Thursday, October 31, 2019

Fight For 8-hour work time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fight For 8-hour work time - Essay Example Several nations developed certain labor laws for avoid the exploitation of employees in an organization. These laws are mainly consists of minimum daily rest hours, annual holidays and a maximum number of working hours in a day or week for the employees welfare. Over the last three hundred years labor unions have gone through different situation and shaped different forms. Later these trade unions became the part of different political and economical regimes. Early labors are like friendly societies and they worked for the different benefits of labors and to insure workers against unemployment, bad health condition, oldness, and funeral expenses. In many nations especially developed countries, states have been taken responsibilities to do all these functions. The provision of professional training, legal advice, and representation for members are still playing major role of labor union membership. The international socialist organization, the international workingmen’s association (IWA) or First international, demanded 8 hour working time at Geneva Convention in 1866. 8 hour working day got preliminary success in New Zealand by the Australian labor movement for skilled labors in the mid of 19th century. At the early and mid of 20th century got more popularity and most of the employers accepted the 8 hour working time throughout the world. Eight hour day movement is the part of early history and reasoned for the celebration Labor Day and May Day in several nations. The origin of Labor Day namely May Day is bounded up with the movement of eight hour workday. During the year between 1885 and 1886, many strikes had happened in the United States for the part of eight hour work day movement. There were around 500 strikes and lockouts took place in between 1881 and 1884. Most of these movements were started on May First. The May first protest and strike were very aggressive i n Chicago. May first, 1890, was to witness nation-wide strike for the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Animals Right Essay Example for Free

Animals Right Essay Some people believe that animals are humans’ friends. The other people might do not think so. Because people have different values of animals, the arguments are commenced. Since 1977, all of three philosophers, Peter Singer, Tom Regan and Carl Cohen have respectively written their work to declare the status of animals. On the one hand, according to Peter Singer’s â€Å"All Animals Are Equal(1977) ,† and Tom Regan’s â€Å"The Case for Animal Rights(1989),† they claim that people should give equal rights to animals as the way do for human beings, and treat all the animals in certain way no matter how the consequences are; On the other hand, in â€Å"The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research(1986),† Carl Cohen believes that animals have no rights because they are not a part of a group whose typical members are moral agents and able to respond to moral claims. Only human can be the top one of the living beings in the world. Then the other two consider this is a form of speciesism. To see how this long debate’s process, animals’ equal rights and speciesism are the focus. First of all, animals should have equal rights. Peter Singer starts to call for the equal rights for animals. A similarity can be found by Tom Regan. Regan presents the principle, â€Å"subject-of-a-life† as the basis of his case for the fundamental rights of animals. Once any being has complicated spiritual life, like desire, belief, memory, intention and a sense of the future, which is a subject of a life. Due to the fact that each subject of a life is an individual who worries and thinks about his or her life, that life is defined with inherent value. Indeed, Regan identifies that being is not important as the state, and concludes that all who have inherent value equally. Therefore, all animals’ equal right should be treated with respect. However, Cohen replies that animals are not morally self-legislative, cannot possibly be members of a truly moral community (Cohen2. Para. 6), and â€Å"not being of a kind capable of exercising or responding to moral claims† (Cohen 2. Para. 5), so they do not allow to gain rights. But as human infants, severely retarded humans are members of a group whose typical members are moral agents, so they do have rights. Regarding to Cohen’s idea that animals have no rights, Peter Singer analyzes the idea of speciesism to ground his case for the basic rights of animals. Speciesism is a prejudice or partiality that prevents objective consideration of one’s own species and against those of members of other species. Singer goes to explain three claims against speciesism. First, he thinks equal consideration is the basis of equality, so it is unfair to argue an animal since they do not have extending rights. He cites the claim of dogs that are unequal because they do not know what voting is so that cause them not allow to vote. Secondly equality is a moral idea not an actual one. He points out the problems of claims came from defense of racism, sexism, and arguments against the equality of human beings to illustrate his thinking. The aim of this is to put forward the point that, â€Å"equality does not depend on intelligence, moral capacity, physical strength, or similar matters of fact†(Singer3. Para. 12). Thirdly the capacity for suffering is the basic support structure of rights. Therefore he concludes that equality cannot pursue with speciesism. Finally, Carl Cohen argues that speciesism is not at all like the cases of racism or sexism, it can defense morally. Racism has no rational ground whatever†¦the same is true of the sexes, neither sex being entitled by right to greater respect or concern than other† (Cohen3. Para. 21). Unlike the differences between the sexes and races, there are much morally relevant differences between humans and animals. â€Å"Theirs is a moral status very different from that of cats or rats† (Cohen 3. Para. 22). For example, Animals cannot make moral judgments. Also, Cohen describes that the benefits of an adequate utilitarian calculus of animal experimentation which are much more valuable than its costs. As a result, the idea to oppose animal experimentation is inconsistent because this is by far a better use of animals than are other uses of animals the opponents accept, like the use of animals for food, clothing, and shelter. On the other hand, but Cohen applies the idea that it is human beings’ responsibilities to help animals to stop meaningless suffering. Carl Cohen’s arguments against animal rights are shown to be unsound. Cohen’s strategy entails that animals have rights, that humans do not, the negations of those conclusions, and other false and inconsistent implications. Singer’s view is not so very radical, and does not lead to hugely counterintuitive conclusions, because he thinks there are lots or differences between the interests of humans and the interests of other animals. So in practice, treating animals and humans as equals allows for a fair amount of different treatment. However, â€Å"the Case for Animal Rights† is beyond question the most important philosophical contribution to animal rights and is a major work in moral philosophy. Should animals have more rights? The answer we need to wait until the next declaration to go on the animal rights.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Generation of Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation

Generation of Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation Generation of Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation from Intense Laser-Plasma Interactions using Two-Colour Harmonics BRIEF HISTORY Over the past few decades breakthroughs in the production of intense laser fields have meant that multi-terawatt and even petawatt systems are now standard in laboratories**. This has been achieved through reduction of the pulse duration, originally from nanosecond pulses down to femtosecond and recently reaching attosecond levels (1as =10-18s)**. This coupled with important improvements to systems, such as the chirped pulse amplification technique (CPA)**, has allowed laser pulses to be amplified to higher peak powers than ever before and used in laser-matter interactions. The resulting scientific drive from developments such as these pushed achievable laser intensities from 109W/cm2 to the 1014W/cm2, at which the interaction between these high intensity lasers and dense electron-free gas was studied**. Only recently thanks to advances in both laser performance and computer simulation tools has study on laser-plasma interactions in the generation of HHG made progress, providing the possibility to generate sources of incoherent electromagnetic radiation of short wavelength and pulse durations**. As further study was carried out on the interaction of light with relativistic free electrons in plasma, it has reached a point now in which generation of high-harmonics of the fundamental laser, soft and hard x-rays, and shorter pulse duration (1as) lasers of intensities reaching 1018W/cm2 are now possible**. Due to this the generation of high-order-harmonics from high-intensity laser interactions has been a major area of attoscience research within the last decade. HHG PRODUCTION High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to the process in which a high intensity laser pulse is focused onto a target, classically a noble gas, in which strong nonlinear interactions result in the generation of very high harmonics of the optical frequency of the pulse**. This will occur for intensities of 1014W/cm2 and above, where typically only a small amount of this energy is converted into the higher harmonics. From these high-harmonics, spatially and temporally coherent attosecond pulses of extreme ultraviolet light can be generated, which can then be used as a reliable source of highly tuneable short wavelength radiation in many different applications e.g. x-ray spectroscopy**. In the case of high intensity laser-gas interactions this is achieved by tailoring the intensity of the laser pulse so that its electric field amplitude is similar to the electric field in the target atoms**. From this the lasers electric field is able to remove electrons from the atoms through tunnel ionisation, at which point the electrons are accelerated in the field and, with certain conditions controlled, are made to collide with the newly created ion upon recombination. The resulting collision generates the emission of high energy photons**, as shown in fig 1. Fig. 1: HHG three step model. This is known as the three step model; electron is detached from atom through tunnel ionisation, then accelerated within the field away from atom, then accelerated back towards atom where it collides and recombines, from this collision all the energy lost appears as emitted HHG ultraviolet photons. HHG from laser-gas interactions have been used extensively to generate attosecond pulses but is limited in flux and photon energy by low conversion efficiencies between the driving laser energy and the attosecond pulses, this can be attributed to two key factors; loss of phase matching between the driving laser to the generated extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation as its propagated through the gas over a relatively large distance, and a restriction on the intensity of the driving laser due to the ionisation threshold of the target gas, this saturation intensity is roughly 1016W/cm2**. Meaning laser intensities above this threshold limit will over-ionise the gas leaving no neutral atoms left to generate the XUV harmonics. The use of laser-solid interaction offers the opportunity of reaching much higher attosecond pulse intensities and generation efficiencies beyond the capabilities of gas based HHG**. The method of generating high-harmonics in laser-solid interactions is fundamentally different than that of laser-gas interactions. Interaction of intense ultrashort laser pulses (of pulse duration around a few femtoseconds) on an optically polished solid surface results in the target surface being completely ionised, generating a dense plasma which will act as a mirror, called a plasma mirror**. The reflection of these high intensity laser pulses will be affected by a wave motion set-up in the electrons within the plasma surface causing it to distort the reflected laser field, resulting in the production of upshifted light pulses and the generation of high-order harmonics**. Due to the coherent nature of this process, these generated harmonics are phase-locked and emerge as attosecond pulse. Fig. 2 Laser pulse moving towards overdense plasma. A key property of this plasma is its electron density, this determines whether the laser is reflected, absorbed or not allowed to pass through. This is known as the density gradient scale length, as the laser pulse interacts with the target and forms a plasma it creates a profile that extends out into the vacuum, forming a plasma density profile. This is a critical factor in HHG and consists of two regions: Overdense scale length, Lod If the electron density is equal to the critical density of the target or above, extending up to the maximum target density, the laser pulse is unable to penetrate through the target and is so reflected or absorbed. Underdense scale length, Lud If the electron density is below this critical density the laser will penetrate through, with some absorption. Fig. 3 Plasma density profile, Lud is underdense region, Lod is overdense region. The critical density is determined from: Where is the angular frequency of the laser. As stated before the target surface is highly ionised by the leading edge of the laser pulse, known as the pre-pulse, therefore becoming rapidly over-dense and creating a plasma mirror of sufficient electron density, ne>nc**. HHG within plasma requires laser intensities >1015W/cm2 for 800nm field**, which is usually stated in terms of a normalised vector potential of a ­0, where: In which; e and m are electron charge and electron mass respectively. c is speed of light in vacuum. E is the amplitude of the lasers electric field. I is the lasers intensity. à Ã¢â‚¬ °l is the laser frequency and ÃŽÂ »l is the laser wavelength. Therefore HHG in plasma requires at least an a0à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥0.03. Recently is was discovered** that there are two mechanisms that lead to HHG from solid density plasma surfaces; Relativistic oscillating mirror (ROM) Coherent wake emission (CWE) These two process result in different distortions to the reflected laser field and therefore a completely different harmonic spectra produced. CWE Coherent wake emission is a process of three steps; Electrons on the surface of the plasma are drawn into the vacuum by the laser field and accelerated back into the dense plasma once they have gained energy from the driving laser field. When propagating within the dense plasma these fast electrons form ultrashort bunches, creating plasma oscillations in their wake. Within the non-uniform region of the plasma (produced from the density gradient between the plasma-vacuum boundary) the electron oscillations will radiate energy in the form of light of various local plasma frequencies found within this gradient. This process will occur once for every laser cycle therefore the spectrum of the emitted light will consist of harmonics of the laser frequency, in which CWE harmonic spectra have a cutoff at the maximum plasma frequency à Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­pmax **. This mechanism is predominant at moderately relativistic intensities of a0à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤1, and short but finite plasma gradient lengths of **. Coherent wake emission has only recently been identified as a factor in HHG in laser-solid interactions but it is known that it along with ROM contributes to the generation of high-harmonic orders below à Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­pmax and the strength of their respective influence below this threshold is determined by laser intensity**. ROM The other mechanism involved in the generation of high-harmonics from laser-plasma interactions is the relativistic oscillating mirror process, this dominates for relativistic normalised vector potentials of a0>>1, although recent studies have shown that ROM harmonics can be observed even at lower intensities when the plasma gradient length is about **. ROM process occurs when surface electrons in the plasma are oscillated collectively by the high intensity incident laser field to relativistic speeds, the plasma will reflect what it observes as a laser pulse of frequency à Ã¢â‚¬ °+. This à Ã¢â‚¬ °+ frequency is a higher upshifted frequency of the fundamental pulse due to a Doppler effect produced from the relative motion of the laser field to the moving reflection point on the oscillating plasma surface. The actual reflected laser pulse will have a frequency of à Ã¢â‚¬ °++ due to a second Doppler upshift effect as it moves towards an observer/target. This is known as Einsteins relativistic Doppler effect, in which the reflected pulse frequency is upshifted by a factor of 4ÃŽÂ ³2**. Fig 4. Schematic of a relativistic oscillating critical density plasma interaction. From past research it has been found that from this mechanism a power-law decay scaling of I(n)ROMn-8/3 is dominant (where n is the harmonic order) in the harmonic spectrum for harmonic orders above the CWE cut-off point, nCWE,** this is the harmonic order related to the maximum plasma frequency of the target, à Ã¢â‚¬ °pmax, mentioned previously. Where: nCWE = nà Ã¢â‚¬ °max = à Ã¢â‚¬ °pmax/à Ã¢â‚¬ °l = In which; à Ã¢â‚¬ °l is the frequency of the laser, is the maximum electron density of the target, Nc is the critical density shown previously. From this process initial femtosecond pulses can be used to create attosecond pulses. When coupled to a relativistic oscillating mirror it adds an oscillatory extension to Einsteins relativistic Doppler effect, so due to the periodic motion of the mirror to the laser field and the double Doppler upshifts this results in the production of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) harmonics**. These ultra-short pulses have been the focus of much scientific research recently as they offer a promising way to resolve in the time domain the ultrafast dynamics of electrons within materials**. Although the relativistic oscillating mirror process is more suited as a macroscopic model for the effective reflection point of the laser field. It assumes that the surface electrons bunch together as the target is ionised and move out into the vacuum to form the plasma where they remain in the overdense region ensuring that the laser field is completely reflected. More recently studies have discovered there is another mechanism in the relativistic regime that can contribute to the harmonic spectrum via a different process entirely. CSE This other process is known as Coherent synchrotron emission (CSE)** and is needed to explain observations that do not fit the previous two models, in which dense electron nanobunches are created at the plasma-vacuum boundary where they produce coherent XUV radiation through coherent synchrotron emission. This is a microscopic model of HHG in laser-solid interactions. It models the electrons in the plasma moving, in dense bunches, under the influence of the incident laser field and subsequent fields produced from the movement of charges within the plasma. These nanobunches are periodically formed and coherently accelerated through an instantaneously synchrotron-like orbit during each laser cycle, for oblique laser incidences. As certain conditions, such as ultrashort plasma density scale length, are met these bunches emit bursts of sub-femtosecond intense high-frequency radiation. This radiation has properties dependent on the electron trajectories and it has been shown that it can b e modelled as synchrotron radiation**, therefore the coherent XUV emissions are distinctly different from that produced in ROM from relativistic Doppler upshifts. In reality actual electron dynamics may be a mix of CSE and ROM, but due to the complex nature of the changing fields within a plasma it makes it impossible to analytically model with accuracy. Therefore requiring the use of computer simulations to deal with the electron trajectories and their respective radiation emissions. PREVIOUS EXPERIMENTS Based on the work of Edwards et al, 2014, in which the study of attosecond XUV pulse generation from relativistic driven overdense plasma targets with two-colour incident light was performed they used 1D, three velocity, particle-in-cell (PIC) code simulations, which treat oblique incidence with boosted frames, to show how pulse intensity can be improved. They converted a small amount (~5%) of the fundamental laser field energy to an additional laser operating at the second harmonic of the fundamental frequency, to significantly enhance the intensity of the generated attosecond pulses by multiple orders of magnitude. This was based on previous work in which mixing of the fundamental driving laser frequency with the second harmonic was performed on laser-gas interactions to increase the attosecond pulse intensity and isolation (K. J. Schafer et al, 1992). Edwards demonstrated that a significant improvement was also possible through this mixing method in laser-solid interactions following the Similarity theory (proposed by Gordienko and Pukhov,**), that suggests the behaviour of laser-plasma interactions follow a similarity parameter of: 1/S = a0/N à Ã¢â‚¬ °l Where S = ne/a0nc, is a similarity parameter and N = ne/nc which is the ratio of electron density of the plasma to its critical density. Therefore from this it would appear that by doubling à Ã¢â‚¬ °l while using the same laser field amplitude the reflected attosecond pulse intensity would also be increase by a factor of two. One of the main limiting parameters in these experiments is the achievable value of a0, while the largest solid material value of N (lithium at ÃŽÂ »=800nm) is 75, so this type of frequency doubling appears to be a promising pathway to optimising attosecond pulse intensity, although a drawback of this is the negative effect it has on the isolation of the reflected pulses. Therefore they stated that a two-colour method, of partially converting a portion of the fundamental laser field energy to the second harmonic, would be a more attractive alternative. Through this process the advantages of using a higher incident frequency, by increasing the gradient of the electric field at certain points within the pulse generation cycle, without the related decrease in pulse isolation and loss of energy associated to simple frequency doubling can be exploited. In their study they used a normal-incidence beam on a step-like plasma density profile using a mix of the first and second harmonic with a phase difference of to produce harmonics with a higher intensity than either incident field individually. They demonstrate substantial gains after the addition of a small amount of the second harmonic to achieve attosecond pulse enhancement of factors >10. As well as a 10-fold enhancement when using density gradients of 0.05ÃŽÂ » and 0.15ÃŽÂ » with conversions of the fundamental to the second harmonic of 5%-10% at an angle of incidence of à Ã‚ ´=30o. Therefore Edwards was able to go on and state that the relative phase of the two incident harmonics were a critical factor in the improvement in attosecond pulse intensity. This is due to the difference in the driving electric field waveform and corresponding resultant electron motion as is varied. Where they linked the strongest attosecond pulse intensities with sharp transitions in the driving electric field that are aided by the addition of the second harmonic at optimum phases, while phases that break the driving field transition reduce the attosecond intensities to levels sometimes substantially below what could be achieved pre-mixing of the harmonics. Therefore when harmonics are combined without thought to their phases they do not always improve the attosecond strength. Further detail into the trajectories of dense electron bunches, which emit synchrotron like radiation (CSE) was given to help explain this effect, where supressed pulse electrons were shown to follow a longer and slower motion before being accelerated and subsequently emitting, resulting in longer elongated trajectories. Whereas electrons that contribute to the improvement of the attosecond pulse strength are shown to experience a larger field before and during emission. This meant their velocity and acceleration components were larger than the suppressed electrons, giving them more energy as it is driven back into the plasma. Overall they state that the larger the electric field experienced by the electrons increases the intensity of the reflected attosecond pulse, due to the number of electrons travelling in a dense bunch increasing as this larger field that the electrons near the surface experience compresses them into higher density bunches. Another study performed by Yeung et al, 2016, focused on controlling the attosecond motion of strongly driven electrons at the boundary between the pre-formed plasma and the vacuum. They demonstrated experimentally that by precisely adding an additional laser field, at the second harmonic of the fundamental driving frequency, attosecond control over the trajectories of the dense electron bunches involved in intense laser-plasma interactions can be achieved. From this considerable improvements in the high-harmonic generation intensity was observed, which confirms the theoretical work by Edwards in two-colour fields reviewed previously while developing upon this to further factors. Experimentally they showed that attosecond control over the phase relationship of the two driving fields is necessary to optimise the reflected attosecond pulse intensity. While also using PIC simulations to determine the optimal and worst phase relationships, in which a phase of was found to optimise the emission. Microscopic focus determined that during each cycle the emission of the attosecond pulse begins as a primary electron bunch which is compressed and then quickly accelerated away from the surface up to relativistic velocities, from here it emits before it disperses and returns back to the plasma. Secondary bunches are also present but these were found not to have a significant effect harmonic spectrum for orders >20. These bunches were found to emit when their velocities where at their max, which confirmed that the two-colour field phase matched the emitted XUV to the acceleration produced from the fundamental laser field. While at the poorest phase relationship, which Yeung found to be , a plateau in the driving laser field is created which impedes the acceleration of the electrons from the surface, therefore reducing the density of the electron bunch produced that can emit. They concluded from the data provided by the simulations that control of the relative phase of the two colour driving fields has a significant effect the electron bunch dynamics. While from the experimental data their collected it was demonstrated that the HHG produced from the two-colour field was increased substantially when no laser pre-pulse was involved, or equivalently when the plasma has shorter density scale length. Confirming the work of Edwards et al, 2014, that two-colour fields generate significantly more higher-harmonic orders than that of a fundamental field alone, even when only a small percentage (5%-10%) of the fundamental laser energy is converted to the second harmonic. INTRODUCTION TO TWO-COLOUR HARMONICS - ABSTRACT BRIEF SUMMARY OF EXPERIMENT, RESULTS AND CONCLUSION 1x INTRODUCTION BRIEF HISTORY .5x HHG PRODUCTION .5x CWE 1x ROM 2x (inc. plasma theory e.g. scale length) CSE 1x COMPARISON WITH GAS EXPERIMENTS 1x PAST EXPERIMENTS LEADING UP TO THIS ONE 2x INTRODUCTION INTO SPECIFICS OF THIS EXPERIMENT 1x METHOD PIC CODES EXPLAINED 2x EPOCH DETAILS 1x LASER DETAILS 1x PROCESS OF ANALYSIS .5x CREATION OF GRAPHS .5x RESULTS GRAPHS COMPARE CONTRAST IMPLICATIONS CONCLUSION FURUTRE RESEARCH 1x IMPROVEMENTS 1x         

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Essay --

Solution WPA2 Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) based on the IEEE 802.11i standard is an improvement to the 802.11 standard that specifying security mechanisms for wireless networks. On June 24th, 2004, this standard been uses to replaces the previous security specifications, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), which was shown to have severe security weaknesses. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) had previously been introduced as a solution to WEP insecurities. WPA implemented only a subset of IEEE 802.11i. WPA2 makes use of a specific mode of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) known as the Counter Mode Cipher Block Chaining-Message Authentication Code (CBC-MAC) protocol (CCMP). CCMP provides both data confidentiality (encryption) and data integrity. The use of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a more secure alternative to the RC4 stream cipher used by WEP and WPA. 802.11 Security solution WEP WPA WPA2 Cipher RC4 RC4 AES Key Size 40 bits 128 bits encryption 64 bits authentication 128 bits IV Size 24 bits 48 bits 48 bits Data Integrity CRC-32 Michael CCM Header Integrity None Michael CCM Replay Attack None IV Sequence IV Sequence Key Management None EAP-Based EAP-Based WPA2 Authentication One of the major changes introduced with the WPA2 standard is the separation of user authentication from the enforcement of message integrity and privacy, thereby providing a more scalable and robust security architecture suitable to home networks or corporate networks with equal prowess. Authentication in the WPA2 Personal mode, which does not require an authentication server, is performed between the client and the AP generating a 256-bit PSK from a plain-text pass phrase (from 8 to 63 characters). The PSK in conjunction with th... ...sed VPN offers high network throughput, better performance and more reliability, since there is no processor overhead. However, it is also more expensive. 3. A software-based VPN provides the most flexibility in how traffic is managed. This type is suitable when VPN endpoints are not controlled by the same party, and where different firewalls and routers are used. It can be used with hardware encryption accelerators to enhance performance. 4. An SSL VPN (Secure Sockets Layer virtual private network) is a form of VPN that can be used with a standard Web browser. In contrast to the traditional Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) VPN, an SSL VPN does not require the installation of specialized client software on the end user's computer. It's used to give remote users with access to Web applications, client/server applications and internal network connections.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

My Beliefs and Values

‘My Beliefs, Values, and Clinical Gestalt with Individual’s and Systems’ Paper Ariele Henderson University of Phoenix CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY: I  certify that  the attached  paper,  which was  produced for  the class identified above, is my original work and has not previously been submitted by me or by anyone else for any class. I further declare that I have cited all sources from which I used  language, ideas and information,  whether quoted  verbatim or paraphrased, and that any and all assistance of any kind, which I received while producing this paper, has been acknowledged in the References section. This paper includes no  trademarked material, logos, or images from the Internet, which I do not have written permission to include. I further agree that my name typed  on the line below is intended to have, and shall have the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student's  signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature):   _________Ariele Henderson__________________ ___ ‘My Beliefs, Values, and Clinical Gestalt with Individual’s and Systems’ Paper When it comes to being a human services worker there are many needed attributes. A human service worker’s beliefs, values and clinical gestalt play very important role in how they treat and assist clients. Human service workers strive to put their clients at ease, and to help them meet their needs. Through the text exercises and classrooms discussions I have learned that there are many things that I need to work on in order to ensure that I will be an effective and productive social worker. In the exercise â€Å"Clients I might find hard to accept† I learned that it is not for me to agree or disagree with their beliefs, but it is for me to try to see things through their eyes in order to assist them properly. The goal of every human service professional is to help those in need. To do these human service professionals must not push their beliefs or values onto their clients. I will come across clients that come from different backgrounds, environments, and who different beliefs and values. None the less they are human and should be treated as such. One must keep an open mind when working with clients. When doing so clients will feel respected, confident, and comfortable. Human service professionals must learn, and grow from past experiences. A Human service professional’s repose should be calm, exhibit reliability and confidence. Clinical repose is an area that I need to work on. I need to be able to ensure that I can remain calm, regardless of what is occurring around me, or in my personal life. Large societal and system contexts, lead to immediate contexts. It is always good to know where a problem comes from, in order to find a solution that will be beneficial. Dillon & Murphy (2003) states: The clinician's anchored and relaxed presence acts as an island of calm and allows the client to stay self-focused without being distracted by the clinician's needs or anxieties. This repose is central to supportive presence. It provides a clear but unobtrusive holding environment for the work and the relationship. Clients come to know that they can count on the clinician to remain centered and steady regardless of events and developments. Even in the face of the unexpected, clinicians try to remain as calm and reliable as possible (p. 1). My personal and professional assumptions about clinical helping and their relationships to my beliefs, values, past experiences, familiar and cultural background are: that in clinical helping one must see value for the lives, health, and well being of others. In clinical helping one can learn from past experiences, from an individual’s cultural background, and maybe by even changing one’s values after learning and forming a connection with clients. Before this course I was under the impression that my beliefs, and values have no place in the human services field, I thought that leaving them out would be best for my clients, I have learned otherwise. I have come to the realization that one’s values and beliefs are what make them an excellent human services worker. Human service professionals have a genuine concern for other people. When seeking employment in the human services field, future employees look for agencies that share their beliefs and values. I would find it very difficult to work with staff members who do not try to the best of their ability to help clients due to differences in values, beliefs, backgrounds, or preconceived ideas. The National Association of Social Workers (2009) states that an ethical principal for social workers is that: Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination. Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs. Social workers are cognizant of their dual responsibility to clients and to the broader society. They seek to resolve conflicts between clients’ interests and the broader society’s interests in a socially responsible manner consistent with the values, ethical principles, and ethical standards of the profession (p. 1). Insights that I have gained about the strengths, I have are that my strengths in listening, and open my mind to the views of my clients are needed strengths, and will be beneficial to me and my clients. There are some areas in which I have determined that I need to work on further. I need to be more aware of the gestures that I am making, and my facial expressions, so that my clients will feel comfortable, and place their trust in me. I also need to find a way to use my values and beliefs to assist clients, but not to form my opinions, or influence decisions. Dillon & Murphy (2003) acknowledges that: Individual values are cherished beliefs that develop in the context of family and sociocultural influences. Clinicians may value anything from personal autonomy to personal hygiene and can find themselves dismayed or offended by clients who do not share their value systems. As clinicians, we need to be aware of our values and how they influence our responses to clients in ways that may leave them feeling unaccepted. Clinicians must be dedicated to being nonjudgmental—unconditionally accepting people for who they are without necessarily accepting all their behaviors. The clinician's nonjudgmental stance leaves clients free to confide openly and honestly without fear of rejection, shaming, or reprisal. As we work with clients and are exposed to diverse situations and beliefs, we often find that our values are challenged and changed. A side benefit of clinical work is that our lenses are inevitably widened so that we both see and appreciate more of the world beyond our own. We ourselves stretch and grow through exposure to differences (p. 1). Human service professionals must be able to put their feelings aside in order to serve the client. It is our ethical responsibility to not let our beliefs and values get in the way of our decision making. It is up to the social workers to ensure that their clients feel comfortable, respected, and that they have confidence in them as a change agent. I believe that I have a lot to learn, and a lot of areas that I need to work on, but with practice and awareness I will go far. Reference Dillon & Murphy (2003) Interviewing in Action: Relationship, Process, and Change. Retrieved December 14, 2009, from e-books chapter 4 University of Phoenix National Association of Social Workers (2009) Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved December 14, 2009, from www. socialworkers. org/pubs/Code/code. asp Rankin (n. d. ) Motivational Interviewing in Human Services. Retrieved December 14, 2009, from http://www. media. ncrtm. org/presentations/ARCA_50/ppt/rankin. ppt

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Katherine Stocked, The Help Analysis Essays

Katherine Stocked, The Help Analysis Essays Katherine Stocked, The Help Analysis Essay Katherine Stocked, The Help Analysis Essay My thoughts on this book was that I thought It could have been more interesting, but it felt very realistic. Another thought on this book was it was very dramatic in its own ways. With Miss Hilly getting everybody to turn on Skitter and Skitter having to deal with all the cold shoulders. What this book says about people in general (theme) is that everyone has there own problems and will react deferent ways to every situation. The way the white women In the book react to the help using their toilets, acting Like they have a disease. 99% of all colored diseases are carried In the urine. Compared throughout the story it seems like they start to somewhat respect the help, except the nest who helped write the book. Today we respect catheter a lot more than we did back then. Over all I would say that what this book says about people in general is that the way people react to one thing will differ from the other. The main characters In this book are Skitter, Albanian, and Mainly. The way Skitter changes Is a good change. She starts to look at the world around her and see all the problems In it. Its Like she Isnt blinded from the fake reality that everything Is fine and sees all the problems that are happening. Kind of like she had a reality check and found out that her maid had died, her best friend is a diva, that her mother is going to die from cancer, and the people she can only really turn to is the help which is basically against their laws. Abilene doesnt change at all. If anything she opens up more after writing the book with Skitter. Other than that she has not changed. Mainly has become strong enough to actually leave her husband. If she was strong before she just might be invincible now. Ninny hasnt changed much she just as even more courage than before. The author, Katherine Stocked, has been somewhat successful in creating a good piece of literature. I feel like she was trying to target the Juniors when in reality it targeted the adults. This was a slow read so it was very hard for me to keep interest In this book. Other than that she has produced an excellent book. It has very realistic scenes that may have happened In 1962-1964. For routines added to make this a good point of view type book. I feel like the author has done an outstanding Job on making this book a success.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Ethnicity and Class in Ethiopia essays

Ethnicity and Class in Ethiopia essays Cultural and ethnic diversity is extremely rich throughout all of Africa, The African continent is comprised of thousands of ethnic groups, class structures, and more than seventy mother spoken languages. The class concept is defined as a group of individuals who share a common status in society based on cultural, political, or economic position in the productive process of society (Schrader 147). Several of the ethnic groups are broken down into sub-group identities and loyalties based on kinship or age-set. Ethnicity, which is a sense of collective identity by which people perceive themselves as sharing a common historical past and a variety of social norms and customs, played a major role in the development of Ethiopia (Schrader 147). Class and Ethnicity, among a host of other elements such as education, played a major role in the impact of the relationships between males and females, the roles of elders and other age groups, as well as legitimate forms of governance and the proper means of resolving conflict. Class and ethnicity emerged as the most important factors in the social and political dynamics of the Ethiopian Revolution. A unique feature of Ethiopian society was the existence of well0defined essentially pre-capitalist social classes. Class draws on the Marxist theory and focused on economic position in the productive process of society. There was no other African country like Ethiopia, with its 2000-year-old institution of monarchy, semi-autonomous provincial nobility, and millions of downtrodden peasants. The Marxist though that all capitalist societies could be divided into a property-owning class who dominated society and exploited property, and a lower working class who were forced to accept poor jobs and unsafe working conditions. Social classes and ethnic groups were beginning to emerge with the impact of the economic changes under way and with the creation of small modern agricultural sectors and...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Obesity Essays - Obesity, Body Shape, Bariatrics, Human Weight

Obesity Essays - Obesity, Body Shape, Bariatrics, Human Weight Obesity Obesity also called CORPULENCE, or FATNESS, excessive accumulation of body fat, usually caused by the consumption of more calories than the body can use. The excess calories are then stored as fat, or adipose tissue. Overweight, if moderate, is not necessarily obesity, particularly in muscular or large-boned individuals. In general, however, a body weight 20 percent or more over the optimum tends to be associated with obesity. The body's ability to adjust food intake to body needs can be disturbed by numerous factors. Of these, hormone imbalances and glandular defects are believed to be of least importance, being demonstrable in only bout 5 percent of all obese individuals. Although obesity may be familial, suggestive of a genetic predisposition to fat accumulation, there is also evidence that early feeding patterns imposed by the obese mother upon her offspring may play a major role in a cultural, rather than genetic, transmission of obesity from one generation to the next. More generally, the distinctive way of life of a nation and the individual's behavioral and emotional reaction to it may contribute significantly to widespread obesity. Among the affluent populations, an abundant supply of readily available high-calorie foods and beverages, coupled with increasingly sedentary living habits that markedly reduce caloric needs, can easily lead to overeating. The stresses and tensions of modern liv! ing also cause some individuals to turn to foods and alcoholic drinks for "relief." Obesity may be undesirable from an aesthetic sense, especially in parts of the world where slimness is the popular preference; it is also a serious medical problem. Generally, obese persons have a shorter life expectancy; they suffer earlier, more often, and more severely from a large number of diseases than do their normal-weight counterparts. They are also more likely to die prematurely of degenerative diseases of the heart, arteries, and kidneys. More die of accidents and diabetes, and more constitute poor surgical risks than persons with normal weight. Mental health is also affected; behavioral consequences of an obese appearance, ranging from shyness and withdrawal to overly bold elf- assertion, may be rooted in neuroses and psychoses. The treatment of obesity has two main objectives: removal of the causative factors, which may be difficult if the causes are of emotional or psychological origin; and removal of surplus fat by reducing food intake. Return to normal body weight by reducing calorie intake is best done under medical supervision. Dietary fads and reducing diets that produce quick results without effort are of doubtful effectiveness in reducing body weight and keeping it down, and most are actually deleterious to health. (See dieting.) Obesity is to be distinguished from overweight caused by edema (excess retention of fluids) stemming from various diseases.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Green Logistics and Corporate Initiatives Research Paper

Green Logistics and Corporate Initiatives - Research Paper Example The concept and awareness about the green logistics have evolved over time. Earlier it was a matter of public policy agendas which was forcefully implemented by environmental pressure groups that focused on the mitigation of damages caused by the transportation system. Later on it gained more importance as the businesses realized their responsibilities towards the environment and wider society perspective stressing upon the need of sustainable development for the future. Additionally the scope of green logistics has expanded over time, it not only includes the physical distribution of finished goods but it also deals with the entire transportation system including integrated logistics which includes storing, warehousing and handling systems etc. and the supply chain management which includes interaction with upstream suppliers and downstream customers. (Ann, Button, Hensher.340) The modern researches unlike the traditional ones take into account the environmental effects of all the a ctivities of the supply chain. The traditional system while only recognized the forward distribution and logistic system, a ‘reverse’ logistic system has also been introduced over time which led to a new dimension of sustainable and green logistics. This involves movement of waste, used materials including toxic and hazardous goods for recycling and disposing purposes. This whole concept has created new markets for recyclable products and its movement. (McKinnon, Alan C.243) Reverse logistics is a modern concept in logistics which is now regarded as part of green logistics. This involves processing, planning, and utilization of resources from the point of consumption to the point of origin, unlike the traditional logistics concepts which focus on movement from point to origin to consumption only. These will usually involve activities like transportation and collection, storage, reprocessing, recycling, reusing or disposal etc. This topic has been a center of attention f or many types of research and work has been done to determine the drivers and constraints in reverse logistics and how techniques like speculation and postponement can be used to develop a better reverse green logistics. As the volume of waste is growing the government regulations for its recycling, reusing or disposing of are tightening too. (Farahani et al.206)

Friday, October 18, 2019

Current event analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Current event analysis - Essay Example The article argues that the study is highly significant as the prevalence of alcoholism and depression is frequently interrelated, and no substantial treatments have yet been designed to specifically address this diagnosis. The study was conducted by Helen Pettinati Ph.D. and her associates at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to receiving the medical treatments, the patients underwent cognitive-behavioral therapy. Over a fourteen week period, one-hundred seventy people were tested, using four treatment groups. All four treatment groups demonstrated improvements. While all four groups demonstrated improvements, the group that received the combined treatment demonstrated the highest rate of abstinence and also had the longest intervals in between drinking. The difference in intervals was extreme, with the average interval for patients with the combined drug 61 days; while the other groups combined was 15 days. While the article states that the combined treatment was most effective in reducing adverse side effects (namely hospitalization for rehabilitation), it neglects to mention if there were new side effects from the combination of the drugs. It also doesn’t neglect if research is looking into a hybrid drug that would function to treat alcoholism and depression

Schooling and Educational Opportunities for Females in the UK - Essay

Schooling and Educational Opportunities for Females in the UK - Changes - Essay Example This comparison paper looks at the present state of post-16 educational opportunities for females (Archer et al, 2007) in contrast with those available to them in the 1950 and 1960s in the Post World War II era (Evans, 1991). It is evident that much has flowed under the bridge and the past has contributed to the present in a very effective manner. While the Archer article adopts a more clinical research based stance, the merit of the Evans piece is that it is personal and engaging as well. Only at certain points, she guides us as to the points she wants to make. In their paper entitled ‘Class, gender, heterosexuality and schooling: paradoxes within working-class girls' engagement with education and post-16 aspirations’ as published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education of March 2007, the authors discuss ways in which inner-city and ethnically diverse working-class girls' constructions of hetero-femininities mediate and shape their engagement or disengagement w ith education and schooling. This study was based on data collected from 89 urban working-class youth in London. The authors mainly touched upon three main ways through which these young women used heterosexual femininities to construct capital and generate identity value and worth- these were (1) through investment in appearance using glamorous hetero-femininities, (2) through heterosexual relationships with boyfriends, and (3) through the ‘ladette’ phenomena. They maintain that young women's investments in particular forms of heterosexual working-class femininity can affect very deeply their engagement or disengagement from schooling and education. They focus on the paradoxes that arise when these constructions interact with other oppressive power structures. Class, Gender, Heterosexuality and Schooling Paradoxes- A Detailed Analysis Archer et al. (2007) start off by commenting on the lower academic scores that boys typically achieve compared to girls in the GCSE and other competitive examinations and seek to determine the reasons for this. This underachievement is a cause of concern for many countries- from the UK to New Zealand. However, as Epstein and others have noted, it is not as simple as this because a more detailed look indicates that not all boys are doing badly and indeed, not all girls are doing well. There are complexities of social class, gender and ethnicity that underlie these results which must be addressed. Amazingly, Kenway (2003, page ix) found that girls leaving school early had more problems than boys in securing employment.

Dr. Pepper Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dr. Pepper - Research Paper Example vices  (HHS), Department of Agriculture  (USDA), National Institute of Standards and Technology  (NIST), United States Department of Commerce among others (National Research Council, 2002). These governmental agencies, especially FDA and HHS, are directly responsible for overseeing the health aspect of the food industry (National Research Council et al, 2010). The agencies oversee that food industries such as Dr. Pepper provide the best food products to the population using the stipulated guidelines. On the other hand, NIST, and United States Department of Commerce oversee that any business related activities are done in accordance with the stipulated guidelines, rules, and regulations (National Research Council, 2002). Dr. Pepper being a business entity has to be bound by the regulations of these commerce and standards agencies. The above agencies would be of utmost importance when doing research on Dr. Pepper. They would provide profound information both in health and commerce aspect of Dr. Pepper. However, gathering information about Dr. Pepper from any of the aforementioned agencies would require proper authorization from each agency. Although the requirements for different agencies may be different, research ethics protocols may be needed from any of the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Investigate the Potential Opportunity of Marketing This Brand In the Assignment

Investigate the Potential Opportunity of Marketing This Brand In the UK for a Pharmaceutical Company - Assignment Example Other than this, it also helps in identifying the defects, deficiencies as well as the problems present within the marketing activities of the organization so that it might be easily reduced. Thus, marketing audit helps in analyzing three areas such as external and internal marketing environment as well as current marketing strategies. External marketing audit The pharmacy market of UK by PESTEL In this age of globalization and industrialization, advancement is witnessed in each and every segment. Similarly, the organizations operating under the umbrella of pharmacy market also amplified its market share and growth rate with a rapid pace as compared to any other organizations. Due to which, its annual growth rate (CAGR) enhanced by 15.7% as well as profit margin increased by 21.6 % in the year 2012- 2013. This proved extremely beneficial for the economy of UK thereby rebounding itself from global economic downturn. It became possible due to the huge contribution of the Pharmacy compa nies towards the gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP) of the economy. Other than this, due to the improvement of the per-capital income of the individual of United Kingdom, the purchasing power of the customers also increased. This proved extremely effective for the Pharmacy organizations thereby amplifying its profit margin and productivity to a certain extent as compared to others. Moreover, the implementation of the varied policies of the government in order to make the requirements of healthcare more affordable and accessible, also acted as a boon for the pharmaceutical organizations. Due to which the net income and revenues of the organizations operating under... This paper stresses that the products of Bursti in the competitive market of UK, it’s extremely essential to follow competitive pricing strategy. This is because; without following such strategy, Bursti might not be able to establish the brand image and dependency within the minds of the customers. As a result, the profit margin and total sale of the products of the brand might not get enhanced that might hinder the goodwill of the organization. Other than this, Bursti might try to offer high attention over advertising so as to increase the level of awareness of the customers. This might prove effective for the organization in enhancing its market share and status This report makes a conclusion that the pattern of disorders is also changing rapidly and so at times the medical practitioners fail to analyse the main cause of the disorder. This means, the disorder might be due to genetics, diet, climate or many other factors. So, the organization of Bursti might also try to develop the medicines that might also rectify the disorders arising due to genetics or even diets. Only then it might cope-up with such type of challenges in an effective way thereby amplifying its productivity and brand value. The author of the paper talks that the policies and strategies of the government supporting Pharmacy industries are changing rapidly. Therefore, the organization of Bursti needs to offer the products and its features in such a way so that, it might remain sustained in its position.

Communication In Business case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communication In Business case study - Essay Example The Indian subcontinent consists of nations which are demographically very different from the Oceanic countries – cities have the dense population, it is quite common to families to live together thus coining the word ‘joint families’, and feel at unease while calling their bosses by the first names. Communication is varied during different stages of the relationship. The first stage is the initiation phase wherein verbal and written communication in form of telephonic and online interaction precedes face to face interactions. It is here that it will be found necessary to dig a little into the history of India, as cultural implications play a major role in deciding the mode organization communication being followed in a particular nation (Roberts and Tuleja 2008, 474). The nation was, practically two centuries, a colony of the erstwhile British empire. Thus English customs may be found rooted in the manner of communications. Over time, however, local mannerisms have mingled with these habits to produce a different set of rules altogether. Meeting etiquette requires a handshake when one conducts business in India. Indians, on the other hand, use a traditional variant of greeting – The Namaste. This gesture consists of bringing the palms of the two hands together at chest level along with the utterance of the word ‘Namaste’ with a slight bow of the head. It has been noted, however, that people from outside the subcontinent often use this gesture beyond necessity – it must be remembered that India still suffers from a caste-based segregation in its societal structure. It will thus be judicious to decide beforehand to decide of the necessity of such a gesture.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Dr. Pepper Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dr. Pepper - Research Paper Example vices  (HHS), Department of Agriculture  (USDA), National Institute of Standards and Technology  (NIST), United States Department of Commerce among others (National Research Council, 2002). These governmental agencies, especially FDA and HHS, are directly responsible for overseeing the health aspect of the food industry (National Research Council et al, 2010). The agencies oversee that food industries such as Dr. Pepper provide the best food products to the population using the stipulated guidelines. On the other hand, NIST, and United States Department of Commerce oversee that any business related activities are done in accordance with the stipulated guidelines, rules, and regulations (National Research Council, 2002). Dr. Pepper being a business entity has to be bound by the regulations of these commerce and standards agencies. The above agencies would be of utmost importance when doing research on Dr. Pepper. They would provide profound information both in health and commerce aspect of Dr. Pepper. However, gathering information about Dr. Pepper from any of the aforementioned agencies would require proper authorization from each agency. Although the requirements for different agencies may be different, research ethics protocols may be needed from any of the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Communication In Business case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communication In Business case study - Essay Example The Indian subcontinent consists of nations which are demographically very different from the Oceanic countries – cities have the dense population, it is quite common to families to live together thus coining the word ‘joint families’, and feel at unease while calling their bosses by the first names. Communication is varied during different stages of the relationship. The first stage is the initiation phase wherein verbal and written communication in form of telephonic and online interaction precedes face to face interactions. It is here that it will be found necessary to dig a little into the history of India, as cultural implications play a major role in deciding the mode organization communication being followed in a particular nation (Roberts and Tuleja 2008, 474). The nation was, practically two centuries, a colony of the erstwhile British empire. Thus English customs may be found rooted in the manner of communications. Over time, however, local mannerisms have mingled with these habits to produce a different set of rules altogether. Meeting etiquette requires a handshake when one conducts business in India. Indians, on the other hand, use a traditional variant of greeting – The Namaste. This gesture consists of bringing the palms of the two hands together at chest level along with the utterance of the word ‘Namaste’ with a slight bow of the head. It has been noted, however, that people from outside the subcontinent often use this gesture beyond necessity – it must be remembered that India still suffers from a caste-based segregation in its societal structure. It will thus be judicious to decide beforehand to decide of the necessity of such a gesture.

The History of Religion in the US Essay Example for Free

The History of Religion in the US Essay When you think of religion in the United States and how it started you may think of the first settlers. These were not the first being to worship a higher power in the United States. The Indians believed in and worshiped The Great Spirit. Despite the many tribes like the Sioux and Iroquois they all had the same belief in The Great Spirit. The Great Spirit could be present in animals as well as inanimate objects. They all developed great ceremonies to on it. Then came the colonists, the first settlers, who were predominantly protestant these settlers left their home countries because of religion. They did not want to be told how to worship their God. These colonists were Christians but as they began to settle, those with different beliefs separated themselves and developed new segments of religion. The puritans left their country to escape religious prosecution. They later developed the religions of Baptist and Congressionalist’s. Their religion was based on the teachings of John Calvin, and was thought to purify the religion of the Church of England. Their religions eventually lead to self isolation and witch hunts of people who did not follow their religion. The Methodists were a group of Oxford University Students. They were not fleeing religious prosecution when they arrived. The Methodist Church as become the second largest Protestant Church in the United States today. The History of Religion in the United States Christa Hart Lutherans were like no other American Christian denomination; their national origin did play an important role in their history. Members came from Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. The Lutherans settled on the East Coast and American Midwest, and celebrated worship services in their native tongues. Presbyterians who bore little resemblance to the liturgy, structure, and tradition associated with the Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian and Reformed churches share a common origin in the teachings of John Calvin. Their belief structure and practices are centered on the Bible and â€Å"the sovereignty of God.† Presbyterians make up one of the largest branches of Protestant Christianity today. The next religion, the Quakers, were founded in 1647 by English preacher George Fox, the Society of Friends emphasized a direct relationship with God. One’s conscience, not the Bible, was the ultimate authority on morals and actions. The state I live in Pennsylvania was founded by the Quakers, specifically William Penn, as a religious sanctuary. Quakers did not have a clergy or dedicated church buildings, and therefore held their meetings in which participants deliberated silently on issues and spoke up when â€Å"the Spirit moved them.† Dressed in plain clothes, Quakers preferred a simple life over one enjoyed by the aristocracy of England and the burgeoning merchant class in the colonies. They also shared an abhorrence of violence. I find my beliefs, even though I The History of Religion in the United States Christa Hart follow or believe in no God, similar, that if you were to need the faith in religion, you should not need to have a specific building, life style or presence in society to practice that religion. That doing so just creates a difference among people creating more separation in a race that should be united. And violence should never be tolerated, growing up in a house hold where violence and abuse was common place, this is a rule that people in my life need to abide by. The oldest Christian churches: Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Eastern Orthodoxy, have left their unique stamp on the history of religion in America. Called liturgical for their adherence to an elaborate, set form of ritualistic worship practices, most of those churches observe seven sacraments throughout their members’ lives, whereas later Christian denominations usually celebrated only two. Anglicanism, The Church of England (later the Episcopal Church in the U.S.) was first planted on American soil at the ill-fated Roanoke Colony in Virginia, when their first services were held on August 13, 1687. Since that landing, they grew and experienced numerous schisms. Their worship services are similar in some ways to those of Roman Catholicism, and their clergy orders are the same: bishops, priests, and deacons. The History of Religion in the United States Christa Hart Eastern Orthodoxy in America consists of more than a dozen church bodies whose national origin is reflected by their names, such as the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, and the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia. Eastern Orthodox beliefs are based on holy tradition, or doctrines from early Christianity, and the Bible. Utopian communities were established in America as places where followers would not waiver could achieve a perfect religious, political and social system. The first community was established by a group of Dutch Mennonites in 1663 near what is now Lewes, Delaware. When the constitution was written it stated in the first amendment which is called the â€Å"Establishment Clause†, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.† Also, the relationship between religion and politics was established in the Article VI of the First Amendment that states, â€Å"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.† The definition of the separation of church and state found in the U.S. Constitution has caused more disagreement than any other in the nation’s history. The History of Religion in the United States Christa Hart This is a continuously tried amendment, to be challenged by people of religion who try to push their religion or a religion on anyone and everyone who would listen. Just like prayers in schools are constantly pushed by religious politicians. It should not be anyone’s choice on what to believe, it is for a person to decide solely on their own through age and experiences. Religion has continued to change over the decades as more and more immigrants of different religions come to the United States such as Muslim, Buddhists, Jewish, they have been joined by more modern religions like Scientology and Mysticism. More and more people have also chosen, like myself, to have no religion but to base their lives on scientific beliefs in the way the earth and its creatures were created. However religious people also have this similar belief just stating their God would have to have their hand in this somehow. This would contradict most Christian religions.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Applications of Natural Science to Social Science

Applications of Natural Science to Social Science What can social science learn from natural science? Like all social sciences, the field of international relations attempts to provide both theoretical and practical insights into human behavior through the application of scientific principles. The inherent difficulty in social sciences, however, is just that – the attempt to provide insight into human behavior, which is notoriously resistant to attempts at predicting it through the means of logic. The personal relationship between the social scientist and the subject matter s/he studies, vs. and the natural scientist and the matter being studied tends to differ by virtue of both ideology and subjectivity; the natural scientist is bound, ethically, to conform his or her beliefs to the evidence gleaned from scientific method. Often, however, the ethical boundaries in the social sciences are less clear and more subject to the personal biases of the person doing the studying; the beliefs or theories are often used to tailor the evidence. The studied objectivity expected of the nat ural scientist is well-suited to the abstract or the impersonal elements of study; objectivity becomes more difficult to sustain when the inherently subjective matters of human behavior come into play in such social sciences as international relations. Given the often national or global human consequences of the application of theories of international relations, is it possible to remain neutral? Natural scientists believe that their work is ethically neutral. To be sure, their work can be put to good and bad uses, but this presumably reflects on the users rather than on the content of the science itself. The relationship between social science and the values of the social scientist seems far more immediate and direct than this, and this alleged contrast has been the subject for continuing discussion and debate†¦ Our observations of the social world seem even more coloured by the theory we employ than is the case in the natural sciences. (Ruben, 1998) Within the field of international relations, the aforementioned debate manifests itself in the competition between positivist and post-positivist theories. Positivist theories operate under the conviction that the principles of study as applied in the natural sciences, i.e. scientific method, and the analysis of quantifiable, measurable, and repeatable evidence, are applicable, valid, and valuable in the field of international relations. Positivist theories hold that the behavior of nation-states and the individuals who influence the policies of nation-states can be observed, studied, predicted, and reliably understood through the application of those theories. Examples of positivist international relations theories include liberalism, realism, neo-liberalism, and neo-realism (which we shall discuss in a moment). Post-positivist theories, such as social constructivism or international society theories, reject the notion that social systems, such as those in international relations, c an be studied in an objective manner that is free of value judgments. Scientific method, to adherents of post-positivist theories, is of little use in the field of international relations and those of this school of thought believe that ethics and other normative value concepts must be always be an inherent component of international relations studies. What exactly are the tenets of the scientific method, and how can they be usefully applied to social sciences such as international relations? In brief, the scientific method relies on the developing and testing of hypotheses designed to explain phenomena, in this case human phenomena, the behavior of nation-states. The studies are designed to test the hypotheses in a variety of different situations, tested by controlled experiments, the variables of which are carefully controlled and monitored by experts trained and qualified in the field of study. The evidence gathered by the studies is freely shared with other scientists for use in their own work, and theories that fail to hold up under rigorous examination must be discarded, modified, and/or updated without regard to personal attachment or subjective opinions. What is most difficult about the application of scientific method to the social sciences is the difficulty in maintaining consistency and reliability within controlled experiment situations. The ideal location for controlled experiments is, of course, a laboratory where scientists can carefully control any and all variables which might affect the outcome of the study and hence undermine or support the theory or hypothesis being tested. Human behavior is rarely confined to laboratory settings, however, and what is true about human behavior in this regard is even more true when it comes to collective human behavior, i.e., the behavior of nation-states. Further compounding the difficulty in maintaining controlled experiment environments with respect to international relations is that on the macrocosmic level of the world stage, the variables affecting the behavior of nation-states are not only numerous but their causal relationships are not always clear, linear, or even logical to an ob server, even if trained. There is little room for sentimental attachment to theories that fail to predict or solve international relations problems such as war or genocide, and to the extent that difficulty in adherence to scientific method leaves room for the dangerous influence of personal subjectivity, creative ways to maximize rigid application of scientific theory to international relations is key to the usefulness of positivist theories. One of the fundamental scientific theories underpinning most positivist international relations theories is a concept known as rational choice theory. (Rational choice theory is not unique or native to international relations; indeed, it is widely used in other social sciences such as economics and sociology.) Rational choice theory holds, on a basic level, that human beings generally use reason and rational processes to achieve a desired end or ends that they may seek at any given point in time – instrumental reason, in other words. Individuals, whether they be literal single human beings, or nation-states, who operate within the paradigm of rational choice theory are known as rational actors. Noted political theorists Shapiro and Green (1994) offered their analysis of how rational choice theory manifests itself in the context of international relations by identifying four elemental characteristics: 1) Rational actors employ the concept of utility maximization, which means th at where there are a variety of options for a rational actor to achieve its goals, it will choose the option calculated to have the maximum potential to improve its welfare; 2) The rational actor possesses the ability to evaluate the possible consequences of selecting any one of its various options to improve its welfare and prioritize the appeal of said options; 3) rational choice theory is at its core a theory of individual behavior, and though international relations is largely the study of groups of individuals who comprise the rational actors which populate the world stage, rational choice theory assumes and depends on the pre-eminence of the individual; and 4) rational choice theory is universally applicable. Rational choice theory in international relations is also closely related to rational choice theory in economics, insofar as economics describes the competition for allocation of finite resources,and in international relations, the competition between rational actors for those resources as they seek to improve their welfare and achieve their various goals. The two chief positivist manifestations of rational choice theory in international relations, then, are liberalism and realism, the former holding that nation-states are inherently predisposed to cooperate because of the self-evident futility of war, and the latter holding the opposite, that cooperation between nation-states is merely an incidental function of states seeking maximize their respective welfares and that the behavior of nation-states must always be seen through a prism which presupposes a primacy of self-interest among rational actors. The realist school of thought has largely predominated in the field of international relations for several decades, though it has been heavily criticized by those who believe realism is devoid of necessary ethical and moral compasses required to identify times when rational actors may not behave quite so rationally, thereby incurring human suffering. Realist international relations are heavily dependent upon multinational, multilateral go verning bodies such as NATO, the United Nations, etc., and individual nation-states’ adherence to the norms proscribed by membership in these types of institutions. Clearly, however, common sense provides us with numerous examples where both rational choice theory and realism have failed to accurately predict irrational behavior by nation-states and/or their leaders, and thus failed to predict and alleviate human suffering. Critiques of rational choice theory and realism point to the Holocaust, genocide in Sudan, Saddam Hussein’s attack on Kuwait, etc., as recent and painful examples of the failure of an over-dependency on theoretical models to predict complex human behavior. Realist international relations paradigms successfully guided the world through the Cold War without an additional conflict along the scale of World Wars I and II, however, so they cannot be held to be meritless. The application of scientific method to international relations is in part a function of necessity rather than any proof that the interactions of nation-states are easily describable by unassailably accurate theories; in short, attempts to analyze human behavior on a global scale, however imperfect, is a far preferable modus operandi than simply guessing as to why nation-states behave as they do. The stakes are simply too high – human lives, human welfare, for example for ad hoc guesswork to be the de facto methodology of international relations. An acknowledgement of the limitations of scientific method as applied in the social sciences is as important as its very application. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ruben, David-Hillel. (1998). â€Å"Social science, philosophy of,† In E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. Available from:  http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/R047 Coleman, J. S. and Ferrero, M. (1992) Rational Choice Theory: Advocacy and  Critique. London: Sage Green, D.P. and Shapiro, I. (1994) Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory: A Critique of Applications in Political Science. New Haven: Yale University Press. Shepsle, K. A. and Bonchek, M. S. (1997) Analyzing Politics. London: Norton.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Relationship of Terrorism and Drugs Essay -- Persuasive Argumentat

The Relationship of Terrorism and Drugs Terrorism has many and varied links to the drug trade. Terrorists may use drugs for funding of their cause; may include drugs as part of their cause, as in Peru; or terrorism may be the result of the drug trade, as it is in Columbia's Extraditables and Italy's mafia. With the many linkages between the two crimes it seems that to crackdown on one you must crackdown on the other. The ties between the two are such that enforcement of one will hurt the other, to stop terrorism it would be useful to stop it's funding, purpose, and cause. Drugs are a renewable resource, it?s relatively inexpensive to grow them in fertile soil. There is an enormous profit margin in the drug trade so to those, like terrorists, who are already outside the law, the lure of easy money is strong. Many groups engage in drug trafficking. A notable example is Fuerzas Armadas Revolutionarias de Columbia (FARC) in Columbia. FARC is the military wing of the Columbian Communist Party and has been established since 1966. FARC has ?cooperated with drug interests, offering protection in exchange for money to purchase weapons and supplies? (Henderson, 61). There are other examples throughout the golden triangle and golden crescent where drugs are big business. ?Drugs have become the principle currency for the purchase of weapons? (Jamieson, 72) and this is a problem. Countries then find themselves attacked on two fronts, by both terrorists and the illicit drugs used for funding. Drugs provide funds through more than cultivation. Various grou ps aid in drug trafficking and gain funding through services, not growing, ?Tamils also find employment as couriers...as a means of financing their independence struggle in... ...organized crime is still terrorism, although it?s directed and self-serving it has political aspects and still fits most definitions. In these brief examples we gain a sense that the war on drugs and the war on terrorism overlap. These two efforts have bonds that need to be explored. In order to effectively target terrorism you also need to address the drug trade that in various instances provides funding, purpose, or reason for the terrorism. Bibliography: Henderson, Harry. Terrorism. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2001 Jamieson, Alison. Terrorism and Drug Trafficking in the 1990s. Dartmouth: Research Institute for the Study of Conflict and Terrorism, 1994 Palmer, David Scott. ?Peru, the Drug Business and Shining Path: Between Scylla and Charbydis Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs. Vol. 34, No. 3. PP 65-88

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- Yellow Wallpaper C

â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Many intellectual artists, who are widely acclaimed for their literary work, live in a world characterized by â€Å"progressive insanity† (Gilman 20). Charlotte Perkins Gilman was one such individual. A writer during the early 20th century, Gilman suffered from bouts of deep depression, due part to her dissatisfaction with the limitations of her role as wife and mother. Her writing, particularly her famous story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† reflects experiences from her personal life. In doing so, â€Å"she achieved some control over both her illness and her past† (Lane 128). Many people still admire the fact that Gilman wrote her piece â€Å"to save people from being driven crazy;† however, perhaps she wrote the story to rescue herself from the psychological distress that she often suffered. (Gilman 20) Many people find the conclusion of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† problematic because the protagonist ends up insane. Others, however, have offered an alternative reading of the story, one which posits that the protagonist’s response to her profoundly oppressive situation is perhaps the most â€Å"normal† and â€Å"healthy† response to her. Clearly Gilman had a great deal to say about the restrictions placed on women in the early 20th century. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† explores a young woman’s gradual psychological demise. In doing so, however, readers may also observe the gradual liberation of a woman. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† the narrator who is suffering from depression, takes a trip to the country for the summer, with her husband and their baby. Her husband has diagnosed his wife’s condition as merely â€Å"a temporary nervous depression† (Gilman 4) and he decides to move her to a nursery that is located at the top of the house. She is surrounded by ugly yellow wallpaper and barred windows. Disturbed by the wallpaper, she asks her husband for another room or different wallpaper; however, he refuses. The woman becomes increasingly unhappy as she is forced t occupy a room that she despises. In this deprived environment, the pattern of the wallpaper becomes increasingly compelling. The figure of a woman begins to take shape behind the pattern of the paper. At night the pattern becomes bars, and the woman in the wallpaper is imprisoned. As her imagination worsens, she frantically rips off the paper in order to free the woman she perceives i... ...se of the phrase â€Å"living paper† is quite effective. I used this quote because it symbolizes the importance and the effect of this inanimate object’s power over the tragic heroine. The word â€Å"living† is the most appropriate description for its power. Treichler, Paula: She states, â€Å"the female lineage that the wallpaper represents is thick with life, expression, and suffering† (193) It summarizes some of the main themes of the narrative. It restates the gender-related struggle and captivity that captures the true essence of this story. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shumaker, Conrad. Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 37, 1990 p.195 He states that the husband is, â€Å"fearful and contemptuous of her imaginative and artistic powers, largely because fails to understand them or the view of the world they lead her to.† This quote describes the marital conflict between our heroine and her husband, hence the true struggle behind the story. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lane, Ann J. To Herland and Beyond. 1990 p.130 She states, â€Å"frightened by the images of a baby, the one she has and the one she was.† This quote expresses a symbolic comparison between the hopelessness and helplessness of the heroine and that of her child.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Psychoanalysis of Mary Karr’s Mother in The Lair’s Club Essay

Mary Karr growing up in 1961, Leechfield, Texas, as gone through a lot of hardships, she describes those of her childhood in her memoir’s of The Lair’s Club. Mary only learns of why her mother, Charlie Marie Karr, has become wavering and potentially hazardous to Mary and nine year old sister, Lecia, towards the end of the novel. All at once Mary talks to her mother, where she revels unknown parts of her past. The story Mary’s mother shares with Mary about trying to regain her children; shows how she slowly lost her mind and how her past has affected her relationships with her children. Because she was so preoccupied with trying to regain her first two children, Tex and Belinda, and cannot succeed in doing so; Mary’s mother comes to realize that this issue has been eating away at her and has driven her to insanity. Mary Karr’s mother in The Lair’s Club is shown to be highly unstable figure in Mary’s life. Mary discovers as an adult that in her parents attic a box of old wedding rings and pictures of unfamiliar children. Once before she had seen these pictures from her grandmother who had said to her that they were her mother’s â€Å"Other† children. When Mary shows her mother what she has found, her mother tries to change the subject completely. Mary brings it up again and her mother decides to finally talk about it with her for the first time. Her mother told her that when she was really young, she got married and had two children. Her husband’s mother did not like Charlie; one day while Charlie was at work her mother-in-law came picked up the children and everything in their apartment. When Charlie came home she was devastated, she went to her parents to ask for help in finding her family. Charlie finds her children after months of searching for them. Charlie went to the house to find her husband and children with a new mother. She tries to take her children back, and realizes that maybe her children would be better off there, for the time being, Charlie says she tries to do the right thing. Where Mary Karr in The Lair’s Club says, â€Å"Then Mother did what seemed at the time the Right Thing, though had she Thought, she may have Thought Twice about how Right the Right Thing would wind up being, for surely it drove her mad† (317). Charlie drives herself to depression, alcoholism, addictions, and even infanticide over this. Trying to rethink the same moment over, playing what she might have been able to do differently ultimately drives her mad. Charlie decides at that moment that the best thing for her to do to get her children back is to get remarried. If she finds someone else to share her life with, they would surely help to get her children back. Charlie gets married to man after man, but many do not want to help her. Finally Charlie marries Peter Karr, who wants to help get Charlie’s children back. But by this time the children are almost grown up and do not want to come move with their mother. Charlie is again distraught with her life and the circumstances that surround her. Charlie revels to Mary that it is only then when her children say they do not want to come back with her, that â€Å"Then it was like a big black hole just swallowing me up. Or like the hole inside me, and had been swallowing me up all those years with out my even noticing. I just collapsed into it† (Karr 318). It is right then when Charlie just snaps into her life long struggle with depression. Peter wants to help his wife as much as he can, he suggest that they should try to have more children. His hopes that if Charlie has more children she will get over the lost of the others. However, after having her two new children, Lecia and Mary, her depression becomes worse and she starts having infanticide. Mary brings up that one incident with her mother, â€Å"And the night she’d stood in our bedroom door with a knife? She’d drunk herself to the bottom of that despair. ‘All the times I’d wasted, marrying fellows. And still I lost those kids. And you and Lecia couldn’t change that. And I’d wound up just as miserable as I started at fifteen. ‘ Killing us had come to seem merciful. In fact, she’d hallucinated we’d been stabbed to death. ‘I saw blood all over you and everything else. Splashed across the walls'† (Karr 318). Charlie was experiencing infanticide, she wanted to kill Mary and Lecia to put them out of any suffering that they might experience. In a hypertext version of Velma Dobson and Bruce D. Sales’ The Science of Infanticide and Mental Illness they write that, â€Å"Over half, fifty six percent, of the filicides were classified as â€Å"altruistic† killings, in which the mother killed the child to relieve the child’s real or potential suffering; for example, from an incurable disease or from the suffering the child would potentially experience following the mother’s suicide. In another twenty four percent of filicide cases, the mother was acutely psychotic at the time of the murder, as indicated by hallucinations. † Where Charlie wanted to protect her children and by being so disturbed by the lost of her previous two she envisioned Mary and Lecia dead so they would not have to endure anguish any more.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Just in Time at Jimmy’s

CHAPTER 15 Lean operations and JIT Short case: Just-in-time at Jimmy’s St James’s Hospital, in Leeds in the north of the UK, affectionately known as ‘Jimmy’s’, is Europe’s largest teaching hospital. It employs around 4500 people to support the 90 000 in-patient treatments per year and over 450 000 total admissions. Under increasing pressure to reduce costs, to contain inventory and to improve service, the Supplies Department has undertaken a major analysis of its activities, to try and adopt some of the ideas from the JIT approach.The initial review highlighted that Jimmy’s had approximately 1500 suppliers of 15 000 different products at a total cost of ? 15 million. Traditionally, the Supplies Department ordered what the doctors asked for, with many cases of similar items supplied by six or more firms. Under a cross-functional task force, comprising both medical and supply staff, a major programme of supplier and product rationalizatio n was undertaken, which also revealed many sources of waste. For example, the team found that wards used as many as 20 different types of gloves, some of which were expensive surgeons’ gloves costing around ? per pair, yet in almost all cases these could be replaced by fewer and cheaper (20 pence) alternatives. Similarly, anaesthetic items which were previously bought from six suppliers, were single-sourced.The savings in purchasing costs, inventory costs and general administration were enormous in themselves, but the higher-order volumes also helped the hospital negotiate for lower prices. Suppliers are also much more willing to deliver frequently in smaller quantities when they know that they are the sole supplier. Peter Beeston, the Supplies Manager, said: ‘We’ve been driven by suppliers for years †¦ hey would insist that we could only purchase in thousands, that we would have to wait weeks, or that they would only deliver on W ednesdays! Now, our selecte d suppliers know that if they perform well, we will assure them of a long-term commitment. I prefer to buy 80 per cent of our requirements from 20 or 30 suppliers, whereas previously, it involved over a hundred. ’ The streamlining of the admissions process also proved fertile ground for improvement along JIT principles. For example, in the Urology Department, one-third of patients for non-urgent surgery found their appointments were being cancelled.One reason for this was that in the time between the consultant saying that an operation was required and the patient arriving at the operating theatre, there were 59 changes in responsibility for the process. The hospital reorganized the process to form a ‘cell’ of four people who were given complete responsibility for admissions to Urology. The cell was located next to the ward and made responsible for all record keeping, planning all operations, ensuring that beds were available as needed, and telling the patient wh en to arrive. As a result, the 59 handovers are now down to 13 and the process is faster, cheaper and more reliable.Jimmy’s also introduced a simple kanban system for some of its local inventory. In Ward 9’s storeroom, for example, there are just two boxes of 10 mm syringes on the shelf. W hen the first is empty, the other is moved forward and the Ward Sister then orders another. The next stage will be to simplify the reordering: empty boxes will be posted outside the store, where codes will be periodically read by the Supplies Department, using a mobile data recorder. Chapter 15: Short case study 1 Copyright  © 2006 Pearson Education Limited Slack: Operations Management, 5th editionThe hospital’s management are convinced of the benefits of their changes. ‘Value for money, not cost cutting, is what this is all about. We are standardizing on buying quality products and now also have more influence on the buying decision †¦ from being previously funct ionally oriented with a number of buyers, we now concentrate on materials management for complete product ranges. The project has been an unmitigated success and although we are only just starting to see the benefits, I would expect savings in cost and in excess inventory to spiral!The report on Sterile Wound Care Packs shows the potential that our team has identified. The ‘old’ pack consisted of four pairs of plastic forceps, cotton wool balls and a plastic pot, which were used with or without additional gloves. This pack cost approximately 60 pence excluding the gloves. The â€Å"new† pack consists of a plastic pot, swabs, etc. , and one pair of latex gloves only. This pack costs approximately 33 pence including gloves. Total target saving is approximately ? 20 000. ’ Chapter 15: Short case study 2 Copyright  © 2006 Pearson Education LimitedSlack: Operations Management, 5th edition Questions 1. List the elements in St James’s new approach which could be seen as deriving from JIT principles of manufacturing. 2. What further ideas from JIT manufacturing do you think could be applied in a hospital setting such as St James’s? Chapter 15: Short case study 3 Copyright  © 2006 Pearson Education Limited Slack: Operations Management, 5th edition Short case: Flexibility helps JIT at L’Oreal L’Oreal cosmetics is now the world’s largest toiletries and cosmetics group, with a presence in over 140 different countries.In the UK, the 45 000 square metre purpose-built facility in mid-Wales produces 1300 product types in a spotlessly clean environment, which is akin to a pharmaceutical plant in terms of hygiene, safety and quality. The plant has 55 production lines and 45 different production processes, and the manufacturing systems employed are of a flexibility that allows them to run each of the 1300 product types every two months – that means over 150 different products each week. But the plant was no t always as flexible as this.It has been forced to enhance its flexibility by the requirement to ship over 80 million items each year. The sheer logistics involved in purchasing, producing, storing and distributing the volume and variety of goods has led to its current focus on introducing JIT principles into the manufacturing process. To help achieve its drive for flexibility and for JIT production, L’Oreal organized the site into three production centres, each autonomous and focused within technical families of products. Their processes and production lines are then further focused within product sub-divisions.Responsible for all the activities within his area, from pre-weighing to dispatch, is the Production Centre Manager, whose role also encompasses staff development, training and motivation. Within the focused production centres, improvement groups have been working on improving shop-floor flexibility, quality and efficiency. One of the projects reduced the setup times on the line which produces hair colourants from 2. 5 hours to only eight minutes. These new changeover times mean that the company can now justify even smaller batches, and may give the company the flexibility to meet market needs just-in-time.Prior to the change in setup time, batch size was 30 000 units; now batches as small as 2000– 3000 units can be produced costeffectively. Chapter 15: Short case study 4 Copyright  © 2006 Pearson Education Limited Slack: Operations Management, 5th edition Questions 1. What did L’Oreal do to help it organize the process of setup reduction? 2. What do you think L’Oreal gained from doing each of these things? 3. If we could halve all changeover times in the factory, what effect would this have on inventory? Chapter 15: Short case study 5 Copyright  © 2006 Pearson Education Limited