How to decide when a new technology isn't right for your business

A large enterprise wants to move mission critical apps to the cloud but has too much invested in custom software and interfaces between internal systems to move to generic alternatives that someone else hosts.
A small credit union that still keeps manual ledgers wants an online banking system, but can't afford one.
These are just some of the reasons why companies decide not to adopt new technology.
When these decisions are made, they fly in the face of conventional wisdom—which is to adopt new technology at a rigorous pace to avoid losing competitive edge.
CIOs and IT and business managers understand the importance of keeping up technologically —but they also understand that they have to be in a position to fully exploit their technology investments.
There are actually good reasons to delay technology adoption. Here are four questions to ask during the decision making process.

How does the technology fit with your business?

If you're a muffler shop, you'll need an online database of customers and vehicles, order/invoice system, inventory system, HR system, financials and internet connections—but you might not need to write my personal statement or to be deploying mobile or RFID apps, and social media and website traffic analytics might not be high on your priority list, either. Not every business needs every new technology that's out there. If a new technology can't help your business, don't invest in it.

Will your management team support delayed adoption?

One of the easiest things for a CFO to say to a CIO is, "We can't afford it," when it comes to new technology adoption. But equally challenging for a CIO can be senior management (including the CFO) wondering why you aren't recommending adoption of the latest technology.
This is where it's important for the CIO to explain in business terms why it's best for the company to pass on a technology investment.
When I was a corporate CIO, we had a remote engineering site in Texas. The CEO and the engineering VP thought it would be an excellent idea to invest $20,000 into a video system for collaboration, but further investigation revealed that the system would only be used once monthly. Our recommendation was to defer the investment until demand for its services increased, and to rent videoconferencing at a nearby facility when it was needed. Management agreed.

Is the technology stable and reliable?

Smaller companies in particular are fearful of new systems until someone bigger (and with more resources) burns them in. This is a wise approach for small companies, because you just can't afford the frustration and the downtown when buggy systems are delivered and you have no one internally to work with the vendor and troubleshoot issues.

How delayed should your adoption be?

One of the keys to a delayed adoption strategy is projecting when it will be timely for your company to adopt the technology—or if you anticipate that there will never be a time to adopt it. If you and your management have a clear vision on when it will be time to adopt, it is much easier to promote the idea of a technology deferral. Common reasons for deferring technology adoption are: waiting for the price to drop; waiting for the technology to mature; waiting for the right business case in your company to emerge that warrants adopting the technology.
The common theme to all of these scenarios is that it's okay to take your time in the adoption of a new technology.

How to avoid getting tricked by expensive food trends

Many of us are trying to find help with dissertation writing and to eat cleaner these days. We look for non-GMO on labels. But some of these precautions can really add up at the cash register without improving the nutritional value of what we’re eating. “It’s time to minimize some of the fear mongering,” comments registered dietitian nutritionist Felicia Stoler, who has traveled the world investigating food origins.
“For example, just because something is non-GMO doesn’t mean it’s healthy or not healthy. Most people don’t realize that there are only a handful of foods that could be GMO anyway: alfalfa, canola, corn (field and sweet), papaya, potatoes, soybeans, squash, and sugar beets.”

Stoler advises you to consider these three tips:
Focus on the food’s nutrient composition, not the hype. “Be open to new ways to sneak important nutrients into your diet but know the facts. Non-GMO foods typically cost more, for example, and they may still be grown using pesticides and antibiotics. And adding fiber to a soft drink still won’t make it healthy for you, especially if it also contains artificial sweeteners.
“Another example: Some people are hyper-focused on palm oil. They’d have you believe that it’s bad for you and the environment. You might be surprised to learn that livestock is the largest driver of deforestation in the world, while much of the palm oil in this country is certified sustainably produced in Malaysia.
“It’s also a rich source of vitamin E tocotrienols which support heart and brain health. And heart health is a huge concern in this country! It’s also a nutritious replacement for trans fats.”
Stick with the basics. “Food that was good for you way back when, is still good for you now. Honey hasn’t really changed. Steel cut oats are solid nutritionally. Eggs are still in their original packaging! On the flip side, some trendy foods such as almond milk – which many people would have you believe is super healthy – are very highly processed. You can also get back to basics with your popcorn. It needs high heat to cook right. Look for a microwave popcorn that contains palm oil, because palm oil doesn’t burn easily so your popcorn will taste better.”
Listen to the science. “Before you spend your food budget on something new or pricey, examine where you’re getting your information. So much gets repeated on the internet that it’s tempting to just assume it’s correct. I’m trained to ask questions. Even if I hear a well-known expert say something with absolute confidence, I may call them out on it. If their science is flawed, it’s flawed.
“If you don’t have a science background, it’s still smart to do some investigating before you start following the next nutritional trend. A single study shouldn’t be taken at face value, no matter how many headlines it gets. Wait for multiple studies, completed by reputable universities, confirming the same outcomes. There’s no rush. Thankfully, we live in a country where nutritious fruits and vegetables are readily available.”

Feminism and Its Influence on Society

Today, feminism is a topic of heated debates all over the world. For this reason, choosing it as a topic for your academic paper is a good idea. But since the main point of essay writing is to remain objective towards the topic and avoid expressing your emotions, it can be rather difficult to receive masters dissertation help  on this theme. If you absolutely need to write your academic paper on feminism, but you don’t know how to do it because you find yourself dragged into your emotions, this sample is for you. You may use it as a source of ideas or as a template for your paper to know better the perfect structure and learn how to express different views on the issue.

An important reminder: reference your sources properly if you don’t want your paper to be considered as plagiarized.

Also, if you need to learn more writing tricks and tips, see the topic collection and read articles that will inspire you to write a perfect paper, check out what we have in store. With our support, academic writing will become much easier and more enjoyable for you!

Sample: How Has Feminism Either Positively Or Negatively Changed Society?

Almost any idea in the society, no matter how good or bad it is, can be considered a pursuit of freedom. In the XX century, we saw the concept of feminism entrapped between two opposing ideologies that use it as a dividing line between them. One of the traps of feminism is the idea that it manifests only gender equality (Wolf 63). This position still exists today. However, feminism has a much broader sense. First of all, it must be about the intellectual freedom of all individuals (Wolf 59).

At the same time, feminism influences the western society to a great degree today. This paper has an objective to tell about this influence. Everyone has an opinion on feminism, whether it is positive or negative. However, all of us need to understand that the absence of feminism equals slavery in the shape of telling “Behind every great man, there’s a great woman” (DeLamotte 27). There is no need in this type of thinking any longer in our society.

Even though the negative examples of feminism exist, it is still possible to say that it exerted only the positive influence on the society. Of course, it is not perfect, like any other area of life. Feminism began as an intellectual scream in the early XX century. These days, it has an enormous importance for the women who managed to break the intellectual chains in different countries. However, in some parts of the world, females are still struggling to get the right to choose their partner, drive a car, and vote. In our society, women already have these rights and that has already become a habit. Therefore, we must not judge feminism. We need to accept its significance for the entire world.

Blogging For Complete Beginners

You might have read about the benefits of blogging, or admired what others are doing with their class blogs, but have no idea where to start?
If you’re brand new to blogging, this guide is for you.
Here is the list to the specific written tutorials.

• Signing up for your blog
• Logging in to your blog
• Using your dashboard
• Publishing your first post
• Editing a published post
• Publishing pages
• Changing settings like your blog title, tagline, time zone and language
• Changing your theme

Make yourself familiar with the search function and the user guides.

Useful questions:

• TIME Not sure if you have time to blog? 
• PARENTS Want to get your students’ families engaging with your class blog?
• PRIVACY Unsure whether your students should be publishing publicly online?
• CLASS BLOGS Want to look at examples of different types of blogs? 
• STUDENT BLOGS Interested in student blogs or digital portfolios?
• POST IDEAS Not sure what to write about?

It can sometimes feel overwhelming to look at established blogs with lots of content and attractive features. Comparison paralysis or fear of imperfection is common when starting something new. Please don’t worry!
At the end of the day, the best way to learn is to start. Your first blog posts probably won’t be perfect but you can use essay writers help. Demonstrating to your students that you too are a learner and willing to give new things a go is an excellent trait.
So it’s time to jump in and start blogging. Have fun!

Semiotic Analysis

The word "semiotics" cannot say much to an unprepared person, although it penetrates all spheres of human life thanks to the subject of its study – the sign. This study is exploring the concepts of the signs in speech and linguistics. It considers the symbol, words, sentences and other sign systems to which people resort in their everyday lives and which they know very well, researching art, linguistics, logic, psychology philosophy, etc.

Semiotics in Science and Nature

In other words, the semiotic component encompasses a wide field of person’s activity, and humanity constantly uses its properties and terminology, often not realizing that it belongs to the area of a special science called semiotics.

For sure, signs are very important for people and nature, especially for animals, because they are based on human and many forms of animal behavior. The usage of signs in all sciences, it does not matter humanitarian or exact, can prove this fact. Semiotic analysis of the text or any phenomena is a kind of interpretation of symbols in a way that the writer perceives. This is one of the main principles of creating an essay of this type. The structure of such text is similar to the construction of any academic text.

Structure of Essay

Text Outline

Drawing up a plan is a very important stage of the writing process because it helps to organize the work on the text effectively. Equally, it helps to structure your thoughts. The plan is the base of your semiotic analysis. Without it, the term paper parts collapses into an incoherent sequence of sentences. Of course, there is no ideal or universal plan: it depends on your theme, goals and chosen style. Think on your topic and write down all your important ideas, they will become your future outline.

Introduction

The introduction is a very important part of the text. Exploring this part of the essay, the reader determines whether to continue reading the text or not. Therefore, the writing of the introduction should be given special attention. It can seem strange, but it is better to work on it after writing other parts of the essay. While working on the text, new unexpected ideas may appear and the originally conceived structure can change. If you create the introduction at the very beginning, probably, it will have to be rewritten and it is inexpedient to do the same work twice.

Body of the Text

In this part, you must present the main material, your thoughts, ideas, and arguments, answer possible criticism, conduct analysis, etc. The main part depends on your topic. Write in detail – describe each process of your work. Focus on the features of your own interpreting symbols.

Conclusions

The stage of writing the conclusion should be neglected in no case, otherwise, the text will seem unfinished, and your position will not be completely clear. It is important that some new information and materials do not appear in the conclusion. Its task is simply to sum up results of your work and find the most important statements.

HOW TO WRITE AN OUTLINE FOR THE RESEARCH PAPER

Paper outline is considered to be important for any research paper. It helps to structure writer’s thoughts and ideas prior to writing the research paper. Research paper is always targeted at the detailed scientific research work that can show that the writer is willing to find the correct solution to the discussed problems and use scientific methods and approaches. In other words, paper outline is a skeleton of your future research paper. However, most students have no idea how to write an outline.

It is recommended to split your paper into small parts so as to remain organized and not to forget anything important. Moreover, when you look at your paper outline, you will feel relief since your research paper will not seem to be so perplexing anymore. In addition, you can dedicate a day to each part of your paper and it will help you to meet all your deadlines.

Tips on Outline Structure

Structure of the outline remains the same for all research papers. Usually it is similar to the research paper itself. In order to find out more information on the outline structure, you are free to check out the samples provided for elementary students. Literary essay outline can be also helpful for you. Despite the fact that outlines have a slight difference in their structure, the main parts remain unchanged and they are as follows:

• Introduction part
• Body part
• Conclusion part

Now, it does not seem to be that difficult. However, you should remember that each part has to include particular information for your potential readers.

Introduction is considered to be one of the essential paper parts. It should present the topic and attract readers’ attention. The main paper components should be mentioned in the introduction part. Do not forget about thesis statement, topic explanation, and main terms used in the paper.

Body usually consists of more than one paragraph. Writer should present the main arguments that support the thesis statement. After the introduction is written, the methodology is usually provided next. It describes the ways a writer used to conduct the research work. It is also vital to state the investigation purpose in the introduction part.

Literature review is also recommended to include in the research paper. In order to back up the hypothesis and all the theories used in your paper, a writer should mention literature sources used during the research work. Literature review proves that the writer is willing to properly use the terms and theories. You should also show that your work makes a contribution to the already existing research.

Then you should provide data and analysis. You are free to include your results received after the research work. Graphs and tables can be included in this section. Pros and cons of the research should be mentioned as well.

Conclusion is the last part of every research paper. Make sure you do not include new details in conclusion. Provide a short summary of your paper and restate your thesis statement. You can also write about the future research prospect.

Last Recommendations

Select the topic of your research paper that is of great interest to you. Create an outline that will help you write an excellent research paper.

Dissertation Topics for International Relations Students

Choosing the right topic for your dissertation is crucial. The success of your future paper may depend on that. If you choose the topic you are interested in and are aware of at least to some extent, your chances to demonstrate your potential, knowledge, and skills are much higher. At the same time, the topic has to be relevant, concerning a topical issue. Are you an International Relations student who cannot make the final decision on their dissertation topic? Read the following article to get some ideas.

Choose a Category

As you might already know, deciding on their dissertation topic, International Relations students choose out of three categories, namely, foreign policy, war and security, and international political economy.

International Political Economy

If you choose international political economy, your dissertation will deal mostly with the way various structures’ economic plots influence the state of affairs on the global political arena or between certain countries. This category’s dissertations are highly topical in most of the cases since money has always been and still is one of the most powerful tools in politics. Exploring international economy’s influence on governments all over the world is rewarding in many ways in case it can both draw public attention to your work and help you understand better global political processes.

Security

A dissertation on security focuses on reasons, means, and outcomes of armed actions inside one country or among two or more countries. If you choose to write a dissertation in this category, you will explore how weapons serve certain groups of people in their attempts to gain power.

Foreign Policy

This category is quite self-evident. Your writing will be based on the various political processes which either took place in the past or are happening right now. The best option would be to combine both options: analyze previous experience, define its influence on the current situation, and make some prediction for the further course of events.

Choose the category from Grand-Essays that fits your preferences best. Good luck!