The Realities of Slavery and the Black Movement as Reflected in August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

August Wilson is a great playwright and this can be proved by his numerous plays. However, more than being a great playwright, August Wilson is a great man who had the capability to make the world see the reality behind the African slavery. In this paper, one of August Wilson's play will be analyzed through the historical context of which the slavery is involved. Joe Turner's Come and Gone is a very gripping play which shows the drama and the reality of life at the same time — which is sometimes what literature should be all about or what literature is trying to depict. Literature has been known to record and to serve as a witness to the various dramatic and historical events of life. The notion of whether literature is actually a record in itself can be also true since authors, novelist, and poets alike have been either inspired by the events that are happening around them or want to record the harsh realities and brutalities brought by Man and by Nature and to Man and to Nature. Thus, it is not questionable why literature has made so much impact in the lives of many people — as it enables them to be inspired by what they read or what they are seeing. Sometimes, literature is still able to reflect the whole being of a person or as a mirror to a whole nation's dreams and ambitions. August Wilson was able to do both — his poems and plays are able to reflect his personality while at the same time showing the rest of the world the realities of the harsh slavery brought to African-Americans. The most wonderful thing about August Wilson is the fact that the actual slavery or the actual moments of brutalities are left to the imagination of the readers or viewers — what the audience is looking into are the after-effects of slavery and discrimination. The actual scenes are not present in the play — what is present is the psychological state of the characters as they set about living in their respective environments? What is more is that the actual environment of the play is in itself a character. This is the case in August Wilson's play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone. A Brief Overview of Joe Turner's Come and Gone The play in its entirety is very enthralling both in its complexity and simplicity. It seems that there is no one central and main character — that the audience is to decide who the real protagonist and antagonist are in the play is the cause of the complexity. Not realizing that it was one person all throughout as it would be only revealed at the actual end or culmination of the play is what makes it actually simple. Joe Turner's Come and Gone begins in the small town of Pittsburgh's Hill which is actually the place of birth of August Wilson. This is very significant as the area contains a very rich and diverse racial background which contributes to the formation of the personality of the playwright as well as the personalities (or their lack of) of the characters of his play. Nonetheless, the play concentrates on the race of the African-Americans and the aftermath of the slavery they experienced. It opens with a couple by the name of Seth and Bertha Holly who are arguing over a strange man by the name of Bynum Walker. Bynum is a traditional African man who still practices the customs and thus earning the spite of Seth since Bynum kills the pigeons for his rituals. Seth owns a rental place wherein visitors can rent rooms, and Bynum is one of those renters. The play progresses with the coming of Herald Loomis and his daughter and Zonia who are in search of Martha, Herald's wife, and Zonia's mother. Martha supposedly left when Joe Turner, a brutal and notorious man, got to Herald Loomis and enslaved him. The arrival of Herald becomes the catalyst as the turn of events happens. There are other characters in the play as well, but Herald and his story are what is the most important. Seth initially does not trust Herald, but later on learns that Herald is actually unable to do things normally like talking, relating, and forming relationships with people because of what happened to him in the past. As the play progresses, the audience or readers soon discover that Herald once served Joe Turner — a very ruthless man who enslaves Africans or African-Americans. Because of this, Herald lost his personality as a character and his love patriotism for his culture and country. In fact, during one Bynum's rituals, the renters of Seth gather and together sing the juba. Herald gets enraged by this, and it is in this scene that Bynum informs him that Herald has lost his song. Of course, this has extreme significance as the Africans are very talented people and would perform many songs and dances in their rituals and traditions. Thus, if Herald loses his song, then it could just mean that he has lost his heritage, and this is most likely due to what Joe Turner has done to him. Later on, Martha, Herald's wife, returns and begs him to welcome Jesus since it is through Jesus that Herald would be able to forgive, live, and find his missing song. However, Heralds becomes angry at this and lashes out that no Jesus or god has come to his aid when he needed a Jesus or a god. In Herald's anger, he hurts himself and bleeds. With this furious act of intentionally hurting himself, Herald announces that he has freed himself and finally finds his own song. He leaves the rental place and the people behind, and thus, the play ends. The Man Behind the Play In Mary Bogumil's book entitled Understanding August Wilson, we are given a brief account of August Wilson's past as well as the things that have inspired him. Most important to mention is his participation in the Black Movement. In fact, his plays serve as a proof to this. August Wilson's ten plays which symbolize the ten decades of the slavery brought to Africans and African-Americans are full of suffering, pain as well as redemption of the characters. The Black Movement can be considered as the fight of the African-Americans for equality and moreover is for respect. It is a well known fact that they have suffered tremendously when it comes to slavery and discrimination. The time of the early 90's has been times of misery for them but they have endured greatly. A person can only imagine what could have happened even before that. One great and terrible account is the famous Middle Passage. According to the Resource Bank, the Middle Passage was considered as one of the most terrible things that happened to the Africans. They were treated as commodity and were forcefully brought to the shores of the West to become as slaves. From the moment that they were bought by the English or by the Americans, the start of their turmoil began. As they travel to the West they are deprived of basic rights such as sleeping quarters, sufficient food and water and care. In fact, during the Middle Passage, a lot of Africans died due to sickness. Many would attempt to starve themselves so they would not endure the hardships anymore. However, the English or Americans (depending on who bought them) would force them to eat as they want slaves who would serve them or slaves whom they can sell. This continued for many years, thus the connotation that Africans were inferior or low-lifes started as they were transported as slaves. Once they reach the shores of the West, more suffering awaits them as they are poorly treated by the White Americans or the English. This occurrence could have been one of things which have awakened August Wilson to the unjust treatment of the white people to the Africans or African-American. As the mother of August Wilson is an African, it is natural that she would have history or know the real story of what happened to Africans. Because of this August Wilson became an active advocate and pioneer for the rights and for the fight of the African nation. However, this fight would be long and enduring as the Africans or African-Americans would suffer and be miserable in the hands of the white people for many years. In fact, even in the modern times that society experiences today, there are still many African-Americans, even Hispanics and Asians who suffer discrimination tremendously. Considering the fact that President Barrack Obama has won, there is still a tantamount of discrimination experienced by many people. The Beliefs and Principles of the â€Å"People's Playwright† as Reflected in the Play As such, it is only natural that August Wilson — who was dubbed as the â€Å"People's Playwright† by James Keller would naturally be inspired by his heritage and what other races has done to his people. He is dubbed as the â€Å"people's playwright† not because he is very famous for his numerous plays but because his plays served as the eyes, ears, and voices of the people. What he has done is to say what the people are feeling, to makes others feel what they have felt and most of all, to make others people see that there was injustice done which has been imprinted into the hearts and souls of the African race. When Kim Pereira wrote a book about August Wilson is in a voyage or in an odyssey because of the plays that he wrote, it is both true and false. August Wilson did went to a voyage to discover his roots but most of all, the voyage he has were together with other people of the African race who have felt and experienced what he has written about. Conclusion The greatest thing about August Wilson and the play is the fact that the play in itself is a declaration that he is proud of his African heritage, even if he had to go to a voyage just to find it. This voyage or journey of August Wilson is by no means an actual adventure. This voyage is more historical, mental, psychological and personal all at the same time. August Wilson had to reconnect with the actual events that have happened in the past so the characters can have their own personality and history. However, more than bringing color and personality to his character, August Wilson is making means for them to find their own voices which was the whole point of the play as it is the climactic and dramatic theme of the whole work. That the character of Herald Loomis is unable to have any character at all is what the whole play was driving at. As according to Bynum Walker, Herald has lost his â€Å"song† (Wilson, p. 73) which could also translate to a person's being. In fact, Herald was so affected by what has happened to him that he cannot function normally. In conclusion, the play does indeed show August Wilson's belief and principles in an implicit way — one has to only look at the character of Herald Loomis and realize that more than finding his own personal song, he symbolizes the unearthing of the African's yearning for freedom, redemption, forgiveness, and most of all—acceptance.

Keri 2006 Advertising Campaign Essay

This is a 2006 advertising campaign of Keri new skin-care product, Keri Nourishing Shea Butter lotion. It is a remake and reproduction of a well-known painting â€Å"La Grande Odalisque† by French artist Jean-August-Dominique Ingres. The written message states this â€Å"experience the timeless beauty of being a woman with Keri Shea Butter. Enriched with nourishing Vitamin E, it makes skin feel truly touchable†. It seemingly means that this new product can help improve the consumer’s skin performance. But indeed, this ad contains intended meanings which include symbolic properties and commodity fetishism. First of all, this Keri’s ad produces symbolic meanings. In this ad, it is not a simply a case that the conventions and themes of an artist or a style are copied, but rather it is a carefully and close reproduction of the original painting. If we compare it to the origin, the head cover, the fan and pose of the nuked woman is almost the same. The product itself has no meaning. However this careful reproduction of particular elements obvious makes the ad as a reference to the original painting, a classic and wide international recognized work of art which is meaningful to most consumers. As a masterwork of art in the history, the painting is regarded as an important icon of an immortal and timeless signifier of classical female beauty. By creating correlation between the ad and Ingres’ painting, the image, ideas of Ingres’ panting become attached to Keri’s new product. The sexy female nude, the material object, becomes the signifier, and it signified the idea of timeless female beauty. Therefore, Keri’s new product becomes a sign of timeless female beauty. Moreover, the advertisement creates differentiation between new product and the other products in the same series (Williamson, 1978, p24). Keri’ ad introduces a new product that is enriched with nourishing Vitamin E, an important element to make skin smooth and vibrant. In fact, there are more six more products in this category. The function and content of Keri Nourishing Shea Butter make it unique and independent to other product, such as Original, Advanced and Moisture Rich Oil. In addition, the advertisement makes the product and a feeling of â€Å"experience of the timeless beauty of being a woman† equal in value. Every woman wants to be beautiful and timeless. However money cannot buy you beautiful and timeless. Thus, by generating a connection between Keri’s product and feeling, it adds a value to timeless beauty, because money can buy Keri’s product. Secondly, the Keri’s lotion product exists as a commodity in the market place. The lotion has a nature priority of making skin smooth. As Marx says the nature priority decides the use value (Marx, 1867). The use value of Keri’s product is to improve your skin quality. In Capital, Marx says the objective form of social relations is called reification (1867). As the advertising campaign says â€Å"experience the timeless beauty of being a woman with Keri Shea Butter†, the consumers will experience â€Å"timeless beauty of being a woman† if they purchase and consume the product. The human relationship of timeless beauty is expressed in a commodity form of lotion. The abstracted social relations are taken out of their actual organic context†, abstraction separates the use value and exchange value of a commodity (Goldman, 1992, p21). In this ad, the meaning of using its product is transformed into the experience of timeless beauty. In this process, the exchange value of Keri’s product now refer to the timeless beauty. It equivalents the value of the product and the value of a history work of art of beauty female by putting the product and reproduction image together into the same frame.

Siemens Bribery Case

Ian Collins Survey of Global Business Professor Portillo BSAD 113W 18 February 2013 Assignment #3: Siemens Bribery Scandal Before 1999 the use of bribery in Germany was not illegal and could be deducted as a business expense in a company’s taxes. This allowed companies like Siemens to gain the upper hand and have an unfair advantage over their competition in acquiring business deals around the world. Then when the law changed, Siemens still utilized bribery, and employed bribery tactics in other countries where it was also illegal.In this case study I’m going to analyze the rationale and high levels of corruption that transpired in the Siemens bribery scandal and utilize the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to illustrate the negative impact of bribery. Siemens use of bribery initially could have been justified by the fact that German laws allowed it and was not illegal until 1999; the issue wa s that Siemens continued to use bribery even after the law had changed.Corruption was deeply embedded in the business culture. Siemens transferred money into Swiss bank accounts to avoid detection and then hired contractors to set up the bribes. These actions were standard operating procedures for corporate executives who viewed bribery as a business strategy. Senior executives even made certain individuals that were directly in charge of the bribery funds sign compliance forms stating they had not engaged in that kind of activity, bribes were referred to as ‘useful’ money.The punishment Siemens faced involved paying fines totaling $2. 6 billion. In the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which sets voluntary principles and standards for business conduct, clearly outlines the negative aspects that comes from bribery. â€Å"Bribery and corruption are damaging to democratic institutions and the governance of corporations. They discourage investment and distort international competitive conditions.In particular, the diversion of funds through corrupt practices undermines attempts by citizens to achieve higher levels of economic, social and environmental welfare, and it impedes efforts to reduce poverty. Enterprises have an important role to play in combating these practices. † In defense of the Siemens employees, many of them just believed that was how business was done and had the best interests of the company at heart. It was about keeping the business alive and not jeopardizing thousands of jobs,† if this indicates the intention of the employees then the act is more justifiable than just doing the action out of greed. Siemens is a company that allowed greed to cloud their judgement to use bribery to gain the upper hand, as well as not evolving with the changing laws. You can only speculate as to the real thought process behind the choice to engage in bribery, whether i t was done knowingly to gain an unfair advantage or sincerely to protect the jobs of many employees, the action was still committed.A company needs to be aware of the laws, regulations and what is considered acceptable business conduct of the other countries it chooses to do business with and not violate them, including the use of bribery. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://lilymayunjue. blogspot. com/2012/06/summary-of-siemens-bribery. html [ 2 ]. http://www. nytimes. com/2008/12/16/business/worldbusiness/16siemens. html? _r=0 [ 3 ]. http://www. oecd. org/daf/inv/mne/48004323. pdf [ 4 ]. Article: Siemens Bribery Scandal

Film Blade Runner Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film Blade Runner - Movie Review Example The movie that was the trend-setter was the Blade Runner. This movie ahs been a fore-runner of sorts, in many ways. For instance, it delves into science and genetics, it also gets into concepts like globalization, climate change, over-population and cyber-punk, to a name some prominent issues. While these issues are common concerns of today, the film voiced the same in 1982! This definitely makes it a futuristic approach. This write-up attempts to examine the theme of humanity in the movie. It portrays the 'replicants' who are similar to human, but are products of genetically engineered scientific processes. These replicant criminals are hunted down by the 'blade runners', who are the police. The events that occur and the twists the plot takes, are reflective of problems that menace today's world. The most striking one of these problems, is that of genetically engineered lives. Thus, the movie is explicitly built around the theme of humanity, as juxtaposed against the phenomenon of genetically engineered replicas. 'Humanity' as a theme in Blade Runner comes across in a number of contexts. Humanity is portrayed as the initial superior force in the movie, which is taken over by artificial intelligence, created by the same humans. It is due to this that a number of problems arise. Humanity and Pseudo-Humanism are portrayed with panache in a variety of venues. The following is analyses into the same. TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY In today's fast paced modern world, technology has redefined possibilities. Over the years, technology has revolutionized our lives to the extent that they have more often than not, substituted human action. After the building of such high tech applications and devices, man's attempt has been towards constructing technology that can replicate human beings. The artificial intelligence is one such example. In the process, we do tend to rethink and re-describe, what is distinctively 'human'. In other words, we have been seeking to replicate humans suing technology and have in turn been striving to identify what is humanly 'human'. "As we give our machines selected human characteristics to make them more efficient, they will tend to discover humanity in their own unique way, rising above their 'specifications' to actually become human..These films document how 'human' technology will always assume more human characteristics. They suggest that to be human is to reach some state of equilibrium. In other words, an entity initially bestowed with any combination of human related characteristics will spontaneously approach a more stable state through the passage of time, like a chemical system out of equilibrium. Just as we grow uniformly content through our venerable years, artificially created beings grow increasingly human with age. Roy, designed as a fierce "combat model," has ironically grown to be a poetically rich man and draws our attention to the pertinent issues of Blade Runner by the elegant efficiency of

Political, Social, and Economic Issues in the US between 1795 and 1840 Essay

Political, Social, and Economic Issues in the US between 1795 and 1840 - Essay Example On the political front, Rip could probably be satisfied to learn that George Washington had successfully commanded American forces into victory against attempted invasion. Besides, it could have been a big surprise for Rip to learn that America and Britain were once more working on a common interest to end slave trade after Wilberforce’s arguments gained public support. A planter in South Carolina would be more politically conscious and explain to Rip the strides made since 1795. For instance, Rip would have been informed that South Carolina was very open minded in issues dealing with human rights. He would be informed that slaves were allowed to buy their freedom before the Act that abolished slave trade came into force (White, 17). He would also learn that South Carolina as one of the first thirteen states that formed the federation, had remained committed to political development and had in fact voted for the abolition of slave trade. The British occupation of larger part o f Midwest and the burning of Washington would probably not go unmentioned too. Moreover, Rip would be surprised to tour states like Ohio, Illinois and be informed about the intense economic development in industries. He would probably learn that the economic rivalry between Ohio and Illinois in agricultural products had seen the Old North West farmers make huge efforts toward achieving of their aims. As an agriculturalist, he would also surprise Rip with Monroe’s obsession with production and the subsequent selling of Virginia. PART B The Presidential election of 1800 had been regarded as the revolution of 1800, a transition that saw Vice President Thomas Jefferson beat the President John Adams. The elections were majorly seen as a battle... The Presidential election of 1800 had been regarded as the revolution of 1800, a transition that saw Vice President Thomas Jefferson beat the President John Adams. The elections were majorly seen as a battle for ideology in which the pro-French president lost in favor of the pro-decentralization: Jefferson. The issue of concern was probably on the political direction that the people wanted versus the direction the president wanted. This conflict of interest exposed constitutional flaws with regard to a tie in results. Aaron Burr’s and Jefferson’s candidacy had to be decided by the House of Representatives which eventually elected Jefferson. On a different front, the presidential election of 1924 also came in with challenges given that no candidate acquired the required majority of the electoral vote, prompting the House of representative to vote a presidential candidate. Ironically, the candidate who had acquired majority of Electoral College votes was not the one voted by the House of Representatives. Rationale for determining who goes into the House of Representatives became so difficult to the extent that the top three candidates with majority votes were accepted into the House of Representatives. Both cases were indicators of different vested interest in party politics in the US that is occasionally characterized by propaganda. Politics in the United States has come a long way to achieve democracy that the federation not only enjoys but also offer to the world so freely.

Marketing Limited Capital Resources Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Limited Capital Resources - Term Paper Example This is about marketing the company products through an efficient distribution channel. Indeed, the associated retailers, whole sellers, distributors, direct selling agents and business partners would personally influence their customers separately so that sales objectives could be accomplished. In simple words, the company’s marketers have to endorse this R&D through effective Push marketing of these tea brands. Promotional techniques such as free sachets, boxes of teabags, free cups of tea at densely populated public places taste, gift hampers etc. should be used to enhance brand awareness and recognition. Sales incentives such as discounts on bulk buying, periodic purchase schemes, commission on additional sales etc. should also be disbursed among distribution channel members so that they would use Push Marketing strategy to attain desired outcomes and accomplish sales targets. Customers will welcome innovated and differentiated tea products in top quality packaging with excellent taste. Once, they become satisfied with the trial or introductory packs, they will start switching from existing tea products to Newfoundland’s Bentley brand. In addition, the satisfying and happy customers will also increase awareness in their social networks, which will, of course, be called ‘marketing for free’. Indeed, the research has shown that peers may influence the buying behavior.   Ã‚   The launch of new tea flavors and seasonal blends may attract new segments, especially, customers from elite, upper – middle and lower – middle households with relatively high purchasing power. Also, consumers from these classes usually do not compromise over taste and quality, convenience, comfort etc. as well as they endorse the new ideas and innovations. The long-run benefits of this strategy in terms of value and relationship building will be higher because this will certainly help increase market share and future expansion.

Jet Star Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jet Star - Essay Example The research shows that the core product offered by Jetstar, is low cost fares without compromising on quality. This has been successful so far, largely due to an operational model which consists of a network of point to point services. Via a SWOT analysis, it was found that the strengths of the company centre on its product range, affiliation with Qantas and expansion through joint ventures. Weaknesses centre on negative customer reviews, reputation issues and poor employee relations. It was found that the threats to the company primarily surround its competitors; Tiger Airways and Virgin Australia, as they offer a similar product. The opportunities available to Jetstar currently centre on market opportunities and growth, potential Asian customers and an increasing consumer reliance on the internet. It is recommended that in order for continued market success, the company focus on service and reliability at a low price, in order to increase their customer base and differentiate themselves from competitors. It is also recommended that the company expand further within Asia and develop and a loyalty program. This report finds that Jetsar Airlines currently enjoy a lucrative position within its domestic market, with strong potential to enjoy success internationally. The product offered by the company, that of low-cost fares without compromising on quality has so far been received well by the consumer. This has also been supplemented by a range of other products. Using Jetstar.com as the single distribution channel for the company has also been successful, due to the ever increasing numbers of consumers which are using the internet. As the external analysis highlights, the competitor situation for Jetstar primarily focuses on Tiger Airways and Virgin Australia, as both airlines offer a similar low-cost product. However, the macro-environmental situation for the company appears extremely positive due to its healthy domestic

Black Muslim movement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Black Muslim movement - Research Paper Example Elijah Muhammad ensured that the Black Nationalist and self-governance (the group called Nation of Islam) ideals were able to reach the poor black people and those in prison. Through his leadership the organization drastically grew from 8,000 members and accumulated over 100,000 members in the 1950s and 1960s especially after the involvement of its spokesperson or minister Malcolm X 2. However, as time went on there was friction and disagreements between Muhammad and Malcolm that resulted in Malcolm being suspended in 1963 and subsequently being assassinated in 1965 most likely by Muhammad followers3. Muhammad finally died in 1975, and ultimately his son Wallace D. Muhammad (Later changed to Warith Deen Mohammed) assumed the leadership and his teachings did not insinuate much violence to black Muslims like his father. Wallace pushed for the organization to adhere to the teachings of international Islamic community that was more inclined to the Sunni Islamic norms while he also change d the group to World Community of al-Islam with its ground in the West, and later it became American Muslim Mission then to American Society of Muslims. In 1977, some members split from this group through the guidance of Louis Farrakhan since they felt that they needed more radical changes. They called themselves the Nation of Islam and they focused on reliving the teachings or footsteps of Elijah Muhammad. The Nation of Islam began accommodating traditional Islamic norms in the 1990s while Farrakhan and Mohammed publicly claimed that they had ended their long rivalry in the year 20004. Background/History of Black Islam Movement The Black Muslim Movement or what is popularly called Nation of Islam (NOI) came into being in Detroit, Michigan through the leadership of Wallace Fard Muhammad in the year 1930. The Black Muslim followers refereed to Fard as the â€Å"Mullah Fard,† â€Å"the Prophet,† he was also known as â€Å"The Great Mahdi† and even â€Å"The Savio r.† His teachings to the black were that they were part of an early and long forgotten tribe called Shabazz. He cited that all white people were â€Å"devils† and therefore, a war would ensue among all races in the world and these â€Å"white devils† will ultimately be destroyed. In 1934, Fard vanished mysterious (possibly murdered by rivals) and in that instant one of his devoted followers Elijah Poole became the leader while he changed his name to Elijah Mohammed. An uprising occurred in the Temple at Detroit and therefore, Elijah had to move to Chicago where he attracted many black followers as they wished to be part of the rebellion against white power5. Elijah had been sentenced to five years (1942-1946) in jail since he agreed with Hitler and Nazi ideas while motivating blacks to refrain from joining the American army. During his time in prison, Mohammed realized that black convicts were especially the best people to support the anti-white and anti-Jewish s entiments in favor of black Muslims. Mohammad embarked spreading a message that encouraged Nazi support and black movement ideologies which converted many blacks to the group by the time he left the prison system. In 1947, a black drug dealer, robber, and rapist called Malcolm Little heard about the Black Muslims group during his time in Michigan state penitentiary. Malcolm Little stopped smoking, gambling and refrained from eating pork in a bid to adhere to the Muslim

Religious studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Religious studies - Essay Example A religion is a set of beliefs and practices of a community that holds them in the obedience of codified beliefs, believed to be the orders from God, and rituals. It refers to both the personal practices and the rituals carried out by a group to reflect conformity of beliefs and obedience to the Supreme Controller. Various definitions for religion have evolved and many materialistic individuals have tried to push the religion to a separate sector of life only restricting it to the compulsory acts of worship and rituals but, religion is in no way different from one’s actions outside his/her place of worship. A number of religions and its followers, especially Islam, teach their disciples to spend their entire life whether in Masjid (Muslims place of worship) or outside according to the commands of God and stress on the fact that religion is at the heart of life. Whichever religion a person belongs to is evident from his daily routine, doctrines of a particular religion are revealed by the rituals and the actions one performs in his daily life. A Christian would go to a church every Sunday, a Muslim would visit his Masjid five times a day and similarly a Hindu would visit his Temple at prescribed times. Islam has been the most controversial religion in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks on the twin towers, but ironically enough since then it has been the fastest spreading religion throughout the world and especially in the West. Due to this astounding fact Islamic doctrines have been used in the context of the following discussion. Belief in the religious context is the faith in the existence of something supernatural, unseen and unexplainable for an ordinary mind. Conviction is thus the first step and the most basic requirement of any religion. To strongly believe the truth of the existence of God, the fundamental principles of a religion, the Holy Book and the honesty of the Religious Leader who brought the divine message is the doorway towards

Child-rearing practices the Hispanic and West Indies cultures Research Paper

Child-rearing practices the Hispanic and West Indies cultures - Research Paper Example The paper tells that culture and personality cannot exist without each other and they work to balance and define different societies. By defining the different societies it means that the society will have its codes and practices that define it and so it will be defined as a culture. The similarities and differences in the two cultures will be established in terms of kinship and the familial relationship and upbringing, division of labor and how the two cultures handle the issue as a whole, the roles of the males and females in the society, economic organizations and political organizations of the societies in two cultures. The Hispanic culture is found in many societies in America and other parts of the world mainly due to the Spanish influence and the use of the language in many parts of the world. In America, it is spoken in many countries as the national languages in countries like Mexico and Argentina. The formal and local setups of the people in the different societies that are Hispanic differ greatly due to the geographical disparity and so our focus will be on the overall differences and similarities. Anthropologists have argued that we gain intelligence and ability to learn from the way the early environment impacts on our lives. In fact, he proposes that everything an adult will do is a function of the dynamic interaction between the person’s perceptions of the environment that s/he is living in.

The Competitive Advantage of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Competitive Advantage of China - Essay Example The country is ranked very low on considerations of favoritism in government decision making (Rank 43rd), ethical behavior (47th) Intellectual property protection (58th) and auditing and accounting standards (95th). These are artificial constraints and businesses have to be more innovative (manipulative) to succeed. The extent of sophistication of China's competitive advantage was quite poor, the country being ranked at 59th on this factor. Its competitiveness is based more on providing cheap labor and natural resources rather than unique and sophisticated products, technologies and processes. The country's state owned enterprises and the banking sector are still in deep trouble, government intervention to protect these lead to skewed decisions. Levels of financial intermediation are low and the state has had to intervene from time to time to mitigate the adverse effects of a large, non-performing loan portfolio. Added to this is the artificially fixed exchange rate that has remained unchanged at 8.28 Rmb/US$ in the period under review. Floating of the Yuan to see its market driven level shall have major repercussions on the economy as it likely to appreciate considerably making Chinese products more expensive and allow competition from other countries. In terms of consumer sophistication China ranked 42nd; and only 64th in terms of the extent to which its domestic consumers actively de

Education and Life Chances in Modern Education Essay Example for Free

Education and Life Chances in Modern Education Essay Public education, it can be argued, shapes society, instils social mores and indoctrinates the impressionable with those philosophies the elites value. This essay will focus upon three main areas intrinsic to the education system. These are the social reproduction of ideas, the life chances created and instilled through education, and the socialisation of the individuals undergoing the educational process. Two main sociological perspectives that are useful when studying the education system are Functionalism and Critical Theory, because they focus on macro issues and social structures more than the interactionist perspective. Functionalists believe that the school system is an agent of social reproduction, which operates to reproduce well integrated, fully functioning members of society (Webb, Schirato and Danaher, 2002: 114). Critical theorists, conversely, hold that education is the most effective mechanism for promoting social change and for giving opportunities to less privileged groups so that they can advance their social standing. However, education usually reproduces existing social divisions, maintaining the relative disadvantage of certain groups (Webb, Schirato and Danaher, 2002: 106). Munro (1994: 108) describes the different approaches by stating that, functionalists tend to see education as synonymous with socialisation, while a conflict theorist is inclined to view education as ideological- that is, reflecting the interests of particular groups. Functionalists hold that the major institution for social reproduction is the education system, whereas, from a critical perspective, teachers, who oversee this reproduction, have been made into administrators of programs that provide manpower capitalisation through planned and directed behavioural changes (Illich, 1973: 327). Illich (1973: 327) comments, from a critical perspective, that teaching and learning remain sacred activities separate and estranged from a fulfilling life. This is because the things being taught do not line up with the necessary knowledge needed for life outside of education, and that learning from programmed information always hides reality behind a screen (Illich, 1973: 324). This means that the knowledge provided is set to a secret agenda. The learning process, which supposedly passes on the values and mores necessary in society to students,  is not, however, meeting these needs effectively. Relevant information, that is, knowledge, which will add skills to the labour market, is becoming less practical and more theoretical, expanding the gap between study and work. Regardless of this, employers and social elites have attempted to use the schools for the reproduction of compliant workers (Davis, 1999: 65). This double standard has been discussed in a best selling song, The Wall by Pink Floyd (1978) in which they stated that the reproduction received through the school system was set to a hidden agenda, and that society would be better off without it. Drucker (1973: 236) equates the influx of educated people to the potential for producing wealth in any given country. By stating this, educational socialisation and the development of educated people is the most important function education can have. He goes on to state that while this may be the case today, throughout history, being uneducated provided the wealth of a given nation, due to the class differences, and that education was for the rich and idle while the work was performed by the illiterate. This all changed with the Industrial Revolution, and the invention of moveable type in the 17th Century (Drucker, 1973: 232). The moveable type meant that education could be performed at a reduced rate, and words became a commodity that was necessary for improving the quality of the labour force. Education is purported to provide the best possible life chances for its graduates, yet in reality, in many ways education diminishes these chances. Heinz (1987: 132) points out that the life chances of graduates are in a state of flux, that when the labour market is depressed and work is difficult to find, then young people will opt for more education as a means of delaying their entry into a tight work force. The school then takes on the function of a warehouse; it is a place to mark time. At the same time school acts as a socio-political instrument for reducing social and political conflict, and this function gains predominance over its main function of educating young people. In many cases the academic credentials earned are unnecessary for working-class jobs (Furlong and Cartmel, 1999: 12), which changes the focus of education, making it oppressive and irrelevant (Davis, 1999: 83). Heinz (1987: 131) states secondary  school-leavers face a worsening outlook when they want to start in working life, and joining a preparatory program is increasingly becoming the only alternative to unemployment. There are a growing number of young people who are finding it harder to find a place, whose prospects on the labour market are poor, being qualified but underemployed, or drifting between unemployment and occasional jobs (Heinz, 1987: 131). This increases social inequalities and the gap between rich and poor. By acting as a warehouse education is not preparing students for life but rather crippling their life chances. The alternative to this are to reassess the curricula and teaching methods, reintegrating skilled workers into vocational education, ensuring that knowledge will be of direct benefit to graduates in obtaining a place within the work force. There are fewer and fewer opportunities becoming available, and school leavers have to undergo more and more relevant vocational training. However, fewer school-leavers are able to go directly into the vocational training they want. Heinz (1987: 130) noted a growing trend 16 years ago that Depending on the region, only between one-third and one-half of these school leavers succeed in getting a training place, and in 1994 Munro (1994: 109) observed that the school-to-work transition had failed which had major ramifications for everyone involved, causing underemployment of school leavers (Munro, 1994: 116). The seriousness of this trend is made even more apparent by the fact that school-leavers are even ready to enter apprenticeships that lead them into dead-end occupations (Heinz, 1987: 129). Drucker (1973: 232) however, states that while this may be so, to be uneducated is an economic liability and is unproductive, even though education is producing an unemployable, overeducated proletariat. (Drucker, 1973: 233) According to Mehan (1973: 240) education is a major socialisation agency, which moulds the individuals self-concepts into a socially accepted format, allowing each individual to be slotted into a specific function (Sargent, 1994: 240). Sargent (1994: 240) points out that in the function of education values are essentially involved and are taught beside worldly knowledge. However, this knowledge interprets the world, but does not necessarily  correspond with any external state (Sargent, 1994: 232). The transmission of knowledge, skills and values, helps to sort and rank individuals, that they might be better placed in the labour market (Munro, 1994: 96). This raises a paradox, however, where education is seen by many as the best possible means of achieving greater equality in society (Sargent, 1994: 233), yet it categorises the graduates into job specifications, personality types and the opportunities granted to each. Sargent (1994: 231) furthers this thought by explaining that the education system is an integral part of determining position and power in our society (Sargent, 1994: 231), and that through education the class structures are compounded, making it more difficult for those in the working classes from advancing in the social hierarchy. The education institution both absorbs and perpetuates the ideology, masquerading as knowledge, which legitimises inequality (Sargent, 1994: 231). Regardless of the inequalities produced, it has become the absolute prerequisite of soci al and economic development in our world to have a highly educated pool of people ready for the labour market (Drucker, 1973: 232). In conclusion, the failure of the education system to reduce social inequality and produce better workers, raises serious doubts as to its effectiveness. Life chances created through education appear to be diminishing, despite the extension of education. The knowledge taught seems to be ineffective in preparing students to cope with life. Functionalists need to reassess the structure of education, as it loses its ability to effectively provide for graduates, becoming dysfunctional in its goals to remove inequality and give a head start to people entering the work force. When looking at the education system, it is necessary to ask if the cost spent on educating people is being effectively used, considering the increasing number of educated poor. The gap between knowledge taught and life experience needs to be bridged, for education to effectively function. If, as it appears, schools are to socialise and reproduce effective and functioning members of society, the curricula has to be ad dressed. Bibliography Davis, Nanette J. (1999). Youth Crisis: Growing up in the High Risk Society. Praeger Publications, Westport Drucker, Peter F. (1973). The Educational Revolution, Social Change: Sources, Patterns, and Consequences (2nd ed) Amitai Etzioni and Eva Etzioni-Halevy (Eds). Basic Books Inc., New York. pp 232 238 Furlong, Andy, and Cartmel, Fred (1997). Young People and Social Change: Individualisation and Risk in Late Modernity. Open University Press, Buckingham Heinz, Walter R. (1987). The Transition from School to Work in Crisis: Coping with Threatening Unemployment, Journal of Adolescent Research (Vol 2). pp 127 141 Illich, Ivan (1973). The Breakdown of Schools: A Problem or a Symptom, Childhood and Socialisation Hans Peter Dreitzel (Ed). Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc., Canada. pp 311 336 Mehan, Hugh (1973). Assessing Childrens School Performance, Childhood and Socialisation Hans Peter Dreitzel (Ed). Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc., Canada. pp 240 264 Munro, Lyle (1994). Education, Society and Change: A Sociological Introduction to Contemporary Australia Brian Furze and Christine Stafford (Eds). Macmillan Education Australia Pty. Ltd., South Melbourne. pp 96 128 Pink Floyd (1978) The Wall, The Wall. Mushroom Records, California. Sargent, Margaret (1994). Education for equality? employment? emancipation?, The New Sociology for Australians. Longman Cheshire Pty. Ltd., Melbourne. pp 231 256 Webb, J., Schirato, T. and Danaher, G. (2002). Bourdieu and Secondary Schools, Understanding Bourdieu pp 105 106 (Reprinted in Sociological Reflections on Everyday Life: GSC 1201 Reader). Allen and Unwin, Sydney. pp 227 238

Issues for Women in Law Enforcement

Issues for Women in Law Enforcement Women were not considered for law enforcement employment unless it was in a typical job in the profession such as, special units, desk and office jobs and received lower pay. While women were often thought of as being weaker in this profession, they fought to be recognized by constantly trying to prove themselves to be better in a male dominated arena. Women have had their struggles as officers in the police system, they have made advances that wouldnt have been heard of in the early 1900s Overall, women have made great strides in non-traditional careers since the 1950s. With changes in society, cultures and legal mandates have cleared the way for women to become members of law enforcement as well as other male dominated jobs in America and other areas in the world. Compared to the last ten years, law enforcement has changed to meet the demands of a continuing diverse society. We have better trained, educated, and a more diverse law enforcement to help better deal with the issues in our communities. Women were not readily welcomed to this male dominated arena. The role woman played to make this happen has been challenging. Historically, women have always been part of the general workforce in American society, although usually in jobs that fulfilled traditional female employment roles, such as such as nurses, secretaries, schoolteachers, waitresses and flight attendants. Shusta,et al. (2005). In 1845, the first women to be hired by the New York City Police Department were called matrons. In 1888 Massachusetts and New York passed legislation require communities with a population over 20,000 to hire police matrons to care for female prisoners. The early history of women police consisted largely of social service, in which women had to meet higher standards for police employment; Women police officers were given duties that did not allow or require them to work street patrol. Assignments and roles were limited to positions such as juvenile delinquency and truancy prevention, child abuse, crimes against women, and custodial functions. Probably one of the most damaging acts to police officers was their denial to perform basic patrol duties. One of the main reasons for this was male officers also tend to be protective toward women. Being socially conditioned to protect women, they would insist that female officers remain in the police car during traffic stops or arrest. When women were finally given the right, as a Federal law mandating equal opportunity regardless of gender or race, to perform general police work and serve on patrol, they demonstrated their fitness for police work. In many smaller departments, women still hold less than ten percent of law enforcement positions. The National Center for Women and Policing reports that nearly 90 percent of all law enforcement agencies require a physical agility test for job applicants. Women face challenges when hiring practices include physical benchmarks based on male aptitude tests which require more upper body strength than women have, is a practice that has seen some changes in recent years. The survey reveals that departments that do not use the test have 45 percent more women on the force than those with the agility exams. Research has shown that women have encountered difficulties due to negative attitudes of men about being police officers. Most women indicated that when they were exposed to offensive behavior by male officers, they remained quiet for fear of negative male backlash. Sexual harassment is prevalent in most law enforcement agencies. Harassment on the basis of sex is a violation of Section 703 of Civil Rights  Act and is defined as unwelcome or unsolicited sexual advances, request for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Studies have found that 60 to 70 percent of women officers experienced sexual/gender harassment. Even though harassment exists, only 4 to 6 percent of these women ever reported the harassment. This lack of reporting can be directly attributed to the code of silence in law enforcement agencies and severe retaliation that occurs when women report misconduct. Bureau of Justice Assistance (2001). In a 1995 survey, of female officers in a medium sized department, 68 percent responded yes to the question, Have you ever been sexually harassed while on duty by a member of your agency Shusta,et al. (2005). Most of the women revealed that sexual harassment occurs at all levels of an organization and is not limited to male harassment of women. Women, too, can be offenders when they initiate sexual jokes or innuendoes and use of provocative language with men. This kind of behavior usually results in men countering in a similar fashion, which can contribute to and escalate the problem even more. Shusta,et al. (2005). Becoming a police officer might bring about a more radical change to a womans life than male officers. Even today police work is a predominantly male occupation and there persists the notion that assertiveness, aggressiveness, physical capability, and emotional toughness are male characteristics necessary to perform the job, but when female officers display these qualities they are often perceived as cold, emotionless, and uncaring. Lyman, M. D. (2005). According to male police officers, catching criminals is associated with bravery and danger, making it a mans job. It is believed by male officers that female officers cannot protect their male counterparts in confrontations where strength is required. Women who are accepted into the brotherhood of police or correctional officers have generally had to become one of the guys Shusta,et al. (2005). It is believed that if a woman has a hard walk, tends to be too hard, or too unemotional she may become criticized by her co-workers and supervisors. If she is too feminine or not sufficiently aggressive, men will not take her seriously and she will not do well in either police or correctional work. When women are confronted with a dilemma: they must be aggressive enough to do the job but feminine enough to be acceptable to male peers, and the must also be able to take different approaches to problems. Shusta,et al. (2005). In the corrections arena, male officers argued that women could not handle the violence and confrontations with inmates that occur in prisons. In a recent study it was found that women officers tended to respond to violent situations as aggressively as their male co-workers, and sometimes more aggressively. Women officers also seemed to have less trouble with the inmates than did their male counterparts; although they were harassed when they first appeared on the job. Clear and Cole (2003). Male inmates in minimum custody had surprisingly low opinions of women performing as correction officers, however, maximum custody inmates had high opinions of their competency and felt that such officers would be calm and cool in  problem situations. Female officers were thought to exert a softening influence on the environment making it more livable and less violent. Clear and Cole (2003). The status of women in correctional law enforcement with comparisons between the percentages of women sworn in as state, county and municipal officers indicate a huge difference. (http://www.womenandpolicing.org/PDF/2002_Status_Report.pdf 2010) Although there has been advantages and a broad leap for women in the law enforcement arena there has also been setbacks. Gender discrimination and double standards have always had women thinking that they had to perform and do better than male officers. They are often placed in jobs that are traditionally held by women police officers, such as domestic violence, child abuse, juveniles, and school programs. They are not usually considered for the more traditionally male jobs such as SWAT teams, gang units, narcotics, and homicide. Women usually face the difficult task of having the dual role of parent and career. Issues with child care, maternity leave, family responsibilities, flexible work schedules, job sharing, and mentoring and support groups. This can be especially hard for a single parent. If women had children when they entered law enforcement frequently find that they have a hard time balancing their commitments to family and work causing a significantly higher divorce rate than do male officers and have a lower group than the national female rate. Shusta,et al. (2005). More modernized police organizations try to show support by changing work schedules, being placed on light duty, Disability insurance and paid leave benefits. The proportion of women among sworn police personnel has steadily grown since the early 70s. In 1972 a survey of cities serving populations of 250,000 or more revealed that women comprised of only 2 percent of uniformed law enforcement personnel. In 1978, women made up 4.2 percent of sworn personnel in municipal departments serving populations over 50,000. By the end of 1986, the proportion of women had risen to 8.8 percent of all sworn officers in these agencies and by 1991, 9 percent of police were women. While women may face many difficulties, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and overall discrimination in the law enforcement field, the lack of women role models is a barrier for many women who are interested in policing as a career. It is essential that departments there are the few that is paving the way for women. In 2003, Annetta W. Nunn took the became Chief of Police in Birmingham Alabama, she sat in a chair once occupied by Eugene Bull Connor, who was an segregationist and a national symbol of the Souths flight against integration who jailed thousands of civil rights demonstrators during the 1960s when Chief Nunn was four years old in 1963. Schmalleger (2005). During her tenure, Chief Nunn was a 23 year veteran of the department heading a force of 838 men and women. In February 2005, Massachusetts had a celebration to its three top women in law enforcement. Boston police commissioner Kathleen OToole leads the nations oldest department. Suffolk county sheriff Andrea Cabral is in charge of 2,500 inmates and Massachusetts corrections commissioner Kathleen Dennehy oversees 18 prisons across the state. Each is the first woman to hold her position. Thompson (2006). In 2006, Cathy Lanier was appointed as the first ever female chief of Police Washington, D.C., by Mayor Adrian Fenty. She officially assumed the position on January 2, 2007. Chief Lanier has been with the Metropolitan Police Department beginning in 1990 with most of her career as a uniformed patrol officer, where she served as the Commander of the Fourth District, one of the largest and most diverse residential patrol districts in the city. She also served as the Commanding Officer of the Departments Major Narcotics Branch and Vehicular Homicide Units. Chief Laniers story is a testimony to overcoming strife and the hardships that life can bring. At the age of 15, she was an expectant mother, and dropped out of high school, but through determination and the willingness to succeed; she continued to pursue her education, despite having family support, she achieved and reached her goal to achieve academic and professional goals in a short matter of time. Premdas, P. (n.d.). Joanne Takasato was Honolulu Hawaiis first undercover female narcotics police officer during the 1980s who broke barriers had almost single handedly taken most of the Hawaiian island of Oahus drug dealers off the streets of Hawaii. Her 394 page book tells the story about how she was forced to sever all ties with family, and friends to create a new identity and lifestyle that would get her accepted into the drug community but to also remain undetected as an undercover officer and had almost lost everything she had known to include her family as well as her sanity in the process. This is some of the examples of some of the police women who have paved the way and proved themselves as mentors for women who would want to pursue criminal justice as a profession. It is essential that departments that want to attract women candidates have women working in a variety of different positions to highlight the many opportunities that a department has to offer and the equity in the promotional process and assignment to special units. Female officers working as detectives, tactical team officers, street supervisors and high ranking administrators need to exist on a department to maintain some sort of written policy on and procedure on recruitment. Law enforcement today is facing a crisis a loss of public confidence and trust in the wake of police scandals that are unparalleled in recent history. Highly publicized incidents of excessive force and police corruption have generated shocking headlines Los Angeles, New York, Texas, Louisiana, New Jersey, Washington, Seattle, and Chicago. Police brutality and corruption lawsuits are costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year and the number and costs are only increasing. With the payouts increasing, taxpayers will demand that officers and their organizations be held accountable for their actions. Lonsway et al. (2003) Research conducted both in the United States and internationally clearly demonstrates that women rely on a style of policing that uses less physical force are better at defusing and de escalating potentially violent confrontations with citizens and are less likely to become involved in situations with use of excessive force. Lonsway et al. (2003) As an additional benefit, female officers often respond more effectively to  incidents of violence against women, a crime that represents approximately half of all violent crimes calls to police. Lonsway et al. (2003) The National Center for Women Policing states that there are six advantages for law enforcement agencies that hire and retain more women: 1. Female officers are proven to be as competent as their male counterparts In one study, female police executives were found to be more flexible, emotionally independent, self-assertive, self confident, proactive, and creative than their male counterpart. 2. Female officers were less likely to use excessive force; One study found that male officers were the target of 50% more insults by citizens and almost three times as many threats or attempts at injury in comparison with their female peers. 3. More female officers will improve law enforcements response to violence against women. A 1985 study found that female officers demonstrated more concern, patience and understanding than their male colleagues when responding to calls of domestic violence. Battered women who had contact with a female officer rated the police response as more helpful than those without such contact. They also rated the performance of female officers more favorably. 4. Increasing the presence of female officers reduces problems of sex discrimination and harassment within a law enforcement agency. One of the most prominent impacts is in promotional opportunities. Male and female officers report the same desire for promotion, yet these opportunities are even seen as less available to women in comparison with their male counterparts. This is likely to be part of the explanation for the higher turnover rate that is consistently seen among female officers, at the academy and on the job. 5. The presence of women can bring about beneficial changes in policy for all officers. The Police Foundation noted in 1974 that the introduction of women will create in incentive to management practices which are less acceptable now that they must be applied to men and women alike. This may result in the development of improved selection criteria, performance standards, and supervision for all officers. 6. Female officers implement community-oriented policing One study found that instructors indicated that female officers have an advantage over their male peers in several areas, including empathy toward others and interacting in a way that is not designed to prove something. Lonsway et al. (2003) In conclusion, throughout history women have made a way for themselves by showing that they can compete with men if they when given the opportunity. As police officers, they have come from being matrons and doing police work that was considered only for women, to being accepted as officers on the force, to becoming Chiefs of Police. Although there are not as many in the force as there should be, police women and chiefs are they are constantly paving the way for the respect and acceptance that is rightfully deserved. Police women should not have to prove themselves to their male counterparts to become a member of a team. Many women have proven to their male counterparts that they can do police work just well as a male, if not better. Police women are needed to close the gender gap and bring a different perspective to policing to make any police force not just unique, but equal.

Research in Neuroprotection

Research in Neuroprotection A human brain possesses 100 billion nerve cells or neurons. But only about 400,000 of these nerve cells are dopamine nerve cells that can produce dopamine in the substantia nigra. We depend on dopamine neurons for numerous activities such as movement, motivation, reward, punishment, cognition, mood, memory, attention, and sleep. How can so few dopamine neurons do so many things? The answer is dopamine neurons can sprout massive numbers of branches along its axon. This enables the neuron to link up with many other brain cells and modulate numerous biochemical pathways. To support their massive network activity, dopamine neurons depend on their subcellular power stations called mitochondria for the energy. This energy dependence makes dopamine nerve cells vulnerable. Every year, an average of 2,400 dopamine neurons die because of the failure in their power stations. So, half of a healthy adults lifetime supply of dopamine cells is dead by age 80. If 70 percent of dopamine cells in the substantia nigra die, symptoms of PD will kick in. A person will hit this threshold at age 120 just by aging. Some people will hit this threshold earlier, like age 60, due to other sources of cell death. Humans are the only animals to get PD because the life spans of other animals are too short to develop the disease. Because dopamine neurons get sick for many reasons, scientists have come up with several neuroprotective strategies. One idea proposed in 1985 by Walther Birkmayer was to protect dopamine nerve cells from the toxic effect of dopamine itself. Dopamine nerve cells releases dopamine as a neurotransmitter to signal other nerve cells. Once the message is received, the cell needs to clear any leftover dopamine so it doesnt interfere with future transmissions. Some of the dopamine is reabsorbed by the body. The rest is degraded by an enzyme known as monoamine oxidase, or MAO, releasing free radicals that can destroy brain cells, including the dopamine nerve cells in the substantia nigra. Birkmayer thought treating PD patients with the so-called MAO inhibitors early in their PD might slow the progress of the disease. In 1985, Birkmayer conducted a study comparing a control group of 377 PD patients (on L-dopa alone) with 594 patients who received L-dopa plus an MAO inhibitor called slegiline over a nine year period. He found the slegiline group lived on average 15 months longer than the control group. Birkmayer interpreted these findings as evidence that selegiline was preventing the death of substantia nigra neurons in PD. But critics believed the selegiline effect was just symptomatic. Researchers had conducted a series of large, expensive placebo-controlled studies to test the efficacy of selefiline and other MAO inhibitors over the last two decades. The results failed to provide definitive evidence that MAO inhibitors can protect neurons and slow the progression of PD. Meanwhile, scientists have proposed other potential neuroprotection therapies designed to block various disease pathways. Some seek molecule targets that might protect or assist the mitochondria. Others attempt to block calcium channels on the assumption it would help protect the dopamine nerve cells. But these attempts to protect dopamine neurons have been overshadowed by an approach focusing on nourishing dopamine neurons that are damaged but not yet dead. *** In 1991, two scientists at the biotech company Synergen isolated a brain protein that appeared to nourish and protect dopamine neurons. They called this protein glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor, or GDNF. They produced a synthetic form of GDNF and tested it on dopamine neurons in test tubes and in monkeys rendered parkinsonian with MPTP. In the test tubes, GDNF turned sick neurons into healthy ones. In the monkeys, the GDNF reduced their PD symptoms. Amgen was so impressed with the experiment they bought the company. Between 1996 and 1999, Amgen carried out trials on 38 humans. The researchers didnt attempt to reach the striatum, because the available brain catheter was too large. Instead, they delivered the GDNF to the lateral ventricle, hoping the cerebrospinal fluid would carry the GDNF to the striatum. The trial was a failure. The problem, according to the British neurosurgeon Steven Gill, was that the GDNF had not made it to the striatum because of the size and the design of the catheter. Gill designed his own mini-catheter and mounted an in-house open-label study at the Frenchay Hospital involving five moderately advanced PD patients. After one year, Gill reported that all five patients showed dramatic improvements, and there were no serious side effects. This rekindled Amgens interest in GDNF, and the company carried out new animal studies and mounted a blind-placebo-controlled trial. By 2004, Amgens second trial had failed. The company announced that it was halting all clinical use of GDNF around the world. To this day, Gill believes that his approach worked. With funding from the Cure Parkinsons Trust, Gill is doing a larger study on GDNF. This trial will allow Gill to determine if direct GDNF infusion has potential as a disease-reversing therapy in PD. *** Some neuroscientists argued that a better way to deliver GDNF was to use gene therapy. With gene therapy, you start with a simple common cold virus and replace its gene with the gene of your choice. Here, you can use the gene that encodes the growth factor GDNF or a related cousin called neurturin (NTN). You need to introduce multiple copies of the virus into the patients putamen to infect the neurons with the desired gene. Unlike infusion, gene therapy is a one-shot process. Once the genes are inserted and turned on, they should keep working indefinitely. In 2000, Rush University scientist Jeff Kordower published a paper in Science showing a proof of concept in monkeys. He founded a biotech company in San Diego called Ceregene Inc to undertake a phase I safety trial in humans. Kordower used the NTN gene for the trials because Amgen held the patient on the GDNF gene. After a year, the patients UPDRS motor scores had improved by 40 percent with no serious side effects. In 2008, the results of the phase II double-blind placebo-controlled trial showed no difference between the gene therapy and the placebo groups. Ceregene considered shutting down the NTN gene therapy program. But then two trial patients died of unrelated causes, providing an opportunity to examine their brains. The autopsies revealed that the infusion had fallen short of expectations. Only 15 percent of the putamen expressed the NTN gene; Ceregene researchers had been hoping for 50 percent. With $2.5 million grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Ceregene launched another trial involving 51 patients, infusing four times the viral dose and delivering the NTN to the substantia nigras and putamen. April 2013, after a 15- to 24-month follow-up, the results showed no difference between the treatment group and the placebo group. Key Takeaways A person has a lifetime supply of 400,000 dopamine nerve cells, of which an average of 2,400 die every year. In 1985, Walther Birkmayer attempted to protect dopamine neurons using MAI inhibitors. In the late 1990s, Amgen and Steven Gill attempted to nourish damaged dopamine neurons using the growth factor GDNF. In 2000, Jeff Kordower attempted to use gene therapy to deliver growth factor NTN to nourish damaged dopamine neurons.

Dreams :: essays research papers

Dreams Since the dawn of mankind, man has been searching for the answer to just one question: Why do we dream? I believe strongly that the reason is not clear- cut and as easy to answer as it might seem. I think that dreams range in meaning and importance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When someone has a dream, there are many possible types of dreams they could have. First of these possibilities is for a dream that involves absolutely no meaning whatsoever. The dream is meaningless and involves a chain or series of events that are unrelated to one another and may be of people or places familiar or not. These dreams are most likely created because of the flash and mixture of chemicals that occurs during sleep. Many times these dreams are actually so bazaar that they have no meaning even to the dreamer. So these dreams are mostly just passed over and ignored.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second type of dream is one in which the dreamer can comprehend everything that is going on but things seem to have no meaning as before. But in some of these dreams, there are symbols that come into play. When you look at these dreams sometimes they can represent real life events. Often these are predictions about what could happen in the future or are an interpretation of things that have passed. These, like almost all other dreams have significance as a result of bodily rejuvenation processes. This type of dream has a significance I believe in helping the person have the feeling of a good sleep, where things have, if not in some bazaar way, been resolved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third type of dream is one which makes great and perfect sense to the dreamer but doesn't have any real meaning. An example of this is dreaming that you are flying. Although you know what you are doing, and are comprehending this, it really doesn't have meaning in your life. Dreams like this can be quite mentally satisfying to the dreamer. Many times a dream like this can be almost a form of entertainment to the dreamer, especially if the dreamer realizes they are dreaming. When this happens sometimes the dreamer will take control of their dream and can do things they would not normally be able to do in real life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another type of dream is one where the dream has full meaning and the dreamer can fully realize everything that happens. Dreams like this can show exactly the way things could happen in the future, or ways of dealing with problems that will occur or have occurred.

Internal And External Beauty Essay -- essays research papers

Internal and external beauty are both very important in our society. To be beautiful internally means to have a kind heart and be understanding. To be beautiful externally means to be beautiful on the outside such as having a nice figure and an attractive smile. Internal beauty is important because beyond looks, it is your personality that is noticed. External beauty is important because it is your attractive figure that brings notice to someone’s great personality or external beauty. To me, internal and external beauty are represented and influenced by family members, friends, and society as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Family members are important how we perceive internal and external beauty. Depending on which family member, there is an absolute distinction made between external beauty and internal beauty. Parents are most likely to look at the internal beauty rather than the external, while siblings look at the external part more closely. This, however, is not always true. My parents seem to favor their ancestry, as compared to others. Since I am of Polish descent, my parents believe that external beauty is irrelevant as that person is Polish. This changes when the person is not Polish. If the person is not Polish, then his or her external beauty for some strange reason becomes very important.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My brother on the other hand seems to be the most reasonable. Sure, he looks if the girl that I am dating is pretty, meaning if she has ext...

Heart Transplant Essay

In this paper about heart transplants I will be talking about the operation, and what needs to happen before surgery. Then I will be telling you about the beginning of all transplants and who accomplished it. Then I will talk about what a heart transplant actually is. After that I will tell you what the purpose of a heart transplant is and why we use this procedure. I will talk about the safety precautions and a lot of other dangers, or things that can go wrong in or after heart surgery. Then I will tell you the problems with getting a heart transplant. After this I will describe what transplant rejection is and why it is so dangerous. The next thing I will be talking about is what medications you can take to help transplant with lower possibility of rejection. The last thing I will inform you on is who needs a transplant and why people would need to have a heart transplant. The operation The first part begins with finding a donor who is willing to give their heart for someone in need. The donors are usually involved in a horrible accident where they have become permanently brain dead or paralyzed. This is usually a result from a severe head or neck trauma. After the donor is brought in to the hospital the nurses go to work by trying to keep all of the organs functioning properly with medications and a respirator. One of the hardest parts involved with the procedure is keeping the organs alive after they are removed from the person’s body. Once this happens the surgeons and doctors go to work on keeping the organs alive until they reach the receiver by putting the heart on ice it should last six hours so they are typically flown by air plane or helicopter to get there before the organs die. Step number two This starts with removing the recipient’s damaged or diseased heart. Removing the damaged heart may be very easy or very difficult. This depends on whether the recipient has had previous heart surgery this is very common. If there has been previous surgery, cutting through the scar tissue may cause trouble and take longer for the removal of the heart to take place. Step number three This is the easiest step of the operations is the implanting of the heart to the recipitants body. This consists of five rows of stitches there job is wrong to connect the large blood vessels entering and or leaving the heart. If nothing goes wrong in, or after the surgery the patients are allowed to return in around one week. The Beginning of Heart Transplants The idea of transplanting an organ was first introduced in mythological tales in ancient times. It evolved into more than tales after they started testing transplants in animals. The first successful transplant in animals was undocumented but scientists believe it dates from the B. C era. Who was the first to complete this procedure successfully? In 1967, a human heart from one person was transplanted into the body of another by a South African surgeon named Dr. Christian Barnard in Cape Town. In early December, Dr. Barnard’s surgical team removed the heart of a 25-year-old woman who had died following an auto accident and placed it in the chest of Louis Washkansky, a 55-year-old man dying of heart damage. The patient survived for 18 days. Dr. Barnard had learned much of his technique from studying with the Stanford group. This first clinical heart transplantation experience stimulated world-wide notoriety, and many surgeons quickly co-opted the procedure. However, because many patients were dying soon after, the number of heart transplants dropped from 100 in 1968, to just 18 in 1970. It was recognized that the major problem was the body’s natural tendency to reject the new tissues. Over the next 20 years, important advances in discovering different types of tissues t and drugs to help accept the transplants allowed more transplant operations to take place and increased patients’ survival rates. The most notable development in this area was Jean Borel’s discovery in the mid-1970s of cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant drug derived from soil fungus. On 6 Jan 1968, the first heart transplant in the U. S. was performed on Mike  Kaspersky who was 54. He only survived for 15 days afterwards, But this was the start of heart transplantations for Americans. Definition Heart transplantation, also called cardiac transplantation, is the replacement of a patient’s diseased or injured heart with a healthy donor heart. Purpose Heart transplantation is performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or some other life-threatening heart disease. Before a doctor recommends heart transplantation for a patient, all other possible treatments for his or her disease must have been tried. The purpose of heart transplantation is to extend and improve the life of a person who would otherwise die from heart failure. Most patients who receive a new heart were so sick before transplantation that they could not live a normal life. Replacing a patient’s diseased heart with a healthy, functioning donor heart often allows the recipient to return to normal daily activities. Precautions Because healthy donor hearts are in short supply, strict rules dictate who should or should not get a heart transplant. Patients who have conditions that might cause the new heart to fail should not have a heart transplant. Similarly, patients who may be too sick to survive the surgery or the side effects of the drugs they must take to keep their new heart working would not be good transplant candidates. Patients who have any of the following conditions may not be eligible for heart transplantation: †¢ Chronic lung disease with loss of more than 40% of lung function. †¢Active infection. †¢Pulmonary hypertension. †¢Chronic lung disease with loss of more than 40% of lung function. Untreatable liver or kidney disease. †¢Diabetes that has caused serious damage to vital organs. †¢Disease of the blood vessels in the brain, such as a stroke. †¢Serious disease of the arteries. †¢Mental illness or any condition that would make a patient unable to take the necessary medicines on schedule. †¢Continuing alcohol or drug abuse. Problems with getting a heart transplant Pa tients with end-stage heart disease that threatens their life even after medical treatment may be considered to receive a heart transplant. Potential candidates must have a complete medical examination before they can be put on the transplant waiting list. Many types of tests are done, including blood tests, x rays, and tests of heart, lung, and other organ function. The results of these tests tell the doctors how serious the heart disease is and whether or not a patient is healthy enough to survive the transplant surgery. The most common and dangerous complications of heart transplant surgery are organ rejection and infection. Immunosuppressive drugs are given to prevent rejection of the heart. Most heart transplant patients have a rejection episode soon after transplantation, but doctors usually diagnose it immediately when it will respond readily to treatment. Rejection is treated with combinations of immunosuppressive drugs given in higher doses than maintenance immunosuppression. Most of these rejection situations are successfully treated. Infection can result from the surgery, but most infections are a side effect of the immunosuppressive drugs. Immunosuppressive drugs keep the immune system from attacking the foreign cells of the donor heart. However, the suppressed immune cells are also unable to adequately fight bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. Microorganisms that normally do not affect persons with healthy immune systems can cause dangerous infections in transplant patients taking immunosuppressive drugs. Patients are given antibiotics during surgery to prevent specific bacterial infection. Patients may also be given an antiviral drug to prevent virus infections. Patients who develop infections may need to have their immunosuppressive drugs changed or the dose adjusted.

Research Is Like Cooking Essay

Research is like cooking isn’t anyone can learn the skills needed for great research, for many college students, cooking is like research in another way, instead of cooking great homemade meals who is sometimes take shortcuts and sell for what is quick easy in familiar, sort of like when we use our old familiar tools like google and Wikipedia for our research. Why do we take shortcuts and settle for males of ramen noodles and pop tarts, there a lot of reasons, sometime were just too busy don’t have enough time to cook a formal meal, sometimes we leave things to the last minute anymore stuck making a meal with whatever we have on hand, with research we found that students advise others students to start early, so that they are stuck writing a research paper with only the resources they can find the night before the papers did many of the same guidelines that apply to cooking apply to doing research, in cooking as in research you have to plan ahead and know what you want to make, good cooking and good research both depend on quality ingredients, to write a great research proposal you will need to find high quality resources and just like you can create a full meal out of only a few ingredients you need a variety of resources to craft a convincing research proposal. Finally just like the best restaurants in the city, such as Altavista or/and Altagracia restaurant make meals that they themselves would want to eat, you will find you do your best research when you pick a topic that you care about, a big part of planning ahead is knowing what you are making, you have to have a recipe, the same is true for writing a research proposal, you have to have a topic in a general plan for what kind of paper you want to write an outline of your research argument can serve as your recipe and it will have the added value of telling you what kinds of resources and ingredients you need to write your proposal. The next step to follow is to go shopping, just like you turn your recipe into a shopping list, you need to turn your research outline into a list of the type of resources you need, by creating a shopping list you are taking control of the kinds of resources that you will use in your research proposal; instead of just settling for what you can find a way you have on hand and remember that the researcher doing is likely to require more than just books, you may need newspaper journal articles or you may want to consult some items in your library. One very important step in both cooking and research is the taste testing stage. Great chefs do lots of taste testing so that they can find just the writing the ingredients, but in the older making you need to do the same for your research, you should plan in looking at plenty of books articles in abstracts before you settle on the resources that you actually need. Now you have your recipe and all the ingredients you need, it is time to create your meal. Remember that a great recipe calls for the chef of mix the ingredients together, just right so that they work together to create the final product, the same is true with the research proposal, you can’t just throw your resources into your paper, you need to suit the size them and relate them to one another and you need you to put your own garnish on your meal, put your own voice in your research proposal, so that is not just a summary of all your sources, if you remember the research is like cooking and then a requires a planning a recipe and great ingredients, you will produce research that is like the equivalent that you do a great meal.

Smu Mb0044 Sem 2 2013 Solved

Q1. State the important considerations for locating an automobile plant. A1. Automobile plant automated flaw lines, automatedassembly lines, flexible manufacturing systems, global transition rapid prototyping. Building manufacturing flexibility things are necessity. About the automated flow lines we can say it is a machine which is linked by a transfer system which moves the parts by using handling machines which are also automated, we have an automated flow line. Human intervention ma is needed to verify that the operations ate taking place according to standards.When these cab be achieved with the help of automation and the processes are conducted with self regulation, we will have automated flow lines established. In fixed automation or hard automation, where one component is manufactured using services operations and machines it is possible to achieve this condition. We assume that product life cycles are sufficiently stable to interest heavily on the automate flow lines to achie ve reduces cast per unit. Product layouts ate designed so that the assembly tasks are performed in the sequence they are designed at each station continuously.The finished item came out at the end of the line. In automated assembly lines the moving pallets move the materials from station to station and moving arms pick up parts, place them at specified place and system them by perusing, riveting, & crewing or even welding. Sensors will keep track of there activities and move the assembles to the next stage. The machines are arranged in a sequence to perform operations according to the technical requirements. The tools are loaded, movements are effected, speeds controlled automatically without the need for worker’s involvement.The flexibility leads to better utilization of the equipments. It reduces thenumbers of systems and rids in reduction of investment as well as a space needed to install them. One of the major cancers of modern manufacturing systems is to be able to respo nd to market Demands which have uncertainties. Prototyping is a process by which a new product is developed in small number so as to determine the suitability of the materials, study the various methods of manufactured, type of machinery required and develop techniques to over come problems that my be encountered when full scale manufacture is undertaken.Prototypes do meet the specification of the component that enters a product and performance can be measured on these. It helps in con be reforming the design and any shortcomings can be rectified at low cost. Flexibility has three dimensions in the manufacturing field. They are variety, volume and time. There demands will have to be satisfied. In that sense they become constraints which restrict the maximization of productivity. Every business will have to meet the market demands of its various products in variety volumes of different time.Flexibility is also needed to be able to develop new products or make improvements in the prod ucts fast enough to cater to shifting marker needs. Manufacturing systems have flexibility built into them to enable organization meet global demand. You have understood how the latest trends in manufacturing when implemented help firms to stay a head in business Q2. Explain essentials of Project Management Philosophy A1. Project Management Philosophy A project never goes smooth. It brings unexpected problems during the execution of any phase that marks a difference between the planned activities and actual executions.The deviations enforce re-planning of further activities so that the extra budget and time spent on previous activities can be compensated by revised project plan. A loser is a loser only when he realizes it and gives up. As long as one thinks he has the capability of changing lose situation to a winning situation, he is never a loser. Project management philosophy emphasizes on sharing the problems with all stakeholders and team members so that different brains come o ut with different responses and any of the response(s) can become the best solution(s).Challenge sharing definitely brings out a solution from somebody else having a different set of experience and exposure who has already been into such a situation and has come out of it already. Sharing problems and challenges saves one from re-inventing the wheel. Documentation sharing and a knowledge sharing platform make a strong basis for keeping all on the same wheel. Managers mostly focus on driving out results from the teams rather than enabling and empowering them to become self driven. Energy flows automatically and uncontrolled. Results start coming out without reaching the deadlines and prior to demand.It depends on managers that by empowerment they start preparing or building leaders within the teams. A combination of leaders, if synergized properly, propels a resultant progress of the project. Managers become critical key in engaging people in the project. A high level of engagement i s lodged in the team members via project manager. As long as the project manager is able to drive teams, it makes them engaged to the project. On the other hand if project manager inculcates and inspires team members to self-engage themselves, the team members do not depend to be driven by project manager.Q3. Several different strategies have been employed to assist in aggregate planning. Explain these in brief A3. Planning is a primary management responsibility. Aggregate planning is concerned with organizing the quantity and timing of production over a medium period of time up to eight to ten months with undetermined demand. Specifically aggregate planning means combining all of an organization`s resources into one aggregate production schedule for a predetermined intermediate time period. The objective of aggregate planning is to maximize esources while minimizing cost over the planning period. The aggregate production plan is midway between short-range planning and long-range pl anning. Aggregate planning includes the following factors: 1. Work force size and composition 2. Demand forecasts and orders 3. Raw material planning 4. Plant capacity management 5. Utilizing outside subcontractors 6. Inventory management Aggregate planning is the link between short-term scheduling and long-term capacity planning. What are aggregate planning strategies? There are three types of aggregate planning strategies: Pure Strategy.In this strategy, only one production or supply factor is changed. Mixed Strategy. This strategy simultaneously alters two or more production or supply factors or some combination. Level Scheduling. This strategy has been adopted by the Japanese and it embodies maintaining constant monthly production schedules. What aggregate planning strategies influence demand? Aggregate planning can influence demand in the following ways: 1. Pricing strategies. Pricing can be used to increase or reduce demand. All things being equal, increasing prices reduces de mand while lowering prices will increase demand. . Advertising and promotion strategies. Advertising and promotion are pure demand management strategies in that they can increase demand by making a product or service better known as well as positioning it for a particular market segment. 3. Delayed deliveries or reserving orders. Managing future delivery schedules is a strategy for managing orders when demand exceeds capacity. The net effect of delayed deliveries, or back ordering, and reservations is to shift demand to a later period of time, often to a more slack period, which provides a smoothing effect for overall demand.However, the negative is that a percentage of orders will be lost as consumers are unwilling or unable to wait the additional amount of time. 4. Diversifying the product mix. Product mix diversification is a method used to offset demand seasonality. For example, a lawn mower manufacturing company may diversify into snow removal equipment to offset the seasonalit y of the lawn mower industry. What aggregate planning strategies influence supply? Aggregate planning is also used to manage supply considerations by using the following strategies: 1.Subcontracting (outsourcing). Subcontracting is a method of increasing capacity without incurring large capital investment charges. It can turn the competitive advantage of other corporations to the contracting organization`s advantage. However, subcontracting can be costly, and also reveals part of the business to potential competitors. 2. Overtime and idle time. A direct short-term strategy for managing production capacity is to either increase or decrease the number of the work force. This strategy has the advantage of utilizing the currently existing work force.However, overtime is expensive and can produce job burnout if relied upon too extensively. On the other hand, enforcing idle time on the work force can result in resistance as well as a drop in morale. 3. Hiring and laying off employees. Hir ing and laying off employees is a medium- to long-term strategy for increasing or decreasing capacity. Hiring employees usually involves the cost of training while laying off employees can incur severance charges. Laying off employees can also cause labor difficulties with unions and reduce morale 4. Stockpiling inventory.Accumulating inventory is a strategy for smoothing variances which may occur between demand and supply. 5. Part-time employees. Certain industries have seasonal requirements for lower skilled employees. Aggregate planning can be used to manage these seasonal requirements. What is the charting method of aggregate planning? Charting is a highly utilized trial-and-error aggregate planning method. It is relatively simple to use and is easily understood. Essentially, the charting approach uses a few variables in forecasting demand, applying current production capacity.While the charting method does not assure an accurate prediction, it is simple to implement requiring o nly minimal calculations. But trial and error method does not provide an optimal solution. The charting method requires five steps to implement: 1. Calculate each period`s demand. 2. Calculate each period`s production capacity for regular time, overtime, and subcontracting. 3. Determine all labor costs including costs for hiring and layoffs as well as the cost of holding inventory. 4. Evaluate organizational employee and stock policies. . Create optional policies and evaluate their costs. EXAMPLE 1. 30 A Florida men`s suit manufacturer has created expected demand forecasts for the period June-January, as shown in Table 1. 2. The daily demand is calculated by dividing the total expected demand by the number of monthly working days: AVERAGE DEMAND = TOTAL EXPECTED DEMAND / NUMBER OF PRODUCTION DAYS FIGURE 1. 6 MONTHLY AND AVERAGE MEN`S SUIT DEMAND The graph in Figure 1. 6 illustrates that there is a substantial variance between the monthly and average men`s suit demand.What are the co sts of aggregate planning? Aggregate planning is a systems methodology having major organizational impacts. Every strategy has associated costs and benefits. Increasing hiring means increasing training costs and incurring associated employment benefit costs. Increasing inventory increases carrying costs consisting of capital and storage costs, deterioration, and obsolescence. Using part-time employees involves the costs and risks of using improperly trained and inexperienced personnel as well as creating possible union conflicts.Using subcontractors has the cost of exposing an organization to potential competitors. EXAMPLE 1. 31 Using the data in example 1. 30, it is possible to develop cost estimates for the men`s suit manufacturer. Basically, the manufacturer has three choices: 1. The manufacturer can meet expected monthly production fluctuations by varying the work force size, hiring and laying off employees as needed. In this scenario, an assumption is made that the men`s suit m anufacturer has a constant staff of 55 employees. 2.Another alternative is to maintain a constant work force of 51 employees and subcontract for additional expected demand. 3. A third alternative is to maintain a work force of 69 employees and store suits during the slack demand months. Organizational Costs THREE PLAN SUMMARY COSTS In this example, the best production plan is plan 3 which maintains a work force of 69 employees and stores men`s suit inventory during low demand months. Q 5: Explain the basic competitive priorities considered while formulating operationsstrategy by a firm? Answer:Operations strategy reflects the long-term goals of an organisation in its corporate strategy,a clear understanding of the operating advantages and a good cross functional coordinationbetween functional areas of marketing, production, finance, and human resources departments arerequired. Operating advantages depend on its processes and competitive priorities considered whileestablishing the ca pabilities. The basic competitive priorities are: Cost, Quality, Time, Flexibility Cost: Cost is one of the primary considerations while marketing a product or a service.Being a lowcost producer, the product accepted by the customer offers sustainability and can outperformcompetitors. Lower price and better quality of a product will ensure higher demand and higherprofitability. To estimate the actual cost of production, the operations manager must addresslabour, materials, scrap generations, overhead and other initial costof design and development, etc. Quality: Quality is defined by the customer. The operations manager looks into two importantaspects namely high performance design and consistent quality.High performance design includessuperior features, greater durability, convenience to services, etc where as consistent designmeasures the frequency with which the product meets its design specifications and performs best. Time: Faster delivery time, on-time delivery, and speedy dev elopment cycle are the time factors thatoperations strategy looks into. Faster delivery time is the time lapsed between the customer orderand the delivery. On-time delivery is the frequency with which the product is delivered on time.Thedevelopment speed is the elapsed time from the idea generation up to the final design andproduction of products. Flexibility: Flexibility is the ability to provide a wide variety of products, and it measures how fast themanufacturer can convert its process line used for one product to produce another product afterWhile customisation is the ability of the firm to satisfy the specific needs of each its customer, thevolume flexibility is the ability to accelerate or decelerate the rate of production to handle thefluctuations in demand. For example, the production of fertilisers of different specifications andapplications.