How to Write a Report

The most effective method to Write a Report The most effective method to Write a Report The most effective method to Write a Report By Mark Nichol Almost certainly, sooner or later in your profession, you will be asked or feel constrained to compose a report. Here are seven stages to creating an effective record or examination. 1. Distinguish the report’s objective: Inform, or prompt? In the event that the previous, foresee, or audit? On the off chance that the last mentioned, convince, or deter? 2. Think about your crowd: Are your perusers specialists, or laypeople? Is it true that they are individual workers, or partners in a similar calling or industry? Consider their instructive level and their commonality with the topic to manage your composing style and your utilization and elucidation of particular jargon. 3. Research your theme. On the off chance that you have been alloted the report, be certain the individual you got the task from has completely advised you on its objective and its extension. In the event that you are starting the report yourself, once more, be certain you know those parameters. At that point, talk with different partners those whose work depends on the spread of such reports and approach any specialists you know for counsel before examining print, on the web, and other media sources and gathering information. 4. Utilizing this data, produce a first draft. Audit it to find out whether you have secured all the appropriate focuses and whether the report addresses questions or potentially settle concerns intrinsic in the theme. Change as vital. 5. In the event that it your obligation to organize the report and there is no layout, look into compelling report structure on the web and join the standards as well as could be expected; be that as it may, don’t become occupied by this period of the venture or let configuration overpower the substance. A fresh, clean introduction with an appealing format is adequate, yet plan how to utilize realistic data and how to underscore key focuses with typographic treatment. 6. Ask partners or other proficient partners to evaluate the most recent draft and note any corrections they recommend embeddings or erasing areas or subtleties, redesigning the structure, explaining your contention or your perspective, etc. 7. Produce an amended rendition, step away from it as your calendar permits, and afterward artfulness it to make a last draft. On the off chance that altering as well as editing are not built up stages in the report’s improvement, in any event ask somebody whose aptitudes you trust to check for mistakes, and fuse the progressions before presenting the report. Need to improve your English quickly a day? Get a membership and begin accepting our composing tips and activities every day! Continue learning! Peruse the Business Writing class, check our famous posts, or pick a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictOwing to versus Due toLetter Writing 101

Mt Saint Helans Essays - Volcanology, Cascade Volcanoes, Free Essays

Mt Saint Helans Essays - Volcanology, Cascade Volcanoes, Free Essays Mt Saint Helans Mount St. Helens Area: Washington, United States Scope: 46.20 N Longitude: 122.18 W tallness: 2,549 meters or 8,364 feet - 9,677 feet before May 18, 1980 Type: Stratovolcano Number of ejections in recent years: 2-3 Most recent Eruptions: Between 1660-1700, around 1800-1802, 1831, 1835, 1842-1844, 1847-1854, 1857, 1980-? Present warm action: solid steaming Epithet: Mount Fuji of the West Comments: constant irregular movement since 1980 with periodic ejections of steam and debris; incidental pyroclastic streams; discontinuous vault framing. MSH is viewed as a youthful fountain of liquid magma that created in the course of the most recent 40,000 years and is one of the most dynamic volcanoes in the Cascade Range. Geologists anticipated that the well of lava would eject before the year 2000. The May 18, 1980 ejection of Mount SH was the most dangerous throughout the entire existence of the United States. Very quickly, MSH caused loss of lives and across the board annihilation of important property in view of the torrential slide, sidelong impact and mudflows. On March 20, 1980, beginning with a seismic tremor that was trailed by numerous others, MSH became dynamic again after a tranquil time of 123 years. On March 27, 1980, there was a colossal blast and MSH started blowing debris and steam. This went on until May 14, 1980. The blast in March opened up two cavities that immediately became one immense hole. While this was going on, a colossal lump on the north side of the peak showed up. It developed around six feet every day. Geologist continued estimating the lump, recording the seismic tremors and examining the debris and gases. By May, the lump was 300 feet wide and more than one mile long. On May 18 at 8:32 in the first part of the day, Mount St.. Helens emitted taking the best 1,200 feet off the well of lava. The ejection went on until dusk. The territory of annihilation was 230 square miles and was perhaps the biggest avalanche at any point recorded ever. The impact was gone before by two months of extreme action that included more than 10,000 tremors, many little phreatic (steam impacts) , blasts and the north side lump. An extent 5.1 tremor underneath the well of lava at 8:32 am begun the ejection. MSH is as yet a possibly perilous and dynamic spring of gushing lava despite the fact that it has hushed up since 1995. Over the most recent 515 years there have been four significant emissions and many lesser ejections. Two of the ejections were just two years separated. In 1480, the ejection was around multiple times bigger than the one in May 1980. There have been significantly bigger emissions during MSH' multi year lifetime. After the May 18, 1980 emission, there have been five littler touchy ejections over a multi month time frame. From that point forward, there have been 16 arch structure emissions through October 1986 when the new vault in the hole was shaped. As the mountain was torn open, the weight in inside was out of nowhere diminished. The stone broke inside the mountain was burst out the top at speeds more than 200 miles for each hour. The impact was solid to such an extent that it leveled entire woodland of fir trees. Geologist call this a stone breeze since the breezes conveyed the stones structure the impact with them. The stones gave the breezes additional power that let them smooth the trees. 150 square miles of land was leveled. The edges of this region additionally lost their forested territories from the warmth of the impact and the flames it caused. The first impact of the well of lava just kept going 10 to 15 minutes. It immediately fired up once more. A foreboding shadow of debris and gases went up for a significant distance into the sky and spread for a significant distance toward each path, however for the most part eastbound. Backwoods fires broke out all over. After adjoin four hours, the shade of the debris turned out to be a lot lighter since the well of lava was presently tossing out new magma rather than old stone. The temperature of the volcanic stream was roughly 1000 degrees and was voyaging amazingly fast....about 100 miles for each hour. The volcanic streams went on until late toward the evening. These streams set off a torrential slide. The torrential slide poured rocks, tress and earth into close by Spirit Lake and afterward descending to the valley of the North Fork of Toutle River. The ice and snow tops that dissolved caused mudflows. The mud went down a similar way. It was extraordinarily damaging.

How to Get Your Own Scholarship Essay Sample

How to Get Your Own Scholarship Essay SampleIn this article, we will discuss some of the interesting problems that have been faced by students and writers when it comes to submitting their very own scholarship essay samples. There are a lot of ideas that you can use in order to get better results. Below are some of them that will help you get started.Write an essay: It may sound difficult but you can really make it easy. The easiest way is to read some articles that are relevant to your topic. What you want to do is to write an essay that you feel is easy for you. Once you have that, submit the sample to your potential donor as long as you have their permission.Write a thesis: You might be surprised at how good you can write if you simply use words that you know and love. If you have trouble writing, you may want to consider reading up on some good writers and finding out how they managed to be successful. And it's just as easy to use words that are related to your topic.Writing a gr ant application essays: While writing a grant application essay, you have to make sure that you will actually get grants. Although you may be aware of this, there are a lot of people who are still struggling to get one. You don't want to end up wasting your time. This is why you should be willing to write a complete thesis.Fill in the blank: So, how do you fill in the blank? One of the best ways to do this is to take the content of a news article and create your own version. Once you do this, you will be able to submit it to the right place. Since there are many sources of news and internet sites that are found online, this is a perfect way to make sure that you won't be rejected.Study up: One of the things that will make it possible for you to get the sample scholarship essay that you need is to study up on the subject. Of course, you will not be able to get all the information that you need from the internet. When it comes to getting scholarships, you need to keep studying. By doi ng this, you can find all the answers that you need.Using these tips on how to submit a sample scholarship essay samples will help you get the right advice and ideas. All you have to do is to follow the instructions given to you will get better results. And it doesn't matter if you think that you are not good at writing.

Southern Slavery And Its Impact On American Society

During early 19th century, the entrenchment of Southern slavery, there was discussion between planters who benefitted from it and abolitionists who fought against it. Most Americans, especially those in Southern states, understood that slavery system could not help parting from their economic and social system. Southern slavery system brought big economical benefits. However, it negatively influenced American society as a whole rather that positively. Southern economy was the center of plantation that cultivated cotton. Many the rich started to carve the plantation to earn money by exporting cotton. They needed a lot of labor and slavery was proper to use. The majority of white southerners did not own slaves because planters monopolized the best land. They could not help taking possession of the land that was not proper to cultivate cotton. Most of them earned a living by self-sufficiency even though the slave population was growing: from 697,624 in 1790 to 3,953,760 in 1860. Southern slavery was based on paternalism to justify the brutal reality of slavery, in which slaveholding gentlemen took personal responsibility for the physical and moral well being of their dependents – women, children, and slaves. The slave owner demanded unquestioning obedience from their dependents and intended to make them perfectly dependent to the white man. Most planters lived on their plantation with compelling strict order. Without the owner’s permission, slavesShow MoreRelatedSlavery And Its Impact On The United States986 Words   |  4 PagesSlavery dates back to as early as 1760 BC. It is defined as the condition of a slave; in bondage. A slave is a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another; a bond servant. It fiendishly raised its repugnant head amongst many cultures and nations around the world. Many people viewed slavery as immoral and some viewed it as a necessary evil. However evil, it may have been, it did have a tremendous impac t on shaping the United States, particularly the South. From the period of 1800 toRead MoreLEQ1206 Words   |  5 Pagesdevelopment of the Atlantic slave trade and the time period right after its introduction and assess the impact of its emergence. To what extent did African slavery change American society? You may want to consider social, economic, and geographical. Prior to the Atlantic slave trade, the arable land along the South Atlantic seaboard were owned by wealth landowners and farmed primarily by either Native American slaves or white indentured servants. Beginning in the late 16th century and becoming ever moreRead MoreThe Labor System Of Slavery Transformed The South During The Eighteenth Century967 Words   |  4 PagesPrompt:The labor system of slavery transformed the South during the eighteenth century. Discuss the impact of slavery on the economy of the South, as well as its impact on southern society and politics. In the 18th century the population of British America skyrocketed from 250,000 to more than two million, a great deal of this population increase was because of the increasing slave population and the slave natural increase (pg 107). As opposed to the century before when slaves were scarce, thereRead MoreAmerican Civil War Research Paper1118 Words   |  5 PagesThe deadliest war in American history is known as the American Civil War killing nearly 620,000 soldiers and a mass amount of civilians. The War Between the States was fought between Southern slave states and the United States federal government. Southern states formed a group called the Confederacy, which went against the beliefs of the Union. Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America and Abraham Lincoln sought different views on slavery. Lincoln believed that all slaves should beRead MoreThe Second American Revolution891 Words   |  4 PagesThe Second American Revolution Thesis Statement â€Å"The Civil War may also be termed as the second American Revolution in terms of the political, social and economic changes that occurred during the war† Introduction American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. The war began because President Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was very persistent on preserving the Union, which was threatened by the issue of slavery. The North was growing rapidly in wealth and population, and it was clear toRead MoreThe American Dream And Its Reality For Minority Americans903 Words   |  4 Pagestimes, Americans have always been determined to improve themselves both economically and socially. Even today, we are attempting to make society better by extending marriage rights to homosexuals and arguing the merits of flying the Confederate Battle flag over government buildings in non-historical situations. At the same time, concerns such as the impact of the Greek economic collapse on American business and the long-term cost of the Office of Personnel Management s data breech impact our beliefRead MoreThe Second American Revolution901 Words   |  4 PagesThe Second American Revolution Thesis Statement â€Å"The Civil War may also be termed as the second American Revolution in terms of the political, social and economic changes that occurred during the war† Introduction American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. The war began because President Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was very persistent on preserving the Union, which was threatened by the issue of slavery. The North was growing rapidly in wealth and population, and it was clearRead MoreSlavery And The American Economy1284 Words   |  6 PagesSlavery spans to nearly every culture, nationally, and religion and from ancient times to the present day. Slavery was a legal institution in which humans were legally considered property of another. In the 18th century, new ideas of human rights and freedom emerged out of the European Enlightenment stretching across the Americas and Europe. By the era of the American Revolution, the belief that slavery was wrong and would ultimately have to be abolished was widespread, in both the Americas and northernRead MoreSlavery And Its Effects On Society1440 Words   |  6 PagesSlavery spans to nearly every culture, nationality, and religion and f rom ancient times to the present day. Slavery was a legal institution in which humans were legally considered property of another. Slaves were brought to the American colonies, and were utilized in building the economic foundations of the new world. In the 18th century, new ideas of human rights and freedom emerged out of the European Enlightenment stretching across the Americas and Europe. By the era of the American RevolutionRead MoreEssay about President Abraham Lincoln1151 Words   |  5 PagesAmerica had led to a split between the Northern and Southern states. During the Antebellum period, the North became more industrialized as the South increased its agricultural production. The two sections developed differing economies and ideas and by April 14, 1861, at Fort Sumter, the tensions came to a head as the American Civil War began. Skillfully guiding the nation through this time of hardship and considered one of the greatest presidents in American history, Abraham Lincoln left a legacy that lives

Ilab Week 6 Math 221 Essay - 818 Words

Elementary Statistics iLab Week 6 Statistical Concepts: * Data Simulation * Discrete Probability Distribution * Confidence Intervals Calculations for a set of variables Mean Median 3.2 3.5 4.5 5.0 3.7 4.0 3.7 3.0 3.1 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.1 3.0 3.6 3.0 3.8 4.0 2.6 2.0 4.3 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.3 3.5 4.1 4.5 4.2 5.0 2.9 2.5 3.5 4.0 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.0 3.3 4.0 Calculating Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics: Mean, Median Variable N N* Mean SE Mean StDev Minimum Q1 Median Q3 Maximum Mean 20 0 3.560 0.106 0.476 2.600 3.225 3.550 3.775 4.500 Median 20 0 3.600 0.169 0.754 2.000 3.000 3.500 4.000 5.000 Calculating Confidence Intervals for†¦show more content†¦The mean for the column â€Å"mean† is 3.56. It is very close to the parameter of interest but is not equal to it. You can calculate a confidence interval for the mean of the mean column, but a specific confidence interval would need to be provided. In that case, the confidence interval would be centered on 3.56, not 3.5. | 4. Give the mean for the median column of the Worksheet. Is this estimate centered about the parameter of interest (the parameter of interest is the answer for the mean in question 2) The mean for the median column is 3.6, which is close to the mean in question 2 but not as close as the answer in question 3. | 5. Give the standard deviation for the mean and median column. Compare these and be sure to identify which has the least variability? Standard Deviation of Mean= 0.4762Standard Deviation of Median= 0.7539The standard deviation of the Mean is smaller, which means all of the data points will tend to be very close to the Mean. The Median with a larger Standard Deviation will tend to have data points spread out over a large range of values. Since the Mean has the smaller value of the Standard Deviations, it has the least variability. | 6. Based on questions 3, 4, and 5 is the mean or median a better estimate for the parameter of interest? Explain your reasoning. The Mean seems to be the better estimate asShow MoreRelatedMath 221 Complete Course2525 Words   |  11 PagesMATH 221 COMPLETE COURSE A+ Graded Tutorial Available At: http://hwsoloutions.com/?product=math-221-complete-course Visit Our website: http://hwsoloutions.com/ Product Description PRODUCT DESCRIPTION MATH 221 COMPLETE COURSE, Discussions Week 1 Descriptive Statistics (graded) If you were given a large data set such as the sales over the last year of our top 1,000 customers, what might you be able to do with this data? What might be the benefits of describing the data? Week 2 Regression

Project Management International Conference on System

Question: Delivering successful projects is increasingly becoming a daunting task for most of the organisations that work on projects that deliver strategic, business and operational outcomes. Today there are many project management practices in use by project managers depending on the industry, organisation and its culture, in order to deliver project successfully. PRINCE2 is claimed to be a rapidly growing project management practice used internationally and specially in the UK Government sector, to manage projects regardless of its type and size. (PRINCE2.com) Task 01 (60 Marks) Select an organisation that has a implemented a successful Project Management Methodology and critically evaluate the process related to the following areas of Project Management: Project Selection Management of the Triple Constraints Risk Management Your answer should explain the practices, tools and techniques used and should be elaborated with suitable and relevant sample artefacts. Task 02 (40 Marks) Critically evaluate the PRINCE2 methodology against Waterfall and Agile methodologies and assess its suitability in using to manage and successfully deliver projects in Sri Lanka. Answer: 1: Project Selection The case study selected for the task is Portbase. This case has been selected for the reason that this is a very huge project, which has been built and developed based on the traditional Waterfall project management methodologies. The project has been working for longer period of time and has been experiencing various stages of positive and negative. Eventually, the management and administration has decided to transition the methodology to a new one, which has more Agility. The Portbase is a natural and reliable hub that is located through the Dutch ports for the logistic information necessary. It is the port-transcending Port Community System that has been developed to benefit the companies with many services that are intelligent for exchange of information between both the public and private sectors as also the companies. The project allows the optimization of the logistic processes by the participants, for the competitive position to be improved (Bannink, 2012). The non-profit organization works as non-profit organization and also serves for the port community. Portbase has been serving over 10,000 end users in over 2300 companies, through over the services of about 42. The project has been facing many challenges with the Waterfall methods, with which it has been operating. The Portbase project is developed with the methodology called Waterfall. There are many challenges that have been faced by the organization, from the Waterfall methodology. The waterfall method has been a viable project management methodology, when the project was developed initially. At the point of time, this methodology was considered as a standard methodology and eventually, the same methodology had been selected. However, in the later stages, the problems and challenges associated with the methodologies have been discovered. Though Waterfall methodology is completed structure methodology, certain challenges have been resulting and it even demanded to transition the project towards the Agile management methodology (Bannink, 2012). The following are the challenges of the project, being used by the Waterfall project management methodologies. Triple Budget Constraint The project has gone through many issues, in terms of time management. The reason is that the Waterfall method has the process, in such a way that the final product or outcome can be checked only at the end of the project. If there are any errors or missing of the features and any incompleteness, the process has to be started overall again. Eventually, the overall design and development tasks would be delayed and consume a lot of time. When the entire process has to be repeated, the overall budget or cost of the project has also been increasing to an extent that there will be no surprise if the budget is doubled or even more that. Challenges of delayed design Since, the entire process is completely structured, where each and every process is to be executed only one after the other, the process of design has taken the time, than the expected time. It is because of the major flaw associated with the methodology (Hajjdiab, et al., 2012). The result, which is the outcome after the ending stages of the process, may or may not meet the expectations or the objectives defined, at the time of commencement of the project. At that point of time, the result may need to modify, as there may be new developments or there may be new challenges that could be discovered, as the time goes on. The Waterfall methodology does not give any opportunity for the project manager or the team of the project to assess the quantity and quality of the result of the outcome, during the design and development of the product. If the challenges and developments are discovered after testing of the product at the end of the methodology, it would be disappointing for the team of the project. When the deviations are minor, the customer or sponsor may get compromised with the unsatisfied product. However, if the deviation is long and does not give the result as expected and does not fulfil the object of the project, it is definitely going to make a tedious challenge for the project team. Eventually, the correction and development of the objective of the product is going to take, almost double the time and duration of the project. If the final product after the development during the repetition of the product, it has been taking more than double the time of the project. Doubling the time or eve n more would make the resources to be wasted and it will have a definite and huge impact over the budget and resource allocation for the project. Risk Management The project is huge and involves thousands of customers from hundreds of companies. The risk management involves anticipation or prediction of the possible risks, associated with the hub. The risks are more of physical and eventually, they do have influence over the health and welfare of the employees, resulting in massive losses to the company and eventually over the reputation of the company. Poor communication, between the control of perception and phases Another major problem associated with the Portbase project development is the hierarchy and the level of communication among various levels of the management. The middle and upper level managements follow the approach of the command and control, would give least powers and privileges to the team of development of the product. It eventually, gives a lot of pressure ot the team of the project and they have not been able to take any decisions independently, even though there is a minor change proposed (Hajjdiab, et al., 2012). The protocol is completely designed and developed by only the management and the workforce or the team of the project would be left with the only option of following the commands. This kind of command and control approach involved in the Waterfall management methodology, would primarily effect the communication between the management and the members of the team. The communication here is made almost from one way, rather than two ways (Mahalakshmi Sundararajan, 2013). The Portbase project eventually, has taken a decision to transition the project management methodology from Waterfall to the new and modern methodologies that have been proven working better (Mahalakshmi Sundararajan, 2013). 2: Project Management Methodologies PRINCE2 Project Management Methodology PRICE2 is an acronym for the projects IN Controlled Environments and is developed in the UK. The methodology consists of six variables, timescales, risk, quality, benefits and scope. The methodologies include the focus and approach on stakeholder involvement, control through review, and business involvement right from the initiation till the end of the project with continuous and consistent improvement (Reid Amy, 2013). The design of PRINCE2 roles is very specific in design that includes customers, management, suppliers and other stakeholders. Relevance of Methodologies There is a perception in the project management methodologies that PRINCE2 is based on the approach of the traditional waterfall, where the waterfall approach was considered to be a good and standard for the project and software development. In the same way, Agile approach is also a relevant approach to PRINCE2. So, eventually, a new approach called PRINCE2 Agile has been developed, as an extension to PRINCE2. It is an indication of the modernization of the PRINCE2, which is variant deviation from the waterfall method. In a nutshell, PRINCE2 had been synonymous to Waterfall method and now has been associating and integrating with the Agile method, because of its flexibility and application that suits to the modern complex business project management. PRINCE2 is more about associating with the process. It is more of a linear structure that starts from the starting up a project, initiating project, managing the delivery of project, having the necessary stage boundaries and finally closing the project towards handing the business for its operations. Figure: PRINCE2 Project Management Methodology Source: Zen Ex Machine 2013 According to the expert and the project management body opinion, this process is more describes more of the waterfall approach to the execution of the project. This perception is because of the following factors. A stage of PRINCE2 is equivalent to the stage of Waterfall There would be a stage for each of the processes of analysis, development, design and testing The project needs to be locked down, before the design is moved towards development and comprehensively complete the a detailed set of the proposed requirements Waterfall method is usually assumed to be suitable for the larger projects to manage and develop. And it is not quite suitable for the smaller projects. When it comes to the Agile method, it is suitable for more of small size projects, instead of the larger projects. PRINCE2, has built the perception that this methodology is more suitable for the larger projects and inappropriate for the smaller projects (Reid Amy, 2013), is suitable for small projects too. It is because of the perception that the smaller projects would be inappropriate, as the methodology needs longer process in the development of the logs, lists, registers and documents. However, according to the OGC (Office for Government Commerce) in the UK, THE PRINCE2 processes can be tailored and more importantly can be scalable to implement for smaller to larger projects, so that it can be made suitable for various unique requirements and projects in various environment. With no tailoring of the processes, which are needed for the project to adapt quickly for varied environments, needs of the user, business and systems, the project will become bogged down in reporting, red tape, committee meeting and approval processes that are lengthy, which would paralyse instead, than enabling the projects quickly to act to move towards the direction of change. Such difficulty could enable to adapt to change would ultimately stands as a primary reason for the failure of the Waterfall methodology. The same reason, the project management methodology, PRINCE2 is enabled to be implemented in UK, UK and in Sri Lanka. Figure: Waterfall and Agile Project successes and failures Combining Prince2 And Agile PRINCE2 can be made flexible and scalable based on the application of the project management methodology, PRINCE2. This is the characteristic, which is close to Agile, which is flexible and iterative process. So, integration of the PRINCE2 and Agile is considered to be more effective. The key considered for unlocking the PRINCE2 methodology with the Agile is towards using it in the stage of the Management Product Delivery (Reid Amy, 2013). Agile processes help the project team to focus intensively, over the delivery of each of the Sprint that would coincide the requirements of management reporting of PRINCE2 and committee meeting cycles of the project. Here, the opportunities and potentials that would render better outcomes and results, from the integration of the PRINCE2 and Agile to some extent. Project Plan Stage Plans Work Packages Lessons Learned Reporting The PRINCE2, as opposed to the perception of application to only larger projects, it can be utilized to a better extent, to move towards the Agile, from the inherent similarities of the Waterfall methodology (Reid Amy, 2013). References: Bannink, S, Challenges in the Transition from Waterfall to Scrum A Casestudy at Portbase, University of Twente. Friis, D., Ostergaard, J. Sutherland, J. 2011 Virtual Reality Meets Scrum: How a Senior Team Moved from Management to Leadership. In Proceedings of the 2011 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) Guidelines for Managing Projects (fully consistent with PRINCE2)from the UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Hajjdiab, H., Taleb, A. S. Ali, J 2012, An Industrial Case Study for Scrum Adoption. Journal of Software Karhatsu, H., Ikonen, M., Kettunen, P., Fagerholm, F. Abrahamsson, P 2010, Building blocks for self-organizing software development teams a framework model and empirical pilot study. In Proceedings of the 2010 2nd International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering (ICSTE) Mahalakshmi, M. Sundararajan, D. 2013, Traditional SDLC Vs Scrum MethodologyA Comparative Study. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Marchenko, A. Abrahamsson, P 2008, Scrum in a Multiproject Environment: An Ethnographically- Inspired Case Study on the Adoption Challenges. In Proceedings of the Agile, 2008. AGILE '08. Conference. OGC (Office of Government Commerce), 2009, Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2(2009 ed.). TSO (The Stationery Office) Overhage, S., Schlauderer, S., Birkmeier, D. Miller, J. 2011, What Makes IT Personnel Adopt Scrum? A Framework of Drivers and Inhibitors to Developer Acceptance. In Proceedings of the 2011 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) Reid, Amy, 2013 "Capita acquires majority stake in ITIL and PRINCE2".Association for project management. International project management association Sumrell, M. 2007, From waterfall to agile-how does a QA team transition? In Proceedings of the Agile Conference (AGILE), IEEE Winston, R 1970, Managing the development of large software systems. IEEE WESCON Zen Ex Machine, 2013, PRINCE2 Processes Vs. Agile Development Methodologies, viewed 19 July 2016, https://zenexmachina.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/prince2-processes-vs-agile-development-methodologies/f

Mental Imagery as a Form of Mental Rehearsal

Introduction – What is Mental Imagery Mental imagery can be defined as a form of mental rehearsal wherein an individual visualizes an action or an event and then subsequently practices the motions within his/her mind in order to better understand how to perform that type of action within a given situation, all of this in absence of actual physical exertion (Menzies, 2004).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Mental Imagery as a Form of Mental Rehearsal specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The practice of mental imagery has made several claims over the past few years which consist of supposed improvements in performance, energy, technique, motivation and the overall enjoyment that an athlete can derive from the sport that they are in (Eddy. 2003). Advocates of the technique claim that given enough time and practice, an athlete will be able to determine what mistakes he/she has made in previous games and, a s a result, can practice within his/her own mind in order to determine what to do right next time (Sargent, 2002). Skeptics of mental imagery argue that while understanding what is needed to be done during a performance is important as well as avoiding past mistakes the fact remains that the same results claimed by mental imagery can be achieved through physical exertion and training without the necessity of visualization in order to achieve a particular action. For such individuals, actually performing an action repeatedly is far better than thinking about it visually since through repeated physical action, muscle memory comes into play resulting in the almost â€Å"instinctive† rapid fire actions that players can accomplish during the heat of the moment of a game wherein split second decision making is necessary. Such a level of game play it is argued can only be achieved through constant and repetitive physical practice and it has been proven through solid, observable and measurable scientific data that such a method is an effective means of improving and boosting athletic performance. In the case of mental imagery, one of the primary arguments against it is the fact that there have been no conclusive studies which have showed solid evidence regarding its positive attributes since it is impossible to truly derive statistical data at the present from the thoughts of athletes and whether mental imagery actually results in better performance rates as compared to merely just practicing continuously.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Mental Imagery and Athletic Performance One of the main problems in resolving the debate regarding the impact of mental imagery on athletic performance is the fact that no conclusive studies can actually be created that can measure the impact â€Å"visualization† has on completing a set of actions since humanity has yet to develop the technology to be able to read the human thought process. It is based on this that when trying to determine the worth of visualization the following examination will utilize anecdotal evidence derived from a variety of studies and accounts that should provide a sufficient overview as to whether mental imagery is worthless or is actually an effective means of boosting athletic performance. One of the first theoretical guides in examining the worth of mental imagery is neuromuscular theory which specifically states that the neuromuscular pattern associated with a particular movement in a sport can actually be â€Å"excited† or rather activated through imagery as well thus facilitating the process of trial and error that comes with repeated practice of a specific skill. The basis of this particular theory can be seen in studies such as those by Knà ¤uper (2009) which show that the activation of neurotransmitters associated with a particular action do not n ecessarily need to rely on performing an action but can actually be accomplished by thinking of the action itself (Knà ¤uper, 2009). As such, it is theorized that the act of constant visualization would be the same as training those very same neurotransmitters as if the athlete was performing the actions using his/her body. The inherent problem with this particular theory is that while it does indicate that the same neurotransmitters are activated during periods of visualization such studies neglect to determine the transmission level. Transmission levels can be indicative of the amount of â€Å"activity† within a particular neural cluster; while it may be true that the transmitters are active if there is little in the way of actual neural activity this is indicative of an inferior means of training which would have little to no impact on actual performance during an event. Another way of looking at the supposed â€Å"benefits† of mental imagery can be seen in the att ention arousal theory presented in studies such as those by Ozel (2004). Ozel (2004) indicates that prior to a particular sporting event athletes who use mental imagery can â€Å"psyche themselves up† so to speak in terms of achieving an appropriate level of readiness for a particular event (Ozel, 2004).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Mental Imagery as a Form of Mental Rehearsal specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This can involve mentally preparing themselves for the event by envisioning the steps they must do, the actions they have to accomplish and how they are to do so. What must be understood is that a variety of studies, such as those by Gregg (2007), indicate that one of the primary problems associated with athletic performance prior to an event is when they develop a case of nervousness (Gregg, 2007). In such instances, this particular mental state actually freezes up muscles resulting in d ecreased performance. If an athlete is able to achieve an astounding degree of performance within a controlled environment yet is unable to perform to such a degree within a competitive setting, then for all intents and purposes, such an athlete is considered subpar since statistics mean nothing if victory cannot be achieved. As such, advocates of mental imagery state that by helping an athlete ease into an event by helping them imagine what needs to be done and how to accomplish it this in effect boosts an athlete’s performance since it gets rid of the associated feelings related to nervousness. Krendl (2012) gives a more detailed account of this particular phenomena by explaining that an individual’s performance during a sporting event is at times dictated not through physical ability alone but the attitude they bring to the game (Krendl, 2012). This is in line with the self efficacy theory which states that through self imagery, an athlete is able to subsequently vi sualize victory and as a result brings a positive degree of performance to the game through a certain degree of confidence in being able to win. While all of these accounts have so far shown the positive effects of mental imagery in athletic performance the fact remains that they are in fact considered anecdotal and inconsequential in the face of sustained scientific inquiry due to the fact that all of the data acquired based on the theories presented is in fact through the verbal accounts of athletes which in itself is an insufficient method of deriving a conclusion from an examination that is meant to measure performance levels and not the way in which athletes can describe them. What is needed are cold hard facts that can be examined statistically, unfortunately, such data cannot be provided since the supposed â€Å"positive† effects of mental imagery are in the thoughts of the athlete which at the present cannot be accessed or measured.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Muscle Memory One of the views against the effectiveness of mental imagery are those focusing on the concept of muscle memory and how such a process produces a measurable and above all effective response in athletes as compared to the purely mental process that is mental imagery. Muscle memory can be described as a form of movement that has been repeated over and over again by the body that the end result is no longer a long and protracted effort by the mind in communicating what needs to be done when it comes to a particular bodily set of actions rather the result is the creation of an immediate response mechanism wherein the action follows through smoothly based on environmental data and how the body was taught to respond to a particular set of â€Å"triggers†. By developing this particular set of ingrained muscular movements, this creates a far faster response mechanism which creates an observable and measurable performance increase in athletes that participate in particul ar sporting events. This is one of the reasons why studies such as those by Young (n.d.) indicate that the constant practicing conducted by coaches is not just a means of getting an individual or team to anticipate the possible strategies that the opposing team will attempt but it acts as a means of further enhancing the muscle memory associated with such activities which would enable an athlete to not only perform to an adequate set of standards but exceed them since they can think of possible counter strategies while in the â€Å"heat of the moment† instead of merely concentrating on how to perform a particular action (Young, N.D.). In fact, the study of LeBoutillier (2003) considers the process of mental imagery during practice sessions to actually be detrimental towards athletic performance since it creates a habit of constant visualization which would get in the way of actual performance (LeBoutillier, 2003). What must be understood is that muscle performance is just one facet of the way in which the body adapts to certain actions, events and stressors. Cox (2010) explains that the body and the mind has a habit of internalizing certain actions and making them into habits which become so ingrained into a person’s daily routine and way of thinking that it becomes almost impossible to extricate such an action from an individual’s daily processes (Cox, 2010). For example, a person may develop the daily habit of drinking coffee in the morning, exercising in the afternoon, or pausing to consider what to say while having a conversation. Such habits are not limited to daily nuances but actually extend into an athlete’s method of performing a particular action such as a player developing the ingrained habit of dodging to the left every time someone comes to tackle him due to repetitive instructions to always dodge towards the left during practice. Unfortunately, not all ingrained habitual behavior can be considered positive and, in the case of mental imagery, it was seen that the constant reference to visualization before performing an action actually resulted in a continued ingrained habit which affected athletic performance. What must be understood is that the main purpose of developing muscle memory is so that an athlete will react automatically to a plethora of given situations without actually thinking. Studies such as those by Salka Jr. (2010) reveal that higher level critical thinking associated with imagination, visualization and interpretation actually has a significant â€Å"lag period† between thinking of a particular action and the body actually performing it (Salka Jr.,2010). While it may be true that higher level cognitive processes are an effective means of devising strategies and interpreting the actions that are occurring at the present within a game, the fact remains that there is an inherent limit in the ability of the mind and body to develop the information, process it and then translat e it into an effective physical motion. As such, lower level automatic processes (i.e. the commands related to walking, eating, moving etc.) that govern muscle memory are far more effective when it comes to sporting events since the mind doesn’t necessarily need to â€Å"think† to accomplish a certain set of actions that have become so ingrained into the muscle memory that they do not even have to be thought at all in order to be completed. As such, it based on this particular example that it can be seen that mental imagery when compared to the muscle memory can be considered as nothing more than an ineffective form of interference that would cause performance issues during a match since their habit of visualization would interfere with the process of automatic motion based on muscle memory. Mental imagery does indeed have its place in terms of a method of helping players visualize an action however it should not be utilized as a secondary means of training due to the possibility of subsequent interference with the necessity of transforming the responses of athletes into those based on muscle memory due to the greater efficiency and speed by which such responses reflect onto actual game play. Mental Imagery – Worthless or Effective? Based on the data presented in this paper, it can be argued that mental imagery is in a way worthless since without sufficient studies to back up its supposed effectiveness it cannot really be stated that the practice is at all effective. There have been many successful athletes in the past who have claimed that success can be achieved through hard work and practice and have never really attributed any of their achievements through the use of mental imagery. While some of today’s successful athletes claim that mental imagery was one of the reasons behind their success, who says that they would not have achieved the same level of success without it? It is based on this that due to the lack of sufficient e vidence to state otherwise, mental imagery should be relegated as being nothing more than a practice that some individuals utilize due to their own personal beliefs regarding its effectiveness rather than ascribing to it any sort of official acknowledgement regarding its ability to produce tangible and effective results. Reference List Cox, R. (2010). Predicting Subjective Athletic Performance from Psychological Skills after Controlling for Sex and Sport. Journal Of Sport Behavior, 33(2), 129. Eddy, K. D. (2003). Mental Imagery in Athletes With Visual Impairments. Adapted  Physical Activity Quarterly, 20(4), 347. Gregg, M. (2007). Perceived Effectiveness of Heptathletes’ Mental Imagery. Journal Of  Sport Behavior, 30(4), 398. Knà ¤uper, B. H. (2009). Using Mental Imagery to Enhance the Effectiveness of Implementation Intentions. Current Psychology, 28(3), 181. Krendl, A. (2012). The Effects of Stereotypes and Observer Pressure on Athletic Performance. Journal Of Sport E xercise Psychology, 34(1), 3. LeBoutillier, N. F. (2003). Mental imagery and creativity: A meta-analytic review study.  British Journal Of Psychology, 94(1), 29. Menzies, V. (2004). The Idea of Imagination: An Analysis of â€Å"Imagery†. Advances In  Mind-Body Medicine, 20(2), 4. Ozel, S. (2004). Relation Between Sport and Spatial Imagery: Comparison of Three Group of Participants. Journal Of Psychology, 138(1), 49. Salka Jr., J. J. (2010). Muscle Memory. Firehouse, 35(10), 102. Sargent, G. (2002). The power of Mental Imagery. Sports Coach, 25(2), 18. Young, M. (n.d). Muscle Memory. (cover story). Massage Magazine, (127), 66. This research paper on Mental Imagery as a Form of Mental Rehearsal was written and submitted by user Damion Rivera to help you with your own studies. 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