Monday, December 30, 2019

Analysis of Ah, Are you Digging on My Grace - 1212 Words

The poem under analysis is called Ah, Are you Digging on My Grace? and it is written by the novelist and poet Thomas Hardy. There are two main speakers in the poem, although other characters were referred to as well. The first main speaker is a deceased woman, who is trying to identify the visitor of her grave. The second main speaker is her living feline companion, which responds to her questions. The dog quotes other characters whom presence is questioned by the woman. The referred-to characters are her lover, family members, and enemy. The poem is essentially a dialog between the woman and her dog. She is astounded to sense that someone is â€Å"digging† on her grave, and is disappointed every time she provides an anxious guess. The woman’s†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, the dog not only disaffirms her guesses, but adds to the insensitivity by including a deplorable reason of their absence. Another ironic idea is faithfulness, where dogs are general ly considered to be the most faithful, and in this case the dog did not even realize it was her grave. The unresolved disappointment or loneliness within the dead woman is in itself tension. It seems as if she was waiting for a sign of visit, and when it arrived, was not what she was expecting. Therefore, disappointment was present before, during, and after the dialog with her dog. The statements which her loved ones (and enemy) had said were assumed to be unheard by her. Although, when it had reached her, it opposed what she thought of initially. She was indeed hurt by her lover’s immediate marriage, her family’s unconcern to mourn, and thought her enemy would still hold a grudge. There is a contradiction between speculation and reality. The poem Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave? puts optimism and pessimism in conflict, but resolves it by asserting pessimism. If the actual rhythm is considered, it is continuous throughout the entire poem, following a composition of â €Å"ABCCB†. Seeing that pessimism is existent from beginning to end, it is emphasizes by a rhythm that does not change throughout the entire poem. It is as if pessimism will still exist even after the end of the dialogue. Rhyme provides a singing tone to anyShow MoreRelatedI Love Reading Essay69689 Words   |  279 Pagesfound to be of greater signiï ¬ cance for those who start out without any work experience (21%) than for those with substantial work experience (13%). 2.3 Positive Factors: What Excites Entrepreneurs? 2.3.1 When entrepreneurs were asked: ‘Where do you see yourself ï ¬ ve years from now?’, it was discovered that most entrepreneurs envision the future of their business in terms of the nature and quality of work (and other intangibles) rather than only in terms of turnover and growth rates. While some

Sunday, December 22, 2019

A Sit Down Conversion With My Company Officer - 1219 Words

In a sit down conversion with my company officer, we discussed the importance of the competing tensions and loyalties presented in the case study. As junior officers in the Navy or Marine Corps team, we are going to be responsible for and expected to upkeep equipment that could range up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. To be responsible for that equipment would mean that it is my divisions, and ultimately my own, responsibility to maintain and upkeep that equipment in the finest condition possible—it is being ready on a moment’s notice that preserves the loyalties I owe to the mission of the Navy and the American people. To be ill prepared or not prepared at all is ultimately disloyal. During the discussion, we concluded that†¦show more content†¦After all, Chief has apparently been doing this for some number of years—he knows what he is talking about, right? However, by conforming to what Chief is suggesting—by allowing these false main tenance records—I put my division at risk. What if, because of faulty equipment that was supposedly in working order, someone got hurt? Not only is the division’s credibility on the line, but someone must take responsibility for the falsified document—that responsibility falls on the division officer. In addition to the loss of ship’s trust in the division, there are a slew of reasons not to adhere to Chief’s suggestion. This type of maintenance and these big inspections are not trivial; they are known about long before they happen. If Chief’s action is allowed to go unquestioned, it sets the precedence for future inspections. If the division officer allows jobs to be falsified now, who is to say he would not allow the same in the future—it is a snowball effect. One skipped maintenance leads to two, which leads to three, and so on and so forth. At the end of the day the enlisted sailors know the job did not get done, yet the division passed the inspection. This allows the sailors to judge and presume certain aspects of their division officer’s character and integrity. The conflicts presented in this case study can be broken down and analyzed using virtue ethics. In class and in the readings, virtue is described as an internal settled conflict that allows us toShow MoreRelatedVenture Capital and Tech Coast Angels9915 Words   |  40 Pagesangel term l sheet seemed mor attractive. It offered the level of fun re e nding the com mpany had a asked for with less h dilution. However the CEO w r, wondered wh hether the $1 million w really ad 1.5 was dequate to ge the et company past the next hurdle. The clinical trials were taking longe than expec l er cted, which w would delay FDA appro oval; and the manufactur e ring costs for the device were comin in higher than ng anticipated. On thing Scoc ne cimara knewRead MoreDermaCare10958 Words   |  44 PagesOn O first glan nce, the angell term sheet seemed morre attractive. It offered thee level of fun nding the com mpany had asked a for with h less w wh hether the $11.5 million was w really ad dequate to geet the dilution. Howeverr, the CEO wondered company past the next hurdle. The clinicall trials were taking longeer than expeccted, which would w delay FDA appro oval; and thee manufacturring costs for the device were comin ng in higher than anticipated. On ne thing Scoccimara knew for certain: He HRead MoreAnnual Report21470 Words   |  86 PagesDirector Auditors KPMG (AF 0758) (Chartered Accountants) Level 10, KPMG Tower 8, First Avenue Bandar Utama 47800 Petaling Jaya Selangor Darul Ehsan Mohd Lutfi bin Mat Lazim Krishnasamy A/L Rengasamy Kam Wai Peng Tan Teong Boon Registered Office Company Secretaries Chua Siew Chuan (MAICSA 0777689) Transmile Centre, Cargo Complex Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport 47200 Subang Selangor Darul Ehsan Tel : (03) 7884 9898 Fax : (03) 7884 9899 Website : www.transmile.com Chin Mun Yee (MAICSA 7019243) Read MoreKnowledge Is Power6070 Words   |  25 Pagesfrom Bacon’s time and a world featured with globalisation and knowledge revolution (Alvesson and Karreman, 2001). The advanced technology today not only changes the way of conducting business and facilitates the communication inside and outside the company, but also become a rising industry itself. 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Saturday, December 14, 2019

Oxidative Stress and Diabetic Nephropathy Free Essays

Introduction Diabetes mellitus is a chronic non-communicable condition resulting in high levels of glucose in the blood. It occurs due to inability of the beta cells in pancreas islet tissue to produce enough insulin, or when the body becomes resistant to insulin. It reduces both quality and length of life and over time leads to serious complications such as coronary heart disease, stroke, neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy. We will write a custom essay sample on Oxidative Stress and Diabetic Nephropathy or any similar topic only for you Order Now There are two main types of diabetes mellitus: Type 1 diabetes: also called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), early-onset and juvenile diabetes. It is an autoimmune disease and results from destruction of insulin producing beta cells in islet tissues of pancreas by the body’s immune system. The subsequent lack of insulin results in high blood glucose levels, which if not controlled by exogenous insulin results in multiple organ damage. Type 2 diabetes: formerly called non-insulin-dependent (NIDDM) and adult-onset. It is a metabolic disorder that mainly occurs in individuals over the age of 40. In this type of diabetes high blood glucose results either due to relative insulin deficiency or insulin resistance. Lifestyle and genetic factors play an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a growing problem among the elderly population and is widely predicted to grow in the future. Since the population is aging in the western world, so it is not surprising that elderly population will contribute to future increase but other factors such as lifestyle and diet will also play a major role. WHO survey 2010 estimated that 285 million of the world’s population have diabetes and more than 70% of them live in low and middle income countries. It is also estimated that this burden will increase to 438 million by 2030 (Diabetes fact, 2011). Wild 2004 projected that the total number of individuals with diabetes worldwide will increase from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million 2030. Although the prevalence of diabetes is higher in men compared to women but there are more women with diabetes than men. In developing countries type 2 diabetes mainly affects people of working age, between 35 and 64 years, whereas in developed countries the majority of people with diabetes are above the age of retirement i.e. above 65 years of age (WDD06 – Karachi, 2006). India has the largest diabetes world’s population i.e. 50.8 million followed by China with 43.2 million ( Express news report, 2009). In Europe prevalence of clinically diagnosed diabetes was estimated to be 3% in 1997. It was estimated to increase to around 3.6% by 2000 and to over 4% by 2010 (Scottish Diabetes Survey 2003). In UK 4.26 % of population has diabetes according to the Diabetes UK statistics (Diabetes prevalence 2010). Scottish Diabetic Survey, 2010, projects that 4.6% of Scotland population has diabetes out of which 87.7% have type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is also at an increase among children. Diabetes amongst children is primarily Type 1 diabetes but Type 2 diabetes is also increasingly being diagnosed. One of the major contributing factors for this rise in diabetes among children is the increase in the number of children who are overweight or obese. â€Å"Twenty five children in every 100,000 in Scotland have diabetes, compared to 17 in England and Wales.† An increase in this at a rate of 2% per years has been suggested by Diabetes UK in Scotland, as a result tripling of new cases in the last 30 years has been seen (ABPI Report Scotland, 2005). Economic burden of Diabetes for families and society: Diabetes and its complications have a significant economic impact on individuals, families, health systems and countries. For example, WHO estimates that in the period 2006-2015, China will need to allocate $558 billion in foregone national income due to heart disease, stroke and diabetes alone and India will spend $336.6 billion (Diabetes, 2011). â€Å"In the poorest countries, people with diabetes and their families bear almost the whole cost of the medical care they can afford.† In Latin America, 40-60% of medical care expenditures is paid by the families themselves. In Mozambique, 75% of the per capita income is spent on diabetic care by one person; in Mali it amounts to 61%; Vietnam is 51% and Zambia 21%. It is estimated that poor people with diabetes in some developing countries spend as much as 25% of their annual income on private care (Diabetes fact. April 2011). The trend of diabetes in developing countries show that it mostly affects working age group, between 35 and 64 years, relative to developed countries where the majority of diabetes population are aging. Therefore when principal wage earner is affected by diabetes and its complications, the choice between healthcare expenses and food or clothing can trap the whole family in a downward spiral of worsening poverty and health. According to WHO, an annual 2% reduction in chronic disease death rates in Pakistan would provide an economic gain of 1 billion dollars over the next 10 years (WDD06 – Karachi, 2006). The cost incurred by diabetes morbidity are far greater than the cost of the disease prevention (Editorial in Lancet: World Diabetes Day 14th November, 2010). In a press report by the independent economic consultancy group NERA it is assessed that intensive management of Type 2 diabetes in Scotland can decrease hospital cost by ?41 million by saving over 91,000 bed days a year in 2025 and will also save ?78 million a year in lost work days (ABPI Report Scotland, 2005). Diabetic Nephropathy: The diabetic complication, nephropathy is a condition with high unmet therapeutic needs. It is linked with significant increases in morbidity and mortality risk, and is the most common cause of ESRD in the Western countries. Diabetes-induced damage in the kidney leads to microalbuminuria. This progresses to ESRD, which requires dialysis or transplantation. Diabetes accounts for over 40% of ESRD (Diabetic Nephropathy, 2003). The main focus of therapy in diabetic nephropathy is on tight control of blood pressure. Guidelines have progressively revised the target BP goal downwards, currently at 125/75 mmHg in patients with 1g proteinuria, and now recommend either ACE or ARB (Diabetic Nephropathy, 2003). In the U.S., diabetic nephropathy accounts for about 40% of new cases of ESRD. In 1997 the cost required for treatment of diabetic patients having ESRD amounts to $15.6 billion. There is considerable racial/ethnic variability in this regard, Native Americans, Hispanics (especially Mexican-Americans), and African-Americans have much higher risks of developing ESRD than non-Hispanic whites with type 2 diabetes (Mark, 2001). In the UK, 1,000 people with diabetes start kidney dialysis every year. (Diabetes in the UK, 2004). Ahmedani 2005 reports that in Karachi, Pakistan overall prevalence of microalbuminuria was found to be 34% in patients with diabetes and this was strongly associated with the age, diastolic hypertension, diabetic retinopathy and serum low density lipoprotein. End stage renal disease is a most serious complication of diabetes and accounts to be the most expensive for NHS. Diabetic nephropathy usually develops 15-25 years after the occurrence of diabetes. In Scotland, 20% of patients who undergo renal transplantation are diabetic. In diabetic individuals, microalbuminuria and stroke, or an increased serum creatinine levels raises the risk of renal nephropathy and failure. Poor glycemic control and high blood pressure are risk factors of diabetic renal disease (Scottish Diabetes Framework, 2002). Diabetic renal impairment is a strong indicator of Cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality is diabetic patients (Guillausseau, 2011). Annual cardiovascular mortality is 0.7% in normoalbuminuric patient as compared to 2% in microalbuminuric patients and 12% in the patient with elevated creatinine (Stratton IM, 2009) In a review by Vishwanathan, 1999, it is explained that South Asians and Afro-Caribbean are more susceptible to develop renal disease relative to European. Retinopathy increases the risk of diabetic nephropathy. Prevalence of diabetic nephropathy in India was 30.3% in a study done among 4837 patients with chronic renal failure over a period of 10 years. He further argued that an increased prevalence of microalbuminurea among South Asians having type 2 diabetes mellitus relative to Europeans by 1.2 (men) and 1.7 (women) folds. According to SIGN 116, the incidence of diabetic nephropathy in patient with type 1 diabetes can be considerably reduced by attaining good glycaemic and tight blood pressure control.  ­ In a report by Singh NP, 2003, it is suggested that the incidence of diabetic kidney disease can be reduced by: tight blood glucose control, blood pressure control, rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockade and protein restriction. Causes of microvascular damage in diabetes: Long standing hyperglycemia lead to a number of damages including: Advanced glycosylated end products (AGES) Oxidative stress Increased sorbitol (polyol pathway) Increase in hexosamine pathway Impaired endothelial function Immune effect All these damages result in microvascular complications of diabetes. Advanced glycosylated end-products (AGEs): Chronic hyperglycemia causes increased glycosylation of proteins leading to AGEs, which in turn results in loss of structure and function, turning on/off signal pathways within cells and alteration in gene expression. AGEs are sugar-derived compounds, glucose binds amino groups on proteins, lipids and nucleic acids to form AGEs. AGEs form at a constant but slow rate throughout your life (even as an embryo) (Peppa et al, 2003). AGEs interact with RAGE (surface AGE-binding receptors) resulting in proinflammatory effects, formation reactive oxygen species, loss of oxidants (oxidative stress) and altered gene transcription. Levels of AGEs relates to extent of microvascular complications in diabetes. AGEs contributes to atheromatous plaque by stimulating low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and the deposition of oxidized LDL. AGEs leads to endothelial dysfunction, macrophage activation, and impaired vascular smooth muscle cell function. Experimentally, AGEs cause glomerular damage and proteinuria. Oxidative stress and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS): Oxidative stress is an imbalance between ROS production and antioxidants. Oxygen is used by cells to carry out their normal functions and as a side effect produces free radicals. Free radicals are missing an electron so are unstable and highly reactive. Free radicals steal electrons from molecules within cells causing oxidative damage to proteins, membranes and genes. Polyol pathway/aldose reductase: Aldose reductase (AR) normally reduces toxic aldehydes into inactive alcohols inside the cells. Glucose perfuses into some cells without insulin e.g. nerves. During hyperglycaemic condition, AR reduces that excess glucose to sorbitol (a polyol). Polyols are trapped inside the cells creating an osmotic gradient. Sodium and water flow into the cell resulting in oedema. But sorbitol can be metabolised to fructose by the actions of sorbitol dehydrogenase. High fructose leads to AGEs resulting in more cell damage (Takaqi et al, 1995). Hexosamine pathway: Glucose is mainly metabolised through glycolysis, some gets diverted into an alternative pathway, ending up as UDP (urine diphosphate) N-acetyl glucosamine. This alters transcription factors, often leading to pathologic changes in gene expression e.g. increased expression of transforming growth factor-B1 and plaminogen activator inhibitor-1, which damages blood vessels. Endothelial dysfunction – pathogenesis: Hyperglycemia leading to the formation of AGEs, ROS, the glycosylation of proteins and increased inflammatory cytokines etc. As a result small blood vessels, particularly the endothelium are damaged causing vasoconstriction, ischemia, and reduced flow to tissues that rely on the vessel for oxygen and nutrients. Growth factors are also released leading to the blood vessel wall thickening and occlusion of small blood vessels. Nerve growth factors (NGF) and factors like it are damaged. These factors keep nerves healthy and capable of re-growth if damaged. Changes to the immune system lead to release of toxic cytokines, blockage of blood vessels with leukocytes and loss of normal immune cell action. In this dissertation, a recent aspect of one of the above causes of microvascular damage of diabetes leading to nephropathy will be considered. Current studies have uncovered new insights in the role of oxidative stress in diabetic renal disease, suggesting a different and innovative approach to a possible â€Å"casual† antioxidant therapy. In this dissertation the role oxidative stress may play in the development of diabetic kidney disease will be discussed. The role of antioxidant therapy in managing or delaying the progression of diabetic nephropathy will be addressed. REFERENCES: Ahmedani M Y, (2005) Prevalence of Microalbuminuria in Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Karachi: Pakistan A Multi-center Study: http://www.jpma.org.pk/full_article_text.php?article_id=856 ABPI Report Scotland, (2005)The future burden of CHD and Diabetes in Scotland: The value of health care innovation. Available at: s3.amazonaws.com/zanran_storage/www.abpi.org.uk/†¦/50031328.pdf Diabetes fact. (2011) Available at: http://www.worlddiabetesfoundation.org/composite-35.htm Diabetes (2011), Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs312/en/ Diabetic Nephropathy 2003. Available at: http://www.datamonitor.com/Products/Free/Brief/BFHC0625/010BFHC0625.pdf Express news report, India has largest number of diabetes patients: Report (2009) http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-has-largest-number-of-diabetes-patient/531240/ Diabetes in the UK 2004, www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Reports/in_the_UK_2004.doc Guillausseau, (2011) Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk: kidney function is pivota. Available at: http://www.diafocus.com/2011/01/11/type-2-diabetes-and-cardiovascular-risk-kidney-function-is-pivotal/ Peppa M, Uribarri J, Vlassara H, 2003, Glucose, Advanced Glycation End Products, and Diabetes Complications: What is New and What Works. Available at: http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/21/4/186.full Stratton IM, (2009) Association of glycaemia with macrovascular and microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 35): Prospective observational study Available at: http://articulos.sld.cu/medicinainterna/files/2009/10/association-of-glycaemia-with-macrovascular-and-microvascular.pdf Scottish Diabetes Framework. (2002) Available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2002/04/14452/1986 Scottish Diabetes Survey 2003, Available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/10/20023/44203 Singh NP, Singh D, 2003, Diabetes Mellitus – An Overview For Family Physicians. Available at: http://delhimedicalcouncil.nic.in/diabetes-mellitus.html Sign 116, Available at: http://www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/sign116.pdf Scottish Diabetes Survey 2010, Available at: http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/Scottish%20Diabetes%20Survey%202010.pdf Takaqi Y, Kashiwaqi A, Tanaka Y, Asahina T, Kikkawa R, Shigeta Y, 1995, Significance of fructose-induced protein oxidation and formation of advanced glycation end product. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7599353 Viswanathan V, (1999) Type 2 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy in India—magnitude of the problem. Available at: http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/content/14/12/2805.full WILD S et al, (2004) Global Prevalence of Diabetes. Available at: http://www.who.int/diabetes/facts/en/diabcare0504.pdf WDD06 – Karachi, (2006). Diabetes kills without distinction. Available at: http://www.idf.org/wdd06-karachi How to cite Oxidative Stress and Diabetic Nephropathy, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Consequences Information Systems Planning -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Consequences Information Systems Planning? Answer: Introduction Strategic information system is developed to facilitate business activities of organisations. The strategic information system is capable to offer a competitive edge to each and every organisation. Besides that, it offers cost-effective service. The strategic information system is helpful for the organisations for storing, accessing and processing sensitive data (Kavanagh and Johnson 2017). It helps the organisations to apply several tools so that the business activities can get enriched (Marabelli and Galliers 2017). The strategic information system provides several opportunities so that the business operations can get improved. Qudos bank has been chosen as case study for the report. Qudos bank is currently suffering from issues like storing, accessing and processing data of the database. They have struggled to implement the strategic information system appropriately in their premises. The report will suggest Qudos bank how they can improve their business with the help of information system in appropriate manner. The report explains the six main components of the strategic information system. The report explains various components of the strategic information system and the including outsourcing, end-user computing with respect to Qudos banking (Andersen and Andersson 2017). The information system strategy adds value to the organisation. The internal control in the can enhance the business activities of any organisations including Qudos Bank. the report will illustrate all the management aspects of Qudos bank in details in the report. The report will compare and contrast the issues and challenges, it will a lso critically evaluate the information system strategy. The strategic information system can bring innovations to Qudos bank. The strategic information adds value to Qudos bank. The report critically evaluates internal control. Qudos bank can get the competitive edge Discussion Qudos Bank is an Australian mutual bank. The bank is popular providing various financial services. The financial services include the credit cards, savings, home loans, car loans. Qudos bank provides the financial planning assistance to the Australian citizens (Yang 2017). The bank deals with foreign exchange products. Qudos Bank is a public sector bank. The bank has eleven subsidiaries all over Australia. The bank acquires its registration in the year 1959 and began operating on 1 November of the year. Qudos bank was previously known as the Qantas Credit Union. The bank is the customer owned bank. Now, Qudos Bank has about one lac member. The financial organisation is known to offer retail banking products. Qudos bank offers membership facility to the current as well as the former employees (Barata and Cunha 2017). The employees families and relatives are also given the opportunity so that they can register with Qudos bank and can get the membership facility. The bank offers various ranges of products and the services. The services they offer are- Deposit Accounts- Loan offset accounts, fixed interest rate term devices and savings accounts are some of the facilities that fall under this category (Moran and Morner 2017). Payment services- BPAY, debit card, telephone banking fall under this category. Retirement savings account- superannuation accounts and varied interest rate fall under this category (Jali, Abas and Ariffin 2017). General insurance- Qudos Bank offers the general insurance service for home and household components, CTP insurance, caravan and motor vehicle. Managed investment schemes- the managed investment scheme consists of the portfolio services directed by the investor (Wildavsky 2018). Life insurance- Qudos bank offers life insurance to the individuals who are disabled; it offers services to the customers who are suffering from critical illness. Qudos Bank also offers credit products like the home loans, personal loans, credit cards and overdrafts facility to the customers (Jali, Abas and Ariffin 2017). Qudos Bank caters cost effective flexible home loans to the clients and the customers. The customers registered with Qudos Bank will not have to pay annual fee, no establishment fees and other package fees. The bank also provides free monthly transaction allowance so to use ATMs. Qudos Bank also gets numerous benefits like the financial as well as the training assistance from their business partners (Nambisan et al. 2017). The staffs also get numerous benefits; they get incentives from the business partners. Comparing and contrasting the issues and the challenges that can Qudos Bank faces There are several challenges and issues associated with the strategic information system. All these challenges have been showcased in the report. The issues and the challenges have been compared and contrasted in the report (Sroufe and Joseph 2017). Both the public sector and the private sector have faced several challenges while trying to adopt and maintain IT/IS technology in their sector. i) Private Sector: the private sector bank has faced several risks and challenges and all these risks have been detailed as follows- a) Risk Management in the private sector: The private sector bank suffers mainly from the risk management issue. The government banks generally receive more security compared to other private banks (Nambisan et al. 2017). That is why the private banks are also concerned about the security features. The security issues can lead to heavy losses. b) Other banks involvement and association: The private sector banks suffer due to the involvement of the other bank. Thus the involvement of other banks can prove to be a serious challenge for the private sector bank. c) New items launch: The third challenge that the private banking sector can face is the introduction of new features, new scheme or new items. The new items or the new scheme can contain the security risks (Jali, Abas and Ariffin 2017). The customers can dislike any feature the bank has implemented and can simply reject the feature, the bank can suffer heavy losses due to this reason. d) Interest Rate: The high rate of interest is another challenge for the private banking sector (Moran and Morner 2017). The customers may not be able to afford the services that the bank offers. The strategic information system planners can face several issues while adopting and maintaining the IT/IS in a strategic way all these issues have been highlighted in the report. ii) Public Sector: The public banking sector like the private banking sector can face risks and challenges while dealing with the strategy development (Barata and Cunha 2017). The strategic information planners have to perform several operations and they will have to take go through several challenging situations. The challenges that they can face are: a) Capital Base: The poor capital base is one kind of challenge that the public sector bank can face. The capital base is acquired in general via initial public offering. The public banking sector generally earns very low capital base compared to other private banks (Schulze and Heidenreich 2017). Qudos Bank is no exception, they also suffering due to the low capital bases. b) Comparatively less number of subsidiaries: The public sector banks, unlike the private sector bank, contain relatively less number of subsidiaries (Ertek et al. 2017). The less number of bank branches can be a threat and challenge for the public bank. They have fear of losing branches as well. c) Technology gap: The technology gap can be a serious threat to the public sector banks (Tarafdar and Qrunfleh 2017). These banks are using technologies which are of no use today, besides those technologies are ineffective and are full of security threats. d) Quality of service offered by the public bank: The public sector bank is often criticised to provide poor quality service (Kamariotou and Kitsios 2017). These banks are struggling for not offering the quality services and not meeting the customers demands. The public sector banks suffer from the challenges described above. Qudos Banks IS adaptation and critical Evaluation of IS Strategy The information system strategy for Qudos Bank has been illustrated as follows- i) Updating prevalent Qudos Banks IS strategy: Qudos Bank must act responsibly and must take the responsibility to update the system. The bank should update the system on a constant basis. ii) Appointing new employees: Qudos will have to change the prevalent management system and will have to adopt a new management system. The new management system has planned to incorporate IS strategy to the management system (Aguinis, Edwards and Bradley 2017). They will have to appoint talented, hardworking and creative people. These people have the capability to bring innovation to the bank premises. iii) Maintenance of Qudos banks system and database: Qudos Bank with the aid of the newly adopted management system can manage the business and the financial operations (Ertek et al. 2017). The IS strategy can help Qudos bank to maintain their system and the database. iv) Maintaining Security: The IS strategy can also help Qudos Bank to ensure security and privacy within the bank premises. Security is one important aspect of the bank, and Qudos should not compromise at all. Qudos Banks adopting new and innovative ideas Qudos Bank with the help of information system can adopt certain strategies by which they can furnish the business and financial activities of the bank (Ertek et al. 2017). The seven most utilised approaches that can improvise the business activities are defined below- i) Mandate creation: Mandate creation is one kind of approach and this approach can be helpful in improvising the business activities of Qudos Bank. A mandate generally provides direction so that changes can be implemented within the organisation. The mandate is associated with distinct strategy and the strategy is expected to bring innovations to the bank premises (Seidel et al. 2017). The top level management's role is to create a mandate. The top-level management is the initiators of the mandate adaptations and improvisations (Ertek et al. 2017). They also approach towards the people with a similar passion for the creation of mandate. ii) Be any Model: Be any model is one kind of approach following which Qudos Bank can become innovative. The top-level management should adopt all the strategies so that they can work effectively and successfully (Kamariotou and Kitsios 2017). Qudos bank should prioritise the business thinking as well as business thinking. iii) Discussing issues and challenges with the stakeholders and the employees: Qudos Bank must ensure that the information system should analyse the issues aroused in the system and should make sure that there exist no loopholes in the decision-making procedures and the problem-solving techniques (Kamariotou and Kitsios 2017). Qudos bank should provide train with their employees in such a way that they can analyse the issues and sort out the issues themselves with ease (Seidel et al. 2017). The employees can be able to find out the best solution by which they can mitigate the issues effectively. iv) Development of dedicated team: Qudos Banks dedicated team must analyse the issues or the problems well, Qudos bank can get to know about various solutions by which the issues aroused can be well mitigated (Tarafdar and Qrunfleh 2017). The team will get to know about any other alternative solutions by which Qudos bank can improve their business activities. v) Qudos bank providing access to the people: Qudos Bank deals with the customers. The customers should be provided with appropriate login access. The customers feedback is essential for the business (Abdelwahed, Mahmoud and Bdair 2017). Qudos Bank must consider the feedback from the customers as that can help the bank to know where they should make improvements. vi) Designing Systems and Building System: Qudos Bank should design and build system in such a way that the system the new management system can provide effective service in a profitable manner (Lapsley and Rekers 2017). The new management system can provide them with the solutions so that they can get the competitive edge. vii) Establishing a business network with other workers of the bank: The workers working in Qudos bank must discuss with each other and they must consider the business networking (Ba and Nault 2017). The workers can discuss with each other the issues that can occur in the bank and based on that they can take critical decisions for solving the issues. Outsourcing vs End-User Computing in Qudos Bank Outsourcing is one kind of approach by which any company provides important functionalities to effective and specialised service partners. This approach can give the opportunity to Qudos Bank to work with experienced and effective partners in the business (Deresky 2017). In some cases, the outsourcing involves the employee's transfer from one organisation to other. EUC or end-user computing defines a platform where the non-programmers get the opportunity to work with numerous applications (Wheelen and Hunger 2017). The end user computing is one sort of computing that incorporates the end users into the programming environment. Outsourcing is the best among all. The IS/IT Strategy can bring immense benefits to Qudos Bank. The IS/IT Director must adopt the IS strategy and must deploy it effectively to get the maximum benefits (Tucker et al. 2017). The report has highlighted how the Director can be benefitted by the usage of IS/IT Strategy and they are as follows- i) Qudos Bank focusing on Basic Actions: Qudos bank can enhance their business operations with the help of IS Strategy. The financial operations and the business operations can get enhanced and the bank should focus on these basic operations to gain the desired profit they want (Wheelen and Hunger 2017). Qudos Bank must also focus on the outsourcing of financial and business operations. ii) Expenses Savings and Efficiency in Qudos Bank: Qudos banking must choose the outsourcing activities. The outsourcing operations help in expense savings. Alongside expenses, the banks efficiency also gets increased (Tucker et al. 2017). The savings expenses, as well as the effects, are helpful for Qudos bank as the bank can gain profit. iii) Lessening Overhead: Outsourcing assists in lessening the cost of overhead, this approach can prove to be beneficial for the bank (Wu 2017). The overhead costs for the carrying out the back-office operations are comparatively very high. iv) Qudos Bank Control in Operations: The business operations can go out of control; however, the operations can be controlled by means of outsourcing (Tjemkes, Vos and Burgers 2017). Any department of Qudos Bank can suffer as a result of the poor controlling and poor administration. Qudos Bank as a result of outsourcing can acquire the best possible outcome. The bank can get cost-effective service due to the outsourcing (Rahimi and Kozak 2017). Thus outsourcing can help them to gain numerous benefits. v) Qudos Banks Staffing Flexibility: The adaptation of new management system can be problematic for any organisations and Qudos Bank is no exception (Serenko and Bontis 2017). The flexibility in staffing is a vital aspect with regards to outsourcing. The staffs contribute to the success of the bank (Rahimi and Kozak 2017). Various kinds of business operations can be managed with ease with the aid of outsourcing. vi) Risk Management in Qudos Bank: Risk management is another important aspect that must be considered by all the organisations. Qudos bank management team and the Qudos banks workers must consider the risk management as well in their premises (Durand et al. 2017). The outsourcing can help the bank to manage the risks involved in the business operations; the risks can be managed to invest a minimal amount. vii) Developing Internal Staff: The large projects can only become successful or can be successfully accomplished is the staffs and all the employees work well in the project (Durand et al. 2017). Similarly, in case of Qudos bank, the management team must train their employees well (Wolf and Floyd 2017). the internal staffs and the workers of the bank stay in charge of managing the business operations and outsourcing the business operations. The training will help the employees to hone their talents and skills. The employees can bring out any new innovative approach. Strategic Information adding value to Qudos bank via IT/ IS i) Implementing Strategic Information Role: The adaptation of information system technology in the organisation premise always adds value to any organisation and Qudos Bank can acquire several benefits with the aid of information system strategy (Ayabakan, Bardhan and Zheng 2017). The strategies have been illustrated below. They are- The first phase provides the relevant information required to carry on the investigation of the business procedures. The first stage involves the behavioural traits of the management staffs and approaches towards employees and the business tasks (Harris 2017). The first phase also deals with the expenses that must be paid. In this stage, Qudos bank can learn about the competitors. the second stage deals with mission and strategies- The strategic decisions depend on - Targeting the appropriate market The location of office premises Development of new products (Ayabakan, Bardhan and Zheng 2017) Launching of new products Promoting the products Budget associated with the project Identifying the needs of the customers or the users: The customers demands and wishes must be recognised and the bank should meet all the demands of the customers if possible. The needs of the customers add value to the bank (Harris 2017). Qudos bank can gain competitive advantage, they can get huge Segmentation of the market: market segmentation is one of the aspects of running the business. The segmentation assists in making a specific group of customers (Ayabakan, Bardhan and Zheng 2017). Qudos bank can get benefits by segmenting their office departments, business procedures into appropriate segments. Critically discuss Good Internal Control Good Internal Control must take into consideration by each and every organisation. The characteristics of effective internal control assist the organisations to carry out the business activities (Aguinis, Edwards and Bradley 2017). the business operations can be helpful to safeguard the business assets of the business. Control Environment: The control environment is basically the companys approach and the companys attitude towards the internal control of the business activities. Qudos Banks system can become disrupted if the management system of the bank overrides the controls that are in place (Kamariotou and Kitsios 2017). The internal control of the bank can get threatened due to the management override of controls. Risk Assessment: Risk Assessment is the methodology by which the threats and risks can be analysed, the organisation can have the knowledge to identify the threats beforehand and they can take initiatives accordingly (Sroufe and Joseph 2017). Qudos Banking can be similarly benefitted with the help of risk assessment. Information and communication: The communication components are responsible to accumulate the spread the relevant information related to the internal control. All these communication components can be helpful for the employees (Schulze and Heidenreich 2017). The employees can perform better with the aid of the communication segments associated with the ongoing control efforts. Monitoring: Monitoring is the procedure which ensures that the internal control system (Kamariotou and Kitsios 2017). The effective monitoring involves the procedures by which the business procedures can be better managed. The ineffective control can be better traced with the help of the management system (Aguinis, Edwards and Bradley 2017). Qudos bank management team with the help of monitoring can get to know about the changes made to the system and can be able to complete the business tasks within the given scheduled time. Control Activities: The control activities are the activities that are carried out by the management body of the organisation (Tarafdar and Qrunfleh 2017). The management team of Qudos bank can assure the internal control in an effective way. The control activities can help to know the problems Qudos bank is facing. A report will be made based on the analysis. The results of the analysis are shared with the employees (Abdelwahed, Mahmoud and Bdair 2017). All the employees of the bank along with stakeholders and management body with the help of internal control can design the system well. Conclusion It can be concluded from the above discourse that the information system helps any organisations in every possible way. Qudos Bank can be significantly benefitted with the aid of the information system. The bank must adopt and use the information system in an effective manner, the efficient approach can be able to meet the goal and objective of the organisation. Since Qudos Bank has decided to adopt the strategic information system and planned to undertake all the activities simultaneously, they must have an effective strategic plan. The strategic plan requires about one year completing the plan. All the associated stakeholders of the bank must cooperate and must undertake the project activities. One of the benefits that the strategic information offers is that it involves every stakeholder of the organisation. The other advantages the strategic information offers are decision making and the data mining capabilities. ERP is a better option for strategic planning in Qudos bank. The re port explains how the enterprise resource planning software can facilitate the growth of the business growth of Qudos Bank. Qudos bank can become famous for the effective implementation of the strategic information in the premises. Qudos bank with the help of information strategy is able to achieve their goals and objectives. The report illustrates between end-user computing and outsourcing. Internal control concepts have been explained in this report too. References Abdelwahed, A.S., Mahmoud, A.Y. and Bdair, R.A., 2017. Information Security Policies and their Relationship with the Effectiveness of the Management Information Systems of Major Palestinian Universities in the Gaza Strip.International Journal of Information Science Management,15(1). Aguinis, H., Edwards, J.R. and Bradley, K.J., 2017. 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