Creating a Process-Driven Organization at AgCredit Essay

AgCredit, The MidWest Agriculture Credit and Loan Company is a midsize financial institution which concentrates on agribusiness. Over the past few years there is a significant growth in business and plays its own role by competing with other larger banks. â€Å"Even though AgCredit had an extensive customer knowledge, the process and customers were taxed to the hilt due to the lack of better technological system†, said Jim Finney, CEO of AgCredit. (McKeen & Smith, 2012). He proposed to get some better technology to overcome the present in a meeting. Then everyone over there started pointing the drawbacks of IT. Steve Stewart, COO of company moans that IT’s is mess and whenever he assign any task then they simply escape from the situation by saying a reason. Paul Manley, the senior vice president of e-business, agreed. He added that IT sysyem is completely broken and he wouldn’t ask them to solve our business problems. The others chimed in with all of their views as project delays, customer complaints, bad information and IT staff, who did not have a clear knowledge on business. So Kate Longair, who works in Enterprise Integration Program (EIP) for AgCredit assigned responsibility of making out the integration of the system in a best way. (McKeen & Smith, 2012). After three months of rigorous work for Kate and her team, she came up with a twenty foot long diagram of total system in the company and the processes. she explained to Finney that all people recognized what exactly they planned to do in addition to exactly how it will add benefit to the business, however no one understood exactly how their particular small business method would fit with all people else’s to deliver enterprise benefit. Next we all realized had been that we did not comprehend our organization procedures in addition to that they worked with each other. (McKeen & Smith, 2012). Presently there happened a lot of money associated with hardships within the current framework. It’s prepared within basement and also the 4 unique organization dividers associated with AgCredit posse’s impartial IT strategies and also the programs that are not really unsuited along with additional business strategies. Sometimes the actual promises concerning freelancing had been wrong. The organization is within lacking IT  supervisors along with great specialized understanding in a number of specific areas. You can also find accusations concerning task obstacle, terrible information as well as customer critique as well as supervisory recruiting. To be able to solve these types of problems, The organization offers hired a specialist as well as she forecasted an answer known as Support focused structures (SOA). The organization happens to be analyzing in the event that SOA would be the best strategy within solving their own problems. (McKeen & Smith, 2012). Key Concer ns The actual company’s professionals are extremely hectic along with daily procedures as well as brand new endeavors. IT proficiency offers ended up with time and also the framework had been in no way aimed along with organizational goals. Even though some backend tinkering offers created organization broad info obtainable in some instances, the present techniques are not suitable as well as conversation in between all of them is actually bad. IT doesn’t possess trustworthiness inside the outlines associated with company. This can be a understand disadvantage and you will be tackled within the reorganization of IT. Company procedures are not recognized because of IT personnel and frequently the company by itself does not have a comprehensive gasp on the procedures. The actual interconnections from the procedures tend to be not clear in order to each attributes from the business additionally. The actual sections don’t realize their own part inside the business plus they should work out how they ought to assistance the actual business. Aiming their own person objectives along with proper reps will have to be achieved. You will find four company sections inside AgCredit. The actual company’s proper reps tend to be constant development, area associated with client associations, capability to save money period using the clients, capability to cross-sell providers, and supply a regular encounter towards the client. The CIO placement was made in order to line up IT and also the company and also to guide the actual IT change. The new CIO offers operate an effective marketing campaign along with e-business as well as involves the positioning along with clean eye, however deficiencies in official specialized encounter. He is comfortable in making use of companies as well as consuming several factors associated with look at. Absolutely no IT governance or even structures happens to be in position. Instead the  divisional framework offers been around as well as business vision is actually short. IT choices are created to satisfy short-term requirements as well as endeavors. IT perform can be considered the assistance support for that company. A few of the IT staffing problems tend to be: reduced well-being, higher work ambiguity, unqualified personnel filling up jobs, specialized abilities without a few places, absolutely no older IT supervisor jobs, and several bare work functions. A part of retooling the actual IT structures should be in order to straighten out these types of staffing requirements. A good application-centric mindset guidelines the organization. It’s resulted in four individual directories, one for each department, as well as large information untidiness as well as redundancy. A good SOA strategy may be advised depending on organizational requirements, in order to change IT. Individuals requirements consist of adding systems as well as systems without having alternative. Vendor options must be simplified as well as a good authorization procedure set up supported along with delivery metrics as well as procedures The following actions is going to be bringing together the client information as well as conditioning its basis. Just one group of client info may be the expectancy which will even assist construct believe in as well as trustworthiness towards IT, inside the business. Managing IT as a Business In the past, IT been among the minimum recognized expenses as well as probably the most mismanaged regions of numerous company. Failure in order to meld IT businesses, techniques, as well as technologies and also to straight link these types of towards the corporation’s proper company drivers to create outcomes is among the major explanations why big, complicated mergers or even acquisitions frequently fail to provide on the guaranteed synergies. In the event that technologies would be to satisfy its guarantee and supply obtain the benefit to some company, two main modifications should happen: The actual IT business should be handled as well as brought in a expert method, such as any kind of big company device, along with consideration in order to focal points, individuals as well as overall performance. The connection in between IT customers through the company and also the IT business should alter. IT customers should realize that the corporation’s capability to supply IT is not limitless. Such as  other things, IT is sure through guidelines associated with provide, need, as well as price. Only if customers from it through the company tend to be pressured in order to â€Å"pay† for this, possibly clearly via some kind of transfer prices or even more frequently implicitly via tradeoffs within additional business spending budget collection products, may learn to make use of very carefully as well as actively. (Lutchen, 2004) The following image represents the role of IT unit in business. The mid section represents the practical execution of IT as a business. (Lutchen, 2004). The reason behind IT organizations Figure1: Lutchen, M. (2004). Managing IT As a Business : A Survival Guide for CEOs. Hoboken, N.J.:J.Wiley and CIOs fail is due to lack of deliver value to the business. It is their inability to concentrate sufficient amount on the middle section of the above figure 1. IT and business are really an essential point to enhance the worthiness associated with company because of IT opportunities. To achieve the actual objectives and missions of the business you will find six crucial features Organization need to look at the IT like a technical device to convert them into business. What this means is obtaining acquainted with the company they are dealing. Customer significance as well as client satisfaction should be thought about like a earlier point making income towards the organization. IT repetitions as well as people should have the knowledge as well as understanding of one another benefits, so the scenario won’t guide right into chaos. Organization should have particular as well as clear objectives that leads to attain a typical objective. These two organizations ought to realize the organization revenue as well as reduction methods. (Nelson and Alok, 2013) Organization culture ought to be taken care of inside a comprehensive as well as lively method. These people work collaboratively and cope with the organization income instead of their very own sections. Along with today’s competing world, businesses tend to be coping with  numerous issues. So that you can match up these kinds of problems, organizations consist of constantly acquired assistance of the IT to have success together with generating revenue. Many organizations today count on IT to know the enterprise value. It could possibly in essence form of just how enterprise can be completed in addition to empower the technique plan. Enterprise must fully grasp that it is not optional, nevertheless crucial to the actual accomplishment from the enterprise. In addition to the many procedures, typically firms will have the knowledge about their drawbacks among all of them and it and this also insufficient equilibrium causes an important effect on organization’s power to receive the majority of out of it is resources. Doing work collaboratively, organization and IT could make work extra handy, collection arranged with coordinative-based conduct happen. The IT in the commercial is needed created for technical pattern, investigation, facts investigation and also arranged starting. While IT provides strengths towards messing around with reality, company, without appropriate collaboration involving them, and that is not possible inside the reality. (Tapscott, Don.,1996) The bond between IT and as well business is generally documented being excellent, amiable and as well productive not until both equally try to understand methods and also goal business practice that may impact several variables as an customer satisfaction and pleasure, quality about solution as well as cost. IT must deliver innovative advancements that can be used because of the business, which will aid these to generate and in addition develop fresh constructions, strengthening most of these to regulate their particular workouts in ways that are not possible to doable. These enhancements in future may lead as an additional strength. The IT need to offer new alternatives by means of greater technical know-how to help come up with the latest advancement also to help to improve business practice basically, enterprise actually have to offer IT to help socialize in all of the their very own exercises that it can take a look at with regards to just what company is generally planning on by with it. The relationship among enterprise and also it will guide either of those to further improve the business ability not just within their technical areas but additionally within non-technical, for example difficult task producing,  advertising, buyer interactions or anything else. It should typically make possible substantially richer operations with regards to quality. (Thakur, G.C.,1996) IT running a business taken out a lot of problems previously. They are considered as some sort of two pieces doing the job collaboratively to generate the idea to be a superior company. This are invariably good for understand what exactly company needs and in addition it must develop with regard to earnings as well as accomplishments rather than people working in taken care of parts. Designed for receiving beneficial teamwork, every single person in the specific team must create numerous features. It may help decide much better company features as well as help agencies to complete diverse ambitions as well as improving features. Different database need to be maintained at the moment as well as upcoming features relating to company. (Shank, John K. & Govindarajan, Vijay.,1993) Project Implementation: Process functioning class should primarily perform comprehensive research in relation to the progressions, the sustaining techniques, present projects carried out from the business plus the technological innovation they are applying at present. The organization ought to subsequently make a floor program that is certainly linked to the targets with the business through using clear technological innovation benefits. Later the job class really should concentrate on involving IT crucial program that is certainly in addition to the actual association’s detailed crucial program. The main element targets should be primarily acknowledged so that these people go progress as well as make a spirited border. Then work class really should carry out an enterprise field research this can easily classify the business enterprise progressions which have been captious for the enterprise as well as generate a technique which could effectively earnings the majority by using it. (Schwalbe, 2013) Service Oriented Architecture According to â€Å"Hao He†, â€Å"SOA is an architectural style whose goal is to achieve loose coupling among interacting software agents. A service is a unit of work done by a service provider to achieve desired end results for a  service consumer. Both provider and consumer are roles played by software agents on behalf of their owners.† (He, 2003) The primary problems associated with SOA execution tend to be issues within creating effective decision structures, creating a SOA roadmap, controlling as well as governing services, determining providers as well as insufficient support financing as well as insufficient constant governance procedures. To deal with these types of problems, businesses need a thorough SOA governance construction that may be used within an iterative method. (Hojaji, F., & Shirazi, M., 2012) According to â€Å"Hojaji & Shirazi†, there are five key points for developing a SOA governance frame work. There are five activities to follow. They are:  Problem Identification: we stipulate the actual specific domain, as well as justify the worthiness of the answer. In line with the issue range, we determine the primary needs, problems as well as implicationss associated with SOA adoption as well as suggest some SOA governance components.. Define the Objectives of a new Solution: All of us evaluate a few of the current SOA governance construction by way of the literature review to locate their own pros and cons. This particular evaluation specifies the style technique for creating a brand new SOA governance construction. Design and Development: We stipulate a new frame work as well as existing the universal conceptual design along with a procedure design in order to state the actual special functions as well as primary aspects of the actual suggested construction. Demonstration: With regard to demo from the created construction, all of us utilize the brand new construction within an IT division. Additionally, we create an in depth execution procedure close to the construction to show it’s utility. Evaluation: We examine the framework by looking at its capabilities and evaluating the fitness of SOA governance elements. Also, it is analyzed with a qualitative model.†(Hojaji, F., & Shirazi, M., 2012) Because of  increasingly more businesses proceed towards applying support focused structures, Table 1: Hojaji, F., & Shirazi, M. (2012). A DESIGN SCIENCE APPROACH TO DEVELOP A NEW COMPREHENSIVE SOA GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK. International Journal Of Managing Information Technology, 4(3), 33-53. doi:10.5121/ijmit.2012.4304 they have to use choose decision providers as well as system managers with regard to success and recognizing the actual advantages of SOA. Within changeover in order to SOA, businesses encounter a number of problems for example issues within creating a highly effective choice framework, controlling as well as regulating providers as well as insufficient constant governance procedures. Consequently, to deal with these types of problems as well as accomplish SOA advantages, businesses need deployment of the properly comprehensive SOA governance design that may be used within an iterative as well as incremental method. The above table represents the SOA challenges and related to SOA governance elements. (Hojaji, F., & Shirazi, M., 2012) The activities of service oriented modeling is represented in the below table. This shows the activities that are typically conducted by each of the roles of provider and consumer. Note that the provider’s activities are a superset of the consumer s activities. (Arsanjani, 2004) Table 1: Arsanjani, A. (2004). Service-oriented modeling and architecture . Retrieved from IBM: http://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/GENERAL/IBM/I041109A.pdf IT Governance  IT governance primary goal is defined as â€Å"to assure that the investments in IT generate business value, and to mitigate the risks that are associated with IT†. This can be done by implementing an organizational structure with well-defined roles for the responsibility of information, business processes, applications and infrastructure. (BriseBois, 2012) IT governance ought to be seen as how IT generates benefit that will satisfies into your entire Business Governance Strategy in the enterprise, rather than make sure being a self-control without attention. Within getting that technique, just about all stakeholders can be necessary to participate in your choice making course of action. This generates the discussed acceptance involving  accountability intended for essential devices in addition to makes sure that IT connected selections are created in addition to motivated because of the company and not vice versa. There are nine principles of IT governance which plays an active role in a company. (Ross, 2004) Actively Design Governance: A lot of enterprises include made disparate IT governance parts. These kinds of uncoordinated system â€Å"silos† result from governance simply by default—introducing parts one by one to handle a selected need. Patching up problems since they crop up is often a preventive method that boundaries options pertaining to strategic impact from IT. Rather, management really should make an effort to design IT governance across the enterprise’s ambitions and functionality aims. Make an effort to planning governance will involve senior management getting the steer and allocating resources, interest, and service for the practice. For a few enterprises, this is initially IT governance is actually clearly created. Generally you’ll find fully developed company governance as a beginner. Know When to Redesign: Rethinking the full governance structure calls for individuals understand new tasks and relationships. Learning normally takes time. So, governance renovate must be sporadic. The suggestion can be made that a modification within governance is needed when that has a modify within desirable actions. Involve senior managers: companies with increased successful IT governance have additional senior administration effort. CIOs have to be successfully associated with IT governance for achievement. Other senior professionals must participate in the actual committees, the actual approval operations, and functionality reviews. For several enterprises, this particular effort is a pure extendable connected with senior management’s typical routines. It’s very ideal for the actual CIO and his or her personnel to communicate with IT governance using one document which has a visual like the Governance Measures and Matrix. Matrix comes with a path for dealing with every single senior manager’s part and concerns they have. Make choices: Effective governance, including excellent methodology, deals  with possibilities. It isn’t practical for IT governance in order to meet every single goal, although governance can easily and may highlight contradictory aims regarding controversy. While tradeoffs increases, governance gets to be more complex. Top-performing corporations deal with goal fights with a few clear business ideas. As resulting IT ideas reveal these business ideas. Clarify the exception-handling process: Exclusions are usually precisely how establishments study. Within IT language, exceptions challenges this standing quo, particularly the IT architecture and structure. Few requests for pertaining to exceptions are usually frivolous, nevertheless nearly all come from an accurate want to satisfy small business requirements. If the exemption recommended with a business model has value, a change towards the IT architecture might help the entire venture. Provide the right incentives: Incentives should be provided right. a common difficulty we all found throughout the study of IT governance seemed to be a misalignment of motivation along with reward systems with the behaviors the particular IT governance measures had been created to motivate. Assign ownership and accountability for IT: IT governance should have an head and accountabilities. Eventually, board is liable for all governance, however the board will probably expect as well as use outsourcing for an individual (probably CEO and CIO) or collection being to accountable for IT governance design, implementation, and performance—similar towards funding committee or CFO being responsible for economic resource governance. In deciding the best person or group, the board, or CEO while the responsible one. Design governance at multiple organizational levels: In large multi-business device enterprises it is vital to take IT governance into account from numerous levels. The particular starting point can be enterprise-wide IT governance motivated through few enterprise-wide techniques and goals. Companies having independent IT capabilities with partitions, sections, as well as geographies need a independent nevertheless linked section of the IT  governance. Provide transparency and education: It really is virtually unattainable to obtain excessive transparency or education regarding it governance. transparency and education often get together—the a lot more education, the greater visibility, and vice versa. A lot more visibility with the governance processes, the greater self-confidence in the governance. Analysis As by the research these are the following skills and developments that have to be maintained at AgCredit. Acknowledgement associated with company possession is going to be essential towards the organizational framework. Getting the company sign up as well as sign up for the actual discussion about this and associated tasks is going to be a key component. The guiding panel is going to be have to be the main authorization procedure for just about all tasks is required to make certain a good business look at is actually used. The actual multidivisional panel will have to make sure just about all tasks match inside a SOA construction. The actual CIO ought to be active in the boardroom as well as get access to senior administration, such as the CIO. The actual CIO ought to employ older administration that may express departmental as well as company items as well as assist manual IT workers. Accounts supervisors for every LOB which stay in the commercial however are accountable to senior IT administration ought to be set up. The whole IT personnel will have to end up being reassessed to guarantee the correct individuals are within the correct work functions. The actual IT perform will have to end up being introduced position using the business eyesight. one choice is actually to try and market in house with regard to empty IT jobs as well as insource the actual functions which can’t be stuffed. Insourcing may have the actual unique benefit of instruction IT staff whilst getting the task carried out too. Freelancing IT features which are not really primary expertise may also be used in the event that preferred. The guiding panel which signifies numerous LOBs will have to end up being created as well as providing choice producing abilities. The procedure must start through analyzing what sort of task scarves towards the general  eyesight from the organization. Following the actual panel people ought to describe the way the task results their own department and may supply to satisfy departmental requirements if at all possible. It also may need to ensure this suits inside the SOA and it is not really copied through additional software program nodes or even present procedures. If it’s a good improvement or even add-on to a different task, conversation using the consumer to determine possible advantages must start. Ensuring it may be modularized as well as standardised for that company is going to be essential for that organization structures. Furthermore ensuring just about all task kinds are thought as well as financed via a taxes on just about all LOBs may be asked to assist SOA. Manley will have to present these key talents associated with SOA as well as ensure to concentrate on exactly how it will assist the actual company’s vision and objectives. The changeover may easily simplify the business as well as accelerate item execution. Current services is going to be obtainable or even altered with regard to user friendliness. It facilitates internet providers which line up along with constant development possibilities, broadened client associations, as well as capability to cross-sell between your sections. It may instantly provide services for growing sections when it comes to feasible monetary increases as well as extending improvement bucks. Existing providers can be bought as well as put in place rapidly inside the SOA. This particular raises the abilities as well as guarantees all of us remain swept up using the bigger companies. Essentially this could level the actual actively playing area supplying useful assets as well as techniques. Once the client info is actually centralized, that is necessary for SOA, the actual cost savings through decreasing data source requirements is going to be recognized. Having typical procedures may line up the company in general as well as make sure worth through elevated conversation as well as reduced doubt. This type of technologies base might permit the method all of us function to alter, for instance a home based job or even on the highway operating via a VPN. The actual abilities required to assistance the actual SOA in the IT viewpoint tend to be administration resources, information administration  resources, Information shipping choices, improvement series, along with a customer support mindset towards the actual sections. Role clarification is going to be essential within establishing these types of abilities. Administration resources consist of visioning as well as company position procedures, financing techniques, dimension metrics as well as concentrate, as well as checking techniques. Info rmation administration resources consist of selection actions, arrange procedure such as strategies as well as taxonomy, procedure quests to make use of the informaton, and up keep methods which assistance company features. Improvement series should comply with SOA requirements as well as recommendations, utilizing compliant equipment as well as software program to create techniques which break down the actual performance, as well as problem a long with regulating requirements, such as program skills within making reviews with regard to review reasons. The client support mindset is going to be required to handle awareness as well as maintain near scarves using the company. Prior to governance structures tend to be official the actual business as well as divisional vision as well as goals ought to be layed out. By using it operating together with the company a few leading concepts should be drawn up upward. This might include establishing accounts supervisors inside the LOB as well as developing the multidiscipline guiding panel along with substantial choice energy. This particular guiding panel ought to function carefully using the CIO and also have higher level authorization as well as business sponsorship. The actual governance program ought to concentrate on leading the actual change procedure as well as maintaining crucial problems within concentrate, for example sox as well as regulating conformity. Stakeholder participation within the guiding panel can help the company also IT structures turn out to be companions as well as to work together. It will make sure just about all sounds tend to be noticed as well as regarded as within the decision maki ng procedure. They ought to describe plan choices which assistance the actual organization’s vision in early stages. References Arsanjani, A. (2004). Service-oriented modeling and architecture . Retrieved from IBM: http://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/GENERAL/IBM/I041109A.pdf BriseBois, r. (2012). What is IT Governance? Retrieved from intosaiitaudit.org: http://www.intosaiitaudit.org/intoit_articles/25_p30top35.pdf Hojaji,F., & Shirazi, M. (2012). A Design Science Approach To Develop A New Comprehensive SOA, Governance Framework. International Journal of Managing Information Technology, 4(3), 33-53. doi:10.5121/ijmit.2012.4304 Lutchen, M. (2004). Managing IT As a Business : A Survival Guide for CEOs.(5). Hoboken, N.J.:J.Wiley Mckeen, J. D., & Smith, H. A. (2013). Creating a process driven organization at AgCredit. In Kursh, S., Lant, T., Majeske, K., Oliver, J., & Plant, R. (Eds.), IST 7100 IT policy and strategy Wilmington University (pp. 474-477). United States: Pearson Learning Solutions Nelson & Alok, (2013) Digitally Included: Business-Community Partnerships To Promote the Use of Information and Communication Technologies. (2003) Ross, P. W. (2004, 07 05). Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. Retrieved from Ten Principles for IT Knowledge: http ://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4241.html Schwalbe, K. (2013). Information Technology Project Management. Cengage Learning. Shank, John K. & Govindarajan, Vijay. (1993). Strategic Cost Management: The New Tool for Competitive Advantage. New York: The Free Press. Tapscott, Don. (1996). Digital Economy: Promise and peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill Thakur, G.C. (1996). What is Reservoir Management? Journal of Petroleum Technology, June, pp. 520-525.

How to Succeed in College Essay

For most, the collegiate experience represents a major cornerstone in life. Attending college can provide identity, give direction and fortify the foundation of its students. Success in college means always demonstrating responsible decision making. Attendance policies and rules of participation may not appear to be significant, but they can move a student to the right or to the left in the grading scale. It is also crucial to adhere to rigid standards that command accountability. Some Professors are adamant about participation and class involvement. Academia mandates setting goals and becoming objective. You will discover that these habits, when applied, enhance the window of opportunity for success to enter. Confidence is an essential part of being a successful college student. Likewise, a student that lacks this sort of discipline, readiness and mental strength will most likely be lackadaisical and less likely to thrive in college. The first key to succeeding in college is attenda nce. Being present and on time ensures that pertinent knowledge is ascertained. Most of all, showing up on time for every class allows the individual to develop positive attendance habits that are just as important in the job market. These habits reflect a sense of dependability to professors and employers alike. A student simply cannot gain information from a lecture if they are not present. Nonetheless, being present is only half of the equation. The next step is class participation. Professors want to see that their students can apply what is being taught to them. This element may stimulate debate, or even trigger thorough research on something in particular. At the college level, participation and attentiveness really exercise the mind. Consequently, when students work in groups, are involved in research and share opinions they are able to hone their communication skills. Subsequently, it is critical for any college student to set goals and concise objectives for accomplishing them. Individuals with something to work toward are most likely to thrive in any c ollege or university. Goals provide the determination to fuel students through adversity; school related or not. Objectives should be well-defined. They are actually small steps indicative of levels of accomplishment and success. For college students, enormous goals are not far-fetched, nor do they seem impossible to reach when clear  objectives exist. Students who regularly set goals and objectives possess more ambition and drive than those who do not. Goal-oriented people have a more resilient work ethic due to the fact that they can see the progression of their hard work when they arrive at specific objectives. This hard work creates a sense of gratitude and individual accomplishment. Ultimately, college students must be prepared mentally and harbor a positive attitude. Self-confidence must be present if anyone is to endure the investment and sacrifice that pave the way to becoming a college graduate. A confident student is one that can evade social distractions and work through personal adversity to get to the finish line. Successful college students and college graduates are mentally poised. This frame of mind beckons the hard-working college student to accept challenges, explore new modes of learning and to appreciate their individuality. A confident mind is a mind for success. The rigors of college can, at times, seem overwhelming. With so much information to process, students are bound to enter their respective careers with a solid grasp on what they are doing. Success in college is contingent almost completely on attitude and fortitude. The college freshman will discover that the road ahead is bumpy, demanding and can be painstaking. The graduating senior will be indebted forever for the journey. The investment is precious; the success affiliated with reaching the destination is boundless.

A Problem in the American Education System Essay Example for Free

A Problem in the American Education System Essay ? This problem will have dire effects on those dropouts as well as other aspects such as financial and health problems. Many factors ultimately push the students off their path to a bachelor’s degree and end their dreams of ever becoming a doctor or maybe even a businessman. Along with those causes, there are serious consequences for those college dropouts. One effect that happens when a college student drops out of school would be that a huge debt must be paid back and since they dropped out it turn to be a wasted investment. Students looking to go to college, hen dropout have no answer to pay the money back which they were hoping to find a career with a college degree they wanted. Students often put a lot of money into college, thus putting them into debt. When the payments are finally too high for them they cannot afford to stay in school and all the money they put in is for naught. The students are under so much debt after dropping out and have nothing to show for it. That college degree they were hoping to receive at their graduation in non-existent which they were hoping to use as a tool in order to become successful. Who knows hat career a degree could have got them into, maybe a well-paying Job that would keep them from going broke from paying all the loans they used to go to school. All the money that could have been used in order to gain knowledge will be down the drain and the student now would have a harder time paying back those loans and supporting themselves. This also affects the schools and the taxpayers. All the money they are putting into paying and helping students with their schooling has nothing to showing for it. The millions of dollars that are being put into paving the way for the tudents financially do not pay off and instead money is lost. This slows down the whole country as there are less available new young workers to fill the positions of new work. Without a college degree, students earning potential are much lower than those of graduates. In order to pay off debts from loans to go to school and bills, students have to find a source of income and without a degree, finding a Job is much harder. Dropouts have a harder time finding a Job than those already with a degree. With a bachelor’s degree, it is easier to find Jobs as many opportunities are now open. A cause of college students dropping out is the amount they have to pay for just one semester. As many students do not even have a Job it is difficult for them to support themselves after paying for tuition and also pay for supplies they would later need for classes such as textbooks. A report from the Public Agenda for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation shows the students from the ages of 22 to 30 years old shows state that their main reason for leaving school is their problems with financial stability. From my experience as of today even now I have a problem having to pay for school at CSULB. Luckily I have financial aid because without it I would it I don’t think that I could have survived the first semester of college. Family problems such as having kids during school, or taking care of a sick family member could cause someone to leave college. Having to spend a large amount of time away from thing such as studying for an upcoming test really hurts the students in the long run. This hurts them because it keeps them preoccupied with things that they need to accomplish which is their dream of finding a career in their major and pursue it. Stress develops which may be from the numerous personal problems. Rising uition make students actually have to think about what they buy next. Most students already have to Juggle work and school at the same time Oohnson). I know for a fact that going to college is a hard task even now as a freshman, there is more homework and students have to pay for everything themselves. I understand why most students drop out because they cannot handle the pressure. Another cause for college dropouts is their scores on exams. Of course doing bad on a test will make students fail your class as this is already obvious. Lots of factors also cause students to do poorly on their exams such as stress and financial roblems One final cause for students leaving college early is their lack of motivation and preparation. As most students say their high schools did a poor Job in preparing them for their next step in life stated from a survey by Public Agenda (Crosseley). In college students have to manage their time socially and their time for school. Prioritizing this time is now critical of the all the times spent in school. Being bored really will not help you succeed in receiving a bachelor’s degree in your hand. For the many college students that attend today that go to college it may be a hard task. Still, college dropouts remain a problem in the American education system. A Problem in the American Education System. (2018, Nov 01).

Theory and Knowledge Development in Nursing Essay - 2

Theory and Knowledge Development in Nursing - Essay Example There are a number of theories advocated by scientists. Theories are definitely the backbone of any discipline and nursing is no exception here. Here I would like to make a brief explanation on the components of theory. Theory consists concepts that are inevitable for practice guidance. Nursing theories are formed out of concepts, definitions assumptions with or without the help of other disciplines or derived from different particular instances; and there are a number of inter- relationships made between them for predicting, explaining and prescribing things (Nursing Theories: An Overview). Theories universally contain concepts, prepositions, metaparadigm, philosophies and conceptual models. Concepts are occurred in mind as ideas on a phenomenon. This is an intellectual process through intuition. They indicate and signify ideas observations or experiences. For instance, relief can be an idea in nursing. Concepts can be useful in creating knowledge on phenomena. These concepts also are supported by constructs. Generally concepts are of three kinds; empirical, inferential and abstract. A statement of relationship between two concepts are said to be prepositions. Structural holarchy of contemporary nursing knowledge include components like metaparadigm, conceptual models, theories, and empirical indicators and their level of abstraction differs; and concepts and propositions are the important to explain a theory (Lesson, 2.1) There are several theories of nursing used by the practitioners today; and those theories are grouped into divisions according to the nature and functions of the theory. Nursing theories can be classified from different categories. Depending on its function it can be divided into four namely, descriptic, explanatory, predictive and perspective. Based on generalisability of their principles they are divided into Meta

Why is it said that power relationship in organisations entail a Essay

Why is it said that power relationship in organisations entail a Mutual Dependency Provide examples to illustrate - Essay Example While interdependednce of the power equation began primarily in terms of socialiogy (Emerson 1962), it soon came to be very instrumental in the organizational setups across the developed world. It has now been established without doubt that power is central to organizational structure (Hall 2002). Infact several sources of power have been established within organizations (Morgan 1986). These can broadly be classified as Formal authority or legitimate power- This refers to the common concept that leaders or people in the high ladders of hierarchy have authority and compliance on the part of the subordinates is mandatory. Expert power - This is power secured by the acquiring of skills and expertise in a field, that would be required by others. This is by far the most subjective base in the power model (Podsahoff and Schriesheim. 1985) Yet all these bases of power rely on interaction of groups with each other. While the benefits and disadvantages of each of these bases are still being researched, the fact that they all involve dependency and interrelationships are clear. The concept of interdependency of power is aptly described in the works of (Emerson 1962, 1964) It is vital to have an understanding of the distribution of power along both these axes. While it is relatively easy to grasp the power concept along the vertical axis, even simply by applying the model of power bases described above, power dependency along the horizontal axes is relatively harder to visualize. This however is not a reflection of its operational value in an organization.Hence the mutual dependency pattern is observed along both these axes, more obviously in the horizontal than in the vertical, but is present in both. Several examples of the power dependencies can be observed in an organization setting and we will now go on to have a look at some of them. Power dependency along the vertical axis, egs. University structures where students are clearly lower in the hierarchy ladder, provide a good example of interdependencies along the vertical axis. To a large extent students are responsible for the functioning (both financial andoperational) of universities. While the very existence of universities is with the idea of training and teaching students, it is impossible to conceive of universities without the teaching and management staff. Hence while students depend on teachers for learning, and to that extent are under the power of the teachers, the latter also depend on students for the very running of the institution which provides their livelihoods. In terms of enterprises, a

Changing Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Changing Accounting - Essay Example siness was usually owned by individuals through shareholding, in Germany businesses were mainly owned by families whose capital had been providing by financial institutions. These differences in ownership structures have been led to the development of accounting standards that are geared towards shareholders in Britain and towards creditors in Germany. This paper will look at some why the accounting standards are different in Germany and in the United kingdom, in addition, it will also discuss the reasons why the the 4th directive had minimal effects on German’s accounting standards and why the 7th directive had more impact. One of the differences between German and UK accounting standards is the format of the financial statements. While in the two countries it is mandatory for companies to prepare a balance sheet and profit and loss account, in Germany, these are supposed to be accompanied by a note to the accounts, which explain the details in those accounts. In preparing a balance sheet, the UK accounting standards have allowed for two formats; one is the vertical format where current assets are deducted from current liabilities to show net current assets, the other format is the two sided format where liabilities and assets are placed on opposite sides with the easily liquefiable at the end. According to German standards, balance sheets can only be prepared using the two-sided format with assets being divided into current and fixed assets. In preparation for profit and loss accounts, United Kingdom allows for four formats two of which are vertical and two of which are horizontal. In the vertical formats, one formats puts expenditure as a cost of sales, distribution or administrative cost therefore, giving the gross profits while the other vertical formats gives a more detailed view of expenditure. On the side of the horizontal formats, expenses are put on one side and income on the other side with one of the format giving more details about the expenses.

Sir Alex Ferguson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sir Alex Ferguson - Essay Example The father’s glorious success both as a player and as a manager was mainly built on hard work and patience since his early years in the field. With the age of sixteen, Ferguson started his career as a player at Stranraer Club in 1956 and for three years. After that and over the following years he joined many other clubs including St Johnstone, Dunfermline Athletic, Rangers, and finally Falkirk, Ayr United in 1969 just to become a manager in 1974. East Stirling was really the starting point for Sir Alex Ferguson from which he moved from one place to another trying to reveal his managerial skills. A few years later, Ferguson got his life chance to be the manager of Aberdeen where he stayed for eight years and won many matches on top of which are three league championships and four Scottish Cups. For years Ferguson demonstrated his brilliant managerial strategies leading the team from one victory to another. Sir Alex Ferguson’s years of experience led him to a bigger experience; in 1986 he was appointed as the manager at Manchester United. The early years of being a manager for such a big team were really difficult. Four years later he was able to win over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final replay; this game was the start of unprecedented success for years to come. It is true that Ferguson’s managing history with Manchester United is considered the longest in sports history (Kelly 1997) which definitely added to his rich resume. A list of his achievements will definitely include that he was entitled the Manager of the Year more than anyone else in the British football history. In 2008, Sir Alex Ferguson became the third manager in England who wins the European Cup more than once. In 1999, Sir Ferguson was knighted for his services in the football field. Sir Alex Ferguson has won around 46 trophies as a manager, which vividly makes him the best manager in the history of

Networking topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Networking topic - Research Paper Example mmunication facilitates the similar communication as telephone without loss in reliability, functionality or quality; as well as in fulfillment by the ITU (or International Telecommunications Union) presented communication specifications. The term of VoIP is as well employed to denote the software and hardware utilized to perform such calls over the Internet network (BestPriceComputers). Internet Telephony is acknowledged as Voice over IP, which facilitates people to speak to other people over the Internet. Specifically, Internet telephony makes use of the Internet in place of public switch telephone to establish a connection between a calling party and one or more called parties. To do an Internet call, caller needs to install Internet telephone software. Because when the caller talks into a computer microphone, then the Internet telephone software and the computer’s sound card digitize and condense voice and then distribute the compressed voice over the Internet to the target party or listener. In the same way, a call receiver also needs to install the Internet telephone software as software at the receiving end reverse this procedure as a result call receiver can listen what caller party have said (Shelly, Cashman and Vermaat 464). In every VoIP communication system, caller’s voice is transformed into online data packets of data, similar to small fi les, as well as then distributed to the target or receiver over the web/Internet as well as decoded at the receiver end back into our voice. Also, to complete this process quickly, these online data packets are compressed prior to distribute, in the same way as we zip our files and folders for reducing their size (ProgrammerWorld) VoIP communication offers lot of advantages regarding better and effective communication. Below I have outlined some main advantages of the VoIP technology: (Garden), (BestPriceComputers), (Unuth) and (TechTarget): Facility of IVR, conference calling, automatic redial, call forwarding

Remote Access Computer Trojan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Remote Access Computer Trojan - Research Paper Example RATs are broadly defined as the malevolent computer programs which are entered into the victim’s computer in order to gain access to his confidential information and general activities. These are usually attached to some gaming program or anything else which is often executed by the victims. Once the Trojan is ready to perform its task the intruder is immediately informed through an e-mail. In some cases, the hacker is able to use victim’s IP address, while in case of corporations the financial transactions or other business operations are usually intervened. Let’s consider an example of China where 72 organizations including government offices, corporations and non-profit companies were infected by Remote Access Trojan. This violation was a typical criminal attack in order to leak out confidential information and also to interrupt various financial transactions. However, hunger for country secrets is considered less threatening than financial loss according to M acAfee investigation report covering this breach. Shady RAT, which is a latest Remote Access Tool, was used in this particular cyber-crime. MacAfee detections reveal that Shady RAT specifically slows down the computer system and hence it is generally known as â€Å"low and slow† cybersecurity attack. Experts could not identify the real culprits of this case with complete authenticity however, few individuals were seriously suspected. Initially, the RAT attack was identified in 2009 by the MacAfee officials while investigating a defence contractor.se contractor [Mat11]. Thereafter the MacAfee team identified spear-phishing attack which implies that the breach had occurred through entering the command in HTML comments on the web links. MacAfee investigated that the Shady RAT attack had actually initiated in the mid-2006. These attacks were then expanded to 38 Chinese organizations by 2008 [Mat11]. Losses of confidentiality, integrity and availability Much of the confidential information held by the government offices was lost in addition to financial statements. Moreover the intruders were able to penetrate different business operations over a longer period of time and hence it became a matter of

Margin Call Essay Example for Free

Margin Call Essay J. C. Chandler’s 2011 film Margin Call examines the actions of an investment firm’s key decision makers during the earliest stages of the most recent financial crisis. Chandler does a good job with the characters of this movie he isn’t necessarily looking for a villain in a mess like this nor any lengthy explanations; he’s going deeper than that. He goes more for societal costs of high finance, the power of self-rationalization, and the easy embrace of personal corruption. The movie is filled with business lessons that go beyond the investment world. One theme of the film centers on business ethics and whether personal interest should trump customer/employee investment. Clearly, the decision made by John Tuld and senior management demonstrates that everybody is out for themselves. Personal investors are at the mercy of the individuals and the firms they invest with. The ease with which Tuld makes his decisions is scary to any business ethical viewer. With unqualified statements such as, â€Å"its just money† the audience begins to understand that the financial system can be an unfair game. In contrast Peter’s boss, Sam Rogers’ ethical implications of how the company plans to resolve its problems are almost more than he can handle. Sam stumbles upon the issue triggering the crisis, it’s one thing to be shocked at the ramifications of what’s about to unfold. But it doesn’t mean one’s outrage can’t be set aside when personal survival is on the line, an attitude that he quietly maintains but isn’t afraid to tap when the need arises. Moral ethics are thrown out the window in order to salvage a firm that has taken on too much risk in order to increase profits and inflate employee earnings. Management is willing to do whatever it takes to save themselves and protect their personal assets. This includes liquidating entire departments, and ruining the integrity of their own employee’s careers in the process. This film had several big ethical messages from it. In addition, there were many smaller points and messages the film showed. One in particular was the way that the employers used an employees entitlements as leverage to coerce them into doing what the enterprise requires. However, things such as stock options, pensions, bonus promises, and health care plans are simply paper assets. The promise that stands behind them can be broken and that paper is completely worthless at the order of those employers or in other words, blackmail. Ethics never loses its relevance. It must be told and retold as, too often, the mportant lessons that it imparts individuals and institutions unwillingly set aside. Ethical lapses can lead and have led to the irrevocable damage of a firm, its employees and clients. If there are any ethics in the business world, the company’s plan for survival is unethical. But in a world that lacks options, there is only winning and losing. Some of the characters struggle with the little emotional and psychological life they have left. But their choice basically comes down to money or no money. One thing that we must remember from this film is not just the ethical decisions made by the upper management but who is affected by these choices made by upper management. The most damaging fallout from all this is on those who didn’t see any of this coming, mostly the investors and the firm’s employees. Those who had the least involvement in all this mess are hurt the most in terms of financial losses. Even if it may seem like the employees’ participation was limited, they are nevertheless part of all of it, just by the inherent connectedness to the overall whole. Just because they weren’t the ones making the decisions doesn’t mean the decisions made by upper management won’t hurt them. This film is a reminder that business and moral ethics can easily be lost in the shuffle when billions of dollars and entire companies are at stake. Tuld is willing to kill the market to protect his interest, without concern for the company’s investors or even the strength of the global economy. When money is no longer an issue, you lose all concern for the individuals who do not hold the same viewpoint.

Analyse Evidence For Case Linkage In Criminal Profiling Psychology Essay

Analyse Evidence For Case Linkage In Criminal Profiling Psychology Essay For thousands of years inferences of a persons characteristics from their thoughts, motives, and actions have been made (Canter Alison, 1997) although the application of these inferences to criminal investigations was first done in the 1970s by the FBI (Egger, 1999). Offender profiling, now known as behavioural investigative advice, is the process of providing inferences of likely offender characteristics based on crime scene information (Canter Alison, 1999). Case linkage is now more commonly known as linkage analysis which is the process of identifying whether or not a series of crimes have been committed by the same offender using crime scene behaviours (Hazelwood Warren, 2003). Case linkage produces similar fact evidence in legal cases so that offenders can be charged with numerous offences (Ormerod, 1999). Case linkage can also allow all relevant crime scene information to be pooled thus making the use of investigative resources more efficient (Grubin, Kelly, Burnsden, 2001). The practices of case linkage and offender profiling have overlapping as well as separate assumptions. Case linkage and offender profiling both use theories from personality psychology and the assumption underlying the practices of both offender profiling and case linkage is consistency (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Regarding offender profiling, individuals need to be consistent in their actions for there to be similarity associations between an individuals behaviour and characteristics (Mokros Alison, 2002). In reference to case linkage, this consistency refers to the offender exhibiting similar behaviours each time he or she offends (Canter, 1995; Grubin et al., 2001; Woodhams, Hollin, Bull, 2007). If offenders were not consistent in their offending behaviour, then it would not be possible to determine which single offender committed the crimes on the basis of their behavioural similarity. An additional assumption underlying the practice of offender profiling is homology (Alison, Benne ll, Mokros, Ormerod, 2002). This assumption states that offenders who commit crimes in a similar style will have similar background characteristics (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Therefore, offenders who have different crime scene behaviour will have different characteristics. According to Woodhams and Toye (2007) an additional assumption underlying the practice of case linkage is behavioural distinctiveness. This assumption refers to the actions of an individual serial offender being different to other offenders committing similar crimes. This paper will now discuss the evidence for the assumptions underlying the practices of case linkage and offender profiling. Then methods to combat the problems of the assumptions underlying the practices of case linkage and offender profiling will be presented. Finally, a conclusion will be reached as to whether there is enough evidence to support the assumptions underlying the practices of case linkage and offender profiling to produce valid and useful results. Case linkage and offender profiling: Behavioural consistency Behavioural consistency is an assumption that underlies the practices of case linkage and offender profiling. Psychological research has defined behavioural consistency as the repetition of particular aspects of behaviour if the same offender engages in the same type of offence again (Canter, 1995). Conversely, criminological research has defined behavioural consistency as the probability that an individual will repeatedly commit similar types of offences (Farrington, 1997). With regard to case linkage, it refers to the hypothesis that people are consistent in their behaviour across situations and the consistency assumption of offender profiling implies that the behaviour of one offender must be more consistent than the behaviour between all other offenders (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Behavioural consistency has been investigated by personality psychology studies and the hypothesis has been confirmed that people produce similar behaviour when they are faced with situations with similar psychological meaning to them (Mischel Shoda, 1995). There is also supporting evidence that offenders commit crime in a consistent manner. For example, Farrington and Lambert (1997) showed that offenders are consistent in the choice of crime type. Furthermore, offenders have been shown to be consistent in their behaviour across robbery (Woodhams Toye, 2007), arson (Santtila, Fritzon, Tamelander, 2005), burglary (Bennell Canter, 2002), homicide (Salfati Bateman, 2005), and sexual assault (Grubin et al., 2001). Therefore, there is evidence of the consistency assumption that underlies the practices of offender profiling and case linkage. Case linkage: Behavioural consistency and distinctiveness A necessity in proving consistency for investigative purposes is that an individuals behavioural variation must be less than others to be investigatively useful which Woodhams and Toye (2007) named distinctiveness. An example of this behavioural consistency is that Jack the offender always robs a bank at gun point which is 100 percent consistent. Although if the majority of other bank robbers also rob banks at gun point then it cannot be concluded that Jack has committed the burglary in question. This consistency can be tested by predicting whether two crimes are committed by the same offender (linked) or by two different offenders (unlinked). Grubin et al. (2001) combined behavioural consistency and distinctiveness and found that linked crime and unlinked crimes are able to be reliably distinguished using behavioural consistency and distinctiveness theory. Using this approach, research with robberies and burglaries by Bennell and Jones (2005), have also shown that linkage status can be accurately predicted. Cervone and Shoda (1999) have researched personality psychology and found that people consistently exhibit individual differences on some personality traits in similar situations which provides support of case linkage (Bennell Canter, 2002). Although a review by Biesanz, West, and Kwok (2003) showed that personality psychologists and investigative psychologists examine consistency and distinctiveness differently. Shoda (1999) states that personality psychologists see individuals as demonstrating similar trait-related behaviour in different situations and although peoples behaviour does change in different situations they remain relatively stable compared to other people. For example, if person B is more aggressive in one situation than person A, then in different situations, person B will always exhibit more aggressive behaviour than person A although they both exhibit different levels of aggression in different situations. Although personality psychologists are able to observe beha viour in highly controlled experimental conditions, the same cannot be done by investigative psychologists. Instead they use behavioural signatures, modus operandi, or psychological themes to determine the support of the behavioural distinctiveness and consistency assumptions which will be discussed next. Behavioural signature Hazelwood and Warren (2003) state that signatures are ritualised actions that are not necessary to commit or conceal the crime but are unique fantasies and drives of the offender to commit the crimes. These actions aid case linkage as they will be consistently exhibited in all of an offenders crimes (Hazelwood Warren, 2003). There is some evidence for the existence of signatures in serial homicide and rape (Hazelwood Warren, 2003), although there is no empirical evidence. One reason for this is that signatures may not be identified at crime scenes due to victim reactions or other situational factors (Douglas Munn, 1992). Furthermore, Labuschagne (2006) states that foraging animals and body decomposition may disrupt the crime scene. Finally, it is difficult to separate the offenders behavioural signature from the modus operandi (Hazelwood Warren, 2003). From the evidence presented above, behavioural signatures may only exist in particular types of relatively rare crimes such as fantasy-driven, interpersonal, and serial violent crimes in specific situations. Therefore there is not enough evidence to support the use of behavioural signatures to determine behavioural consistency and distinctiveness as part of case linkage for all crimes. Modus Operandi (MO) Douglas and Munn (1992) state that the MO of offenders are the behaviours that an offender exhibits to commit the crime. Although greatly used by police in the past (Douglas Munn, 1992), MOs can change over the course of a crime series (Hazelwood Warren, 2003) due to factors such as unavailability of victims, victim reactions, interruptions, education, experience, and maturation (Hazelwood Warren, 2003). Despite the above findings, depending on the MO behaviour being observed there are sufficient levels of distinctiveness and consistency to make case linkage possible beyond chance levels e.g. rape (Grubin et al., 2001) and commercial robbery (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Bennell and Jones (2005) found that although an analysis of property stolen during serial burglaries had a moderate level of linking accuracy, an analysis of distances between crimes produced much higher accuracy scores. The authors found that the closer together the burglaries, the more likely that they were committed by the same offender. Bennell and Canter (2002) have found that MOs which are brought to the scene by the offender such as where the offence took place (offender-driven) versus what was stolen (situation-driven), are the most stable and distinct. Seeing as some behaviours are more consistent and are therefore more accurate at predicting case linkage allows analysts to be more efficient in only using the most consistent behaviours and also more accurate at predicting linkage (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Psychological themes Consistency can found in an offenders crimes despite differences in MO as when using the thematic approach consistency is defined at a more general level related to the function of the behaviour as opposed to discrete behaviours. For example, Salfati and Bateman (2005) state that when an offender cuts or tortures the victim, this behaviour suggests an expressive theme and the murder was part of an emotionally fuelled assault. Whereas when the victim is sexually assaulted or the body is posed, this behaviour demonstrates an instrumental theme and the aim of the murder was to achieve sexual gratification or something else beyond the murder. The research into consistency and distinctiveness regarding psychological themes is promising (Salfati Bateman, 2005) although when more stringent criteria to assign crimes to predominant themes, the results are not as convincing (Bateman Salfati, 2007). Woodhams et al. (2007) have argued that measuring consistency using the psychological themes approach to case linkage has limited use when offenders are not able to be easily categorised into predominant themes. The authors also state that this approach may be too general to be used for identifying different offenders although it can be argued that this depends on the type of crime as it may be more applicable for rare crimes compared to more common crimes. Even though there is evidence that offenders crime series demonstrate behavioural distinctiveness and consistency as discussed above, crime analysts and police investigators may not be able to link crimes. For example, Canter et al. (1991) state that it is difficult to correctly identify crime scene behaviours appropriate for case linkage as attention may focus on behaviours that are not distinct or not stably exhibited. Methods to combat the problems of case linkage Cluster analysis, across-crime similarity coefficients, logistic regression analysis, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis are analytical strategies employed to combat the problems of the assumptions underlying the practice of case linkage. Each of these strategies will be detailed next. Cluster analysis Cluster analysis places the crimes on a plot where the shorter the distance between plots the greater the similarity there is between the crimes (Green, Booth, Biderman, 1976). The closer the crimes are together the more likely they are to be linked. The study by Green et al. (1976) found this analytical approach to be highly successful at linking the crimes of three burglars. Although there are some drawbacks to this method as it is not yet determined as to what specific distance suggests that the crimes are linked. Across-crime similarity coefficients Woodhams and Toye (2007) state that across-crime similarity coefficients quantify the degree of behavioural distinctiveness and consistency between two crimes. Woodhams and Toye (2007) used the Jaccard coefficients to see whether pairs of robbery crimes were linked based on the similarity of offence behaviours. Seeing as this coefficient ranges from 0 to 1, a large coefficient reflects a greater amount of across-crime similarity. In relation to the assumptions underlying the practice of case linkage, small similarity coefficients associated with different offender crimes suggests behavioural distinctiveness. Conversely, large similarity coefficients are associated with same offender crimes suggests consistency. Woodhams and Toye (2007) found that compared with unlinked crime pairs, linked pairs had greater similarity in behaviour exhibited between offences committed by the same criminal than between offences committed by different offenders. In addition, the difference between linked and unlinked crimes was significant for overall and within each behaviour. These findings support the offender behavioural consistency hypothesis underlying the practices of case linkage as well as offender profiling. Logistic regression analysis Bennell and Canter (2002) state that logistic regression analysis can be used to produce predicted probabilities that crime pairs are linked. This is done by combining the values of predictor variables such as across-crime similarity scores related to entry method, characteristics of the target, and the property stolen. Woodhams and Toye (2007) used logistic regression analysis to determine whether robberies were linked and produced accurate linking decisions. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis The measures of linking accuracy described above are threshold specific in that the accuracy score is only relevant when a specific decision threshold is used. To counter this problem, ROC analysis can be used in addition to these measures (Woodhams Toye, 2007). ROC analysis quantifies the level of linking accuracy associated with lining cues (inter-offence distance) or case linkage tools (e.g., cluster analysis, across-crime similarity coefficients, and logistic regression analysis). This method is not affected by the decision threshold that was used to determine whether or not the crimes were linked. Studies using ROC analysis have set suitable decision thresholds for linking purposes as well as producing valid measures of linking accuracy (e.g., Bennell Jones, 2005) demonstrating that methods such as logistic regression used in conjunction with ROC analysis can accurately link serial crimes. Offender profiling: Homology Despite different methods of profiling being multi-disciplinary and overlapping, the approaches can be segregated into three broad categories: clinical practitioner, statistical, and criminal investigative (Wilson, Lincoln, Kocsis, 1997). The FBI model is a criminal investigative approach and it is the most common. It is used in USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Holland amongst others. The work of Babcock, Boon, and Britton (Copson, Babcock, Boon, Britton, 1997) is an example of the clinical approach whereas David Canters (Canter Heritage, 1990) work is representative of the statistical approach. In the past, the FBI model has been criticised for being based upon opinion and intuition rather than fact and solid methodology which lacks the element of psychological theory (Canter Alison, 1999). Now it takes more of a scientific approach by publishing empirical findings. The clinical practitioner approach emphasises its use of psychological, psychiatric, clinical, or mental health research or knowledge. Finally, the statistical approach infers psychological processes and characteristics of offenders using the multivariate analysis of behaviour at the crime scene as well as other crime scene information (Canter Alison, 1999). Pinizzotto and Finkel (1990) state that professional profilers first assess the type of criminal act with reference to individuals who have committed similar acts previously. Then they analyze the crime scene, the victims background, and any possible suspects. Next profilers establish the possible motivations of all the individuals involved. Finally, a description of the offender is created from the characteristics identified with such a psychological disposition. Homology is an assumption that underlies the practice of offender profiling and suggests that similar offence styles are associated with similar background characteristics (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Thus offenders with similar offence behaviours have similar background characteristics. The complex relationships between a given action and a given characteristic are made to profile clusters of background features from crime scene actions to develop a psychological picture of the suspect (Alison et al., 2002). These relationships involve multivariate forms of prediction in which specific sets of actions are linked to specific sets of characteristics. Although the results of these analyses are not convincing when tested (Alison, 2002). Alison et al. (2002) state that current offender profiling methods rely on an outdated understanding of personality and the trait approach. Alison et al. (2002) found that the homology assumption is not supported as it uses global traits, or broad personality types, which are unlikely to be useful in predicting criminal behaviour. These traditional personality trait theories suggest that all offenders behaviours are affected in predictable ways (deterministic) and that behaviour remains stable despite different environmental influences (nonsituationist) (Alison et al., 2002). Furthermore, Mischel and Peake (1982) demonstrated that global trait theories fail to allow predictions of behaviour across specific situations. Alison et al. (2002) suggest that it is unlikely that the classification of offenders into broad personality types would enable the profiler to relate clusters of sociodemographic characteristics to different types. Profilers often make inferences about offender characteristics that are not appropriate for a psychological definition e.g. age, ethnicity, marital status, gender, degree of sexual maturity, and possible reactions to police questioning (Alison et al. 2002). Woodhams and Toye (2007) tested the homology assumption by identifying three different styles of robbery behaviour and investigated whether commercial robbers with different offence behaviour styles were significantly different to each another on ethnicity, employment, previous convictions, age, and distance to crime. No significant differences were found which suggests no support for the homology assumption. The homology assumption has also been investigated using regression analyses to determine if certain offence behaviours can reliably predict offender characteristics although there has been little support found for the homology assumption (Tonkin, Bond, Woodhams, 2009). For example, Mokros and Alison (2002) investigated rapists and defined homology as a positive linear relationship between the similarities of crime scene actions and similarities in background characteristics of the offenders. The researchers investigated whether similarity in personal characteristics (e.g., ethnicity, age, employment status, marital status, criminal record, and education) was correlated with similarity in offence behaviour. No linear relationships were observed with similarity in behaviour. Therefore there was no evidence found for the homology assumption. Despite this lack of evidence for the homology assumption, there has been success with homicide (Salfati Canter, 1999), burglary, assault, robbery, actual bodily harm and violent disorder (Farrington Lambert, 2000), and sexual assault (Santtila, Ritvanen, Mokros, 2004) offences at determining offender characteristics from crime scene behaviour. In summary, using bivariate predictive analyses, relationships between specific characteristics and actions have been found (Aitken et al., 1996) although it has been argued that these are simplistic compared to the profiles that have been produced over the years (e.g. Pinizzotto Finkel, 1990). Alison et al. (2002) state that a direct link between offence behaviour and offender characteristics is unlikely to exist because of the influence of the situation effecting offence behaviour. In addition, the authors state that profilers often make inferences regarding offender characteristics (e.g., gender, ethnicity, and age) from behaviour that is not appropriate according to Bem and Allens (1974) personality theory. Therefore, the research into the homology assumption has been less supportive (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Interestingly, there have been many reviews of profiling based on the opinions of detectives about the usefulness of the advice that they received, the overall opinion was th at the advice was of use (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Methods to combat the problems of offender profiling and case linkage A method to combat the problems of the assumptions underlying the practice of offender profiling and case linkage is for police forces to enter crime scene information (including motivational and behavioural characteristics) into databases. The Violent Crime Case linkage System (ViCLAS: Collins, Johnson, Choy, Davidson, Mackay, 1998) is the most popular of the databases and was first used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to profile offenders and identify serial offenders. This system can record 200 items of information from each crime scene which analysts can search when a new crime is committed. This system is widely used in the UK and assists offender profiling as well as case linkage by providing a way to manage the mass of information although there is little research on its effectiveness. Beauregard (2005) states sharing information between investigators and researchers is a way to develop offender profiling as it standardises data reliability. Alison et al. (2004) state that this pragmatic profiling (sharing information, investigative advice, and profiles) is the way forward for profiling and case linkage. Yokota, Fujita, Watanabe, Yoshimoto, and Wachi (2007) have even developed a computerised profiling system that takes in the details of an offence and produces the offender characteristics. Finally, Alison et al. (2002) suggest that a theoretical framework that emphasizes the importance of Person X Situation interactions in generating behaviour may be more productive. Recent research by Goodwill and Alison (2007) has included these aspects into predictive analysis of offender characteristics from crime scene information and stated that the relationship between offender characteristics and the crime scene may be influenced by other aspects of the crime. Therefore, using the contemporary trait perspective would include contextual details that effect behaviour and thus make inferences from crime scene behaviours more valid and useful. Conclusion In summary, there is evidence highlighting problems with the consistency, homology, and behavioural distinctiveness assumptions underlying the practices of offender profiling and case linkage. Regarding offender profiling, ignoring contextual and situational variables of offending makes homology and consistency unreliable and possibly invalid. The simple behaviour and characteristics approach to offender profiling is not adequate. It may be argued that a significant component of offender profiling is based on intuition rather than scientific research (Pinizzotto Finkel, 1990). On conclusion of the evidence for homology, the practice of offender profiling does not include current psychological theory and therefore would not be appropriate for use in court as expert witness evidence. The homology assumption has not seen as much research as the behavioural consistency and distinctiveness assumptions. There is greater support for the consistency and distinctiveness assumptions underlyin g the practice of case linkage when additional measures are used to improve validity and usefulness. Methods to improve the practices of case linkage and offender profiling include the use of databases, pragmatic profiling, and automation. Methods to improve case linkage include cluster analysis, across-crime similarity coefficients, and logistic regression analysis. These analytical techniques improve the practices of case linkage and offender profiling as they are able to accurately handle large amounts of data. The drawback to many of these approaches is that they do not specifically state what probability level should be used to determine whether or not crimes and behaviours are linked. These measures of linking accuracy are threshold specific in that the accuracy score can only relevant when a specific decision threshold is used. To counter this flaw, ROC analysis has proven to accurately link crimes when used in conjunction with these methods. It is important to have valid assumptions underlying the practices of case linkage and offender profiling as incorrect advice could mislead a police investigation and be costly in financial and human terms. Greater research is desperately needed into the effectiveness of the use of databases to assist case linkage and offender profiling. These databases are in widespread use despite a lack of research on their effectiveness. Word Count: 3814