The Daily Telegraph

For my coursework piece, I decided to a newspaper editorial which had been published online. The piece was written as if it had been published in The Daily Telegraph, a right-wing middle class newspaper. I chose to do the piece because I am interested in current affairs and newspapers, and I am a very opinionated person. I thought that a newspaper column would be a good place to share my opinion on the topical story of waterboarding. For my style model, I went onto the Telegraph's website and found a newspaper column by Boris Johnson, the Conservative Mayor of London. As a Conservative, his column had a slight anti-Labour bias, although it was very subtle and often humorous. I attempted to replicate this when I mentioned that waterboarding is classed as an ‘enhanced interrogation technique' and quickly quipped that that was â€Å"more spin in one phrase than Alaistair Campbell managed in an entire dossier† – a reference to the controversial September Dossier which ‘sexed up' claims that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction. From that quote, we can see some of the writer's persona, seeing immediately that they are critical of the Iraq War, despite later making it clear he is a Conservative (â€Å"thankfully, I'm a son of Thatcher†). We can see more of the writer's persona throughout, by writing with a high register, we see that they are quite sophisticated and maybe slightly arrogant. The piece starts with a graphic description of what would happen to a victim of waterboarding, but as it features direct address, it makes the reader feel like that it is happening to them – â€Å"you have a bag over your head†, â€Å"you are shackled†, â€Å"you feel like you are drowning†. After each description of the torture, the actual theme is introduced. Originally, my piece was going to follow a structure by which each waterboarding scenario would be followed by the writer's opinion, but before my final draft I decided that this actually distracted from the main point of the article, so I decided not to continue with this idea. My main argument starts in the paragraph beginning â€Å"Let's be clear on this matter†. That sentence of â€Å"let us be clear† makes it seem like I know what I am talking about and that I am being completely honest. My arguments are further bolstered by listing officials who have disagreed with George Bush's claims, such as the Director of Public Prosecutions and the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights. The summing up of my arguments begins with George Bush's original comment which sparked this news story. The language used in the ensuing four paragraphs is emotive, and reads almost as if it were a speech. It really attempts to put the reader on the side of writer, and make them believe that Bush was completely out of order. The story was published on the week on which Remembrance Day fell, so I as the writer incorporated this to try and shock the reader and make them nod sagely in agreement with me when I state that the reason we entered the Word Wars in the first place was to â€Å"fight for our lives and our rights†, and then contrasting that by saying that Bush â€Å"a former leader of the free world† can say that â€Å"freedom and democracy†¦ can go to pot if it might save some lives†. The following one clause sentences have a short and long lasting impact by simply refuting Bush's claims. I enjoyed writing this piece, as it gave me a chance to put my opinions forward. Having my peers read my work and give feedback was a good experience that I enjoyed, as I like people correcting me and reading my work.

Forecasting and New Car Registrations

1. There are 3 primary ways to achieve competitive advantage. Provide an example, not included in the text of each. Support your choices. 2. Why should one study operations management? 3. Explain how higher quality can lead to lower cost. 4. What happens to our ability to forecast as we forecast for periods farther into the future? 5. What are the differences between goods and services? 6. Explain the 3 basic functions of a firm. 7. How must an operation strategy interact with marketing and accounting? 8.Kleen carpet cleaned 65 rags in October, consuming the following resources: Labor Solvent Machine rental520 hours at $13 per hour 100 gallons at $5 per gallon 20 days at $50 per day a)What is the labor productivity? b)What is the multifactor productivity? c)What is the percentage change if Kleen Carpet can reduce the solvent used by 20 gallons? 9. Data collected on the yearly registration for a seminar at GIPS are shown in the following table: Year 1234567891011 Registrations (000)46 4510879121415 a)Develop a 3-year moving average to forecast registration from year 4 to year 12. )Estimate demands again for years 4 to 12 with a weighted moving average in which registration in the most recent year are given a weight of 2 and registration in the other 2 years are given a weight of 1. c)Graph the original data and the two forecasts. Which of the two forecasting methods seems better? 10. City Government has collected the following data on annual sales tax collections and new car registrations. Annual sales tax collections (in millions)1. 01. 41. 92. 01. 82. 12. 3 New car registrations ( in thousands)10121516141720 Determine the following )The least square regression equation. b)Use the results of part a, find the estimated sales tax collections if new car registrations total 22,000. 11. How does the operation management strategy change during a product's lifecycle? 12. How does fear in the work place or class room inhibit learning? 13. What is the difference between production and productivity? 14. Pepsi is a global product; does it mean Pepsi is formulated the same way throughout the world? 15. Identify how changes in the internal environment affect the OM strategy for a company.For instance discuss what impact the following internal factors might have on OM strategy: a)Maturing of a product. b)Technology innovation in the manufacturing process. c)Changes in product design that move disk drives from 3 1/2-inch floppy disks to CD-ROM drives. 16. Identify how changes in the external environment affect the OM strategy for a company. For instance discuss what impact the following internal factors might have on OM strategy: a)Major increase in oil prices. b)Fewer young prospective employees entering the market. c)Inflation versus stable prices. d)Legislation moving health insurance from a benefit to a

Industry Life Cycle Essay

It is quite natural that people concerned with environmental issues could worry about the convenience industry. As it operates 24 hours and required high frequency deliveries, it inevitably include in the strong criticism because high frequency delivery is said to cause traffic jams and increase exhaust gas pollution. Even the 24-hour operation mode is criticized by many quarters in light of environmental problems, and even social problems like the increase of crime. To deal with these problems, convenience store takes up with reducing the numbers of deliveries through their effort. It also invests on electricity-saving equipment to be installed at all of its chain stores to save the electricity of electric lights and also the electricity of air-conditioners simultaneously. Industry Life Cycle The nature of corporate strategy will change as industries move along the life cycle. Introduction Phase In 1927, the Southland Ice Company is founded in Oak Cliff, Texas Tote’m stores introduced. At the same time, other types of stores were emerging such as â€Å"midget† stores and â€Å"motorterias† or mobile convenience stores. Sometimes supermarkets had small outlets in rural areas for people. The pattern of the emerging â€Å"convenience† types of stores grew modestly until World War II (although they were not yet called â€Å"convenience stores†). The big factor in all of these operations was fast service. In this phase, industry performed a high price, but profit is low due to investment in new category. Growth Phase At the end of the World War II and the increased ownership of automobiles sparked the rapid growth of the industry in the 1950s. The automobile helped fuel the growth of suburban living. The industry grew rapidly along with this consumer need for convenient shopping. Additional forces continued to drive convenience store growth. As grocery stores became larger and larger, they became less convenient for the customer who was in a hurry. Convenience stores filled in. Also, the increase in the number of working women reduced the amount of time available for shopping. Convenience stores began offering gasoline in US when self-serve became popular. As the industry moves towards growth, competitors are attracted by its potential and enter the market: supermarkets, mom-and-pop grocery stores, specialty food shops, drug and variety stores, vending fast food chains. Step into 1970s, convenience store operators had to cope with price and wage controls, gasoline and merchandise shortages, record inflation and interest rates, and increased competition due to longer hours and increased discounting by supermarkets. Maturity Phase As all the available customers are satisfied by the product, growth slows down and the market becomes mature. In the late 1980s, there was a continued reduction in the opening of new stores and an increase in the investment required for a new store. Industry attention moved to improve operations, margins and cost control. Rapidly changing technology area is providing new challenges and opportunities for the industry. Costs continued to go up with severe competition held back margins; more regulations were imposed, and there was an increased cost of doing business. Store labor costs were increasing due to increases in the minimum wage, more fringe benefits as well as many other factors such as adding service items like gasoline. As the number of convenience stores increased, the average number of households served by an individual store dropped. The higher level of saturation and increased competition led to fewer customers per store; therefore, stores remodeled to attract more customers rather than building new stores. The convenience store industry continued in the maturity phase; but the impact of increased competition, higher energy costs, new store expenses, and higher labor expenses reduced profits as a percentage of sales. Those companies that seek out customer needs and align themselves to serve those needs will be successful in the future. Structural drivers of change Structural drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. It will be the combined effect of some of these separate factors that will be so important, rather than the factors separately. (Johnson & Scholes, 1999) 1. Issues of the law’s effectiveness: With the deregulation of many areas such as liquor license, medical supplies, travelling tickets, tours and so on, convenience stores should prepare its entry to deregulation fields. For instance, in expectation of deregulation in the sales of medical supplies, many convenience stores are preparing to entry to this field. It gives more opportunities for industry to attract more customers. 2. Offering new services: Offering new service is also a weapon for convenience stores to face the competition. Industry offers convenient services based on each neighborhood’s individual needs, including automated money orders, copiers, fax and automatic teller machines, long-distance phone cards and lottery tickets, where available. Not only does this service contribute to the increase in sales figures, but it also attracts many customers resulting in incidental shopping as well. For example, 7-Eleven in Japan sell rice and this contributes in particular to capturing the housewife bracket as a new customer type. This customer group had previously seldom shopped in the convenience store. Offering goods and services related closely to daily life enables a store to expand the base of its customers. Penetration of different industry: Competition becomes aggressive because the penetration of different industry. In the convenience retailing area, supermarket establishes their 24 hour store in some place. Convenience stores sell drug in order to attract more customer from drug store. Global players are getting into the game. Discount department stores are moving into grocery store categories. The convergence of retail competition will intensify competitive pressures and renew downward pressure on prices and margins.

Online business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Online business - Research Paper Example No longer is it essential for stores to be a physical entity, but a virtual one that is accessed using a personal computer, items on sale viewed, selected, and then purchased all from the comfort of a chair at home. One then has to just wait for the delivery of these items. The Online Store The online store exists in virtual reality as an URL on the World Wide Web. Getting to the store requires using the URL to present the web pages of the store on the computer screen. The experience of window shopping as practiced earlier changes in with online stores. Surfing through the web site addresses of the several online stores from the luxury of chair at home, provides the window shopping experience. In the physical retail store a sales clerk helped one identify items of need, but in the online store one would have to go through the pages of the online store, identify items of interest, and look at the promotional offers on them before finalizing the purchase. In the physical store one push ed a cart around and dropped the chosen items in a cart and took it to a sales clerk, who tallied the items and presented a bill. The bill was then paid for by cash or credit cart. One walked out of the store the proud owner of the items purchased. In an online store there is the virtual cart. Clicking on the items one wishes to purchases, puts the items virtually into the cart, with the advantage of immediately knowing the total value of the purchases at that given time. Once the purchases have been completed, the different kinds of payment options appear on the screen. One then has to choose the payment option and provide the relevant details. The online store verifies the payment and then ships the items to you. All tat one has to do is await the delivery (Lohse & Spiller, 2003). The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Online Store The quick growth of on-line stores reflects the apparent advantages of an online store over the physical stores. On-line stores are quicker to set up in that there is no need to locate and rent or build physical space, once the necessary tie-ups with suppliers are complete. It is much easier and faster to set up the web site with the requisite number of pages containing the details of the business. In addition to the speed with which an online store can be set up, it is also less expensive to set it up. Building or rental costs are avoided, along with the need to buy and stock the goods. The products move out from the manufacturer or whole seller, with a limited investment in them. In addition to cost advantages in setting up an online store, there is the advantage of low operating costs, with added benefit of keeping the online store open 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. There are also several competitive advantages, particularly from the perspective of customer. The foremost of these is convenience and flexibility in the actual purchase processes and the delivery of the purchased goods (Chakrabarti & Kardile, 2 002). Furthermore, the lower costs in setting up an online store and running it in comparison to a physical store translates into lower costs of the items, which is an attraction for customers (Keen Web Templates, 2011). It is not all hunky-dory for online stores. There are disadvantages too. Poor imagery on the websites leads to bad impressions of the products and the online store. In addition customers

Produce an individual 1600 word report summarising the key issues Essay

Produce an individual 1600 word report summarising the key issues raised in the article. The summary should include references f - Essay Example A number of law suits have been slapped on the fast food industry, citing its failure to label its food as containing high cholesterol, fat and salt. Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food Movement in 1986, in the Cuneo province in Italy, which was a response to a McDonalds being opened in the Piazza di Spagna in Rome (Petrini and Watson, 2001, p.22). This nonprofit making organization has its headquarters in Bra in the Italian Alps and the membership is voluntary and free. The main objective of the Slow Food Movement is to encourage participation in traditional preparation and eating of food and also promoting local products. Its symbol is the snail which might be the organization’s way of telling people to take eating and life in general easy as compared to being on the fast lane (Hayes and Laudan, 2008, p.921). But this should not be taken to mean that its pace in creating the effect it wants is slow as well. The Slow Food Movement has its own manifesto called the Ark of Taste Man ifesto and its main aims are; protect the people who produce fine food from the standards of the industry, to protect endangered species such as animal breeds, cereals, fruits and cheeses from extinction. It also aims to encourage taste education, to stop the killing of the natural character of some production due to worry over hygiene and finally to ensure that people enjoy their rights to pleasure. For products to qualify as Ark products, they must; be of great quality and have a relationship with the area of production. They must also be produced in small quantities, be in danger of extinction and must be specific to a certain area (Jones et al 2003, p.300). The Slow Food Manifesto on Biotechnologies addresses the issue of transgenic foods these are genetically modified products, and it states that these foods cannot be justified just because they are cost effective. The other factors have to be considered such as the problems they bring to the environment, health, the society an d also if it is ethical (Wilk, 2006, p.33). The long term and short term effects of these genetically modified foods are not easy to identify. The biotechnologies will lead to disappearance of crops and plants that are traditional due to reduction in biodiversity, the manifesto says. The use of modified organisms on foods necessitates the use of plant protection products and large scale land exploitation which has negative impacts on biological diversity. Slow food also addresses its concern on the effects that the genetically modified foods might have on the taste and organoleptic range of cooked foods (Suri, 2008). People consume food and the pleasure it brings them might have negative effect psychologically and socially. Slow Food established a movement called Slow City in 1999 whereby Italian cities and towns encouraged people to be loyal to their culinary traditions thus improving their quality of life (Newman and Jennings, 2008, p.195). The Slow Food movement has grown from it s startup days where its main protest was about McDonalds to an international organization. It does not only seek to change the concept of fast foods but also the impact of technological and social and economic change. However it does not seem as if the Slow Movement can cause a big threat to the fast food industry.

Creating, Financing, and Marketing a Business Essay - 2

Creating, Financing, and Marketing a Business - Essay Example A second downfall of partnerships is that total profits are shared among the different partners of the business. Finding the right partner is imperative towards the success of a partnership. 2. Discuss funding options for small businesses. Entrepreneurs have various options to fund their business. The business structure of the company affects the alternatives of the business to raise capital. Sole proprietorship can raise capital by investing the personal wealth of the owner. The business can also obtain money by borrowing funds from the bank or other lending institution. A single owner that wants to raise more money for the business can do so by finding an equity partner. A partner can invest money in exchange for participation in the business. When a business grows the company has higher needs for capital. A business structure that is extremely effective at raising capital is public corporations. A company becomes public after undergoing an IPO process. All public companies must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Public companies can raise money by selling common stocks in the open market. Firms have to option to sell common and preferred stocks. Common stocks have voting rights, while preferred stocks do not have voting rights but they have guaranteed dividend payments. A second way for public companies to raise money is through the sale of commercial paper. Corporations can sell bonds in the open market to raise money. 3. Determine and discuss how managerial accounting can help managers with product costing, incremental analysis, and budgeting. Unlike financial accounting which focuses on providing precise, relevant and historical accounting information to stockholders, creditors and others who are outside the organization; managerial accounting focuses on providing information to managers who directly control its day to day operations. Managerial accounting helps managers perform their three essential activities: planning, dir ecting and motivating, and controlling. To plan correctly a manager will use cost accounting information to determine all the necessary materials and resources in order to manufacture and assemble a specific product. Without the specific accounting data regarding manufacturing processes, labor costs, materials, and overhead expenditures for a product line it would be very difficult for a manager to determine the real costs of production and a fair allocation of overhead costs for a specific product or service. Managers utilize cost-volume profit analysis as one of the most important tools managerial accountants have in their arsenal. It helps managers understand the interrelationship between price or costs, volume, variable unit costs, fixed costs and how the mix of products affects the overall business. CVP information can help a manager determine which products to manufacture, product costs, pricing decisions, and which specific products and what amounts to produce to include in t he product mix. Incremental analysis can also be performed by managers which will consider only those items of revenue, costs and volume directly related to the new product or service and how the overall profitability of the firm will be affected specifically by those product changes. Without the managerial accoun

Maritime law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Maritime law - Coursework Example This is the absolute duty that the ship or the vessel owner owes to the seamen who are involved in the voyage, for the protection of any risk that might face their lives emanating from the unworthiness or lack proper maintenance of the ship. Thus, if any event of collision or accident occurs in the sea, due to the un-seaworthiness of the ship or the vessel, then the owner of the ship or the vessel is liable for the damage, and the appropriate liabilities shall befall the owner3. This includes the liabilities of all the damages incurred on the cargo, the seamen or the other ships or vessels that could have collided with the unseaworthy ship or the vessel, during the course of their voyage. Among the cardinal duty of the ship or vessel owner is to provide a seaworthy ship or vessel. The doctrine of seaworthiness is the cardinal principle of the Maritime law, considering that the issue of seaworthiness of a ship or a vessel directly affects the liabilities of various stakeholders in the Maritime Law, who may include the liability of the carrier, the marine insurance and the environment4. The concept of seaworthiness of a ship or a vessel is provided under the law, as the presence of all pipes, pumps, heater coils and all the other components of the ship or the vessel, which are in good working order. Thus, the law is further interpreted to mean that the fundamental responsibility of the ship or the vessel owner, which he owes to the seamen; both operating the ship he owns or the seamen operating other ships or vessels on the water body, is to ensure that the ship or the vessels are fit to undergo the hazards of the sea, or any other incidental risk that may occur along the voyage, which the ship or the vessel might be exposed in the course of the voyage, without necessarily having such risks being contributed in any way, by the un-seaworthiness of the ship or the vessel6. This being the case, the owner of the ship bears all the liability in case of an accident, co llision, damage or injury occurring to the vessels, the ship or the seamen, which emanates from any aspect of the ship being unworthy for the sea voyage. However, as s reprieve to the owner of the ship or the vessel to be involved in a voyage, the concept of seaworthiness of the ship or the vessel was lessened only to include the worthiness of that ship or vessel, at the start of the voyage2. Therefore, while there are many instances that may arise where a vessel could be identified as being unseaworthy, the only liability that the owner of the ship or the vessel can bear, is that of the ship or the vessel being unseaworthy at the start of the voyage, while the other aspects of un-seaworthiness, which might occur in the course of the voyage, are deemed incidental and thus the liability is assessed differently3. According to the provisions of the Maritime law, there are several conditions that may constitute the un-seaworthiness of the ship or the vessel in voyage. First, a stowage w hich may affect in any way the safety of the ship or the vessel is considered unseaworthy, and thus constitutes the un-seaworthiness condition of the ship or the vesse7. Secondly, any deficient systems ashore or on board the ship or

Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Nursing - Assignment Example Still, the relevant efforts are not always successful, a fact that has been made clear especially in regard to equality, as related to nursing education. As noted above, two studies have been reviewed for exploring the level at which nursing education is able to promote the values of equality and diversity. The first of these studies, the one of Bartfay et al. (2010), shows ‘the societal perceptions and attitudes towards men in nursing’ (Bartfay et al. 2010, p.1). The specific study is based on a research developed in a university based in Ontario, Canada (Bartfay et al. 2010, p.1). The views of this university’s nursing and non-nursing students have been used for identifying the level at which men are welcome in nursing. The findings of the research on which the specific study is based lead to the assumption that men are not welcomed in nursing, a phenomenon that is intensive even at the level of nursing education. The second study, the one of Bednarz, Schim & Doorenbos (2010) focuses on another value of nursing education: diversity. Particular emphasis is given on cultural diversity and how it can impact the qua lity of nursing education. The specific study refers to three different aspects of cultural diversity, as related to nursing education: ‘perils, pitfalls and pearls’ (Bednarz, Schim & Doorenbos 2010, p.1). The term perils reflects ‘the issues that complicate teaching’ (Bednarz, Schim & Doorenbos 2010, p.1); the term pitfalls is used for showing the barriers that can cause delays in nursing education schemes (Bednarz, Schim & Doorenbos 2010, p.1). Finally, the term pearls reflects ‘the strategies that need to be introduced for enhancing diversity in nursing education’ (Bednarz, Schim & Doorenbos 2010, p.1). The above study proposes a plan for promoting ‘Personal Cultural Competence among educators’ (Bednarz, Schim & Doorenbos 2010, p.7). The phases of this plan are

Immigrants Health Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Immigrants Health Literacy - Essay Example Low literacy levels among immigrants increases their health risks that may lead to deformities and death. Health literacy is defined as a set of skills and knowledge that one needs to function adequately and effectively in a healthcare environment. some of the aspects included in health literacy include the ability to understand verbal and written language especially the English Language. It also encompasses the ability to interpret either verbal or written health information. Despite the importance of health literacy, there are many people who lack such skills and knowledge and it becomes difficult for healthcare providers to provide effective healthcare services for such a group. One of such groups that lack health literacy is immigrants. This happens mostly because of language and linguistic barriers. This means that most of them cannot understand or communicate in English or any other language other than their mother tongue. This presents healthcare providers with difficulty in handling this group because communication is key in the provision of quality and effective healthcare serv ices to patients, their families and communities. Low literacy levels among immigrants have been a major concern with respect to their ability and capacity to seek healthcare services. This means that it increases the risk for adverse health outcomes. In a research article, it is revealed, â€Å"Clear communication between health care providers and their patients is essential for patients to make good medical decisions, to receive effective instructions on how to take care of their illness, and to achieve desired health outcomes† (Wu et al. 1174). From the quote above, it is clear that communication is an important aspect in helping patients receives care. However, when a patient is illiterate, it is difficult for a healthcare provider to communicate with the patient in the hope of providing

Suggest a Performance Management Systems for a small government Essay

Suggest a Performance Management Systems for a small government department. Explain how can the Balanced Scorecard complement the Performance Management System - Essay Example The performance management system outlined in this paper come from the personal experience of CEOs of big and small companies, business analysts, consultants and major players in the business world as well as management experts in non profit organisations. While these individuals may differ on how the performance management system should be constructed, they are all united on the point that such systems and the performance review process itself is an essential part of employee growth which in turn leads to the growth and development of the organisation. In fact, Jack Welch served as the CEO of General Electric for more than two decades and links performance management to the overall mission of the company. He says that â€Å"Every decision or initiative was linked to the mission. We publicly rewarded people who drove the mission and let go of people who couldn’t deal with it for whatever reason (Welch, 2005, Pg. 16).† This idea connects directly with the idea of the balanced scorecard given by Kaplan and Norton (1992) primarily due to the fact that it connects employee performance management with the idea of promoting the objectives and mission of the organisations rather than any other factor. GE’s own mission, when Welch was running the company, was to be the most competitive company in the world which fits with the approach of rewarding and doing the utmost to keep the best talent within the organisation and letting go of those who do not perform to a certain level. Such tactics could only be employed when an effective performance management system is place and GE’s system for performance reviews has been lauded by critics as well as copied by the competition simply because it is one of the best. In the modern concept of governance, government departments certainly note the importance of human resource management. However, the process of applying the concepts of human resource management which are created in a

The Iliad And The Epic Style Essay Example for Free

The Iliad And The Epic Style Essay ‘Epos’ which   is the root Greek word for â€Å"epic†Ã‚   means , â€Å"early, unwritten narrative poetry, celebrating incidents of heroic traditions.(Rees.1966). High seriousness and elevated style are associated with epic, which is evidenced in the convention of Invocation at the start of an epic. In Iliad the poet invokes the muse to assist his dedicated labour:   â€Å"Sing Goddess the wrath of Achilles Pleiades/the ruinous anger that woes on the Danna’s brought.† Aristotle in his Poetics describes epic as seeing life as a whole. We see in the Iliad, the epic song as the expression of an entire nation or race, the epic spans a long period of action (at least 10 years of siege and conquest of Troy by the Achaeans). Critics named as ARCHITECTOINICS, the controlled power and design of the epic, in which the poet managed a vast canvass spanning oceans and including the gods in its scope; at the same time never wavering from its central design: the revenge of Achilles and the conquest of Troy are epic subject of the Iliad. Homeric similes and epithets became conventions following the Iliad where Homer constantly engages stock epithets like â€Å"fleet-footed Achilles†,† wine-dark sea† or â€Å"rose fingered dawn†. The epic simile is a device by which the poet would temporarily deviate from his subject while he is making a long drawn out comparison, which in itself stands like a descriptive poem independent of the subject. For example the reaction of Hector on hearing the encouraging words of Apollo in Canto 15 of the Iliad, where the poet launches a detailed comparison of a horse   highly descriptive and grand in its flow, as a parallel to the reviving spirits of Hector.(â€Å"Like a stalled horse fed to the full in the manger/breaks loose from his halter..etc.†) Other conventions like war council, elaborate games and competitions started with Iliad where Achilles is shown throwing a grand Game show after the funeral of his friend Petroclus. The intervention of gods in the destinies and affairs of men is a constant epic feature, called the â€Å"epic Machinery†. The seeds of disaster were in the Olympian incident of Paris son of Priam and prince of Troy acting as Judge in a Beauty competition among Goddesses, Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Paris decides in favor of Aphrodite as she grants his wish of getting for wife the most beautiful woman. He meets Helen ,wife of Menelaus king of Greece, and abducts her to Troy and thus the Great War starts. It is God Apollo who guides Paris to kill Achilles by sending an arrow at his heels; the fire gods fashion the armor for the invincible Achilles.The gods represent inexorable Fate,in whose grip men are powerless; in whose hands men are puppets. The personae are all divine in origin too. Helen and Achilles’ parentage goes back to Zeus and the sea nymph Thetis respectively; Zeus Athena and Hera have direct stakes in the war, which is but an extension of their strife to control one another. Catalogues of chieftains who participate in the war and the list of the ships launched by Menelaus, which again are part of epic conventions, give an exalted setting to the heroic struggle. The revenge of Hector, the wrath of Achilles, the prolonged siege of Troy   provide the grand and solemn background   against which the characters like Agamemnon Ajax and Hector acquire supernatural stature. The Iliad has highly descriptive passages on the life in Troy, the tragic aspects of war, on friendship and simple aspects of life. The scene of Hector taking leave of his wife is immortal poetry, and the epic itself is a moving expression of heroism high Idealism. And patriotism. The Heroes themselves are partly historic and partly mythical, legendary characters.`   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   REFERENCE: S.O. Andrew M.J. Oakley, (translators) Homer’s Iliad, 1960.London JM Dent SonsLtd. RJ Rees, An Introduction To English Literature,(p.46-50).1966.Macmillan,London.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   [emailprotected][emailprotected][emailprotected][emailprotected][emailprotected]_

The stanger and Truman comparison Essay Example for Free

The stanger and Truman comparison Essay The Stanger written by Albert Camus and The Truman Show both have irony in them. In the beginning their life is in a sense meaningless and nothing really to it. Trying to live a â€Å"normal† life is what they are striving for. Truman from The Truman Show and Meursault from The Stranger both have things that foreshadow their ultimate choices in life, which include symbolism, existential themes, and irony. In The Truman Show, there is irony present throughout the whole movie. During most of the film, Truman wanted to leave Seahaven and go explore the world. He had a desire to do more than just live a quaint, common life. He is unique, and it is his motivation that makes him stand out. His enduring determination helped him find the answer. For example, he almost drowned during a storm while sailing, but he persisted on. Truman got an answer, but it may not have been the answer he was searching for. Once Truman learned that his life was a television show, he realized he would not be as unique if he left. He would not be the center of attention, and now wants to be just an ordinary person outside of Seahaven. There also irony present throughout The Stranger, as Meursault also has somewhat of an epiphany towards the end of the novel. Throughout the story, Meursault is indifferent to many things and does not show strong moral values. For example, he kills a man without strong reasoning. After getting sentenced to death, he truly realizes why he is getting punished for his actions. He understands what will happen to him and accepts it. Ironically, instead of having moral thoughts or feelings of remorse, he believes that hatred of him would make him feel less Gonzales 2 alone. However, he realizes he becomes happier when he better understands human existence and purpose. â€Å"As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself—so like a brother, really—I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate,† (Part 2, Chapter 5, P. 123). He feels lonely, and it is the hate from the crowd of spectators that help him feel less alone. There are also existentialist themes in The Truman Show. Although the show’s creator, Christof, tried to keep Truman in Seahaven, he ultimately could not. Truman’s freewill and control of his own fate led him to discovering the truth about Seahaven, and thus controlling the outcome of his life. He accepted the reality of his life being centered on a television show, but moved on by leaving Seahaven. Although Truman’s artificial world came to an end, he entered reality as he left Seahaven. Meursault faced a lot of things like an existentialist. For example, he was ready to accept his consequence after he shot the Arab. He also was ready for death, knowing it is inevitable. Some existential themes include freewill, controlling your own fate, accepting your fate, and taking responsibility for your own actions. These themes are all present in The Stranger. It was the freewill that led him to shooting the Arab, because he was in total control. He chose his fate, accepted the consequences, and took responsibility for what he did. For example, he realized he was going to die, and accepted it. Symbolically, Truman’s â€Å"fake† world coming to an end was foreshadowed by a previous event. The light fixture that fell as Truman left his home symbolized things starting to fall apart. Gonzales 3 Shortly after this even, there were more examples that caused him to be suspicious and doubtful of the world around him. Another great example of symbolism in the film was the unfinished bridge that Truman and Marlon had conversations on. Truman was always uncertain of something when he spoke to Marlon on the bridge, and it could represent Truman’s unfulfilled life and uncertainty. Although Truman’s life was unfulfilled in his eyes, there is something that foreshadows him traveling in the future and discovering something. The name of his sailboat was the Santa Maria, which was a famous boat that Columbus sailed to America on. This foreshadowed Truman leaving the town of Seahaven to explore a completely new world. There is much symbolism present in The Stranger as well. For example, Meursault does not like being uncomfortable, especially from the weather. Many perceive the sun as a source of warmth, sometimes beauty, but Meursault dislikes the heat. The sun normally brings joy, emotional warmth or comfort to an individual, but Meursault seems to dislike feeling emotional in any way. He also dislikes heat from the sun. The sun was a barrier of Meursault’s emotions. It also led him to murder. While walking on the beach, Meursault encountered the Arab again. The Arab reflected light off of his knife from the sun. Meursault thought to himself, â€Å"All I could feel were the cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead and, instinctively, the dazzling spear flying up from the knife in front of me. The scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes, (Part 1, Ch. 6, P. 59). Right after this, he shot and killed the Arab. It seems like the little emotions that Meursault had took over his actions. Before he walks up to the Arab and shoots him, Meursault thinks to himself, â€Å"It occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of it. But the whole beach, throbbing in the sun, was pressing on my back. I took a few steps toward the spring,† (Part 1, Ch. 6, P. 58). However, towards the end of the novel he did gain some morals and understood much more about life. When he did, he Gonzales 4 looked into the window, with the sun shining behind it, and gazed at his reflection: I moved closer to the window, and in the last light of day I gazed at my reflection one more time,† (Part 2, Ch. 2, P. 81). Not only do they come to a meaning for their life they also find ways to change it for them. As you can see, existential themes, symbols and irony not only foreshadow, but affect Meursault’s and Truman’s ultimate choices in life. Work Cited Camus, Albert. The Stranger. January 1955. Print. Gonzales 5 The Truman Show. Peter Weir. Perf. Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Ed Harris, Noah Emmerich, Brian Delate, Holland Taylor. 1998. Film.

Solutions To Environmental Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay

Solutions To Environmental Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay It is believed that globalization has numerous benefits to the economy of China. In recent decades, China has witnessed rapid economic growth due to economic reforms. Its GDP has increased by more than seven percent per annum. However the fact that globalization negatively affects the environment cannot be ignored. Apparently China is witnessing serous environmental problems. Not only do these problems impair the progress in the economic development but also have harmful effects on the peoples health. The government of China can consider formulating clear policies, educate the masses concerning these issues and using technology to tackle these problems. Some of the pollutions that need to be tackled include; water, soil and air pollution. T1. Soil Erosion 1. Background Globalization has had a significant effect on the soil. This is because it causes deforestation which then leads to soil erosion. The end result is desertification. Desertification for instance is caused by different reasons depending on the area. They include population pressure, socioeconomic factors, policy, and international trade as well as land use patterns. Globalization decreases land productivity hence leading to degradation. As people clear forests so as to create space for mans activities like urbanization and agriculture, the land is left bare. There is nothing to hold the soil together. Such land is prone to soil erosion which if it persists could lead to desertification. Erosion degenerates land hence making it less productive. For farming activities lower the soil organic matter. This usually causes poor soil structure hence increasing the vulnerability of the soil to erosion. China is widely known for its extensive mining activities. There activities have rendered the land bare and hence makes it vulnerable to erosion. 2. Solutions: To tackle this problem, the government needs to educate the masses on the dangers of deforestation and the importance of planting trees. The mining activities are supposed to be controlled so as to prevent the problem from escalating. People need to be taught on the best farming processes that will render the soil vulnerable to erosion. Gabions could also be built in areas that are adversely affected by the problem of erosion. T 2. Land pollution Background Land pollution occurs when hazardous wastes are disposed on the land. Such substances could be urban wastes, agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, industrial wastes and radioactive substances. Such chemicals contaminate the land surface as well as the soil and hence may render the land unsuitable for farming (Engelking 2007, p. 52). This occurs when the urban waste matter is discriminately dumped. The mining processes may also contribute to the process. Such chemicals can lead to respiratory problems, skin complications, birth defects, and even cancer (Engelking, 2009). Solutions The problem of land pollution can be tackled by educating the Citizens of China on the hazard posed by littering the environment. The items that are used domestically could be recycled or reused. People should dispose the waste matter in the right manner. Organic waste has to be disposed in non residential areas while the inorganic matter should be recycled. T3. Water pollution Background This involves the contamination of water bodies. This kind of pollution affects organisms and plants in these water bodies. This damages individual species as well as the biological communities. This form of pollution occurs whenever pollutants are discharged into the bodies without undergoing treatment to remove the harmful compounds. Considering the fact that China is an industrialized nation, factories frequently opt to discharge their affluent into these water bodies. About 90% of the cities in China suffer from water this kind of pollution. Some of the organic water pollutants include detergents, chloroforms, and food processing waste, herbicides and insecticides, petroleum volatile organic compounds. Most of the inorganic pollution is caused by sulfur dioxide, ammonia, chemical wastes, fertilizers, heavy metal substances and silt (Hart, 2007). Solutions This problem can be checked by treating those wastes that are deposited to the water bodies. The sewage systems in especially in urban centers should be kept in good condition so as to prevent the organic waste from trickling into the water bodies. Erosion control measures should be employed to minimize the surface run-off. Farmers need not to overuse the agricultural chemicals. T4. Air Pollution Background Air pollution involves the emission of toxic fumes into the air. Everyone in way contributes to air pollution in his/her capacity. Carbon dioxide is among the main pollutants of the air. This gas forms a big percentage of the gases that are emitted in many factories across China. Combustion of fossil fuels and deforestation greatly contribute towards the increased levels of this gas in the atmosphere. It is also emitted during any volcanic activity. It is a major contributor towards global warming. Most automobiles, air jets, and marine vessels also release fume to the atmosphere. Other pollutants include Aerosol sprays, nuclear fumes. Other dangerous gases that pollute the air include carbon monoxide and Sulfur dioxide. Air pollution can cause acid rain, which occurs whenever sulfur dioxide combines with Nitrogen dioxide (Hart 2006, p. 62). Solution This problem can be fixed through reducing the number of automobiles, recycling products, avoiding so much of the fire cracker use; Companies have to treat the gases before they release them into the atmosphere. All these forms of pollutions can be reduced if the government will enact and implement policies that are geared towards reducing the pollution. Companies should embrace social corporate responsibility by embracing environmental friendly policies. Globalization in general should be embraced cautiously because some of its effects could be very harmful to humanity.

Essay --

Literature Of The 1990's Culture – The Definition The word culture is a very broad-based term. Different people define culture in different aspects. People learn culture. That is culture's essential feature. The term culture is used to refer collectively to a society and its way of life or in reference to human culture as a whole. The Modern technical definition of culture, as socially patterned human thought and behavior, was originally proposed by the nineteenth-century British anthropologist, Edward Tylor. This definition is an open-ended list, which has been extended considerably since Tylor first proposed it. Some researchers have attempted to create exhaustive universal lists of the content of culture, usually as guides for further research. Others have listed and mapped all the culture traits of particular geographic areas. Barbarism Barbarism on the other hand, can be, or in fact is the exact opposite of culture. It is brutality and extremism, which definitely is not a part of culture in any sense at all. Lexically we define barbarism as, a brutal barbarous savage act, that is something not allowed by any culture. Barbarism is all about morals or rather no morals at all. Therefore, barbarism can rightly be termed as the devil in the cultured society. Relationship Between Culture And Barbarism It might not be very difficult to draw a relation between culture and barbarism. Barbarism starts right from where culture ends. It is the root cause of an uncultured society. Where culture is the strength of a healthy society, barbarism proves to be its destruction. Culture, as a body of learned behaviors common to a given human society, acts rather like a template (i.e. it has predictable form and content), shaping behavior and c... ... and physical being, this is the conception that now governs civilized humanity. It is, in essence, a return to and a larger development of the old Hellenic ideal, with a greater stress on capacity and utility and a very diminished stress on beauty and refinement; We may suppose, however, that this is only a passing phase; the last elements are bound to recover their importance as soon as the commercial period of modern progress has been over passed, and with that recovery, not yet in sight but inevitable, we shall have all the proper elements for the development of man as a mental being. References BOOKS Fugitive pieces - by Anne Michaels The God of Small Things – by Arundhati Roy WEBSITES http://sai.aros.net/aurobindo/barbarism.html http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/culture-definition.html http://www.princeton.edu/plasweb/courses/fall_2002.htm

Causes and Solutions of World Poverty Essay -- Global Poverty Informat

Causes and Solutions of World Poverty Poverty is prevalent throughout the world around us. We watch television and see famous people begging us to sponsor a child for only ten dollars a month. We think in our own minds that ten dollars is only pocket change, but to those children and their families, that ten dollars is a large portion of their annual income. We see images of starving children in far away countries, and our hearts go out to them. But we really do not know the implications of poverty, why it exists, or even what we can do to help combat this giant problem in our world. What is poverty? Well, according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, poverty is "lack of money or material possessions; poor." Two-thirds of the world's population fits this definition. I know that many times we think of being poor as not being able to buy the car we want or take the trip we can only dream about. However, being poor, living in poverty, hits a lot lower than that. For example, a resident of the country of Chad will only bring in $100 each year. Since many people can make more than that in one week, some in one day, can you imagine having the feed a family of five or six, or even a family of two, on only $100 a year? These are the conditions that exist in poverty-stricken countries. There are many reasons why poverty is an increasing problem. The first is delayed modernization. These less-developed countries barely have enough skilled workers and managers and technology. Industrialized countries have four times as many managers and workers as the less-developed countries, also known as LDC's. It is almost impossible for the lower-developed countries to catch up or even compete with the industrialized countries.... ...he second way to attempt to decrease the population is through increased active family planning programs. Especially in poor countries, it is a lot harder for women just to jump into the work force, and even harder for a poor country to become industrialized. For example, in Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries, birth rates have decreased from seven children per family to only 5.5. This is largely because forty percent of Bangladesh's woman now take part in some form of family planning. The New International Economic Order, known as the NIEO, has also taken steps to decrease the amount of poverty in the world and hopefully eliminate the large gap between the rich and the poor in the world. Through individual, national, and global aid, we can take steps to decrease the overwhelming amount of poverty in less-developed countries and even in our own lands.

Pros and Cons of Solitary Confinement Essay -- Prisons, Jail, Criminal

"Supermax" is short for "super-maximum security." It is a place designed to house violent prisoners or prisoners who might threaten the security of the guards or other prisoners. Some prisons that are not designed as supermax prisons have "control units" in which conditions are similar. The theory is that solitary confinement and sensory deprivation will bring about behavior modifications.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In general, Supermax prisoners are locked into small cells for approximately 23 hours a day. They have almost no contact with other human beings. There are no group activities: no work, no educational opportunities, no eating together, no sports, no getting together with other people for religious services, and no attempts at rehabilitation. There are no contact visits: prisoners sit behind a plexi glass window. Phone calls and visitation privileges are strictly limited. Books and magazines may be denied and pens are also restricted for the fact that it could be turned into a weapon. TV and radios may be prohibited or, if allowed, they would be controlled by guards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prisoners have little or no personal privacy. Guards monitor the inmates' movements by video cameras. Communication between prisoners and control booth officers is mostly through the vents. An officer at a control center may be able to monitor cells and corridors and control all doors electronically.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Typically, the cells have no windows. Lights are controlled by guards who may leave them on night and day. Fo...

Battle of Thermopylae

The rise of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC is shrouded in mist of antiquity. It sprang in the region encompassing present day southern Iran and Iraq. A disparate group of tribes of Indo-European origin serving as vassals to the Medes controlled the region east of Tigris from their capital Ecbatana (near Hamadan). Here, around 650 BC the religion of Zoroastrianism was founded uniting the populace as an enlightened people into a political force.In 559 BC a devout Zoroastrian, Cyrus became the head of an obscure tribe and he set about uniting the other into a fighting force and in five years he had defeated the Medes and conquered all Persia. Lydia in Asia Minor and Babylon soon followed and by the time he died, as Cyrus the Great in 529 BC had founded the Persian Empire. After his death, his son Cambyses conquered Egypt in 525 BC. Indeed, the growth had been so rapid that rebellions sprang up and it fell upon Cambyses’s son Darius (The Great) to quell these uprising s and institute satrapies or self-governing colonies across the empire.It was sheer administrative genius, military planning with a humanistic view that transformed disparate tribes into a formidable world power. By the 5th century Persian power extended from the river Indus to the shores of Mediterranean, North Africa, Thrace, Greece and Macedonia on the European continent. Following the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization large numbers of Greeks moved to Asia Minor and significant among them were three tribal groups, Aeolians, Dorian and Ionians who settled around Lydia and Caria establishing twelve cities which made up Ionia.These were independent states but they all acknowledged a common heritage. They enjoyed this status till they were conquered by the Lydian King Croesus. The Ionians were invited by Cyrus the Great to rebel against Lydian rule which was turned down forcing Cyrus to conquer Ionia in 540 BC and thereafter to be ruled by local satraps. During the rule of Dariu s the Great in 499 BC the cities of Ionia were incited to rebellion against the tyrants representing Persian rule and in 498 BC the Ionians with support from Athens and Eretria destroyed Sardis provoking the Persians into decisively beating them at the battle of Ephesus.The Ionian Rebellion was the first major conflict between the Greeks and the Persian Empire. Asia Minor was subdued but Darius the Great saw the myriad Greek states as a threat to the stability of the Empire and was bent upon conquering the whole of Greece. In 492 BC as a consequence of this rebellion first steps were taken to secure land routes to Greece by re-taking Thrace and forcing Macedonia to become a client state of Persia. In 491 BC Darius sent emissaries to Greek cities seeking their submission.Most complied with the terms but Athens put the ambassadors to death and in Sparta they were thrown down a well. Thus both cities were now effectively at war with Persia. Darius next dispatched a force which besieged and destroyed Noxos and Eretria and then confronted a vastly outnumbered Athenian army at Marathon. The ensuing battle of Marathon was a remarkable victory for Athens resulting in the withdrawal of the force to Asia Minor. A major campaign against Greece was now in preparation when Darius died in 486 BC leaving son Xerxes I in command.A rebellion in Egypt delayed progress on this front and preparations resumed once the rebellion had been quelled. By early 480 BC Xerxes was ready and marched his army across the Hellespont to Europe using pontoon bridges. Spartans and Athenians were also preparing for war and in 481 BC the Congress of Corinth was held at which confederation of the city states was formed and they thought that the invader would have to traverse the narrow pass at Thermopylae on way to southern Greece, which could be blocked by a smaller force.Furthermore, to prevent Persians bypassing Thermopylae by sea a naval flotilla gathered to block strait of Artemisium. It was Au gust by the time the Persians arrived. This is a time of year when the Spartans celebrate the festival of Carneia and the Olympic games. A time of truce, during which war is forbidden but the urgency of the situation persuaded King Leonides I of Sparta to take 300 royal bodyguards and support troops as an advance expedition to block the pass and await the arrival of the main Spartan army.According to historian Herodotus the Spartans had consulted the Oracle of Delphi, (The high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Pythia) was credited with powers of prophecy O ye men who dwell in the streets of broad Lacedaemon! Either your glorious town shall be sacked by the children of Perseus, Or, in exchange, must all through the whole Laconian country Mourn for the loss of a king, descendant of great Heracles (Rawlinson translation of Herodotus VII, 242) In keeping with this prophecy Leonides I was convinced he was going to certain death.Once the Persians were sighted the Allies decide d to make a stand at Thermopylae. The Persians offered surrender terms and asked the Greeks to lay down their weapons to which Leonides 1 is said to have responded â€Å"come and get them† (Holland, p269–270). The Persians had mustered an overwhelming force even though historians don’t seem to agree on a precise number. Modern scholars estimates vary from 25,000 (Hans Delbruck) to 100,000 -200,000 (Ulrich Wilcken and Tom Holland). There were 11,000 -12,000 Greeks in a combined force.Five days after arriving Xerxes launched a frontal attack. The Greeks formed a phalanx of overlapping shields and layered spear points across the width of the pass stopping the Persians from breaking through. This proved most effective as the wicker shields and shorter spears of the Persians prevented an effective engagement. On the second day too, the Persians fared no better but later that day the Persians got help from a traitor in locating a mountain path round the pass thereby o ut-flanking and encircling the Greeks.Some suggested withdrawal, but Leonides resolved to stay with the Spartans at the Pass forming a rear-guard to enable other allied contingents to withdraw. At dawn on the third day the Allies came forward to the wider part of the pass to engage the Persians. They fought with spears and short swords and Leonides 1 also perished in this assault. Thereafter the Persian surrounded the Greeks and rained down volley after volley of arrows opening up the pass to the Persians who proceeded to burn and sack cites which had not submitted. Xerxes then retreated back to Asia leaving a Satrap to complete the conquest.Thermopylae was undoubtedly a defeat for the Allies but is arguably the most famous battle of European ancient history. References Bradford, Ernle (2004). Thermopylae: The Battle for the West. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306813602. Cartledge, Paul (2006). Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. ISBN 1585 675660. Green, Peter (1996). The Greco-Persian Wars. University of California Press. ISBN 0520203135. Pressfield, Steven (1998). Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae. Doubleday. ISBN 0385492910.

Is it ethical to feed live food to reptiles

Is it ethical to feed live food to exotic pets? Abstract Live food items are often fed to exotic pet species whether they be birds, amphibians, reptiles or mammals. This raises issues of welfare, both of the animals fed live prey Items and the prey Itself. Concerns over live food welfare are particularly marked In the feeding of vertebrate prey Items and evidence presented here shows the prolonged time taken for rodents to die, this fuelling these concerns.And yet the welfare of all exotic pets relies both on providing optimal nutrition and ensuring, as such as possible, that their natural behaviors can be expressed. Does that mean that predatory species must be fed live prey? This paper discusses this problem and seeks potential solutions. Introduction Many of the â€Å"exotic† species that are kept as pets (companion animals) or for study, or which form part of a zoo or rescue centre, are wholly or partly carnivorous and therefore require food of animal origin.Many omnivores also feed In part on live or dead animals and some essentially herbivorous/carnivorous species, such as finches (Freeloading), require invertebrate food when they are nestlings. In this paper emphasis is on the provision of still living food, but brief mention will be made of dead animals. The discussion relates mainly to live food given to captive exotic animals but it must be remembered that free-living Individuals also kill and eat live prey. The use of live food Food comprising live animals or their derivatives is widely considered to serve two main purposes.First, from a nutritive perspective, It contains important, sometimes essential, amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients; secondly, from a behavioral viewpoint It provides captive animals with stimulation, especially when It Is resented to them in an imaginative way, providing a very important form of environmental enrichment. The subject of â€Å"live-feeding† of animals in zoos and private collections has become a specialist topic, with numerous papers in the literature about how best such diets should be chosen and presented. These include precautions to minimize damage to the prey species by attacks from the animals provided as live food. O be well-substantiated; as noted above, it provides behavioral enrichment and represents a natural or near-natural method of providing essential nutrition . There s, however, another important consideration, which is sometimes forgotten or ignored. This is the question of the wellbeing of the live food that is being offered. After all, the food consists of living animals which, regardless of their taxonomic status, may be subjected to and affected by stresses, including pain during the period before and during being eaten. There are several stages at which the prey species may be subjected to stresses.The first of these is during production or collection. Live food is either bred in captivity or collected in the wild and in many cases such breeding or c ollection may involve stress for the animals involved. When offered as food, prior to being devoured the live food prey item is often in what for it is an unusual, an â€Å"alien† environment. It may, for example, be exposed to abnormally high temperatures or bright lights, rendering the individual, by definition, vulnerable to attack/apprehension by the animal to which it is being fed.The key welfare issue for many animals provided as live food will be when they are being devoured. Some live food is killed almost instantaneously by the predator, using physical or chemical means from trauma to veneration, both of these potentially rendering the prey immobile while losing consciousness. In such circumstances there may be little in risk of poor welfare. But often death takes much longer – for instance, a rodent constricted and thus killed by suffocation by a snake, or a cockroach dismembered while it is still alive.Some prey items may be swallowed whole and are therefore still alive – and presumably conscious – for some time until they die of asphyxia or the effect of the predator's gastric Juices; If not immediately devoured uneaten prey may be taken and consumed abstinently, perhaps on another day, but in the meantime it has to survive in an alien environment, often without water, food or appropriate shelter. Sometimes the prey item is never eaten, either because the predator is no longer hungry or because the prey escapes.As a result, it may die as a result of starvation, dehydration, hyperthermia or hypothermia in the predator's cage. It may, alternatively, establish itself in that cage or escape into the home/zoo environment. Here crickets (Grilled) are the best example. The debate Vertebrate food Some decades ago concern began to be voiced by some individuals and certain institutions about the practice of feeding live vertebrates to captive mammals, birds and reptiles. The methods employed began to be subjected to greater scruti ny and criticism as a greater understanding of, and sensitivity to, issues of animal welfare evolved.Society of London) introduced a ban on the feeding of living vertebrate food to its captive reptiles and instead to train the latter to take freshly-killed prey or items (for example, a freshly dead rabbit) that could be moved to simulate life or placed in an unusual environment, such as a hollow tube, to interest the hungry predator. In Britain, at any rate, many other zoos and herpetologists followed suit and by the late asses the use of dead, not living, prey was considered to be â€Å"good practice†.During the decade of the asses claims were regularly made by animal welfare groups that live-feeding was â€Å"illegal† in the I-J but these assertions were countered in lectures and articles (1). The point was made that there was no specific legal ban on live- feeding but that such a practice might lead to a prosecution under the Protection of Animals Acts (2). Herpetol ogists who still wanted to feed live food to their charges ere encouraged to take steps to minimize suffering in various ways – for example, by not leaving live food in the various for long periods of time and by providing shelter and water for it.Those recommendations in Britain were in a large part a modification and refinement of the approach taken by the senior author nearly a decade beforehand, when, in an attempt to encourage a more humane approach to live-feeding of snakes in East Africa, a document was drawn up by the Kenya Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (KAPPA). This is reproduced as Appendix A. Force-feeding† of non-living food is also a possibility, particularly used for ‘difficult' species such as Royal pythons (Python argues) but this can be stressful.Another argument used on both sides of the Atlantic, to dissuade reptile-keepers from feeding live vertebrate food was that the latter could easily attack and damage the predator speci es. Thus, for instance, live rodents put in Bavaria as food can cause severe skin lesions in snakes (3, 4, 5). Having said that, a casual glance through online video clips, as detailed further below, shows that live vertebrate prey are still fed to pitiless by a number of keepers. Invertebrate food Questioning the feeding of live invertebrates to captive animals is less common even today .In the asses an â€Å"animal rights† group based in Scotland lobbied for more awareness of the welfare needs of invertebrate animals and included in their concerns the use of crickets, maelstroms and other species as food items for captive mammals, birds and reptiles. In the past two decades interest amongst veterinarians and others in the health and welfare of invertebrates has grown (6, 7). In its wake, discussion and studies on whether or not invertebrates â€Å"suffer† pain have become reverent (7), including some limited analysis and discussions of the ethical considerations of u sing these animals as live prey.A problem, of course, is that the term â€Å"invertebrate† is very broad, covering around 30 distinct phyla, and the ability of such animals to react to a noxious stimulus varies greatly between, say, a coelenterate that has no generalized nervous system and a cephalic with a well-developed nervous system and pain responses (7). The main groups of invertebrate that are used as food for other animals are arthropods, phyla produce endorphins and may, therefore, be able not only to respond to pain by appropriate escape behavior but be aware of it.Research on the nematode Conservationist elegant, for instance, has shown that activation, an invertebrate homologue of morphogenesis, together with improprieties, modulates aversive activity that mimics behaviors associated with chronic pain in vertebrates (9). While such primitive species can exhibit inception, it would be questioned by many as to whether they feel pain, defined as ‘an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage' (italics added) (10).Even a single- led amoeba moves away from a noxious stimulus, but cannot be said to have an emotional response – so where on the evolutionary ‘ladder' does such a response occur? Certainly there are behavioral indicators of pain in several crustacean species (11) and some mollusks (12). In some situations such as the use of live insects in biomedical research, the approach advocated by certain authors has been â€Å"to give them (invertebrates) the benefit of the doubt† and therefore (for example) to employ an anesthetic agent when a procedure to be performed that might cause pain (13).Such a precautionary Renville has not apparently, however, been applied to the use of these same species as live food for mammals, birds or reptiles – and probably would not be realistic. We are, after all, here in a situation where the benefits of one species, the predat or, must be weighed against those of the prey species. Such is the very essence of nature. Hopefully, wherever possible, in a captive environment the welfare needs of both predator and prey can be considered and predator species trained to accept dead prey rather than live. ‘ A preliminary study of welfare of live prey speciesPerhaps a start on such a Journey is to ask for evidence regarding the welfare of prey species when being fed to a predator species. For that reason, we present here a preliminary study using online You Tube videos of various captive reptiles as the predator and mice, rats and crickets as live prey items. Clearly this cannot be a controlled study, but the videos were sampled by accessing the first ten adequate clips defined by ‘reptile eats live mouse', ‘reptile eats live rat', and ‘reptile eats live locust' and recording the time taken from apprehension of the prey item to death as determined by the time of last movement of prey item.It could be argued that the prey species may not lose consciousness until after that period and, in some cases, vivification by the prey item may occur after the last obvious movement, but in those documented in Table 1 this was not the case. The time to death as estimated by cessation of any movement was 62Ð’Â ±29 seconds for mice, 54Ð’Â ±21 seconds for rats and 18Ð’Â ±17 seconds for locusts, with ranges from 38 to 120 seconds for the mice, 24-82 seconds for the rats and 5-62 seconds for the locusts .These figures are clearly influenced by the size of both prey and of predator. Euthanasia of laboratory rodents by carbon dioxide may take 2-3 minutes (14) while cervical dislocation successfully killed animals apparently instantaneously in 79% of animals in one study (15). In another study electroencephalographic activity during the 30 seconds immediately (at 5 to 10 s), 10-15 seconds after exposure to 100% CO, 15-20 seconds after decapitation and at 20-25 seconds with cardi ac arrest caused by KC injection but not after administration of 70% CO (15).A painful and fear-provoking death taking p to 2 minutes as seen in many live food subjects would not, we argue, be acceptable in any circumstances. Interestingly, few if any rodents seemed aware that a predator shared the various with them, many mice actively investigating the snake until the moment of attack. Other rodents in the enclosure did not appear to show behavioral evidence of fear even when other rodents in the same various were attacked, constricted and killed.On the other hand, the fear and pain indicated by rapid movements and vacillations of the prey item, was clear in many of the cases as noted in Table 1 . These author found it disturbing to watch the video clips in many cases and we would argue that the suffering of prey species in many of these video clips and in many is contrary to the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (2006) in the United Kingdom, as discussed further below. Discus sion There can be no hard-and-fast rules about the feeding of live food to captive animals.However we advocate that, if it is not necessary to sustain the life of the prey species in order to stimulate the predator to pretend and swallow, live-feeding should not take place.. When such a feeding practice is necessary – and is not De facto in intervention of legislation – it should be carried out with care and sensitivity and follow a code of practice. As noted at the beginning of this paper, there are two elements to live-feeding – the predator and the prey – and these both warrant a humane approach.Although reptiles have attracted particular attention in the debate about live-feeding, other carnivorous tax have also come under some scrutiny, especially in Europe. The feeding of large felid such as lions, tigers and cheetahs with live vertebrates, such as rodents or alligators, has long ceased to be accepted practice in zoos in cost of Europe. The use of l iving animals, such as mice or quail, to encourage falconers' birds and wildlife casualties to perfect their hunting skills has, likewise, been officially phased-out.Some of the practices alluded to above have stopped because of public attitudes but legislation has also, indirectly, had a result. Thus, for example, the I-J Animal Welfare Act 2006, while not specifically outlawing the feeding of live food to carnivorous species, puts an onus of responsibility on keepers on a duty of care to all animals in their possession and thus an obligation to ensure as far as possible that ere species are killed before being offered as food.

Documents of American History

There have been a number of amendments within the United States Constitution that have distinguished themselves as having an important and lasting quality, more so than other amendments. The first amendment with its protection of religious freedom, freedom of the press, assembly, speech and petition is seen as the most important. The 2nd amendment which states that a well organized militia is allowed to carry arms and which the Supreme Court has interpreted it to mean all law abiding citizens have the right to carry arms has been a source of debate for many years.There are two amendments within the Constitution that are terribly important, yet have been forgotten in the years since its passage. The 14th Amendment, which established citizenship for all persons born within the United States had enormous historical and political implications as it overturns the Dred Scott Supreme Court Decision of 1857, strengthens the 13th Amendment and helps pave the way for the 15th Amendment as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The second important yet forgotten amendment within the Constitution is the 19th Amendment which gives woman the right to vote.This amendment as well has large historical and political implications as well since the current frontrunner in the quest for the Democratic nomination for President is Hillary Clinton: a woman. This modern turn of events would not have been made possible if not only for the 19th amendment but also the decades of protests and all the work on behalf of women’s suffrage that took place. The 14th Amendment states that no state can infringe upon the rights of any person, regardless of their race: â€Å"Section 1.All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State depri ve any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. † This is a key aspect of the text as it helps to strengthen the 13th amendment as well. With the passage of the 13th amendment on January 1, 1863, nothing really changed.The Southern States, who were in rebellion against the Union, felt that they were no longer bound to obey any laws that came out of Washington. The amendment would have to be recognized once the Union won the Civil War and brought the southern states back into the Union. To a lesser degree, the same could be said about the 14th amendment and its relation to its predecessor, the 13th amendment. After the war, there was no longer any slavery and four million African Americans were left at the doorstep of the Federal government while still residing in the Southern states.The great migration of African Americans to the Northern cities was still decades in the fu ture. So as a result, southern legislatures sought to put African Americans back in a type of quasi slavery though oppressive Jim Crow and black code laws. These laws were designed to return blacks to their pre war condition of submission to the white establishment. This was accomplished through restrictive measures that prevented African Americans from suing in court, testifying in court, being a member of a jury as well as being able to own a gun.African Americans were not allowed to gather on a street corner by themselves and racial discrimination regarding public places was understood to be included in these black codes as well. The 14th amendment was passed during Reconstruction. Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated and Vice President Johnson, a southerner from Tennessee had been made president. He was from the south but loathed the south’s actions of rebellion during the civil war. However, those feelings seem to pass as he vetoed nearly every civil rights bill that wa s passed by Congress during his years in office.It would be these actions by President Johnson that would give him the dubious honor of being the first President to be impeached. He avoided banishment by one vote in the senate but the success of his presidency was over. It is in this context that the 14th amendment was passed since in the end, the 14th amendment is a civil rights bill that would be challenged in the years after its passage. The 14th Amendment did not go as far as the Radical Republicans, as they were called, wanted it to go.The 15th amendment and the 1875 Civil Rights Act, built upon the power that the 13th and 14th amendments went in securing the rights of individuals under the Constitution, regardless of their race. The power of the 14th Amendment would be limited after the Supreme Court outlawed the 1875 Civil Rights Act which was built upon the power of the 14th amendment. The Supreme Court said that only the state was prohibited from infringing upon the Civil R ights of an individual and that private businesses could be allowed to implement such practices as segregation or refusal to rent or sell to an African American if they chose to do so.The power of the 14th Amendment would be further decreased with the 1890 Supreme Court Case Plessey vs. Ferguson. The Supreme Court held that the states could not impose segregation on public places as long as those facilities were â€Å"separate but equal. † There were many at the time of the passage of the 14th amendment and who felt that they were responsible for it passage, who regarded the 14th amendment as having broad powers concerning its ability to give African Americans equal protection and recognition under the law. In the immediate years after the passage of the amendment, this seemed to be more and more, less likely to occur.The original intent of the law and its power would not be seen until the 20th century with such decisions as Brown vs. Board or Education (1954) which stuck dow n forever, racial discrimination within public places. Another important aspect of the 14 amendment was the fact that since African Americans was now seen as citizens, their representation in Congress needed to be known. The section reads: Section 2. â€Å"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens sh all bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.† Although not at the immediate time of its passage, this section allows for African Americans, now citizens, to be represented in Congress. This struck down the previous â€Å"three-fifths† clause which states that for political reasons, African Americans would be counted as only 3/5 of a vote and therefore, not seen by the government as a complete person. The 14th amendment, continuing on the theme of Civil Rights, struck down this offensive aspect of the Original Constitution in order to give African Americas, now citizens, the rights afforded to them as citizens of The United States of America.Full rights for African Americans would not be realized for many more decades but the 14th amendment did a great deal in increasing those rights that help each citizen to feel as though they are a part of the democratic process and are recognized in such a capacity. The struggle for womenâ€⠄¢s suffrage reached its peak during the late 1800s. But the famous 1848 meeting at Seneca Falls New York, directed by Elizabeth Caty Stanton and Lucretia Mott, two giants in the cause for women’s suffrage fought long and hard for the right to be able to vote.The first state to allow women to vote was Wyoming in 1870 and women were even allowed to sit as jurors but there was no federal amendment to protect a woman’s right to vote and the majority of the country did not recognize a woman’s right to vote. The cause for women’s suffrage would enjoy a resurgence during the abolitionist days and the move against slavery. The fight for equal rights for African Americans could not help but remind the female abolitionists that they did not even have some of the rights that the former slaves were bound to receive once their freedom would be won.This came to fruition with help from the 14th Amendment. This amendment not only gave citizenship to all individuals that were born in the United States, meaning four million former slaves would now be considered citizens but also gave voting rights to all males in the country. In May 1869, the National Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Elizabeth Caty Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The organization set out to win a national amendment which would grant women the right to vote. In November 1869, the American Woman Suffrage Association was formed and fought for both state and federal woman suffrage amendments.This helped lay the groundwork for the national campaigns in Washington D. C. in 1912. In 1917, the Susan B. Anthony Federal Suffrage amendment was placed before the House. In 1919, both houses of Congress approved the amendment and it went to the state legislatures for ratification. The approval of thirty six states were needed before the suffrage amendment could become law and surprisingly, the states moved with surprising speed and in August 1920, the 19th Amendment became part of the Cons titution. The wording of the amendment reads as such:The right of citizens in the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Both the 14th and 19th Amendments expand the rights of an important segment of the population. Such amendments have been forgotten because the rights that they protect are seen as never having a starting point for a large segment of the population that seems oblivious to anything that has happened before they were born.Recently, a popular comedy television show, had as one of its comedy pieces, set up a table outside of a busy walkway and sought out women to sign a petition: â€Å"To end Women’s Suffrage. † An alarming number of women as well as men signed the petition, possibly confusing suffrage for suffering. It is due to this amazing level of ignorance that the history, wording and influence of these above mentioned amendments be reintroduced into the nation’s consciousness.The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote but it also told women what they already knew: that they were an important aspect of the American democratic system and that their involvement was required. Women then became governors, senators, representatives, Supreme Court judges and in 2008, possibly the next President of the United States. The 19th Amendment helped make all of this come to fruition, along with the dedication and perseverance of a lot of women and men as well.The 14th amendment is also one of those amendments whose forgotten memory serves as an impediment to every American who assumes that they ways that things are today, is how they have always been. In this manner, history’s importance is all too often underestimated as ignorance breeds apathy for the works and sacrifice of others who came before. When Americans think of civil rights, they think of Martin Luther King Jr. Ro sa Parks and perhaps even Jesse Jackson. But the study of civil rights must first start in the 18th and 19th century if at all.â€Å"The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments which greatly increased the rights for all peoples, regardless of their race as well as the 19th amendment, all had their origins in the 19th century. † And as it is with most amendments, its origins are seen years and decades before its actual passage and many times, opens the door for further legislation in the future. The 14th and 19th amendments are two examples of this. Sadly, America’s heroes are based more upon pop culture and the every day actions of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. More is known about their unimportant lives than the sacrifices of Elizabeth Caty Stanton and Susan B.Anthony despite the fact that their actions have a more encompassing and important affect on their lives than pop culture ever will, or at least should. Every amendment within the Constitution should be studied and re cognized for what it is and does. This is especially true for the 14th and 19th amendments. WORKS CITED Commanger, Henry Steele. Documents of American History. New York: Century Publishers, 1947 Perry, Michael. We the People. The 14th Amendment and the Supreme Court. New York: Oxford University Press. 1999. The Supreme Court. PBS Video: Thirteen Production. February 24, 2007

Emergency Department Bottleneck Proposal

Emergency Department Bottleneck Proposal Middletown Hospital is a 200-bed, not-for-profit-general hospital that has an emergency department with 20 emergency beds. The emergency department handles on an average 100 patients per day. The hospital’s CEO has authorized the Six Sigma Team (SST) to address complaints received from patients seeking treatment between 6:00 p. m. and 10:00 p. m. The complaints are centered on waiting times and poor service. During this time the data indicates that approximately 70% of the department’s admissions occur (University of Phoenix, 2009, Course Syllabus). To address these complaints and improve performance of the emergency department the Six Sigma Team must understand process improvement proposals. The process must identify the reason of the bottleneck; identify the correct data collection method; the use of capacity planning; accurate analysis of the scheduling and controlling techniques; and identify a recommendation on staffing or alternative sources of care. Process Improvement Proposals A process improvement proposal is a mechanism to define the opportunities needed to reduce the number of steps, interactions, decision points, reports, and the length of the defined practice (Langabeer, 2008). Three key areas need to be addressed when improving a current practice. According to Langabeer (2008), these areas include increasing capacity, reducing the use of resources, and reducing the amount of variation (p. 79). For example, if the emergency department is currently seeing patients at a rate of four per hour during normal business hours, and this rate drops to one per hour during the period listed a bottleneck will result. To address this issue the department needs to provide the resources necessary to avoid the problem. However, when the reason for the bottleneck is known the correction must include steps to preserve resources. These steps must address reducing the cost per patient, removing excessive steps, and exposures that are unnecessary. Because the data shows the bottleneck occurring after normal business hours the third key area is equally important for successful performance. This area involves the development of control tools. These tools will assist the department when variation occurs, these tools can include the development of contingency plans to use other hospital resources available after normal business hours; for example the use of clinical examination rooms for patient overflow. Process of Improvement Method Edward Deming introduces a method known as the Deming Cycle to identify bottlenecks within organizational structures. The Deming Cycle comprised of a continuous process cycle that involve planning, implementation, assessment and decision-making. Deming postulated that â€Å"business processes should be analyzed and measured to identify sources of variations that cause products to deviate from customer requirement† (Arveson, 1998, para 1). Each step gives operation managers the feedback needed to determine if they are meeting current objectives. Arveson also suggest that this checklist will help reduce bottlenecks from happening while increasing productivity within every department. Comparing the Middleton Hospital use of Six Sigma methodology to Deming Cycle both methods can help reduce bottlenecks issues with waiting time that occurs during interval time of 6:00 p. . to 10:00 p. m. Six Sigma methodology uses phases of defining a problem and provide an alternative solution to the problem. The next phase includes measuring the solution’s outcomes, analyzing the outcomes’ goals and effectiveness, improving any flaws that was identified in the improvement process, and controlling any costs or activities to contain cost and resource deficiency (National Association of Health Care Quality, 2009). The Six Sigma system addresses each problem measuring a quantitative solution to be addressed by upper management and delivered to department heads for implementation. Appropriate Collection Methods Middletown Hospital needs to look at different ways of collecting data. Data collection can be subdivided into three categories with service type, department, and floor. This collection of data is valuable tool that managers need to have in order to understand the flow of business within each department. With the collection of data it will allow managers to calculate the volumes of patients during specific times. The SST will require data collected from all computers used to monitor access to the admission system. Additional data will have specific times at which the patient reported to various stations of treatment, and when the patient was discharged. A multivariate trend forecasting method will be more appropriate in this setting; the use of multiple variables about the item being forecasted allows seasons and cycles to be combined with other variables and improve forecast accuracy (Langabeer, 2008). This will give operation managers better forecasting abilities as they will be able to see trends. Finally, the SST will need to analyze the amount of resources or assets available to serve demand (Langabeer, 2008). Quantitative data needed to measure capacity will include: the number of available beds and treatment rooms, the number of key providers and other staff available at each point of care between 6:00 p. m. and 10:00 p. m. , and availability of key medical technologies and equipment. Examples of key medical equipment are diagnostic imaging, X-ray and laboratory equipment. Methods to Analyze The first step in analyzing the cause of Middletown Hospital’s emergency department bottleneck is to perform a capacity analysis that will help to identify appropriate assets and resources to serve the increased need within each emergency department. The analysis should capture statistical data in time series format that will show sequential data recorded during different time periods throughout the day. Data should be included from time periods when the emergency room is successful in handling demand as well as occurrences of the bottleneck. Creation of a control chart can also be useful in discovering areas of daily operations that are contributing to the current issue of meeting demand. Middletown Hospital is aware that they can not keep up with the demand placed upon each department with current needs. In knowing the limitations, data from the other 20 hours in which emergency department is in operation can be used to obtain values for a mean and average to be used to create a control limit. Taking data from the entire day can be used to obtain a standard deviation value as well. Data and observations that show a large deviation from the mean will alert the staff to areas that need to be updated or streamlined. The control data that is being recorded should be able to define staff ratios, numbers of patients seen, time of day, day of the week, equipment or technology malfunctions, ime of patient visit, reason, and duration. A control chart can help Middletown Hospital distinguish normal and abnormal processes within their patient delivery service. Bottlenecks Operation managers need to handle many different jobs at once. These jobs can be dealing with bottlenecks, and forecasting. Operation managers need to look at current flow of business to determine the proper amount of staffing needed to handle problems in the future. By working with an accurate forecast managers are able to see what is expected and when the flow of business will occur. When increasing staffing in any department the profitability will decrease at start, but soon will rebound as more patients realize they are receiving treatment at a faster pace. According to Langabeer (2008), one of the keys to increase throughput or capacity is to remove these obstacles or bottlenecks, which is called de-bottlenecking (p. 96). Increasing the number of staff on during peak times it will be easy to reduce the number of complaints and increase the profitability of every department. Being able to remove the barriers will allow managers to see the results within days instead of weeks. Within any department comes demand and being able to predict the demand allows managers to become better forecasters. According to Langabeer (2008), â€Å"forecasting is a collaborative process that estimates the volume of patients that will be served over a specific time period. More precisely, it is a projection of demand that will occur along three dimensions: service type, location, and time dimensions† (p. 97-98). Managers will have to better look at the forecasting they are doing in order to make sure they are using the most current data in order to predict flow and handle problems. Recommendation on Staffing Middletown hospital’s ability to move patients smoothly through the emergency department has become a conversation of complaint for patients. Due to the high volume of patients being seen during the hours of 6:00 p. m. and 10:00 p. m. changes need to be made to optimize waiting times and efficiently treat patients. The emergency department is averaging 100 patients per day which, means that 70 of them are coming through the emergency department between 6:00 p. m. and 9:00 p. m. According to Langabeer (2008), in health care, wait times are frequently a source of poor patient satisfaction and process inefficiency (p. 10). The hospital emergency department is currently plagued with a lack of staff scheduled at key times and needs to look at alternatives to better manage the movement of patients. Creating a solution for Middletown hospital means using multiple channel servers to reduce check in time and maximize on hand staff’s time management. Because a majority of the iss ues arise at a key time in the day the revision of the patient routing and flow is required. According to Hall (2006), therefore, by altering patient routing and flow, it may be possible to minimize patient waiting times and increase staff utilization (p. 221). Bottlenecks occur in a hospital emergency department because of the triage concept of putting most significant injuries first. This means many minor care issues will be pushed back. Combating this issue creating a fast track lane to handle minor care issues will decrease patient complaints and wait time. These concepts should reduce the wait time of patients within this three hour block and maximize their experience in the emergency department at Middletown hospital. Conclusion Bottleneck is often the result of an organization lacking the capacity to meet the needs of clients in delivering a particular service. Middletown hospital was given a recommendation to review its current organization capacity by examining their processes, resources, technology. Middletown hospital was able to define other available resources which could be used to assist with meeting their patient demand. Reference Arveson, P. (1998). The Deming Cycle. Retrieved November 27, 2009, from http://www. balancedscorecard. org/TheDemingCycle/tabid/112/Default. aspx Hall, R. (2006). Patient flow: reducing delay in healthcare delivery. Los Angeles, CA: Springer Science Business Media, LLC. Langabeer, J. (2008). Health care operations management: A quantitative approach to business and logistics [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Sudbury,MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from University of Phoenix, OPS/HC571 Health Care Operations Management Web site. National Association of Healthcare Quality. (2009). JHQ 174: Lean Six Sigma in health care. Retrieved November 27, 2009, from http://www. nahq. org/journal/ce/article. html? article_id=250 University of Phoenix. (2009). OPS/HC571 course syllabus. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from University of Phoenix OPS/HC571- Course Materials Web site.