Effects on Businesses as it relates to employee's smoking habits Research Paper

Effects on Businesses as it relates to employee's smoking habits - Research Paper Example This has created a concern for the human resource department. The premiums of the health insurance are seen to rise and now the companies are looking towards shifting this cost towards the employees. Some of the organizations are charging surcharges, while some others have decided not to recruit smoker at the first. This has created hue and cry among the experts and they demand stricter action from the side of the government. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Affect of smoking 4 Discussion 6 Results 9 Recommendations 13 Reference 14 Introduction In recent times the smoking habit of the employees has become a major concern for the employers of United States. It has been seen that when the employees make a positive move towards the lifestyle by leaving their smoking habit both the society and employers benefits at large. Though there is clear evidence of harmful effect of cigarette smoking on the health of the employees; yet there is much debate regarding the matter. Research has also e stablished that there is a reciprocal relationship between smoking and financial stress and social disadvantage. Several researches have also highlighted on the link between various form of social deprivation and high smoking rates (Stobbe, 2013). Rising number of research also focuses on the relationship that intensification and reinforcement of material hardship and financial stress is caused by smoking. ... Affect of smoking Health Hazards The use of tobacco is not only a chief cause of death from non-communicable diseases such as respiratory disease, cancer and heart disease but also from communicable diseases like tuberculosis, which exaggerates and activates the use of tobacco. The use of tobacco causes 600,000 deaths all over the globe and reduces the life expectancy of an individual by 20 to 25 years. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) smoking causes a rise in the risk of infertility, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, chronic obstructive lung diseases, lung cancer, stroke and coronary heart disease. Smoking affects almost every organ in the human body (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). This association can be adjusted through environmental and other exposures and the effect can be moderated via early detection and screening. However the affect of smoking generally increase with age and the burden of chronic and no n-communicable diseases increases (African Union, n.d.). Cost for Employers In 2000 smoking was one of the primary factors that caused death. Apart from mortality the economic burden caused by death is also of significant amount. As per the estimation of Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year the cost of estimation increases by $167 billion in United States. This estimation includes both $92 billion, the cost of loss of productivity resulting from the loss of productive life on the event of premature death and $75 billion resulting from the indirect healthcare cost (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.; NBC News, 2005). There are some addition costs that are bear by the employer of the smokers like effect of second hand

Advantages Of Open Tendering Construction Essay

Advantages Of Open Tendering Construction Essay Open tendering is a one-stage bidding process, where all interested and responding to contract notice will be invited to submit a tender.   The contract notice states where to obtain tender documents and the last date when tenders will be accepted.  Open tender is open to public all the interested firms can apply for the contract. Advantages of open tendering No favourism (everyone can apply for the tender) High competition in pricing ( client will take good prize) New firms can enter into the market Increased employment opportunities ( new firms comes) New experience (new technology) Helps contractors to grow Contractors get new client Disadvantages of open tendering Selected contractor might not suit the project (ex: no experience) Inexperienced firms can enter into the market Unknown firms can enter into the markets Waste of estimating time High aggregate cost for tender (ex: electricity, transport) High evaluation time (because we have to check all the documents) Unrealistic competition Arbitrations 2.0.2 Selective tendering A process of competitive tendering for award of the contract for construction whereby the owner selects the constructors who are invited to tender to the exclusion of others, as in the process of open tendering. It means the client selects the contractor from limited list invitation to tender is made by client to the contractor by a letter. In selective tendering short listing can be done by, Invitation ICTAD category Prequalification (financial) Post qualification Negotiation In selective tendering there can be two stages, One stage selective tendering Two stage selective tendering One stage selective tendering Client advertise for contractor to apply for short listing Short list the contractors who are considered suitable to do the work approved list is maintained by the client. (competition) Two stage selective tendering Single stage for competition, double stage for competition plus early start of work at site. Contractors experience/ practical knowledge is useful at the design stage First stage Inviting for tender Inform about 2 stage tender Pre select the contractor (a simple BOQ) Contractors give proposal for the design Second stage Negotiate the rates with the contractor for 2nd time Advantages of Selective tender Well known contractor Good quality Less aggregate cost for tender Less evaluation time Disadvantages of Selective tender Favourism Less price competition Cartel tendering New firms cannot enter in to the market Regular updating is necessary 2.1 Factors which used by client to formulate the select list 2.1.1 Information of the company Information of the company is very important when the clients are giving the tenders. Because they want to know how much they can trust that company. Reason is some companies are new to the industry some are very old to the Industry. When companies are new to industry, the risk is more to the client. Because when companies are new to the industry most of the companies are not continue their services. But when we talking about old companies they are continue their services. Because of that clients like to handover there tender to the old companies than the new companies. 2.1.2 Awards achievements When the companies are continuing their work some departments presenting awards for best company of the yearetc. When companies are offering awards clients like to handover their tender to these companies. Because theres no any risk to the client. 2.1.3 Successfully complete projects Client giving a contract to a contractor it is essential to know the successfully completed projects. Because some companies even not complete a single project even. So that is developing their trust on the contractor. 2.1.4 Work in progress The work they doing during they applying for the tender is more important for client to handover their tender for the contractor. That is a benchmark for the company to take a tender. 2.1.5 ICTAD grading and relevant documentary evidence In construction field ICTAD grading is more important than the other qualifications to get a contract or a tender. ICTAD grading is one that saying about the company which is good in construction work that company has evidence to prove that, their company is good in work completing projects. So ICTAD grading is more useful to client to give a tender to a company. 2.1.6 Financial information Financial side of a company is very useful for client whether give the tender or not to the company. Because some of the companies are new to the industry. So their financial side is not stronger than the other old companies. So the financial information of a company is more useful for client. 2.1.7 Experience as a main contractor Experience as a main contractor is more essential for the client to build up a relationship or to give the tender to the contractor. Because to take the tender for their company all the construction companies of the country apply for it. But some are new some are very much of experience companies. Actually client not takes any responsibility to hand over the tender to new company. Because they still new to the industry they are not take any experience as a main contractors, but old companies they are full fill with lack of experience as a main contractor. So client likes to give their tender to an experience company. So experience as a main contractor is very important bench mark to get a tender from client. 2.2 Typical clients 2.2.1 Banks Analysis of the client internal needs, new product which impact on the internal environment of the client, management of the public, opened, or closed tender for suppliers of required solution, evaluation of tender, the draft of basic documents in terms of functional specification of solution and its pricing structure, origination of the documentation. 2.2.2 Merchant Analysis of merchants (client) internal needs, target group specification with full consideration of credit card products, Suggestion of adequate partner for credit card acceptance, invitation and management of the public, opened, or closed tender for suppliers of required solution evaluation of the tender. 2.2.3 Government agency Analysis of clients internal needs in consideration of specifics of public service, analysis of impact of new solutions on internal environment of the client, invitation and management of the public tender for suppliers of required solution evaluation of tender. 2.3 Tender process There are three parties of tender process. There are Client Consultant Contractor 2.3.1Client A client is a person (individual or organization) which carry out a project or a work himself or another person or an organization. It means client is anyone having construction or building work carried out as part of their business. Without a client we cant a construction project. He is the man who authorized the project. Client has some kinds of duties to do. Check competence and resources of all appointees. Allow sufficient time and resources for all stages. Be satisfied that each designer and contractor appointed has adequate training, knowledge, experience and resources for the work to be performed. Allow sufficient time for each stage of the project, from concept onwards. Provide a copy of the safety and health plan prepared by the PSDP to every person tendering for the project. Provide information relating to the health and safety file to the CDM coordinator. Before the construction work starts client have to see whether the welfare facilities are on the site. 2.3.2 Consultant A consultant is an individual who possesses special knowledge or skills and provide that expertise to a client for a fee. It means a construction consultant someone who is hired to assess and advise on structural issues. Consultant helps all sort of businesses find an implement solution to wide variety problems. They usually have several years of experience in construction field. They are familiar with all kind of construction companies. Commonly the work as a consulting firms but sometimes they work for legal firms sometimes they work as an individual contractor. Construction consultants do many different things. Some assist companies with administration tasks; they make sure everything is running smoothly, and on time, so that the site owner and managers can concentrate on other business matters. A construction consultant may be hired to keep a project running on budget, and handle any problems that may appear. This may also mean working as an in-between for the owner of the site and the construction crew. Another duty which consultant has to do is judicial work. It means some times when continuing the work it might be failed. Then the consultant has to give the reason why the construction process is failed. Sometimes the problem must be small, such as weakness of the labours or sometimes the problem with the structure which design. Another duty of a consultant is if the building or the project fails consultant has to inform the client why it is failed, what the reasons for failed etc. 2.3.3 Contractor A contractor is a person who in the course or furtherance of a business, carries out or manages construction work. It means in construction he is the man who responsible day to day happening in the site. Actually we can name the contractor as general contractor of the site. The contractor is employed by the client. Imagine ones contractor got the tender first thing is he have to visit the site to get better understanding about the project. Secondly the contractor makes the prizing list which called as estimate. A duty which contractor has to do is manage the work. It is the most important thing in the site. It means he has to plan the day today work like what are the risks we have to achieve, when we going to complete this project, what are the needs of the labours including health safety, protecting the public while doing the projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. as a contractor if he plans the work in time we can keep the relationship between client contractor. Another responsibility which contractor needs to do is providing information trains them for the rules regulations. Its includes site introduction, risks, sit rulesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. 2.4 Contractual documentation required for tendering bid bond form of tender construction program day work schedule power of attorney prequalification document Quality and safety proceeding Copy of ICTAD,NCASL registration 2.4.1 Bid bond On most major construction projects, work is awarded through a process known as bidding. A bid bond is important to show proof of guarantee to the project owner that you can obey with the bid contract and also that you can accomplish the job as laid out in the contract. A bid bond is a guarantee that you provide to the project owner stating that you have the capability to take on and implement the project once you are selected during the bidding process. Normally, project owners do not know if a contractor is financially stable or has the necessary resources to take on a project 2.4.2 how bid bond works During bidding, various contractors estimate what the job will cost to complete. They submit this price to the owner in the form of a bid. The lowest bidder will be awarded a contract for the job. If this bidder realizes they made a mistake with their bid, or refuses to sign the contract for any reason, the bonding company will ensure the owner suffers no financial loss. This usually means that the bonding company will pay the owner the difference between the lowest and next lowest bids. Sometimes, the bonding company may sue the contractor to recover these costs. The possibility of lawsuits depends on the terms of the bond. 2.4.3 Bid bond Requirements Under the  Mille act, which is still the standard today, all bidders are required to submit bid bonds on any federal project. Many private firms have copied this trend to protect themselves from risk during the bid process. Getting bond is very important if you want your company to become competitive in construction filed. 2.4.4 Form of tender A tender form is issued to a supplier during the Invitation to Tender process. Each Tender Form helps the team to collect information about potential suppliers so that they can appoint one or more preferred suppliers to the business. As each Tender Form is released to the suppliers, the progress is tracked in the Tender Register. To save time creating each Tender Form, a Tender Template is used. 2.4.5 Construction program A work method statement, sometimes referred to as a safe work method statement or a safe work procedure, is a part of a workplace safety plan. It is predominately used in construction to describe a document that gives specific instructions on how to safely perform a work related task, or operate a piece of plant or equipment. In many countries it is law to have work method statements, or similar, in place to advice employees and contractors on how to perform work related tasks safely. The statement is generally used as part of a safety induction and then referred to as required throughout a workplace. The construction program envelop the following, purpose scope

How Nuclear Power Works :: essays research papers

How Nuclear Power Works Nuclear power plants provide about 17 percent of the world's electricity. Some countries depend more on nuclear power for electricity than others. In France, for instance, about 75 percent of the electricity is generated from nuclear power, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. In the United States, nuclear power supplies about 15 percent of the electricity overall, but some states get more power from nuclear plants than others. There are more than 400 nuclear power plants around the world, with more than 100 in the United States. The dome-shaped containment building at the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant near Raleigh, NC Have you ever wondered how a nuclear power plant works or how safe nuclear power is? In this article, we will examine how a nuclear reactor and a power plant work. We'll explain nuclear fission and give you a view inside a nuclear reactor. Uranium Uranium is a fairly common element on Earth, incorporated into the planet during the planet's formation. Uranium is originally formed in stars. Old stars exploded, and the dust from these shattered stars aggregated together to form our planet. Uranium-238 (U-238) has an extremely long half-life> (4.5 billion years), and therefore is still present in fairly large quantities. U-238 makes up 99 percent of the uranium on the planet. U-235 makes up about 0.7 percent of the remaining uranium found naturally, while U-234 is even more rare and is formed by the decay of U-238. (Uranium-238 goes through many stages or alpha and beta decay to form a stable isotope of lead, and U-234 is one link in that chain.) Uranium-235 has an interesting property that makes it useful for both nuclear power production and for nuclear bomb production. U-235 decays naturally, just as U-238 does, by alpha radiation. U-235 also undergoes spontaneous fission a small percentage of the time. However, U-235 is one of the few materials that can undergo induced fission. If a free neutron runs into a U-235 nucleus, the nucleus will absorb the neutron without hesitation, become unstable and split immediately. See How Nuclear Radiation Works for complete details. Nuclear Fission The animation below shows a uranium-235 nucleus with a neutron approaching from the top. As soon as the nucleus captures the neutron, it splits into two lighter atoms and throws off two or three new neutrons (the number of ejected neutrons depends on how the U-235 atom happens to split).

Knowledge work productivity Essay

The road to an organization’s success depends on the PEOPLE. In Peter Drucker’s writings, there was always a part on people and how they can CONTRIBUTE. Before the internet and social media congested world of today; Drucker noticed how people behaved with their work duties. Whether it was putting a tire on a car; talking strategy on how to move the business forward or volunteers interacting with each other at a non-profit, Drucker soon realized that successful organizations have the foundation of great people. People grow organizations together. From the beginning straight to the end; it is the people who decide how far they want to take their organization. Knowledge work defines our society today. With the dominance of social media, the expanding internet, and the powerhouses of technology; the possibilities of knowledge are endless. Educators are beginning to orient themselves towards teaching through technology, whether that is tablets in the school classroom or universities providing entire courses online. Physical labor still exists; however, the high level of knowledge that is needed still persists. Our society today depends on people working with their minds; a reality that Peter Drucker was envisioning over fifty years ago. The organizations that use knowledge work effectively empower and trust their people to have the freedom to share their ideas. Executives and managers work together to align people’s ideas to the mission; as well as create a sense of belonging to each that works there. Management is always about the people first. A manager needs to create an environment where people are comfortable working together and in tandem, and resist the urge to create individual silos. Everyone wants to do great things for their organization; it is up to management to foster that environment of collaboration and teamwork and align the team to the company’s mission and goals. People will always be the structure of any organization. When the structure is strong; the support of more is there. When one feels empowered to use their passion and knowledge to be successful; the winning formula begins to develop, and all it takes is to empower that person to be their best. The author of 39 books during his long career, and counselor to titans of business and rulers of nations, Drucker championed the powers of observation, often formulating simple ideas that triggered startling results. The Practice of Management (1954) and The Effective Executive (1966) are considered his landmark works. Part of Drucker’s genius lay in his ability to find patterns among seemingly unconnected disciplines. â€Å"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said,† he once said. The magazine called Drucker’s teachings â€Å"a blueprint for every thinking leader,† noting that Drucker taught generations of managers the importance of picking the best people, of focusing on opportunities and not problems, of getting on the same side of the desk as their customer, of the need to understand their competitive advantages and to continue to refine them (listening-and-learning approach) Drucker called himself a â€Å"social ecologist,† a close observer of the way humans are organized across all sectors—in business, but also in government and in the nonprofit world. â€Å"None of my books or ideas means anything to me in the long run,† he said. â€Å"What are theories? Nothing. The only thing that matters is how you touch people. Have I given anyone insight? That’s what I want to have done. Insight lasts; theories don’t. And even insight decays into small details, which is how it should be. A few details that have meaning in one’s life are important.† Drucker’s track record is impressive, as BusinessWeek succinctly summarized upon his death in 2005. Among his accomplishments: –He introduced the idea of decentralization—in the 1940s—which became a bedrock principle for virtually every large organization in the world. –He was the first to assert—in the 1950s—that workers should be treated as assets, not as liabilities to be eliminated. –He originated the view of the corporation as a human community—again, in the 1950s—built on trust and respect for the worker and not just a profit-making machine, a perspective that won Drucker an almost godlike reverence among the Japanese. –He first made clear—still the ’50s—that there is â€Å"no business without a customer,† a simple notion that ushered in a new marketing mindset. –He argued in the 1960s—long before others—for the importance of substance over style, for institutionalized practices over charismatic, cult leaders. –He wrote about the contribution of knowledge workers—in the 1970s—long before anyone knew or understood how knowledge would trump raw material as the essential capital of the New Economy. As he aged, Drucker appeared to assume more gravitas, slowing his speech, projecting a more authoritative presence, allowing his audience to hang on his words. He expressed dismay with the greed and self-interest that pervaded corporate America in his later years, shifting his focus to nonprofits. In writings and speeches during the 1980s, Drucker emerged as one of corporate America’s most important critics, preaching against reckless mergers and acquisitions. He warned that CEO pay had rocketed out of control and implored boards to hold CEO compensation to no more than 20 times what the rank and file made. In The Definitive Drucker: Challenges for Tomorrow’s Executives—Final Advice from the Father of Modern Management (2007), author Elizabeth Haas Edersheim wrote, â€Å"Peter’s ideas were the catalyst that freed people to pursue opportunities they had never expected to have. He liberated people by asking them questions and eliciting a vision that just felt right. He liberated people by getting them to challenge their own assumptions. He liberated people by raising their awareness of, and their faith in, things they knew intuitively. He liberated people by forcing them to think. He liberated people by talking to them. He liberated people by getting them to ask the right questions.† The Business of Listening Why should you care about listening skills? Most of us have developed as business people in organizational cultures that emphasize the persuasiveness of the speaker. We’ve spent countless hours, and a great deal of money, attending to our appearance, business dress, body language, facial expression, selection of language, tone of voice, charts, graphs, and on and on. The importance of those factors is not denied. However, they’re not the only factors influencing communication. And are they powerful enough, when we’re trying to get the best from a diverse group of people, build a customer-focused organization, or influence those who disagree with us? As Kenneth R. Johnson, said in his book, Effective Listening Skills, â€Å"Listening effectively to others can be the most fundamental and powerful communication tool of all. When someone is willing to stop talking or thinking and begin truly listening to others, all of their interactions become easier, and communication problems are all but eliminated.† Understanding others, results in them understanding you Consciously cultivating your listening skills helps you understand the many difficulties affecting other people. You become better at being heard and understood. Use your human resources better Improving your listening skills helps you more fully use the diverse knowledge, wisdom, energy and enthusiasm of the people you deal with. Get more out of face-to-face interaction Maximize the value of your live, non-electronic, conversations. Face-to-face interaction still influences the quality of your business relationships and meetings more than any other factor. Gain depth and intimacy You engage more deeply and intimately with your people, your teams and important organizational issues and changes. Motivate Improving your listening skills helps you maintain the energy, equilibrium and enthusiasm of others, as well as your own. â€Å"Managers who get to know their people, respect and trust the competency of their employees, and listen continually for how employees are doing relative to their aspirations, quality of work life, and sense of career advancement, will have a far greater chance of developing and retaining their employees.† Caela Farren, CEO of MasteryWorks THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING March and Olsen provide a model of organizational learning as a cycle in which individual and organizational action are distinct but interrelated. Individual actions – based on individual beliefs – lead to organizational action that in turn induces an environmental response. If an environmental response subsequently affects individual beliefs, the cycle is supposedly completed and learning has been achieved. However, if the environment remains unchanged, the three other elements of the learning model remain unaffected and therefore only individual but no organizational learning might occur. If in contrast, the environment changes, individual beliefs will change which in turn will lead to some corresponding individual and organizational actions. This concept of learning as adaptation is further developed by Levitt and March who suggest organizations learn by â€Å"encoding inferences from history into routines that guide behavior.† Drawing on a stimulus-response model of responsiveness this adaptive perspective portrays the generation of responses as a function of environmental change. In turn, the perspective of organizations as cognitive systems has extended the foundational argument of the adaptive perspective on learning by identifying cognition as the basis for deliberate organizational action. In this case, Ducan and Weiss remind us that organizational learning refers to an organization’s – i.e. its dominant coalition’s – capacity to identify the need for change and adaptation and take intentional actions. Action-outcome relationships and their conditions are tested, validated, and subsequently rejected or confirmed. In particular, they emphasize two key aspects of such learning processes, namely the ability to communicate and integrate knowledge and insights. Similarly, Fiol and Lyles state that â€Å"learning enables organizations to build an understanding and interpretation of their environment†¦it results in associations, cognitive systems, and memories that are developed and shared by members of the organization.† Thus organizational members are portrayed as interpreters of reality who become conscious actors in individual and collective learning process. On a similar note, Draft and Weick provide us with a model that views learning as resulting from conflicting interpretations of reality. In their seminal piece, they propose organizations as interpretation systems whereby interpretation refers to a process through which information is given meaning and subsequent actions are identified. Building on, yet extending the behavioral view, Draft and Weick suggest iterative sequences of scanning, interpretation and learning. For instance, scanning refers to vigilantly monitoring and gathering data from the environment, whereas the interpretation refers to the translation or sensemaking of such data. Finally, learning involves knowledge of the organization in terms of the interrelationship of organizational actions and its environment. The generation of responses in this model is portrayed as a function of the interpretation style of an organization’s dominant coalition. Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to perform the basic functions of management, i.e., Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Communication helps managers to perform their jobs and responsibilities. Communication serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be communicated to the managers who in-turn must communicate the plans so as to implement them. Organizing also requires effective communication with others about their job task. Similarly leaders as managers must communicate effectively with their subordinates so as to achieve the team goals. Controlling is not possible without written and oral communication. Managers devote a great part of their time in communication. They generally devote approximately 6 hours per day in communicating. They spend great time on face to face or telephonic communication with their superiors, subordinates, colleagues, customers or suppliers. Managers also use Written Communication in form of letters, reports or memos wherever oral communication is not feasible. Thus, we can say that â€Å"effective communication is a building block of successful organizations†. In other words, communication acts as organizational blood. The importance of communication in an organization can be summarized as follows: 1. Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark. 2. Communication is a source of information to the organizational members for decision-making process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions. 3. Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes, i.e., a well informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding employee’s attitudes. 4. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. It is also said that one cannot survive without communication. 5. As discussed earlier, communication also assists in controlling process. It helps controlling organizational member’s behaviour in various ways. There are various levels of hierarchy and certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling function of management. An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering and receiving messages. A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyze the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary responsibility of a manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication system in the organization.

Human Growth And Development Essay

There are four questions, each of which is worth 25 points for a total of 100 points. MYEDUCATION LAB Activity: The Major Developmental Theories Review the following theoretical perspectives on development: psychodynamic theories (e.g., Freud), psychosocial theories (e.g., Erikson), behaviorist (learning) theories (e.g., Watson, Skinner), social learning theories (e.g., Bandura), cognitive developmental theories (e.g., Piaget), information processing theories (e.g., Siegler), and bioecological theories (Bronfenbrenner). Question 1: Which theory or theories focus more on the importance of nature than nurture? Which theory or theories take a strong position that nurture is more important than nature? The humanistic perspective contends that people have a natural capacity to make decisions about their lives and control their behavior. The humanistic perspective emphasizes free will and the natural desire of humans to reach their full potential. Question 2: Which theory or theories focus on the universality of development more than diversity of individuals? The contextual perspective considers the relationship between individuals and their physical, cognitive, personality, and social worlds. The bioecological approach stresses the interrelatedness of developmental areas and the importance of broad cultural factors in human development. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory emphasizes the central influence on cognitive development exerted by social interactions between members of a culture. Question 3: Which theory or theories focus more on qualitative change than on quantitative change? The Cognitive Theory focuses on qualitative, the goal of the theory is to explain the mechanisms and processes by which the infant, and then the child, develops into an individual who can reason and think using hypotheses. To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and  environmental experience. Children construct an understanding of the world around them, and then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment. The humanistic perspective contends that people have a natural capacity to make decisions about their lives and control their behavior. The humanistic perspective emphasizes free will and the natural desire of humans to reach their full potential. Question 4: Which theory or theories focus more on discontinuity than on continuity over development? The psychodynamic perspective is exemplified by the psychoanalytic theory of Freud and the psychosocial theory of Erikson. Freud focused attention on the unconscious and on stages through which children must pass successfully to avoid harmful fixations. Erikson identified eight distinct stages of development, each characterized by a conflict, or crisis, to work out.

Sensitivity essays

Sensitivity essays Each body part has different levels of sensitivity. Some places can sense things much better then other parts can. For instance your fingers would probably be more sensitive then the back of your elbow. This is because there are more nerves in one given area then another and therefore the area is more likely to differentiate between how many points that spot has been touched with. But whats the limit of which the part can tell the difference? 2 inches? 1 inch? This lab helps us all understand at what point our body parts cannot differentiate between one or two points of a compass. My hypothesis is that your fingers will be much more sensitive to the compass points then other parts like your arm. The very first thing you will need to do is gather the materials. Youll need a compass, a ruler, and something to draw a graph with. Youll have to pick out at least 3 or 4 different body parts of a group from a group of people. There will first have to be a test trail on each body part to find the measurement of about 50% accuracy. Take note of the measurement and make other measurements based on that number. Then select the parts of your body you will be experimenting with. In this case it was your fingertips, your fore arm, and your upper arm. Now take the compass and set the width of the two compass points to the largest measurement. Randomly pick how many points will touch the person who will be tested and record it onto the chart. Its recommended that you go through the procedure around 75 times. Once you have figured out when you will touch the person with one or two points, go through the process of gently touching the body part with the compass with the number of points t hat the chart says. The person will say whether he/she feels one or two points. Record that onto the chart, change the compass angle to another measurement, and repeat the procedure on the next body part. Once you have tested all the body pa...

Critically Compare the Concepts of Equal Opportunities and Sports Equity in British Sport Essays

Critically Compare the Concepts of Equal Opportunities and Sports Equity in British Sport Essays Critically Compare the Concepts of Equal Opportunities and Sports Equity in British Sport Essay Critically Compare the Concepts of Equal Opportunities and Sports Equity in British Sport Essay Critically compare the concepts of equal opportunities and sports equity in British sport This paper aims to compare the ideas of equal opportunities and sports equity with regard to sport in Britain. Within this structure, there will be particular emphasis on the theoretical approaches that are used to look at equality in British sport. A key part of this comparison is the study of (social) equality; this includes formal, radical and liberal interpretations of equality. The arguments and suggestions will be reinforced and supported by literature and other texts outside of just the sporting context. Many sports historians such as Holt (1989) say that sport, pre 20th Century, was almost private and restricted to the upper class minority. Recreational sports had a complex set of laws (i. e. tennis) this was to restrict participation from the lower classes. Another vestige of the times was the limitation of sport to women; this was not necessarily written law but was accepted none the less. Racism in sport was not tackled or even considered until well into the 20th century when the government introduced laws and legislation that banned prejudice based on race. As a consequence of these legalities, many recognised sporting institution in Great Britain have introduced policy and recommendations to deal with the problems of ‘inequality’ within their respective organisations. Nevertheless, as indicated by Guttman’s analysis (1978), continuous development in recent years has slowly begun to break down certain barriers to equality. Should someone wish to investigate further into actual modern equality work they can access a variety of net resources. A quick look at equality policies of the Football Association for example demonstrates that work is being done for the purpose of equality. Guttman (1978) even goes so far to say that in many sports worldwide, participants of any circumstance and environment are encouraged to participate. He also states however that equality in sport and its aims is seen by some as a distant achievement, it remains unrealistic. Guttman’s (1978) study illustrates that as sport entered the 2nd half of the 20th century, systems that control other components of a balanced society would also affect modern sporting institutions in the same way In order to better understand the aim of this paper, a number of key terms need some more clarity. The first term that needs defining is ‘equality’ and more pecifically ‘basic equality’. According to Baker (2004) basic equality is the concept that people have the same worth and are consequently worthy of equal interest and value. Many would argue that certain individuals and groups have earned more respect than other people and therefore inequalities should exist. Maybe w hat we should be considering is a minimum level of equality, a fundamental idea of equality whereby people all exist at the same point of respect. This would mean putting a threshold on what it is to be human. As indicated by Craig and Beedie (2010) the study of equality is an area of fascination to many sporting sociologists. Coakley (2003, p326) states, that this curiosity is established because many believe that sport goes beyond monetary and economic inequalities. A common belief is that sport is available to all; irrelevant of which equality strand someone may fit into (age, race, ethnicity etc). According to Craig and Beedie (2010) some consider the sporting domain a discrimination free arena; where a result is contested on fair grounds and the result goes to those with the most aptitude or skill. Another key term is stratification. This is a way of breaking down the different levels of society based on their sociological group. This helps to highlight the in/equality that is present in sport. A number of actual examples have been highlighted by Craig and Beedie (2010). Examples of these stratification layers include; the system of class formation affects the poor, the working class, and the lower/ middle and upper classes, these structures all seem to be highly rigid. The concept of social class is best recognised by using Marxist ideas of capitalism, where the idea of equality is seen in financial terms. Feminism however opposes the theory that ‘class stratification’ is the most important foundation of social inequality. Justifications about the gender distinctions in a sporting context vary from those concentrated on a biological argument to the arguments that place more impetus on the social understanding of gender. There is a repeated and constant emphasis in sport and society on the power of patriarchal arrangements; this too is present in sport. Liberal equality can be a little difficult to decipher in that it accepts basic equality but denies some other aspects of equality. The main principle according to Baker (2005) is that inequality of income and power cannot be alleviated. Equality as a concept plays the part of controlling inequalities so that income and power are more fairly distributed. In a way it can be said that liberal equality requires supporting the bare minimum that people are allowed and have access to, whilst controlling the advantage experienced by those that have more. Baker (2005) further states that the main underlying belief of liberal egalitarianism is the upholding and support of the most basic rights that all should have access to. Equal opportunity of course plays a key part in this study. Liberal equality is often used in conjunction with equality of opportunity. This is where groups or individuals have equal access to the opportunity to gain higher representation within their respective circles. It is rooted in the idea that inequalities in power will be ever present. Baker (2004) summarises this sentiment, he claims that the point of equality of opportunity is for everyone to get a fair chance in the sociological struggle, within a society that is unequal. Baker (2004) describes equal opportunity as the belief that everyone in society deserves a fair chance to contest over the positions in society that carry the most power. This concept was first used officially in the French Declaration of human rights in 1789. It states that everyone can hold a position â€Å"within their abilities† (French Declaration of the rights of man 1789). These days institutions everywhere boast equality policies and equality laws that make the discrimination based on gender and race in social institutions against the law In support of this, equal opportunity claims that nobody ought to benefit or suffer from their social circumstances; any prosperity and expectation ought to come about due to personal skills and endeavours. Rawls (1971) labels this concept ‘fair equal opportunity’. He believes that education should be used as a vehicle by the lower classes to develop the skills that would put them into a more advantaged situation. Equal opportunity is unachievable whilst those in positions of power use their influence to achieve hierarchy over others. Liberal equality approaches do not take into account the characteristics of structured inequality. Powerful social stigmas are not dealt with. We can therefore conclude that people’s opinions and beliefs (inequality) cannot change whilst such stigma still exist. Some would argue that this is good in theory but education doesn’t actually function in this way. A different aspect of equal opportunity includes establishing policies and legislation to assist people from minority groups in getting work and schooling/qualifications. Were people from minorities perhaps not supported properly in schools or education institutions then this could be down to them not having ‘equal opportunities’ to progress as the majority do. Baker (2004) appears to believe that the biggest sign of equal opportunity within an organisation is seen in the participation rates. A more comprehensive liberal equality view is that of Rawls (1971). This states that inequalities ought to favour those that need them the most. For those that believe in liberal equality this is not always the final solution however; improvements can be made to a number of factors contributing to equality, including: education, sport, the economy etc. A fine-tuning to these frameworks rather than completely overturning them is often the preferred way to achieve to equality. In order to understand liberal equality properly however, something to compare it to is required. Radical approaches to equality oppose the liberal view of equal opportunity. It maintains that in order to eradicate inequality much larger steps should be taken. Inequalities should not just simply be dealt with after recognition. â€Å"The key to this much more ambitious agenda is to recognise that inequality is rooted in changing and changeable social structures, and particularly in structures of domination and oppression. These structures create, and continually reproduce, the inequalities which liberal egalitarianism sees as inevitable. † (Baker 2004, 18) This handsomely describes the way in which radical equality aims to eliminate equality compared to the liberal view. As oppose to the liberal view of concentrating on the power distribution allocated to individuals, the radical view allows for advantage to more than just individuals, but groups. On the contrary to liberal ideas of how power is allocated, the radical approach attempts find answers in the social connection between related parties. Another trend of the liberal approach is to reward individuals with their own triumphs and indeed failures. The radical approach on the other hand tends to attribute these triumphs and failures to larger social occurrences. As indicated by Baker (2004) many argue that the liberal approach to equality differs from that of equality of outcome. However, the radical approach, as does the liberal approach encourages choice as the final outcome. There is no reason that both approaches to equality cannot allow for choice. In order to summarise the above comments â€Å"basic egalitarianism tends to concentrate on subsistence needs, liberal egalitarianism on the idea of a decent standard of living and radical egalitarianism on what people need for a full human life† (Baker 2004, 19) In order to fully understand this task, we must also look at the origins of sport in the UK. During the late 1800s (Victorian period) Great britain went through a major reform, this is commonly known as the ‘Industrial revolution’. It was driven by invention, engineering breakthroughs and class restructuring. A movement from farming and agriculture towards Industrial urban based work meant that labourers moved from the countryside to the city. This mass movement of workers into factories allowed the newly middle class employers considerate control over the workforce and the opportunity to influence the way workers should spend their leisure time. Throughout this era of reform, sport was still however considered an activity of the higher classes. The control exerted over the masses encouraged employees and workers into a different way to spend their leisure time. Structure in recreation became encouraged. According to Townson (1997) this became the norm as the middle classes had fears that the increasingly large urban population may become unruly. The idea of ‘rational recreation’ became the name of this notion. Over the years the bourgeoisie anticipated discomfort among the working class. Towards the end of the 19th century in Great Britain the concept of ‘Muscular Christianity’ (Holt 1989) was established in order to distract the masses from want to reform (Holt 1989) â€Å"The very idea of a play discipline would have seemed absurd, yet this is what a growing band of bourgeois idealists advocated during the second half of the century† (Townson 1997). Sport and recreation had been introduced by the bourgeoisie. This helped maintain a healthy labour force and diverted masses away from ‘urban radicalism’. It was during this time that the upper classes and more advantaged started to consider the importance of fairness through reform and education. While sport for the masses still took on a rational recreation edge, sport was undergoing a period of change. A combination of factors leading to this change included an emphasis on health through exercise (due in part to inferior performances from the British forces in South Africa) and an increasing emphasis on professionalism. Sports clubs and facilities were made available by middle class. Key factors that occurred during the Victorian period according to Davis (2000): An ethical code produced by the bourgeoisie became associated with sport Realisation of fair-play (introduction of rules and equal conditions) Freedom at weekends gave people more time for recreation. Sport in education was limited to gym and discipline The second notable phase in british sport history swaying further towards equality was the establisment of the Wolfenden report of 1960. This was written for the Central Council of Physical Recreation by an autonomous group of individuals to determine the state of sport in the UK. According to Rous (1960) it was published to demonstrate the inequalities and problems that existed in UK sport in comparison with its peer countries. After the publication of the wolfenden report the government took yet a further step towards a more interventionist approach by establishing the GB sports council in 1972. Collins (2003) claims that this was an important step for the government, as it allowed authorities to make social and welfare provision for public sport After new labour came to power in 1997, sport was given a new social status. The organisation of UK sport structure at the time was considered an obstacle to governments recently set out aims: Increased youth participation Increased succes in elite sport This quote taken from Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) demonstrates the awareness that some had of the state of sport within the UK â€Å"There is a need for a radical rethink of the way we fund and organize sport, we offer a modernizing partnership with the governing bodies of sport† (DCMS 2000 p19). In the same review they also threaten Governing Bodies within sport with withdrawal of funding should they not meet required governmental targets. The 3rd and perhaps most important stage of movements towards equality came in the shape of sporting equity. Sport England (2000) very broadly defines sports equity as fairness in sport. According to Sport England (2000) sports equity is in place to make sport more accessible to everyone period. It is a concept larger than sports equality and all strands of equality are made irrelevant. Equity: In its simplest sense, ‘fairness’; the process of allocating (or reallocating) resources and entitlements, including power, fairly and without discrimination. It may also use positive action initiatives and measures to address existing inequities. † (Sport England 2000 p39) As already stated inequalities date back to the beginnings of sport, in some ways they were institutionalised (Sport England 2000). After all the development i n sport however, cases of inequality do still exist. Even in todays modern society there are still only a handful of for example; ethnic minority ‘power’ in sport. Coaches seem to remain white, middle class. However, these inequalities are now recognised and agencies are putting in structures to improve the situation for these inequalities â€Å"Sport England is committed to supporting governing bodies in their quest to overcome inequality in sport† (Sport England 2000, p3). Equity in sport came around relatively late. A number of thngs happened which really pushed the equity movement forward. Equity issues came under the spotlight during the Macpherson Report and the stephen Lawrence inquiry. Both of these highlighted the extent of discrimination still present in society. Sporting campaigns and government iniatives have pushed for further equity in sport and according to Sport England (2000) but have committed to further action in the future. â€Å"It cannot be assumed that any sport is open and accessible to all members of the community† (Sport England 2000, p4). Even the sport england equity page recognises that more needs to be done to secure access to sport for all. Further policy will be encouraged and implemented. Society is changing and the existence of organisations, societies or clubs that exclude large sectors of the population from their activities, whether directly or indirectly, is viewed as anachronistic and increasingly unacceptable†. (Sport England 2000, p3). This quote demonstrates that the government is aware of the mass change in stance towards inequality. Despite the emergence of sports equity policies and propositions; inequalities still exist in sport. This can be seen in the recent Luis Suarez racism case and the John Terry racism case. These examples demonstrate that equality exists at the highest level. Equality work needs further development, much in the same way sports equity has developed. References Baker, J. ; Lynch, K. ; Cantillon, S. ; and Walsh, J. (2004) Equality: from Theory to Action London: Palgrave. Coakley, J (2003) Sports in Society: Issues and controversies. New York: Mcgraw-Hill Collins, M. F. with Kay, T. (2003). Sport and social exclusion. London: Routledge. Craig P and Paul Beadie (2010) Sport Sociology. 2nd Edition. Active Learning in Sport Davis, B. et al. (2000) Physical Education and the Study of Sport. UK: Harcourt Publishers Ltd Department for Culture, Media and Sport. (2001a). Elite Sport Funding Review (chair, J. Cunningham). London: DCMS. Guttman, A (1978) From ritual to record. New York. Columbia press Holt R. (1989) Sport and the British: A Modern History. Oxford: Clarendon Rawls, J. A. (1971) A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Sport and the community : the report of the Wolfenden Committee on Sport 1960 Sport England, June (2000). Governing Body Resource Pack. Planning for sport. Factfiles: Sports equity Stanley Rous. Chairman, Executive committee, C. C. P. R. 1960 Nigel Townson 1997 The British at Play – a social history of British sport from 1600 to the present

Perfect Exploratory Essay All You Need is Thorough Research

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Examine the contribution of functionalists accounts towards an explanation of the family - Essay Example As such, these parts tend also to function in an orderly manner, with minimal conflict. Even when the different parts are not in equilibrium (which they usually are in), their interrelationship is one of consensus, rather than conflict. In this regard, the role of functionalists is to examine social phenomena and its significance to society as a whole (Murdock 1949). The emergence of functionalism as an anthropology school of thought came about in the twentieth century. The development of functionalism at that time is especially credited to two renowned anthropologists of the Great Britain; A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, and Bronislaw Malinowski. In this regard, functionalism as a theory sought to check on the excesses of the nineteenth century diffusionists and evolutionary theories, as well as the theory of historicism later in the twentieth century (Goldscmidt 1996). Functionalists hold the argument that the nuclear family is capable of fulfilling many roles which have an impact on the larger society. One of the functionalists, Parsons, believes in the contemporary role of the family; the instrumental role of the male, and the expressive role of the female. Whilst the male works as a bread winner, the female gives care and emotional support to the husband and children. Although the argument sounds sexist, a majority of the nuclear families applies this contemporary role. Murdock, on his part, believes that the nuclear family should be of benefit to the larger society. In this regard, his functionalists’ ideas are based on the stable personality of adult, whose role it is educated the children about the values and norms of the society. Several scholars have been credited with the development of the theory of functionalism in the family. However, Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, have been regarded as an advocate of the school of

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African American film genre - Essay Example Long before John Crow's laws,white Americans had already a pre-conceived view of black people as inferior,which helped them justify slavery.After all they were unable to learn English and spoke Pigeon English,another proof that blacks were not intelligent. From the 1620s, blacks were stereotyped and the emergence of minstrel shows in the 1840s only helped in branding even more this misconception, (Davis) and introducing black caricatures, portrayed by white actors with black-make-up, as the coons, the toms, and the mammies at first, and later on followed by the mulattoes and the bucks. The first movie ever where African Americans appear was screened in 1898, where it showed black soldiers in the Spanish-American war. But it was with the 1903 movie with a black character, Uncle Tom, directed by Edwin S. Porter, a white man, that we can pinpoint the beginning of the American film industry incorporating black characters. Tom was portrayed by a white actor with black make-up. In the movi e, Tom is the typical skinny, middle-aged, desexed slave, totally loyal to his white master, a far cry from the original Tom portrayed in Harriet Beecher Stowe's book Uncle Tom's Cabin, which showed a gentle, kind, and forgiving man. This first portrayal of a black in film sealed even more this misconstrued idea of black inferiority and became a vehicle used to the advantage of whites not only for entertainment but also for economic reasons - advertisement for sellable products -. What no one foresaw then was the planting of the seed of the actual African American film industry with a slew of black actors who "elevated [these roles] and brought to [them] arty qualities if not pure art." (Bogle 23). That was the essence of black film history. When one tries to discuss and describe African American film industry, one cannot help but go back in time and start with the characterization that white people so strongly believed in, leading them to create caricatures of black people in the burgeoning entertainment industry. So, it is impossible not to describe the four categories of stereotypes that kept reoccurring throughout the twentieth century. These four characters were the foundation of the entertainment industry as seen by white producers, who soon came to realize that it was also a tool to instigate war or peace, tolerance and understanding versus discrimination and segregation. The four black figures were the Tom, the Mammies, the Coons, and the Bucks. The Tom, the ever subservient, good-natured, stoic, selfless and loyal to a fault, as seen in Jezebel (1938), Love Thy Neighbor (1940), where Tom was portrayed by Eddie Anderson, Edge of the City (1957), and The Defiant Ones (1958), where Sidney Poitier characters sacrifice themselves for their white friends. The Coons with very black faces, bulging eyeballs and thick red lips, which represented the black buffoon, himself subdivided into two groups, the Pickanny and the Uncle Ramus, "a cousin to Tom. (Bogle 8) Mantan Moreland made the coon character renown from the late 1930s to the early 1970s when "he still [made] cameo appearances"(Bogle 72). The Mammy, usually fat, big and cantankerous, but still sweet and good-tempered, made her first big appearance in 1914's Lysistrata, and was used as the recognizable face on pancake boxes and syrup, but was made famous by Hattie McDaniel in the 1930s (no one can forge t her in Gone with the Wind). Of course, the tragic Mulatto caught between the white and the black world and unable to find her place in neither one of them as portrayed in the 1912 movie The Debt, and the tear-jerker movie Imitation of Life in 1934. Finally, the last of the categories, the Buck, whose introduction in the 1915 racist movie by D.W. Griffith, The Birth of a Nation, brought a slew of controversies, was a brute, a liar, a cheat and a rapist. This blatantly anti-black movie that became a propaganda vehicle for the Ku Klux Klan, was also the coup de

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African American film genre - Essay Example Long before John Crow's laws,white Americans had already a pre-conceived view of black people as inferior,which helped them justify slavery.After all they were unable to learn English and spoke Pigeon English,another proof that blacks were not intelligent. From the 1620s, blacks were stereotyped and the emergence of minstrel shows in the 1840s only helped in branding even more this misconception, (Davis) and introducing black caricatures, portrayed by white actors with black-make-up, as the coons, the toms, and the mammies at first, and later on followed by the mulattoes and the bucks. The first movie ever where African Americans appear was screened in 1898, where it showed black soldiers in the Spanish-American war. But it was with the 1903 movie with a black character, Uncle Tom, directed by Edwin S. Porter, a white man, that we can pinpoint the beginning of the American film industry incorporating black characters. Tom was portrayed by a white actor with black make-up. In the movi e, Tom is the typical skinny, middle-aged, desexed slave, totally loyal to his white master, a far cry from the original Tom portrayed in Harriet Beecher Stowe's book Uncle Tom's Cabin, which showed a gentle, kind, and forgiving man. This first portrayal of a black in film sealed even more this misconstrued idea of black inferiority and became a vehicle used to the advantage of whites not only for entertainment but also for economic reasons - advertisement for sellable products -. What no one foresaw then was the planting of the seed of the actual African American film industry with a slew of black actors who "elevated [these roles] and brought to [them] arty qualities if not pure art." (Bogle 23). That was the essence of black film history. When one tries to discuss and describe African American film industry, one cannot help but go back in time and start with the characterization that white people so strongly believed in, leading them to create caricatures of black people in the burgeoning entertainment industry. So, it is impossible not to describe the four categories of stereotypes that kept reoccurring throughout the twentieth century. These four characters were the foundation of the entertainment industry as seen by white producers, who soon came to realize that it was also a tool to instigate war or peace, tolerance and understanding versus discrimination and segregation. The four black figures were the Tom, the Mammies, the Coons, and the Bucks. The Tom, the ever subservient, good-natured, stoic, selfless and loyal to a fault, as seen in Jezebel (1938), Love Thy Neighbor (1940), where Tom was portrayed by Eddie Anderson, Edge of the City (1957), and The Defiant Ones (1958), where Sidney Poitier characters sacrifice themselves for their white friends. The Coons with very black faces, bulging eyeballs and thick red lips, which represented the black buffoon, himself subdivided into two groups, the Pickanny and the Uncle Ramus, "a cousin to Tom. (Bogle 8) Mantan Moreland made the coon character renown from the late 1930s to the early 1970s when "he still [made] cameo appearances"(Bogle 72). The Mammy, usually fat, big and cantankerous, but still sweet and good-tempered, made her first big appearance in 1914's Lysistrata, and was used as the recognizable face on pancake boxes and syrup, but was made famous by Hattie McDaniel in the 1930s (no one can forge t her in Gone with the Wind). Of course, the tragic Mulatto caught between the white and the black world and unable to find her place in neither one of them as portrayed in the 1912 movie The Debt, and the tear-jerker movie Imitation of Life in 1934. Finally, the last of the categories, the Buck, whose introduction in the 1915 racist movie by D.W. Griffith, The Birth of a Nation, brought a slew of controversies, was a brute, a liar, a cheat and a rapist. This blatantly anti-black movie that became a propaganda vehicle for the Ku Klux Klan, was also the coup de

Critique review on Kopczak & Johnson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critique review on Kopczak & Johnson - Essay Example These shifts have guided, and will guide the managers in implementing the initiatives and enablers of the supply chain management, that should be implemented internally and with their partners. Instead of considering the impact of the field in terms of programmes and results, if the impact is considered in terms of business focus executives feel the strategic role of supply chain management in their business. Outsourcing, globalization and business fragmentation has compelled to redefine the supply chain processes which were complex and expensive. The authors stress the need; as the supply chain management conveys the idea that the supply process should be viewed at a multicompany level. With this multicompany nature, the supply chain is not just simply an order fulfilment process but it should be the part and parcel of the product design, introduction, fulfilment and recycling. If considered fully in the business strategy and throughout the product life cycle, the full impact of the supply chain can be achieved. With their research authors found that six major shifts in the business focus are the result of supply chain management. Shifts have redefined the business question, collection, sharing and the dissemination of the information from the management's point of view and the questions were posed from the point of view of the supply chain. ... e and the disappointments in the initiatives of the industries like efficient consumer response and software projects were due to the less managerial focus on the business problems. The paper analyses the six major shifts in the business thinking. Shift one focuses on shifting from the old question as to how various functional areas of the company can be coordinated to supply the product to the immediate customers, to the new question of how the activities of different companies can be coordinated across companies and internally to supply the product to the market that is cross-functional integration to cross-company. Many forms of cross company coordination has evolved, the private initiatives taken by the industry-dominant brand companies, public or industry-level initiatives, the semi public or shared initiatives such as the third party logistics in which net works of companies from different industries have attempted to create cost benefits through scale economies. The companies now realise that to derive the real benefits, it is not the type of the initiative but the competitive risks and tradeoffs associated with the integration should be addressed. Shift two focuses on shifting from the old question of reducing the costs of production and distribution to the new question of minimising the costs of matching supply and demand along with reducing the costs of production and distribution that is from the physical efficiency to market mediation. Companies that excel in supply chain management effectively manage two aspects of the supply chain physical supply and market mediation. In industries for which demand is fairly predictable, the costs of the physical supply dominate, in industries which are innovative and highly responsive to changing fashions

Prefeasibility Study of Upper Khudi -A Hydropower Project

Prefeasibility Study of Upper Khudi -A Hydropower Project CE1.1.1 This project entitled Prefeasibility Study of Upper Khudi -A hydropower project is one prepared by group of five students in partial fulfilment of requirement for the bachelors degree in civil engineering. This project was carried out at Kantipur Engineering College, Dhapakhel, Lalitpur, affiliated to Tribhuwan University. Our team comprised of five members and the project itself was supervised by Er. Baburam Bharadwaj (Project Manager of Khudi hydropower limited) CE1.1.2 Being the final year project of our engineering program, the timespan for this project was 1 year. We worked on it from June 2010 to November 2010. During this period, we presented the proposal, conducted the feasibility analysis, project analysis, project design, project defence, final presentation and final report. I was the team lead for my project and was a dedicated member from start to finish CE.1.2 Background CE1.2.1 As the name suggests, Prefeasibility Study of Upper Khudi -A hydropower project, is prefeasibility study aimed to use the theoretical knowledge we had from out text books to better understand the feasibility and optimization of the design of small scale hydropower project centered on Upper Khudi River in Lamjung district of Western Nepal. Majority of Nepalese households rely upon hydropower for their energy needs. So, developing small scale hydropower energy plants can be very efficient energy solutions as the rivers in Nepal are mostly mountain rivers with enough water throughout the year. CE1.2.2 Khudi River has an average slope of 1 in 30 with gravels and boulders forming the river bed. It has a high sediment transport capacity. Upper Khudi Hydropower Project is a run of the river type hydropower scheme designed to produce power using the discharge of the Khudi River. It begins from the confluence of two Rivers, Sundar Khola and Khudi Khola. The catchments area of the River is 133 km2 at the Department of Hydrology Metrology (DHM) station located at Khudi Bazar, which when transformed to our catchments is 25 km2, running from north to south. CE1.2.3 The learning exercise included optimizing schemes per project capacity, sizes of hydraulic structures, penstock and electromechanical equipment and check the sensitivity analysis for the financial parameters which comprised of a significant result of in this feasibility analysis report. The study shows the feasibility of project with sufficient alternatives. We made sure we followed all the organizational rules and regulations of the University as well as the Hydropower Project. CE1.2.4 The project was divided into five parts namely Data collection, Design and modelling, Cost estimation, Project planning and scheduling, Economic and financial analysis. Each member of the team was given one sector each as a main area of study and was responsible for the literature review of that part. I was given the Project planning and scheduling and the Design and Modelling part. CE1.2.5 Organisational Chart CE1.2.6 Project Objective The objective of this study is to find the best project alternative and carry out the pre-feasibility study of the same. The main objectives are highlighted below: To be acquainted with the various aspects of hydropower planning and development. To find out the feasibility of project To know about the major components of the hydropower project. To select the best project alternative. To carry out the engineering design of hydropower components. To calculate the power and energy generated from the project. To carry out the quantity estimation and their cost. To prepare implementation schedule of the project. To carry out optimization of project capacity and components. To carry out financial analysis and sensitivity analysis of the project CE1.3 Personal Engineering Activities CE1.3.1 I have always been passionate about renewable energy and it is the main reason I took engineering as my career. In the context of Nepal, hydropower energy has a lot of scope. Most of the country in the upper hilly and mountainous parts are deprived of energy which is not a hard goal to achieve if small-scale hydropower projects implemented. I consulted my friends to form a group of five. We prepared the proposal to study for a hydropower project that could be used for a real project in the future. Then we prepared the proposal and submitted to the Dept. Of Civil Engineering with a detailed timeline graphed in a Gantt Chart. We consulted with the head engineer designated for this project and proposed that we would submit a study that could somehow facilitate the funded government project. He agreed to help us in every possible way and agreed to become our supervisor. CE1.3.2 Before we started, we decided that we visit a similar small scale hydropower project. We drove to a similar hydropower project that powered a small city called Banepa east of Kathmandu. We talked to the authorities and they allowed us to walk through the entire project and see the dam, the turbines control room, and allowed us to take the specifications of the turbine so that we could have a rough idea of what equipment we had to choose to prepare the analysis of the hydropower project we had to do the project for. I also conducted weekly progress meetings with the team and supervisor to tackle any hurdles that we faced. We consulted with senior professors about my problems and ideas. CE1.3.3 The entire work of this study is done by desk Study and field visit and survey by minor instrument such as Tape, and Abney level etc. All the data and information available from different sources were carefully analyzed to perform the preliminary study of all the necessary components. For the hydrological study of the project, mean monthly discharge of 13 years records of Khudi Khola at Khudi Bazar station (439.3) are obtained from DHM and analyzed using catchment area correlation method to find necessary hydrological parameters. Topographic maps (1:50000) of proposed site was studied for the allocation and design of civil as well as electro-mechanical components of the project. The methodology employed to undertake the study were desk study and map study, field survey and social interaction, literature review, hydrological analysis, screening and selection of the best alternative, hydraulic design of the components of the chosen alternative, cost analysis and preparation of bill of quantities and finally report preparation and presentation. CE1.3.4 The topography of the site is steep and rocky and thus we proceeded deciding that tunneling is the best possible alternative for waterway. As I was given the responsibility of design and modelling, I am explaining what the engineering design from the headwork to the penstock is comprised of in brief. CE1.3.5 The headwork was located at 1290 m elevation. The trench weir was provided for diversion of flow to the intake and passage of high flood water. For design of the weir with length 10m, the design flood is taken as 40.073 m3/s for hundred years-return periods. The trench size has been calculated considering 50% of the trash rack is clogged and the design discharge will be conveyed. The intake was designed to allow abstraction of water from the source with as little sediment as possible, thereby minimizing maintenance and operational costs and providing some measure of protection against damage too (e.g. blocking of the conduit by incoming sediment and debris). A.) Design Aspects of Gravel Trap and Settling Basin: The main design principle of the gravel rap was that the velocity through it should be less than that required to move the smallest size of gravel to be removed. Since the water abstracted from sediment loaded river not only reduces the capacity of the conveyancesystem but also damages the hydro turbines, thereby causing operation and maintenance problems. To cope with economy of energy generation from this, I wanted to design and construct a settling basin before water enters the plant, which helps to limit the entry of sediment into the plant by trapping the particle size greater than 0.2 mm. B.) Headrace Tunnel: The shape as well as the dimensions of the tunnel should be selected such that it should be readily accessible from every direction for control, maintenance and repair. In pressure tunnels operating under high heads, the provisions of lining of concrete (PCC or RCC) and even steel lining including steel pipes may be embedded. To reduce construction costs, relatively high flow velocities should be permitted in tunnels, higher ones than those of open canals. In addition to this I also calculated Friction losses Darcy Weisbach formula. The resulting dimension of the tunnel after all analysis was Inverted D shape 2m in diameter and 1500 m in length. C.) Surge tank: A surge tank is generally constructed immediately prior to penstock or pressure shaft so as to damp out the oscillation in water level as soon as possible and to store water during load rejection until the new velocity has been established. Final design composed of a circular surge with diameter 2 m and height of 13.5 having upsurge and down surge of 6.256m and 4.704 m respectively. D.) Penstock: Penstock is usually the pipeline in between surge tank and turbine inlet. Penstock may be low pressure or high-pressure penstock. Usually it is high pressure. The materials used are usually of steel, reinforced concrete. The pipe diameter and the thickness are such that the stress in steel computed from hoop stress criteria is well within the allowable limit. The hoop stress developed is given by the thin cylinder theory. I design we used inclined underground shaft made of mild steel. E.) Turbine: To maintain the supply even in peak load conditions, two units of Pelton turbines with horizontal Shaft are in housed in the Powerhouse. Two units of generator are used to generate electrical energy. Turbine was selected on the analysis based on available head and design discharge. Two units are provided for continuation of supply on maintenance of one unit also. Also, a tailrace was set to convey the water leaving the power plant back to the river. The tailrace should be designed to maintain the water surface at the elevation specified by the turbine manufacturer and to protect the power plant against flooding by the expected design flood level in the river. E.) Power generation: A 66 KV transmission line has been proposed for the safe and economic transmission of the generated power, along a length of 30 Km for the interconnection of the supply to the national grid at Udaypur. CE1.3.6 The subjects that I was enrolled in the undergraduate like fluid mechanics, hydraulics, water supply, engineering hydrology, survey, engineering drawing etc. helped me a lot to complete and prepare my project. I tried to utilise all my knowledge in utmost way to realise a hydropower project. While doing this project, I not only experienced the applied part of civil and hydropower engineering but also learned a lot of practical skills like communication skills, time management, project presentation and team work. During this project interval, being a group leader I had to solve not only my own but I have to help my group members in technical and other calculation part as well. CE1.3.7 Me along with my team members worked together very hard and could complete the project in the defined time. We could study the pre-feasibility of Upper Khudi and prepare the final report in the designated time. After the completion of this project, I felt a big rise in my confidence level as an engineer and I felt I could easily tackle the obstacles by studying about it, applying the solutions in real life problems. We used various software like MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-PowerPoint to document the report, prepare presentations and analyze available data. I feel like my reporting skills, drafting skills and drawing skills also utilised professionally over the course of this project. CE1.4 Summary Undertaking this project helped me to use my theoretical knowledge on practical and real life work scenarios relating design and construction of a hydro power plant. We were very happy that the project met all the initial objectives. The project has a conventional B/C ratio of 2.1 and modified of 2.13 and IRR of 23.4%. The total cost of the project is NRs 605,089,628.69 and cost per kilowatt is within the range of prevailing Cost per KW for the projects recently built in Nepal. Hence, the project was financially, technically, socially and environmentally viable, and can be forwarded for further study. In a nutshell, I was efficiently and successfully able to undertake, manage and complete the project ensuring that it met all its objectives within a designated time frame.

Multiple Sclerosis Essay -- Diseases, Disorders

Multiple sclerosis, also known as MS, is one of humankind’s most mysterious diseases. No one knows the exact cause and there is no exact treatment. Still multiple sclerosis has the ability to affect nearly 3 million people worldwide and at least 500,000 people in the United States (Boroch). This disease tends to be more common in individuals of northern European descent and women are more than twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis as men. Of those 3 million people, most of them are between the ages of 20 and 50 years old (Dangond). Even though multiple sclerosis is a mystery disease, scientists are working to determine the exact cause and treatment. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that involves the different areas of the central nervous system, CNS- the brain and spinal cord (Dangond). Within the central nervous system there are cells that are covered with a protective myelin. In people with MS, the myelin sheaths around the cells begin to deteriorate and the nerve fibers, also known as axons, which are normally protected by the myelin, end up being destroyed (Boroch). After a while scar tissue is replaced where the myelin breaks down, hence the name multiple sclerosis or many scars (Boroch).When the nerve fibers are destroyed they begin to lose their ability to conduct signals and communicate with the other neighboring nerve cells. Without this ability, the nerve cells that make up the central nervous system cannot communicate with the rest of the body (Blackstone). The loss or slow down of these signals impairs such functions like vision, strength, and coordination. Scientists don’t clearly know what causes the damage to the nerve cells, but they believe that it might be caused by confusion in an individua... ... (Stauffer). The good news is that technology has thrived over the years and scientists are trying to determine new treatments every day. It won’t be long till there is a known cause and a successful treatment. It is important that people who are affected with multiple sclerosis don’t give up because a cure will come. Works Cited Blackstone, Margaret. The First Year--multiple Sclerosis: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. 2nd ed. New York: Marlowe, 2007. Print. Boroch, Ann. Healing Multiple Sclerosis: Diet, Detox & Nutritional Makeover for Total Recovery. Los Angeles: Quintessential Healing,, 2007. Print. Dangond, MD, Fernando. "MedicineNet.com." MedicineNet. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . Stauffer, Melissa. Understanding Multiple Sclerosis. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 2006. Print.

Lung Cancer Essays -- A Level Essays

Lung Cancer Lung cancer is the number one killer of cancers of both men and women here in the United States. It accounts for 28% of the death rates due to cancer. In 1999, it is estimated that 1,221,800 new cases of cancer are expected to occur and out of these 171,600 are to be cases of lung cancer. (Meyer 1990) If lung cancer is the number one killer in the United States, one must wonder how it affects other countries around the world. One will find that the United States does not even have the worse statistics of death from lung cancer. Scotland, England, and Finland are the top three, then is the United States in the middle and below us are: Canada, Australia, El Salvador, and Syrian Arab countries. Lung cancer is more commonly found in developed countries, because years ago, the upper class smoked cigarettes or cigars. The nicotine addiction had lasted through the years and spread to middle and lower class; but in Third World countries, they did not have to worry about this factor. They did not have the extra money to spend on killing themselves; they were just worried about surviving and so this addiction never started. (Meyer 1990) Here in the United States lung cancer is not found in one specific region. Highly polluted areas have more of a risk of housing those with lung cancer because they contain diesel and fossil fuels, which is known to attribute to lung cancer. Mining Caves, can also be a founding place for cancer because they contain radon, another agent in causing lung cancer. It has also been proven that those who work with asbestos have a greater risk of developing lung cancer. And of course anyone who smokes is at a higher risk of lung cancer than non-smokers are. (... ...re also needs to be more clinical research on lung cancer. Without research, we are never going to find a cure or other ways to treat this disease. Another way to close this gap is for insurance companies not to have the right to deny insurance to applicants due to past or present history. That is discrimination and I do not feel that the government is watching this very closely. So in order for a person to receive proper treatment, the government has to make sure that the insurance agencies are not discriminating. Lung cancer takes a substantial number of lives every year. The lives that it takes belong to families and friends. We can help in making lung cancer more public ourselves. We can get involved with cancer research and volunteer or time. We cannot just leave it up to the government and clinical researchers; it is up to us too!