily to develop the industrial base of the country, they continue, even today, to suffer from a number of shortcomings which are identified below very briefly. A sizable number of PSUs have been incurring and reporting losses on a continual basis. Consequently, a large number of PSUs have already been referred of BIFR; Multiplicity of authorities to whom the PSUs are accountable; Delay in implementation of projects leading to cost escalation and other consequences; Ineffective and widespread inefficiency on management; Many PSUs are operating without the leader (i.e., chief executive or chairman); With a view to provide opportunities for more and more unemployed youths, more number of people, than required, were recruited and therefore, many PSUs are over-staffed resulting in lower labour productivity, bad industrial relations, etc.; un-remunerative pricing policy; and A number of sick companies (40 companies) which were in the private sector was taken over by public sector mainly to protect the employees. These sick units are causing a big drain on the resources of the state; etc. Methods of Privatization There are four important modes of privatization. They are: Franchising, (b) Contracting, (c) Leasing, and (d) Disinvestment. In India, disinvestment of government share of equity in PSUs is predominant. It started in 1992 immediately after the New Economic Policy in a phased manner. The main criticism of disinvestment of shares of PSUs in India is that it has been partial and half-hearted. There seems to be no plans to disinvest completely. The government still would like to keep a dominant control. 39 companies have been proposed for disinvestment till 1995-96. All the companies proposed for disinvestment are central PSUs. No state level PSU has been proposed for disinvestment. It could only disinvest 1% to 35% shares of PSUs on an average. It is also observed that the shares of efficient and profit-making companies are disinvested more than the companies which are potentially sick or sick companies. The disinvestment percentage is also not much in loss-making and inefficient units, thereby defeating the purpose. The Finance Ministry has also explained that the government is consciously not off-loading larger chunks of its holding. The Rangarajan Committee has suggested that government holding in public sector undertaking must be less than 50%. But partial disinvestment will be of no avail to change the culture in the public sector undertaking. Future Plans of Government The following are the future plans of government: Strengthening strategic units, Privatizing non-strategic units by (1) Gradual disinvestment, and (2) Strategic sale, and Devising suitable rehabilitation package for weak units. Conclusion The privatization process launched with all seriousness after the announcement of New Industrial Policy, 1991 was a failure. The state must accept this and take necessary steps either to privatize or to improve the efficiency and performance of PSUs. GLOBALISATION Introduction: The expansion of economic activities across political boundaries of nation states. More important, perhaps, it refers to a process of increasing economic integrated and growing economic interdependence between countries in the world economy. It is associated not only with an increasing cross- border movement of goods, services, capital technology information and people but also with an organization of economic activities which straddles national boundaries. This process is driven by the lure of profit and threat of competition in the market. The term Globalization as such denotes adjustment of national economy with that of the world economy. It is conversion of a national market into international mobility of factors of production. In others words, it may be described as the integration of national economy with that of global economy. An important attribute of Globalization is the increasing degree of openness, which has three dimensions, i.e.; international trade, international investment and international finance. According to World Development Report, Globalization reflects the progressive integration of worlds economies. The manifestation of production includes spatial reorganization of production the interpenetration of industries across borders, the spread of financial markets, and the diffusion of identical consumer goods to distant countries and massive transfer of population across national frontiers. Globalization is a process of reaffirmation of faith in the markets, retaining the character of independence of a country. Here, the country follows a pragmatic policy with a shift in decision making from government to business. The market forces and the laws of economics will have greater importance than the political ideology. To make a country a successful partner in Globalization, the government must play a complimentary role. Factors contributing to Globalization: The important factors that contribute to Globalization are: (a) Technological Advances In communication: Technological advances in communication have made it possible to know in an instant what is happening in different parts of the world. The flow of information and ideas, boosted greatly by the Internet, can enable developing countries to learn more rapidly from each other and from industrial countries. (b) Improvements In Transportation And Technology: Improvements in transportation networks and technology are reducing the costs of shipping goods by water, ground and air. This can facilitate the movements of goods. Technological improvements can enable developing countries to leap stages in the development process that rely on inefficient uses of national resources. (c) Other Factors: Rising educational levels, technological innovations that allow ideas to circulate, and the economic failures of most centrally planned economies have also contributed to Globalization. Trends in Globalization: The important trends in Globalization are the following: International Trade: Trade in goods and services has grown twice as fast as global GDP in the 1990s and the share attributable to developing countries has risen from 23 to 29 percent. There is a compositional shift in trade, which has created a new pattern in the international exchange of goods, services, and ideas. Trade in components is one part of that new pattern. Advances in information technology helps to link firms from developing countries into global production networks. The tremendous growth of trade in services and, more recently, of electronic commerce is also a part of the new trade pattern. (b) International Financial Flows: There has been increase in international capital flows of developing countries. However, the financial crisis of 1977-99 have put the growing interdependencies among countries in the spotlight and led to intense scrutiny. Such flows are started to rise again. The financial performance of emerging markets in the 1990s made capital account liberalization an attractive option for developing countries. Many developing countries have began to loosen controls on inflows and outflows of capital. The East Asian meltdown has enhanced the attractiveness of long-term capital investment. Countries have started to recognize that foreign direct investment brings with it not only capital but also technology market access and organizational skills. An analysis of the period 1996-97 shows that foreign direct investment was less volatile than the commercial bank loans and foreign portfolio flows. (c) International Migration: Along with goods, services, and investment, people are crossing borders in large numbers. According to World Development Report 1999-2000, each tear between 2 million and 3 million people emigrate, with majority of them going to just 4 countries: the United States, Germany, Canada and Australia. The market for highly skilled workers will become even more globally integrated in the coming decades. At the end of the 20th century Globalization has already demonstrated that economic decisions, wherever they are made in the world, must take international factors into account. There is acceleration of goods, services, ideas and capital across nation borders. Advantages of Globalization: (a) Promise of Increase Productivity And Higher Living Standards: Globalization brings in new opportunities such as access to markets and technology transfer. These opportunities hold out the promise of increased productivity and higher living standards. (b) Increase In Trade In Goods And Services: There is tremendous growth in trade in goods and services. Trade in goods and services has grown twice as fast as global GDP in the 1990s and the share attributable to developing countries has climbed from 230to 29 percent. Increased international competition in services will lead to reduction in prices and improvements in quality. This will increase the competitiveness of downstream industries. Both industrial and development economics will gain by opening their markets. (c) Provide New Opportunities For Growth: For developing countries, trade is the primary vehicle for realizing the benefits of Globalization. Imports bring additional competition and variety to domestic markets, which benefit consumers. Exports, on the other hand, enlarge foreign markets and benefit business. Further trade exposes domestic firms to the best practices of foreign firms and encourages greater efficiency. Trade gives forms access to improved capital inputs such as machine tools, which boosts productivity. Trade encourages the redistribution of labour and capital too relatively to more productive sectors. It has contributed to the ongoing shift of some manufacturing and services activities from industrial to developing countries, providing new opportunities for growth. (d) Globalization of Financial Markets: Globalization of finance markets affects development because finance plays an important role in economic growth and industrialization. Financial Globalization affects growth in two ways. First, it increases the global supply of capital. Second, it promotes domestic financial development and hence, improves allocative efficiency, creates new financial instruments, and raises the quality of baking services. (e) Increased Flow Of foreign Market Capital: Globalization leads to increased flows of capital across countries. Flows of foreign capital offer substantial economic gains to all parties. Foreign investors diversify their risks outside their home market and gain access to profitable opportunities through out the world. Economies receiving inflows raise the level of investment. When there is foreign investment it is generally accompanied by management expertise, training programs and important linkages to suppliers and international markets. (f) Impact on Poverty: The fast growth and overall development resulting from liberalization, increased flow of trade ad capital could have a major impact on poverty. It is likely to reduce the number of people living in absolute poverty. (g) Increase The Level Of Interdependence And Competitiveness: Globalization is supposed to accelerate and increase the level of interdependence and competitiveness among nation. It is a change from plan to market. As a consequence, markets for merchandise trade are expanding, more and more service are being traded internationally, and capital is flowing in quicker and increasingly diverse ways across countries and regions. There is increasing integration of countries into World markets for goods, services and capital. In short, Globalization widens and intensifies international linkages in trade and finance. (h) Induce Domestic Firms To Improve Technology: The better technology brought in by the MNCs may induce or provoke the domestic firms to absorb similar technology. This may improve their competitiveness and expansion. Disadvantages of Globalization: The universal acceptance of the market economy and the Globalization led by private enterprises tend to have some harmful effects on the economy of developing countries. They are discussed below: Takeover of National Firms: There are a large numbers of cases of takeover of national firms by foreign firms. In some cases, the domestic firms had to handover the majority of equity to foreign partners of joint ventures due to their inability to bring in additional capital. Ruin of Traditional Crafts And Industries: Globalization has lead to replacement of traditional and indigenous products by modern products. This has resulted in the ruin of traditional crafts and industries and the livelihood of the people depended on these sectors. Brings Instability: Globalization sometimes brings instability and unwelcome change in the economy. It exposes workers to competition from imports, which can threaten their jobs. The inflow of foreign capital into the country through Globalization may undermine banks. (d) Widens The Disparity: Globalization will widen the disparity between one who are associated with market and one who are not. With the expansion of trade and foreign investment, the gaps among the developing countries will widen .it has brought in increased income inequality in many industrial countries .it is argued that the developing countries and the poor people are not in a position of achieving benefits from Globalization. The only beneficiaries of it are the developed countries and the MNCs. Growth rate of Indias real GDP per capita Per Capita GDP of South Asian Economies. Estimates of the Per Capita Income of India. CONCLUSION: Economic liberalization has increased the responsibility and role of the private sector. At the same time, it has reduced the control of the government on economy affairs. It is expected that the reforms would liberalize the Indian economy enough to create a conducive environment for rapid economic development. The Ninth Five Year Plan, therefore, rightly observed, The conditions that exist today, demand a decisive break from the past. The government has taken on itself too many responsibilities with the result that it not only encouraged a dependency syndrome among our people, but also imposed severe strains on financial and administrative capabilities of the government. Private initiative whether individual, collective or community-based forms the essence of the development strategy articulated in the plan. The process of reforms according to many economists and social scientists is not fast enough to achieve the goals. Jeffrey Sachs, director of Harvard Universitys center for international development and a noted economist, pointed out that the reform process in India had a long way to go. He feels that without a focus on the twin pillars of social and economic strategies, the future would be bleak for India, especially in the context of competition all around. Liberalization process is on the slow track. Government is expected to reduce and finally give up its involvement in economic matters and play a major role in providing the required socio-economic infrastructure. The government, however, is reluctant to give up its role of owning and controlling economic activities. At the same time its inability to spend for providing minimum health and education services. It is eager to spend on higher education without spending enough on primary and secondary education. It has failed in providing a corruption free administration, an essential precondition for increasing com

Gawain Has Enough :: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essays

Gawain Has Enough It was a bright and beautiful morn, the perfect weather for embarking on a hunting trip. The majestic King Arthur, illustrious leader of the Knights of the Round Table, could not believe his luck. As he was carried across a grassy knoll (by some beggars he’d chanced to acquire along the way) he contemplated the unbridled feelings of joy brought to him by his loyal knights. When Arthur happened to spot a pot-bellied pig out of the corner of his kingly eye, he quickly reined in the beggars and gracefully dismounted. Following a brief target practice involving the taller beggar and an overripe peach, the king successfully smote the baby boar. â€Å"Aha, I do believe I’ve smote the beast,† the king announced with pride. â€Å"Do thou not agree my fine beggars?† â€Å"We think thou hast it right, sire; t’was most brave and royal of you,† the beggars replied in unison (as they were beggars of the Siamese kind). Most suddenly, the kindly conversation between the king and his beggars was rudely interrupted by a piercing scream. A small green man, wearing a tall hat and carrying a large sum of gold in a black fire-pot began to kick Arthur in the shins. Seeing a fine opportunity for a quick escape from the King, the beggars fled in laughter. â€Å"What have I done to deserve such fierce and foulle behavior?† the king asked. â€Å"You’ve smote mine pot-bellied pig,† the little green man replied. â€Å" T’is a lucky pig that can n’er be replaced.† â€Å"Know you not that I am the most illustrious and royal King Arthur?† The angry little green man introduced himself as Todd and told the king that he did not care how illustrious or royal he was. Todd was most determined to have vengeance for the slaying of his lucky pig. After much lengthy discussion, and Todd’s refusal to accept the beggars (now long gone) as consolation for the slain little beast, King Arthur was in a most precarious position. Todd was getting ready to unleash a second ghastly kick to Arthur’s shins when he came upon an idea. â€Å"Know thee not a Sir Gawain?† Todd asked. â€Å"Yes,† said the king, â€Å"he is one of my most loyal knights.† â€Å"To preserve thine kingly life, I order thee to bring me Sir Gawain.† â€Å"But why?† asked the king. â€Å"Gawain must replace mine lucky pig,† Todd replied. â€Å"Bring him at once with a snout on his face and a most curly tail on his brave behind.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Essay -- Sex Discrimination

TABLE OF CONTENTS TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS DISCRIMINATION . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .1 Laws That Govern Sexual Harassment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 How It Affects The Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 TYPES OF SEX DISCRIMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Quid Pro Quo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Hostile Work Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 THE HIGH COST OF LITIGATION FOR EMPLOYERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..8 EMPLOYER?S RESPONSIBILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 VII. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 CASES CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 I. TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION There are many forms of discrimination, especially in the workplace. Before we get into the different types of discrimination, we need to define the word discriminate which is, "to make a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs, rather than according to actual merit." Taken from the Unabridged Edition of the Random House Dictionary of the English Language. Like many people I was under the belief that to discriminate simply meant that y... ...ts Acts of 1964 (Internet) http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/vii.html Whitehead, Roy Jr.; Spikes, Pam; Yelvington, Brenda. "Sexual Harassment In The Office." CPA Journal. Vol. 66 No. 2: pp.42-45, February 1996. Note: All periodicals were found through the Nexis/Lexis system in the Library. CASES CITED Ellison v. Brady, (1991) 924 F.2d 842 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Domino?s Pizza, Inc., 909 F.Supp. 1529 (M.D.Fla. 1995) Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 114 S.Ct. 367 (1993) Matthews v. Superior Court (Regents of University of California), (1995) 34 Cal.App.4th 598. Mogilefski v. Superior Court (Silver Pictures), (1993) 20 Cal.App.4th 1409. Neal v. Director, District of Columbia Department of Corrections, U.S.Dist. LEXIS, 11461, 11469, 11515 (D.D.C. 1995) Note: Cases cited were researched through the law library.

Comparing Extreme Programming and Waterfall Project Results

Comparing Extreme Programming and Waterfall Project Results Feng Ji Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Campus Mountain View, CA, 94035 [email  protected] com Todd Sedano Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Campus Mountain View, CA, 94035 todd. [email  protected] cmu. edu Abstract Waterfall and Extreme Programming are two software project methods used for project management. Although there are a number of opinions comparing the two methods regarding how they should be applied, none have used project data to clearly conclude which one is better.In this paper, we present the results of a controlled empirical study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley to learn about the effective transition from traditional development to agile development. We conducted a comparison research against these two approaches. Multiple teams were assigned a project; some used Waterfall development, others used Extreme Programming. The purpose of this research is to look at advantages and disadvantages based upon the outcomes, generated artifacts, and metrics produced by the teams. 1. Introduction 1. 1.Agile vs Traditional Since the early 1970s, numerous software managers have explored different ways of software development methods (such as Waterfall model, evolutionary model, spiral model etc. ) those have been developed to accomplish these goals and have been widely used by the software industry [1]. Methodologists often describe the Waterfall method as a stereotypical traditional method whereas they describe Extreme Programming as the stereotypical agile method. The Waterfall model, as the oldest traditional software development method, was cited by Winston W.Royce in 1970 [2]. He divided the software development lifecycle into seven sequential and linear stages: Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, and Maintenance. The Waterfall model is especially used for large and complex engineering projects. Waterfall's lasting imp ression upon software engineering is seen even in the Guide to Software Engineering Body of Knowledge which introduces the first five knowledge areas based upon their sequence in the Waterfall lifecycle even though the Guide does not recommend any particular lifecycle [3].Although the Waterfall model has been adopted in many large and complex projects, it still has some inherent drawbacks, like inflexibility in the face of changing requirements [1]. If large amounts of project resources have been invested in requirements and design activities, then changes can be very costly later. High ceremony documentation is not necessary in all projects. Agile methods deal well with unstable and volatile requirements by using a number of techniques of which most notable are: low ceremony documents, short iterations, early testing, and customer collaboration.Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres define Extreme Programming 2. 0 with many practices [4], like Pair Programming, Test First Programming, and Co ntinuous Integration and so on. These characteristics enable agile methods to obtain the smallest workable piece of functionality to deliver business value early and continually improving it while adding further functionality throughout the life of the project [5]. 1. 2. PET project background Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley students start their masters program with the Foundations of Software Engineering course. This course is team-based, project-based, and mentored.Each team builds The Process Enactment Tool (PET). The user personas are software developers and managers. The tool helps users plan, estimate, and execute a project plan while analyzing historical data. The tool's domain encourages students to learn about software lifecycles and methods while understanding the benefit of metrics and reflection. 1. 2. 1. PET 1. 0: In 2001, Carnegie Mellon had one of the largest outsourcing firms in the world develop Pet 1. 0. Later the student teams were brought in to do the n ext release. The initial offerings of the course had the teams follow a Waterfall lifecycle.The faculty decided to use Extreme Programming as the method for the Foundations course because it was an agile method, it had good engineering practices, and it was a safe sandbox environment for engineers to try paired programming since many managers in industry were initially skeptical about its benefits. In 2005, the faculty allowed three of the sixteen teams tried our new curriculum to see if there were any serious issues in the switch, while other thirteen teams continued to follow a start point in 2004. The feedback was extremely positive so in 2006, all teams followed Extreme Programming.For the project plan duration, Waterfall teams needed fifteen weeks to finish their tasks where as Extreme Programming teams were given only thirteen weeks, a 13% reduction in time. 1. 2. 2. PET 1. 1: In 2005, the VP of Engineering advised the three teams that rewriting the code from scratch would be easier than working with the existing code base. Team 30:1 decided to use the latest in Java technologies including Swing and Hibernate. PET 1. 1, the team's product became the starting point for the students in the following year. 1. 2. 3. PET 1. 2: In 2008, the faculty switched the core technology from Java to Ruby on Rails.Ruby on Rails' convention over configuration, afforded a lower learning curve for students. For Pet 1. 2, students would build their projects from scratch. 2. Related work Much research has been done as to when to use an agile method and when to use a traditional method. For example, Boehm Turner's home grounds look at several characteristics, criticality, culture, and dynamism [6]. Our paper aims to extend these limitations to some degree by estimating Waterfall and XP in an academic case study, which provide a substantive ground for researchers before replicating their ideas in industry.Basili [7] presented a framework for analyzing most of the experimental w ork performed in software engineering. We learned that how to conduct a controlled experiment. Andrew and Nachiappan [8] reported on the results of an empirical study conducted at Microsoft by using an anonymous web-based survey. They found that one third of the study respondents use Agile methodologies to varying degrees and most view it favorably due to improved communication between team members, quick releases and the increased flexibility of agile designs.Their findings that we will consider in our future work is that developers are most worried about scaling Agile to larger projects, and coordinating agile and traditional teams. Our work is closely related to the work by Ming Huo et al [9]. They compared the Waterfall model with agile processes to show how agile methods achieve software quality. They also showed how agile methods attain quality under time pressure and in an unstable requirements environment. They presented a detailed Waterfall model showing its software qualit y support processes.Other work has only illustrates one or some Agile practices such as pair programming [10]. 3. Experimental methodology Our research was conducted primarily using Glaser's steps [11] in the constant comparison method of analysis. Step1: Begin collecting data. We collected more than 50 teams’ detailed data during a five year period as Table 1 shows. Table 1. Team building the same project 2004 2005 2005 2006 2007 2008 Method Waterfall Waterfall XP XP XP XP Language Java Java Java Java Java Ruby Project PET1. 0 PET1. 0 PET1. 0 PET1. 1 PET1. 1 PET1. 2 Numbers of Teams 10 13 3 9 6 11Step2: Look for key issues, recurrent events, or activities in the data that become categories for focus. The approach in software design makes us categorize the data into two distinctive software development methods, namely Waterfall and Extreme Programming. Step3: Collect data that provides many incidents of the categories of focus with an eye to seeing the diversity of the dimens ions under the categories. According to Basili[7], we provided some metrics to compare these two categories, Waterfall and XP. Requirements Metrics M1: Numbers of UI screens (ie. mockup) M2: Numbers of use cases (story cards)M3: Pages of Software Requirements Specification (SRS) documents M4: Pages of User Requirements Documents (URD) Design Metric M5: Pages of detailed design documents Implementation Metrics M6: Lines of code M7: Percentage of lines of comments to lines of source code M8: Lines of test cases M9: Ratio of lines of test code to lines of program code Step4: Write about the categories that we are exploring, attempting to describe and account for all the incidents we have in our data while continually searching for new incidents. Step5: Work with the data and emerging model to discover basic social processes and relationships.Step6: Engage in sampling, coding, and writing as the analysis focuses on the core categories. During 2005, there were 13 teams following Waterfal l and 3 teams following XP during the same period of time. These three teams, team Absorb, GT11 and 30:1 are interesting teams to examine as we can compare their data against the Waterfall teams doing the exact same project. 4. Experimental results 4. 1. UI screens (M1) and Story cards (M2) comparison These wide ranges can be seen in Table 2 and Table 3 where the standard deviation of the UI mockups is often half the document size.Comparing use cases to story cards in Table 3, we see that the standard deviation for use cases is much lower than the standard deviation for story cards. This is expected since use cases are a higher ceremony document when compared to story cards. Teams might give little consideration to how to represent each feature on a story card whereas a team writing a use case step by step how a user will use the system will spend much more time thinking about the coupling and cohesion of each use case. Table 2. Average numbers and Standard Deviation of mockups Year 004 2005 Absorb GT11 30:1 2006 2007 2008 Average mockups 15. 5 11. 8 17 18 9 15 12. 8 17. 7 Standard Deviation of mockups 6. 6 6. 3 5. 4 3. 1 8. 8 Table 3. Average numbers and Standard Deviation of use cases/story cards Year Average Number Standard Deviation 2004 User cases 18. 7 2005 User cases 18. 9 2. 3 Absorb Story cards 15 1. 6 GT11 Story cards 13 30:1 Story cards 18 2006 Story cards 16. 6 2007 Story cards 18. 3 2008 Story cards 16. 6 7. 5 6. 8 8. 0 4. 2. Requirement documents (M3&M4) Starting with PET 1. 0, Waterfall teams on average add 1. 7 use cases and modified 2. use cases. Teams were given a 28 page System Requirements Specification (SRS) and on averaged finished with a 34 page SRS. XP teams starting with PET 1. 0 were given the same starting documents. Instead of modifying them, the teams created story cards that represented each new feature. Instead of spending time on writing use cases, XP teams started coding sooner. Because XP has an emphasis on low ceremony docume nts, they had more time to code resulting in an effort savings for the teams. 4. 3. Comparing the size of the detail design documents (M5) There are some insights from Table 4.Waterfall teams using Pet 1. 0 started with a 21 page Detailed Design Document (DDD), which they altered to reflect their new use cases. Waterfall teams typically did not update their design documents at the end of the project. Given the scope of the project, Waterfall teams’ final code matched the original design with respect to new classes. Table 4. Average pages and Standard Deviation of Detail Design Documents Year 2004 2005 Absorb GT11 30:1 2006 2007 2008 Starting Point 21 21 21 21 0 14 14 0 Average DDD 25. 8 31. 1 18 22 14 18. 3 12. 5 9. 5 Standard Deviation 8. 39 7. 48 7. 70 7. 8 5. 19 XP teams increased their design documents with each iteration. Because the XP teams followed Test-Driven Development, they wrote their code and had an emergent design. At the end of each iteration, the teams were a sked to update the design document to reflect important design decisions they had made during that iteration. Therefore, the design document serves a different purpose in XP. It is not a template or blueprint for future construction. Instead, it can be a guide for understanding why certain decisions were made. In this regard, it is a biography of the development, ot a plan of action. 4. 4. New lines of source code and comments, Percentage of comments in codes Table 5 shows that Waterfall teams starting with Pet 1. 0 produced lines of code with a wide variance. The two XP teams starting with Pet 1. 0 fell right within the middle of the average. Because instead of producing some documents up front, the XP teams spent a longer time coding, one would expect them to produce more lines of code. The research results also show that XP Teams had a higher percentage of comments in source code. Table 5. Average and Standard Deviation of new lines in code YearLanguage Average new lines in code Standard Deviation Lines of test codes Ratio of test codes to program code 2004 2005 Absorb GT11 30:1 2006 2007 2008 Java Java Java Java Java Java Java Ruby 9,429 11,910 13,288 14,689 0 9,628 8,572 3,670 7,946 9,851 4,920 5,465 1,507 3378 4164 1380 3186 947 3555 2212 3,255 8% 13% 4% 8% 8% 16% 10% 90% 4. 5. Submitted lines of test codes and ratio of test code to program code The observation of these two metrics in Table 5 shows that the amount of test code written by the Waterfall teams equals the amount of test code written by the XP teams.Initially the faculty thought that Test-Driven Development would increase the amount of testing code, however, given a slow adoption rate of Test-Driven Development, programmers resorted to what was familiar and thus produced similar results. 5. Conclusion In this paper, we observed and presented the data from five years of 50 teams developing the same project each year and the affects of transitioning from Waterfall to Extreme Programming. The ch aracteristics between these two methods were evaluated and compared.Waterfall teams spent more time creating high ceremony documents where as Extreme Programming teams spent more time writing code and documenting their design in their code. Surprisingly, the amount of code and features completed were roughly the same for both methods suggesting that on a three month project with three to four developers it doesn't matter the method used. It is challenging to conduct this kind of analysis of the data in hindsight. Given that this is not a toy problem, and the freedom teams have in the execution of their projects, setting up this kind of experiment properly in advance is also challenging. . References [1] Sommerville, Software engineering, 8th ed. , New York: Addison-Wesley, Harlow, England, 2006. [2] W. Royce, Managing the Development of Large Software Systems, IEEE WESTCON, Los Angeles, 1970. [3] A. Abran and J. W. Moore, Guide to the software engineering body of knowledge: trial ve rsion (version 0. 95) IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA, USA, 2001. [4] Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres, Extreme programming eXplained: embrace change, Second Edition, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2004. 5] Mike Cohn, Agile estimating and planning, Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, Nov 11, 2005. [6] Barry, Boehm and Richard Turner, Balancing Agility and Discipline: A Guide for the Perplexed, Addison Wesley, August 15, 2003. [7] Basil, V. R. , Selby, R. and Hutchens, D. , Experimentation in Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (invited paper), July 1986. [8] Andrew Begel and Nachiappan Nagappan, Usage and Perceptions of Agile Software Development in an Industrial Context: An Exploratory Study, MiIEEE Computer Society MSR-TR-2007-09, no. 2007): 10. [9] Ming Huo, June Verner, Muhammad Ali Babar, and Liming Zhu, How does agility ensure quality? , IEEE Seminar Digests 2004, (2004):36. [10] Jan Chong, Robert Plummer, Larry Leifer, Scott R. Klemmer, and George Toye. Pair Programming: When and Why it Works, In Proceedings of Psychology of Programming Interest Group 2005 Workshop, Brighton, UK, June 2005. [11] Glaser, Barney G, Strauss, and Anselm L. , The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago, 1967. Comparing Extreme Programming and Waterfall Project Results Comparing Extreme Programming and Waterfall Project Results Feng Ji Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Campus Mountain View, CA, 94035 [email  protected] com Todd Sedano Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Campus Mountain View, CA, 94035 todd. [email  protected] cmu. edu Abstract Waterfall and Extreme Programming are two software project methods used for project management. Although there are a number of opinions comparing the two methods regarding how they should be applied, none have used project data to clearly conclude which one is better.In this paper, we present the results of a controlled empirical study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley to learn about the effective transition from traditional development to agile development. We conducted a comparison research against these two approaches. Multiple teams were assigned a project; some used Waterfall development, others used Extreme Programming. The purpose of this research is to look at advantages and disadvantages based upon the outcomes, generated artifacts, and metrics produced by the teams. 1. Introduction 1. 1.Agile vs Traditional Since the early 1970s, numerous software managers have explored different ways of software development methods (such as Waterfall model, evolutionary model, spiral model etc. ) those have been developed to accomplish these goals and have been widely used by the software industry [1]. Methodologists often describe the Waterfall method as a stereotypical traditional method whereas they describe Extreme Programming as the stereotypical agile method. The Waterfall model, as the oldest traditional software development method, was cited by Winston W.Royce in 1970 [2]. He divided the software development lifecycle into seven sequential and linear stages: Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, and Maintenance. The Waterfall model is especially used for large and complex engineering projects. Waterfall's lasting imp ression upon software engineering is seen even in the Guide to Software Engineering Body of Knowledge which introduces the first five knowledge areas based upon their sequence in the Waterfall lifecycle even though the Guide does not recommend any particular lifecycle [3].Although the Waterfall model has been adopted in many large and complex projects, it still has some inherent drawbacks, like inflexibility in the face of changing requirements [1]. If large amounts of project resources have been invested in requirements and design activities, then changes can be very costly later. High ceremony documentation is not necessary in all projects. Agile methods deal well with unstable and volatile requirements by using a number of techniques of which most notable are: low ceremony documents, short iterations, early testing, and customer collaboration.Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres define Extreme Programming 2. 0 with many practices [4], like Pair Programming, Test First Programming, and Co ntinuous Integration and so on. These characteristics enable agile methods to obtain the smallest workable piece of functionality to deliver business value early and continually improving it while adding further functionality throughout the life of the project [5]. 1. 2. PET project background Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley students start their masters program with the Foundations of Software Engineering course. This course is team-based, project-based, and mentored.Each team builds The Process Enactment Tool (PET). The user personas are software developers and managers. The tool helps users plan, estimate, and execute a project plan while analyzing historical data. The tool's domain encourages students to learn about software lifecycles and methods while understanding the benefit of metrics and reflection. 1. 2. 1. PET 1. 0: In 2001, Carnegie Mellon had one of the largest outsourcing firms in the world develop Pet 1. 0. Later the student teams were brought in to do the n ext release. The initial offerings of the course had the teams follow a Waterfall lifecycle.The faculty decided to use Extreme Programming as the method for the Foundations course because it was an agile method, it had good engineering practices, and it was a safe sandbox environment for engineers to try paired programming since many managers in industry were initially skeptical about its benefits. In 2005, the faculty allowed three of the sixteen teams tried our new curriculum to see if there were any serious issues in the switch, while other thirteen teams continued to follow a start point in 2004. The feedback was extremely positive so in 2006, all teams followed Extreme Programming.For the project plan duration, Waterfall teams needed fifteen weeks to finish their tasks where as Extreme Programming teams were given only thirteen weeks, a 13% reduction in time. 1. 2. 2. PET 1. 1: In 2005, the VP of Engineering advised the three teams that rewriting the code from scratch would be easier than working with the existing code base. Team 30:1 decided to use the latest in Java technologies including Swing and Hibernate. PET 1. 1, the team's product became the starting point for the students in the following year. 1. 2. 3. PET 1. 2: In 2008, the faculty switched the core technology from Java to Ruby on Rails.Ruby on Rails' convention over configuration, afforded a lower learning curve for students. For Pet 1. 2, students would build their projects from scratch. 2. Related work Much research has been done as to when to use an agile method and when to use a traditional method. For example, Boehm Turner's home grounds look at several characteristics, criticality, culture, and dynamism [6]. Our paper aims to extend these limitations to some degree by estimating Waterfall and XP in an academic case study, which provide a substantive ground for researchers before replicating their ideas in industry.Basili [7] presented a framework for analyzing most of the experimental w ork performed in software engineering. We learned that how to conduct a controlled experiment. Andrew and Nachiappan [8] reported on the results of an empirical study conducted at Microsoft by using an anonymous web-based survey. They found that one third of the study respondents use Agile methodologies to varying degrees and most view it favorably due to improved communication between team members, quick releases and the increased flexibility of agile designs.Their findings that we will consider in our future work is that developers are most worried about scaling Agile to larger projects, and coordinating agile and traditional teams. Our work is closely related to the work by Ming Huo et al [9]. They compared the Waterfall model with agile processes to show how agile methods achieve software quality. They also showed how agile methods attain quality under time pressure and in an unstable requirements environment. They presented a detailed Waterfall model showing its software qualit y support processes.Other work has only illustrates one or some Agile practices such as pair programming [10]. 3. Experimental methodology Our research was conducted primarily using Glaser's steps [11] in the constant comparison method of analysis. Step1: Begin collecting data. We collected more than 50 teams’ detailed data during a five year period as Table 1 shows. Table 1. Team building the same project 2004 2005 2005 2006 2007 2008 Method Waterfall Waterfall XP XP XP XP Language Java Java Java Java Java Ruby Project PET1. 0 PET1. 0 PET1. 0 PET1. 1 PET1. 1 PET1. 2 Numbers of Teams 10 13 3 9 6 11Step2: Look for key issues, recurrent events, or activities in the data that become categories for focus. The approach in software design makes us categorize the data into two distinctive software development methods, namely Waterfall and Extreme Programming. Step3: Collect data that provides many incidents of the categories of focus with an eye to seeing the diversity of the dimens ions under the categories. According to Basili[7], we provided some metrics to compare these two categories, Waterfall and XP. Requirements Metrics M1: Numbers of UI screens (ie. mockup) M2: Numbers of use cases (story cards)M3: Pages of Software Requirements Specification (SRS) documents M4: Pages of User Requirements Documents (URD) Design Metric M5: Pages of detailed design documents Implementation Metrics M6: Lines of code M7: Percentage of lines of comments to lines of source code M8: Lines of test cases M9: Ratio of lines of test code to lines of program code Step4: Write about the categories that we are exploring, attempting to describe and account for all the incidents we have in our data while continually searching for new incidents. Step5: Work with the data and emerging model to discover basic social processes and relationships.Step6: Engage in sampling, coding, and writing as the analysis focuses on the core categories. During 2005, there were 13 teams following Waterfal l and 3 teams following XP during the same period of time. These three teams, team Absorb, GT11 and 30:1 are interesting teams to examine as we can compare their data against the Waterfall teams doing the exact same project. 4. Experimental results 4. 1. UI screens (M1) and Story cards (M2) comparison These wide ranges can be seen in Table 2 and Table 3 where the standard deviation of the UI mockups is often half the document size.Comparing use cases to story cards in Table 3, we see that the standard deviation for use cases is much lower than the standard deviation for story cards. This is expected since use cases are a higher ceremony document when compared to story cards. Teams might give little consideration to how to represent each feature on a story card whereas a team writing a use case step by step how a user will use the system will spend much more time thinking about the coupling and cohesion of each use case. Table 2. Average numbers and Standard Deviation of mockups Year 004 2005 Absorb GT11 30:1 2006 2007 2008 Average mockups 15. 5 11. 8 17 18 9 15 12. 8 17. 7 Standard Deviation of mockups 6. 6 6. 3 5. 4 3. 1 8. 8 Table 3. Average numbers and Standard Deviation of use cases/story cards Year Average Number Standard Deviation 2004 User cases 18. 7 2005 User cases 18. 9 2. 3 Absorb Story cards 15 1. 6 GT11 Story cards 13 30:1 Story cards 18 2006 Story cards 16. 6 2007 Story cards 18. 3 2008 Story cards 16. 6 7. 5 6. 8 8. 0 4. 2. Requirement documents (M3&M4) Starting with PET 1. 0, Waterfall teams on average add 1. 7 use cases and modified 2. use cases. Teams were given a 28 page System Requirements Specification (SRS) and on averaged finished with a 34 page SRS. XP teams starting with PET 1. 0 were given the same starting documents. Instead of modifying them, the teams created story cards that represented each new feature. Instead of spending time on writing use cases, XP teams started coding sooner. Because XP has an emphasis on low ceremony docume nts, they had more time to code resulting in an effort savings for the teams. 4. 3. Comparing the size of the detail design documents (M5) There are some insights from Table 4.Waterfall teams using Pet 1. 0 started with a 21 page Detailed Design Document (DDD), which they altered to reflect their new use cases. Waterfall teams typically did not update their design documents at the end of the project. Given the scope of the project, Waterfall teams’ final code matched the original design with respect to new classes. Table 4. Average pages and Standard Deviation of Detail Design Documents Year 2004 2005 Absorb GT11 30:1 2006 2007 2008 Starting Point 21 21 21 21 0 14 14 0 Average DDD 25. 8 31. 1 18 22 14 18. 3 12. 5 9. 5 Standard Deviation 8. 39 7. 48 7. 70 7. 8 5. 19 XP teams increased their design documents with each iteration. Because the XP teams followed Test-Driven Development, they wrote their code and had an emergent design. At the end of each iteration, the teams were a sked to update the design document to reflect important design decisions they had made during that iteration. Therefore, the design document serves a different purpose in XP. It is not a template or blueprint for future construction. Instead, it can be a guide for understanding why certain decisions were made. In this regard, it is a biography of the development, ot a plan of action. 4. 4. New lines of source code and comments, Percentage of comments in codes Table 5 shows that Waterfall teams starting with Pet 1. 0 produced lines of code with a wide variance. The two XP teams starting with Pet 1. 0 fell right within the middle of the average. Because instead of producing some documents up front, the XP teams spent a longer time coding, one would expect them to produce more lines of code. The research results also show that XP Teams had a higher percentage of comments in source code. Table 5. Average and Standard Deviation of new lines in code YearLanguage Average new lines in code Standard Deviation Lines of test codes Ratio of test codes to program code 2004 2005 Absorb GT11 30:1 2006 2007 2008 Java Java Java Java Java Java Java Ruby 9,429 11,910 13,288 14,689 0 9,628 8,572 3,670 7,946 9,851 4,920 5,465 1,507 3378 4164 1380 3186 947 3555 2212 3,255 8% 13% 4% 8% 8% 16% 10% 90% 4. 5. Submitted lines of test codes and ratio of test code to program code The observation of these two metrics in Table 5 shows that the amount of test code written by the Waterfall teams equals the amount of test code written by the XP teams.Initially the faculty thought that Test-Driven Development would increase the amount of testing code, however, given a slow adoption rate of Test-Driven Development, programmers resorted to what was familiar and thus produced similar results. 5. Conclusion In this paper, we observed and presented the data from five years of 50 teams developing the same project each year and the affects of transitioning from Waterfall to Extreme Programming. The ch aracteristics between these two methods were evaluated and compared.Waterfall teams spent more time creating high ceremony documents where as Extreme Programming teams spent more time writing code and documenting their design in their code. Surprisingly, the amount of code and features completed were roughly the same for both methods suggesting that on a three month project with three to four developers it doesn't matter the method used. It is challenging to conduct this kind of analysis of the data in hindsight. Given that this is not a toy problem, and the freedom teams have in the execution of their projects, setting up this kind of experiment properly in advance is also challenging. . References [1] Sommerville, Software engineering, 8th ed. , New York: Addison-Wesley, Harlow, England, 2006. [2] W. Royce, Managing the Development of Large Software Systems, IEEE WESTCON, Los Angeles, 1970. [3] A. Abran and J. W. Moore, Guide to the software engineering body of knowledge: trial ve rsion (version 0. 95) IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA, USA, 2001. [4] Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres, Extreme programming eXplained: embrace change, Second Edition, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2004. 5] Mike Cohn, Agile estimating and planning, Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, Nov 11, 2005. [6] Barry, Boehm and Richard Turner, Balancing Agility and Discipline: A Guide for the Perplexed, Addison Wesley, August 15, 2003. [7] Basil, V. R. , Selby, R. and Hutchens, D. , Experimentation in Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (invited paper), July 1986. [8] Andrew Begel and Nachiappan Nagappan, Usage and Perceptions of Agile Software Development in an Industrial Context: An Exploratory Study, MiIEEE Computer Society MSR-TR-2007-09, no. 2007): 10. [9] Ming Huo, June Verner, Muhammad Ali Babar, and Liming Zhu, How does agility ensure quality? , IEEE Seminar Digests 2004, (2004):36. [10] Jan Chong, Robert Plummer, Larry Leifer, Scott R. Klemmer, and George Toye. Pair Programming: When and Why it Works, In Proceedings of Psychology of Programming Interest Group 2005 Workshop, Brighton, UK, June 2005. [11] Glaser, Barney G, Strauss, and Anselm L. , The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago, 1967.