AIDS: Impacts Escalate From Families to the World

The world always poses innumerable threats to humankind’s health and well being. Famine, flood, earthquakes, war, terrorism, epidemics and natural disasters riddle our lives with tragedy. One of the most terrifying of these killers remains silent and unseen even though it may lurk beneath the very skin of those individuals you cherish most.This terrifying phenomenon has traveled throughout the world and has settled into even the most prosperous nations. Medical advancements, educational programs and government policies have not had success in subduing the spread of this biological executioner. For over three decades, the AIDS virus has run rampant across the globe.As time goes on we see more infections and fewer solutions to the ongoing problems this virus leaves in its wake. The AIDS virus has caused a great deal of substantial and devastating impacts worldwide. To better understand those impacts, a review of the virus and its capabilities will reveal just what a powerful inf ection this microorganism causes.At first, the AIDS virus appears harmless. It does not bring about immediate impending death or even directly harsh and noticeable symptoms. Unlike that of the dreaded avian bird flu virus which killed several people in Asia with in a matter of days, the AIDS virus can afflict a body for over a decade before death ensues.This happens as a result of the immune deficiency that AIDS causes in a body. The virus itself would not bring about mortality, but for the fact that hampers its host’s immune system, leaving the person susceptible to contracting other illnesses and disease. Chronic illnesses can last for years, can reoccur constantly, and finally can destroy the AIDS afflicted individual once their immune system has broken down to the point of no survival.In this respect unlike other infections AIDS slowly kills its host, and during that slow period of transition can render a person completely incapacitated with other illnesses. This aspect o f the disease has just as much impact on the world as the impending deaths that follow.The AIDS virus transmits itself through contact with body fluids. This means, blood, semen, saliva and other body fluids have the potential to infect others. Unprotected sexual intercourse has most often received the blame for transmission, or perhaps most often gets popular media coverage.Similarly, AIDS transmission also occurs like wildfire among drug users who contract the virus using contaminated hypodermic needles. Sadly enough, cases in which a mistaken blood transfusion held the virus has also caused infection. AIDS also passes from mother to unborn child. So if the mother incurs the infection prior to giving birth, her child will likely have HIV as well.Unfortunately the threat of contracting AIDS increasingly impacts the world as lack of funding and education lead to misinformed populations.While there exist medical treatments for individuals afflicted with AIDS, the treatments only subd ue the symptoms of the virus for a time rather than eradicate the illness completely.The medical world has had considerable trouble controlling the AIDS virus and formulating a vaccine for it because of, â€Å"the ability of a virus to change its genetic structure, which, in turn, changes the very proteins in the envelope that would be targeted by a vaccine.Exactly why some viruses shift so drastically and the AIDS virus seems to be able to change its colors as fast as the classic chameleon of the viral world, the flu virus — is unclear† (Langone 150).As the previous statement explains, the rapidly mutating virus makes it nearly impossible to replicate the correct variables for an effective antibody. This impacts the world leaving the medical field at a loss for answers and people at a loss for cures.More personally, the AIDS virus impacts families around the world. When men of the family incur the virus, they most likely will unknowingly transmit it to their wives as well. Men, who act as the predominant financial supporters of the household find their health and their ability to provide for their loved ones failing.When the patriarch cannot work and bring home finances the family may find itself sliding into poverty. Especially if healthcare providers learn of the man’s illness and refuses to pay the vastly incremental costs that the malady can accrue over time.So, as the men of families contract and struggle with the affliction, the rest of the family feels the impact and later as we shall see so does the rest of the world.Women feel just as much impact from the AIDS virus and possibly more. If their husbands have unknowingly contracted the virus, chances are that wives will then incur the infection from their spouses. In some cases women in this situation may conceive children which will also have the virus upon birth. Women feel a great impact from the AIDS virus since they act as the primary caregivers of the family.Time spent at hom e caring for an ailing husband leaves them unable to find financially productive jobs in the community (â€Å"On the Socioeconomic Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic†). Mothers afflicted by the AIDS virus will eventually fade like their husbands, and in doing so leave their unaffected children as orphans. The impact of AIDS in this regard has a devastating impact on the individual families as well as the world.Similarly, as mentioned above, children can feel the most severe impact of AIDS in their lives. As parents weaken and families fall deeper into poverty, children find themselves without care givers and the basic needs for food, shelter and safety go unfulfilled. If the children have contracted AIDS from their parents upon birth, they too face the impending doom as the virus ravages their immune system.Over all the effect on children can be seen as, â€Å"AIDS is decimating entire generations of productive young adults, while leaving behind a huge cohort of children withou t parents and adequate community support, vulnerable to exploitation and lacking education and livelihood opportunities† (â€Å"On the Socioeconomic Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic†). This impact of AIDS on children has impounding world wide impacts as will later be discussed.Lastly, elders in the family who have not contracted the AIDS virus also feel the impact as the affliction ravages younger family members. Grandparents must often take in their orphaned grandchildren. If the elders have lost their health and capabilities, they often depend on the help and financial support of their children.With AIDS destroying their offspring, it also destroys their caregivers and financial support for health and medical needs as well. In this respect, AIDS impacts both ends of the age spectrum, both the very young and the elderly. All of these familial impacts have been felt by humans worldwide.In relation, we have seen how the AIDS virus tears apart families and impacts all pers ons of the family. These impacts further compound from individual families, eventually reaching out and affecting entire populations. The mortality rates of AIDS affect areas obviously increase. As both young children and adults die from their AIDS induced illnesses.Also, the average life expectancy of individuals drops drastically in these populations, due to the fact that AIDS transmission most often occurs in children and young adults. As stated by the article, On the Socioeconomic Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic, â€Å"AIDS kills people mostly in the 15-49 year age group.†This age range of incurred infection leads to a drop in years of life as younger people die of the virus well before the normal projection of life expectancy. For example, â€Å"By 2005-2010, average life expectancy at birth in the 11 worst affected countries is projected to decrease to 44 years. instead of rising to 61 years as projected in the absence of the disease† (â€Å"On the Socioeconomic Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic†).  Lastly, due to the fact that AIDS affects persons in their reproductive years, a decrease in child bearing ensues, leading to population decline in afflicted nations around the world.Over all the AIDS virus has caused a great deal of substantial and devastating impacts worldwide. Men, who act as the financial backbone of the families fall ill and can no longer provide for their families needs. The women often spend time caring for their ailing husbands rather than obtaining jobs for needed income.The women and children can also unknowingly incur infection from the men of the family. Children and elders who are not affected find themselves without care givers and financial supporters. All of this adds up to leave nations around the world with increased mortality rates, lower life expectancy rates and fewer birthrates.Also of importance to note are the economic impacts felt around the world as labor force declines the individuals affected c an no longer work. Families as well as nations slide into poverty when they cannot produce the food or materials needed due to lack of human resources.

Capiz Brief History Essay

Geographic location and Demography The Western part of Central Visayas, Philippines comprises the Province of Antique, Iloilo, Capiz and Aklan all located within the roughly triangular shaped island of Panay. shaped island of Panay Capiz is one of the six provinces in the Western Visayas found on the northeastern portion in the island of Panay. Shaped like an open palm, it is situated at the heart of the Philippine Archipelago at 11 ° 35†² 0†³ North latitude and 122 ° 45†² 0†³ East Longitude . The Province is bounded by the Sibuayan Sea on the North, where Roxas City and the six (6) coastal municipalities: Ivisan, Sapian, Panay, Pontevedra, Pres Roxas, and Pilar are wholly dependent on fishing for their existence. It is bounded on the South and Southeast by Iloilo Province, on the Southwest by the Province of Antique, and on the West and Northwest by the Province of Aklan. Aklan. The coast of Capiz sustains the vibrant fishing industry of the province. Its rich fishing grounds can be a basis for the claim of Capiz as the seafood capital of the Philippines. Roxas City, the provincial capital, where the largest in terms of population size Capiz has a population of 701,664 (2007 census). Among the sixteen municipalities and one city of Capiz, Roxas City, the provincial capital, has the largest population comprising 19.32 percent of the total provincial population Followed next by the municipalities of Tapaz (6.74 percent); Panay (6.21 percent); Dumarao (6.16 percent); and Pontevedra (6.13 percent). On the other hand, Sapian, Cuartero, Ivisan and Dumalaghave the smallest population with less than 4.0 percent each. Linguistic Identity Capiznon refers to the culture anguage and the people of Capiz province. The Capiznon speaks Kinaraya and Hiligaynon, with slightly different inflection compared to Ilonggo speakers in Iloilo. The towns of Ivisan and Sapian of Capiz which are already near Aklan speak Ilonggo mixed with some aklanon words. Those in the interiormost town of Tapaz, Capiz,– home of the mountain people (Bukidnon)– speak Kinaray-a. with some aklanon words. Those in the nteriormost town of Tapaz, Capiz,– home of the mountain people(Bukidnon)– speak Kinaray-a Myths, Folk Beliefs and Practices The early Panaynon believed in many gods like Bulalakaw, a bird which Gods like Bulalakaw, a bird which looks ike a peacock and could cause illness was said to live in the islands sacred mountain called Madya-as. Mediators to the gods, also said to be the first priests, were; Bangutbanwa, who prayed for good harvest and an orderly universe; Mangindalon, who interceded for sick persons and prayed for the punishment of enemies.

Chautauquas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chautauquas - Essay Example Dilaura explains that note taking process involves writing notes that supplement the lecture notes that will enable effective mastering of the subject under study. Note taking starts by listening and seeing, the art of listening requires that one be active in judging, evaluating and relating the issues being presented. Listening intently enables one to gather the main points that give meaning to the information being provided. Recording of this information is the next step in taking notes. These notes are study aids and therefore they can be graphs, drawings, sketches that illustrate points presented in the lecture (Dilaura 28). A look into the lecture notes after the class is over allows one to fill in the details that are vital in understanding the concepts presented by the lecturer. Formulating questions that aid in the study is the next step of note taking. The questions, drawings, graphs will provide the student with an easier task when going through the notes (Dilaura 33). This also allows one to have knowledge of the areas that may not be clear therefore allowing one to approach their lecturers for assistance. In not taking the key ideas should be separated from the supporting explanations such as drawings, graphs, equations. This is by providing a space between key ideas for these annotations. COA1011 is a course that I find to be the most interesting of all lectures I have attended. This is because it is an engaging course. Apart from providing an understanding of the world of design this course allows one to feed their curiosity by providing students with the chance to air their ideas. It provides an environment for challenging one another in the process of re-inventing the existing ideas. The course encourages aspiring architectures to be critical when making inquiries, when making observations as well as when putting their ideas into creations. Being a supervised

Can streaming transform the music industry in the same way it has Essay

Can streaming transform the music industry in the same way it has transformed the television industry with Netflix - Essay Example Examples of streaming media include the radio and television. On the other hand, the non-streaming media include books, video cassettes, and even audio CDs. Out of the two categories, the former has a higher level of success as it has been a faster and more efficient mode of information transfer, which makes it the most liked by millions of people across the globe. This research paper, therefore, seeks to explain whether streaming can transform the music industry in the same way it has transformed the television industry with Netflix. Streaming has over the years helped in transforming the television industry. These developments have also been witnessed in the music industry. Music lovers no longer need to be held siege of fulfilling their music passions by waiting for the broadcasting channels to air their favorite music videos. This is because they have the power to control what they want to listen to, where they wish to listen it, and when they wish to listen to it. However, streaming has brought with it its share of challenges as it has made the industry player draw their battle lines of who to take credit for some gains in the steaming industry. A case in point is the case of Taylor Swift pulling all her albums from Spotify, a popular streaming service (Carlson, 2014). She cited her reasons that she did not want to be part to the players who were shrinking the music sales (Davidson, 2014). Pulling an anti-streaming stance was meant to send out a message that the music industry thrived better in the non-strea ming media (Dredge, 2014); a move I entirely support. For a long time, the music industry has by large operated in the non-streaming platform. Though it has had its share of success, there has been increasing pressure by the music fans to increase the steaming of some music content to increase their accessibility (Dredge, 2014). This

Discuss the way in which organisational structures impacts on the flow Essay

Discuss the way in which organisational structures impacts on the flow of work and overall purposes of the service are achieved - Essay Example that an organization can either be formally aligned in its ways and means of doing things and different processes or the same might just be in a way informal in quite a few of its activities and tasks. The manner in which it runs across this paradigm is something that needs to be studied in depth before we reach further consensus on their purposes and the kind of achievements that they have had. As we talk about an organization, we see that within it the communication can flow in one of three ways or in all the three directions. This means that these three directions pave the way for the ease of communication and there are as such no barriers to arise from the whole equation. The first communication flow is from top to bottom, which means that the communication starts from the top management and goes down towards the middle and lower management. It ensures that the instructions are easily made comprehensible for all and sundry who are within the middle and lower cadres and there are as such no discrepancies arising from this form of communication flow. The second form could be the one that starts from the lower or middle management and goes up towards the top management. A common example of this kind of communication flow is in the type of protests and rallies that arise at the lower level and the lower management wants to make sure that their voice gets heard courtesy the top cadre of the organization. The third communication flow could be in the kind of peer to peer communication and interaction. This means that the employees and the workers at the same level communicate within their own capacities and as such there are no hindrances arising from the whole communication matrix. Apart from this, within an organization the communication also flows in a formal as well as an informal manner. Where the communication is more formal and sophisticated, the interaction is usually done through paper and written requests whereas the informal talk is also called

Individual Rights and Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Individual Rights and Climate Change - Essay Example According to the research findings climate change will have major impact on people all over the world. Majority of the world’s population is susceptible to threats such as interruptions to water supply; raise in the severity of hurricanes, floods and famines, coastal erosion as a result of sea level increase; and to harmful human health effects, for instance, by means of an increase in the range as well as spread of disease. The effects of climate change are also a specific concern within the Asia Pacific region. In accordance with the fifth report from the â€Å"Working Group on Climate Change and Development, Up in Smoke? Asia and the Pacific released in November 2007†, the human drama of climate change will mostly be carried out within Asia, where more than 52 percent of the world’s entire population - more or less 5 billion people - lives. While responding to climate change, governments have conventionally tackled it as an environmental issue or more recently , as a fiscal one. Up until now, the communal as well as human rights inferences of climate change have little awareness. Yet the human costs of climate change openly intimidate basic human civil rights; â€Å"rights to life, to food, to a place to live and work, rights that governments have an obligation to protect†. One UN official states that global warming as well as severe weather conditions may have disastrous effects on the human rights of millions of individuals. Eventually, climate change may have an effect on the very right to life of a number of individuals; nations have a responsibility to prevent and deal with some of the â€Å"direst consequences that climate change may reap on human rights† (Godrej, 2006, p. 39). Equity concerns as well take place within the climate change perspective due to its inconsistent effect on already susceptible individuals as well as communities (Alston et al, 2007, p. 66). As said by the UK Secretary of State for the Environme nt, communally, climate change creates intense queries of impartiality and justice â€Å"between generations, between the developing and developed worlds; between rich and poor within each country† (McAdam, 2010, p. 62). The test is to discover a reasonable allocation of tasks as well as human rights. States have a positive responsibility to safeguard individuals against the danger created for civil rights by climate change, irrespective of the causes. The most successful way of easing this is to implement a civil rights based approach to strategy as well as governmental reactions to climate change; an advancement that is normatively supported by global civil rights values and that is aimed at encouraging as well as defending human rights (O’Brien et al, 2010, p. 43). Second part of this paper focuses on the human rights aspects of climate change. Particularly, it tries to find out how the human rights enclosed within the major global mechanisms are in jeopardy by the effects of climate change. Third part then goes on to focus on what responsibilities are imposed on countries, in both global as well as domestic regulation to act in response to these threats. Fourth part focuses on how nations may accomplish their human rights responsibilities, in the perspective of climate change reactions; arguing that a civil

The Palestine-Israel Conflict and the United States Essay - 3

The Palestine-Israel Conflict and the United States - Essay Example Israel is using its military and political dominance to impose a highly discriminatory system to withdraw the non-Jewish citizens from the territories it has occupied. The gravity of the situation can be estimated from the fact that â€Å"Israel has at least 150 nuclear weapons (â€Å"Israel has 150†). Ever since the occupation of Palestine by Israel, the native Palestinians have been subject to intense discrimination and abomination. â€Å"Palestinians face systematic discrimination merely because of their race, ethnicity, and national origin, depriving them of electricity, water, schools, and access to roads, while nearby Jewish settlers enjoy all of these state-provided benefits† (Bogert cited in â€Å"Israel/West Bank†). The day-to-day life of the native Palestinians is controlled by the discriminatory policies of Israel without any conceivable security reason. For instance, the Israeli authorities have made Palestinian children walk to other villages for sc hooling because there is none in Jubbet al-Dhib that is a Palestinian village accommodating over 160 Palestinians. The Israeli authorities did not provide any electricity to the village and also rejected the provision of solar-powered streetlights in the village. Villagers have no electricity and accordingly, no means of refrigerating food. All non-Jewish citizens of Israel are denied its nationality. The US has played a major role in strengthening Israel economically and in power but today, Israel has become more of a liability for the US than an asset. â€Å"The engine that has run the Israeli economy for decades has been American aid†¦Israel is heavily in debt to the U.S. Treasury, its commercial banks, and its Jews and other citizens and organizations that have purchased millions of Israel bonds or donated money to Jewish causes† (Tivnan 217). Israel is not only costing the US billions of dollars every year but is also bringing the image of the US down in the international media. Thousands of

An act of kindness you did for someone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An act of kindness you did for someone - Essay Example I myself wanted to keep a dog but my mother would never allow. She said that animals have germs and keeping them is not very hygienic for us. However, this was one chance for me to keep a pet and see if they are really that unhygienic to keep or difficult to manage the mess they create. So I took the chance and told my friend that she could leave Nin with me while she was away. My friend became very happy to hear this and said that it was a big load off her shoulder. She thanked me a lot. She said that now she could leave peacefully and content that her cat would be taken care of in her absence. When I brought Nin home, it was a shock for my mother. My mother is very conscious about maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in everything. While that is a good habit, but it gets a little irritating for others for whom the standards of cleanliness and hygiene are a little different from hers. It was not easy for me to convince my mother that I would be extremely careful with the cat and would regularly clean up any mess that Nin created. Still, my mother was not satisfied till the time she saw that it was not that difficult to keep a pet. I used to bathe Nin in a tub of luke warm water on alternate days, and would dry her with an air-blower. I bought Nin some very fine pet-cookies from the store from my own pocket money, and made sure that she had sufficient supply of cookies and milk. I also used to leave a little meat on the bones from my own meals to share it with Nin. This was all I could do with the pocket money I had at that time. In the evening, I used to take Nin out so that she could play. When my friend returned, she was extremely happy to find that Nin was doing well. She noticed that Nin had gained a few extra pounds. She was very grateful to me to have taken care of Nin so well. To see her smile was a very precious moment of my life, and reassured me that I

Information About Strategic Teaching, Strategic Learning and Thinking Skills Essay Example for Free

Information About Strategic Teaching, Strategic Learning and Thinking Skills Essay Teachers, whether brand new to the classroom, or veterans of many years of service, are always looking for ways to make what they do more effective and more efficient. That even goes for students in teacher preparation programs, as well it should. Efficiency is a measure of what is obtained (results) in relation to what was expended (resources). Effectiveness is a bit more elusive. To be sure, effectiveness in anything, including teaching, can be difficult to describe and to measure. The following is a discussion about some fundamental principles that may lead to actual improvement of instruction. Please read on. In order to use any instructional technique effectively, anyone who teaches must, of necessity, understand the fundamental principles and assumptions upon which the specific technique is based. There is certainly no shortage of descriptions or labels for activities that may be classified as pertaining to instruction. From the ever-popular lecture method to complex student-teacher, student-student interactions, instruction encompasses a broad range of teacher behaviors. At one end (the lecture method) the teacher is an imparter of information, and the students are the intended recipients of the information the teacher imparts. At the other end of the range of teacher behaviors are methods in which teachers interact with students in vastly more complex ways. Most researchers and experts in the field are in agreement that the most permanent and meaningful learning takes place at this end of the range. Strategic teaching, and, concomitantly, strategic learning are techniques in which significant student-teacher interaction and resultant learning and thinking are at the high end of the scale. To learn strategic teaching techniques, and to foster the ability of students to engage in strategic learning, it is important to define some terms. In fact, one of the principles of strategic teaching is to define terms. Below are terms that are relevant to this process. Strategic teaching describes instructional processes that focus directly on fostering student thinking, but goes well beyond that. Strategic teaching and strategic learning are inexorably linked. A strategic teacher has an understanding of the variables of instruction and is aware of the cognitive requirements of learning. In such an awareness, comes a sense of timing and a style of management. The strategic teacher is one who: 1. s a thinker and decision maker; 2. possesses a rich knowledge base; 3. is a modeler and a mediator of instruction. Variables of instruction refer to those factors that strategic teachers consider in order to develop instruction. These variables, as the name implies, change, and therefore the teacher must be aware of the nature of change as well as the actual variables themselves. These variables are: 1. characteristics of the learner; 2. material to be learned (curriculum content); 3. the criterial task (the goals and outcomes the teacher and learner designate); 4. earning strategies (goal directed activities in which learners engage). In teaching content at the elementary, middle, or secondary level, the strategic teacher helps guide instruction by focusing on learning strategies that foster thinking skills in relation to the content. In connecting new information to what a student already knows, learning becomes more meaningful, and not simply retained for test-taking purposes. There are numerous strategies that teachers can develop that accomplish this purpose. To give one information is not difficult, but to help one be able to develop the tools to both know what information is relevant and the means to acquire it, is perhaps the most important function of any social studies teacher. There are numerous techniques for engaging students in thinking about content. Besides thinking skills, there are such practical matters as how best to present a lesson on weather, teaching map and globe skills, helping students work together in groups, how to question effectively, and how to answer student questions. The first and foremost criterion is that the teacher thoroughly know the content, the second criterion is that the teacher have a set of rules for classroom management that are understood and implemented, and the third criterion is that the teacher have the resourcefulness and knowledge to rehearse unfamiliar techniques, and more importantly, have the capacity to adjust any lesson plan to maintain academic focus. Many of these tasks are learned on-the-job. Nothing you can learn in any course is more valuable than learning what to do when you dont know what to do. When you can do that, you are well on your way to becoming a great teacher. Strategic Learning Strategic learning is, in effect, a highly probable outcome of effective strategic teaching. Reduced to its essentials, strategic learning is learning in which students construct their own meanings, and in the process, become aware of their own thinking. The link between teaching, thinking, and learning is critical. As a teacher, if you are not causing your students to think about what you are presenting, discussing, demonstrating, mediating, guiding, or directing, then you are not doing an effective job. You must be more than a dispenser of information. You must create conditions and an environment that encourages thinking, deepens and broadens it, and which causes students to become aware of how they think. The process of thinking about how we think is referred to as metacognition. In helping students create knowledge, it is useful to think of knowledge as occupying space that can be thought of as a pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid is declarative knowledge, or knowledge of what is. Declarative knowledge is akin to awareness. One step up on the pyramid is procedural knowledge, or knowledge of how something works, or functions. At the top of the pyramid is conditional knowledge, or knowledge of when or why a particular procedure will work. Conditional knowledge is closely related to the predictive function of knowledge. When students develop a broad and deep system of conditional knowledge, they are able to predict more accurately, solve problems more efficiently, and in a sense, are more free because they can identify and articulate more options from which to choose. Strategic learning is a valuable system to help your students develop conditional knowledge. Content Connections The creation of knowledge is, in the most practical and profound sense, a primary and direct result of learning. As teachers, we must strive to assist our students to develop intellectual tools by which they can create knowledge. Any knowledge, once created, becomes a part of a larger system that enhances learning and is capable of integrating and accommodating new information with greater efficiency and reliability. Each person creates knowledge in similar, yet uniquely distinct ways. Connecting information provided or described by others in novel and personal ways is a key to learning and developing knowledge. The more one knows, the more one can know. The idea of content links or connections is not exactly new, but offers some unique opportunities to chart your own course, learn, and add to your knowledge system. Enter the idea of Constructivism. Constructivism is a philosophy as well as a psychology of education. Constructivism is about how knowledge is created.

Global Hybrid Electric Vehicle Market Essay Example for Free

Global Hybrid Electric Vehicle Market Essay A hybrid electric vehicle combines two energy sources, one of which is mechanical (ICE) and the other electrical. The size of the gasoline engine in a hybrid electric vehicle is smaller than that in a traditional vehicle. The combination of the two power sources helps to achieve better fuel economy and performance. Hybrid electric vehicles use efficient technologies such as regenerative braking that charges the battery by converting kinetic energy into electric energy. Many hybrid electric vehicles have start-stop systems that shut down the ICE when idle and restart it when needed, thereby reducing idle emissions. Covered in this Report This report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the Global Hybrid Electric Vehicle market for the period 2014-2018. To calculate market size, the report considers the unit shipments of the following types of hybrid electric vehicles in the market: †¢HYBRID ELECTRIC CARS †¢HYBRID ELECTRIC TRUCKS †¢OTHER HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES Key Regions †¢JAPAN. †¢NORTH AMERICA †¢EUROPE †¢CHINA †¢ROW Key Vendors †¢FORD MOTOR CO. †¢HONDA MOTOR CO. LTD. †¢HYUNDAI MOTOR CO. †¢TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. †¢VOLKSWAGEN AG Other Prominent Vendors †¢NISSAN MOTORS †¢GENERAL MOTORS †¢DAIMLER †¢VOLVO GROUP Key Market Driver †¢INCREASED POPULARITY OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES †¢FOR A FULL, DETAILED LIST, VIEW OUR REPORT. Key Market Challenge †¢HIGH COST OF HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES †¢FOR A FULL, DETAILED LIST, VIEW OUR REPORT. Key Market Trend †¢INCREASE IN RD INNOVATIONS †¢FOR A FULL, DETAILED LIST, VIEW OUR REPORT. Key Questions Answered in this Report †¢What will the market size be in 2018 and what will the growth rate be? †¢What are the key market trends? †¢What is driving this market? †¢What are the challenges to market growth? †¢Who are the key vendors in this market space? †¢What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors? †¢What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors? For more insights, view our Global Hybrid Electric Vehicle Market 2014-2018 report.

Socially Responsible Investing And Morally Responsible Investing Management Essay

Socially Responsible Investing And Morally Responsible Investing Management Essay Introduction The last decades a bid debate is going on about the responsibility of business. The most known debate is the one that started with the book of Milton Friedman (1962) Capitalism and Freedom. Then at 1970 Friedman published an article at the New York Times Magazine, repeating his views on corporate responsibilities and he supported them further. After that publication many responses where published from many scholars (ex. Mulligan 1986, Shaw 1988, Nunan 1988) each one arguing for or against Friedmans views. One of the well-promoted debates is the one between Friedman and Freeman who is a major supporter of the stakeholder theory. This last debate ended with the death of Friedman and the essay of Freeman (2008) that he is ending the debate. The main argument between the scholars is focused in the following phrase of Friedman (1962, 1970): there is one and only one social responsibility of business-to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.. In this essay I will try to focus on these rules of the game in now days, the demands of the global market and some arguments that confirm a change in the rules or at least a movement toward a fundamental change. The New Rules of the Game In short time after Friedmans publications, Davis (1973) presented a very prophetically article. He tried to illustrate argument for and against social responsibility, presenting very accurate the issues that led to the CSR development and spreading. Among others he spotted the benefits of CSR towards the public image of a company, the long-run self-interest, the implications from government regulation, social norms and the increasing stockholder interest toward responsible behavior. Cooper suggests that Friedman was right, since the rules of the game are now changed, and have nothing to do with the rules in 1970 that extended only to the basic free market principles. He argues that now the societys expectations of business are including also environmental concern, consumer safety, ethical governance and other. A modern company has to deal with multiple stakeholders that are increasing because of the rising interest and also because of the globalization of the markets. NGOs, trade un ions, consumers organizations, all are trying to influence with the companys activities and support their interests. So now CSR has to go beyond corporate philanthropy and charity work. Row (2006) argues that now there is greater awareness that CSR encompasses not only what companies do with their profits, but also how they make them. For better understanding of the changes of the rules I will present some of those that had change and what is required, from a company, to deal with now. Public Image Vivien and Thompson (2005) in their essay commented the study of FTSE 100 that found that, in UK, around 60 percent of the firms market value was not reflected in the balance sheet. That means that the value of a firm is coming also from other non-financial assets. Deephouse (2000) proposed that reputation is the most competitive advantage that companies can have. With the development of the media and the technology, it is crucial for a company to have a good public image. It is now very easy to spread out a problem that occurred in a company, something that in the past was more difficult due lack of means. Now with the internet almost anybody in the world can express an opinion and be read (or heard) by anyone in the world. So a minor problem can easily take global dimension and publicity. Also with the rising number of multinationals millions of people are becoming stakeholders and are interested in the activities of these companies. Fombrun (1996) stated that reputation is based o n stories various stakeholders tell about the organization. Now with millions of stakeholders, there are millions of stories to be told and the technology provides the means to do it. Fombrun (1998) also lists six criteria that effect reputation of a company in the public eye: financial performance, product quality, employee treatment, community involvement, environmental performance and organizational issues. It is easy to see that many of these criteria are connected with CSR strategies. So CSR can assist a company to create or preserve a good public image, something that in the past was not essential for the business. Rowe (2006) argues that the growing numbers of NGOs, campaigning groups and activist organizations can strongly affect the image of a company. Some years before the numbers of these stakeholders and their power were far smaller. Friedman, driven by the political status of cold war, was facing any critic on the system as a socialist or communistic approach. Now, in a globalized market, these stakeholders have an important role and influent consumers, shareholders and more or less even nations. People in different countries have different values but the structure of human value system is universal (Schwartz, 1994, 1999). That is why a bad image can affect the stakeholders around the world, even if they have different values. But we should not forget that reputation also affects shareholders behavior. When having substance, favorable reputation attracts stakeholders as well as shareholders and investors for usually creating refection of investments security and trustworthy treading partner (Dowling, 2004; Gregory, 1991). Government Regulation Some years ago the balance of power shifted away from government in favor of corporations. Under globalization, deregulation, privatization and technological innovation accelerated that phenomenon (Rowe, 2006). But now, in the post-Enron world and in the middle of a global economic crisis, voices raising and asking for more regulation. Greenfield (2006) argues that the law governing corporations need to be more protective of corporations. Lydenberg and Sinclair (2009) argue that there may be battles between corporations, government and NGOs over the appropriate circumstances for regulation and the degree of that regulation, but the ground rules will have changed only when corporations are seen fighting for, not against, such oversight. CSR, for now, is a voluntary initiative that corporations are taking beyond their legal requirements. Reporting CSR initiatives was part of the communication strategy of each company. Now governments and regulators increasingly expect, and are beginnin g to require, CSR reporting (Lydenberg and Sinclair, 2009). Governments, especially in Europe, ask from public traded companies to include social and environmental indicators in their reports to shareholders (Lydenberg and Sinclair, 2009). National pension funds are required to adopt social and environmental guidelines for their investments. Also raising economies and markets, such as China, are requiring from the state-owned companies to report their CSR initiatives (Ethical Performance, 2008). We see that, starting from reporting, CSR starts to be regulated. For now reporting of public companies and public interests investments are required to report and consider social and environmental issues. For sure that will expand to the private sector, maybe through contracting from public companies. Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Morally Responsible Investing (MRI) Calvert Investments states that SRI funds aim to integrate personal, social and environmental concerns with financial considerations, their objective is to increase investors wealth while ensuring that the selected companies have a positive impact on people and the Planet.. SRI funds are also known as Green Funds or Ethical Funds (Ghoul and Karam, 2007). Lydenberg and Sinclair (2009) argue that systematic corporate disclosure on social and environmental issues is increasingly demanded by responsible investors and consumers. SRI Funds are going a step further. SRI Funds demand their investments to be in an ethical way and in ethical sectors of economy. Usually SRI Mutual Funds are not involved with alcohol, gambling, tobacco and weapons production or distribution. Beyond that they pursue to have good performance is areas of welfare, board diversity, community relations, corporate governance, environment, human rights, indigenous peoples right, product safety and impact, and workplace practices (Lydenberg and Sinclair, 2009). Baue and Cook (2008) note there has been a changing behavior of mutual fund voting on climate change issues. Also public pension and investment funds have moved significantly on their transparency with respect to proxy voting (Global proxy Watch, 2008). Moreover in 2006 the United Nations Global Compact and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative lunched, at the New York Stock Exchange, the Principles for Responsible Investment, an initiative that aim to connect pension funds and money managers from around the world to commit to principles of responsible investment. As we see there is a turning to the way that investments are done. Beaver (2001) argues that institutional investors have been taking large and long-term positions in firms while playing more dominant role in corporate affairs. Also Warren (2002) notes that over 60% of shares are held by financial institutions, which seek the best returns on behalf of their investors [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] however, there is now a growing sector of the investment market that is guided by ethical criteria in the selection of its investment portfolio. At last Hendry et al. (2007) argue that the activism of public pension funds, and more recently of trade unions pension funds, has had greater effect on company-shareholder relationship. [..] Public pension funds, have taken the view that the pensioners of the future have an interest not only in financial returns but also in such things as environmental sustainability and ethically and socially responsible capitalism.. A different kind of responsible investment is the so-called Morally Responsible Investing (MRI). These are faith-based funds that invest in companies whose products and policies are consistent with the investors religious (usually moral) beliefs (Ghoul and Karam, 2007). There are basically two types of MRI funds, the Islamic Mutual Funds and the Christian Funds. Both are based on the religion and their investment is more focused on ethical (each in its own perception) field of investing and less on social or environmental contribution (Ghoul and Karam, 2007). That is the major difference with the common SRI funds. Conclusions When Milton Friedman was writing his famous book and essay couldnt predict these changes in the world. He was actually right when he argued that companies should act within rules of the game. Those rules have change. Cooper supports that companies of the 21st century have as an essential component of success a balanced approach of CSR issues. As we saw many of the rules are changed and keep changing. The image of a company is now more important than ever before. CSR makes the corporate image better. Also the way of investing had changed. Personal values of the investors or sustainability strategies of Mutual Funds are affecting the investors portfolio towards ethical and responsible investing. Regulatory systems are changing and moving towards more ethical accountability. The corporate scandals and the financial crisis triggered a reaction of multiple stakeholders that now demand a more regulatory system. Companies also start to support that, since they see that the bad actions of so me targeted whole industries (ex. Bonuses of bankers). Risk and sustainability strategies are becoming a mainstream in the business world. Those cant work if they are not connected with CSR strategies and responsible behaviors. Klein and Dawar (2004) propose that CSR has value to the firm as a form of insurance policy against negative events. There is still to see if these rules are going to change more and how are they going to interact with the market and companies behavior. Googins et al. (2007) argue that the rules of the game are to change, however this redefinition will need to encompass shifts that are legal, regulatory, theoretical and cultural.

What To Write :: essays research papers

What to Write?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Do you recall the last 500-word essay you had to write? Or perhaps the last 500- word essay you had to read? As a teacher, Paul Roberts spent a large portion of his time reading 500-word essays. Paul Roberts found these compositions were uninspired, and done in the last possible minute. Paul Roberts wrote three books to aid you in becoming better writer. â€Å"How to Say Nothing in 500 Words† comes from Roberts’ best-known book, Understanding English. â€Å"How to Say Nothing in 500 Words† aids you by suggesting what not to say. This exert from Understanding English has 10 mistakes, and possible ways to avoid these mistakes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first three sections deal with making your paper interesting. These three sections include: â€Å"Nothing About Something,† â€Å"Avoid the Obvious Content,† and â€Å"Take the Less Usual Side.† In the First section, â€Å"Nothing About Something,† Roberts goes through the steps a normal student would take in writing a 500-word essay on college football. You may begin shortly after they receive your assignment. Often times you may start well. But after about one paragraph, you run out of things to say. Therefore, you put it off, which causes you to run out of time. Then you find yourself writing your paper at the last possible moment, which makes it dull. Writing your paper at the last possible moment also fills it with unnecessary information, and oversized margins. After reading through these steps many people realize that this is exactly what they do. Robert tells you this paper would, more like than not, earn you a â€Å"D.â₠¬    Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next two sections, â€Å"Avoid the Obvious Content† and â€Å"Take the Less Usual Side,† deal with making your paper more interesting. To avoid obvious content do not use the first things that come to mind. The reason for this is because whatever comes to your mind first is what comes to everyone else’s mind, making it obvious. Once you have decided what not to use, make another list of subjects or reasons. From this list pick the most unusual aspect. Roberts says not only will this be the easiest to write about, but it will also be more interesting. Roberts also advices, â€Å"it is good manners to avoid personality.† By avoiding personality Roberts means don’t write what you think your instructor wants to hear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The remaining seven sections deal with word choices. These categories include: â€Å"Slip out of Abstraction,† â€Å"Get Rid of Obvious Padding,† â€Å"Call a Fool a Fool,† â€Å"Beware of Pat Expression,† â€Å"Colorful Words,† â€Å"Colored Words,† and â€Å"Colorless Words.

Queen Nefertiti as a Significant Historical Figure in the Coloring Book :: History Queen Nefertiti Essays

Queen Nefertiti as a Significant Historical Figure in the Coloring Book The influence and admiration of Ancient Egypt's Queen Nefertiti in the modern world is quite apparent, particularly in children's literature. "A Coloring Book of Queen Nefertiti" is a prime example. This 18-page coloring book includes black-outline illustrations of various aspects of ancient Egyptian history pertaining to Queen Nefertiti. Also incorporated are brief anecdotes pertaining to the pictures, written in simple language appropriate for ten to 13 year olds, though this was probably not the intended target age bracket. The language is probably too complex for younger children, (ironic as the prime age for coloring book use is three to eight years old); however these passages can easily be read to them by a parent, teacher, or older sibling, and hold great educational value for the child and adult alike. Placed prominently on the glossy front cover is an image of Nefertiti's famous bust portrait from a well-known Berlin museum. The Nefertiti bust portrait, from Ancient Egypt's 18th Dynasty, was created sometime between 1348 and 1336 B.C. and now resides in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Agyptisches Museum. (Stokstad, 120) It was found in the studio of its believed sculptor, Tuthmose, at the then-capital city, Akhetaten. Because bust portraits during this time were a rarity, scholars believe that Tuthmose may have created the bust simply as a model for future sculptures and paintings of Nefertiti. Though it is generally known from ancient depictions of sculptors at work that statues were sometimes created in parts and then assembled, it is believed that this bust was never intended to be part of a full-bodied statue. (Stokstad, 120) The illustration of the Nefertiti bust on the cover of the coloring book and the actual bust itself are physically similar in many ways, but they also differ significantly. The basic depiction is the same; Nefertiti faces towards the viewer's right side, has the same general facial and dress features, and features the same proportions. The physical similarities end there, however. The actual bust measures twenty inches (51 cm) in height, while the coloring book's depiction is a mere 9.5 inches (24 cm). The true bust, of course, gives us more definition in facial features because of its use of three-dimensional representation. For example, Nefertiti's cheekbone is prominent on the bust, but is completely absent on the coloring book cover. The two representations also differ drastically in color.

Brave New World Essay

Aldous Huxley was a writer of several novels, including the most famous Brave New World. He was born on 1894 and died on 1963. His interest includes politics, philosophy, parapsychology, psychology and mysticism. He was known to have close relationship to several people who have inclinations towards science. He has a botanical father and had worked in a chemical plant. Brave New World was written during an era where psychology and genetics play a vital role in explaining human behavior and reactions. It is then not impossible that there will come a time that humans will be experimented using psychology and genetics to be able to determine the extent of its effect. 1)Identify the characteristics (dimensions) of the narrative. A narrative is about telling stories, thus, it consist primarily of a plot structure, conflict, characters, setting, theme and point of view. The plot structure is basically the outline or the framework of the whole narrative; it includes the introduction followed by the rising action and the climax and then the falling action and finally the resolution. The conflict on the other hand is the disagreement in the narrative; usually it is where the whole plot revolves. The characters are the players or those who perform in the narrative. The setting is where the narrative takes place. The theme is the topic or the issue/s being portray or shown as the narrative progresses. The point of view is what the characters or the author seems to think from their perspective. 2)Discover an explanation for how the narrative creates meaning. The narrative creates a meaning by putting all of its dimensions together. Weaving one with another, it generates an idea that later result to a series of story which are connected with one another. 3)What is the setting? Where does the story takes place? Brave New World starts in ‘Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre’, there is a tour in the Hatcheries. The director is explaining to the students the process of reproduction of ‘customized’ human beings. The story takes place during A. F. otherwise known as After Ford. 4)Who are the characters? Are they human? Fleshed out? Known and unknown traits. The first character to be shown was the ‘Director’ Tomakin. He was the director of Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. As the story succeeds, he was shown to be a part of a scandal involving his impregnation of Linda, a second caste or Beta and having a son with her named John, some 25 years ago. The next character was Linda Crowne, she is another Beta which depicts the typical female in the Brave New World. She is nineteen years old and is a lab worker at the Conditioning Center. She is Bernard’s love interest and she also like Bernard. Bernard is the main character in the story, he works as a psychologist in the Conditioning Centre and belongs to the Alpha class or the first class. He is the one to expose the son and wife of Director Tomakin. John or more commonly known as ‘the savage’ is the son of Linda and Tomakin. He lives in the savage Reservation along with her mother. He causes the big embarrassment for the director. He found his mother in the dying bed. He serves as the character who lives in the old world or something like that. Mustapha Mond is one of the World Controller. At the beginning of the narrative he told the students who are touring the Control Center about monogamy and the bond between mother and child, which he remarked as ‘horrifying’. Helmholtz Watson looks like Bernard’s Bestfriend and adviser. He like Bernard is not in favor of the ‘new order’ he thinks that there is something that is not right in the system. Ford is another term or shortcut for Freud which serves as the new ‘God’ as revealed in the story by Mond. Other characters are just minor characters. Among the characters, ‘the savages’ are the only one who is really humans’ or those who become humans in the natural sense. Other characters are fleshed out. Although they are till humans are homo sapiens, they are not created in the normal process. As stated above, they are somehow, customized. 5)Who is the narrator? Attitude toward story? Powers available to narrator? Characteristics? Trustworthy & reliable? The narrator is actually not among the characters thus he/she have the capability to tell the readers what is actually taking place in the narrative. The narrator’s attitude is somehow against the world order but it seems that the narrator is curios of what will happen after things are going this and that way. I could not say for sure if the narrator is trustworthy and reliable since there are instances wherein he/she tries to guess part of the story. Also, since the narrator is not an actual character it is hard to tell how much is his/her if his/her interpretations are coherent. 6)What are the events? Which are important for the story’s development? Which flesh out the story? The first three chapters generally describe that ‘brave new world’. The tour in the Control Center gives us a brief overview of the workings involved in the conditioning and reconditioning of the people, from conception to old age. Then the presentation of Lenina as the typical human being during that time in contrast with Bernard who seems to deviate with what is foreseen as natural. The visit to the Savage Reservation which shows the members of the old world and how they live corresponds to the presentation of a small part or population who still live in the ‘old system’. Meeting John and Linda who turns out to be the Director’s family, John being a child conceived through normal sexual intercourse which the new society or the Fordian society believes to be obscene. The presentation of John as the son followed by the fame of Bernard that was only short-lived since John did not show up in the conference which was arranged to confirm his identity. Then it shows the Shakespearean love that John felt for Lenina while Lenina shows the love she knows, this leads him to beat her. It was then followed by Linda’s death which leads to a riot at the hospital. This leads to the arrest of Helmholtz, Bernard and John. Bernard and Helmholtz were sent to another island far from England. John on the other hand was permitted to live n England. The people in England seems to drive John crazy, thus at the end, he killed himself. 7)How are events related in time? How are they told in the story? (Flashbacks? ) What is the speed or pace of the story? The events are related as the story progresses however there are indeed some flashbacks especially the scenes with John in the savage Reservation. The speed of the story is fast paced but there are enough explanation for every scenes. 8)What are the causes and effects? Are causes human? Supernatural? Are effects caused by accidents? Forces of nature? The Causes are the humans as can be seen since it is the humans who create the ‘brave new world’. Accordingly, the world is patterned to how Freud had conceived family as a disintegration of individual. The new order also aims to promote happiness by controlling everything in the human life. The effects are not merely accidents but an understanding of a ‘utopian’ view. 9)Who is the audience? What can we tell about the audience’s knowledge, personality, and abilities, on the basis of the speaker’s attitude toward audience? The audience is basically the reader which is also the spectators who are looking forward the development and progress in the narrative. The speaker speaks of the audience as someone who wants to join or be included in the ‘utopian like’ world where everything is equal yet individuality is missing. 10)What is the theme? It may be an underlying truth or saying. How obvious and clear is the theme? â€Å"Community, Identity and Stability has been the central theme of the whole novel since it is even the motto of the ‘new order’. The theme is very obvious since it is discussed in the novel. Stability is always mentioned with its reference to control and less conflict. Science seems to be the central source of power in the ‘brave new world’, science is used to provide less conflict through conditioning and minimizing conflicts. 11)Does the narrative fulfill its creator’s purpose? I believe it has fulfilled its creator purpose of delivering a novel that shows a future society if it will be designed or patterned to a ‘communal, scientific capital system’. Everyone will be treated in the same way. People do not experience loneliness because they are conditioned to be like this and do that. People are treated as mechanisms and/or things that can be rejected if it does not suffice its purpose. People live and die with the purpose of living together harmoniously in a fake reality. 12) Does the narrative provide useful ideas for living your life? Yes, it had me thinking of my own view regarding Utopia. It also gives me an insight about the way society has effects on the individual. The way the society can shape and somehow manipulate what an individual will think and how he/she will react. Also, it shows that although science, in general and genetic engineering in particular, may be used to treat illnesses and can improve life, it might also result to artificial human beings which are created in laboratories. Reference: Huxley, A. (1958). Brave New World.

Rethinking Video Game Violence Essay

Technological advancements made in the twenty first century have continuously altered the lives of every individual in this planet. Digital technologies have made communication among individuals very easy with the click of a button. In addition to this, technological advancements have also affected how people entertain themselves. Children all over the world are already abandoning their traditional toys. Action figures, matchboxes, building sets and puzzles are now losing its popularity because of the invasion of video games. The technological advancements have introduced the Play Station, Xbox, Game Cube, etc. to millions and millions of children all over the world (Mayor, 2005). True enough; the development of video and online games has continuously invaded the households of citizens all over the world, targeting their most important clients, the children. For some reason, video games only cater to the young adolescents and children; only in rare cases do they tend to be successful in influencing the adults. This is due to the fact that these games were designed using the role-playing method, which only entice the younger population as they are the ones who could not distinguish which is real and which remains to be in the fantasy realm of their minds. When adults observe children playing video games, the former fails to see what the latter sees (Mackey, n. d. ). In one way or another, these video games contribute to the construction of the children’s identity and culture, thus greatly affecting the lives of the children. With the popularity of video games increasing, the traditional ways by which childhood is characterized have continuously eroded and undermined. Somehow, no one knows where and what childhood really is about (In Search of the Child, 1969). Together with these advancements in technology come social problems associated with children and the youth such as drug-trafficking, teenage crime and the involvement of children in crime. The development of these video games has continuously instilled fear upon educators and parents as they continuously affect the children’s lives. Critics of video games fear transmission of violent messages to the children as they engage in playing with these video games (Squire, 2002). It was in 1980 when these video games were developed when President Reagan called for the creation of cold war warriors, knowing that these games would instill skills and attitudes to the warriors. However, more critics become more and more afraid of the effects of these games to cultural activities. They would often think that these would become influence children negatively as these would cause the young children addiction in technological developments (Squire, 2002). In April of 2002, a U. S. District Judge named Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr. made a claim which somehow contrasted this particular fact. According to this very famous personality, video games are not capable in conveying ideas or expressing anything else that could possibly amount to speech (Jenkins, n. d. ). Because of this, video games did not enjoy constitutional protection since then. Limbaugh also said that for as long as games do not express ideas, no game shall be protected even if laws clearly state that children and the youth should not have access to any form of media that is said to explicitly contain violence and sexual messages (Jenkins, n. d. ). According to different research and studies made regarding this topic, the kids who have are now part of the videogame generation does not respond to traditional instructions. Because of this, researchers and educators worry that video games transmit hyper competitive and distorted sexual values to the children. Government policies have been constructed in such away that violent messages could not reach the children. Government policies introduced censorship practices which aim to keep the different homes safe from violence and distorted sexual messages. There had been several devices developed that could help in filtering out violent messages from reaching the homes of the children (In Search of the Child, 1969). In addition, video games are said to turn the children’s attention away from their academics (Squire, 2002). This particular ruling met a lot of criticisms, arguing that video games do express ideas that could definitely influence the minds of the youth negatively. Video games are seen to have psychological and social effects (Jenkins, n. d. ). According to some critics, gamers produce meanings through game play and other related activities. Effects are often seen as they emerge in the game itself. Thus, meanings become visible through interpretations as it continuously reflect our conscious engagement. Through this, they would be put into words and finally, examined. New meanings would often arise from what we already know and think. Because of this, each and every player would interpret a game according to his or her own experience and knowledge (Jenkins, n. d. ). In the same manner, it is often argued that children could not distinguish fantasy from reality. Due to this, focusing on meaning would increase the knowledge and competence each player has, that would often start with the mastery of particular concepts that differentiate the fantasy from the real world (Jenkins, n. d. ). This paper would look into the effects of video games on the children and the role they play in the lives of the children. In the same manner, it would look into how violence is instilled in the minds of these children through these video games. In addition to this, this paper shall look into how these games construct meanings and identities for the young children. For this paper to accomplish these tasks, it shall be using the game RuneScape, developed by Jagex Ltd. , one of the most popular online games in the whole world. RuneScape Released and Operated by Jagex Ltd. in 2001, RuneScape, once again is one of the most popular games in the world. It is said to take place in the fantasy world of Gielinor which is divided into different kingdoms, regions and areas. Players travel throughout the world by foot, often using spells and devices and other means of transportation. As they travel to each region, players face different monsters and quests. In the same way, more and more materials are being made available to them (RuneScape, 2007). Players are portrayed in the screen as avatars that could easily be customized. The players of this game could set their own goals and objectives together with the activities they would want to pursue in order to reach their goal. Competitors engaged in the game are not encouraged to pursue a linear path. They fight with other players, monsters, complete quests and increase their experience in all the skills available. Interaction between players is also encouraged through chatting, trading, etc (RuneScape, 2007). Video Games and their Impact to Children’s Lives A very famous retired military psychologist, Grossman said that video games teach kids to kill in the same way the military trains their soldiers. This very famous retired military man turned psychologist identified the following military concepts included in video games. The following are: brutalization, classical conditioning, operant conditioning and role modeling. These concepts are said to be adopted by the training camps as they prepare their soldiers for the battlefield (Jenkins, n. d. ). These methods have similarities in the way players interact with the computer games and other players. Because of this, the over exposure of children to these kinds of violence at the age when they are still having a hard time in distinguishing fantasy from reality brutalize them. Because of the rewards associated with the different video games, the children are trained to kill in exchange for these prizes. In addition to this, Grossman claims that a child acquires the same conditioned reflex and motor skills the soldiers have every time he plays an interactive point-and-shoot video game (Jenkins, n. d. ). Lastly, soldiers tend to imitate the role models being made visible in the games. Thus, the possibility of acquiring the same skills in real life is high. For humanist researchers on the other hand, these games are very powerful tools for teaching. It could help players in problem solving as they can see their mistakes as opportunities for learning and reflection (Jenkins, n. d. ). Thus, they would be finding better solutions to their problems. The different video games encourage the players to form their own hypotheses, and in the same manner, test them. In the obstacles that they face in the game world, their abilities are pushed to the highest level, since these games are designed in such a way that players would be encouraged to meet their goals (Jenkins, n. d. ). Thus, video games increase aggression among its players which then affects crime rates all over the world. Because of this, even unrealistic video games could be dangerous for the children and young adolescents. According to an experimental study that dealt with college students that engage in video games, these students have increased aggression after exposure to fantasy violent video games. This then proves the alarming situation at hand, that young adults are even affected by the violent messages transmitted by video games even when they are already supposed to know how to differentiate between fantasy and reality (Anderson, 2003). Because of this, these video games are said to be more dangerous than violent television shows and cinemas. In the same way, newly developed video games are now designed to reward the players for killing innocent bystanders, police, prostitutes, etc. using different means and weapons (Anderson, 2003). Hence, the plots of video games are now worse than ever, becoming more and more violent. In addition to this, there are even games that make some criminals as the heroes of the particular video game. For the author of the book What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, the most powerful dimension of these games is the projective identity. Projective identity is the way role-playing allows us to experience the world from different perspectives. Identity then is chosen, accepted or constructed rather than imposed through the games that they engage in. How Video Games Define What it means to be A Child Young children, as mentioned often find it hard to distinguish fantasy from reality. Thus, most children are engaged in games that often involve role-playing. As defined, role-playing games are composed of sessions where group of gamers meet to play. Make believe rules are often formulated which may be simple or sophisticated. As adults already know the difference between reality and fantasy, they find it hard to grasp the concept associated with role playing games (Fei, n. d. ). These role-playing games have said to continuously influence the personality of the children and other young adults. These particular influences, in turn help in shaping the identities of these teens, especially those that are still in the so-called development phase (Fei, n. d. ). How Children Use Video Games to Construct their Realities and Identities As mentioned in the previous parts of this paper, children engage in role playing activities when they play with video games. Thus, this somehow helps them in constructing their realities and identities, how they perceive themselves. This perhaps is the reason why research published in 2000 supports the fact that playing violent video games increases one’s aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior. Apparently, without the children’s proper discernment of what is right and wrong would lead them to the adoption of these concepts that are supposed to exist only in the fantasy world in real life. In the study conducted by Craig Anderson and Karen Dill, it showed that their college student respondents have been influenced by the violent games they have played or are currently playing. It is quite obvious that the aggressiveness they have acquired through playing these violent video games caused their delinquent behaviors in the past (Anderson, 2003). In the same manner, video games have been a very popular avenue in which certain children construct their gender realities. In one way or another, video games have played a very important role in enhancing the gender differences between the girls and the boys. Based on observation and research, the characters, stories and worlds created by girls are truly different from that of the boys. Obviously, boys are more violent than the girls, making violence the most popular feature of the video games for boys. On the other hand, the girls just do not find the themes of these video games appealing – hunting, battling with monsters, etc. Because of this, video games tend to be more popular among the male kids than the female ones. In addition, this then leads to the social construct embedded upon the young minds of these children. At a very young age, the differences between the roles of the males and the females are quite clear to them (Kafai, 2001).

A Look into Post-Traumatic Stress

This Is an Invisible Illness that affects a person's mental state after being exposed to a aromatic or near fatal incident. It is important to note that PATS doesn't just affect soldiers. Anyone can be impacted by PATS. Humans involved in car accidents, witnessing death, being in natural disasters, or even hearing a traumatic event can cause PATS. In this paper, I will explore the history, the sculptural context, the significance and stigma, and the Impact of culture on PATS in American Iraq and Afghanistan soldiers.By definition â€Å"Post-traumatic stress disorder (PATS) Is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event ? either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event† (PAP, 2000). PATS is diagnosed used the Diagnostic Statistics Manual (ADSM). To summarize the diagnosis, â€Å"Diagnostic criteria for PATS include a history of exposure to a traumati c event meeting two criteria and symptoms from each of three symptom clusters: Intrusive recollections, avoiding/numbing symptoms, and hyper-arousal symptoms† (PAP, 2000).Most importantly, diagnosing PATS takes over a month and final diagnosis isn't reached until after six months. This means that a person can experience these symptoms for p to a month without being diagnosed. History The history of PATS can date back to pre- industrial times. But, it most notably came to age in the 20th century. During World War l, this mental condition was known as solution fast. Often times, it would cripple a soldier leading him off the battlefield and sent home. Soldiers named and defined the term themselves. The symptoms were fatigue, tremor, confusion, nightmares, and impaired sight and hearing.Doctors diagnosed shell shock when a soldier was unable to function and nothing appeared to be wrong physically. The â€Å"shell shock† diagnosis was initially reserved for notations that f ollow a concussive shock delivered by high explosives to the head or spine (Young, 1995). Sadly, shell shock was considered cowardly (Young, 1995). It was a debatable illness and highly stigmatize disease because soldiers are supposed to be tough. In WI, American physicists gave shell shock a new name, battle fatigue. This new name for shell shock was still not universally accepted.Leaders of the American Army still showed no sympathy for this mental illness. The general consensus was that if the soldiers aren't physically injured then they need to get out of the hospital and return to war. But in 1946, the National Mental Health Act was passed. This provided expansion of mental health facilities in America for veterans. Most notably, the Veteran Affairs (VA) hospitals mostly cared for battle fatigued soldiers (Young, 1995). During the Vietnam War, the ADSM-II was released. The ADSM- II literally had no diagnosis for combat stress even though the ADSM- I had â€Å"gross distress di sorder†.The Vietnam War was the first time the U. S. Tested the strategy of twelve month deployments. In earlier wars, soldiers didn't return home from war until the war was over. This was the reason PATS had such a delayed onset (Meager). Vietnam veterans returning home from war found it impossible to seek medical care from the Veteran Affairs office due to this (Meager, 2007). The Veteran Affairs medical staff had a difficult time treating soldiers from the Vietnam War because they couldn't find reliable data since the name of the symptoms changed every major war.According to Meager, psychologists, Vietnam veterans, and anti- war activists huddled together to push PATS in the ADSM-III in 1980. PATS was first defined as being triggered by â€Å"events that were unusual†. Just having an official name prompted scientist to begin studying everything behind the disorder (Meager, 007). Scientist and physicians have now added a great amount of new diagnosis criteria to the A DSM-IV, as mentioned in the introduction. Today, the United States Army is all volunteers. Soldiers now sign up for a specific amount of time.Meaning, when the soldiers deployment is over, the soldier is still in the Army. During the Vietnam War, soldiers were drafted from the U. S. Population. The soldiers would serve a specific amount of time in theatre and return home to their families. The importance of this is that these volunteer soldiers face multiple deployments during their contracts unwillingly. A veteran of the Iraq war saw this as an â€Å"attempt to turn our fighting men and women into Rumba- like killing machines† (Meager, 2007, peg. 95). But, the United States Army battles to reduce the mental cessation of killing via â€Å"Total Control†.This program concluded that trained soldiers are more likely to shoot at an enemy only after being fired upon. Unfortunately, preventing psychological problems seems ineffective in this â€Å"Total Control† conce pt† (Meager, 2007). Many types of efforts are being made by the United States Army to combat PATS. In 2004 at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Stress Control was initiated. This was a Joint mission between the Army and the Marines to treat mentally ill Iraq to treat American soldiers emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components of combat stress (Meager, 2007).The ADSM-V was added in May 2013. The manual still contains mostly the same data from the ADSM-IV. The changes are seen in the length of time it takes for diagnosis. It appears that PATS is here to stay in the medical world. Significance of PATS The main reason I'm interested in this mental health topic is because I served in the military and hate to see the greatest people of my generation suffering from their heroic actions. These men and women signed up to fight an unknown enemy on foreign soil after the disastrous events of September 1 1 the, 2001. Some of these soldiers were deployed three times in one contract.These soldiers are exposed to death, injuries, and extreme conditions. When the soldiers come home, they are exposed to nightmares, panic attacks, flashbacks, and negative symptoms that are triggered by normal everyday transactions. The significance of PATS lies in the statistics. The correlation between PATS and suicide is far too high. A study found that the higher the amount of traumatic events a soldier witnesses, the more alienable the person is to suicide (Friedman, 2004). The suicide rate in active duty soldiers and veterans is the highest it's ever been.During the Iraq war soldiers were committing suicide at a rate of 16 suicides per 100,000 soldiers. At home, soldiers were committing suicide at a rate of 11 per 100,000 soldiers (VIVA, 2009). Therefore, the Army is seeing veterans commit suicide before, during and after the war. This is largely agreed to stem from PATS. Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan veterans committing suicide account for 20 percent of all suicides in the United States. In addition, veterans account for 13 percent of the population. The suicide rate triples from veteran to civilian peers (VIVA, 2009).It is important to note that it is impossible to have an exact estimate of the suicide rate in veterans. The Department of Defense does not keep a record of this statistic (Meager, 2007). This makes sense because an organization does not keep records of facts they don't want to know. It is up to the families and coroners to label each suicide with veteran status to add to the statistics. Another issue is that we see homeless people committing suicide. It would be impossible to know if they were a veteran. Stigma from Culture and Perception In the United States, it seems as if every mental disorder has a tremendous amount of stigma.Stigmas surrounding mental illnesses found in civilian society carry over to the military. Veteran personal don't seek treatment because they are afraid of the consequences (Friedman, 2004). It is estimated that close to fifty percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with PATS will not seek treatment because they will be seen as weak by fellow soldiers (VIVA, 2009). Unfortunately, this stigma exists through past experiences of their peer's treatment towards PATS (Meager, 2007). Soldiers who have PATS are twice more likely to claim this stigma than soldiers without PATS.I would like to add my personal perspective. While serving in the military, any form of medical treatment was discouraged by first line leaders and peers. The first step in treatment is declaring to your First Sergeant that you want to go to â€Å"sick call†. This is a request to seek treatment from a physician. This is done at 5:30 in the morning. Soldiers must wake up extra early and confess their illness to a non- physician before seeking treatment. This is a systematizing experience because a soldier's First eve a physical or mental issue, it may set you back from a promotion.In addition, if y ou went to â€Å"sick call† too often, you were labeled as a â€Å"sick call ranger†. This is a negative term in the military. A soldier is considered weak if he or she seeks medical treatment. Often times, soldiers who had the flu, a swollen ankle, or a mental issue did not seek treatment because they were scared it would affect their career and reputation. The culture of being strong and masculine is obvious in the United States military culture. Case Study of PATS I would like to share a personal case study of PATS. I served with many great men and women in the Army from 2009- 2013.I still keep in touch with many fellow soldiers. In a recorded telephone call, I interviewed former Staff Sergeant Anthony Poll. Staff Sergeant Poll served in the Army from 2005-2011 as a forward observer. He was responsible for calling in airstrip's and artillery strikes on nearby enemies in Iraq. He served three tours in Iraq during his six year stint in the military. He was diagnosed w ith PATS from the VA hospital after he was honorably discharged from the Army. I wanted to find out why he never sought treatment for PATS while serving. Anthony Poll said to me, â€Å"l didn't seek treatment because I was afraid I wouldn't be promoted.At the time, I wanted to make the military my career and I thought that I would be seen as a weak soldier if I talked about that stuff. † This is one case that proves the stigma surrounding PATS and the military. Next, I asked Staff Sergeant Poll why he left the military, because at the time he told me it was becoming too physically tolling on his body. He claimed, â€Å"l left the Army because I was having nightmares and panic attacks. I knew I had it (PATS). I didn't think I could lead men into battle while suffering from it. I had many dark days where I thought I couldn't survive through it.I figured I could leave the Army and seek treatment since being in the Army with it (PATS) is impossible†. Sadly, this seems to b e a recurring theme in the Armed Forces. During the interview, it was obvious that Poll believed he would have never been promoted to Staff Sergeant if he had sought treatment for PATS. Medication, appointments, and stigmas would have keep Poll off the deployment list and training schedules. I was surprised Staff Sergeant Poll volunteered for this interview, but he told me that being out of the military helps in the treatment ofPATS. Not every PATS story like Staff Sergeant Viol's is simple. For example, Joshua Lee Movie provides the world with a traumatic experience with PATS. He refused to seek treatment after returning from war because of the stigma of disclosing it to the Army. Like Poll, he believed that it would put his career at risk. In addition, he wanted to become a police officer but believe it would be impossible after they found out he had PATS. Sadly, he committed suicide six months after returning home from his eleven month deployment to Iraq (VIVA, 2008).Staff Sergea nt Poll and Joshua Lee Movies story are Just two case studies that show the significance of the PATS problem. The stigma surrounding the PATS in the military is too high. The culture of trying to be labeled as strong and defiant is crippling many soldiers. In 2012, active duty suicides were more than combat related deaths in Afghanistan. Most of these deaths were contributed to PATS (VIVA, 2008). The Department of Defense is enforcing many campaigns to combat this stigma, but it starts with the leaders of every individual unit to fight the systematizing culture.Socio-cultural Context the United States for many different reasons. Considering the socioeconomic diversity of the people coming into the armed forces helps us get a better grip on PATS (Collar, G. , & Lend, D, 2012). Collar and Lend argue that most U. S. Recruits come from a low socioeconomic class. The lower classes do not have money for college and the United States Army is seen as the last resort to a steady life for man y high school graduates. The Army offers many incentives to Join such as signing bonuses, free college, and free health care. (Collar, G. & Lend, D, 2012) On page 136,† The decision to enlist as a last resort alternative because of economic hardship rates a sense of forced military service in which deep-rooted motives such as patriotism, honor, sense of duty, and an overall true excitement about volunteering for service in a time of war can be artificially present(Collar, G. , & Lend, D, 2012). † Arthur Galilean in his article â€Å"Rethinking Psychiatry' offers that most mental disorders are most prevalent in the lowest classes of society, poor people. In addition, minority groups such as Hispanic and African American are at higher risk for mental disorders (Galilean, 1988).I can conclude that the recruits that come from the low lass in the United States are more prone to PATS because deeply rooted motives such as patriotism and honor are sometimes artificial. Often ti mes, leaders have to tell their soldiers to do things that are morally wrong such as firing near children or killing innocent people. When soldiers with artificial patriotism experience this, their trauma is far higher than that of a fellow soldier who believes he or she is doing the action for their country. In addition, many recruits could have multiple mental illnesses present before Joining the Army.For example, when I enlisted in the Army I was never given a thorough psychological exam. I was given a thorough physical exam where doctors would try to find anything physically wrong with me. I was stripped down to my underwear and told to walk, bend, and sit in different unique positions. This made sense to me because the Army would save money on future health expenses of incoming soldiers. But, it was interesting to me that the Army never gave sat me down with a psychiatrist. A recruit is told to disclose any mental health history, but if the military is a last resort option many recruits simply lie.If you are fighting a war with depression, bi-polar illness, or schizophrenia to odds of you evolving PATS would seem high. Relating PATS We can relate PATS from war in other avenues such as the effects of the drought in Australia to farming men. Margaret Olsson and Jenny Kent explore the link between rural masculinity and poor mental health outcomes in their article â€Å"The Big Dry'. Masculinity in these farming men was a great quality to possess when water was plentiful, but when a drought took place masculinity was extremely unhealthy (Olsson & Kent, 2006).This statement ties into soldiers because masculinity is a great trait to possess while fighting a war, but when the war is over a soldier must overcome their salinity to seek treatment for PATS. When the â€Å"Big Dry' hit Australia, farming men had to face an impending doom by either selling their farm or working countless hours tending to their farm. But, the masculinity in the Australian farmers kep t them from selling their farms. This resulted in men working tirelessly on their farms with and many committed suicide or abused alcohol (Olsson & Kent, 2006).In correlation, some men returning from war are faced with the impending doom of PATS. Instead of going to a physician, soldiers try to be immaculate about this issue. Often time's, suicide and substance abuse is the result of their masculinity. It is the masculinity and stubbornness of Australian farmers and soldiers returning from war to try to fight mental illnesses on their own. This leads to suicide and/or substance abuse. The drought in Australia and the mental illnesses that follow can be summed up by what is called isolating.It is a new term that was coined by Glenn Albrecht as â€Å"a form of psychic or existential distress caused by environmental change. † Many analogies can be drawn between isolating and PATS. Albrecht argues that people feel distressed when they perceive their environments as harmful (Albre cht, 2007). This relates to PATS in war because when mentally ill soldiers return home from war, they perceive their local environments negativity. This means that the soldier believes their home environment has changed negatively. Soldiers have a feeling of, â€Å"nothing will ever be the same† when returning home from war.This is followed by depression, substance abuse, and trauma if not treated. In addition to the effects of the drought on Australia farmers, PATS can be related to the historical trauma in the Flathead Indian tribe of Montana, United States. Dry. Maria Yellow Horse Breather says historical trauma is â€Å"cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma (Breather, 2011). † Dry. Theresa O'Neal in her book â€Å"Disciplined Hearts† discusses the structural violence in the Flathead Indian tribe that has always instigated historical trauma.The Flathead Indians have had th eir culture stripped away by the Euro-American culture due to institutionalized misunderstandings. Therefore, historical trauma exists in Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. This is showed through to history of PATS, an emotional and psychological wounding throughout all wars. In addition symptoms of PATS have existed throughout all wars resulting in massive group trauma. Conclusion The Veteran Affairs Office still hasn't lived up to its mission statement that it will do everything it can for the United States Veteran.Every year, the Veteran Affairs office underestimates the number of new PATS patients. For example, in 2006 the VA expected 2,900 new cases from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. But, the hospitals saw a staggering 17,827 new patients for PATS. The quality of care for United States veterans is hindered by the shortage of trained mental health providers and an inadequate screening process. (VIVA, 2009) PATS develops over a long period of time. Catching the illness earlier i s the key to treatment (Young, 1995).In addition, the United States civilian treatment of soldiers when they return home from battle is critical in the development of PATS. Soldiers from the Vietnam War returned to negative welcoming which seems to help the development of PATS. It was shown through Vietnam veterans that Just having someone supporting them showed the most progress in their treatment of PATS. Now, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are honored at sporting events, television commercials, and movies. This helps the soldier disassociate from the cause of the war helping him or her readjust to society (Friedman, 2004).It is time for the Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs to do for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards†. The Department of Defense needs to increase funding of the Veteran Affair's office as the war in Afghanistan is dwindling down and the Iraq war is over. Of course a broken bone is easy to fix, but a broken mind takes time. The Department of Defense needs to flood the VA with mental health physicians and fund new studies in the treatment of PATS. If not, the United States will lose a great amount of the greatest men and women of the millennial generation.

Improving Quality to Improve Profits

Improving Quality to Improve Profits XXXXXXXX BUS 642: Business Research Methods & Tools Prof. Donna Wall September 10, 2012 ? Improving Quality to Improve Profit Public companies continuously experience pressure to increase profits for shareholders. One method of increasing profits is to reduce expenses. One expense Schlumberger management believes is totally within the company’s control is the first pass yield of their products. Specifically, Schlumberger management believed that raising the first pass yield of their product to at least 99% would result in at least a 1% increase in profit.As Fawcett & Calantone (2000) point out â€Å"quality’s relevance extends to its ability to reduce costs of defective work. Crosby estimated that the cost of quality are equivalent to 15 to 20 percent of sales revenue and argued that if quality were improved, total cost would inevitably fall, increasing firms profitability† (par. 22). As a result, Schlumberger management autho rized a study to validate their hypothesis and determine specific focus areas to place resources that will maximize the effort for achieving results.To start the validation, the research team decided to utilize the specific research process charted in Business Research Methods written by Cooper and Schindler. As Cooper and Schindler (2011) point out â€Å"good research generates dependable data that are derived by professionally conducted practices and that can be used reliably for decision making† (p. 12). Cooper and Schindler (2011) go on to state â€Å"good research follows the standard scientific method: systematic, empirically based procedures for generating replicable research† (p. 2). As a result, this particular study will follow the process of clearly define the purpose, provide process details, thoroughly plan the research design, provide high ethical standards, reveal any limitations honestly, provide adequate analysis for the decision makers, present findin gs unambiguously, justify the conclusions, and reflect the researcher’s experience. The first step in the overall process is to clearly defined purpose. To complete this step we need to answer the following questions.Question one is what is the management dilemma? Question two is what are the management questions? Question three is what are the research questions? And the forth question is what are the investigative questions? In this case, the management dilemma is how to increase profit margin. The management question is if we increase first pass yield to 99%, will profit margin increase by at least 1% given everything else stays equal? The research questions are what areas of the business should management allocate resources to improve first pass yield?The investigation questions are 1) what is the current first pass yield of our manufacturing facilities? 2) What is the first pass yield of each manufacturing facility? 3) What is the first pass yield of each product group? 4) What is the first pass yield of our incoming material from all suppliers? 5) What is the first pass yield of each active supplier? 6) What is the current profit margin? Next in the overall process is to create an operational definition for the study. In this particular study specific definitions are needed.For consistency, we will utilize the Association for Operations Management (or APICS) definitions for operating profit and first pass yield. APICS defines profit margin as â€Å"the difference between the sales and cost of goods sold for an organization. † According to APICS first pass yield is defined as â€Å"the ration of products that conform to specifications without rework or modification to total input. † This definition will be used in our manufacturing facilities as well as incoming material from our suppliers.Other terms that need to be defined for clarity include Schlumberger manufacturing assembly site facility, supplier, approved supplier list, and cu rrent active suppliers. Schlumberger manufacturing site will be defined as any manufacturing or assembly site Schlumberger owns. A supplier will be defined as any company delivering components, sub-assemblies, or final products that are not owned by Schlumberger. Approved supplier list will be defined as the list of suppliers approved by Schlumberger through the Quality Manufacturing and Safety (QMS) Audit and first article processes.Current active suppliers will be defined as any supplier that has supplied components, sub-assemblies or end products to Schlumberger within the last year. Part numbers will be considered active if Schlumberger has ordered or received a part number in the last year and has a forecast or purchase order placed for delivery within the next two years. Items that are considered out of scope for this study include software, services, facilities contractors, and transportation services. Any new products not released prior to the start of this study will also b e considered out of scope for this research.The primary method of gathering data will be to analyze and consolidate the raw information currently in the corporate databases. These databases include Approved Supplier List, eQuality, Incoming Inspection, Quest, and Finance. The research team does not plan to conduct any formal surveys at this time. The research team will consist of at least one person from each of the potential stakeholders. These stakeholders will include Finance, Quality, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Information Technology (IT).Schlumberger has several databases with significant raw data in each. The team realizes that obtaining and consolidating this information in a usable form might require the help of IT resources and potentially delay the overall results of the study. The research team plans to obtain the following information from the data available in the databases. The team will begin gathering data closest to the end customer and move upstream in the process flow to analyze the major process points along the supply chain.As a result, the team will review the current overall first pass yield for all Schlumberger manufacturing sites, each individual manufacturing site, and each product line. In addition, the research team will analyze the first pass yield at incoming inspection from the suppliers. This information will be analyzed at a global level, by supplier, and by Schlumberger manufacturing site location. The team will also determine how many suppliers are in the approved supplier database and compare this number to the current active suppliers.Since Pareto Analysis is such an important data analysis tool, this research team plans to utilize this approach as the primary method of organizing the data. As Karuppusami & Gandhinathan (2006) point out a Pareto Analysis is a QC tool that ranks the data classifications in the descending order from the highest frequency of occurrences to the lowest frequency of occurrences. The total frequency is equated to 100 percent. The â€Å"vital few† items occupy a substantial amount (80 per cent) of cumulative percentage of occurrences and the â€Å"useful many† occupy only the remaining 20 per cent of occurrences† (par. 2). Utilizing Pareto Analysis will provide an easy way to determine where to focus resources for maximum benefit. Analyzing the resource allocation and budget needs to support this study reveals we need a core team of six people, a budget of $350,000, and four months to present the teams findings. At least one team member will represent the following functions in the company. These functions include Finance, Quality, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Manufacturing, and IT. The Finance Vice-president will be the champion of the study.Other employees will be involved as needed to complete the research. The budget includes salaries of the team members for four months, researching internal databases, potentially developing IT scripts to extract needed data and potentially visiting manufacturing facilities and suppliers to validate data or obtain additional detailed information. As in any research project, handling the study with the highest ethics is extremely important. As Cooper and Schindler (2011) point out â€Å"the goal of ethics is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activity† (p. 2). Cooper and Schindler (2011) go on to state â€Å"unethical activities are pervasive and include violating nondisclosure agreements, breaking participant confidentiality, misrepresenting results, deceiving people, using invoicing irregularities, avoiding legal liability, and more† (p. 32). Although this research team does not plan to conduct ‘official† surveys, the team will conduct interviews with various participants to verify the data. In each case, the research team will disclose the nature of the study before engaging participants. Although Schlumberger has a strict no retaliation policy in the company, the final research report will not include the specific employee names of Schlumberger or suppliers employees. The primary focus of the study will be following and presenting the data related to product quality and increasing profits. The research team will honor all nondisclosure agreements and report the overall facts honestly. Consistent with company and standard research policy, the highest safety practices will be used throughout the study.Consistent with the research approach, the research team analyzed the data for the company owned manufacturing sites, first. This raw data revealed Schlumberger has a total of twenty-seven company owned manufacturing sites located in nine different countries. To review the first pass yield of these facilities, the research team reviewed a total of 4,376 quality records posted during 2012. The overall first pass yield for all twenty-seven facilities is 82 percent. The thr ee facilities with the lowest first pass yields are all located in the Houston area.The three product lines with the lowest first pass yield are Pressure and Sampling (59%), Seismic (67%), and Drilling (71%). Next, the tea m began to analyze the information regarding our supplier performance. Based on the raw data, Schlumberger has a total of 5,778 approved suppliers. Of these suppliers 63% (or 3640) are considered active suppliers by definition. Of these active suppliers, twenty suppliers account for 61% of the line items delivered to the twenty-seven facilities. Three specific suppliers have the lowest first pass yield. These three suppliers are Freeport (46%), Harrison (61%), and Tenaris (63%).Based on public financial records, the current profit margin is recorded as $0. 98 per share in Q1FY12 and $1. 02 per share in Q2FY12. This translates into $1. 303 billion in Q1FY12 and $1. 40 billion in Q2FY12. A one percent increase in profit would increase earnings by just over $13 milli on per quarter. To validate the first pass yield data, the research team visited four company owned manufacturing sites each in North America, Europe, and Asia. Two of the facilities visited in each region recorded the highest first pass yields in that region.Two of the facilities visited in each region recorded the worst first pass yields in that region. During these visits, the research team took a tour of each facility, conducted an audit of the quality records and interviewed key members of each manufacturing team including the Process Engineers, Quality Engineers, Incoming Inspection and Finished Goods Inventory Warehouse Managers. During the audit, the research team reviewed each facilities documented processes, actual processes utilized and the data recorded in the quality database.To the research team’s surprise, the methods utilized in each of the facilities were not consistent – either documented or in actual practice. The North American and European faciliti es utilized and practiced the definition of first pass yield consistent with the research team’s definition. However, the Asian manufacturing facilities did not record the actual first pass yield per our definition. Instead, if a product failed testing, the Asian facilities would retest the product. If the product passed testing during the second or even the third test and passed, they recorded a positive first pass quality yield.The finding of inconsistent data records in the Asian facilities weakened the confidence in the raw data analyzed previously. However, it did uncover an opportunity to strengthen the company’s overall processes. In summary, the raw data suggests Houston manufacturing facilities have the three low yields of the twenty-seven in total. However, these facilities might not be the lowest yields because the research team uncovered inconsistencies in the data collection definition and process between the Asian manufacturing facilities and the European or North American facilities.As a result, a further study is recommended of the Asian facilities to determine how significant the overall raw data is skewed by them utilizing a different process to collect and record first pass yield. At the same time resources should be placed in the Houston facilities to raise the first pass yield from the current low level to 99%. Since the data and process for collecting and recording the data for the supplier first pass yield is consistent, the research team is confident in the results achieved.It is the recommendation of the research team to focus resources on the three lowest yielding suppliers. These resources should conduct a more detailed analysis to uncover the Pareto Analysis of the top defects. Once the top three defects are determined, the root cause and appropriate corrective actions can be determined to raise the first pass yield to the appropriate levels. Reviewing the financial evidence suggests a 1% increase in profit is achievab le if the overall first pass yield of Schlumberger manufacturing facilities rises to 99%.To achieve this high yield levels quickly, the company will need a systematic and consistent approach across all facilities and suppliers. One such process to consider is implementing a combined Lean and Six Sigma continuous improvement approach in each manufacturing facility and with our suppliers. Since determining the cost of implementing Lean and Six Sigma process is out of scope for this research team, a further study would be needed to determine the cost of implementing significant process improvement verse the potential 1% benefit per quarter.Throughout this research the team worked well together. Having a process to follow made the overall activities much easier to accomplish in a systematic way. All members believed the success of this study was largely due to the planning at the beginning of the process. To keep the project on track, it was important to define exactly what activities w ere in the scope of the project and what was considered of of scope. When the team uncovered inconsistencies, in data collection or processes, we were able to document the information an continue progress toward the overall goal.Now that this study is complete the information will be recorded in our company Quest database for future reference. References APICS deifinitions First Pass Yield http://www. apics. org/dictionary/dictionary-information? ID=1543 Profit Margin http://www. apics. org/dictionary/dictionary-information? ID=3188 Cooper, D. R. and Schindler, P. S. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed. ). New York : McGraw-Hill Irwin Fawcett, S. E. , & Calantone, R. J. (2000).Meeting quality and cost imperatives in a global market. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 30(6), 472-499. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/232588532? accountid=32521 Karuppusami, G. , & Gandhinathan, R. (2006). Pareto analysis of critical success factors of total quality management. The TQM Magazine, 18(4), 372-385. doi: 10. 1108/09544780610671048. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/227643251/fulltext/13911EA989455E63FDD/3? accountid=32521