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

Movie Essays - Loncraines Film Production of Shakespeares Richard III :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

Loncraine's Film Production of Shakespeare's Richard III Loncraine's film brilliantly furthers Richard III's role as the diabolical genius. His use of economy and symbolism in portraying Richard gives completeness to the character that the text in some ways lacks. The short but intriguing stable scene in the film makes this clear. The first thing I noticed about the stable scene in the film was the monochromatic color scheme. As Donaldson noted, the muted browns, grays, and beiges are reminiscent of the several death scenes. The colors befit the place where Richard meets Tyrrel, Clarence's murderer, and receives Tyrrel's vow of loyalty. Both characters' connections to the following death scene are foreshadowed by Loncraine's choice of color palate: Tyrrel as the murderer-for-hire, Richard as the instigator. Richard's reaction toward the animals in the stable gives glimpses of insight into his character. For instance, seeing the boar in the pen initially amuses Richard. He sees Tyrrel feeding the boar, looking on approvingly. As Richard moves away from the boar's pen, Tyrrel tosses an apple to the man accompanying Richard in a quick gesture of recognition and camaraderie. Richard proceeds to gently feed the apple to a horse; this is a direct prediction of Richard's need for a horse in the final battle: "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" (V.iv.). Richard is feeding a useful and important animal, showing more sympathy and care than he does for the rest of the humans in the film. Conversely, Richard throws his apple at the boar after discerning Tyrrel's loyalty. The boar serves two purposes in the scene; it is both more useful when it is not alive (as food), and a symbol of Richard's family (Richard's crest contains the image of a boar, and Richard himself is often referred to as a boar in the text). Richard obviously has more use for the horse than he does the boar, alluding to his value of a creature or character based on its usefulness-he is quick to kill anything or anyone he finds opposing or challenging him. This includes his family, which is the boar's symbolic purpose. The boar, though penned and harmless, becomes the target of Richard's sadistic desire to bring harm to those around him. In the same way, Richard designs schemes to injure his family members for the more useful goal of gaining kingship. His family is no good to him while they are alive; they are more useful when they are dead and out of his way.

Not for Profit

Erin Powell Dr. Donald Roy PS 101 September 29, 2012 Martha Nussbaum: â€Å"Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities† Martha C. Nussbaum is the author of the book, â€Å"Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. † The book begins by drawing the reader’s attention by explaining the â€Å"Silent Crisis. † She describes education in the eyes of the government, and in the eyes of the people. There is a connection made between education and the liberal arts. The title of the book, â€Å"Not For Profit,† are three simple words that when put together, have a deep meaning.In this case, Nussbaum is using the phrase to relate to education. The government sees education as a way to further our economic situation. Statistics say that a student that attends college will earn a great deal more than a student that has not attended college. When people earn more money, they usually spend more money. This stimulates our economy, and is the goal o f the government. Government aims to use education as a tool to better our economy, yet they continually decrease the amount of money they give to public schools each year.They take out the true classes that give a person their true identity. It seems as if people are slowly becoming uniform, in being that liberal arts are being taken away, and students are left to studying simply the core classes of what they call â€Å"education†. Martha is trying to explain that our education is not for profit! Education is supposed to let people explore different skills and talents. There is a difference between education for profit, and education for citizenship. Education is intended to enhance the lives of the students which receive it. Nussbaum 9). Martha quoted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, which said: Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It sh all promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups. I couldn’t agree more with this quote. This should be the true meaning and importance of education, not for the greediness of the government to use it for profit. Democracy truly needs the humanities.Liberal arts supplement education in making it better-rounded. Without the arts and humanities, we become the government’s puppets, only being used to increase the economy. Liberal arts have been a part of education for quite some time. However, they have never truly been an important part of education according to government standards. What are important to them are the four core subjects: math, science, social studies, and language arts. Martha Nussbaum seems to disagree. To her, the liberal arts are the parts of education that make each student an individual.It gives them their creativity, and it teaches their brains to think critically and analytically, rather than being confined to a box dictated by the core subjects. These ways of thinking are very valuable. They set apart each person, giving them their true identity. Liberal arts teach people to think for themselves. Without them people will rely on the government to do the thinking, and the government will no longer truly represent its people. The Socratic Way defines the way in which students â€Å"think and argue for themselves, rather than defer to tradition and authority,â€Å" and is â€Å"valuable for democracy. (Nussbaum 48). In terms of education this is important because thinking for oneself leads to critical thinking. Critical thinking causes students to also think analytically; therefore they get a better understanding of their material. Democracy is rule of the people. If the people cannot â€Å"think and argue for themselves,† then how can they rule their country? It would be difficult to choose representatives if the people could not make their own decisions. Also in the business world as well, it would be difficult to get anything accomplished.Tradition and authority have been important in history. However, Nussbaum does not seem to agree with them. When everything just goes by tradition, nothing is being changed. Things just happen the way they have always happened. Authority tends to stay similar as well. This is because people just go with the flow. They tend to not think for themselves, but instead make decisions based on tradition. Martha Nussbaum is a liberal; when things need to be changed, they should be changed, and I completely agree.We cannot live according to tradition, because there might be a critical thinker or two in this world whom can discover a better or more efficient way to do things. If we are to improve at all in our lifetimes, living by tradition is not going to accomplish the goal. In this world there are Americans, Europeans, Australians, Mexicans, etc. However divided, we still affect each other. We borrow, buy, and sell from other countries, as well as become allies or enemies. Martha describes a â€Å"world citizen† in her book.This means that despite our geographical and cultural differences, we should put these aside to work together. â€Å"The world’s schools, colleges, and universities therefore have the important and urgent task: to cultivate in students the ability to see themselves as members of a heterogeneous nation, and a still more heterogeneous world, and to understand something of the history and character of the diverse groups that inhabit it. † (Nussbaum 80. ) The idea of becoming a â€Å"world citizen† is wildly idealistic. There are so many people in this world that just cannot accept others.Power is a huge part of it, being that people want to be in charge. Some don’t want to be considered equal; they believe that some people are superior to others. It would take a humungous amount of effort to convince everyone on the planet to become a â€Å" world citizen. † Play is important in the lives of all people, but especially children as they begin to develop. Nussbaum talks about play in Chapter 6. It is essential to play in order to understand the value and worth of other people. Children’s stories and nursery rhymes cause children to put themselves in the shoes of another person.Therefore they learn that other human beings have feelings also, which helps children with a healthy development. It’s this healthy development in which play causes that Nussbaum believes is so important. As children grow into adults, however, they don’t necessarily â€Å"play. † They have â€Å"left behind the world of children’s games. † (Nussbaum 101). Therefore the arts become important. Whether it’s music, singing, painting, photography, etc. , the arts put people, fictionally, into the shoes of others. In doing this, people continue to grow in their concern for other human beings.As Martha describes our current situation, democratic education is truly â€Å"on the ropes. † Chapter seven talks about why this is true. Our economy is not doing so well. Every day our country goes further and further in debt. Apparently to our government, education is not very important, so they continue to make cut after cut of school funding. When the schools receive less money they have to make cuts on their spending. The humanities are always first to be reduced or eliminated. But when humanities, an important factor of a democratic education, are taken away we are certainly â€Å"on the ropes†!Without the humanities, schools cannot fully give students a democratic education. So what can we do about it? Nussbaum mentioned the alumni of schools. She claimed that some of them will send money or grants to their previous schools to help fund the humanities and liberal arts which they enjoyed having while they were in school. However, this cannot fund all parts of every progra m. Even in the core-subject classroom, we can encourage critical thinking. However, class sizes would have to be downsized. Schools would have to hire more teachers. Finances would obviously have to come from somewhere.But in decreasing the amount of students in each classroom, it is easier for the teacher to focus on their students rather than primarily on the material. Smaller groups of students also make it easier to have classroom discussions where all students can participate and think outside the box. Humanities and liberal arts are clearly important to Martha Nussbaum. They should be important to everyone, and I wish they were. This world would be a better place if education was taught around the arts, rather than the arts simply being an elective, or being eliminated due to funding cuts.I enjoy being able to think for myself and I’m sure all people do. Our government is not perfect, and there never will be a perfect government. We can’t rely on tradition to con tinue governing this country; we have to make changes in order for the government to best represent the people and to make good decisions. Neither can we submit to the authority, just because it’s there. If we don’t agree with something we have to have the audacity to stand up for what we believe in and never give up. Profits shouldn’t be the main influence for education, nor should it control how we educate our future generations.Instead we should focus on developing people as individuals, rather than people as money-makers. We all have feelings, and everyone deep down wants to feel important and competent. Simply ignoring our feelings is not an option. Drew Faust says it best, â€Å"Human beings need meaning, understanding, and perspective as well as jobs. The question should not be whether we can afford to believe in such purposes in these times, but whether we can afford not to. † (Nussbaum 124). Mistakes are made when we question whether or not to ke ep humanities in education. It’s obvious that democratic education needs the humanities.

Fermentation of Yeast with Carbohydrates

Cell membranes are a bilayer make up of phospholipids, proteins, and cholesterol. Its main function is to regulate what comes in and out of the cell by means of diffusion, transport proteins and protein channels. Trans membrane proteins transport polar solutes across hydrophobic regions of the bilayer. Diffusion occurs when solutes are transferred from a high concentration of that solute to a lower concentration of solutes.Solutes do not depend on the concentration of other solutes, which allows the cell to take in oxygen while releasing carbon dioxide. Osmosis is a special type of diffusion, which occurs when water is diffused across the membrane. This can be affected by how hydrophilic a solute is on either side of the membrane. The diffusion of glucose, starch, and iodine was observed when the solutes went from a higher concentration of their individual solute to a lower concentration diffusing threw pores in the dialysis bag.The experiment sought to find out which solutes would d iffuse threw the pores of the dialysis bag, whether in or out of the bag. The pores and walls of the dialysis bag acted as a permeable membrane, like the one found in cells, and was the regulator of diffusion for the solutes. Studying the movement of solutes threw the dialysis bag helps better understand diffusion of a cell membrane, and the means and solutes that make a solution isotonic.If the iodine concentration is higher outside the dialysis bag of starch and glucose than in it, iodine along with water will diffuse into the bag while the starch remains in the dialysis bag and some glucose will diffuse out of the dialysis bag. Solution | Solute Concentration (M) | Tonicity (i. e. hypotonic)| Expected mass change (+ or -)| 1| 0. 058 M| Hypertonic| -| 2| 0. 134 M| Hypertonic | -| 3| . 000385 M| Hypotonic | +|