Centralized vs. decentralized computing : organizational considerations and management options

The long-standing debate over whether to centralize or decentralize computing is examined in terms of the fundamental organizational and economic factors at stake. The traditional debate is examined and found to focus predominantly on issues of efficiency vs. effectiveness, with solutions based on a rationalistic strategy of optimizing in this tradeoff. A more behavioralistic assessment suggests that the driving issues in the debate are the politics of organization and resources, centering on the issue of control. The economics of computing deployment decisions is presented as an important issue, but one that often serves as a field of argument that is based on more political concerns. The current situation facing managers of computing, given the advent of small and comparatively inexpensive computers, is examined in detail, and a set of management options for dealing with this persistent issue is presented

In Honor of Earth Day - our very own River Steward Giving Tree Story!

Almost a year has passed since we said our farewells and congratulations to the 2015 Cohort of River Stewards. But their River Steward experience and the story of their senior project carries on. It carries on in the trees that have been planted behind Adventure Central (AC) in the woods of Weselyn Metropark. It carries on in the seeds which continue to get picked and stored in the refrigerators of AC. It carries on in the basement under the grow lights, where the seeds slowly become sprouts. And it carries on in the teens and staff of AC who continue sustain, nurture and steward the project day to day, and season to season. But, it also carries on in other ways. In ways each individual River Steward uniquely transfers what they learned into their daily lives and continue to grow, themselves, as stewards of our rivers and communities

From Pronatalism to Social Welfare? Extending Family Allowances to Minority Populations in France and Israel

An inherent tension exists between the goals of pronatalism and the actual policies through which law makers have often attempted to raise birth rates. Proponents of pronatalism often prefer to raise births only to specific racial/ethnic or national groups; yet in modern democracies, it is unacceptable for social policies to explicitly discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Social benefits, such as family allowances, must be accessible to all citizens. The recent extension of certain previously denied family benefits to minority populations in France and Israel illustrates this tension and points to a future direction in which any pronatalist intent behind family policy will likely be downplayed in favour of a social welfare imperative

Demographic Trends, Pronatalism, and Nationalist Ideologies in the Late Twentieth Century

This article explores the relationship between demographic trends and nationalist ideologies through an analysis of fertility policies in France, Romania, Singapore and Israel. Each of these countries has sought to increase birthrates through government initiatives. I examine the extent to which pronatalist programmes in these countries reflect ethno-nationalist ideologies, as opposed to more inclusive civic/cultural nationalist visions, and find that policies are moving in a more civic/cultural nationalist direction. Pronatalist policies are less often specifically aimed at dominant racial/ethnic groups and are less oriented towards ‘traditional’ gender roles. I argue that ethno-nationalist visions of the nation may become less influential, in part due to demographic imperatives

Charting a Discursive Field: Environmentalists for U.S. Population Stabilization

This article seeks to extend our understanding of the forces that shape social movement messages. Using a framework that focuses on a movement’s discursive field, I analyze the U.S. movement for population stabilization, which is made up of groups that call for stricter limits on immigration to the United States as a means to forestall environmental decline. Drawing upon data from a range of sources, including the Web sites of 10 environment-oriented immigration-reduction organizations, I make the case that this movement’s particular field is composed of the discursive repertoires (or messages) of a set of environmental and nonenvironmental social actors and three central discourses: science, political economy, and nationalism. I argue that the movement’s relative lack of success is partially attributable to its position in the discursive field in which it must operate

The Evolution of the Lyrics of The Beatles as a Social Function within the Popular Culture

ABSTRACT This thesis analyzes the rhetorical ascendance achieved by the musical group, The Beatles, during a career that propelled them from largely musical performers/entertainers to consummate and fully-fledged artists. This thesis examines two time periods in the group’s career, and then explores the elements that affected the performer-to-artist transition, focusing exclusively on the rhetoric, not the meaning of the song lyrics. A cornerstone of the research was an analytic comparison of parts of speech

Balance of Trade in the Marketplace of Ideas

If the Information Systems (IS) field is to exist with other fields in some kind of balance of trade in a marketplace of ideas, the scheme is not working too well, at least when comparing IS with Computer Science (CS). The trade tends to be one-way, from CS to IS. This paper explores why that is the case, and what might be done to change things

Doctor of Healthcare Administration at Franklin University

The healthcare profession has been experiencing dramatic change due to healthcare reform and there continues to be significant challenges on the horizon for healthcare leaders. Healthcare leaders will be facing challenges such as a large number of the work force reaching the age of retirement, a decrease in people entering into the healthcare profession, and a 22-28% increase in demand for healthcare services through 2020. Existing and future healthcare leaders will need to poses a high level of knowledge and skill in healthcare delivery in order to meet these challenges. Academic healthcare programs can help train a future workforce of leaders by offering a Doctorate of Healthcare Administration (DHA). Unlike a traditional Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.), where the focus is on creating new theoretical models, a DHA focusing on operationalizing theory into practical application.https://fuse.franklin.edu/ss2014/1016/thumbnail.jp

Central Place Theory

Abstract. Central Place Theory seeks to provide an explanation of the numbers, sizes, and locations of urban settlements in essentially rural, farming regions. Why is it, for example, that there are few large cities, many more towns, and an even larger number of small villages or hamlets in such regions? Why is it that the smaller places are located closer together and the larger ones further apart? What are the relations between the roles of the different-sized urban settlements? How do these patterns and arrangements change over time and from one region to another? These are the sorts of questions addressed by central place theory. Kink, Leslie J. Central Place Theory. Web Book of Regional Science. Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Edited by Grant Ian Thrall, 1985; Randall Jackson, 2020. Scientific Geography Serieshttps://researchrepository.wvu.edu/rri-web-book/1007/thumbnail.jp