Budget Deficit Essay

Complete all questions listed below. Clearly label your answers 1. What impact would a change that shifts an economy’s production possibilities curve outward have on the long run aggregate supply curve? It will cause it to shift right. How have improvements in computer technology affected production possibilities and the long run aggregate supply curve? They have cut the cost of doing business and expanded our production capacity. These types of improvements enhance productivity and shift the LRAS and SRAS curves to the right. 2. Construct the AD, SRAS, and LRAS curves for an economy experiencing: (a) full employment, (b) an economic boom, and (c) a recession. (Graphs can be hand drawn or done by computer; label all curves and axes clearly.) 3. What is a budget deficit? A situation in which total government spending exceeds total government revenue during a specific time period, usually one year. How are budget deficits financed? Selling of bonds, borrowing from abroad, raising taxes, and selling of assets. Why do Keynesians believe that budget deficits will increase aggregate demand? Because they believe that both fiscal and monetary policies affect aggregate demand. 4. When output and employment slowed in early 2008, the Bush Administration and the Democratic Congress passed a legislation sending households a check for $600 for each adult (and $300 per child). These checks were financed by borrowing. Would a Keynesian favor this action? Yes, because Keynesian are in favor of government influence on the economy.

The Evolution of Islam Judaism and Christianity

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the most recognized and popular religions around the globe. The three religions are in some ways very similar while at the same time very diverse. Collectively all three religions are monotheistic which means the belief in one God, creator of the Universe who hears the prayers of his faithfuls. The Jews believe that God made a pact with their ancestors, the Hebrews, saying that they are the chosen ones. They await the return if the Messiah. The Christians believe that God in the form of Jesus came to earth and established the Christian church amongst his apostles.The Muslims accept both the Jewish Messiah and the Christian Jesus, but in turn believe that their profit Muhammad was the last and greatest sent by God. The religions are all of book, and have written records of God's words. The Jews have the Hebrew Bible, the Christians have the New and Old Testament of the Christian bible which includes the Hebrew Bible, and the Muslims have the Qur'an . One of the first major Jewish Architectural creations known is the First Temple in Jerusalem.This temple was built to house the Ark of the Covenant by King Soloman back in the 10th century, it later became a place for the Jewish to worship. However it was destroyed by the Babylonians, the people where exiled and the Ark stolen. There was another grand temple built after the land was returned to the Jews by Cyrus the Great of Persia, but again destroyed by the Romans. The temple was said to be made of imported wood and was supported by two large bronze pillars. A big part of Judaism is the educations of the religion, they gather in buildings called Synagogues for this very purpose.These buildings were used by Jewish men women and children to study the Torah, and was also used for social gatherings. Before buildings were specifically built for this purpose, they would meet in private homes or anywhere Torah scrolls were kept and read. Then the construction of house like buildings be gan. One of the first has an assembly hall, a courtyard, and a separate room for women, soon after residential rooms were added. The two architectural features that distinguished the assembly hall from the other rooms were long benches lining the walls, and a place for the scrolls.Jews also built meeting places like that of the Roman basilica. This included an aisle on both sides and separated from this an apse adorned with Torah scrolls and facing east. Once Christianity was recognized by the government it's number grew rapidly, more specifically amongst the wealthy. Early Christian art is described as style and imagery of the Jewish and Roman visual traditions, this is called syncreatism. Artist take images from past traditions and give them their own purpose. The most famous is what is known as the Good Shepard.Before it was a depiction of Orpheus amongst his animals, or sometimes considered a personification of philanthropy. However in the time of early Christianity, this same i mage became a depiction of the Good Shepard of the book of Psalms. Most early Christian art is very rare and depicted either God, his son Jesus, or the Holy Ghost. Some of the few remains of art work are in catacombs which is where the dead were buried. The most famous of these are found where two Christians who were martyred for their faith are buried.The art work of their cubicula, or small room created for the deceased, is a painting of the Good Shepard. Under to painting are the words: â€Å"I am a good Shepard. A good Shepard lays down his life for the sheep. †, and around the painting are smaller paintings depicting the story of Jonah and the sea monster. Early Muslim architects were influenced by the Romans and the Byzantines. They began to build large numbers of mosques, palaces, and shrines. Of these buildings one of the most famous and recognized is the Dome of the Rock, or Haram Al-Sharif.The building site is said to be the place where Muhammad rose to the Heavens to be with God. This site also has important value to both Jews and Christians. For the Jews this is the site where both First and Second Jewish temples were built and destroyed. For the Christians this site marks the creation of Adam and where the patriarch Abraham was sent to kill his son by God. Because both Jewish and Christian faiths have history here, the building of the Dome of the Rock is the first architectural statement by Islam that it completes the other religions.

Great Religions and Philosophies.: Greek Philosophy Essay

In the 6th century B. C, there began a dualism in Greek Philosophy. The development of Greek Philosophy became a compromise between Greek monistic and oriental influences, in other words, a combination of intellectualism and mysticism. Thus began the pre-Socratic philosophy. The interests of pre- Socratic philosophers were centered on the world that surrounds man, the Cosmos. This was during the time of great internal and external disturbances in the Greek society, as it was right after the Peloponnesian war. The pre-Socratic era of Greek Philosophy came to an end when the Sophists turned their attention to man himself, delving into the moral and mental nature of man and dealing with the practical problems of life. The ancient Greeks mirrored their nature, beliefs, morals and customs in Greek Philosophy. Through understanding Greek Philosophy, we can see how the ancient Greeks regard the world around them. Greek Philosophy filled the void in the spiritual and moral life of the ancient Greeks, where in the same place other cultures had their belief in a religion. Wisdom, in the Greek sense, included not only a theoretical explanation of the world around them, but also provided a practical guide to life. From Homer to Hesiod, we see the reflections of the ancient Greeks and their use of Gods to fulfill their spiritual, social and psychological needs. A lot of temples were erected for Greek deities, and the ancient Greeks worshipped Gods to avert calamities, to secure the success of a certain harvest, or as thanksgiving for success in battle or deliverance in wants and wishes. Homeric songs tells stories of how man realizes that all events are governed by natural laws. In the Homeric world, fantastic beliefs and superstitions governed one important aspect of the ancient Greeks– immutable fate. Homeric poems reflect the occasional doubts of the ancient Greeks in prophecy, and the observation about the shortness of life, and the suffering of earthly existence. The great epic writer Hesiod’s philosophy of life rests on the idea of the deterioration of mankind. Hesiod’s perspective runs along the idea that  according to the will of Zeus, the human world is governed by justice and the animal world is governed by might. Hesiod reflects a society then that were seeking the truth and searching for the morality guidelines. And the human conduct of the ancients Greeks of the time were very much intertwined with the behavior of Nature, for example, if they were morally good, they would be blessed and rewarded with bountiful harvests. However, on the other end of the continuum, when a sin has been committed, such as the unconscious incest of Oedipus, all Nature is affected by the offense of man. During the period of the Dorian migration, the ancient Greeks were extending their territorial possessions to a greater extent. This brought about a lot of different morals and customs changes due to social and political changes. All this is reflected in the poetry, philosophies and writings of that era. Passion and feeling was more eminent now, and the attitude of the ancient Greeks towards nature was no longer observational and descriptive but emotional. The ancient Greeks are becoming more conscious of individualism and one’s own strength and significance. The increase in property and material goods in the Greek society intensified the deep feeling in the ancient Greeks that earthly things are transient and a lot of them started to look at a more superterrestial support that would assure them security and permanence amidst all the changes in mortal things. The ancient Greeks were also more possessed by an innate immense religious fear, the fear of sinning or omission against any gods. A lot of them felt the necessity for atonement and purification. During this time came the advent of cleansing rituals, an example being the purification of Athens by Epimenides after the defilement of the city by Cylon. Epimenides and many similar holy people of his time would go into trances that would provide him with divine revelations. Epimenides was considered very close to the gods, due to a mode of life made holy by asceticism. Prophets and priests like Bacides and Sibyls reflect the need of the ancient Greeks for atonement. These prophets and priests were called upon to perform purification rites and prophetic trances. Spirit conjuring became a common practice, too. With Socrates and Socratic philosophy, the sophists and many philosophers moved away from the ? physics’ of Nature and concentrated on man’s correct conduct of life. Great philosophers like Plato and Aristotle were the important influences that would shape Western thought and culture. They sought to unravel the intellectual limitations of man and the need to find answers to ethical questions. Side by side with this, spawned the Hellenistic Philosophy, which served to explain the change in world conditions at that time when the Greek Polis was destroyed. Inspite of all the Greek philosophers that sought for intellectual wisdom, the fantastic myths and gods of the ancient Greeks still survive and prevail. However, the Greek philosophers made a great effort to obtain a dichotomy between myth and logic. The efforts of these philosophers would prove to be of great influence in modern Western tradition and rationalism. Bibliography. Cornford, F. M. , From Religion to Philosophy. New York: Harper, 1957. Guthrie, W. K. C. , A History of Greek Philosophy. 5 vols. New York: Cambridge, 1990.

Education for Everyone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Education for Everyone - Essay Example One of the most exciting trends in education that promises to help with the emergency in funding is the increased access to free online educational resources. While there are those who decry increased online learning as being corrosive to the social benefits that accrue from time spent in face-to-face instruction, the fact is that the online opportunities for education represent an important chance for school administrators at every level – from elementary to the university – to augment their current course offerings with a wealth of robust resources that will help their students succeed – for nothing. One important trend in education that seeks to capitalize on the benefits of free online resources is the â€Å"flipped classroom.† The traditional learning model involves the teacher delivering information through lectures, presentations, or other media, while students respond with some practice in the classroom, followed by the completion of assignments ou tside school. The â€Å"flipped classroom† is the reverse: instead, students access pre-recorded lectures or readings that teachers have posted online for them. With this information in hand, students are expected to come to class prepared for the activity that awaits them. If they have not listened to the assigned lecture or accessed the required information, they will not be prepared for class that day. There are several benefits of the â€Å"flipped classroom.† The most obvious is that students who miss classes for activities or illness no longer miss out on vital information. All they have to do is access the websites for their classes and view or listen to the materials that have been posted. Also, the role of the teacher has been transformed. Instead of lecturing to whole groups, the teachers instead become learning coaches, moving from small group to small group, or even from individual to individual, making sure that each student has gained mastery over the con tent and is generating a valid product (Bergmann and Sams). Finally, the students are readier for in-class instruction when it does come. Instead of yawning through a lecture of thirty or forty-five minutes, the students stop working on their projects when they need instruction – because they need the information to complete that specific task, the missing information can be delivered more quickly, and the audience will be more receptive to it. One might point out several drawbacks to this approach. What, for example, about students who do not have Internet access at home? Is it reasonable for a student living at that socioeconomic level to be expected to go to a public library to get online for class materials, or to come to school early to access the teacher websites, particularly when that student is likely to depend on school bus transportation and to have a job after school to help the family make ends meet? Some districts around the country have tried to answer this que stion by sending home laptops or computers with each student to help bridge the financial gap to computer literacy, but it is still an unanswered question. If the â€Å"flipped classroom† is to succeed for every student, then at some point, there must be a universal wireless Internet network available to every home, so that students can access the information they need while at home – even a free laptop cannot access the World Wide Web without a subscription, the way things currently

Industrial Relations (Employee Relations) Essay

Industrial Relations (Employee Relations) - Essay Example However, it might mean different things to different people with some referring to the concept of trade unions that represent the rights of employees and protect the workers from violation by employers. Some view employee voice as necessary primarily for the purpose of motivation and promote the adherence of employees to the goals of the organisation (Spencer, 1986). Employee voice may include the following: Exchange of ideas between the management and employees and the management through collective representation and individual basis. The involvement of the employees in the decision-making process of the organisation. Employees should also be allowed to have said on issues, not only should they be allowed to comment but should know that what they say has a chance of being implemented. Contribution to managerial decision-making is crucial for employees as they express their ideas for the better of the organisation. Traditional forms of employee representation include trade unions. Trade unions emerged in the 19th century they are a form of indirect representation. In most cases, only one trade union was present in an industry. Trade unions had to protect employees and inform them about their rights and obligations. They also consult with the employer in relation to measures affecting a group of employees. Direct representation is particularly im portant as the employees are in the managerial team. Direct representation may be in the form of work councils and human resource management team. Work councils represent all employees in the company and are constituted by statute. Work councils have right for participation in the business operational issues (Dundon, and Gollan, 2007). Twenty years ago, 50 percent of workers in Australia were members of a union. Today union membership is just below 25 percent. Australian has seen the lowest number of members in trade unions so far. In 1920-1990 trade unions

Religion Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religion - Coursework Example Smith further said that religion is indeed, nothing more than an outcome of the study of many scholars, who utilize it as a means to carry out analysis of various social aspects, otherwise, it does not exist outside the academic world. Smith’s generalization of religion as an academic myth is an overt expression of his association with the school of thought that negates the existence of religion in practical world. Another scholar who belongs to the same school of thought but came up with a more philosophical explanation of the reason of its people’s belief in religion is Edward Burnett Taylor who visualized the religion as an animated concept developed by humans in an attempt to conceive the physical world around them in a better way while Sigmund Freud said religion exists simply because people want to believe in it. (Anon., 2010). However, there are other scholars that do believe in religion and make reasonable arguments for the purpose of the existence of religion and acknowledge its role and impact in the society. One such scholar has been Mircea Eliade who believed in religion and expressed the opinion saying that religion is something too special to be limited to social, cultural or psychological concerns alone. (Anon, 2010). In addition to them, there have been scholars who simply referred to religion as an outcome of some phenomenon. For example, James George Frazer explained that religion surfaced when magic failed to address people’s longing for spiritual satisfaction. (Anon., 2010). Frazer said that the psychology of some people caused them to trust spiritual beings and seek help from them. This resulted in the formation of religion. An in-depth analysis of the opinions of various scholars in the history of literature suggests that many saw religion as a man made concept. A vast majority of philosophers and educationalists denies the belief in religion and refers to it as an animated

Global Warning is a Myth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Warning is a Myth - Essay Example The researcher states that global warming is a myth that people have been made to believe. Although global warming enjoys scientific support, there is no sufficient evidence to support its implications and projections. In 2007, global temperature increased by 0.6 degrees Celsius that was followed by a decrease of 0.63 degrees Celsius. This observation contradicts the implication of global warming and expected increase in global temperature. Carbon dioxide emitted by human activities has been accused as the main cause of global warming. The amount of carbon dioxide produced by human activity is insignificant compared to the amount produced by nature. Although global warming has been associated with negativity, an increase in global temperature can have some benefits to the planet. The projected increase in global temperature is not compatible with real measurements of global temperatures and rate of change. Global warming is therefore a scientific scandal and a political agenda. The a uthor begins the article by giving a historic trend on increase and decrease in global temperature. Although this trend has no sufficient scientific support, the figures are relatively accurate considering the duration of time. From the argument, the author is able to prove that an increase in global temperature is a natural phenomenon that is beyond human control. With this argument, the author proves that global warming is independent of human activities. This introductory argument also creates uncertainty on the current allegations of global warming. This part of the argument implies that due to the length of the period between the extremes of global temperature it is difficult for the scientists to tell whether the earth is heading towards high or low temperatures. With this argument, the author introduces the reader to the need to consider the reality of implications of global warming. Carbon dioxide has been accused as the main cause of the expected increase in global temperat ure. Using data on manmade carbon dioxide and natural carbon dioxide in relation to the atmospheric percentage of the gas, the author successfully raises an argument in defense of carbon dioxide. The author achieves a fully supported argument using statistical evidence. Emission of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased steadily from 1940 however; global warming was taking place before this increase (Contoski Web). This argument fully supports the author’s idea that carbon dioxide emitted by human activities is not responsible for global warming. The author also relates the atmospheric percentage of carbon dioxide with other greenhouse gas such as water vapor. In this relation, the author is able to prove successfully that atmospheric carbon dioxide is insignificant and hence insufficient to cause a major change in global temperature. Suppose global warming was real, then people should focus more on the benefits that can be realized from the phenomenon instead of concentrat ing on its negativity. The author relates warm temperature and biodiversity to prove that global warming might have some benefits (Contoski Web). According to the author, a warmer earth is more beneficial to humankind than a cold earth. The author supports this argument by comparing the biodiversity of the tropics with that of the poles. Politicians play an

How to snowboard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to snowboard - Essay Example Apart from this, the needed accessories include a pair of gloves, a helmet, goggles, wrist guards and a hat. Next is to get into the bindings so that a snowboarder comes at level with the snow. For this, he needs to place his front foot in the flat area of the snow. The straps should be closed for both the toe and the ankle. For step-in bindings, there is a need to step in and roll the foot in a circular position so that it is deemed as safe. Bouncing a few steps in this position would give a general feel as to how it looks. Next is to take the first few baby steps. These steps should have the front foot in the snowboard binding and the back foot out towards the outside. One should start by placing the shoulders and toes in direct linkage with the incline and the snowboard should go in a perpendicular fashion with this incline. After the baby steps, a snowboarder must sit down and strap his feet into the snowboard. Standing up after this and looking towards the snowboard helps at understanding the process faster. At this time, weight must be laid on the heels. Repetition of this step back and forth helps at understanding the snowboarding process. Skating is another step which helps to give an idea about the movement through the flat areas and the snowboarded must know how to skate beforehand. Next step is to think of him as getting out off a chair where he needs to go in an area of inclination and thus secure the front foot towards the binding. Thus the snowboard must be pointed downwards during this activity as it will put the weight on the front foot and glide automatically towards the flat area. After these steps, when the snowboarded starts getting comfortable with the whole process, he must practice until he reaches for the chairlift which will escort him towards the top. At this moment, he needs to observe how the other snowboarders are carrying out their snowboarding activities. After this, the snowboarder is required to slide

Business entities were identified and their relationships were Essay

Business entities were identified and their relationships were represented in a Business Model - Essay Example Established companies are looking for new and more innovative ways to conduct their business to compete against the rising competition and to keep off unwanted insurgents. And on the other hand this business era which can be termed as the "entrepreneur era", entrepreneurs are looking and finding ways to create new and innovative business models to carve out a niche of their own in the market. This paper concentrates on the development of a business model for a company specialising in internet marketing business. By means of the company and the development of its business model the paper offers a comprehensive study on the significance of a business model and the different integral requirements needed by a company to sketch its business model. The main objective of this assignment being the selection of a business and creating a business model for it, the business of internet marketing was chosen. And so as to give the company more substance and originality, the company was given a fictional name, ResearchArchive. This particular name was chosen for the company as it, in more ways than some gives a prompt first impression idea of what the company and its business is about. The main business idea or the business concept behind this business venture is providing academic research materials to prospective customers. ResearchArchive is a business enterprise that specialises in providing E-books and journals via interactive marketing. The company offers relevant web based books and journals that are needed for writing academic research papers such as term papers, dissertation papers, thesis papers etc. For the short term the company seeks to be the leading provider of E-books and E-journals and documents for students based in UK, US, Australia and New Zealand. On the long term, the company aims to be the most innovative and prolific providers of web based academic research materials catering to students all over the globe. Marketing Objectives and Strategies Marketing objectives are those objectives that define what behavior an organisation wants from the target markets, they comprise the measureable ends that need to be achieved (Hiebing R.G. & Cooper S.W., 2003). ResearchArchive being a web based academic research material for international students, the main marketing objectives of the company are: To identify, reach out and communicate with the maximum number of prospective customers on a world-wide scale. Relay the benefits and advantages of the company's business offerings to the target market. Provision of products and services as in academic research materials that meets the requirements of the customers. Develop a long-term and a profitable relationship with the customers. Carve out a space for itself in the market and create a sustainable competitive advantage. In order to successfully achieve these

How working environment can impact on motivation Essay Example for Free

How working environment can impact on motivation Essay (A) Describe, with examples, how working environment can impact on motivation and contribute to an effective workplace in travel and tourism, covering:- * Job location In travel and tourism, the holiday atmosphere at resort contributes to a sense of well-being. Customers are happy to be on holiday and it is relatively easy to have a positive attitude to work. Whereas if you were working in a call centre where you are office bound and have to spend most of the talking to customer on the telephone. The organisation has to consider how this poorer environment can be improved so that staff remains motivated. * Working conditions and Hours of work Hours of work vary tremendously throughout the industry- some people are happy to work unsocial hours because it fits in with their lifestyle or they wish to have time off when everyone else is working. However, the overall number of hours per week should not exceed 40. * Health and safety Safety and security factors must be considered in the workplace, and legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 must be adhered to. Specific regulations also apply where food is served or where the chemical hazards, for example in a swimming pool. All these requirements are important. For some organisations a lapse in safety procedures can mean the collapse of the business and even a prosecution. Companies that organise activity holidays for children, for example must make health and safety a priority. Health and safety is important for both customers and employees. Employees need to know that they can go about their work in a safe environment and work together to ensure their customers are safe. * Equipment and Resources Sate-of-the-art equipment and a pleasant environment are important to motivate staff. * Social event Most companies have a Christmas party or social outgoing for staff. These are useful events to create camaraderie amongst staff and build teams. * Theories of motivation The motivation and commitment of employees is key to success of a team and therefore to the company. Several theorists have come up with models of motivation. The two of that we will look at are Maslow and Herzberg. 1. Maslow Abraham Maslow was an American who in the 1940s developed a theory of motivation. The theory is valid still for understanding how people are motivated in the workplace. Employers can use it to provide conditions that fulfil peoples needs at the different levels. Maslow theory is displayed as a pyramid because employees can only move up the levels once the lower levels are fulfilled. So, an employee cant achieve level 4 at work if they are having problems in their personal life or working with colleagues (level 3). Similarly, if they have just been made homeless (level 1) their concern will be finding shelter not performing at work. 2. Herzberg Herzbergs theory is also known as the hygiene theory. Herzberg identified characteristics which make people satisfied with their jobs and those which make them dissatisfied: satisfiers and dissatisfiers. The satisfiers are factors which give people long-term motivation and enable them to enjoy their work: * The type of work * Promotion prospects * Having responsibilities * Sense of achievement * Personal development * Gaining recognition This dissatisfiers or hygiene factors need to be operating well in an organisation but according to Herzberg do not ultimately motivate people. These are: * Salary * Working conditions * Relationships with others- colleagues and managers * Company policy (B) Describe, with examples, how working relationships can impact on motivation and contribute to an effective workplace in travel and tourism, covering:- * Management style Management is about motivating people to act in certain ways so that the team can achieve its common goal. A good manager must inform, motivate and develop the team. The four types of manager/management I will be talking about are:- 1. An autocratic manager An autocratic manager makes all the decisions and announces them to the team. This person is the boss and so has full control. The main advantage of this kind of leadership is that decisions are made quickly, as no consultation is involved. Its other advantages include:- * Where there is a need for urgent action the autocrat will take control * Some team members gain security from being told what to do. Disadvantages include:- * Team members may become frustrated at their lack of control * There may not be room for the team to express creativity * There may be over-dependence on the leaders Autocratic management belongs in a traditional hierarchical structure. 2. Consultative management With consultative management, the leader still makes the decisions but discusses them with the team. The advantages include:- * The team is informed of what is going on * Open discussion is encouraged * The manager spends time with the team The disadvantages are that the team feel involved but frustrated by having no real power. 3. Democratic management With democratic management, the decision-making is shared among the team. The advantages include:- * Ideas are encouraged from everyone * There is greater involvement and commitment from team members * The team is likely to be supportive of the leader * The team is fully informed The disadvantages include:- * Some team members may not be able to cope with being involved in decision-making * The democratic process can take too long * The leader may not agree with the decisions of the team * Powerful team members may take over 4. Laissez-faire management With laissez-faire management the team is left to sort itself out and get on with its work. The manager does not get involved and therefore is not leading the team. The advantages include:- * Highly motivated and skilled people are able to get on with their tasks * The team is empowered The disadvantages include:- * New team members will be uninformed * The team may be left with little or no direction * Teamwork Teamwork skills are essential in the workplace. You must be able to work with other people in a team even if you dont happen to like them. A team is a group of people who are working together to achieve common objectives. Even when you are not physically with other members of your team, you can work together by contributing to a sequence of activities with a common aim. If you were working as a resort representative in Spain, you would still be working in a team with colleagues in head office in the UK. 1. Team roles Good teams achieve synergy; that is, together they can achieve more than the members could individually. More ideas, energy and resources are generated as a group because:- * The team solves problems and makes decisions together * The team focuses on the priorities, with everyone working towards the same aim * The team provides a sense of belonging and a sense of status * The team provides a support network Not everyone in a team is the same- each person has their own strengths and weaknesses. If each person had the same weaknesses, the team could not work; there needs to be a balance of skills. A method of recognising individuals strengths and weaknesses is needed in order to build an effective team. The management expert R.Meredith Belbin has outlined nine team roles necessary for a successful team. One person can represent more than one role, as most people have strengths in more than one area. Belbins roles:- Chairperson/ co-ordinator = The group leader, likely to be relaxed and extrovert, also likely to be a good communicator. They will build on the strengths of team members and give them encouragement. Plant = The ideas person in the team, a person who is creative in looking for solution to problems, but not always good at details, and so may make careless mistakes. Shaper = The task leader, who unites ideas and effort. Needs to be dominated and extrovert in order to make things happen. Monitor/ evaluator = The team analyst, who is not so good at ideas but pays attention to details, thus keeping the team directed towards its target. Implementer = The organiser of the team, who is able to make the ideas of the plant and shaper and turn them into manageable and realistic tasks. A practical, stable and disciplined person. Resources investigator = The person who is outgoing and will explore and report on ideas and developments outside the group; is sociable and enthusiastic and good under pressure. Team worker = A very people-oriented person, sensitive to others needs. The team worker has good communication skills and will be good at motivating other. A natural mediator, who will deal with any conflict within the team, this person is very good to have around in a crisis. Finisher = A person who sticks to deadlines and likes to get on with things. Will probably be irritated by the more relaxed members of the team. Specialist = This person is single-minded and a self-starter and provides knowledge and skills in specialist areas each of Belbins roles acquires a different level of important according to the objectives of the team and the stage in the teams life. 2. team development Formal teams are part of the structure of an organisation and are planned in order to meet that organisations objectives. The formal team will follow rules and regulations and may meet on a pre-arranged schedule and complete administrative procedures. Examples in travel and tourism includes sales teams and marketing teams Informal teams work within or outside formal teams. They are sometimes based on personal relationships between members rather than on work roles. When you complete group work for assignments, you often choose the colleagues you wish. You choose to work with people you like and ones you know will be as committed as you are to the work. This is an informal team. There are several theories of team structure and development, which will help you to understand the effectiveness of teams. Bruce Tuckman (1965) identified four main stages of team development:- * Forming at this stage, team members form their first impressions of each other and establish identities. They are sounding each other out and finding out what is expected of them. * Storming- the team members have, by now, become more used to each other. Members are prepared to put forward their ideas forcibly and openly; they are also prepared to disagree and so there may be some conflict and hostility. * Norming the team now begins to establish co-operation. Conflict is controlled, views are exchanged and new standards introduced. * Performing the team is now working together; it begins to arrive at solutions and achieve objectives. There can also be a fifth stage, called adjourning or mourning, where the team has disbanded and the members miss being part of the team. * Job roles and lines of responsibility An organisation chart shows the structure of the company and how the work is divided into different areas. It also shows the lines of responsibility between staff, so that it is apparent who is responsible to whom. An employee studying a chart will find the possible promotions routes. The chart may show a hierarchical structure or line relationship. This is a very traditional structure and shows a chain of command with each person responsible to the person above them. It is sometimes referred to as a pyramid structure. Many organisations today would be depicted in a chart with a flatter structure. There are fewer layers of management, and each manager has a broader span of control. Restructuring of organisations often involves getting rid of middle managers, hence the flattened structure. * Channels of communication Open communication must be encouraged and ideas should be freely expressed in the workplace. There should be trust and support between team members. An effective leader can encourage good communication and shape the way the team works. * Verbal Verbal communication is the process of sending and receiving messages with words, including writing and there are different ways a person can do verbal communication 1. Telephone 2. Word of mouth 3. Video conference 4. Face to face 5. Presentation 6. Walkie-talkie 7. Meetings 8. Bluetooth/ headset (mobile phone) 9. Radio 10. Sign language * Written Written communication guarantees that everyone concerned has the same information and it provides a long-lasting record of communication for future such as 1. Books 2. Brochures/ leaflets, newspaper 3. E-mail 4. Text (written + electronic + verbal) 5. Fax (written + electronic) 6. Notice boards 7. Minutes of meetings * Electronic Electronic communication means any method used to convey a message that has been transmitted via electronic means such as e-mail, video conferencing, radio, TV, mobile phone, internet, fax etc. * Equal opportunities Legislation exists to ensure that personal receive equal opportunities and that there is no discrimination. The arts of parliament that you should be aware of are:- * Race relations Act 1976 This act makes discrimination on racial grounds unlawful in employment, training, education and the provision of goods, facilities and services. The two main type of discrimination involved in this Act are:- 1. direct discrimination:- discrimination against colour disability, citizenship 2. indirect discrimination:- discriminating a racial group * Sex discrimination Act 1975 This act makes it unlawful to discriminating against someone on the ground of gender, marital status, Gender reassignment or sexual orientation. The act was updated in 1986 to remove restrictions on womens hours of work and then it allowed women to take h=jobs with flexible hours. This act not only covers discriminations in the workplace but in job advertisements and interviews. * Disability discrimination act 1995 This act makes discrimination against people with disabilities unlawful in respect of employment, education and access to goods, facilities, services, and premises. Employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate people with disabilities. Examples include providing specially adapted keyboards for arthritis sufferers, facilitating wheelchair access and relocating people with limited mobility to the ground floor. * Equal pay act 1970 This act was introduced to address the problem of women being paid less than men for the same work. It allows employees to claim equal value in terms of demands made on them, such as effort, skills and decisions made. There is also an EU Directive that state that for the same work or work of equal value, sex discrimination must be eliminated in all aspects of pay. * Other forms of discrimination Discrimination at work is a very serious issue and can result in large amounts of compensation being awarded following successful tribunals, not to set up policies to ensure that the workplace is free from discrimination. Measures to be taken include:- 1. Setting up a comprehensive equal opportunities policy covering all aspects of discrimination 2. Training staff in discrimination legislation and on how to implement the equal opportunities policy 3. Setting up complaints procedures for instances of discrimination * Employment rights act 1996 When someone gets a job they can aspect to receive a contract of employment. This is a legally binding agreement between the employer and the employee. Under the Employment Rights Act, the employer must give the employee a written document including the following information, in writing within 2 months of starting work:- 1. Name of employer and employee 2. Date employment began 3. Rate of pay and interval of pay 4. Hours of work 5. Holiday entitlement and pay 6. Job title and brief description of duties 7. Place of work 8. Notice entitlement and requirements 9. Sick leave entitlement and sick pay 10. Pension and pension scheme 11. Disciplinary procedures and grievance producers 12. Date of end of employment it fixed term 13. Additional details about working aboard if appropriate. * Notice board After one month of continues employment an employee is entitle to one week of notice if the employment ends. After 2 years employment they are entitle to 2 weeks notice, after 3 years, 3 weeks notice and so on. After 12 years the legal maximum 12 weeks notice is reached. A employee must also give notice of leaving to an employer. After one month of continuous employment, an employee must give a minimum of one weeks notice. Employees are entitled to normal pay during notice periods as long as they are working or available for work. * Redundancy Redundancy pay is calculated according to the employees age, length of service and salary. Employees can claim for unfair dismissal if they suspect: 1. There is no real redundancy 2. They were unfairly selected for redundancy Dismissal is treated as redundancy if the whole business is closing or a particular job disappears or requires fewer employees. An employer may offer alternative employment. If the employee unreasonably refuses it they are not entitled to redundancy pay. * EU Directives on hours and pay The European Working Time Directive was enacted in the UK through the Working Time Regulations 1998. This lays down the following: 1. A maximum 48-hours week, averaged over 17 weeks 2. at least 4 weeks paid annual leave 3. a weekly rest period of at least 24 hours in each 7-day period 4. a daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours between each working day 5. an in-work rest break of 20 minutes for those working hours or more per day Some sectors are excluded from the regulations; one of theses is transport. * National Minimum Wage Act 1998 This Act provides workers with a minimum hourly rate below which their wages will not fall. Those who work part time benefit most, because they are often badly paid. The Low Pay Commission advises the Secretary of State on the value of the minimum rate. A special lower rate applies to 18-to 21years-olds. * Maternity and paternity leave The Employment Relations Act 1999 provides for basic rights for maternity leave. There are three periods of maternity leave. Ordinary maternity leave is for a period of 18 weeks which coincides with the period for statutory maternity pay. This applies to all employees. Compulsory maternity leave extends to a period of 2 weeks after the birth; the employer must not permit the woman to return to work during this period. Additional maternity leave follows immediately after the original 18-weekperiod and must end within 29 weeks of the birth. Employees with at least one years service with an employer are eligible for the additional maternity leave. Under the same Act there are provisions to allow parents 3 months leave in order to care for a child. This is intended to be taken before the child is five. It is intended to be available to men and to women, in addition to maternity leave. Paternity leave is available to men to: 1. Have or expect to have responsibility for the childs upbringing 2. Are the biological father of the child, or the mothers husband or partner 3. Have worked continuously for their employer for 26 weeks ending with the fifteenth week before the baby is due. Eligible employees can choose take either 1 week or 2 consecutive weeks paternity leave (not odd days) * Statutory sickness pay An employer must pay Statutory Sick Pay to employees who become sick and who normally earn at least à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½79 per week. After 28 weeks, Incapacity Benefit or Income Support must be claimed instead. * Grievance and disciplinary procedures These must be included in the employees written statement or contract, or at least there must be a reference to where they can be found. Disciplinary producers deal with such maters as warnings to be given before dismissal. Warnings might arise from the following:- 1. Lack of capability or qualifications-although the employer has a responsibility to give training 2. Misconduct-which includes habitual lateness 3. Gross misconduct (for example, assault or theft) leads to instant or summary dismissal. Grievance procedures deal with complaints by employees who are not satisfied with aspects of their employment. Employees must be given the name of a person to whom a complaint can b made and should be informed of right of appeal. * Investors in people Investors in people is a UK quality standard development in 1990. Those companies who gain the award have proved that they invest in the training and development of their staff. This is beneficial to employees and also to customers and suppliers. The standard for Investors in people is based on four key principals: 1. Commitment from the top to develop all employees 2. Regular review of training and development needs 3. Taking relevant action to meet those needs throughout peoples careers 4. Evaluating training and development outcomes for individuals and the organisation in order to continuously improve These principals are subdivided into 24 indicators of effective practise, and the organisation provides evidence for assessment against the indicators. Once the organisation gets the award it is entitled to display the Investors in People logo on company literature. * Buddies and mentoring Mentoring schemes are growing in popularity. They offer employees a one-to one relationship with a mentor, someone with greater experience and a willingness to listen and advice. The mentor and the mentee meet regularly and discuss aspects of the mentees job, such as career development. The mentor does not act as a line manager or superior and is never judgemental, but acts as a sounding board and is able to offer ideas and a different outlook on work issues. The Hilton hotel chain runs a mentoring scheme for its staff at all levels. Its purpose is to support staff in their career development. Mentors at the Hilton chain are often colleagues of the mentees doing similar jobs, which departs from the traditional model. All of the mentors have had mentoring training. Some companies have similar, but sometimes less formal, schemes where a new member of staff is given a buddy as a source of information and help. * Job security Many contracts today are fixed term, especially in areas such as visitor attractions. This means that the period of employment is not indefinite but lasts for a period of months or a year or two. The reason for such contracts is flexibility for employers- they can lose staff on fixed contracts at the end of the period without penalty. However, such contracts are demotivating for staff as they worry about their future income and job prospects. C) Describe with examples, how incentives can impact on motivation and contribute to an effective workplace in travel and tourism including: * Remuneration Remuneration means how much you get paid. You would imagine that this is very important as a motivator. In fact, it is an important factor in attracting people to a company but research shows that it is not the most important incentive. * Performance related pay Bonuses are often based on overall profits and awarded to all employees- usually performance related. * Incentive scheme An example of an incentive scheme could be a competition that staff are invited to enter. The competitions may be based on generating new ideas within the company, or how to boost sales, customer satisfaction or commissions on sales. * Discounts Discounts may be given on holidays or travel for those working in the industry. Many who work in travel and tourism receive cheap travel, perhaps by going on standby if they work for an airline or by going on fact-finding trips to a destination if they work for a travel agent. * Holiday entitlement In the UK employees can expect around 4 weeks paid holiday per year. In the public sector more holiday is often given, but this may be balanced against lower pay. * Pension schemes A good pension scheme can act as an incentive for many people who are concerned about security in retirement. * Perks As a perk, employees in the travel and tourism industry are often provided with a uniform. They may get to travel or live aboard and be paid to live there. They may be provided with a company car. * Opportunities for promotion and progression Many employees need a challenge and if they are in the same position, doing a job they find easy, they may become bored and less efficient. Thus, opportunities to move on and face new challenges are an important incentive. Opportunities may arise within an organisation and good people are quickly promoted. You may wish to let it be known that you are interested in progression and ask to be sent on relevant training courses and conferences. D) Described, with examples, how training can impact on motivation and contribute to an effective workplace in travel and tourism including: * Training Those employers who wish o ensure an effective workplace will offer ongoing training and development to staff. There are several benefits to organisations add to their workforces. Training can: * Improve individual performance * Improve team performance * Allow staff to be better informal * Equip staff to deal with change and emergencies * Make for a more flexible workforce * Improve morale * Allow managers more time to manage through delegation of other tasks. * Induction training Employers have to provide instruction and training to ensure health and safety, and this is usually a part of induction training. The induction is the first stage of training and is given to new employees; it is important as new employees need to be made welcome and become effective in their work as quickly as possible. Induction covers: * The nature of the job * Introduction to the workplace and to staff * The lines of responsibility * Facilities such as toilets, lockers, canteen * Health and safety basics * Training opportunities * In-house training Large companies offer their own in-house training and may even write their own materials. These training courses are very beneficial as they are tailor- made to meet the needs of the company. * External courses Thousands of external courses are available. These may be specific to travel and tourism or other professional qualifications in areas such as marketing or human resource management. They may be offered by colleges, by travel associations or by private companies. Companies may allow individuals or groups to attend such courses. Some may be long term, leading to advanced qualifications, so a great deal of commitment is required on behalf of the individual.

Sterilization And Aseptic Technique Biology Essay

Sterilization And Aseptic Technique Biology Essay This experiment was done to learn proper way of using aseptic technique and sterilization by isolating pure culture of bacterial. Afterwards, the bacterial cells in a sample and their optical density were determined. First of all, various sterilization methods were introduced. Sterilization is important in a sense that it ensures there is absolutely no contamination in the glassware or apparatus used in the lab. Different sterilization methods are used for different materials. One of them is autoclaving. Autoclaving machine uses high-pressure steam to sterilize and therefore, heat resistant plastics, glass or solutions can be sterilized by autoclaving. As the temperature of the steam is above 100 oC, the organisms cannot survive. Second sterilization method is radiation. As heat sensitive plastics does not have resistance to heat, autoclaving cannot be used and these are often sterilized by using radiation such as UV, gamma-ray or X-ray. The last method is filter sterilization. Some solutions are heat labile, and to sterilize these kind of solutions, filter sterilization can be used. This technique uses the fact that microorganism is around 5micrometer by 1micrometer, and if the filter has a smal ler diameter, microorganisms cannot pass through the filter.(1) In part B, aseptic technique is learned. This technique prevents any kind of contamination while handling the glassware or transferring. To be more specific, it prevents any contaminant to be introduced in the area of interest. The first step of this technique involves wiping the lab bench with 70% ethanol, which would kill most microorganisms. Then, Bunsen burner is turned on, and the movement of the air goes upwards. Therefore, it minimizes the chance of microorganisms landing on the media of interest. In addition, briefly heating glass tube mouths and minimizing the time of opening lids minimizes contamination.(1) Using aseptic technique, streaking technique was used to isolate single colonies. To do this, a pure culture of the target microorganism is taken. Then, with an inocular loop, which is flamed with Bunsen burner until red hot, it cooled down. Afterwards, take a bit of pure culture with the loop and streak lines in the medium. The streaking lines should not cross each other to avoid too much diluting. After streaking, colonies are grown. To count the number of cells, viable cell count method is used. Viable count is only useable with singles colonies and not bacterial lawns. Therefore, in order for cell to have single colonies, appropriate dilution of the bacteria is necessary. The dilution helps for spreading of the cells on the agar. For this, serial dilution, which was introduced last project can be useful. Then, the number of viable cells can be obtained by counting the number of colonies that have developed multiplied by the respective dilution factor. (2) Material and Methods: All procedures are performed according to the BIOL 368 lab manual (Concordia Biology Department 2013) except for the following modifications: for the contamination part, we used shoe, finger, E. coli, and E. coli with 70% ethanol. Results: Colony isolation by streaking First of all, the color of the bacteria in all the plates are thick beige colored. In streak 1, extremely small and many colonies were observed. The size of the colonies were very small, they were circular, opaque and smooth. There are 123 colonies. Streak 2 shows chain of bacterial formation, but the number of the colonies is decreased from streak 1. The number of colonies were 60. They were larger than the colonies in streak 1, opaque, circular and smooth as well. In streak 3, single colonies are observed. None of them was huge, but they were larger than the colonies from streak 2. They were opaque, circular and smooth as well. About 9 colonies were observed. In the 4th streak, no single colony was observed. As a result, single colonies of a pure E. coli strain was successfully isolated. Viable count Table 1. Raw data of viable count of my group. Dilution 10-4 10-5 10-6 Number of colony Too many Too many 252 Viable count (cfu/ml) 2.52 x 109 Sample calculation: Viable count at 10-6 dilution: Since the plate, -6, has 252 colonies which is in the range of 100-300, I picked the plate to calculate cfu/ml. 252 x 10/10-6 =2.52 x 102 x 107 =2.52 x 109 cfu/ml Table 2. Raw data for viable count for all section Dilutions Colony count Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9 Group 10 Section 1 10-4 lawn lawn lawn lawn lawn lawn lawn à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ lawn lawn 10-5 360 lawn 1848 lawn 1028 2168 696 à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 3040 1646 10-6 78 287 441 270 234 347 363 à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 300 306 Section 2 10-4 920 >300 Lawn Lawn Lawn >300 >300 Lawn Lawn Lawn 10-5 249 >300 590 >300 Lawn >300 >300 406 >300 189 10-6 23 231 189 269 384 222 265 154 180 108 Section 3 10-4 too many >1000 too many too many too many too many too many too many too many too many 10-5 too many >1000 too many too many too many too many too many too many 544 too many 10-6 194 420 258 252 295 217 240 197 79 224 Table 3. Viable count for all section data (for 10-6 dilution) Section Group Number of colonies Cfu/ml 01 1 78 7.8.E+08 2 287 2.87.E+09 3 441 4.41 E+09 4 270 2.70 E+09 5 234 2.34.E+09 6 347 3.47E+09 7 363 3.63E+09 8 9 300 3.00E+09 10 306 3.06E+09 Max 441 4.41E+09 Min 78 7.8 E+08 Average 291.8 2.92 E+09 Standard Dev. 94.40 2.67E+08 02 1 23 2.3.E+08 2 231 2.31.E+09 3 189 1.89.E+09 4 269 2.69.E+09 5 384 3.84.E+09 6 222 2.22.E+09 7 265 2.65.E+09 8 154 1.54.E+09 9 180 1.80.E+09 10 108 1.08.E+09 Max 384 3.84.E+09 Min 23 2.3.E+08 Average 202.5 2.02.E+09 Standard dev. 93.09 9.31E+08 03 1 194 1.94.E+09 2 420 4.20.E+09 3 258 2.58.E+09 4 252 2.52.E+09 5 295 2.95.E+09 6 217 2.17.E+09 7 240 2.40.E+09 8 197 1.97.E+09 9 79 7.9.E+08 10 224 2.24.E+09 Max 420 4.20.E+09 Min 79 7.9.E+08 Average 237.6 2.38.E+09 Standard Dev. 81.55 8.16.E+08 Max 441 4.41.E+09 Min 23 2.3.E+08 Average 242.3 2.42.E+09 Standard Deviation 96.75 1.15E+09 Sample calculation for STD DEV. (section 1):= 94.40 Bacterial cell count by optical density Table 4. Cell density for My Group: OD600 of diluted cultures (Au) E. Coli Count of diluted Culture (cells/ml) Original Culture (cells/ml) Me 0.427 2.18108 2.18109 Partner 0.436 2.14108 2.14109 E. Coli Count of diluted Culture: 0.202 x (5x 108) = 1.01108 Original Culture: 1.01108 x 10 = 1.01109 Table 5. Raw OD600 values for all sections (unit: Au) Group Section 1 (1) Section 1 (2) Section 2 (1) Section 2(2) Section 3(1) Section 3 (2) 1 0.389 0.383 0.359 0.371 0.358 0.365 2 0.368 0.369 0.247 0.447 0.345 0.408 3 0.364 0.343 0.344 0.360 0.323 0.335 4 0.374 0.374 0.390 0.338 0.427 0.436 5 0.415 0.430 0.386 0.368 0.320 0.247 6 0.359 0.357 0.302 0.350 0.379 0.352 7 0.347 0.372 0.354 0.369 0.391 0.364 8 0.362 0.361 0.358 0.328 9 0.370 0.35 1.018 0.350 0.341 10 0.737 0.367 0.368 0.353 0.413 0.322 (>1.96 therefore outlier) Table 6. Diluted Cell Density for all sections (unit: cells/ml) Group Section 1 (1) Section 1 (2) Section 2 (1) Section 2(2) Section 3(1) Section 3 (2) 1 1.95E+08 1.92E+08 1.80E+08 1.51E+08 1.79E+08 1.90E+08 2 1.84E+08 1.85E+08 1.86E+08 1.75E+08 1.83E+08 1.76E+08 3 1.82E+08 1.72E+08 1.24E+08 1.77E+08 1.73E+08 1.96E+08 4 1.87E+08 1.87E+08 2.24E+08 1.85E+08 2.04E+08 1.82E+08 5 2.08E+08 2.15E+08 1.72E+08 1.81E+08 1.62E+08 1.79E+08 6 1.80E+08 1.79E+08 1.80E+08 1.81E+08 1.68E+08 1.64E+08 7 1.74E+08 1.86E+08 1.95E+08 1.75E+08 2.14E+08 1.75E+08 8 1.69E+08 5.09E+08 2.18E+08 1.71E+08 9 1.85E+08 1.93E+08 1.84E+08 1.60E+08 2.07E+08 10 1.87E+08 1.84E+08 1.84E+08 1.77E+08 1.24E+08 1.61E+08 Average 1.87E+08 1.95E+08 1.79E+08 Min 1.72E+08 1.24E+08 1.24E+08 Max 2.15E+08 5.09E+08 2.18E+08 Standard Deviation 1.05E+07 7.43E+07 2.13E+07 Sample calculation: Section 1 group1 student 1: Cell Density = 0.389 x (5x 10^8) = 1.95 x107 Section 1 Average: Average = ((1.95+1.84+1.82+1.87+2.08+1.80+1.74+1.85+1.87+1.92+1.85+1.72+1.87+2.15+1.79+1.86+1.84) x 108)/ 17 = 1.87 x108 Table 7. Diluted Cell Density for all sections, class analysis Class (cells/ml) Average 1.87E+08 Minimum 1.24E+08 Maximum 5.09E+08 Standard Deviation 4.66E+07 Part III. The ubiquity of microorganisms Table 8. The ubiquity of microorganisms Place Observation on TSA plate Observation on Malt Shoe Irregular orange, red, beige opaque Some are large, some are small Some are smooth some are cracked 10colonies None Dirty finger White and yellow all small colonies (4) opaque None E.coli Few circular, smooth, flat, beige colonies (lawn) None E.coli with 70% ethanol None None Discussion: The objective of the experiment is to learn aseptic technique, sterilization, and streaking. Part A involved isolating single colonies by streaking, part B involved viable cell count, part C involved bacterial cell count by optical density and lastly part D involved ubiquity of microorganisms. In part A, a pure E. Coli sample was used to form single colonies by streaking. Four streaks were done in different parts of the plate. As described in the results, 1st streak results in forming smallest and very crowded colonies (123 colonies). The space between the colonies were either very small or even adjacent to each other. The 2nd streak forms a larger and less crowded or less population of colonies (60 colonies). Colonies were found to be further apart from streak 1, but they were adjacent to other colonies, so single colonies were not observed. In the 3rd streak finally, isolated single colonies were observed. This is due to the dilution. As in the streak 1, we have least diluted E. Coli pure sample. Therefore, streak 1 has the biggest cell density, where more colonies would grow. In the streak 2, we streak through the streak 1 once, and so, it is diluted. Then, in the third streak as well, it is even more diluted. This is why we have lesser and lesser colonies in the 2nd an d 3rd colonies. Colonies all seem to have same opaque shape with beige color, but they differ in sizes. 1st streak ones have the smallest and 3rd streak ones have the largest. This is due to the fact that as the number of the colonies are bigger and crowded, there are less space to grow, so it tends to be smaller where as in 3rd streak, isolated colonies have more space where they can grow bigger. In part B, viable count was used to estimate the number of bacterial cells in the sample. Firstly, we prepared 4-fold, 5-fold and 6-fold diluted solutions of E. Coli and they were incubated at 37 degrees Celsius. As we can see in the table 2, 4-fold dilution and 5-folded dilution are too concentrated that bacterial lawn is observed where we cannot apply viable count: they have small viable count to work with and would result in high uncertainty (1). 6-folded dilution appears to be fine to apply viable count and therefore, we used 6-folded dilution to analyze. Looking at the all section data, most of them have the viable counts ranged between 30 and 300. In addition, the average viable count of our section is very close to the class average: 2.38 x 109 to 2.42 x 109 cfu/ml. Also, my group value is very close to the class average as well: 2.52 x 109 cfu/ml. This means that our result is pretty accurate compared to the class result. Speaking of the minimum and the maximum value, there i s a high chance that the errors come from these as these values are furthest from the average. Section 1 has the maximum value which is 4.41 x 109 cfu/ml and section 2 has the minimum value which is 2.3 x 108 cfu/ml. The minimum value seem to be okay but maximum value seem to lie over 300 colonies, and therefore, the biggest error comes from that value. However, none of these biggest error comes from our section, and therefore, we can say that our section value has the least error. Part C was done to take cell density by optical density. CAG12033 was taken and was diluted with LB broth. When analyzing, the group 9 student2s value was 1.018, which appeared to be as an outlier. Grubbs test was done, and it was eventually an outlier, so we excluded it from further analysis. Speaking of the cell density, as there are more and more of cell in the solution, the density increases. As well, the result shows that as absorbance increases, the cell density increases. Comparing the class average to our section average, it is fairly close: 1.79x 108 and 1.87 x 108cells/ml. However, we have the class minimum value which is 1.24 x 108 cells/ml so we have one of the largest errors. But this is not very far from the average value, which is 1.87 x 108 cells/ml it is not the biggest error. The class maximum value however is very far from the class average value: 5.09108 cells/ml. This value is in the section 2 data. Section 1 has the best result over the class with closest averag e value to the class average having no minimum nor maximum values; 1.87 x 108cells/ml which is the same as class average. Comparing my cell density value to the section value, I had 2.18x109cells/ml, whereas the class average was 1.87 x 108 cells/ml. I have a fairly close value and it can be considered that CAG12033 is diluted fairly correctly. Now comparing viable count method to the cell density measured by spectrophotometer, they can be considered the same. The class average value for the cell density was1.87 x 108 cells/ml and the class average result for the viable count method was 2.42 x 109 cfu/ml. They can be considered the same with the following reasons. First of all, for the optical density method, there is an assumption that there are 5 x 108 cells/ml when the absorbance is 1 Au. This is an assumption and is not an accurate value. Secondly, there are experimental errors such as when diluting, the dilution was not done perfectly, where the error would increase as serial dilution was done in viable count part. As a result, factor of 10 difference is quiet big, but within these assumptions and errors, they can be considered as similar. Part D was done to see what contamination looks like and how it is. TSA and malt medium were used to contaminate. Different samples were taken with a sterilized rod and were streaked different parts of the plates on both TSA and malt. They were then incubated at 37 degrees Celsius if it is from internal body or incubated at 30 degrees otherwise. TSA is usually considered the best under neutral to slightly basic conditions and required high N for bacteria to grow. On the other hand, malt is best under acidic condition and high in C and N. Malt is best for fungi. First of all, the shoe was rubbed, and streaked on both TSA and Malt plates. A week later, all different kinds of bacteria were grown. Various colored and various sizes were observed: orange, red and beige. Some were really huge and flat, some were small, opaque and smooth. 10 colonies were observed. On malt, nothing grew. Due to the fact that nothing grew on malt, the colonies have to be bacteria. Another possibilities is tha t malt plate was put in the 37 degrees Celsius which is inappropriate. In quarter of the plate, dirty finger was used to contaminate. 4 colonies of white and yellow were observed. They were all opaque. Nothing grew on malt. In another part of the plate, we put E. Coli sample. Circular, smooth, flat colonies were observed. There were a lot of colonies (bacterial lawn) grown. Again nothing grew on malt. Lastly, we put E. coli with 70% ethanol. Absolutely nothing grew on both malt and TSA. Overall, nothing grew on malt. It is maybe because there was no fungi, or the plates were incubated in the wrong temperature (37 degrees Celsius instead of 30 degrees Celsius). Also, we can say that 70% ethanol kills most of the bacteria or at least enough to prevent them to grow.

How ecommerce helped the freight forwarding business

How ecommerce helped the freight forwarding business Introduction The implementation of internet and electronic communication systems is changing the traditional face of freight forwarding and the shipping industry has to change with it. It is evident that e-commerce is no longer an emerging technology and it has already conquered a major place in the heart of freight forwarding business. Electronic communication system has become one of the main trump card in shipping industry to live up the higher expectations of a customer. This paper will review briefly the applications of e-commerce in general and in particular to the transport sector especially freight forwarding business. E-Commerce Electronic commerce is defined as the electronic exchange (delivery or transaction) of information, goods, services, and payments over telecommunications networks.It involves mainly distribution, buying, selling, marketing and servicing of products or services through the use of electronic means such as the Internet, and other computer networks. E-commerce has grown exponentially due to the convergence of technological developments, the merging of the telecommunications and computing industries, and globalised business models. The universal adoption of the Internet not only led to further rapid growth of the B2B sector, but also created a new business-to-consumer (B2C) market.The main factor that put e-commerce towards the top of the public is the popularisation and commercialisation of internet. E-commerce now touches virtually all aspects of economic and social life.(Swamidass,2000) Freight Forwarding Freight forwarders acts as an intermediary between exporters, importers or other companies organising efficient transportation of goods. They makes arrangement for transportation of goods by satisfying the customer requirements using various services like Shipping lines, Airlines Road and Rail freight operators. There are a lot of companies involved in freight forwarding business and these varies according to the size and type. In some cases the freight forwarders will only deal with particular goods only and they will be confined to certain geographical areas. Following are the functions carried out in freight forwarding business Cargo consolidation and multimodal transport Transhipment Packing, warehousing and distribution. Arranging cargo insurance Documentation and customs clearance Payment of freight and local taxes Saved fax, phone and courier costs Possibility to reuse information and create templates Transport distribution analysis and transportations arrangements (UNESCAP,2011) Greater speed in transactions In e-commerce, transactions are faster than traditional commercial transactions. Before the advent of e-commerce, freight forwarders prepared the documents with the help of a lawyer and lot of stamps were used. The main advantage of e-commerce is that it allows electronic exchange of cargo documents through internet like bill of lading instructions, freight invoices, container status messages, motor carrier shipment instructions, and other documents with increased accuracy and efficiency by eliminating the need to re-key or reformat documents. It also enables streamline document handling for shippers, freight forwarders and trucking firms without the monetary and time investment required by the traditional document delivery systems and thus paperwork is significantly reduced and the shipping department will therefore be more efficient.(ELC,2011).For example US Customs Service supports an EDI-based system for ocean cargo which can report, electronically, the cargo manifest, bill of la ding and other shipping-related information. This online data system has proved to be beneficial in permitting quicker cargo release and increased carrier productivity through reduced cargo-processing time. It has also helped some port authorities to become more competitive by reducing cargo customs clearance and processing times.(GXS,2011) Use of e-commerce in cargo handling documentation helps in: Reducing costs Improving data accuracy Simplifying business processes Accelerating business cycles Enhancing customer service.(ELC,2011) Shipment tracking Clients need connectivity with the Freight Forwarding systems to access their files for status, to extract reports from Freight Forwarding databases, and have their shipments processed in an error free and timely manner. Shipment tracking engages global positioning systems(GPS), which keep track of vehicles so that customers can find out exact location of the shipment at a given time. This gives instant shipping information access to anyone in the company, from any location. The greatest demands for shipment tracking has developed in express or parcel delivery services.(ELC,2011) DHL is an example of a company where tracking has always been a crucial component to operations, which began with customers making calls to customer service to trace their goods. Now a number of options are available (Smith, 2002) Business Asia). Customer orientation E-commerce helps in delivering better services to their customers like providing websites which helps the customer to gather information about the freight forwarders whom they wish to transit their goods. The customers can make right decision regarding their selection of the right freight forwarders. Some companies provide tariff information on the Internet sometimes along with calculators, enabling the shipper to input details such as cargo origin and destination, cargo characteristics, etc., providing the required freight rate instantly. These systems provide considerable benefit to shippers by simplifying and expediting numerous tasks involved in freight rating, which would otherwise involve considerable time, cost and human resources to complete .Another fact is that these website helps in boosting, branding and building up the goodwill of the freight forwarders for the purpose of marketing.(Lai Wang,2008) FedEx uses their secure saver which helps the software to set up an online catalogue and the order-handling system hooks into a user interface which helps to register online customersà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ orders and make sure of confirmation numbers. With automatic inventory updating it is possible to pack the order.(Timmer 1999).. FedEx also has an E-Commerce Builder program, which offers Web design, hosting, order management, real-time financial settlement, and fulfillment to small and midsize companies, at no cost.(Business wire,2011) Shipping portals These have become a major strategic positioning exercise by liners, but internal strategies vary. The three major liner shipping portals online are GT Nexus, an e-logistics software company, using its portal to drive its strategy of becoming a global leader in e-logistics software and services; INTTRA, an industry portal rather than a software provider, aiming to facilitate the interaction between users and their carriers; CargoSmart, aiming to add value to core booking and tracking facilities and to provide a more complete solution to users.(Wn,2011) 3PL Logistics Increased adoption of logistic out-sourcing by manufacturing companies has led a steady growth of third party logistics (3PL) and in recent years, most of the traditional freight forwarders have transformed into 3PL.For the smooth operation of the organisation It is important to have successful information exchange between the parties involved in the business and to cooperate with remote warehouses and inland transport provider. Here e-commerce plays a vital role in helping the freight forwarders to sort out the problems with efficient communication systems and tools like EDI and ETF while they are emerging wholly as a 3PL. (Bumstead and Cannons,2002) ILG is a traditional freight forwarding company and now has emerged into a 3PL and provides services like shipping, e-commerce support, warehousing, fulfilment and the company believes that without the help of e-commerce they wouldnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t have emerged as a 3PL (ILG,2011) Crown logistics, a freight forwarding company in Hong Kong with the help of e-commerce have helped to improve the utilization of its resources, such as warehouse space transportation fleets, customs procedures, specialized packing and transports, on-time delivery and tracking technology. Company itself is in the process of expanding its operations across greater China, with the objective of becoming a full-pledged 3PL company (Crown logistics,2011). Port services Several maritime ports around the world, including those of New York, Rotterdam, Singapore and Hamburg have electronic systems which link up various parties engaged in the movement of freight through the port, including shippers, forwarders, customs, terminal operators, carriers and other port users. Singapore TradeNet, an EDI system that has dramatically reduced turnaround times for processing information about ship arrivals, loadings and unloadings and departures .(Applegate et al,1993) According to Lee and Whang in the near future, there will be an explosion of business-to-business applications of the Internet as visionary companies develop new paradigms of e-business for the future. This can be understood also to refer to new technologies that extend the ambit of e-business, such as mobile communications technology.(Lee Whang,2001) Conclusion: E-commerce is an essential requirement in modern business methodology that cuts costs and at the same time increases the quality of services and thus achieving greater efficiency in freight forwarding business. The scope and range of these benefits makes it clear that e-commerce in the form of e-business processes and systems can have an enormous impact in terms of benefits to the entire supply chain. Word Count: 1480

Learning Case Adaptation :: Technology Case-Based Reasoning Essays

Learning Case Adaptation Computer models of case-based reasoning (CBR) generally guide case adaptation using a fixed set of adaptation rules. A difficult practical problem is how to identify the knowledge required to guide adaptation for particular tasks. Likewise, an open issue for CBR as a cognitive model is how case adaptation knowledge is learned. We describe a new approach to acquiring case adaptation knowledge. In this approach, adaptation problems are initially solved by reasoning from scratch, using abstract rules about structural transformations and general memory search heuristics. Traces of the processing used for successful rule-based adaptation are stored as cases to enable future adaptation to be done by case-based reasoning. When similar adaptation problems are encountered in the future, these adaptation cases provide task- and domain-specific guidance for the case adaptation process. We present the tenets of the approach concerning the relationship between memory search and case adaptation, t he memory search process, and the storage and reuse of cases representing adaptation episodes. These points are discussed in the context of ongoing research on DIAL, a computer model that learns case adaptation knowledge for case-based disaster response planning. 1 Introduction The fundamental principle of case-based reasoning (CBR) for problem-solving is that new problems are addressed by retrieving stored records of prior problem-solving episodes and adapting their solutions to fit new situations. In most case-based reasoning systems, the case adaptation process is guided by fixed case adaptation rules. Practical experience developing CBR systems has shown that it is difficult to establish appropriate case adaptation rules (e.g., Allemang, 1993; Leake, 1994). In defining adaptation rules, a key problem is the classic operationality/generality tradeoff that was first observed in research on explanation-based learning (e.g., Segre, 1987): Specific rules are easy to apply and are reliable, but only apply to a narrow range of adaptation problems; abstract rules span a broad range of potential adaptations but are often hard and expensive to apply because they do not provide task- and domain-specific guidance. In those CBR systems that do perform case adaptatio n, specific rules are often used, requiring that the developer perform difficult analysis of the task and domain to determine which rules will be needed. In practice, the problems of defining adaptation rules are so acute that many CBR applications simply omit case adaptation (e.g., Barletta, 1994). This paper presents a new method by which a case-based reasoning system can learn adaptation knowledge from experience.

Essay --

Throughout history the human race has sought forms of entertainment. Whether it be in the form of a simple game, a grandiose tournament or a simple play production, we have always sought to entertain ourselves. In recent years as the film industry has continued to grow and evolve a new genre has emerged the mainstream popular culture. One big idea changed the course of a genre and an entire Industry. That would be comic book movies. The first moderately successful Marvel film was X-Men, this was the first time that the superhero genre made a successful transition from the comic book to the silver screen. It was a movie that was enjoyable not only just for fans but for non-fans of the comics as well. X-Men was released in 2000, the budget for the film was $75 million, which is incredibly lowed compared to the average movie budget which is between $120-200 million these days. The Box office total for the film was $296,339,527, which back in 2000 would have been a rather respectable box office take. Something to keep in mind about this movie is that the computer generated special effects that are so common in movies today, were rather under developed, which would lend to the smaller budget as well as the more practical effects that are featured in the movie. This is also why the film feels rather bland when one goes back and watches it now, there was a lot of walking and talking in this film, not much action. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men_film http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_movies Prior to the X-Men movies though there had been three other Marvel movies that had been released, however all three could be deemed failures. The three films were the 1989 The Punisher, which was actually released directly... ... the Guardians of the Galaxy in August, and the Avengers 2 in 2015, followed by Ant-Man. Marvel has also made a deal with Netflix to create four shows based off their characters to be released in 2015, starting with Daredevil, which is a major slap in the face to 20th century Fox who previously owned the rights and I love it. The awesome part is that these shows will take place in the established Marvel Cinematic Universe, then the four characters are going to come together into a mini series called the defenders which is comparable to the avengers. This just goes to show how this idea of the shared universe has spread beyond just the cinema now, but to television as well, and not only just television but online movie streaming. These shows will never actually be released on television, but purely on Netflix. Which will be a massive boost for Netflix and for marvel.

Ryanair’s Management and Creativity

1. In the book â€Å"Management and Creativity† (Bilton, 2007), Wilson and Cummings define strategy as two distinctive approaches; strategy as position and strategy as process. The former, also referred to as strategy as orientation, takes a more top-down approach and is concentrated around a single leader. It attempts to establish a strategic position that will serve as a basis for differentiation, which is commonly seen as original and innovative. However, a successful implementation of the strategy often requires high monitoring and a hierarchal structure. Thus, the process itself is quite uncreative and there is little room for changes and innovation after the strategy has been established. The leader plays an important role in this strategic approach by setting vision and directing employees, and he or she is often strongly associated with the organization. Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary is a great example of a leader within an orientation strategy organization. The other approach outlined by Wilson and Cummings is strategy as animation. This adhocracy style is commonly adapted by creative organizations and the strategy is more of an evolving process than a fixed strategic position. It is built upon small, continuous changes that emerge incrementally within the organization. In difference from orientation, adhocracy takes a bottom-up approach and the strategy is developed through a collective activity. The leaders role is not to govern and direct, but to set frames, and recognize and build upon meaningful patterns. Shared goals and values hold the company together and serve as the glue in the organization. The animation film studio Pixar serves as a great example of the adhocracy approach. Their process-oriented strategy and bottom-up approach has helped to nurture creativity and build a culture where everyone’s ideas matters and all employees are urged to speak their minds. Thus, creativity is seen as something that evolves through systems and networks, and not something that is isolated to a single leader. Posthocracy is a type of non-strategy. The style is often adapted by organizations that are subject to a lot of uncertainty and changes in their environment. The unpredictability of the future makes it difficult for the organizations to establish a strategy beforehand and decisions are often rationalized after they have been made. This approach is based on ego, emotions and personality. 1. 1 It can be argued that Michael O’Leary follows a strategy as orientation approach. The low-cost strategy has come to define Ryanair and is deeply enrooted in the company. The attempt to reduce prices at all costs set the strategic direction. As in most orientation strategies, the company takes a top-down approach and the creativity is concentrated to the leader; the CEO Michael O’Leary. His controversial ideas are often seen as both new and revolutionary and he continuously finds the most radical ways to reduce prices. Still, the organization itself is highly monitored and controlled as to successfully keep costs down in every part of the value chain. Furthermore, as commonly seen in these types of strategy tendencies, Michael O’Leary is strongly associated with the company. As described in the article, â€Å"O’Leary chose to embody the role of a cheap, no-nonsense, slightly unpleasant Everyman, which he would exploit to sell a cheap, slightly unpleasant flying experience to the Everyman. Arguably, M. O’Leary is Ryanair. 2. According to current popular theories creativity is concerned with novelty and individualism. For an idea to be considered novel, it should provide something new or a new combination of elements. The individualism concerns the originator of the idea who is seen as a â€Å"brain† who needs space and loose control to be able to flourish. The psychological theory modifies this idea by taking away the component of individualism and adding the idea of value and meaning. For an idea to be creative, the innovation also needs to be valuable and give meaning. Merely innovation is not enough. Both the concept of innovation and the one of value is context dependent; to whom is the idea novel and to whom will it give meaning and value? According to Margaret Boden, novelty can be defined as new to the individual, H-creativity, or new to the world, P-creativity. A novel idea should be able to fit into one of these two. For an idea to give value and meaning it has to be â€Å"fit for purpose† and there will be different criterions for different situations. In a business context, a creative idea could be valuable if it improves the return on investment or if it fits with the times. In another context, a panel of experts might decide if the innovation is valuable or not. An idea might also be defined as valuable if it has a specific intention. 2. 1 Ryanair has a low-cost strategy with the vision to be â€Å"quick, efficient, affordable and safe†. Michael O'Leary is a visionary leader with â€Å"nutty† ideas that are considered radical by the rest of the airline industry. O'Leary says that in the airline business, organizations need to have a radical point of view otherwise everything will stay the same. However, new ideas should be in line with the low cost strategy of the company. Could the Ryanair idea of removing the pockets on the back of the seats be considered creative? It decreased Ryanair’s cleaning time and thereby also the turn-around time at the airport and increased the punctuality. The idea was a new combination of elements and was new to the airline industry. It could therefore be argued to be novel. The idea was valuable for customers as it fulfilled the criterion of fitness to times: customers are more time-sensitive today and therefore values on-time flights. O'Leary argued that it is also valuable for the customers as they are price-sensitive, they do not want to have a pleasant experience; they just want to be transported from A to B. For Ryanair, the idea is valuable as it decreases costs and improves the company's return on investment. At Ryanair, the organizational style of change is incremental: the company is continuously improving and developing itself. One distinguishing feature of this style is that change is happening even though the company is not in a maturity state or crisis of their life cycle. This is apparent as the company has presented net profits in 9 out of 10 recent years. The changes at Ryanair might look as radical to the rest of the airline industry, but it is in line with today's price-sensitive society. O'Leary is boundary tweaking; he is not thinking entirely outside the box but merely â€Å"modifying the edges of the core business†. It can be questioned if Ryanair sometimes make change just for change's sake. There is an impression that O'Leary might implement changes (or propose them) just to provoke the industry. And is cheaper always more valuable? Do customer's still value cheap tickets if they have to stand up or pay for the toilet?

Old Age Homes in India Essay

Ans- Old Age Home refers to a multi-residence nursing home for old people, which is also known as retirement home. Each couple or person lives here in a room which is either apartment style or is a set of matching of rooms. Under one roof or in a one building old people are served with different facilities like gatherings, meals, health or sanatorium care, and recreation activities. Levels of these facilities differ from each other. At present 728 Old homes exist in India. Complete information of 547 Old Age Homes is accessible. Among these 325 Old homes do not charge and 95 homes charge money, 116 Old homes include both without charge as well as stay & pay facilities and the information of 11homes is not available. There are 278 homes available for ailing people and 101 Old homes especially for women all around the country. Kerala has the highest number of Old homes in India among all states which is 124. Read more:  Reasons Increasing Number Old Age Homes Society Q2- What are the disadvantages of Old Age Homes? Ans- Disadvantages of Old Age Homes are People generally staying here are very sad. It is but natural for them to be so as they leave their well-known homes for stranger place that lacks in all memories. It is natural for them to fear nursing homes as it is known to be prior step to death. Seeing that they will not be able to get back to their homes, it can be deemed true. Main problem that one faces here is loneliness. Few residents here get visits from families after long time and these are very few in nature. Independence becomes a thing of past when one enters these homes. Many see it as the end of their lives. With independence all gone, they even bid goodbye to their self-esteem. All they live their lives in is scheduled activity. Missing element here is freedom. What is given to them for meals is final. They do not have any say in it. Other freedoms that they lose are: Cooking for friends and family Only with nurses help one can shower that too on their schedule Here service of laundry is provided only with rest of resident’s laundry After getting permission only can watch TV They do not even have independence to go for worship at place of their  option. They instead have to go to retirement home’s service. They are not even allowed to have personal doctors. All they get is one’s at home. Anger at putting them in these homes directed at their children is a natural thing for these residents. Family is bound to get various heartaches from these. Q3- What are the advantages of Old Age Homes? Ans- Advantages of Old Age Homes are Senior citizens that are destitute or are unable in settling with their respective families can easily stay in homes meant for old age people. These homes provide senior citizens with medical facilities like ambulances, well-balanced meals provision, ambulances as well as systems of health care. Thus, these homes provide them with healthy life. Main benefits of these homes are their staff’s good behavior, palatable and wholesome food as well as good services. Senior citizens are also provided with yoga classes in these homes along with medical amenities, shelter and food. For mode of communication they are given telephones that give them access to their families. Other facilities rendered to them are library and entertainment facilities. These play roles of safe haven for senior citizens who have nobody to take care of them or who have not got a place to stay. Residents here get an ambience of complete family. They are given unique sense of friendship as well as security here. It becomes a place for them to share their sorrows as well as joys. With all their free time, senior citizens in these homes can utilize it in something creative. Here in these homes, no body imposes its residents with sense of duties or responsibilities. Nobody hands them out any work to live out a livelihood. In that peaceful atmosphere, residents can pursue their hobbies in full flow. With no expectations, residents do not spend too much money here. Full freedom to participate in one’s religious activities is given here. Life of senior citizens is slow as well as peaceful here. â€Å"Old age home† gives a healthy as well as peaceful life to its citizens. Companionships, solace as well as comfort are given to senior citizens. Al l age-mates get freedom here to give a chance to their favorite hobbies without any restraints. Q4- What are the types of Old Age Homes? Ans- There are mainly two types of Homes for Old Age people available in  India. One is a no charge one or â€Å"Free† type which is mainly for impoverished old persons who have nobody to look after them. They are served with food, clothing, shelter and medical care there. Another type of Old Age Home is based on payment which is known as â€Å"Paid† home. There all facilities are provided if paid for. Now these kinds of â€Å"Retirement† homes have become popular all around India and they are well in view of significance. Q5- What is the relevance of Old Age Homes? Ans- Many factors are accountable for the separation of old persons. Many young couples are relocating themselves for better employment from villages to cities in order to have a better future. Many elders are also reluctant to provide the duty of household, which they are controlling for an elongated time, to children. Youngsters are sometimes indignant in behavioral attitude to their parents. Youngsters have migrated to different places distant from their inhabitant places and also to numerous countries abroad. So they are unable to provide accommodation to their parents in their own houses even if they desire. Elders sometimes are too debilitated or ill to take care of themselves or get medicinal help in any urgent situation. For all these reasons the homes for elders increasingly seem more appropriate in Indian circumstances.

Dreamliner: Time, Budget and Project Performance Analysis Essay

1 Introduction. 1.1 In developing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing executive management’s initial decisions and project management strategies did not control the four major measurements of project success: time, budget, performance and client acceptance (Pinto, 2013, pp. 35,36). This report analyses the methodology and project management decisions that led to a project crisis and risk to Boeing’s reputation. 2 Boeing history. 2.1 Boeing Aircraft Corporation, with a heritage of aircraft design, manufacture and assembly, dates back to July 1916 (Boeing, 2004). Recent aircraft including 737, 747, 767, and 777 are all designed, assembled and supported by Boeing (Boeing, 2014). 2.2 Boeing commercial aircraft division is a successful aircraft manufacturing company with a proud history of in-house design and manufacture (Boeing, 2014). 3 New aircraft requirement. 3.1 Competition from Airbus, with its increase in market share through the 1990’s to market share leader in 2003 (Hoiness, 2006), led Boeing to decide that a mid-sized, long range aircraft was required for current and emerging markets. Boeing committed to a new aircraft line, the 787 ‘Dreamliner’ (Hoiness, 2006). A significant technology advance to carbon fibre composite fuselage and wing construction with advanced engine technology would aim to reduce fuel burn by 20%, and would provide a better operational experience for airlines and their customers (Boeing Aircraft Corporation, 2014). 4 Outsourcing and Cost overruns. 4.1 Boeing outsourced approximately 70% of development and production to  other companies in an attempt to reduce development time and costs (Denning, 2013). 4.2 Early project management decisions to move away from the Boeing model of in-house design and manufacture (Boeing, 2014), to a model of out-sourcing large subassemblies and component sections to around fifty Tier 1 partners (Boeing Company, 2013), would prove disastrous in estimating development costs (Ostrower & Lublin, 2013). Boeing’s reliance on Tier 1 companies to complete assembly integration, control Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers and solve problems in design aspects, led to cost and schedule overruns (Denning, 2013). 4.3 Initial budget estimates from Boeing set the 787 costs at about $5 billion (USD). Ostrower stated â€Å"Barclays Capital conservatively estimates the program ended up costing around $14 billion (USD), not including the penalties Boeing has had to pay customers for late deliveries† (Ostrower & Lublin, 2013) and aircraft cancellations (Bloomburg News, 2012). 4.4 The financial evidence suggests that Boeing and the 787 project management team did not fully understand the complexities of out-sourcing (Goatham, 2014). In a January 2011 speech at Seattle University, Albaugh is quoted as having said †We spent a lot more money in trying to recover than we ever would have spent if we’d tried to keep the key technologies closer to home† (Calleam Consulting Ltd, 2013). 5 Project Leadership 5.1 The Boeing Leadership project team did not understand the complexity of the Tier structure (Tang & Zimmerman, 2009). In adopting the Tier assembly approach the leadership team should have used logistics and supply chain management specialists (Denning, 2013). 5.2 Implementation of management strategies to cope with component suppliers is paramount. In a Boeing publication Hart-Smith recognised the risks in out-sourcing and assembly without sufficient design control. He stated that â€Å"in order to minimize potential problems, it is necessary for the Prime contractor to provide on-site, quality management, supplier-management, and sometimes technical support† (Hart-Smith, 2001). 5.3 The project leadership team failed to ensure each supplier received adequate design information to implement its part of the project (Tang & Zimmerman, 2009). This demonstrated they did not provide effective leadership nor sufficient communication (Pinto, 2013, p. 133). 6 Design control 6.1 Without fully understanding the complexities or difficulties in introducing a new design, and without a developed set of requirements and detailed design control, project difficulties and delays are inevitable (Denning, 2013). Other companies, for example the Toyota Motor Company, use out-sourcing successfully to trusted companies with a high degree of product design control as a method to reduce costs in production (Denning, 2013). 6.2 The Boeing model adopted was to spread the design and development to suppliers on a global scale with costs met by suppliers (Ostrower & Lublin, 2013). A strategy such as this should have been tightly controlled from the outset. Without this control, difficulties in assembly and ill-fitting parts requiring redesign added to the delays experienced by the project (Denning, 2013), with hundreds of Boeing engineers sent to various companies to solve technical problems (Tang & Zimmerman, 2009). 7 Communication and Cultural Risk. 7.1 Boeing management opted to control Tier 1 and Tier 2 integrators and their suppliers using a computer web based system, ‘Exostar’ (Denning, 2013). This system intended to provide supply chain and logistics visibility and ‘real time’ monitoring to control process, development, time and cost. Due to cultural differences and trust issues with this system, accurate and timely information was not entered by integrators and suppliers (Denning, 2013). 7.2 A Failure to understand the cultural differences with international companies and suppliers, by both integrators and Boeing management, provides evidence that the project did not adequately consider organizational culture or fully understand its effects (Pinto, 2013, p. 79). 7.3 If Boeing had relied on their own ‘tribal’ knowledge culture, rather than outsourcing to other organizations, the cultural and communication risks would have been reduced (Reuters, 2011). 8 Stakeholder management. 8.1 Knowledge of stakeholder capability, strengths, and behaviours should be part of successful project management (Pinto, 2013, p. 58). Boeing’s leadership failed to appreciate that Tier 1 integrators did not have the  capability to control the supplier nor the supply chain (Tang & Zimmerman, 2009). 9 Conclusion. 9.1 Boeing’s decision to outsource the design and manufacture of the Dreamliner, along with the introduction of new technology, led to lengthy project delays and additional expenses (Ostrower & Lublin, 2013). Poor communication from the Boeing leadership team, along with cultural misunderstandings, led some key suppliers to mistrust the control systems. Cost overruns, schedule delays and supply chain issues all led to this project failing to meet established goals within estimated parameters of cost, schedule, and quality (Pinto, 2013). 9.2 Modified management strategies were implemented to correct design flaws, provide technical and quality systems support at vast cost (Denning, 2013). These actions have contributed to a project turnaround with increased orders (Boeing, 2014). Bibliography Bloomburg News. (2012, 08 23). Daily Herald Bussiness. Retrieved 03 16, 2014, from dailyherald.com: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120823/business/708239912 Boeing. (2004). The Boeing Log Book 1881-1919. Retrieved 03 18, 2014, from History: http://www.boeing.com/boeing/history/chronology/chron01.page Boeing. (2014). Boeing Commercial Planes. Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/products.page Boeing Aircraft Corporation. (2014). Boeing 787 Dreamliner Provides New Sollutions for Airlines, Passangers. Retrieved 03 15, 2014, from Boeing: http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/787family/background.page Boeing Company. (2013). 787 Who’s Building the 787 Dreamliner. Retrieved 03 16, 2014, from New Airplane: http://www.newairplane.com/787/whos_building/ Calleam Consulting Ltd. (2013, 02 3). Boeing Commercial Aeroplanes. Retrieved 03 22, 2014, from Why Projects Fail: http://calleam.com/WTPF/?p=4617 Denning, S. (2013). What Went Wrong At Boeing? R etrieved March 8, 2014, from Emerald insight: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/journals.htm?articleid=17086954 Goatham, R. (2014). Why Projects Fail – Boeing Commercial