Developing a Lens Claim Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Developing a Lens Claim - Essay Example 410), a venue where the Chinese people can integrate their culture to a language fundamentally foreign to theirs, but nevertheless necessary for survival in a very dynamic world, and global village. Like that of soccer hating (Foer, p. 412), Chinglish hating is also triggered by specific and special events. Though the Chinese government has been promoting for the eradication of Chinglish from everyday conversation, its effort during the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai was its biggest and most comprehensive effort. Lastly, just like in soccer, globalization will continually provide the "subtext" (Foer, p. 413) for the Chinese cultural split. However, if it appears that Chinglish can lessen the negative impact of such cultural divide, then letting it be could be the best course of action. Jacobs, A. (2010, May 2). Shanghai Is Trying to Untangle the Mangled English of Chinglish. New York Times. Accessed on October 5, 2010, Available at http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/03/world/asia/20100503_CHINGLISH.html.

Corporal of Marines Essay Example for Free

Corporal of Marines Essay Corporal of Marines BY Jkid43 What It Means To Be a Corporal of Marines A Corporal of United States Marine Corps had duty and responsibility that they carry out and sever on a day to day base. A Corporal is the lowest as a Noncommissioned Officer in the Marines Corps. A Corporal helps establish good order and discipline for their Marines. Corporals are held accounted for their and their Marines action. As Corporal of Marines they lead their Marines with firmness, fairness, and dignity. Corporals should have confidence, communicate, and good decision making. Corporal makes timely decision not only in combat, but in garrison oo. A Corporal is responsible for their self, along for their Marines. As Corporals their actions and decisions reflects the mission and welfare of their Marines. As NCO, Corporals must accept the responsible of their leadership roles. Corporals as leaders must understand his roles and Marines. For Corporal they must know their Marines comparability, weakness, and effeteness. Corporal is also responsible for their Marines actions. As NCO, Corporals hold accountable for the action their Marines do good or bad. Corporals serve as mentors for theirs Marines and should know their Marines. Which allow Corporal to make decisions base on their Marines abilities. Corporals also are responsible for the well-being and welfare of their Marines. Corporals should insure that their Marine is taken care on and off duty. To ensure if a Marine have an issue that they take the necessary action to ensure marine problem is resolve. Corporals needs to ensure that their Marines have necessary things need for accomplish the mission that their tasks with. Corporals are also responsible for the development and mentors for their Marines. Corporals should ensure that their Marines are challenged and motivated to the best of ability. A Corporal duty as a NCO is to enforce the rules and regulations on a daily base in the Uniform Code of Military Justice UCMJ. Corporals must understand, follows, and enforce the IJCMJ for their Marines. Corporal have a wide range of Jobs among the very wide range of thing Marines do, but their essential duty is to supervise their work and maintain discipline for their Marines. Corporal must ensure that they understand any tasks giving to them. Corporal should also ensure that they have the necessary plan and executing to accomplish the mission. Corporal should get feedback from their senior leader for guides and development to ensure they can leads the Marines better. Corporals duty is to ensure that their Marine is properly trained for any type of mission given to them. When training the Marines, Corporals should ensure that the Marines have their proper equipment, food, water and mind- set when training. Corporals must understand the safety and well-being of their Marine. Ensure that their Marine is healthy mentality, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Corporal duty is also establish good communicates with their Marines. Corporals need to ensure that their marine understand and can accomplish any tasks give to them and supervise to the standard set by the Corporals. The Corporal superiors. This includes the health of each Marine, supply requirements and any other need to ensure the Marines are prepared for any situation. Overall Corporals have a lot of responsible and duties that they must carry out. That core values honor, courage and commitment is emplaced in their Marine, and along themselves. Corporals are to set the example for their Marines emulate. Corporals are to hold themselves to a high stand also.

How to Survive Portuguese Taxi Ride :: Free Expository Process Essays

How to Survive Portuguese Taxi Ride Less than twenty-four hours after arriving in Portugal, I was introduced to my first taxi ride. I was traveling with a native Portuguese girl, Sandra Batista. Sandra called a taxi to take us to our home. I hadn't, yet, experienced a taxi ride in Portugal. I had heard how dreadful these rides can be, especially the first time. "Consider yourself forewarned," a friend had cautioned a few minutes before I boarded the plane. He was, of course, referring to the taxi drivers in Portugal. I laughed. "The taxi drivers can't be that bad," I reasoned with him. He laughed. He had the last laugh. In fact, he still laughs about my ignorance. The taxi pulled up and Sandra and I got in. She took the passenger's seat; I sat in the rear. I felt calm. After the first acceleration, that serenity transformed to sheer panic and nausea. I was praying silently as I held on for dear life. Sandra was nonchalant; she animatedly spoke in Portuguese to the driver. The spoken language was foreign to me; her body language was not. She was completely unaffected. Fifteen minutes later we arrived home. "For cars and motorcycles the speed limits are 60 kilometers per hour (37 m.p.h.) in built up areas (city streets)." (Baedeker 388) Our driver was averaging about 90 kilometers per hour (55 m.p.h.). Sandra thanked and tipped our driver. I lost my lunch in the nearest bush. It was my first "near-death experience," as I like to call it; little did I know, I would endure several more experiences similar to this one in the following year and a half, while residing in Portugal. After several months of fearing, my life, followed by vomiting, I decided to create a method for relaxation in the Portuguese taxi. First, give yourself time to prepare for the event. You will need a good amount of time to think about and prepare for your excursion. Meditation is powerful. In Lamaze classes, for example, you are told to have a calm and peaceful setting to think about when labor pains get climactic and intense; the Portuguese taxi ride qualifies as "intense." Prepare your mind by thinking of a peaceful scene; this scene could be a beach or a forest setting. Pondering a roller coaster ride would not be a good idea. Thinking through an entire calm setting can put your mind into "relax" mode.

Reproductive and Therapeutic Cloning Essays -- Science Technology Gene

Reproductive and Therapeutic Cloning Cloning is defined as the â€Å"creation of an exact copy of a living matter, such as a cell or organism† according to Encarta encyclopedia. The copies produced through cloning have identical genetic makeup and are known as clones. Scientists use cloning techniques in the laboratory to create copies of cells or organisms with valuable traits. Cloning is a controversial topic because new areas of science often raise questions about safety. Early experiment performed on animals showed potential dangers. For example, cloned cows developed faulty immune systems. In some studies, cloned animals seemed to grow old faster and die younger than normal members of the species. According to Encarta online Encyclopedia, â€Å"In 2002 the National Academy of Sciences released a report calling for a legal ban on human cloning. The report concluded that the high rate of health problems in cloned animals indicates that such an effort in humans would be highly dangerous for the mother and developing embryo and is likely to fail† (encarta.msn.com). Reproductive and therapeutic cloning has possible side effects or danger that could affect the human race. Reproductive cloning is a technology used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal and therapeutic cloning involves transplanting the nucleus of an adult body cell into an unfertilized egg. An electric shock stimulates the egg to begin dividing. This reproductive cloning technology can be used to help people who cannot give birth to children or those who are not married. Though Reproductive cloning would be beneficial to us, there are a number of reasons why this system should be banned... ...er, etc. it would be use to replace and restore tissues, organs, and their lost functionality† (Williams 591-594). As William said using this technology to treat an aging brain could be difficult because of the hostile environment created by the neurodegenerative disease (Williams 591-594). Reproductive and Therapeutic cloning is not as beneficial as it is made out to be by researchers. Developing humans are killed in the long pursuit of this technology. Money also is a big issue. By using the money that could be used to help developing countries to play or be God is immoral. We have everything we can use to revive humans to the best of our ability, what more do we needed? Sometimes, certain things are not to be tampered with because of issues and dangers behind it. Therefore Reproductive and Therapeutic cloning should not be used and should be banned.

Bolwbys theory of attachment Essay

Outline and Evaluate Bowlby’s Evolutionary Theory of Attachment. (12mark) Attachment can be described using two theories, one being Bowlby’s attachment theory which is based on an evolutionary perspective. The theory suggests that evolution has produced a behaviour that is essential to the survival to allow the passing on of genes. An infant that keeps close to their mother is more likely to survive. The traits that lead to that attachment will be naturally selected. Bowlby has the idea that attachment has evolved and it is innate as it increases the likelihood of survival and reproduction, he suggests that children are already born with this innate drive and that they were born to perform these behaviours and born to attain attachment. To enhance the survival of their offspring caregiving is also adaptive and we are born to care for our children. He suggests that infants were born with social releasers (for example: crying/smiling) which encourage caregiving. Bowlby also suggests that there is a best time to form an attachment, this is called the sensitive period where infants are most sensitive to development of attachments and Bowlby would suggest that this is when the child is 3-6 months old. However, attachment can still take place at other times but it becomes increasingly difficult. Attachment acts as a secure base for exploration, which influences independence rather than dependence. Bowlby argues that infants form a single special attachment with one particular attachment figure, usually the mother. This is called monotropy. Other attachments may develop in a hierarchy. An infant may therefore have a primary monotropy attachment to its mother, and below her the hierarchy of attachments might include its father, siblings, grandparents, etc. Another key feature of Bowlby’s theory is that the infant develops an internal working model of relationships that guides relationship behaviour as an older child and an adult. This leads to the continuity hypothesis and the view that there is a link between the early attachment and later emotional behaviour. A strength of this theory is that research appears to suggest that once the sensitive period has passed it is difficult to form attachments. Hodges and Tizard (1989) found that children who have formed no attachments had later difficulties with their peers. This therefore supports Bowlby’s concept of a sensitive period during which infants are most sensitive to the development of attachments. Another strength is that if attachment did evolve as Bowlby suggests then we would expect attachment and caregiving to be universal. Tronick et all (1992) studied an African family tribe where infants were fed by different women but slept with their own mother at night. However, despite this, after six months the children all still showed one primary attachment. This supports the view that we are born to attain attachment because attachment and caregiving are universal and not influenced by different cultures. Finally, Bowlby suggested that infants form multiple attachments which then form a hierarchy and there is much evidence to support this. The study by Schaffer and Emerson also found that most infants have many attachments. They reported that there was little relationship between time spent together and attachment. This suggests that it is the quality of caregiving rather than the quantity of it. This supports Bowlby’s theory because it goes against the Learning theory as the learning theory suggests that food is the main key to developing an attachment. A weakness of this theory is the multiple attachment model as this model suggests that there are no primary and secondary attachments but instead they are all integrated into one single model. Grossman and Grossman researched infant-father attachment and found that there is a key role for the father’s in social development. This is a criticism because Grossman and Grossman are suggesting that there is not one particular figure as Bowlby suggests but that fathers and mothers both play a role in the development of a child and therefore they both are as important as each other. Another weakness includes the internal working model as according to Bowlby it is expected that children form similar attachments with all people because they are working from the same model. Lamb (1977) found that some children form secure relationships with their mothers and insecure relationships with their fathers. This suggests that there is more to attachment than just a sensitive response to a social releaser. Kagan (1984) found that children have an innate temperament, e. g. easy going or difficult, that influences early attachments with their caregivers and later relationships when they are adults. This is called temperament hypothesis. This means that attachments form as a result of temperament not an innate gene for attachment.

Frankenstein and its scientific paradigm essays

Frankenstein and its scientific paradigm essays Frankenstein is a forceful novel written by Mary Shelly, it has raised many issues over the past years in which people of all social status have studied it. It is considered to be a gothic literature, however receives criticism from all areas of text study. The term gothic conjures up images of frightened women, graveyards, and haunted castles in the mist. Gothic is a literary term, which describes a particular type of story and atmospheric surrounding. In doing so, it often establishes a contrast between darkness and light, which evokes a sinister irony. As well as including a gothic frame, Frankenstein also contains a scientific outlook. The idea behind the creation of the monster speaks for itself as it is made possible by science. The term science is defined as the systematic study of the nature and behaviour of the material and the physical universe, based on observation, experiment, and measurement. Victor took advantage of science and the possibilities it offers to preform a sort of experiment, which turns into a horrific disaster. In a world where a drug, a chemical or a piece of a technology has become the primary refuge for those who seek to rid their lives of imperfection, a scientist sought out to broaden his mind and penetrate the very limits of sanity, life and death. Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a passionate and thoughtful master of the natural sciences, curious at the subject of death and question the concepts of heaven and earth, decides to go to the extreme using the very knowledge he has acquired through his early years of childhood. Victor Frankenstein was a bright young man with a dark fascination, which began as a child. First manifesting itself as a deep interest in science while a collage student, it grew into an obsession with the dead. After finding a book written by Cornelius Agrippa, Victor became extremely fascinated with the text, which leads him into finding many more books of the same and different aut...

Animal Cruelty Essays - Animal Testing, Animal Rights, Free Essays

Animal Cruelty Essays - Animal Testing, Animal Rights, Free Essays Animal Cruelty Jeff Albrecht Joseph Aimone Writing and Rhetoric 13 December 2000 Animal Cruelty One of the most touchy aspects of our relationship with animals is the use of animals in laboratory sciences. Some manufactures of cosmetics and household products still conduct painful and useless tests on live animals, even though no law requires them not to. Some people, called anti-vivisectionists, are at one extreme in their concern. They want an abolition of all experiments on live animals. At the other extreme there are those who say that it is quite all right for us to do whatever we like to animals. They say that God gave us such a right, since it is written in the bible (Genesis 1:26) that man has dominion over all creatures. If these tests give some educational value, adds to scientific knowledge, or can help improve human health, they argue that it is worth killing animals or subjecting them to painful experiments. I believe that the unnecessary testing of animals is inhumane and unethical when alternative methods Albrecht 2 are available. The anti-vivisectionists say we should not allow experiments on animals and the animal utilitarians, or vivisectionists, claim that we can do anything to animals if it is for the ultimate good of humanity. Perhaps they are both wrong. Much can be learned from treating animals that are already sick or injured in testing new life-saving drugs and surgical techniques. Animals, as well as people benefit from new discoveries. But is it right to take perfectly healthy animals and harm them to find cures for human illnesses, many of which we bring on ourselves by poisoning the environment, eating the wrong kinds of foods, and by not adopting a healthy active life-style? Do people have the right to do what ever they like to perfectly healthy animals? Do we have the right to continue doing experiments over and over again in a needless repetition and a waste of animals if no new information is going to be gained? Animals suffer unnecessarily and their lives are pointlessly wasted. If the issue were simple, animal experimentation might never have become so controversial. Each year in the United States an estimated 20-70 Albrecht 3 million animals-from cats, dogs and primates, to rabbits, rats and mice-suffer and die in the name of research. Animal tests for the safety of cosmetics, household products and chemicals are the least justifiable. Animals have doses of shampoo, hair spray, and deodorant dripped into their eyes or applied to bare skin in attempts to measure eye and skin irritancy levels. Other are force-fed massive quantities of toxic materials such as bleach or soap, in a hit-and-miss attempt to measure levels of toxicity. Since 1938, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required that each ingredient in a cosmetic be adequately substantiated for safety prior to being made available to the consumer. However, neither the FDA nor the Consumer Product Safety Commission ( a regulatory agency that oversees product safety, consumer complaints, etc.) requires firms to conduct animal testing of any cosmetic product. Cosmetic companies use animal tests to insure themselves against possible consumer lawsu its. If sued for liability, they can protect themselves by arguing that the cosmetic was adequately tested for safety with tests standard in the cosmetic industry. How placing a piece of lipstick in the eye of a rabbit to determine if it is safe Albrecht 4 for the consumer, boggles my mind. If someone placed a piece of lipstick in my eye, I do believe it would irritate my eye also. How in the name of God does this test prove it is safe for the consumer? I don't believe lipstick is gong to be used in the eye area, unless you are an illiterate that cant read directions. The Draize Eye-Irritancy Test was designed to assess a substance's potential harmfulness to human eyes based on its effects on rabbits' eyes. This test was developed in the early 1940s by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This test is typically performed on six rabbits per substance tested. Technicians restrain each rabbit and place a measured amount of the test substance in the lower lid of one eye. Usually no anesthetics are given. the rabbits eyes are than examined at

Tezuka Osamu - Biography of Anime and Manga Artist

Tezuka Osamu - Biography of Anime and Manga Artist Depending on where you look or whos talking, youll see Tezuka referred to as the God, Father, Godfather, Grandfather, Emperor and/or King of both manga and anime. (Manga and anime, then - remember those two types of art.) Whichever of these titles you wish to give the man, it is wholly deserved. He didnt merely change the future of manga and create anime as we know it, he worked ceaselessly. Over the course of his career, Tezuka created and wrote more than 700 manga series containing an estimated 170,000 pages of drawings, and another 200,000 pages of anime storyboards and scripts. Date and Place of Birth: November 3, 1928, Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan Early Life: The eldest of three children, Osamu was born into a family of doctors, lawyers, and military men. His father was an engineer, but had drawn manga prior to marriage, kept a large library of manga and bought a movie projector that would introduce Osamu to two major artistic influences: the animators Walt Disney and Max Fleischer. According to family accounts, his parents were strict disciplinarians but also supportive and encouraging of their childrens interests. When young Osamu showed an affinity for drawing, they kept him supplied with sketchbooks. His parents were also forward-thinking and, as a result, Osamu attended a progressive school where classes were co-ed. He was a bright student who excelled in composition and won popularity with his classmates for his manga sketches and picture cards (which they circulated amongst themselves). When he was nine, Osamu used his drawing and newly-formed writing skills to produce his first multi-page manga. By age eleven, he was wearing his trademark black-rimmed glasses and had solidified a lifelong interest in insects. He also began using the pen name Osamushi, a play on words between his name and an insects. Dr. Tezuka: Despite many other activities (acting and playing the piano, for two examples) he pursued through school and beyond, Tezuka continued to draw. After nearly losing both arms to an infection as a teenager, though, he decided to also study medicine. Due to a severe shortage of doctors in occupied Japan, Tezuka, then 17, was admitted to the medical school of Osaka University in 1945. He was qualified to practice medicine by 1952 and successfully defended his doctoral thesis in 1961. These were noble goals and testify to his keen intelligence. Tezukas heart, however, was more given to visual art than it was to science. The Making of a Manga-ka: Shortly after entering medical school Tezuka sold his first comic strip, a four-panel serial called Diary of Ma-chan to an Osaka childrens newspaper. Though it appeared in limited circulation, the strip proved popular enough to generate publisher interest in the artist. In short order, he sold the manga The New Treasure Island, the first in a long line of his adaptations from Western literature. Treasure Island made Tezuka nationally famous and proved to be the tipping point in his career. Even while completing medical school, he published manga at a furious clip, graduating to larger newspapers and reader numbers. From 1950 until his death, Tezuka worked non-stop. It seemed natural to him to transition his manga characters into the animation he so loved, and thus a genre was born. Even he could not have foreseen that his Astro Boy would take anime global and offer Tezuka international fame. Ever the workaholic, he produced nearly 500 anime episodes and this while continuing to conceive, write and draw volumes of some 700 different manga titles. Tezukas enduring impact on Japanese popular culture - indeed, on world popular culture - is nearly impossible to overstate. He was truly an exceptionally influential artist. Best Known for Today: Introducing the big-eyed characters that are omnipresent in anime and manga (his influences: Bambi and Betty Boop).Incorporating cinematic action into manga, which had been a static art form prior to Tezukas handling.Popularizing manga in Post-war Japan.Creating anime. (Two short words that now represent a multi-billion dollar global industry. Yearly.)Influencing new generations of manga-ka and animators.Making becoming a manga-ka or animator as lofty a goal as, say, becoming a physician. Perhaps even more lofty as goals and, thanks to Tezuka, highly respected and financially rewarding ones. Important Works: Jungle Taitei (Jungle Emperor), 1950-54. Later released as the animated series Kimba the White Lion in the U.S.Tetsuwan ATOM (Astro Boy), 1952-68Ribon no Kishi (Princess Knight), 1953-56Hi no Tori (The Phoenix), 1956-89. Tezukas personal favorite and the series he worked on continuously from its inception until his death.Black Jack, 1973-83Buddha, 1974-84The Stories of Three Adolfs, 1983-85 See pictures of Tezuka Osamus work in the Special Exhibition Gallery Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga. Date and Place of Death: February 9, 1989, Tokyo, Japan; of stomach cancer. His posthumous Buddhist name is Hakugeiin Denkakuenju Shodaikoji. How to Pronounce Tezuka Osamu: tezz ·oo ·kah oss ·ah ·moo (Note: This is the Japanese styling, family name first and given name second. If youd prefer to say the artists name Western-style, simply switch the order of the two words.) Quotes From Tezuka Osamu: I felt [after the war] that existing comics were limiting. Most were drawn as if seated in an audience viewing from a stage, where the actors emerge from the wings and interact. This made it impossible to create dramatic or psychological effects, so I began to use cinematic techniques. French and German movies that I had seen as a schoolboy became my model. I experimented with close-ups and different angles, and instead of using only one frame for an action scene or the climax (as was customary), I made a point of depicting a movement or facial expression with many frames, even many pages. The result was a super-long comic that ran to 500, 600, even 1,000 pages. I also believed that comics were capable of more than just making people laugh. So in my themes, I incorporated tears, grief, anger, and hate, and I created stories where the ending was not always happy.Manga is virtual. Manga is sentiment. Manga is resistance. Manga is bizarre. Manga is pathos. Manga is destruction. Manga is arrogance. Manga is love. Manga is kitsch. Manga is a sense of wonder. Manga is †¦ there is no conclusion yet. Im begging you, let me work! - reported by both his wife of nearly thirty years, Etsuko and Takayuki Matsutani, president of Mushi Productions (Tezukas studio), to have been the artists last words. Sources and Further Reading Gravett, Paul. Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics.New York: Collins Design, 2004.Gresh, Lois; Robert Weinberg The Science of Anime: Mecha-Noids and AI-Super-Bots.New York: Thunders Mouth Press, 2005.Hornyak, Timothy N. Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots.Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2006.Schodt, Frederik L. Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution.Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2007.Schodt, Frederik L. Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga.Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 1996.

Technological Advances In Video Games Research Paper

Technological Advances In Video Games - Research Paper Example 2000s – A virtual universe F. Future technological developments of the video game industry G. Conclusion Technological Advances in Video Games Through the Years The video game industry has evolved into what it is now through the advancement in technological developments. This essay aims to present the technological advances that the video game has undergone spanning more than 50 years of constant innovations. A. The early beginnings (1947 to 1960s) In January 1947, a patent was filed by Thomas T. Goldsmith Junior and Estle Ray Mann for the first electronic video game, the Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device, where the players hit targets printed on overlays through light beam missiles by just adjusting knobs (Polsson , par 1). Later in 1952, a tic-tac-toe game, Noughts and Crosses, became the first known computer game which was created by A. S. Douglas (KCTS Television 1). It ran on the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC), a big Cambridge University computer. T his game enabled a person to play tic-tac-toe against a computer player. Six years later, Tennis for Two, an interactive game which uses an analog computer and an oscilloscope as a screen was created by American physicist Willy Higinbotham to entertain visitors of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (KCTS Television 2). A milestone was achieved in 1962 when Steve Russell created the Spacewar! which ran on a PDP-1 computer and uses a vector-graphics screen. The game consists of two small flying spaceships which are controlled by two players with joysticks and buttons (Polsson , par 4). The â€Å"Brown Box†, the first console that works on a standard television was created by German-born television engineer, Ralph Baer in 1967. This marked the birth of the first television ping-pong video game system (Polsson , par 9). Baer later applied for a patent for his invention. B. 1970s – The video game empire is born a. Home game console The 1970s was the start of the video game empire. It was in the year 1971 when Nolan Bushnell created Computer Space, the first coin arcade-style game and first commercial video game (Polsson , par 19). This game did not gain much popularity though, as that of the Magnavox Odyssey, which was the first home game console which contains 12 different games, including Ping-Pong (KCTS Television 6). This console was also the first to use a light gun for target shooting. Cards are inserted to select the games. The Odyssey however only used â€Å"simple black and white graphics enhanced by plastic overlays for the television screen† (Miller , par 4). In 1975, Atari sold a home version of Pong whose â€Å"unique feature is the single chip that produces both an on-screen score and the sound the game makes when the paddle hits the ball† (Time Inc. 3). In August of 1976, Fairchild Camera and Instrument introduced the first programmable home video game system (Miller , par 11). Moreover, it boasted of 16-color graphics and a variety of games as programmed by removable ROM cartridges. A year after, Atari launched the Atari 2600 which is the first multi-game home console which had cartridges that store game information (KCTS Television 9). It included the famous games Space Invaders, Breakout, Missile Command and Combat. It was during this decade that home computers were released in North America such as the Apple II, the TRS-80 and the Commodore PET, along with the famous Atari 400/800. b. Arcades Aside from home computers, arcade games rose in popularity because consumers could just

Team Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team Development - Essay Example There are both demonstrated advantages and disadvantages associated with multicultural teams (Stahl, nd). The goal ought to be to emphasize the advantages while at the same time making organizational adjustments to better understand the disadvantages and thereby convert them into advantages. As an initial matter, multicultural teams generate more creativity. Team members have more experiences, more background facts to draw on, and more information to contribute to the team. This creativity results in a critical analysis of problems rather than a mere acceptance of previously-accepted norms. Precise definitions become important. There is, in a short, an inherent need in the diversity context to analyze and to clarify more completely than in a non-diverse environment. Team building, as a result, becomes a more thoughtful and analytical process. These contributions manifest themselves in very useful ways. Problems are presented, defined, and a broader spectrum of alternatives proposed. The potential disadvantages are real, and have been empirically established, but can also be converted into team building advantages. There are issues, for example, of mistrust and a lack of cohesion in some multicultural settings. Stereotypes and issues of bias may present themselves as obstacles. Some of these problems are rather straightforward.

Democratic assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Democratic assessment - Essay Example However, in this particular article, we are going to lay emphasis on the democratic organization and structure of Canada and at the same time compare it to the various democracies globally. First and foremost Canada is a country situated in the North American continent. It is a vast nation which stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the pacific and further to the Arctic Ocean. 1Apparently, it is a federal parliamentary nation and at the same times a constitutional monarchy with the royal family as the head of the nation. On that note, the nation is founded on the following values: freedom, democracy, democratic leadership, human rights and finally the rule of law. 2However, the democracy in Canada has faced harsh criticism on the fact that it is termed as being less participatory on the part of representation following the politicians advocating for policies which serve their own interest as opposed the interest of the majority of the people. Despite all that, the government has tirel essly worked to restore the participation of the public through election. In addition to that, elections have provided a forum in which the people of a nation have control over the governing authorities and their policies.3 Apparently, elections have served as a vetting forum for the leaders. In addition to that, through elections people have been able to elect credible leaders for the various public administrative positions for instance the Member of Parliament in the case of Canada and therefore accountability in office has been boosted greatly since failure to deliver on office means one would not be reelected during the next election. 4Furthermore, elections give the people the authority to select the leader they feel will represent them fully in the government; address their grievance to the governing body. On the contrary, through referendum exercises the people have been able to approve the policies they regard in their best interest and at the same time disapprove some of th e policies formulated by the government that they view are unsuitable for the nation’s growth. In other words, elections have given the people power to select which policies to approve to law. 5For instance, in case the government of a nation needs to amend the constitution; which is the law of the country, they may require a majority vote of the citizens in a bid to approve and ensure the participation of the people in democracy of the nation. On a similar theme, people are also given the power to control the policy through the fact that they get to elect new officials during every election. On that note, the newly elected individuals come in with new ideas and policies which are aimed at improving the living standards of people. Consequently, the people are able to keep in check the activities of the government. Apparently, in Canada elections are held on several fronts in the government. 6On that note, there are the national, provincial, municipal and finally the territori al elections. Notably, the parliament of Canada consists of two major divisions; the House of Commons which contain three hundred and eight members and the senate which has one hundred and five appointees of the governor general with the aid of the prime minister. During

Reading Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading Discussion - Essay Example It was also interesting to note that, even with these blurred lines between â€Å"pop† and culture, the media has played a critical role in influencing how both adults and children act. This could lead to lower self-esteem because people feel that they have to take specific actions in order to fit into the popular culture. I was also attracted to the fact that the United States has an overwhelming influence on the actions of other societies, specifically due to the fact that American composition classrooms have championed the incorporation of popular culture into academic study (Maasik & Solomon 7). It is almost as if had media technology not been invented, then the world would have had to focus on other issues that have more importance to their heritage and their lives. This is confusing because it could be assumed that the media would adapt to societal norms and reflect reality. Instead, it has adapted to popular culture and has influenced society to adapt to norms present in popular

Analysis of a movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of a movie - Essay Example is an art of making motion pictures, encompasses different criteria or qualities by which its aesthetic quality can be evaluated depending on the person viewing it. Thereby, its classification as a beautiful film depends on the subjective nature of the person who viewed it. It is in this regard that this essay is written to present an analysis of Rain Man in terms of addressing the following questions: (1) keeping in mind what you have learned in class thus far about literary elements, what does this movie mean to you? (2) What is this movie really about? (3) Is there a "moral to the story," a theme to be explored, or comment to think about? (4) What is the point of the movie? And (5) did you find this movie meaningful for you personally? Why or why not? Rain Man is a movie an uplifting experience through the spectacular performance of the actors, both Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. For me, it is one of the best movies I have seen and have continued to remember so far due to the theme and the characters of the movie. The most critical factors that qualify a film or movie as good in my own conviction are as follows: (1) a good plot (or the content of the story), (2) the quality and choice of casts, (3) genre, (4) excellent audio visual quality, (5) cinematography (or the form which is the actual beauty of fine art) and (6) moral or message of the story. Contemporary films do not necessarily comply with the standards of aesthetic quality despite the developments and utilization of technology to apply special effects. In fact, according to Osider (2009), â€Å"lately, the blockbuster has fallen into the habit of replacing beautiful form with thrills. These films contain mainly shallow themes and impressive special effects. The audience might like the film, but again that does not make it a good one.† An aesthetically crafted film should show a good quality that not only entertains but inspires. The content and form combine beautifully to create film art. Osider

Reading Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading Discussion - Essay Example It was also interesting to note that, even with these blurred lines between â€Å"pop† and culture, the media has played a critical role in influencing how both adults and children act. This could lead to lower self-esteem because people feel that they have to take specific actions in order to fit into the popular culture. I was also attracted to the fact that the United States has an overwhelming influence on the actions of other societies, specifically due to the fact that American composition classrooms have championed the incorporation of popular culture into academic study (Maasik & Solomon 7). It is almost as if had media technology not been invented, then the world would have had to focus on other issues that have more importance to their heritage and their lives. This is confusing because it could be assumed that the media would adapt to societal norms and reflect reality. Instead, it has adapted to popular culture and has influenced society to adapt to norms present in popular

Discussion 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion 6 - Essay Example s the people in IT business and other professionals to know what new opportunities are there, challenges likely to be faced and the trends in the system. In today’s competitive global market people are looking for new opportunities to reduce cost, improve their efficiency in work and gain an edge in the market. Business people are using IT as their tool to realize their aims. The use of disruptive new technologies social networks, content-mobile apps along with proliferation of private and public cloud is making companies to assess the impact this new technologies in their businesses. Business leaders are supposed to understand the use and importance of this new advancement and use them in the improvement of their businesses (Overby, 2013). There is need of listening to the customers in this digital market in order to understand the consume ration of IT. Businesses are filled with large data, a cloud of computing information and mobile services. The argument of Overby that equilibrium of jobs offshore and onshore will be attained is quite correct. Advancement in technology makes works more efficient and creates more job opport unities and development of a

Facilities And Rational Essay Example for Free

Facilities And Rational Essay For a multinational hotel chain, there is need to maintain quality standards for organization to live- up to their brand equity and customers expectations. However, as hotel proposed to be a 3- star hotel, we need to take care of the costs and need not go overboard in promising amenities and services. Moreover, as per recent report (1), occupancy in London hotels has come down form 80% to 75% with respect to other European cities in 2001 to 2002 period. East end of London is right place to open a new hotel as next four- five years going to have lots of business activities prior to 2012 Olympics. During Olympics spectators load going to create havoc on cities infrastructure and demand from visitors would result is substantial shortfall of rooms. As costing and other business case related evaluations are done separately, below is the detailing of key elements of hotel facilities, infrastructure and amenities for a three- star hotel for business clientele Features of rooms: In a 200- room hotel, there is need for gradation of quality of rooms to cater to spectrum of customer profile. Rooms need to be premier and ordinary quality, however, allocation in the categories to follow pyramid structure of the target segment. Plan for maximum number of ordinary room, with 80% (160 units) coverage, 15% (30 units) of executive suites and 5% (10 units) of presidential suites. Suites can be on higher floor which can give better view of the city/ upcoming stadium/ river. Hotel room is most critical interface of the hotel with the customer in building impression and to ensure ‘recall’ and ‘re- visit’. Below are the key aspects of the room amenities. †¢ Decent size (6 ft* 7ft) bed with access from both sides, ample number of cushions/ pillows (hypo allergic), reading lamp attached from behind wall. †¢ Study table made of good quality wood. Chair with arm rest and robust cushioned back support for prolonged working. Table to have lamp and stationery. A detailed road map of London and transportation network would be great help to travelers. †¢ Comfortable couch to stretch legs after days work, centre table to place office bags etc, soothing paintings on the wall, cupboard with ample hangers, shoe- shine etc. †¢ LCD Interactive TV/ Entertainment system with access to business channels, individually controlled AC, internet connectivity, business papers and magazines, phone facility, safe deposits box, tea/ coffee making unit and complimentary mini bar. †¢ Bathroom: 24 hour hot/ cold running water, fitted with overhead shower, bath tub, WC. Along with other toiletries, shaving kit for business traveler, dryer, magnifying mirror, bathrobes, in- room slippers, 24- hr laundry service. Fire alarm: Each room required to be equipped with fire alarm, which is moral responsibility of hotel owner, moreover, it is statutory requirement. Alarm need be quite sensitive to smoke, and alarm must be audible to authorities and residents to take up proper cover. ‘Water sprinkler’ is option worth trying depending on the budget. Sprinkler would help in containing fire before it grows. All room to have instructions at bedside outlining what to do in case of fire. Exit signs must be visible from all corners of the corridor. As proposed hotel is to cater to business clientele, there would be large gathering of delegates to conduct meetings and conferences. Location of such facilities is important. Conference rooms neither should be at basement and nor at the top floor. All exits, pathways should be unobstructed for emergency evacuations. Air conditioning: Central air cooling and heating is hygiene level need for a 3- star hotel. To take care of customers/ guests during extreme temperatures in summers and winter effective air conditioning is required. Each room would have louver/ air- vent to release hot/ cool air draft. From each room, air duct to be connected with the central air compressor. Air conditioning systems are the greatest guzzler of electrical energy in hotels. A detailed assessment of energy efficiency is required to optimize costs. It is always preferred for each room to have individual control panel to regulate the temperature. Health facilities: †¢ To unwind after hectic day of work, business travelers look forward to Spa/ Swimming Pool (covered, temperature controlled) / Gym with treadmill, weights and trainer support. †¢ Doctor must be available on call, 24/ 7. For emergency a reference book with important telephone number s and contact person names to be provided in each room. Utilities: †¢ 24 hr water supply, with purification plant, captive to the hotel. East- End being not very advanced in life standards, it would be important to give comfort to customers on hygiene issues like pure water, unpolluted air and cleanliness. †¢ Uninterrupted power supply at steady voltage with no fluctuations. Any volatility in current would affect laptop kinds of gadgets of customers. Hotel must be equipped with power back- up in form of generator in event of electricity failure. †¢ Currency exchange facility, with tie up with international bank. Single window facility to take care of financial needs of customer would reduce unwanted hassles for the customers, avoiding unnecessary trip to the city. †¢ Fleet of cars for airport pick up/ drop. Or tie with car rental for availability of cars during peak hours. Economics to be seen. Under London congestion charging scheme, use of car in the city is becoming expensive, so for group transfers, use of coach would be time saving and cost effective. †¢ Speed elevators with proper signage and space. Separate service elevator for staff and service. Restaurant: †¢ Restaurant to offer complimentary buffet breakfast. Continental breakfast is recommended for all days. A variety of spread (boiled vegetables to cakes) would help in charging the customer for the big day ahead. †¢ 24- hour coffee shop for executives reaching at odd hours from office/ airports. This facility must have laptop/ mobile charging electrical points for executive to carry out work along with the much needed coffee break. †¢ Multi-cuisine restaurant to take care of varying taste buds of plethora of businessman travelling in and out of London. †¢ Bar cum live music: To tap business and tourist traveler both, a bar with live music is important differentiator. Features characteristics of the building a) Facade: For 200- rooms, and assuming space to be constrained in east- end, hotel need to be 12- 15 storey structure, with parking in basement. Reception, business centre, conference halls and restaurants at first and second floor level. Most of the room must be front facing. Room windows/ balconies to be of uniform size, glass and light fixtures, to give consistent view of the hotel. Two- lane space in front of main gate smooth flow of cars. b) Branding: Signage of hotel brand/ name to be positioned for it to be visible from the approach roads. Hoarding on the roads emerging out of airport, with toll- free number would help in generating enquiries from prospective customers. c) Business centre: Fax facility, desktops with high speed internet, small meeting room (for 4- 6 person), small library with latest business books/ journals. d) Conference rooms: Equipped with good quality overhead projector, 50- 100 chairs, round tables, chord less mikes, quality speakers with proper acoustics and white board etc. These halls must be suited for seminars, conventions, conferences, training programs etc. Important element for better ROI (return on investment) from conference rooms is to have partition arrangement. In event of small group size (20- 40), same hall can be partitioned into two for couple of parallel small sessions. e) Shopping arcade: If local artifacts, business and ethic garments and books on exotic topics etc is provided within hotel, customers may have another reason to avoid congested city markets. Moreover, this bazaar/ series of shops can be another string of revenues for the hotel. f) Car parking: Parking space must be available for 80- 100 cars, with valet parking facility. PA (public announcement) system to facilitate quick access to cars and faster movement from the main porch. 2012 Olympics: For summer Olympics just four years away, economic activities would start building up from now (2008). There would be pick- up in lots of construction and infrastructure work for facilities for Olympic stadium, athletes’ complex and spectators. Various suppliers of machineries, services and equipments would visit often the city and the area. During Olympics spectators from around the world would result is substantial shortfall of hotel facilities. As East End going to see lots of business activities and media focus in next few years, it is most opportune time for hotel industry to capitalize on top line and bottom line growth. From Olympics perspective, this multinational hotel chain must toy with the idea of taking a quality hotel property on lease for 5 years. Logistics: It is important to have proper connectivity with key points of London city like Airport at Newham. As per Regional Planning Guidance3 (RPG3) hotels are encouraged to develop facilities in underdeveloped boroughs (1) to overcome traffic snarls and make stay of customer comfortable. A proper commuting network is required to be developed, using coaches and cars for the customers who would be staying in the hotel. Conclusion: A well equipped hotel by a well known brand in a demand- supply gap scenario is a favorable business proposition. To have first- mover advantage, and to gear up to tap the potential in a 3- star hotel with aforementioned facilities is a compelling business case to be taken forward by the organization. Reference: (1) PriceWaterhouseCooper’s 2002 report to Greater London Authority on ‘Demand and capacity for Hotels and Conference centre in London’

Relationship Between Welfare Policy and Healthcare in the UK

Relationship Between Welfare Policy and Healthcare in the UK I Health and Public Policy Introduction: Social Policy is public policy that relates to health, employment, poverty, education and welfare issues and focuses on social services and welfare state. Social policy is the study of social welfare and how it relates to politics and society. Social policies refer to government policies relating to welfare, social security and protection of an individual in a state and the ways in which welfare is developed and administered in a state (Hill, 1986). The principal areas of social policy aimed towards government objectives of a welfare state are: Administrative practices and policies of social services which include health, social security, education, housing, employment and community and social care Policies towards tackling social crimes, and problems with unemployment, drug abuse, disability, mental health, learning difficulties and old age Socially disadvantageous issues of race, gender, poverty and the related collective social responses and responsibilities towards these conditions The broader subject area of social policy is heavily dependent on disciplines of sociology, management, political science, philosophy, law, psychology and social work. The aims and objectives of a British Welfare State highlight the importance of well being of every individual with a range of services provided to protect people in conditions such as sickness, poverty, old age and childhood and in such a sense , welfare is more than needs fulfillment and relates to complete well being of individuals. Welfare provisions are based on humanitarian, religious, democratic or practical concerns and involve economic and social benefits such as eradication of poverty and governmental duty and social responsibility (Hill, 1986). In this essay we will deal with the relationship of welfare and social policy with health care, especially within the UK through the NHS systems and department of health. For an analysis of health and public policy within the UK we will analyze the stages of health policy, the rationale for such policies and how these policies are carried out through a health service network. Health care coverage provided worldwide is given in a comparative chart below. UK, Sweden and France is seen to have the same level of hospital and ambulatory care services with USA showing lower levels of health care services when compared with worldwide standards. Health Care and Social Policy The definition of health can be given in terms of cultural standards in which health is a standard of mental and physical well being according to a particular society and a general good health is necessary to perform mental and physical activities optimally. Health is also defined normatively as an ideal mental or physical state. Health depends on several factors such as biological factors, environmental factors, standard of living, social factors, nutrition, and psychological or emotional factors (WHO, 2005). Improving sanitation systems, providing medical care and support systems and clean water supply to prevent infectious diseases are the general responsibilities of health authorities (Jones, 1995). Inequalities in health especially in the UK can be due to poverty, or differences in social class as certain categories of people may be more aware of their health and fitness needs than certain others (Graham and Kelly, 2004). Health policy in the UK is implemented through a wide health care network provided by the Department of health and NHS. The different branches providing health care in the UK include the Hospitals which provide care to patients for both acute and long stay illnesses and provide medical facilities such as emergency treatment, psychiatric care or continuing nursing care. The governmental emphasis is to minimize all long term needs which can be considerably expensive and offer a full range of care in the hospitals providing acute services. Primary care is more basic medical treatment and refers to non-hospital care including general family practitioners and general physicians, professions ancillary to medicine and domiciliary health care such as occupational therapy (Allsop, 1995). Ambulatory care is distinct from, yet a category of hospital care as it includes primary care and day care in hospitals. Public health policy is a general care strategy including preventive medicine such as screening and health education and several areas which may not be directly linked to health services such as housing, water supply, sewage disposal, food hygiene and general poverty and employment conditions which are also factors related to health. For health of a population in a state, public health needs and related issues are very important under the health care policy at a governmental administrative level. For medical care in practice, primary care provided by primary care trusts of the NHS and services of general physicians are important at a more social level. Hospital care and medicines provided involves the highest costs for the NHS, is an important political issue for the UK government and has the highest priority for the NHS health policy implementation (Wall, 1999). Some of the Health policy objectives and strategies on health care identified by the NHS and Department of Health are given below: (NHS, 2005) Modernization Policy Primary Care Policy Secondary Care Policy Integrated Care Policy Patient Centeredness or Patient-centered Care Policy Complaints Policy Occupational Health and Safety Policy Social Services Performance Assessment Policy Information Policy Within the organizational improvement plans, the NHS health improvement modernization plans (HIMPs) involve a three year planning framework and details roles and responsibilities for the NHS primary care trusts (PCTs) and builds on the Planning and Priorities Framework (PPF) guidance issued in 2002. Within this framework PCTs are responsible for developing new Local Delivery Plans (LDPs) and any additional PCT owned local plans (NHS, 2005). The planning of Health Policies for modernization and improvement of services within the NHS consists of the following six steps that are to be maintained in every organization and community: This is given by the Department of Health official report 2003-2006: The areas of responsibility for NHS and Social services for health policy implementation are given in the table below. In terms of Primary care policy, the NHS and social care long term conditions model laid down health policies and models for long term care to cases already under NHS treatment. Some of the key objectives and targets within the Primary care policy are given as : The three levels of the Health care delivery system are given by the Department of Health as follows: DH, 2005 The NHS social care long term conditions model is given as: Source: NHS Organizational Health Policy The implications of NHSD complaints policy have been emphasized in a recent NHS report and include the following conditions Complaints Policy Implications: It has been recognized that how well the policy works depends largely on attitudes of individual members and the culture of the organization and although complaints act as potential sources of improvement of health care services, these are also indicative of the high level of dissatisfaction regarding current health care procedures. There is considerably higher level of complaints for family health services as it has been identified that in primary care services are n a small scale and informally managed and the role of individual practitioners are more important than the organizational network. Satisfactory and prompt resolution of complaints has been identified as important to improving health care services (Allsop, 1995). Three factors in particular are likely to be central to improving performance as given by the NHS and Department of Health a realization that complaints management is an explicit part of the performance  management framework. The board of every NHS organization should be held accountable for the performance of the  organization in handling complaints. And the board should ensure that: (a) all staff are  adequately trained to deal with complaints (b) staff managing complaints have adequate  administrative and technical resources and also access to managerial supervision and support; and (c) the complaints procedure is integrated into the clinical governance as well as quality framework of the organization. Consideration should be given to the development of a National Service Framework or its  equivalent for the management of complaints. (NHS, Complaints Procedure National Evaluation, 2001) The National strategy for IT and computer services help deliver an up to date medical service to its people, through the NHS information policy. Some of the strategic directions of the information policy in the health care sector include: (See in Allsop, 1995; Wall 1995; NHS 2001 report) Specifying the level of national direction given for IT by evolving and simplifying management structure and responsibilities within both the DH and NHS at regional and local levels; to deliver change quickly following an implementation approach in phases – focus at a time on quickly delivering a limited portfolio of activity, nationally,that can be built on by subsequent phases; management of increased levels of funding with clear central direction and control; a structured partnering approach with IT Industry to deliver new IT systems across the NHS; coordination, acceleration and simplification of procurements to ensure we get value for money while moving at a faster pace, and cutting down on unnecessary time and cost to the health care industry Consideration of radical outsourcing options that can add pace and value to the programme; Emphasis on changed working practices in the NHS; Benchmarking progress against best practice companies Building IT and networking connectivity, so that all staff have the access devices they need to share information; and Creating national standards for data quality and data interchange between systems at local, regional and national levels so that even the public can have access to information stored and accessed at a national level. A National Strategic Programme for Health care modernization and improvement and provisions of services in general can be given by the following architectural model provided by the Department of health: Information Health Policy – Source DH Conclusion: In this essay we discussed health care and social policy in terms of its stages of development through a three year plan and IT approach specifying levels of health care services that are provided and NHS social care through interaction of proper infrastructure, delivery strategies and desired outcomes of treatment. The focus is on reducing waiting times for emergency treatment or health services at hospitals and primary care centers. We highlighted the importance of modernization, updated IT systems, primary care services, complaints policy and patient centered care as important aspects of health policy followed by the NHS laying down strategic programmes, directions and objectives for an overall health care system as a social and public policy. In the next discussion we would examine the rationale and effectiveness of such policies within the context of political motivations and welfare objectives. II – Effectiveness of Health Policy Introduction: In this section we would examine the policies that have been implemented in the last few years within the NHS and have served as political and administrative tools both as a means of political achievement and measure of social services provisions (Batchelor, 2005). Evaluation of health policy followed by the department of health can be done by comparing target objectives with the attained levels of service. Evaluation can also be done by analyzing research studies, news reports and NHS and Department of Health annual reports on what are the specific targets that were achieved and which are the objectives that were identified and yet could not be achieved through their policies. The discussion would thus show the flaws in the health framework, the differences in aims and achievements and analyze why certain objectives could not be reached along with the strengths and weaknesses of the policies in general. According to the DH plans, ‘DH policies are designed to improve on existing arrangements in health and social care, and turn political vision into actions that should benefit staff, patients and the public’ (Department of Health, 2005). The DH notes that a DH health policy covers many areas of working including the way patients and the public receive care how NHS and social care organizations are run information technology and other facilities that support the delivery of health care. (DH, 2005) A policy is largely evaluated by three features as to whether it can be implemented quickly achieves its purpose does not create an unnecessary burden on NHS and social care staff. A policy is meant to help rather than hinder NHS working and thus it should be easy to implement, evaluate and give quick and significant results. DH Annual Reports – Targets and Progress The Target analysis given by the DH annual reports shows the targets and the extent to which the objectives have been achieved by the Department of health: the aim to transform health and social care systems so that it produces better and faster services to tackle health inequalities was emphasized along with the objective of improving health outcomes for everyone. (DH report, 2004) Target: Reduce substantially the mortality rates from major killers by 2010: from circulatory disease by at least 40% in people under 75; from cancer by at least 20% in people under 75; and from suicide and undetermined injury by at least 20%. Key to the delivery of this target will be implementing the National Service Frameworks for coronary heart disease and mental health and the NHS Cancer Plan. Measure : Death rate from circulatory disease amongst people aged under 75. Death rate from cancer amongst people aged under 75. Death rate from intentional self harm and injury of undetermined intent. Progress: A small but statistically significant increase in the number of deaths coded to cancers was identified, A small but statistically significant increase in the number of deaths coded to circulatory diseases was identified. Data for 2000-02 (3 year average) show a rate of 16.0 deaths per 100,000 population – a rise of 0.6% from the baseline (1995-97). Single year data for financial year 2001-02 show a rate of 313.9 hospital admissions per 100,000 population – a decrease of 2.3% from the baseline estimate (1995-96). A National Suicide Prevention Strategy was published in September 2002 led by the National Director for Mental Health. As this is implemented it will contribute to reducing the suicide rate. Although not statistically significant, there has been a small increase in numbers of deaths recorded to suicide and intentional self harm. 2. the second aim is to treat people with illness, disease, or injury quickly, effectively, and on the basis of need alone (DH report, 2004) Target Ensure everyone with suspected cancer is able to see a specialist within two weeks of their GP deciding they need to be seen urgently and requesting an appointment for: all patients with suspected breast cancer from April 1999, and for all other cases of suspected cancer by 2000. Measure: Percentage of patients with suspected breast cancer and other cancers able to see a specialist within 2 weeks. Progress: 99% of patients referred urgently with suspected cancer were seen within 2 weeks during July to September 2003. For the same period for breast cancer this figure stands at 98.2%. 3. a third important objective identified has been to enable people who are unable to perform essential activities of daily living, including those with chronic illness, disability or terminal illness, to live as full and normal lives as possible. Target: Improve the delivery of appropriate care and treatment to patients with mental illness who are discharged from hospital and reduce the national average emergency psychiatric re-admission rate by 2 percentage points by 2002 from the 1997-98 baseline of 14.3%. Measure: Average emergency psychiatric admission rate. Progress: Psychiatric re-admission rate in 2001-02, the last year data was collected on a readmissions within 90 day basis, was 12.7% narrowly missing the target by 0.4 percentage points. However, with the implementation of new service models such as assertive outreach, early intervention and crisis resolution, further falls in readmission rates are expected, though this might not manifest itself until after 2002-03. (DH reports, 2001) the fourth objective we have chosen for discussion is Improving patient and Carer experience of the NHS and Social Services.(DH annual report, 2004) Target: Patients will receive treatment at a time that suits them in accordance with their clinical need: two thirds of all outpatient appointments and inpatient elective admissions will be pre-booked by 2003-04 on the way to 100% pre-booking by 2005. Measure: DH monthly central data collection from January 03. Supersedes the Modernization Agency monthly project progress reports. Progress: On course: A monthly DH central data collection was introduced in January 03.The monthly data collection captures full bookings and partial bookings as they are added to the waiting list. This allows rigorous monitoring of progress towards booking milestones and targets. A Data Set Change Notice was issued in 2000 to the service in support of the new monitoring arrangements The Modernization Agency National Booking Team is assisting challenged Trusts to work towards achieving key booking milestones and targets. The Recovery and Support Unit (RSU) is also working with challenged Trusts. From April 2003, Strategic Health Authorities are responsible for managing and developing booking locally as part of their Local Delivery Plan (DH annual reports, 2004) We have delineated four important objectives among several health care policy plans laid down by the NHS and Department of Health. The first objective discussed is aimed towards providing faster and better services for improving health outcomes of everyone. This was specified as reducing mortality rates from killer diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease and accidents. The targets however have not been achieved as there has been significant rise in deaths from cancer, heart disease and accidents in the last few years since the target was set. Although there has been a decrease in the number of hospital admissions, deaths due to suicide and intentional self harm have also gone up. From this analysis it is only suggested that the target for improving general health outcomes by reducing mortality rates has not been achieved as specified by the Department of Health. Examining the second objective of providing treatment to people effectively and quickly on the basis of need suggest that everyone with cancer or such ailments should be able to visit their GP within 2 weeks of their deciding to see their practitioner and waiting times should be cut down considerably. The progress report shows that 99% of the cancer patients were able to see their GP within 2 weeks of their decision and this suggests that the target objective in this case has been nearly met. The third objective we have highlighted is that according to the NHS plan, most disabled or chronically ill patients should be able to support themselves and perform daily activities and lead as normal life as possible. This was effectively studied by using psychiatric illness as an indicator of chronic disability and hospital readmission rates as important measures of finding out to what extent chronically ill patients are able to lead normal lives or support themselves. Although the readmissions measure shows that targets and objectives were narrowly missed in previous years, in more recent times due to assertive outreach and early intervention and crisis resolution, there were considerable falls in psychiatric readmission rates suggesting that some progress is definitely being made on general improvement of health of people who are chronically disabled. The fourth aim was improving patient and carer experience of NHS and social services provided by beginning pre-booking services and it is emphasized that all clinical services should be pre booked by the year 2005. This is largely a procedure under the aegis of the NHS modernization agency as pre booking services are also IT related and a general improvement of IT systems are associated with achieving this target. However according to DH reports, this target achievement is already on course and most of the health services are now pre booked and waiting times for appointment have reduced significantly. Following an analysis of objectives and aims and the targets achieved by the NHS according to Health care policy, we would take a look at performance of the health care sector and the ratings obtained by primary, secondary trusts. The results of 2002-2003 are given below: Overall there are 579 NHS trusts that have been rated for their performance in 2002/2003. Evidence on Health Policy Implementation – Issues From an analysis of DH annual reports on progress and targets that have or have not been achieved in the past few years, we no move on to clinical evidence and research studies that have formed the basic evaluative tool for health policy implementation appraisal. Ujah et al (2004) provided an evaluative study to establish the nature, extent and organization of occupational health services provisions for people within the NHS and reviewed the systems for monitoring NHS performance. Within the NHS trusts, human resource managers and occupational health managers were selected for the study and were invited to complete an interviewer led questionnaire. All the 17 trusts in which the interview was carried out claimed that they do provide occupational health service to their employees and the provisions and organization of these services were under the human resource unit. However only 29% of the trusts could provide a written health policy with 87% of occupational health mangers claiming that they only provide a rather reactive service based on patient needs, rather than health policy objectives. The authors discovered considerable variation sin the level, nature and quality of services provided by the NHS trusts and concluded as a result of their findings that there are significant differences in the level of occupational health service available to staff across the NHS in London. From this study it is evident that health policy as an initiative only serves as a framework for achievement and may not ultimately be followed in the same way as there are significant differences in the way policies are implemented in different NHS trusts. New health policies that tend to integrate education and training with research and implementation tend to support new practitioners to perform health care research and Bateman et al (2004) evaluate the policy of supporting health care professionals who have some interest in research. The authors claim that there may be considerable value in development of research objectives within the NHS RD wing and mention that ‘Future policies may need to address: the indicators used in measuring the success of such schemes; the relationship between what individuals choose to do and its context within national policy on research and development; and the sustainability of involvement in research’ (Bateman et al, 2004, p.83) Evaluating the information systems and up gradation of IT networking within the NHS, Wyatt and Wyatt (2003) argue that evaluating large scale health information systems such as in hospital systems can be lengthy and difficult procedure. However they discuss the reasons for which such evaluation is necessary and the appropriate methods to carry out these evaluations. This information as they suggest is supposed to be directed towards an assessment of health policy and is thus expected to provide feedback to health policy makers and help in improvement of health and public policies. The authors discuss many experimental designs to carry out their research and also study the impact of communications system within a laboratory setting, the potential problems and how they could be resolved. Wyatt and Wyatt conclude that the correct methods to evaluate health information systems in hospitals and clinics do not depend on the technology being evaluated but on the reliability of answers given for evaluation. Health policies such as patient centered care approach (Webster, 2004), integrated clinical governance (Cauchi 2005) and nurse led intervention services (Lees 2003) have been effectively implemented and successful although posing major challenges to NHS to constantly improve policies according to targets and objectives. Carter et al (2003) evaluated multi-disciplinary team working as a policy and the effectiveness of introducing new organizational structure within the NHS. Although the authors emphasized that as a result of this policy very little have changed so far, but the interests that such a multi-agency working approach has generated suggest that this may be the beginning of medical practice that can link the changes in work practices with improvements in quality of services[1]. Within the NHS framework, multidisciplinary team working is developing to expand roles of traditional institutional boundaries and form complex clinical networks. However these networks could become increasingly autonomous from current NHS structures. The authors discuss the possibility of forming chambers for doctors as well as other professionals as a means of working together in groups. Multilevel working at the NHS is as of now a very effective health care policy but needs even further evaluation and suggestions f or improvement. Conclusion: Within this particular discussion we have tried to analyze the health care policies and targets and evaluated these objectives in terms of achievement and progress in policy implementation within the health care sector in the UK. For our purposes we have used targets and progress report from annual results published by the DH. Evidential information on policy effectiveness have also been provided where we suggested that health care polici

Adoption And Identity Formation Essay -- essays research papers

There has been an enormous amount of research conducted about adoptees and their problems with identity formation. Many of the researchers agree on some of the causes of identity formation problems in adolescent adoptees, while other researchers conclude that there is no significant difference in identity formation in adoptees and birth children. This paper will discuss some of the research which has been conducted and will attempt to answer the following questions: Do adoptees have identity formation difficulties during adolescence? If so, what are some of the causes of these vicissitudes? Is there a significant difference between identity formation of adoptees and nonadoptees?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The National Adoption Center reports that fifty-two percent of adoptable children have attachment disorder symptoms. It was also found that the older the child when adopted, the higher the risk of social maladjustment (Benson et al., 1998). This is to say that a child who is adopted at one-week of age will have a better chance of “normal'; adjustment than a child who is adopted at the age of ten. This may be due in part to the probability that an infant will learn how to trust, where as a ten-year-old may have more difficulty with this task, depending on his history. Eric Erickson, a developmental theorist, discusses trust issues in his theory of development. The first of Erickson’s stages of development is Trust v. Mistrust. A child who experiences neglect or abuse can have this stage of development severely damaged. An adopted infant may have the opportunity to fully learn trust, where as an older child may have been shuffled from foster home to grou p home as an infant, thereby never learning trust. Even though Trust v. Mistrust is a major stage of development, “the greatest psychological risk for adopted children occurs during the middle childhood and adolescent years'; (McRoy et al., 1990). As children grow and change into adolescents, they begin to search for an identity by finding anchoring points with which to relate. Unfortunately, adopted children do not have a biological example to which to turn (Horner & Rosenberg, 1991), unless they had an open adoption in which they were able to form a relationship with their biological families as well as their adoptive ones. Also key to the development of trust is the ab... ..., K., Kotsopoulos, S., Oke, L., Pentland, N., Sheahan, P., & Stavrakaki, C. (1988). Psychiatric Disorders in Adopted Children: A Controlled Study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 58(4), 608-611.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hajal, F., & Rosenberg, E. (1991). The Family Life Cycle in Adoptive Families. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61(1), 78-85.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Horner, T., & Rosenberg, E. (1991). Birthparent Romances and Identity Formation in Adopted Children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61(1), 70-77.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kelly, M., Martin, B., Rigby, A., & Towner-Thyrum, E. (1998). Adjustment and Identity Formation in Adopted and Nonadopted Young Adults: Contributions of a Family Enviornment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68(3), 497-500.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McRoy, R., Grotevant, H., Furuta, A., & Lopez, S. (1990). Adoption Revelation and Communication Issues: Implications for Practice. Families in Society, 71, 550-557.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wegar, K. (1995). Adoption and Mental Health: A Theoretical Critique of the Psychopathological Model. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 65(4), 540-548.

Automobile:from Horse To Horsepower :: essays research papers fc

"In the first hundred years of active life, it has been described as a menace ands a blessing, a blight and a godsend, as a savior of our countryside and cities, and as their curse, as socially divisive and the greatest social leveler. It has been worshipped and reviled, celebrated and scorned." The automobile is an invention that has had a tremendous impact on society. The automobile has taken diverse segments of the American population; farmers, small town residents and urban dwellers and given them access to the same opportunities and experiences. Autos have given us motels, shopping plazas, drive-thru’s, vacations, commuting, and, certainly not the least, suburbia. The genesis of the automobile is one of the most profound and important chapters in the development of American culture. Before the automobile, people traveled by means of bicycles, trains, street cars and horse-drawn carriages. These methods of transportation were slow, limited and not private. Up until the about 1880, inventors experimented with building a "horseless carriage." These experiments were powered mainly by steam, and were not practical. They traveled at slow speeds (six miles an hour), were very noisy, frightened horses, smelled awful and polluted the air. Sometimes the coals (used to make steam) would fall off the auto, and burn wooden bridges down. Railroads and stage coach lines hated the automobiles because they did not want competition. Autos were scarce and ridiculed by most of the population. "The car began life as a rich man’s toy, rather than a means of transport or as an instrument of social change." They were displayed in circuses because they were considered a wacky idea with no future. The development and acceptance of the automobile in America took place around the turn of the century, from 1895 to 1910. The most successful steam car was the Stanley Steamer, invented in Newton, Massachusetts in 1897 by Francis and Freelan Stanley. It was produced until 1924. The steam car did not fare well because it was not suited for long distance travel, was too hard to start and posed the hazard of an open fire. In the late 1890’s and early 1900’s the electric car was the most popular type of automobile. William Morrison was the creator of this type of car. People liked the electric car because it was easy to operate, ran quietly and did not give off fumes. Unfortunately for modern society, the electric cars could not go faster than 20 miles an hour, and the battery had to be recharged every fifty miles.

Case Analysis †Giant Consumer Products Essay

1)Using data in Exhibits 1 & 4 develop solution templates in Exhibit 3 for Sanchez. From the table above, it is clear that the impact of a promotion cannot be considered in isolation. On the whole, the promotion has resulted in a loss instead of a profit for the Dinardo range of products. Considered in isolation a promotion on Dinardo 32 may look attractive but overall it’s a loss-making proposition. 2)Do you advise Sanchez to run a national sales promotion? If so, which one of the items the funds be allocated: Dinardo 32, dinardo 16 or natural meals? Sanchez can run a sales promotion for Natural meals. This is the only profitable option as can be seen from Solution template Part-3 in the table above. 3)Prepare Sanchez for additional strategic/ tactical questions that he anticipates from Flatt given at the end of case. a)The promotion of Natural Meals would be a win for FFD, the retailer as well as the consumer. FFD gains due to a positive increase in marketing margin due to the promotion. For the retailer, the benefit will be on account of the increased spending by FFD for promotional activities. The margins on Natural Meals are higher for retailers and an increase in volumes would directly have a positive impact on retailers’ revenues. The consumer benefits due to the reduced prices from the promotion. b)FFD should go with the pay for performance approach for promotion of Natural Meals. The price on the box of the product should not be reduced and instead a discount must be offered at the time of billing. The retailer should then be reimbursed for the discounts offered to customers. This would help retain the premium positioning of FFD’s products and avoid customers from looking at the products to be available at a deal during subsequent purchases.

Target Costing

Robin Cooper and Regine Slagmulder Editors’ Note: This article is an updated synthesis of in-depth explorations contained in Target Costing and Value Engineering, by Robin Cooper and Regine Slagmulder (Portland, Oregon: Productivity Press, 1997). Part two of the series discusses product-level target costing; part three, to be featured in an upcoming issue, will address component-level target costing. omers. Consequently, the objective of product-level target costing is to increase the allowable cost of the product to a level that can reasonably be expected to be achievable, given the capabilities of the firm and its suppliers (see Exhibit 1). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY†¢ Product-level target costing works to increase the allowable cost of the product to a level that is both reasonable and achievable given the capabilities of the firm and its suppliers. Step one establishes the target cost by incorporating the capability of the firm and its suppliers into the allowable cost so that an achievable product-level target cost is established. †¢ Step two uses value engineering to identify ways to design the product so that it can be manufactured at its target cost. †¢ Step three applies the disciplining mechanisms to help ensure that the product-level target cost is achieved. The target costing process contains three major sections: market-driven costing, product-level target costing, and component-level target costing.In part two of a three part series, this article discusses how product-level target costing works to increase the allowable cost of the product to a level that is both reasonable and achievable given the capabilities of the firm and its suppliers, in a three step process. Step one establishes the target cost by incorporating the capability of the firm and its suppliers into the allowable cost so that an achievable product-level target cost is established.Step two uses value engineering to identify ways to design the product so that it can b e manufactured at its target cost. Step three applies the disciplining mechanisms to help ensure that the product-level target cost is achieved. PRODUCT-LEVEL TARGET COSTING The objective of product-level target costing is to establish aggressive but achievable product-level target costs. These target costs should place considerable pressure on the firm’s product engineers to find creative ways to reduce the manufacturing costs of the products that they are designing.Target costs differ from allowable costs, because they incorporate the capabilities of the firm and its suppliers into the target costing process. In practice, it is not always possible for the designers to find ways to achieve the allowable cost and still satisfy the firm’s cus1 Product-level target costing can be broken into three steps (see Exhibit 2). In the first step, the product-level target cost is established. This step consists of incorporating the capability of the firm and its suppliers into th e allowable cost so that an achievable product-level target cost is established.The second step consists of using value engineering (and other similar techniques) to identify ways to design the product so that it can be manufactured at its target cost. In the third step, the disciplining mechanisms of target costing are applied to help ensure that the product-level target cost is achieved. The disciplining mecha- Article 32. TARGET COSTING FOR NEW-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: PRODUCT-LEVEL TARGET COSTING thereof require that the firm must reduce costs if it is to maintain its desired level of profitability.The degree of cost reduction required to achieve the allowable cost is called the cost-reduction objective and is derived by subtracting the allowable cost from the current product cost: Cost-Reduction Objective = Current Cost–Allowable Cost The current cost is the cost of a new product if it were manufactured today using existing components or variants thereof. No cost-reduction a ctivities are assumed in computing the current cost of the product. For the current cost to be meaningful, the components used in its estimation must be very similar to those that eventually will be used in the new product.If the existing model uses a 1. 8-liter engine and the new model uses a 2. 0-liter one, for example, current cost would be estimated using the cost of the most similar 2. 0-liter engine currently produced by the firm. Because the allowable cost is derived from external conditions without consideration of the firm’s internal design and production capabilities, there is a risk that the allowable cost will not be achievable. In this case, to maintain the discipline of target costing, the firm must identify the achievable and unachievable parts of the cost-reduction objective.Analyzing the ability of the product designers and suppliers to remove costs from the product (see Exhibit 3) derives the achievable or target cost-reduction objective. The process by whic h costs are removed from the product is called value engineering, and it depends heavily on an interactive relationship with the suppliers. The purpose of this relationship is to allow the suppliers to provide early estimates of the selling prices of their products and, when possible, insights into alternative design possibilities that would enable the firm to deliver the desired level of functionality and quality at reduced cost.The unachievable part of the cost-reduction objective (referred to in Exhibit 2) is called the strategic cost-reduction challenge. It identifies the profit shortfall that will occur when the designers are unable to achieve the allowable cost—a signal that the firm falls short of the capabilities demanded by competitive conditions. Typically, in a firm with a well-established target costing system, the strategic cost-reduction challenge will be small or nonexistent, and intense pressure will be brought on the design team to reduce it to zero.For the m ost capable firms, the achievable cost reduction for a product might exceed the cost-reduction objective. Such firms do not face a strategic cost-reduction challenge. They can take advantage of their superior capabilities by reducing the selling price of the product to increase market share, by increasing product functionality while maintaining the targeted selling price, or by keeping both price and functionality at their targeted levels to earn higher profits. To maintain the discipline of target costing, the size of the strategic cost-reduction challenge must be managed carefully.A strategic cost-reduction challenge should reflect the true inability of the firm to match competitor capabilities. To ensure that the strategic cost-reduction challenge meets this requirement, the target cost-reduction objective must be set so that it is 2 nisms include progress monitoring and validation and the application of the cardinal rule of target costing: products whose manufacturing costs are above their target costs should not be launched. The monitoring and validation process helps ensure that the savings identified through value engineering are actually achieved.The application of the cardinal rule ensures that the discipline of target costing is maintained. When designers know that target cost violations lead to serious consequences, they are subjected to a real pressure to achieve the target costs. SETTING THE PRODUCT-LEVEL TARGET COST In highly competitive markets, customers expect each generation of products to have higher value than that of their predecessors. Value can be increased by improving the quality or functionality of the firm’s products or by reducing their selling prices. Any of these improvements or some combinationANNUAL EDITIONS cost-reduction challenge, which creates a powerful pressure on the design team of the next generation of the product to be even more aggressive about cost reduction. In this way, the failure to achieve the allowable c ost this time around is turned into a challenge for the future, not a permanent defeat. Second, allowable cost avoids weakening the cardinal rule, which applies only to target costs, not allowable costs. The process by which the strategic cost-reduction challenge is established must be highly disciplined.Otherwise it becomes a mechanism to reduce the effectiveness of target costing by setting target costs that are too easy to achieve. In most firms, top management approves the strategic cost-reduction challenge before the product-level target cost can be set. Technically, the target cost of a product is the target selling price less the target profit margin plus the strategic cost-reduction challenge. Many firms blur the distinction between the allowable cost and the target cost, however, by stating that the target cost is determined by subtracting the target profit margin from the target selling price.This simplification makes it easier for people to understand the spirit of target costing as being price driven. Obviously, if the strategic cost-reduction challenge is zero, the allowable and target costs are identical. At some firms, even when the allowable cost is considered achievable, it is not referred to as a target cost until the process has reached the stage at which the major component target costs are established. The retention of the term â€Å"allowable costs† shows that top management is not willing to invoke the cardinal rule until it is convinced that the target cost is indeed achievable. chievable only if the entire organization makes a significant effort to reach it. Consistently setting the target cost-reduction objective too high can lead to workforce burnout and, ultimately, the discipline of target costing will be lost. Conversely, if the target cost-reduction objective is consistently set too low, the firm will lose competitiveness, because new products will have excessively high target costs. Again referring to Exhibit 2, the produ ct-level target cost is determined by subtracting the proposed product target costreduction objective from its current cost.That is: Product-Level Target Cost = Current Cost–Target Cost-Reduction Objective The strategic cost-reduction challenge is determined by subtracting the allowable cost from the target cost: Strategic Cost-Reduction Challenge = Target Cost –Allowable Cost The value of differentiating between the allowable cost and the target cost in this manner lies in the discipline that it creates. In most firms, the allowable cost will sometimes be too low to achieve, given the relative capabilities of the firm and its suppliers compared to competitors and their suppliers.Target costing systems derive their strength from the application of the cardinal rule, â€Å"The target cost must never be exceeded. † If a firm continuously sets over-aggressive target costs, violations of the cardinal rule would be common and the discipline of the target costing proc ess would be lost. Even worse, if the allowable cost is known to be unachievable, the design team might give up even trying to achieve it, and effective cost reduction during product design would cease. To avoid this motivation problem, firms frequently set target costs higher than the allowable costs.These target costs are designed to be achievable but only with considerable effort. They allow the cardinal rule to be maintained for almost every product. Consequently, the distinction between allowable and productlevel target costs plays two roles. First, it identifies the strategic 3 ACHIEVING THE PRODUCT-LEVEL TARGET COST Once planners have identified the target cost-reduction objective, the second stage of product-level target costing begins— achieving it (see Exhibit 4). Several engineering techniques can help product designers find ways to reduce the costs of products.They include value engineering, design for manufacture and assembly, and quality function deployment. Val ue engineering, the most important of the three techniques, has the primary objective of maximizing customer value—it tries to increase functionality and quality while at the same time reducing cost. In contrast, DFMA focuses on reducing costs by making products easier to assemble or manufacture, while holding functionality at specified levels. Finally, QFD provides a structured approach to ensure that customer requirements are not compromised during the design process.Target costing and value engineering can be viewed as concurrent activities, as can kaizen costing and VA. The application of value engineering begins with the conceptualization of the product and continues through the design process until the product is released to manufacturing. Even then the process continues, but under the name value analysis (VA). Article 32. TARGET COSTING FOR NEW-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: PRODUCT-LEVEL TARGET COSTING The difference between VA and VE is not in the approach taken or the tools u sed but the point at which they occur in the life cycle of the product.VE is used during the product design and development stages, and VA is used for the manufacturing stage and for purchasing parts. For this reason, target costing and value engineering can be viewed as concurrent activities, as can kaizen costing and VA. It would be wrong to view VE as just another cost-reduction program. VE is primarily about product functions and only secondarily about cost. The motivating force behind VE is to ensure that the product achieves its basic function in a way that satisfies the customer at an acceptable cost.Consequently, VE programs are the domain of the product engineer, not the accountant. bility of the existing functions. Second-look VE is applied during the last half of the planning stage and the first half of the development and product preparation stage. The objective of second-look VE, unlike that of zero- and first-look VE, is to improve the value and functionality of existi ng components, not create new ones. Consequently, the scale of changes is much smaller than for zero- and first-look VE. Comparative applications of VE consist of tearing down other products to identify new ways to reduce costs.We define tear down as â€Å"a comparative VE method through visual observation of disassembled equipment, parts, and data arranged in a manner convenient for such observation. † Numerous approaches to tear down exist. The six dominant techniques are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Dynamic. Cost. Material. Static. Process. Matrix tear down. VE Techniques The VE techniques can be broken into three major categories: 1. Direct application of VE principles to the product. 2. Tear down approaches using comparative VE. 3. Miscellaneous VE. VE can be applied directly to proposed products at different stages of the product design process.These different approaches are known as â€Å"looks. † Zero-look VE is the application of VE principles at the concept proposal st age, the earliest stage in the design process. Its objective is to introduce new forms of functionality that did not previously exist. First-look VE focuses on the major elements of the product design and is defined as developing new products from concepts. The objective is to enhance functionality of the product by improving the capa4 The first three methods are designed to reduce a product’s direct manufacturing costs.The next three are intended to reduce the investment required to manufacture the product through increased productivity. There are at least four miscellaneous cost-reduction techniques: 1. 2. 3. 4. The checklist method. The one-day cost-reduction meeting. Mini VE. The VE reliability program. ANNUAL EDITIONS Checklists The checklist method is used to identify a product’s cost factors and to suggest ways to reduce costs. The checklist consists of a number of questions designed to guide the firm’s cost-reduction activities by discovering cost-reduct ion opportunities.Checklists help ensure exploration of all possible avenues for cost reduction. One-day cost-reduction meetings are designed to improve the efficiency of the entire cost-reduction process, including VE and tear down methods. Participants from engineering, production, cost, and sales are expected to come up with ideas for new costreduction possibilities. The meetings are a way to overcome limitations in the approval process used for most cost-reduction proposals. The approval process entails circulating written proposals to all involved parties, who indicate acceptance by signing off on them.Unfortunately, this approach severely reduces the exchange of information and modification of ideas. At the oneday meetings, presentation of the results of various tear-down programs helps initiate discussions. production/sales-preparation stage, and the production/salespreparation stage. DISCIPLINING THE PRODUCT-LEVEL TARGET COSTING PROCESS Disciplining the product-level target costing process begins with monitoring and validating the progress of the design engineers toward reaching the cost-reduction objective.It is at this stage in the process that the cardinal rule of target costing is applied. Only when getting the product to market is so imperative that cost is of secondary consideration should the cardinal rule be violated. Finally, when the product is released for mass production and its actual cost of manufacturing can be measured, steps sometimes have to be taken to reduce those costs to the target level. Once the target cost-reduction objective has been established, the process of designing the product so that it can be manufactured at its target cost can commence.The discipline of target costing requires that the chief engineer and his or her superiors continuously monitor and validate that the progress the design engineers are making toward this objective. This monitoring ensures that corrective actions can be taken as easily as possible and th at the cardinal rule will not be broken. Some firms define an as-if cost at this point in the development process. The as-if cost reflects cost-reduction opportunities identified when the previous generation of the product was being designed or manufactured. In most cases, the as-if cost is above the target cost of the new product but below its current cost.The additional cost that must be achieved is defined as the difference between the target cost and as-if cost. As the design process proceeds and costs are removed from the major functions, the estimated manufacturing cost gradually 5 Mini VE and VE Reliability Mini VE is a simplified approach to second-look VE. It is applied to specific areas of a part or to very small, inexpensive parts. Mini VE is applied during the development and product preparation stages, the development and production-sales preparation stage, and the production-sales preparation stage.A VE reliability program is designed to ensure that the most appropriat e form of VE is applied to each problem. Essentially, it is a â€Å"quality of VE† program. If a completely new product design is required, for example, applying second-look VE is not appropriate. Like mini VE, the program is applied during the development and product-preparation stages, the development and Article 32. TARGET COSTING FOR NEW-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: PRODUCT-LEVEL TARGET COSTING falls toward the target cost. Many firms call the updated estimate the drifting cost (see Exhibit 5).Thus, the product design process starts with an as-if cost higher than the target cost and across the design process reduces the expected or drifting cost until it reaches the target cost. At most firms, once the drifting cost equals the target cost, cost-reduction activities cease. There is no reward for achieving greater savings than those required to achieve the target cost. The engineers’ time is better spent on getting the drifting cost of other products to equal their target co sts. estrictive, because the product under review causes additional revenues to be generated beyond those generated by the product itself. Such products include flagship products that create high visibility for the firm, products that introduce the next generation of technology, or products that fill a critical gap in the product line. For such products, the target cost is often relaxed to allow for the â€Å"hidden† revenues. However typically, cost reduction pressures are still applied during the early stages of manufacturing until the target cost is achieved.For the products that feature a variety of options, the final fine-tuning of the target cost is often achieved by specifying the features that the standard product will contain. If the manufacturing cost is too high, for example, one or more â€Å"standard† features might be converted to â€Å"options† that the customer now has to pay an additional amount to obtain. Converting features to options both red uces the cost of manufacturing the standard product, allowing the target cost to be achieved, and increases the selling price of the originally specified product, allowing the target profit to be achieved.Obviously, the reduction in the functionality of the standard variant must be subjected to market analysis to ensure that it is acceptable in the eyes of the customer at the target selling price. An example might include the conversion of side air bags from a standard feature to an optional one. This reduction in functionality will be acceptable only if competitive offerings treat side air bags in the same way. This fine-tuning process gives firms more leeway to achieve target costs set several years earlier. Similarly, the actual selling price is not fixed until just before the product is launched.Delaying these two critical decisions significantly reduces the uncertainty that a firm, in a multiyear product development process, faces with respect to achieving target costs. At most firms, once the drifting cost equals the target cost, cost-reduction activities cease. The process of comparing the drifting cost to the target cost continues throughout the design process. Often when the product is ready to be released to production, for example, planners undertake a final review of the feasibility of the target cost.If the estimated production cost is too high, the design is subjected to additional analysis. Frequently, relatively minor changes in the product’s design are all that is needed to reduce the cost estimate to the target cost level. As long as these changes do not alter the product’s price point, the product’s functionality is reduced and the product is submitted for approval. If the design changes will reduce the price point, the product is typically returned to the research and development group for design.The cardinal rule of target costing plays an important role in maintaining the discipline of target costing. Great care is ta ken to ensure that the sum of the component target costs does not exceed the target cost of the product. Often, an increase in the cost of one component causes the engineers to explore ways to reduce the costs of other components by an equivalent amount. In addition, to help ensure enforcement of the cardinal rule, most firms have a policy against launching unprofitable or sub-profitable products.When the product design phase is over, the product moves to manufacturing. As part of this transition phase, the target cost is compared to the standard cost of production. If the standard cost is higher, usually the firm takes steps to reduce manufacturing costs to the target level. Often, if the standard cost is at or below the target cost, the design of the product is frozen for the rest of its life, and no further actions, other than general kaizen, are taken to reduce the cost of the new product.As with any rule, the cardinal rule occasionally is broken. It is violated when a broader a nalysis indicates that breaking it will be beneficial for the firm. Target costing, by its nature, takes a single-product orientation. Sometimes, this view is too NEXT STEPS One of the key constituents of the product-level target cost is the target costs of all of the outsourced components. These costs are the focus of the next step in the target costing process, component-level target costing.It is in this portion of the target costing process that the discipline of target costing is extended to the supplier base of the firm. Journal of Cost Management board member ROBIN COOPER is a professor in the practice of cost management at Roberto C. Goizueta Business School at Emory University and can be reached at (404) 7276679. REGINE SLAGMULDER is associate professor of accounting and control at INSEAD France. She can be reached at regine. slagmulder @insead. edu. From Journal of Cost Management, July/August 2002, pp. 5-12.  © 2002 by the Journal of Cost Management. 6