The Field Of Psychology Ranks - 1277 Words

First let me start off by congratulating you on your terrific work. Your commitment to the field of psychology ranks amongst the best and your work has stood the test of time. I know you are unaware of the impact you will have in this field, but let me tell you that your work is still highly regarded. Your work has been used by many professionals and educators to help individuals throughout the years. Professionals have used your gestalt principles to expand their industries by creating their own logos. As the years have and continue to pass every individual have seen or used your gestalt principles even when they are not aware of it. As you left your country and came to the United States, you left behind a legacy but continued to create one in a different world. You faced a new chapter in your life when you came to the United States but it was a time where you played a great role in emerging psychology. Because of the gestalt migration was a time where the United States gained great talent. That’s where everything started and many psychologist and professionals started to know more about your work and started to engage and research more on it. Gestalt theory has been a successful theory for many years and continues its way to improvement. Your Gestalt theory, any type of illusion not just movement, has been very successful in a way that individuals see things a certain way rather than a whole. Your five principles of gestalt theory such as similarity,Show MoreRelatedHuman Development,Family and Society Essay1650 Words   |  7 PagesCo-Author: A.Pravinth – I MBA SSM School of Management, Komarapalayam. ABSTRACT This paper gives an overview of Human development, family and society from three angles via., biology, psychology and humanity. In biological terms, this entails growth from a one-celled zygote to an adult human being. Whereas in terms of psychology, it refers to the gradual accumulation of knowledge and is the scientific study of changes that occur in life of human beings. In terms of humanity, it involves studies of the humanRead MoreThe Development of Counseling and Psychotherapy1862 Words   |  7 Pagescounseling and psychotherapy was still taking place at the beginning of the 20th century, it is believed that the foundation for the same was laid long before this period. In that regard, Sigmund Freuds contribution to the counseling and psychotherapy field cannot be overstated especially when it comes to the study of the human mind. In this text, I concern myself with counseling and psychotherapy and its development over time from a social, cultural as well as historical point of view. The DevelopmentRead MoreThe Role Of Gender And Career Choice978 Words   |  4 Pagesone question occurs on this idea that among men and women who is good at the entrepreneur level. Women are better than men at the top positions and there are various reasons to prove that females are capable to get good field in their life. Women have very sharp brain in the field of medical science and technology; they succeed more than men in math and science courses which make them easy get a top position in the companies Women prefer to select math and science arena after high school and achieveRead MoreThe Psychology Of Psychology And Psychiatry1497 Words   |  6 PagesBefore proposing a course I believe it is vital for one to first understand the concept military psychology. The practice of psychology or psychiatry in the military has been around for decades. The military needs psychologist to help choose the best men and women possible to serve and protect. Also, the psychologists must ensure the enlisted are in the best mental and emotional shape possible. It is considered to be a â€Å"unique situation† in which not only are these individuals practicing psychologistRead MoreA Research Study On Forensic Psychology871 Words   |  4 Pageswhich led me to pursue a Postgraduate degree in the field of Fo rensic Psychology. Obtaining a PsyD in Forensic Psychology will not only provide me with more specific knowledge and research opportunities at the graduate level, but it will serve as a foundation for a career in Psychology. The reason which led me to apply for a DForPsy degree in Nottingham university rather than a Ph.D. is mostly because I’m particularly interested in practising psychology rather than exclusively conducting research andRead MoreKurt Lewin1247 Words   |  5 PagesKurt Lewin Kurt Lewin was a great innovater at his time in the field of Psychology. The theories he developed, the methods of reserch he used and the people he influenced all have had a profound impact on Psychology and even more specifically on Social Psychology. Lewin was born in 1890 in what is now Poland but at the time was the Prussian province of Posen, in the village of Moglino and was the second of four children (Greathouse). His parents owned a general store, and a farm on the outskirtsRead MoreThe Vision For My Professional Work After Graduation Essay1636 Words   |  7 PagesThe vision for my professional work after graduation is, to become the best therapist by using the best approaches that are available in the field in order to help people achieve a better mental well-being. I believe I can make a change in the world and in the lives of people by helping one person at a time. I believe that little changes have big impacts in our society. Therefore, having the possibility to help a person navigate through their problems or perhaps help them manage their mental disorders;Read MoreWhy I Started My Academic Career854 Words   |  4 Pageschoices was rooted in the individual’s childhood. So, I changed colleges and became a psychology major. I created a new vision for myself; one where I would work with abused and neglected children in child welfare. I pursued that passion and obtained a Bachelors of Arts in psychology with emphasis in child development. I became a child welfare worker and spent 13 years working up in the ranks of the field. I was at the point in my career where I was supervising 7 case managers, and responsibleRead More Kurt Lewin Essay example1210 Words   |  5 Pages Kurt Lewinnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Kurt Lewin was a great innovater at his time in the field of Psychology. The theories he developed, the methods of reserch he used and the people he influenced all have had a profound impact on Psychology and even more specifically on Social Psychology. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Lewin was born in 1890 in what is now Poland but at the time was the Prussian province of Posen, in the village of Moglino and was the second ofRead MoreIntroduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology1133 Words   |  5 PagesRunning head: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology Anne Solomon Diversity and Cultural Factors in Psychology/PSY450 Professor Iman Turner July 3, 2011 Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology Cross-cultural psychology is the critical and comparative study of the effects on human psychology. Cross-cultural psychology draws its conclusions from at least two samples that represent at least two cultural groups. Because cross-cultural psychology is about comparisons, it is crucial to use

Limiting Childrens Access To Internet Pornography Essay

Pornography is one of mankinds most revered, respected, and repulsed pastimes. Adults can use pornography to relieve stress, enhance their sex lives, or simply as a means of entertainment. One of the easiest and most popular ways of obtaining pornographic material is over the Internet. The only downside is that the Internet is accessible to children; therefore, pornography is accessible to children. While adults should have limitless access to Internet porn, minors should be kept away from this concubine. Usage of Internet pornography grows rapidly every day. It can be accessed easily enough by anyone that wishes to see the material, has a modem, and some times a wishful intent. The material ranges from semi-nude photos to videos†¦show more content†¦Their biggest reason is the endangerment of American children that use the Internet. Children can be endangered in many ways, one of which is being lured by a pedophile and possibly sexually assaulted. A pedophile is an ad ult with a psychosexual disorder where children stimulate sexual arousal. There is evidence that children who have been sexually victimized are more likely to be troubled adults. Advocates worry about the safety of the American children and wish to eliminate this from happening. A recent example is People v. Barrows, 174 Misc. 2d 367, 664 N.Y.S. 2d 410 (1997): an adult, James Barrows, entered an AOL chat room and seduced what he thought was a thirteen year old girl, who in actuality was an officer of Kings County District Attorney. Barrows had transmitted pictures of under-aged children having sex, engaged in sexually explicit conversations and attempted to lure the child to engage in sexual acts. Barrows was one of the few pedophiles to be caught and brought to justice. One proposal that was struck down from protecting children is the Communications Decency Act (CDA). Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States, argued that the CDA was in violation of the U.S. Constitution and laws that would be enacted were clear and undefined. If made into law, the CDA could severely censor the Internet in ways that were never attempted before. It would filter out anything that is deemed obscene andShow MoreRelatedLimiting Childrens Access to Internet Pornography1185 Words   |  5 PagesPornography is one of mankinds most revered, respected, and repulsed pastimes. Adults can use pornography to relieve stress, enhance their sex lives, or simply as a means of entertainment. One of the easiest and most popular ways of obtaining pornographic material is over the Internet. The only downside is that the Internet is accessible to children; therefore, pornography is accessible to children. While adults should have limitless access to Internet porn, minors shou ld be kept away from thisRead MoreEssay about The Fight Against Child Pornography2339 Words   |  10 Pages     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In recent years, pornography has established itself as perhaps the most controversial topic arising out of the use of the Internet. The easy availability of this type of sexually explicit material has caused a panic among government officials, family groups, religious groups and law enforcement bodies and this panic has been perpetuated in the media.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the unique challenges to regulating or settling on the appropriate way to regulate is that there is no concrete definitionRead MorePublic Libraries Should Not Block Internet Pornography1813 Words   |  8 Pages Since the internet has been available in schools and libraries in this country, there has been a debate about what should be accessible to users, especially minors. The amount of information disseminated on the world wide web is vast, with some sources valuable for scholarly and personal research and entertainment, and some sources that contain material that is objectionable to some (ie. pornography, gambling, hate groups sites, violent materials). Some information potentially accessible on theRead MoreEssay about Freedom of Expression on the Internet3920 Words   |  16 Pagesshould censor or block access to websites with controversial material. It looks at the issue from several sides: The relevant US laws that are in place, how censorship is used at the university and corporate levels, how other countries are attempting censorship, and finally what I feel about the topic. Given all that I have read in preparing this paper, I have come to the conclusion that without a set of globally-accepted rules, we should not be censoring the Internet except where these rulesRead More The Threat of Censorship Essay1952 Words   |  8 Pagestowards the Internet. Currently free speech thrives on theInternet. A very large variety ofopinions are expressed on theInternet from White supremacy to World Federaliststo individual soapboxes. The nature ofthe World Wide Web also allows these opinionsto reach a larger audience. This is not as easily done in other mediums,such as newspapers or books. However,when scanning the Internet many ads appear supporting free speech on theInternet. Could these ads demonstrate afear of Internet censorshipRead MoreEssay about Violence on Television and Children,1302 Words   |  6 Pagescruder than ever before. Commercials air violent movie trailers during children’s programming. Government should regulate the dosage o f daily violence a day to people under the age of 18. Parents should monitor their kids and decide acceptable programs to watch. Teachers should also give parents an update whenever a student acts out in a violent way. In the flowing I will explain and prove why there is too much violence in our children’s lives. In the past couple of years violence has been in a demandRead More The Concerns of Internet Censorship Essays4130 Words   |  17 PagesThe Concerns of Internet Censorship As a professional Internet publisher and avid user of the Internet, I have become concerned with laws like the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) that censor free speech on the Internet. By approving the CDA, Congress has established a precedent which condones censorship regulations for the Internet similar to those that exist for traditional broadcast media. Treating the Internet like broadcast media is a grave mistake because the Internet is unlike anyRead MoreEssay on BIG Brother and the Internet4373 Words   |  18 PagesBIG Brother and the Internet The Internet invention has most certainly opened many doors for a faster, more efficient educational medium. One can find information about almost everything, discussions range from daily issues to highly academic and scientific issues. It has indeed helped this generation to be much more productive and efficient. The vast web of electronic media that connects us is heralding a new age of communications. New digital networks offer a tremendous potential to empowerRead MoreEssay about The Perils of Social Networking1403 Words   |  6 PagesSocial networking sites, such as Facebook, promote sharing of personal information, dissemination of potential misinformation regarding activism and leaves users in danger of incurring many other offenses. Before the internet, people’s expectations were only as pressing as the technology that they had at their fingertips. These days, instant gratification is a conceivable reality and many people feel that they must have a cell phone, use email and would be culturally remiss without participationRead More Sex in the Media Essay1952 Words   |  8 Pages Sex plays a major role in todays society. From television, radio, music, and advertisements, to video games, the Internet, art and pictures, all forms of media use sex to help sell their products. With the public being exposed to so many different types of media, the overuse of sex is common. Is sex a useful tool, or a ploy to get the attention of the public? Before discussing sex in the media, one must understand why it has come to be that people use sex as a gimmick. The writing

20th Centaury Poetry Assignment †Welsh Poetry Comparison Free Essays

This essay will examine ideas of Welshness presented by Kelly Jones the lead singer of the Stereophonics and Welsh Poet R S Thomas and explore how they put them across. Both convey similar ideas in their work but in very different contexts Kelly Jones was born in June 1974, in the same hospital as Richard Jones. They grew up in a small village called Cwmaman. We will write a custom essay sample on 20th Centaury Poetry Assignment – Welsh Poetry Comparison or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is describes as a dull and lifeless area where nothing much goes on. With a population of only 1000, it’s a very closed in community, with old women twitching their curtains and everybody knows each other’s business. The small village of Cwmaman was a mining village, though the pit has long since shut the houses that Kelly Jones grew up in were originally built for colliery bosses with the loftier ones being occupied by colliery bosses. Kelly Credits Cwmaman as having a good pub culture by which he means kids is allowed to go into licensed premises with their parents. There are four main key ideas/themes in this poem, time, boredom, routine, and escaping. The time of the song is important, because in the video to this song we see people walking back, and the Stereophonics are the only people walking forward this suggesting that Cwmaman is a place where there is no opportunities, and only the Sterephonics are making something out of a bad situation. The theme routine, suggests that there is nothing new going on in Cwmaman, and that everything is the same, people do the same thing day in day out so nothing ever changes, and the last theme escaping could be talking about the local character â€Å"Mac the knife† and â€Å"the ladies wearing lipstick on their teeth† and how they escape by drinking and having fun, forgetting all the problems in this village The song â€Å"More Life In A Tramp’s Vest† was written by Kelly Hones on the back of a paper back one day while he was working in the fruit and veg stall in the market. The title â€Å"More Life In A Tramp’s Vest† has a special meaning to it, this being that a trams vest which hasn’t been washed more months on end could have lots of flees in it, therefore the flees are happily bouncing around, so what Kelly Jones is trying to say is the flees are having more fun by being on the tramp than Cwmaman has year in year out. Kelly Jones opens the poem by saying † I get camping eyes in the final hour† If you are said to have camping eyes then generally you are very tired, because if you go camping then you hardly get any sleep, so what he is saying is he’s tired. In the final hour could mean his final hour of work. He is trying to say he’s tired in the last hour of work â€Å"Last mute shoppers picking cauliflower† Here Kelly Jones is saying how the last minute shoppers are being so fussy on the vegetables they are picking, and they are holding him up from closing the stall down. â€Å"The fuss you make, you swear They were buying a car† The people who are choosing cauliflower are being so fussy that they are talking lots of time picking through them trying to find the one that has the least marks, and this is making Kelly Jones very angry because he is waiting to go home. â€Å"Always moan, moan its not so cheap, Cheaper still, cheaper still down the street† This could mean that the people who are holding him up from going home are being picky and trying to get the price even cheaper, by saying the person on the stall down the road have the same goods for cheaper. â€Å"I loose my rag and tell them Take your back and shop down there† Kelly Jones is now very frustrated because these people are being so fussy, stopping him from closing his stall, coning about the price of goods, so he yells at them and says go down there to shop. We can sympathise because he has been working all day and is probably tired of boredom. â€Å"Closing down, closing down another road One-way system steals the show† Closing down, closing down another road could mean that they are closing down another road of their life, they are running out of alternatives just like if you were in a car going down a one way street you have no where to go but if you have a normal road you can go up and down it, one way system steals the show, this could be the equivalent to their lives, meaning that there is no future what so ever in Cwmaman, and they that the people are doing nothing about it. â€Å"Mac the knife swings a can And sings the day away† These sentences could mean that this local character Mac the Knife is trying to escape from boredom by drinking and trying to drown his sorrows, and singing the day away could seem like good entertainment for him because he doesn’t know what he is doing. The chorus of this song has a persuasive technique, because instead of just saying there is more life in a tramps vest they say more life three times before continuing with in a tramps vest, then they repeat the whole line again. This is a repetitive technique used to make something stand out more and get a point across that there is more life in a tramps vest. â€Å"Flower man sits down in the street Surrounded by stock that he brought back last week† The flower man who had bought stock last week cannot sell it, so he is in the middle of it probably trying to sell it, which could be a hard task because people normally buy flowers to celebrate something but because in Cwmaman there is nothing to celebrate no body is buying any flowers. In this next line there is a very clever word association, there is no real effect for this, its just better than having a normal sentence, it says â€Å"Bring back the ladies wearing lipstick on their teeth Make up, we make up a crappy joke† The word association is with â€Å"lipstick† and â€Å"make up,† but why do they want the ladies to come back, is it because they were the only source of fun and life in that town? And why are they making up a crappy joke? Why not make a good one? The answer is that since these ladies have left Cwmaman for whatever reason the life of the village has gone down and become boring. The jokes that were considered as rubbish now seem like good jokes that people will laugh at. â€Å"Sit back, relax and have a smoke† If you read this sentence, it says sit back which could mean take a step back and look at our life, then you have a comma which is like a little pause, then you have relax, and have a smoke. This could mean that Kelly Jones wants us the reader to sit back, pause, relax which is like another pause, and take a look at his life, and the stressfulness of work, and how he smokes to relax. On the last 2 lines of the song it says â€Å"Mac the knife swings a can And sings the day away† This is a repeat of what is said on the end of the 3rd verse of this song, which could be to try and say this is what we all should be doing because Mac the Knife is enjoying himself. The last part of the song is the chorus, which is said again. This brings a negative end to the poem because not only has it ended where it begun, it proves that there has been no progress in the development of Cwmaman. Kelly Jones’ aim was not to show the readers/listeners that Wales is a boring place to live, but to say that there is nothing to do in Cwmaman. The tone of this poem was mainly sad â€Å"I get camping eyes in the final hour† he’s getting tired of work and stressed over what he is doing, the song if very negative â€Å"there’s more life more life more life in a tramps vest† if you are saying that there is more life in a tramp that goes around smelling all day long then things must be very bad! This song shows some signs of Kelly Jones getting frustrated â€Å"I loose my rag and tell them take your bag and shop down there† if he is saying this to a customer, he must be very angry because he is telling somebody to go and shop somewhere else instead of coming to his stall to shop. The pace of this poem seems to speed up as they get closer to the main chorus, probably because they are trying to let of some steam and have some fun. Over all Kelly Jones makes welsh life in Cwmaman look dull, lifeless and boarding, he is continually negative about Cwmaman in the song and it seems that this mining village is going no where fast! How to cite 20th Centaury Poetry Assignment – Welsh Poetry Comparison, Papers

Commercial Cycles and Global Indication †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Commercial Cycles and Global Indication. Answer: Introduction: It occurs when workers lose their work as a result of the downturns that exist in the business cycle. The gross domestic product is used to tell the time when business contracts. Given that the economy contracts for at least two quarters, then it is said to be in a recession. When the economy goes back to the phase of expansion in the business cycle management, those who are not employed or were laid off will reenter the job market. Cyclical employment is temporary since it depends on the contraction length. A recession is typical if it lasts for 18 months. A depression on the other side can last for even ten years (Layard et al, 2013 pg. 71). Frictional unemployment It occurs when workers abandon their work to search for improved ones.in most occasions, this kind of unemployment happens on a voluntary basis, but in other cases, it can be as a result of the termination of a job with a given cause. The term friction is used to show the time, effort and the expenditure that is employed by a worker to find some new job positions (Layard et al, 2013 pg. 81). In most cases, friction is not avoidable since worker have to look for new opportunities, attend interviews and have to move even before establishing new job opportunities. However, frictional unemployment is in most cases a short term form of unemployment. This kind of unemployment refers to the mismatch that exists between the jobs that are available compared to the skills.it is not caused by the forces of business cycle management like the cyclical unemployment but by other forces. It happens in the cases whereby the shifts in the economy makes it hard for some given groups of people to find jobs. This kind of unemployment can keep the rate of unemployment high even after the recession is gone (Layard et al, 2013 pg. 112). This refers to a working contract whereby a worker is employed for a given period in a year, and when the contract expires, then the worker remains unemployed. Examples, where demand, production, and employment are seasonal, include tourism and leisure and retailing (Layard et al, 2013 pg. 121). The demand curve is downward: The first reason for the downward sloping curve is with effect with the Pigous wealth effect. From the basic knowledge, we know that the nominal value for money is fixed. However, the real value is mainly depended on the level of prices. This because a lower price level makes the purchasing power to increase in each currency. When the price level goes down, then the consumers tend to become wealthier and hence the consumer spending increases. Hence a drop in the price level makes the users spend more thereby increasing the aggregate demand (Layard et al, 2013 pg. 140). The second reasoning is concerning Keynes rates of interest that the quantity value of money that is required is subject to the level of prices. High level of prices means that it will take the consumer a lot of money to purchase the large quantities. This means that the consumers could buy more supplies if the prices were low. This makes the customers keep significant amounts of money at the bank. The massive quantities in the bank make the bank to increase the loans and thereby to decrease the interest rates. A drop in price thus causes a reduction in the interest rate and then causes an increase in the investment and finally raise the level of aggregate demand (Layard et al, 2013 pg. 154). Increase in the rates of interest reduces the consumer spending and also the investment and finally leading to the aggregate fall in demand for the Australian dollar. When the aggregate demand goes down, then the supply also tends to go down. Lower aggregate demand will cause: A negative economic growth commonly known as the recession Higher rates of unemployment Reduction in the expenditure on imports and increased competition on the level of exports. The diagram below shows the effects of interest rates on aggregate demand (Layard et al, 2013 pg. 167). Autonomy in the monetary policy Under category, states can implement the autonomous fiscal policies so that they can address problems of inflation and also output. Since the economic policies affect the rates of inflation, governments have the right to resolve on their long run rate of inflation which do not have to acquire inflation rates from the other countries, a case that is witnessed under the fixed exchange rate (Baxter Stockman, 2012 pg. 188). The need for the maintenance of both the interior and exterior balance in a metallic standard is based on an argument that the latter causes fixed rate of exchange rate. Given that the prices of money are fixed and that any regions production and the other variables in the economy are altered, the exchange rate cannot therefore change. The latter leads to friction in the economic system as a whole (Baxter Stockman, 2012 pg. 165). This is the primary weakness. The alterations in the exchange rates are more evident compared to the implication laid down by the fundamentals (Baxter Stockman, 2012 pg. 185). Extended use for the case of monetary policy The disadvantage of the ability to use conduct the so called independent fiscal policies management is the capability of creating higher rates of inflation. The expansionary or contractionary financial strategies can give a discourse to the recessionary or the inflationary weights (Baxter Stockman, 2012 pg. 190). The stability in prices indicates that there are minimal changes in prices and they are expected. The factor that in most cases affects the stability of prices is the fiscal policy. The short run fluctuations in any country can be diminished by the metallic standards and are also called business cycle. The reasoning behind the decrease in the vitality in the products may be lying in the stability of prices. The central banks are required to have in store, enough amount of reserves under the metallic standard for them to maintain their parity in gold and also be in possession of extra gold to intervene for the exchange rates (Baxter Stockman, 2012 pg. 145). Manufacturers of the metal that is in the metallic standards influence the macroeconomic conditions in the countries that have the metallic standard (Baxter Stockman, 2012 pg. 165). Work cited Baxter, M. and Stockman, 2012. Commercial cycles and the exchange-rate rgime: some global Indication.Periodical of financial Economics,15(5), p 456-497. Layard, P, Layard, Nickell and Jackman, 2013. Joblessness: macro economic enactment meant and the labor market. Oxford University Press on Demand.

The Wiccan Religion free essay sample

The Wiccan Religion Rough Draft Mikki Dandreano September 3rd, 2010 Wicca is a common and older name for witchcraft; the term witchcraft has been defined in many different ways in past times it was mostly referred to as a human harnessing of supernatural powers for the purpose of practicing black magic. For this reason, magic, witchcraft and sorcery has been associated with Satanism. Not all withes worship Satan; in fact most of them do not have a belief in Satan nor is there a belief in hell, original sin or evil. During the Middle Ages, witchcraft experienced a huge revival. The supernatural world became very popular. If someone wanted to become a witch, there was an initiation process; the first would be that the witch must Join of their own free will and the second requirement was that the prospective witch must be willing to worship the devil Modern day witches are typically not Satan worshipers. We will write a custom essay sample on The Wiccan Religion or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Wicca is considered a New Age Movement, and with that Wiccans do not believe and accept that there is good or evil, they say that there are only forces that must be balanced. Most Wiccans support a neo-tolerance for politics, meaning that there is no absolute truth, what is true for one many not be true for nother, so everything is true Just pick one. They are also strong supporters of womens rights and matriarchy, sexual freedom; including polyandry, non-monogamy, homosexuality, and sexual activity among the teenage community. In the past few years there have been lawsuits filed by Pagans against things such as In God We Trust, student led prayer, Christian symbols (such as the Cross), The Ten Commandments in many cities. Many Wiccans are active in getting schools to teach Wiccan holidays, like the Winter Solstice and Halloween, to honor pagan elements such as Earth day and Pagan symbolism. The United Nations are trying to introduce pagan earth worship into the schools by promoting Earth Charter in education; this is a document that contains much pagan doctrine and tradition. The start of modern witchcraft began with Gerald Gardner (1884 1964); he was an archaeologist and had accumulated an extensive occult background. While Gardner was in Southeast Asia, he learned of secrets of the Malaysian magical knife and became a nudist and a Mason. In 1930, he returned to England as an avid occultist and became a member of the Corona Fellowship of Rosicrucians; this is where he met Dorothy Clutterbuck; Dorothy initiated Gardner into witchcraft. There seems to be a general agreement that Wicca first became a mass movement in recent times in England during the 1950s with the publishing of books by Gerald Gardner and has expanded at an extreme rate through Europe and North America. Wicca is one of the largest of the minority religions in the United States there are no real estimated numbers of the Wiccans in this country but the best estimate is over 750,000, which would make Wicca about the fifth largest organized religion in the United States; following Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism. The Wiccan religion is almost unknown The few Wiccans that decide to let their religion be known are normally heavily persecuted; on a per-capita basis, they are thought to be victimized more often than members of any other religious groups. In 1999, there were several attacks on Wicca and other Neopagan religions by leading political fgures; including Rep. Bob Barr (R- GA) and Governor George W Bush (R_TX_ over the religious rights of Wiccan soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas they were Joined by over a dozen Fundamentalist Christian groups. After the known attacks in 1999 against the Wiccan community, the religion as somewhat come out of the closet to reveal their faith in a more open manner. To totally understand Wicca, you must first know the ways, laws, and powers of a witch; one who practices Wicca is called a witch, and this is referred to as a man or a woman. Wicca is actually a beautiful nature and goddess focused religion. The Wiccans have something known as the Wiccan Ways. They are basically saying that they will seek out wisdom in books, poems and texts but to also look at nature, as this is where all the old secrets are preserved. They feel that while books contain words, trees contain energy and wisdoms that books could never hold. They feel that one should be like a river willow tree; meaning that they should evolve so they can grow and shine; Wiccans will not mock rituals or spells of another, because they do not believe they are greater in wisdom or power. One should always make sure their actions are honorable because everything they do will return in thrice fold bad or good. Wiccans honor everything that is living life of all things should be saved to preserve your own life. The Wiccan power is not to be used to bring harm to anyone, to control or injure others; but if the need should arise, the power will be sed to protect their life or the lives of others. Their powers are used only as need dictates and can be used for ones own gain, as long as they harm no one in the process. Wiccans feel they should not accept money for the use of their power because by doing so it will take control and they will become like other religions. Most of all, they remember that their powers are a gift from the Goddess and God and shouldnt be misused and abused. WICCAN SABBATS The Wiccan, Pagan and Witchcraft year runs from October 31st through October 30th. Following the Wiccan year, they have many holidays they celebrate and pay ribute to. Samhain Lore, on October 31st, translates into End of Summer and is the final harvest of the year. This is a magical interval when laws of space and time are suspended and the thin veil between worlds is lifted. This is a great time for communication with departed loved ones; it is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother and Father. In older times, the Feast of the Dead was celebrated by leaving food at altars and doorsteps for the dead. Many practioners of Wicca still follow this tradition candles are lit and left in windows so souls can be uided home, apples are buried along the roads and paths for spirits who are lost and have no one to provide for them, extra chairs are set at dining tables for unseen guests. In older days, traveling after the sunset was not advised at all because the wee folk became active, pulling pranks on people. To fool the spirits people dressed up as ghosts and dressed in clothing of the opposite gender. On February 2nd, Imbolc Lore is celebrated. At this point in the year, herd animals have either given birth to offspring or they are about to give birth. This is a time of blessing of the rrived. Imbolc is a festival for the Maiden, from February 2 to March 21; this is her season to prepare for renewal and growth. Straw Beidedgas (corn dolls) are created from wheat or oat straw and placed in baskets; young girls carry the dolls from door to door, gifts are given to the image of the doll from each house. Candles are lit and placed into each room of the house; this honors the rebirth of the Sun. April 30th or May 1st begins Beltane, also known as May Day or Roodmas. This holiday is celebrated with rituals and feasts and is one of the eight solar Sabbats. As summer egins and the plants start to bloom and blossom, the mood of the people start to lighten. In Celtic times, this was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken; however this is not observed in this way in our times. (Celtic Connection, The, Herne) Lughnasadh begins on July 31st, and means the funeral games of Lugh. This day honors the Tailtean marriages and coincides with the first gathering of harvests. As autumn begins, the Sun God is entering his old age but is not yet dead. The God symbolically will lose strength as the Sun rises further in the south each day and the nights begin o be longer. The Christians adopted this theme and called it Lammas, which means loaf mass, a time when baked loaves of bread are placed on the altar. December 31st is Yule lore and is when the dark half of the year begins turning itself over to the light half. On January 1st, the Sun will start to climb a little higher in the sky and stay a little longer. This is known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year. Bonfires are lit and crops and trees were toasted with spiced cider. The Yule log is the highlight of this festival; the log must have been harvested from a householders land or given as a gift one cannot buy one. Once the log is brought into the home and placed in a fireplace, it is decorated with greenery, covered with a cider or ale, and dusted with flour before it is set on fire. The log then burns throughout the night and smolders for 12 days after before it is put out ceremonially. (YULE, Akasha) Ostrara begins on March 21st and is also known as the spring or Vernal Equinox, or Lady Day. Spring reaches its midpoint day and night are in perfect balance. A young Sun God celebrates a sacred marriage with the young Maiden Goddess who will conceive. In nine months, the young Maiden will become the Great Mother and at his time, there will be newborn animals and new plant growth. The next full moon is called the Ostara and is sacred to the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility. Christians adopted this as Easter, which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon follows the vernal equinox. June 21st, begins the summer solstice or Litha. This holiday is the opposite of Yule. This is the longest day of the year; life and light are plenty. During mid-summer, the Sun God has reached the moment of his greatest strength; he is lord of the forests and his face is seen in church architecture peering from countless foliate masks. The Christian religion turned this day of Jack-in-the- Green to the Feast of St. John the Baptist; portraying St. John in a rustic attire, sometimes with cloven feet and horns. September 21st, is the Mabon, or the Autumn Equinox. This divides night and day equally; people take a moment to respect the darkness that is impending. There are thanks given to the sunlight as people begin to store their harvests of the years crops. Offerings of ciders, herbs, wines and fertilizers were appropriate. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she and a rebirth. There are many other names for this holiday because it is a lesser

How to Study for Fill in the Blank Tests

How to Study for Fill in the Blank Tests Of all the test question  types, fill-in questions may be the most feared. But this type of question doesnt have to give you an immediate brain drain. There is an effective strategy for preparing for this type of test question. In most cases, the best tool for test preparation is great class notes. When you take good notes from your teachers lecture, you usually have about 85% of the material youll need to prepare for any type of test,  right on hand. Most teachers create tests straight from their lecture notes. When preparing for a fill-in test, your class notes are even more important than ever. If you have been able to record your teachers notes word for word, you may have some fill-in phrases for the test right in front of you already. If youre preparing for a fill-in-the-blank test right now, pull out those class notes and try one of these two study strategies. Strategy 1: Leave Out a Word The great thing about this method is that it actually prepares you for all types of questions. Youll find that this method makes it easy to answer most any essay question, as well as the fill-ins. Read over your class notes and underline new terms, important dates, noteworthy phrases, and the names of key people.Put parentheses around the sentence that contains your key word or phrase.Copy each sentence onto a clean sheet of paper, leaving out the key word or phrase.Leave a blank space where they key word or phrase should go.At the bottom of the paper  containing your sentence (or on a separate page), make a list of the key words and phrases. This will serve as your key.Read over your sentences and attempt to fill in the blanks with correct answers in very light pencil. Consult your notes when necessary.Erase your work and continue this process until you can answer all your fill-in questions with ease.For insurance, read through the relevant chapters in your text to find any words or phrases you didnt find in your notes.Go through the same process of copying sentences and filling in the answers until they all come easily. Strategy 2: Dry Erase Practice Test You can create your own reusable practice test by using the following steps. Make a photocopy of your class notes or textbook pages.White out key words, dates, and definitions.Slip the new page with blank spaces into a plastic sheet protector.Use a dry erase pen to fill in answers. You can easily wipe away your answers to practice again and again.

Cleopatra Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cleopatra - Essay Example To draw the comparison of Cleopatra’s portrait figured in films during 1963 and late twentieth and early twenty-first century, it is quite essential to draw the reference and go through a thorough analysis for the first appearance and portrayal of the image of the oriental queen on the silver screen. Cleopatra was first unveiled as a queen on the silver screen, in the year 1917. The first role of Cleopatra was played by Theda Bara where she was projected as an enchantress and iconic figure of mysterious orient with all her mystical aura which culminated into a figure that was sexually manipulative, threatening to be married and abandoned men with all her exotic appeal. The press clubbed this exotic predator as â€Å"the torpedo of domesticity† Here the intention and the objective for the portrayal of the oriental queen were transparent and evident. She was projected as the mistress of oriental extravaganza and empress of a mystic land with an aura half-veiled around her . This iconic portrayal of the queen became analogous with her name until in the year 1934, Cleopatra was reincarnated as a modern brand queen in the epic of Cecil B De Mille. Cleopatra revisited the minds of her audience as a flirtatious queen gazing at the hollow pomp of the Caesar and is less threatening.

Micro economics assignment Fuel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Micro economics assignment Fuel - Essay Example The graph shown on the left shows the above mentioned change in demand of corn. Previously, the demand for corn stood at D1 because it was almost solely used for food consumption. However, the demand for bio-fuel has added to this demand and an addition of D2 has resulted in an overall demand of D1+D2 for corn. Along with showing the total demand for corn, the graph also shows the rise in price of the product which is corn in this case. The previous demand of D1 had a lower price but due to the increased demand, an upward pressure on price has forced the price to rise to PC*. In a market economy, if the increased demand is not addressed by added production and hence increased supply, then the prices rise because the market forces come into play and determine the market prices which are at a higher point (AmosWEB n.d.). The graph here shows that the supply has been unchanged due to which the increased demand has resulted in a rise in the prices of corn. ii) The price of a product usua lly tends to go up if the increase in demand is not met by an increase in the supply in the same ratio. However, when the demand rises and the prices start to go up, then it tempts others to invest in improving the production methods by introducing new technology or new producers enter into the market. When this happens, the supply of the industry rises and the supply curve of the industry shifts outwards which results in the fall in prices (AmosWEB, Supply and Demand Increase n.d.). The supply of product that is under consideration cannot be increased simply because it is an agricultural product and therefore numerous limitations such as the availability of agricultural land suitable for the growth of crops. In this case when the product is an agricultural product, then the options left to increase the yield of crops is to improve the agricultural and conversion technologies. During harvesting, the conversion process usually results in wastage of product. Therefore if there is an i mprovement in the conversion technology, then there will be less wastage and increased supply. Similarly, if the seed quality can be improved, then it will result in an improved yield. Both of these steps will lead to a rise in the supply of corn and as a result of an outward shift in the supply curve, the price will fall. Here in the graph on the right, the supply curve has shifted outwards as a result of increase in supply. In our context, the increased supply is the improved yield of corn. The increase in corn has resulted in the readjustment of the equilibrium point and the price at this point has gone down. Therefore, an increased demand can be handled by a simultaneous increase in supply to keep the price under control. iii) After raising the concerns that the earth is facing the possibility of environment and resource depletion, there were calls of innovating and moving towards environment friendly energy solutions. These calls were answered by the introduction of bio-fuels w hich are partly renewable and emit less dangerous gases. Due to this, many have shifted their consumption to the bio-fuels and it has emerged as a dominant and growing force in the oil industry throughout the world. (Analytica n.d.) The bio-fuels have added to the competition in the oil industry and manufacturer companies now face a greater challenge with

Understanding and applying motivation theories for achieving Essay

Understanding and applying motivation theories for achieving organization goals - Essay Example An organization comprises of human resources who have distinct feelings and emotions. These emotions and feelings play important role in determining the output and efficiency of work of the human factor while at job.In this paper we apply one or more of motivational theories to suggest improvement which the manager can apply in given work place scenario to improve employee response and motivation resulting in better output and achievement of organizational goals.Motivation theories provide ready and general constructs to analyze the behavior of human resources at work place. This analysis can distinctly exhibit the possible solutions to motivational problems at work place. Management of any organization has to work adequately to enthuse the human resources in order to ensure that they do work in consonance with organizational goals and objectives.Routine-requiring the 5 employees to attend to customer queries on mortgages, insurance and bank accounts themselves. This work is fairly s tructured task. The bank has standard question templates on terminals. Employees are required to query the customer and fill in the required data in these templates. Based on this data the answer to customer question(s) appears on terminal screen. This is then passed on to the customer to ensure satisfactory service. Such tasks form up to 90% of the total work load of these 5 employees.Non routine -These are customer queries which cannot be satisfied by the terminal based templates. They require additional knowledge about the banking products and often present such decision situations where creativity and correlation skills are required. It is an internal practice that such queries may be forwarded to the manager to deal. Normally such queries form about 10% of the total queries received by these 5 employees. 12 13 Problem has arisen as the manager has started receiving such forwarded queries much in excess of the 10% trend and she subsequently discovered that quite a few of them were in fact routine queries which could have been attended to by the 5 member line staff. 14 15 It is apparent that some line member is trying to pass on his/her work to the 'new unwary manager'. This is not only intruding upon the time and job responsibilities of the manager but also resulting in customer dissatisfaction as not only customer has to wait more to get routine answers but also several non routine queries wait longer as manager is busy in answering routine queries. There apparently is a major motivational problem amongst line staff which needs immediate resolution otherwise the situation may snowball with a multiplier effect. 16 Resolution 17 Manager has to realize that motivation comes from within. It is an inner drive that causes a person to do something or act in a certain way. It is a complex inspirational energy which is highly desirable in the workplace, equally desired by both managers and workers alike. However this inspirational energy is missing in portion or full in present situation. Motivated employees will put in extra effort when needed, without being asked. Instead here employees are trying to pass on the effort required of them to management layer. In order to resolve this manager can use any of the 8 popular motivation theories. These theories are Management by Objectives, Maslow's hierarchy, Quality Circles, Herzberg's Two-factor Theory, McGregor's Theory X and Y, "In Search of Excellence", theory of Peters and Waterman, Managerial Grid, and Likert

Role of Nursing Informatics in Health Care

Role of Nursing Informatics in Health Care The Role of Nursing Informatics at Cleveland Clinic Foundation The Informatics system at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) plays an essential role in supporting the delivery of quality patient care and to improve patient satisfaction, features that are very important to maintain the Magnet Status achieved by the Clinic. As the CCF mission statement highlights, the goal of the Clinic is to support nursing care and achieve good outcomes along with patient satisfaction. This goal was reached by creating an informatics system that allows an easy access to data information, ensures easy communication between health care providers and promotes nursing and patient education. The mission of CCF is to support evidence-based nursing practice and improved patient outcomes with technology solutions that enhance nursing communication, documentation and efficiency ( Nursing Informatics: Nursing past, present and future section, para. 1). Cleveland Clinics Nursing Informatics implemented an electronic medical record system, called Epic System that is using high technology and considers professional and clinical experience to manage the patients information, to improve work, and to deliver higher quality health care for its clients. Nurses and Physicians have easy access to the system, being able to view data and collect necessary information, provide quality client care and document the patients condition. health care professionals can document through the electronic medical record system the medical care that was provided to the patients and the patients responses to the care given. The Epic System is used not only by nursing professionals, but by a large variety of allied health care departments, too. For example respiratory therapists can document aerosol treatments administered to their patients, adjustments in ventilator settings and the patients response to these interventions. The pharmacy department uses the i nformation system to access patients data such as medical reconciliation, medications profile, including current and home medications , demographics, health history and medical diagnosis. In this way it will be reducing significantly medication errors. The physicians consider Epic System to be very useful for them, because allows them to easily find their patients file in the system, allowing access to the patients prior doctors visits and health information, laboratory results, radiology test results as well as interdisciplinary consult results and recommendations. The physicians orders for medications and treatments can be easily entered into the system through the computerized physician order entry feature of the system (CPOE). This has high significance in reducing medication errors and in delivering care in a timely manner. The CCF website presents a clear explanation about the Informatics systems role in obtaining and maintaining the high standard achieved by the clinic: Nursing Informatics, in collaboration with the Information Technology Division, is  Implementing an electronic medical records system from Epic Systems of Madison,  WI.   Electronic documentation of the patients medical record is transforming  clinical practice for nursing, allied health and medical practitioners at the Cleveland  Clinic. After using Epic Care successfully in ambulatory outpatient services for two  years, the Clinic is currently undergoing a phased implementation of the Epic  system in the inpatient setting-enabling health care providers to examine any  patient record across the entire continuum of care in all Cleveland Clinic facilities  (Nursing Informatics: More information about the Nursing Informatics specialty  section, para. 4). Another important aspect of the Informatics system in the nursing care provided at CCF is that it contributed significantly to the improvement of communication between medical professionals by improving the accuracy and the speed of communication. It comes very convenient for the physicians to access the computer system from any location, either inpatient or outpatient locations, or either from the comfort of his or her home or office or even while on the golf course or at the mall (Hebda, Czar Mascara, 2005, p.126), to enter orders for the patient. By doing so, the system alerts all departments to carry out physician orders. For example when ordering a chest X-ray for the patient, the radiology department will automatically place a transportation order for the patient, to be transported from the nursing floor to the radiology department. Through the nursing communication tool, the physician can communicate to the nursing staff about withholding diet or medications as preparation for specific tests or even surgery. The same way, the physician, can interpret radiological results in a timely manner, by checking the radiography evaluation report placed in the computer system, without the need to walk to the radiology department to read the film. In this way it could be saved precious time that could save another patients life. A different feature of the Informatics System used at the CCF is that provides a large variety of choices for patient and nursing education, offering multiple educational resources at different levels. For patient education purposes, the CCF intranet has a link called patient education that consists of information edited in a simple language, easily comprehensible for non-healthcare personal. This site provides information about specific medications, including their side effects, indications and contraindications; also gives information about diseases or home going discharge instructions, regarding activity, diet, signs and symptoms of complications and many other subjects. The CCF television channel has information about diabetes, advice for smoking cessation, anti-coagulation administration, or techniques to reduce and manage stress, etc. This way patients can be easily educated towards a better understanding of the healing process and can actively participate to their care. At the same time, the CCF Intranet provides valuable information for physicians and nurses that improve their knowledge related to medical diagnoses, policies and procedures as well as giving them the chance of updating themselves with the newest technologies used. The CCFs Alumni Library has commonly used medical sites like Up to Date, Medline that are handy to use when more information are needed about a healthcare related issue. The COMET helps nurses and nursing aids to maintain an updated level of nursing education, reinforcing policies and standards required by the clinic. According to its definition, the Nursing Informatics has a primary role in delivering high quality nursing care,  Nursing Informatics is a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science,  and information science to manage and communicate data, information, and  knowledge in nursing practice. Nursing informatics facilitates the integration of  data, information and knowledge to support patients, nurses and other providers in  their decision-making in all roles and settings. This support had been accomplished through  the use of information structures, information processes, and information  technology (ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Informatics Practice, 2001, pg vii). The convenience of the Informatics system of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation is represented, by easy access to patient data, and resources for patient and nursing education. The valuable communication tool between health care providers, contributed tremendously in attaining high standards in patient care and their satisfaction. All these features are essential factors that helped the Cleveland Clinic to achieve the great award of Magnet Hospital.

How to Rule the Airways Essay -- Papers

How to Rule the Airways Scriptwriting for radio is considered to be harder than scriptwriting for film and TV as the writers cannot use sight and must portray the story through sound and dialogue. In this short discussion I will be talking about the linguistic conventions and syntax and vocabulary also I will be discussing style and structure purpose and genre. The first thing is linguistic conventions this is basically the different types of ways they structure their sentences to make them sound good to the audience. 1.0Linguistic conventions: There are a lot of linguistic conventions in radio scripts and I will identify some of these now: 1.1Alliteration: Alliteration is using words with the same starting letters in a row to slow down or speed up the speech of the words spoken an example of this is peter piper picked a peck of pickled pepper although there is some words in the middle of the sentence that do not start with the same letter, it does not matter as they are short and are joining words which are spoken so fast it does not matter that they are there. The example I have just written is the example of using alliteration to slow down speech if you can also use it to point out particular words and to make a point. 1.2Onomatopoeia: Onomatopoeia is used to replace sounds with words, where words are used instead of sounds like instead of a bee buzzing they would say buzz instead of a buzzing sound they use this in radio to either make a joke or to make you understand the sound that they are hearing. 1.3Oxymorons: Oxymoron’s are used in radio scripts sometimes to confuse or to amplify the meaning of words. ... ...es to conform to their target audience so like a news broadcast would appeal to old people or middle aged people its purpose is to entertain their audience and they do this many different ways using many types of linguistic conventions mentioned above. 5.0 Genre: There are many different genres for radio scripts two of these are comedy and drama you do get others. These two types of genre are commonly used as that is what most people like to listen to on the radio another one is music as that is what the audience is attracted to. The Genres are different as there are different types of people who like different sorts of things so they can change the genre during the show from a comedy then to a drama to keep a wide range of listeners. bibliography http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/vclass/terms.htm

Make decisions or solve problems Essay

What are heuristics? How do they help us make decisions or solve problems? How do they hinder decision making and problem solving? What does the study of heuristics tell us about how our mind works? Elvira Gubayeva In psychology, the term â€Å"heuristics† is used to describe cognitive shortcuts that our mind takes in order to save time and effort while solving problems and making decisions. Although this rule of thumb technique does not guarantee the solution, it is highly likely to solve the problem. These congnitive shortcuts differ from algorithms as algorithms will definitely solve the problem, although they would consume more time in the process. Thus, heuristics are shortcuts that eliminate the need to consider unlikely possibilities or irrelevant states to reach the final solution. From that perspective, heuristics are useful in making decisions or solving problems. One of the most important heuristic methods was explored by Newell & Simon. They called this method the means-ends analysis. This method implies that the problem solver will note the difference between the current state of the problem and the goal state, the solution. He would then create a subgoal to reduce the difference between the two states. A path, or an operator, would be selected to reach the subgoal. Egan & Greeno(1974) used the Tower of Hanoi problem to investigate this heuristic method. They found that subjects with prior experience with the problem who used the means-ends analysis solved more difficult versions of the problem faster than subjects who did not make appropriate subgoals. Subjects who changed their strategy to means-ends analysis produced better results than those who did not. Overall heuristics are useful in solving problems and making decisions as they reduce the complexity of different solutions that are possible. They do yield good results when they are used in the appropriate context. However, heuristics can also hinder decision making and problem solving. For example, Anzai & Simon(1979) found that many subjects used domain dependent strategies while solving the tower of Hanoi problem. This hindered their process to the solution as they avoided certain states in the puzzle that they believed would not help them, rather than move towards a definite goal/ subgoal state. Subjects were more interested in the goal state and focused on reaching that rather than reaching the subgoal state first. As Thomas(1974) found, this could actually hinder process. Thomas used the missionaries-cannibals puzzle and adapted J. R. R. Tolkien’s hobbits and orcs to replace missionaries and cannibals. To reach the solution quicker, subjects had to move away from the goal state. However, not many were willing to do that. This distraction to reach the goal state caused the subjects to take longer solving the problem. If the subjects found themselves moving away from the goal state, they typically thought they reached a back alley and backtracked. As a result, subjects took longer to solve the problem as they were using the domain dependent heuristic and avoided moving away from the goal. Another heuristic which could hinder correct decision making and problem solving is the availability heuristic. We use data that we can remember better or that which had a bigger impact on us rather than complete data. Thus subjects can make judgements based on what is easier remembered than an unbiased judgement. One availability heuristic that is commonly used is the media bias. The media presents such a great number of fatal accidents that most think that death is more likely to be caused by an accident rather than diabetes. This is not the case, yet because an accident is easier to remember and had a greater impact on the mind most would consider the statement above to be true.

Learn Mandarin Chinese with Pinyin Romanization

Learn Mandarin Chinese with Pinyin Romanization Pinyin is a Romanization system used to learn Mandarin. It transcribes the sounds of Mandarin using the Western (Roman) alphabet. Pinyin is most commonly used in Mainland China for teaching school children to read and it is also widely used in teaching materials designed for Westerners who wish to learn Mandarin. Pinyin was developed in the 1950’s in Mainland China and is now the official Romanization system of China, Singapore, the US Library of Congress, and the American Library Association. Library standards allow for easier access to documents by making it easier to locate Chinese language materials. A worldwide standard also facilitates the exchange of data between institutions in various countries. Learning Pinyin is important. It provides a way to read and write Chinese without using Chinese characters - a major hurdle for most people who want to learn Mandarin. Pinyin Perils Pinyin provides a comfortable base for anyone trying to learn Mandarin: it looks familiar. Be careful though! The individual sounds of Pinyin are not always the same as English. For example, ‘c’ in Pinyin is pronounced like the ‘ts’ in ‘bits’. Here’s an example of Pinyin: Ni hao. This means â€Å"hello† and is the sound of these two Chinese characters: ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½ It is essential to learn all the sounds of Pinyin. This will provide the foundation for proper Mandarin pronunciation and will allow you to learn Mandarin more easily. Tones The four Mandarin tones are used for clarifying the meaning of words. They are indicated in Pinyin with either numbers or tone marks: ma1 or mÄ  (high-level tone)ma2 or m (rising tone)ma3 or mÇŽ (falling-rising tone)ma4 or m (falling tone) Tones are important in Mandarin because there are many words with the same sound. Pinyin should be written with tone marks to make the meaning of the words clear. Unfortunately, when Pinyin is used in public places (like on street signs or store displays) it usually does not include the tone marks. Here is the Mandarin version of â€Å"hello† written with tons marks: nÇ  hÇŽo or ni3 hao3. Standard Romanization Pinyin is not perfect. It uses many letter combinations which are unknown in English and other Western languages. Anyone who has not studied Pinyin is likely to mispronounce the spellings. Despite its shortcomings, it’s best to have a single system of Romanization for the Mandarin language. Before the official adoption of Pinyin, the differing Romanization systems created confusion about the pronunciation of Chinese words.

How To Use Email Marketing For Lead Conversion

How To Use Email Marketing For Lead Conversion Besides social media, email marketing is the first thing that I tell anyone to do when it comes to online marketing. To succeed online, you absolutely must be using email effectively. The evidence doesnt lie. In a 2012 survey conducted by McKinsey Company, they found  that for e-commerce companies e-mail remains a significantly more effective way to acquire customers than social media- nearly 40 times that of Facebook and Twitter combined. Woah! E-mail is still a significantly more effective way to acquire customers than social media. While you may not be running an e-commerce company yourself, the implications seem to be well accepted across  the industry. Social media scientist Dan Zarrella of Hubspot came to a similar conclusion in research that he completed in 2012. Email converts well, and  is a key part of the customer acquisition process. Conversion rate scores as compiled by Hubspot. If youre not using email marketing, you could be missing out on huge potential for your company or blog. More than that, if you arent using email to convert readers into paying customers – YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG. You might be leaving sales on the table! Here at , we have nearly 20,000  email subscribers that continually bring in new customers to our service. We like to think about it as a slow and steady drip. We keep sending out great content, and our readers  keep coming to us for help with their scheduling and social media needs. Its a great fit, and one that works because our email marketing is focused on building trust with our audience. So, how can you create an email program that converts for your own brand or business? Its actually not that hard if you are focused on the right things. Here are the top 5 ways that you can embrace email and turn your email marketing program into a lead conversion machine. Heres How To  Turn Your Email Marketing Into A Lead Conversion Machine #1. Designate A Clear Call To Action On Your Blog The first  lesson about creating an effective   email marketing program is getting good at collecting email addresses. There are many ways to go about this, and several plugins that you can start using right now to jump start your lead collection process, but the point is that you need to be making a concentrated effort on collecting emails or else your marketing list will never actually materialize. Mention.com offers a great call to action when you visit their blog. It is also important to make sure that your blog is properly configured to drive visitors to the lead collection option. This means reducing you sidebar clutter, and continuously driving your reader to a lead collection form. This is about creating a simpler blog layout. Email marketing is 40 times more effective at acquiring customers than social media. For example, on the blog there are only three things you can do once visiting a page. You can read another blog post, learn about itself, or signup to recieve our email-based content. It is as simple as that. I always say that each page on your website should really be about having your readers complete one thing. At , we tend to make that one thing an email newsletter conversion. You will easily see that it is one of the  most prominent things on our page. #2. Keep Your Calls To Action Strong If youve ever worked in sales, youve heard the phrase always be closing. While it may be tacky, it certainly isnt wrong. Not only do you need to be creating opportunities for your customers to convert (by including lead collection points), but you also need to be positioning your copy in a way that specifically asks them to subscribe. While it technically does its job, its not quite a call to action. I cant tell you how many times Ive seen a bland call to action like this one above. Im sorry folks, but please join my email list just isnt going to do it for many people. Whats in it for them? Why should they? Take a look at a few examples of people doing it right. What do you see? They all identify a clear benefit that the reader will receive when they subscribe. They all offer a clear command or directive  such as subscribe now. This isnt a suggestion, it is a command. Many of them offer the reader social proof and provide good reasons for them to consider subscribing or at least taking the offer seriously. The point is that you cant  forget to be a pitch man  and downright ask for the sale on occasion. It may sound  tacky, but it certainly doesnt have to be implemented that way. #3. Send Email More Often Than You Think You Should Many marketers and bloggers like yourself instinctively shutter at the idea of sending more email, but  you  can probably send a whole lot more than you think. In a recent study, Hubspot found that there was essentially no correlation between both unsubscribes and click-through rates and the frequency of email being sent. There is almost no correlation between send frequency and click through rates. There is little correlation between the number of times you send your email and the number of unsubscribes you will receive. What they actually found was that if your email list is willing to put up with 5-10 emails per month, they are probably just as likely to put up with 15 or 20. From Hubspot: The more emails that were sent to the lists in my dataset, the fewer people unsubscribed. This is probably because if you’re sending very  infrequently, it can be easy to forget why I joined your list in the first place, but if  you’re sending regularly, I remember your newsletter.   #4. Make Your Email Something That People Actually Want To Read Never underestimate the importance of reader value. Everything that you do in marketing should offer your readers value. I like to think of it in terms of what you are trading them for their time. What you are  giving your readers in exchange for their time spent with your marketing. Social media consultant Jay Baer describes it another way as marketing so good that they would be willing to pay for it. Shoot for [Email] Marketing so good that your readers  would be willing to pay for it! #ContentNo matter how you describe it, you dont have an easy job ahead of you, your readers want it all. They want helpful content, they want it free, and they want it at a time when its convenient  for them. Who are you to let them down? One of the most common mistakes I see companies make is creating email-based content that is all about them. Wrong! What are your readers getting in exchange for their time? We always try to pack our emails with helpful information that our readers will appreciate. This is why at , we brand our email marketing around the theme of our Content Marketing Update. This weekly email includes helpful content from our blog and some of the best articles around the web. It is usually chock full of great tips and almost always worth the time and the price for admission. #5. Experiment With Your Email Template/Headline/Send Times One great way to continually improve your email marketing is to continually experiment with how and when you are sending it. At , there are a few ways that we do this. A/B  Test Your Subject Lines Honesty, this one is so easy that you should be doing it with every email that you send. Each time we send an email here at , we make sure to test our subject line using the automated A/B testing tool built into our email software (Campaign Monitor). This tool allows us to pre-send our email to a few hundred people with a couple different subject line options. Once a clear winner is found (and there almost always is one), our email tool will send the winning subject line to remaining portion of our list. After doing this for months, we were even able to pullout some key data points and define some email subject line best practices. Try  A New Design (Or None At All) Another great way to improve your email  marketing is to continually adjust your email template. Using the A/B testing tool build into Campaign Monitor and many other email marketing programs, you should be able to easily evaluate the effectiveness of one template over another. Many companies (including itself) have found that sometimes email is best sent without a design template at all. Each week we send thousands of emails using a variety of well-designed email templates and plain text versions. The results usually show us that plain-text emails (or emails that look like plain text) constantly drive higher click-through rates than those with more design. Of course, results may vary. Take this with a grain of salt, and always test your own results. Experiment With Different Send Times In his slide deck The Science of Email Marketing social media scientist Dan Zarrella  dug up a ton of fascinating data about when to send email. For example, he found that email click-through rates tended to be  almost twice as high  on Saturdays and Sundays – a slap in the face to  the traditional  idea that marketing only takes place on weekdays. Email sent on Saturday and Sunday get more clicks. He also found that emails sent  earlier in the morning tended to get more clicks as well. The results may not apply to everyone, but it is very good food for thought. 6a.m. just might be the best time to send an email if you want someone to actually read it. The point here is that you should never be satisfied with the status-quo, even if it is yours. Always be testing your marketing so that you can get the best results.

Intro to business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intro to business - Essay Example The rationale behind this is that I also follow rules, guidelines and policies within a system and prefer not to deviate. I still do allow some creativity in decision making but I make sure I am within the given set of parameters. Perhaps, my personality type is beneficial to me since I stick to order and structure which gives me discipline. It is important for an employee to have self-discipline such as coming to work in time. Over-all, I believe the assessments are reliable and valid since they exhibited most of my personality attributes. The assessments clearly identified my characteristics which I found amusing at the same time informative. Because of the assessments, I learned more about myself and the result gives me an idea on how I could adopt to other personality types in a workplace setting. 2. Yes, I would use the assessment since it provides me a good background of the person. Personality tests are used nowadays by companies to ascertain of the person can fit into the right job. The Jung Typology Test gives the manager a good insight on how the prospective employee interacts with other people. If I were hiring for a customer-service oriented job, I might not prefer to hire introverts with a high score since they may not be able to handle complaints well. Their performance behavior may suffer since they get stressed out easily by interaction. Although, it actually depends on the industry when using these assessments. If I were to hire a programmer, then I need to have one who has a certain personality type. One who needs not much interaction but would rather be left alone doing his work. If I make a mistake in matching the personality type with the job, then counterproductive behaviors maybe exhibited by the employee since they get demotivated. 3. I am a Theory Y manager. I believe that people, when given a sense of responsibility that matches their skills and knowledge can be very productive. People are not inherently lazy,

Stanard v. Bolin, 88 Wash. 2d 614 (1977) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Stanard v. Bolin, 88 Wash. 2d 614 (1977) - Essay Example Similarly, she suffered socially from embarrassment and ridicule from friends and neighbors (Stanard v. Bolin, 1977). In this case the court found the law of tort as well as the law of contract to be the most applicable since the plaintiff was suing for damages arising from a breach of promise- marriage (Lettmaier, 2010). Many American states, a promise to marry is deliberated to be legally enforceable, if the promise or agreement satisfies all the basic requirements of a valid contract. Therefore, failure to satisfy a promise to marry is treated in a similar manner to breach of contract. Moreover, a breach of promise to marry is treated as tort since the plaintiff suffers injury and loss hence they have a right to sue for damages ( LaMance, 2011). In light of the presented facts and claims by the plaintiff, the court ruled that the defendant owed the plaintiff damages for mental distress, injury to health, and loss to reputation. In addition, the court ruled that a rejected fiancà © would no longer be compensated for damages for loss of anticipated financial and social position (Stanard TD v. Bolin,

Media & Cultural Analysis Gender, Representation and Advertising Essay

Media & Cultural Analysis Gender, Representation and Advertising Images - Essay Example It has been noted that males are generally attracted to advertisements that are related with fast cars or fancy cigars or costly liquors, whereas females are attracted to advertisements that deal with decorating houses and make up kits among others. Therefore, the ad-makers before designing an advertisement campaign thoroughly judge the targeted gender and develop the advertisement accordingly. Thus, the objective of the paper would be to discuss the aspect that gender is performative while designing advertisements. Furthermore, the techniques used by the media firms and their way of organising the socio-cultural elements will be demonstrated. Moreover, the strengths and the weaknesses of semiotics used to convey message through visual meanings will also be critically analysed. Semiotics is the signs that are used to convey messages to the viewers. Advertisements play an imperative role in promotional activities. Therefore, the two examples of print media that will be discussed below will show how it appeals to the different genders. Theoretical Understanding of Media Forms and Genres According to Kress (1998), genre is a kind of text that is derived from a structure of a social occasion and characteristics and their purposes. It can further be said that genre may be considered as a realistic device which is used to help any gathering to produce efficiently and over and over again and to relate them to the customers’ expectations (Chandler, 2000). This aspect can be interpreted from an example of advertising image below: Source: (Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004). From the image above, it can be interpreted that as the genre used in the advertisement of Jupiter Auto Spa, which depicts the unique offerings and discounts, may attract the male more than the female. Free car wash and other discounts will make the male feel that they are getting added value for the price they are paying. Moreover, the free service of pickup and delivery of the car will play on the mind of the male that will be a convenient factor (Mike’s Computer Marketing, 2004). The male genders usually are busy in working due to which the care towards their vehicle is being neglected. Thus, the added facility may encourage the male as their time is not spent uselessly whereas the desired task is done effectively. This print advertisement is expected to attract less to the women as they are more concerned about products that take care of their physical beauty and fitness. The discounts and the offerings will somewhat be attractive to women who have craze towards cars. As stated by Judith Butler (1995), desires are often intentional which are towards a given object or other, but at the same time it is also reflexive where it is a modality in which the subject is both improved and discovered. Thus, desire is the relationship between the image and the viewer, between object of desire and desiring matter, between product and customer. Therefore, in the above mentioned print advertisement the desire of the female genders towards the product is comparatively low than the male ones (Butler, 2011). Though the product is a part of luxury category, the added value and convenience offered to the customers will help the male genders to get attracted towards the service of Jupiter Auto Spa. According to Dines and Humez (2003), â€Å"

Reaction against hydrogen peroxide Essay Example for Free

Reaction against hydrogen peroxide Essay The action of catalase on hydrogen peroxide Aim The aim of this experiment is to discover the relationship between the concentration of the substrate and the rate of the reaction catalysed by an enzyme, by looking at the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide under the action of catalase, and to determine a value for Vmax and the Michaelis constant for catalase. Background Theory An enzyme is a protein biological catalyst. Catalysts speed up or slow down the rate at which chemical reactions occur. They are not used up in the reactions and can be retrieved unchanged afterwards. Biological catalysts control the rate of reactions in living things. Each enzyme is substrate specific it can control only one reaction. For example, the digestion of starch is begun in the mouth by the enzyme amylase. An equation for this reaction can be shown like this: Amylase Starch Simple sugars The enzyme only facilitates the reaction, it is not used up. Each molecule of enzyme can be reused indefinitely, unless it is damaged, or denatured. Enzymes are proteins, so they are denatured if the polypeptide chains, which are precisely coiled and folded to form the active site, become unfolded by the kinetic energy from heat, or the covalent bonds are disrupted. Whilst some heat will increase the rate of reaction because of the increased number of collisions between enzyme and substrate, too much heat will denature the enzyme and render it completely ineffective. Enzymes are also affected by the pH at which they have to work. Charged hydrogen or hydroxide ions in acids or alkalis can cancel out the charges on the active sites of the enzymes, and render them ineffective. Hydrogen peroxide is a toxin produced in every cell of living organisms as a by-product of respiration. It is the same chemical that is used to bleach hair, and so must be broken down before it can damage the cells. It decomposes to give water and oxygen. This reaction will occur naturally, but at a very slow rate. To speed it up an enzyme is used. The enzyme which catalyses the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is called catalase. Catalase is found in all living cells to decompose the hydrogen peroxide. In this experiment it is being obtained from live yeast in a suspension. The method by which catalase works is called the lock and key method. Catalase works because it has an active site. At this point the enzyme attaches to the hydrogen peroxide molecule, because the opposite charges of enzyme and substrate attract each other, forming an enzyme substrate complex. The enzyme catalyses the reaction, and then the new charges on the product repel the enzyme away to act on a new substrate molecule. (see fig 1) The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide has the following formula: catalase 2H2O2 2H2O + O2 The rate of a reaction is a measure of the change in the amount of reactant or product with time. The rate of decomposition H2O2 can be measured using the volume of oxygen produced, from the formula: Rate of reaction = change in amount of product time The rate of reaction is determined by collision theory:- For a reaction between two substances to occur, the enzyme and substrate particles must collide with each other. If more collisions occur in a reaction, rate will increase. If the reactant particles gain energy and collide faster, then each collision will have more energy, there will be more successful collisions, and rate will also increase. In this case, the more collisions between hydrogen peroxide and catalase molecules, the more hydrogen peroxide will decompose. Anything which increases collisions will increase rate. Increasing the concentration of the substrate (hydrogen peroxide) solution means that there are more substrate molecules in the same volume, causing more collisions, and thus increasing rate. The rate of reaction changes with concentration, but the overall yield of oxygen is independent of factors affecting the rate, so measuring the amount of oxygen produced over the whole reaction is meaningless. Instead, the initial rate of reaction can be estimated by measuring the volume of oxygen produced in the early stages of the reaction. This value can then be compared between the different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, and used to plot a graph of substrate concentration against rate, from which values for Vmax and the Michaelis constant (Km) can be obtained. The relationship between substrate concentration and rate of reaction is described by the Michaelis-Menton equation: v = Vmax [S] Km + [S]. Vmax is a measure of the maximum rate at which an enzyme can act, and it is the horizontal asymptote of the graph of substrate against time that is when the amount of enzyme is the limiting factor. The Km is defined as the substrate concentration at which the rate of enzyme action is half Vmax. It is measure of the affinity of an enzyme for its substrate molecule the higher Km, the weaker the binding force between the enzyme and substrate. Both Km and Vmax are constants at a specific enzyme concentration and temperature. Pilot Experiment A pilot experiment was carried out in order to see whether the method was practical and could produce good, reliable results, and to choose the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and the length of time over which the oxygen would be collected so that no more than 50cm3 of gas was given off. Pilot Method 1. 10cm3 of hydrogen peroxide solution was measured into boiling tubes using a syringe, and the apparatus set up as shown below. 2. Using a 1cm3 syringe the yeast suspension was added to the boiling tube and the stopwatch started. 3. Thirty seconds was timed, and then the burette was taken off the end of the delivery tube, but not out of the water, and the volume of gas collected was measured. 4. This was recorded and repeated for each concentration of hydrogen peroxide, made up as shown in the dilution tables below. Pilot Results Concentration of hydrogen peroxide Initial reading on burette (cm3) Final reading on burette (cm3) Volume of gas collected (cm3) Rate of reaction (cm3/s) to 2dOff scale. Analysis of and Modifications to the Pilot These results show a clear increase in the volume of gas collected as the concentration increases, suggesting that with modifications this method will enable clear conclusions to be drawn. Carrying the experiment out over 30s resulted in too much gas being produced at the highest concentration to be recorded with the apparatus available, so for the main experiment the oxygen will be collected over 15s. More readings will be taken to enable a more reliable graph to be drawn at9 and 20%. The experiment will be repeated three times and any anomalous results will be identified and excluded from the average in order to enable more reliable results. Prediction I predict that initially the rate of reaction will increase with the concentration. As the concentration of hydrogen peroxide increases so will the number of collisions between enzyme and substrate molecules, so the hydrogen peroxide will decompose faster into water and oxygen. I predict that this reaction will obey Michaelis-Menton kinetics, and that the graph of rate of reaction against hydrogen peroxide concentration will give a rectangular hyperbola as shown below: The increase in rate of reaction will not continue indefinitely there will be an asymptote when Rate = Vmax, when all the catalase molecules are catalysing the reaction as fast as possible, and so the rate cannot increase without supplying more enzyme. Main Experiment Plan Fair Test A fair test is one from which a reliable conclusion can be drawn. For a fair test only one variable must be changed at a time. In this experiment the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is being changed, and so all others must be controlled. Variables. Independent Variable:- concentration of hydrogen peroxide Dependent Variable:- volume of oxygen gas collected in 15s Controlled Variables:- temperature, volume of hydrogen peroxide, amount of yeast, apparatus, time.   The reaction will be carried out in a water bath at 20? C. Since water is a good thermal buffer it should be fairly easy to keep the temperature constant.   Volume of hydrogen peroxide solution will be controlled quite easily by using two syringes to measure the water and hydrogen peroxide volumes as dictated by the dilution table below.

Flexible Manufacturing System Analysis

Flexible Manufacturing System Analysis Historyof Flexible Manufacturing Systems Introduction AFlexible Manufacturing System(FMS) is a manufacturing system in which there is a certain degree offlexibilitythat allows the system to react in the case of changes, whether predicted or unpredicted. According toMaleki[1], flexibility is the speed at which a system can react to and accommodate change. To be considered flexible, the flexibility must exist during the entire life cycle of a product, from design to manufacturing to distribution. Flexible Manufacturing System is a computer-controlled system that can produce a variety of parts or products in any order, without the time-consuming task of changing machine setups. The flexibility being talked about is generally considered to fall into two categories, which both contain numerous subcategories[2]. The first category, Machine Flexibility, covers the systems ability to be changed to produce new product types, and ability to change the order of operations executed on a part. The second category is called Routing Flexibility, which consists of the ability to use multiple machinesto perform the same operation on a part, as well as the systems ability to absorb large-scale changes, such as in volume, capacity, or capability. The main advantage of an FMS is its high flexibility in managing manufacturing resources like time and effort in order to manufacture a new product. The best application of an FMS is found in the production of small sets of products like those from amass production. FM systems are supposed to provide the manufacturer with efficient flexible machines that increase productivity and produce quality parts. However, FM systems are not the answer to all manufacturers problems. The level of flexibility is limited to the technological abilities of the FM systems. FM systems are being used all over the manufacturing world and though out industries. A basic knowledge of this kind of technology is very important because FM systems are involved in almost everything that you come in contact with in todays world. From the coffee maker to your remote control FM systems are used all over. History of Flexible Manufacturing Systems At the turn of the twentieth century, FMS did not exist. There was no pressing need for efficiency because the markets were national and there was no foreign competition.Manufacturers could tell the consumers what to buy. During that period, Henry Ford had been quoted as saying â€Å"People can order any colour of car as long as it is black.† All the power remained in the hands of the manufacturer and the consumers hardly had any choices. However, after the Second World War a new era in manufacturing was to come. The discovery of new materials and production techniques increased quality and productivity. The war led to the emergence of open foreign markets and new competition.The focus of the market shifted from manufacturer to consumer. According to Maleki, the first FM system was patented in 1965 by Theo Williamson who made numerically controlled equipment. Examples of numerically controlled equipment are like CNC lathes or mills whichKusiaksays are varying types of FM systems. During the 1970s, with the ever-growing developments in the field of technology, manufacturers started facing difficulties and hence, FM systems became main-stream in manufacturing to accommodate new changes whenever required. During the 1980s for the first time manufacturers had to take in consideration efficiency, quality, and flexibility to stay in business. According to Hoeffer, the change in manufacturing over time was due to several factors. (Hoeffer, 1986) Increased international competition, The need to reduce manufacturing cycle time, and Pressure to cut the production cost. Everyday new technologies are being developed and even FM systems are evolving. However, overtime FM systems have worked for many manufacturers and hence will be around for the time to come. The Process of Flexible Manufacturing Systems As has been discussed above the flexible manufacturing system can be broadly classified into two types, depending on the nature of flexibility present in the process, Machine Flexibility and Routing Flexibility FMS systems essentially comprise of three main systems.[3] The processing stations: These are essentially automated CNC machines. The automated material handling and storage system: These connect the work machines to optimize the flow of parts. Central control computer: This controls the movement of materials and machine flow. The FMS as a system stands out because it does not follow a fixed set of process steps. The process sequence changes according to requirement to allow maximum efficiency. Sequence of material flow from one tool to another is not fixed nor is the sequence of operations at each tool fixed. Key Features of the Process[4] Some characteristics that differentiate FMS from conventional manufacturing systems are their technical flexibility, i.e., the ability to quickly change mix, routing, and sequence of operations within the parts envelope and also complexity resulting from the integration, mechanization, and reprogrammable control of operations i.e., parts machining, material handling, and tool change. Some key features of the process are discussed below. Cell: It consists of several groupings of two or more automated machines within a company. Each grouping is called a cell. All the machines present are controlled by a computer. They are programmed to change quickly from one production run to another. A key feature is the automated flow of materials to the cell and the automated removal of the finish item. Several cells are linked together by means of an automated materials-handling system, and the flow of goods is controlled by a computer. In this manner a computer-integrated manufacturing process is initiated. Random bypass capability: The material handling system has a random bypass capability, i.e. a part can be moved from any tool in the interconnected system to another because the transport system can bypass any tool along the path, on demand. This implies: Each part can traverse a variable route through the system. Again, this flexibility in material handling, in combination with multipurpose tools, makes it possible for a flexible manufacturing system to process a great diversity of parts. Automation: Computers are the heart of automation. They provide the framework for the information systems which direct action and monitor feedback from machine activities. As FMS involve a wide variety of components, each with their own type of computer control, many of these computer components are installed as islands of automation, each with a computer control capable of monitoring and directing the action. Each of the computer controls has its own communication protocol based on the amount of data needed to control the component. Thus, the task of computer integration is to establish interfaces and information flow between a wide range of computer types and models. Computer software provides the ability to transmit timely and accurate status information and to utilize information which has been communicated from other computers in FMS. Component redundancy: In FMS as the equipment is highly integrated, the interruptions of one component affect other components. This results in a greater time to trace the problem when compared with isolated components. In some cases, the interruption might be due to some other integration effect, and greater downtime may result before the actual cause of the problem is found. In this situation, component redundancy provides flexibility with the opportunity for choice, which exists when there are at least two available options. Flexible manufacturing contains functionally equivalent machinery. So in case of failure of one machine the process flow is directed towards a functionally equivalent machine. Multiple Paths: A path in flexible manufacturing represents a part sequence and requisite fixtures to complete its required operations. In a conventional machine environment, only one path exists for a part because a single fixture remains at a single machine. However, this is not the case within flexible manufacturing systems, where there are multiple paths. The number of paths which are present within flexible manufacturing is a measure of the degree of flexibility. Obviously, the higher the number of paths, higher is the degree of flexibility. Flexibility ranks high in Japan†²s manufacturing strategy but not in America†²s. A true flexible factory will not only build different versions of the same car, like a coupà © or a station wagon, on the same production line, but also a completely different car. This is what the Japanese factories are setting out to do. The cost of one factory can be spread across five or ten cars. Apart from lower fixed cost, it is also less painful to stop making one of those cars if it fails to sell. FMS as a system of manufacturing process can be compared to other processes in terms of the product volume it generates and its capacity for creating part variations. The above depicts the position of FMS vis-à  -vis that of stand-alone machine and transfer lines. The horizontal axis represents production volume level and the vertical axis shows the variability of parts. Transfer lines are very efficient when producing parts at a large volume at high output rate, whereas stand-alone machines are ideally suited for variation in workplace configuration and low production rate. In terms of manufacturing efficiency and productivity, a gap exists between the high production rate transfer machines and the highly flexible machines. FMS, has been regarded as a viable solution to bridge the gap and as a gateway to the automated factory of the future. The Process: With Reference to particular companies[5] Though the features of this manufacturing innovation process are similar across all types of firms, the manner in which they are adopted and implemented depends on product type, manufacturing, maintenance, process planning and quality control processes. It is also contingent upon the people carrying out these processes; the productive resources being used and the organizational arrangements used to divide and coordinate the processes distinguished. The description of the layout of a company that has adopted the flexible manufacturing system gives a clear idea of how the system works in practical life. It has all the features as mentioned before of a typical FMS. Flexible Manufacturing System at The Hattersley Newman Hender (H.N.H.) This company, located in U.K. manufactures high and low pressure bodies and caps for water, gas and oil valves. These components require a total of 2750 parts for their manufacture. That is why they decided to go for the system of F.M.S. to fulfill their machining requirements in a single system. The process described below shows how FMS is used for efficient production for this company. Their FMS consists of primary and secondary facilities. The primary facilities include 5 universal machining centres and 2 special machining centres. The secondary facilities consist of tool settings and manual workstations. System layout and facilities: Flexible Manufacturing Systems [F.M.S] Primary facilities: Machining centres: The FMS contains two 5-axis horizontal ‘out-facing machines and five 4-axis machining centres under the host control. All the machines have a rotating pallet changer each with two pallet buffer stations. These stations transfer pallets to and from the transport system which consist of 8 automated guided vehicles. The 5 universal machining centres have 2 magazines with capacity of 40 tools in each magazine. The special purpose out-facing machines (OFM) each have one magazine having a capacity of 40 tools. The tool magazines can be loaded by sending instructions to the tool setting room either from the host computer or the machines numerical controller. Processing centres: The system contains two processing centres a wash machine and two manual workstations. Ø Wash machines: It contains two conveyor belts where one is for input and one for output of pallets, each with a capacity of three pallets to transfer the pallets. The wash booth has a capacity of three pallets. The pallets are washed in the booth and turned upside-down to drain out the water. Then they are dried with blown air. Ø Manual workstations (ring fitting area): The operator fits metal sealing rings into the valve bodies at the manual workstations. He receives work instructions via computer interface with the host. Secondary facilities: Auxiliary stations: Ø Load/unload stations: The FMS has four-piece-part load and unload stations. Loading and unloading is performed at these stations with the instructions again received via computer interface with the host. Ø Fixture-setting station: At these stations the fixtures are readjusted to accommodate different piece parts. Ø Administration of tools: Tools are assembled manually. The tool-setting machine checks the dimensional offsets of the tools and generates a bar code for further identification of the tool that has been set. Auxiliary facilities: Ø Transport system: The transport system consists of a controller and 8 automated guided vehicles (AGV). The system also contains an A.G.V. battery charging area. Ø Buffer stores: The FMS has 20 buffer stores in order to store the empty and loaded pallets while they are waiting to be taken to another transfer station (i.e. a load/unload station or a machine tool etc.). Ø Maintenance Area: This facility caters to pallets that may be damaged or need servicing or for storing scrapped piece-parts. Ø Raw Material Stores: These stores are located in front of the load / unload stations and are used to store the raw materials (like forged valve bodies etc). The store is served by two fork-lift-stacker cranes and motor roller conveyors. It has a capacity of 80 containers. Ø Fixture store: The fixtures that are not stored in FMS are stored here. It has a capacity of storing 120 fixtures. The store is served by a stacker crane and motor roller conveyors. Flexible Manufacturing System at TAMCAM Computer Aided Manufacturing (TAMCAM) Lab. This is an example of flexible manufacturing system that is used to describe the TAMCAM Simulation-Based Control System (TSCS)[6]. This system is located within the TAMCAM Computer Aided Manufacturing (TAMCAM) lab. The system consists of three CNC milling machines, one CNC turning centre, two industrial robots, and an automated cart based conveyor system. In addition to the automated equipment, human operators are used to load and unload some machines and perform assembly and inspection tasks. Advantages of Flexible Manufacturing System Why would firms embrace flexible manufacturing systems? What benefits does FMS provide? Answers to these two questions are important to the success of flexible manufacturing systems. It is important to understand the impacts on product life cycle, direct labour input and market characteristics. Various advantages arise from using flexible manufacturing systems.[7] Users of these systems enlist many benefits: * Less scrap * Fewer workstations * Quicker changes of tools, dies, and stamping machinery * Reduced downtime * Improved quality through better control over it * Reduced labour costs due to increase in labour productivity * Increase in machine efficiency * Reduced work-in-process inventories * Increased capacity * Increased production flexibility * Faster production * Lower- cost/unit * Increased system reliability * Adaptability to CAD/CAM operations Since savings from these benefits are sizeable, a plethora of examples from the manufacturing industry are available to illustrate these benefits. â€Å"A major Japanese manufacturer, by installing a flexible manufacturing system, has reduced the number of machines in one facility from 68 to 18, the number of employees from 215 to 12, space requirements from 103000 square feet to 30000 and processing time from 35 days to a 1.5 days† â€Å"Ford has poured $4,400,000 into overhauling its Torrence Avenue plant in Chicago, giving it flexible manufacturing capability. This will allow the factory to add new models in as little as two weeks instead of two months or longer. The flexible manufacturing systems used in five of Ford Motor Companys plants will yield a $2.5 billion savings. By the year 2010, Ford will have converted 80 percent of its plants to flexible manufacturing.† The benefits enlisted above are the operational benefits.[8] Flexible Manufacturing Systems also give rise to benefits in terms of strategy for the firm. Operational Benefits Strategic Benefits Lower Costs per unit A source of competitive advantage in present and future. Lesser workstations Less space in plant required. Reduced Inventories Less of Storage Space. Plant Layout gets simplified. The space is freed up for other activities. Increase in labour productivity Lesser workforce required. Operational Flexibility Ability to meet varying customer demands in terms of numbers (seasonality) and choices. Improved Quality Increased customer satisfaction Less inspection costs Lesser lead time Increased Machine Efficiency Less technical workforce for handling maintenance and repair Less Scrap and Rework Consistent Production Process On a macro level, these advantages reduce the risk of investing in the flexible manufacturing system as well as in ongoing projects in such a firm. Let us look at how flexibility helps firms. To maximize production for a given amount of gross capacity, one should minimize the interruptions due to machine breakdowns and the resource should be fully utilized. FMS permits the minimization of stations†² unavailability, and shorter repair times when stations fail. Preventive maintenance is done to reduce number of breakdowns. Maintenance is done during off hours. This helps to maximize production time. Cost of maintaining spare part inventories is also reduced due to the fact that similar equipment can share components. Hence we can see that higher the degree of flexibility of the workstation, the lower the potential cost of production capacity due to station unavailability. To make a product every day, the trade off between inventory cost and setup cost becomes important. However, each time the workstation changes its function, it incurs a set-up delay. Through flexibility one can reduce this set-up cost. [9] CAD/CAM aids in computerized tracking of work flow which is helpful in positioning inspection throughout the process. This helps to minimize the number of parts which require rework or which must be scrapped. FMS changes the outlook of inspection from a post-position to an in-process position. Hence, feedback is available in real time which improves quality and helps product to be within the tolerance level.[10] Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) are virtually always used in conjunction with just-in-time (JIT) order systems. This combination increases the throughput and reduces throughput time and the length of time required to turn materials into products. Flexible Manufacturing Systems have a made a huge impact on activity-based costing.[11] Using these systems helps firms to switch to process costing instead of job costing. This switching is made possible because of the reduced setup delays. With set-up time only a small fraction of previous levels, companies are able to move between products and jobs with about the same speed as if they were working in continuous, process type environment. To look at another aspect of strategic benefits, enterprise integration can be facilitated by FMS. An agile manufacturer is one who is the fastest to the market, operates with the lowest total cost and has the greatest ability to delight its customers. FMS is simply one way that manufacturers are able to achieve this agility.[12] This has also been reported in many studies that FMS makes the transition to agility faster and easier. Over time, FMS use creates a positive attitude towards quality. The quality management practices in organizations using FMS differs from those not using it. The adoption of flexible manufacturing confers advantages that are primarily based upon economies of scope. As a result of aiming simultaneously at flexibility, quality and efficiency, the future manufacturing industry will strive towards: producing to order, virtually no stock, very high quality levels, and high productivity. [13] Disadvantages of Flexible Manufacturing System[14] Now that we have looked at the multiple advantages flexible manufacturing systems offer, the next obvious question is, if they are so good and so useful then why are they not ubiquitous by now? It is essential to look at the other side, especially the impact these systems have on costing, product mixes decided by the company and the inevitable trade- off between production rates and flexibility. Following are the major disadvantages that have been observed Complexity These sophisticated manufacturing systems are extremely complex and involve a lot of substantial pre planning activity before the jobs are actually processed. A lot of detail has to go into the processing. Often users face technological problems of exact component positioning. Moreover, precise timing is necessary to process a component. Cost of equipment[15] Equipment for aflexiblemanufacturingsystem will usually initially be more expensive than traditional equipment and the prices normally run into millions of dollars. This cost is popularly known as the Risk of Installation. Maintenance costs are usually higher than traditional manufacturing systems because FMS employs intensive use of preventive maintenance, which by itself is very expensive to implement. Energy costs are likely to be higher despite more efficient use of energy. Increased machine utilization can result in faster deterioration of equipment, providing a shorter than average economic life. Also, personnel training costs may prove to be relatively high. Moreover there is the additional problem of selecting system size, hardware and software tailor made for the FMS. Cost of automation in the form of computer integration is the most significant cost in a flexible manufacturing system. The components require extensive computer control. Also, the costs of operation are high since a machine of this complexity requires equally skilled employees to work or run it. Adaptation Issues There is limited ability to adapt to changes in product or product mix. For example, machines are of limited capacity and the tooling necessary for products, even of the same family, is not always feasible in a given FMS. Moreover, one should keep in mind that these systems do not reduce variability, just enable more effective handling of the variability. Equipment Utilization Equipment utilization for flexible manufacturing systems is sometimes not as high as expected. Example, in USA, the average is ten types of parts per machine. Other latent problems may arise due to lack of technical literacy, management incompetence, and poor implementation of the FMS process. It is very important to differentiate between scenarios where FMS would be beneficial (ex, where fast adaptation is the key) and those where it wouldnt (ex where a firms competency is based on minimizing cost). Product/Job Costing[16] Arguably the biggest disadvantage of flexible manufacturing systems is the difficulty faced by the company in allocating overhead costs to jobs. Usually, several products share the same resources with different consumption characteristics. Ideally, the overhead allocation should be directly proportional to the resource consumption. But this becomes complicated in the case of flexible manufacturing systems since it is very difficult to estimate which product used which machine for which purpose and for how long. Often this leads to under costing of some products and consequently over costing of others. In systems that use FMS, usually the fixed costs are quite high due to the following reasons: * The machines are costly, material handling is more expensive and the computer controls are state of the art, thereby leading to a higher depreciation than seen in traditional manufacturing systems. * A lot of items which are otherwise usually treated as direct costs are counted under indirect costs in case of flexible manufacturing systems. For example, labour is normally attributed to the job directly done, but in FMS, the same workers work on machines that usually run two jobs simultaneously. Hence even labour costs are to be treated as overhead or indirect costs. * In order to ensure smooth running of the flexible manufacturing systems, a lot of support activities carried out by engineers and technicians. Keeping the above points in mind, we can infer that in order to cater to these scenarios, Activity Based Costing techniques are used with FMS to reduce distortion of product costs. FMS Adoption in Automobile Industry The Flexible manufacturing system has been adopted extensively in the manufacturing industry in this day and age. It addresses the issue of automation and process technology which is a key area for concern of manufacturing management along with inventory production planning and scheduling and quality. One industry which has extensively adopted this system is the Automobile Industry. Almost all global giants now follow the Flexible Manufacturing system and many have developed their own manufacturing system keeping FMS as an integral part of it. The Big Three of the American Automotive Industry namely General Motors, Ford Motors and Chrysler Motors enjoyed a monopolistic environment for a very long time. This in some way inhibited their innovation capabilities as there was no competition in the market which could drive them to innovate. These companies, therefore, maintained production facilities that were suitable for mass production of any single model, which ensured economies of scale and plant profitability. But gradually as Asian car makers gained prominence in the automotive market, the Big Three of the United States faced huge challenges across all product lines. The main Asian competitors that came into picture were Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi from Japan and Hyundai from South Korea. With these Asian countries exporting vehicles to the United States of America, competition heightened and the profitability of the Big Three decreased. To improve its profitability and maintain its market share Chrysler Corporat ion, General Motors and Ford Motor Company employed Flexible Manufacturing System in their production lines following what had been started in Japan. The essential driving force for adoption of FMS in Automobile industry is 1. The emphasis on increasing product variety and individualization has created a strong need to develop a flexible manufacturing system to respond to small batches of customer demand. 2. Cost savings were required to be more competitive. Newer varieties needed to be introduced in lesser time and at lesser cost. Given below are examples of some companies and their motive for adopting FMS as well as the benefits that they have achieved through it Japanese Companies and Latest FMS Toyota Toyota has been at the forefront of adopting flexible manufacturing system which has been in place since 1985. In 2002, Toyota unveiled its Global Body Line (GBL), a radical, company-wide overhaul of its already much-envied FMS.[17] The GBL process was developed so Toyota could implement a common vehicle-assembly â€Å"platform† at any and all of its worldwide assembly locations — regardless of volume or method of assembly. GBL helps Toyota to meet its goal â€Å"To seamlessly manufacture our products in any country, at any volume† The advantages that GBL delivers over the older FBL system of Toyota are * 30% reduction of the time a vehicle spends in the body shop. * 70% reduction in time required to complete a major model change. * 50% cut in the cost to add or switch models. * 50% reduction in initial investment. * 50% reduction in assembly line footprint. * 50% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions due to lower energy usage. * 50% cut in maintenance costs. More than 20 of Toyotas 24 worldwide body lines already have been converted, and the rest either are in the process of conversion or will be refitted for GBL in conjunction with upcoming model changes. Operations in Toyota Older Flexible Body Line (FBL) System : Each vehicle would require three pallets — each tightly gripping either a major bodyside assembly or the roof assembly and assuring its adherence to dimensional hard points — as the body panels travelled through the various stages of welding to the floorpan and to one another. Three pallets limited the number of vehicles that could be in the build sequence at any given time in some plants the number was 50. Also, the design of the pallets — which held the bodysides and roof panels from the outside — limited the access of welding robots and required a lot of floor space. Planners had to â€Å"guess† about how many pallets to build and work that guess into the plants vehicle mix (FBL-equipped plants could handle as many as five different models). Bad guesses about pallet allocation were very costly. Also, quick reaction to a change of production mix was discouraged by the 3-pallet system. Newer Global Body Line (GBL) System : GBL design solves those problems by replacing FBLs three pallets with a single pallet, one that now holds all three major body panels from the inside. This â€Å"master pallet,† layout eliminates the need for predicting initial pallet demand. Since each model or variant requires only the lone pallet, switching new models in or out of the production mix is a breeze. Thus the 70% reduction in time required to facilitate a model change[18]. GBL doubles the amount of floor space that can be occupied by robots, and, on a GBL tour here, every inch appears to be used. In the Georgetown plant of Toyota, the floor space freed by GBL allows a second GBL line — helping the plant achieve a recently announced capacity increase to 500,000 units. Highly advanced robots are central to leveraging the advantages of the GBL layout the system was designed to make the most of new-generation body shop robots that are smaller, more precise and more energy efficient. The number of robots has increased from about 250 to nearly 350. GBL system is enhanced by initial vehicle designs that ensure commonality for various hardpoints. This makes it easier to accommodate a variety of models: GBL-ready plants now can build as many as eight, rather than five with the FBL system. However even with the ability to produce eight different models, there is a limit to GBLs flexibility. Once pressed, engineers admit that not everything Toyota makes, from Vitz to Land Cruiser, can be produced on a single GBL line. There are two siz