Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Criminal Street Gang Activity Essay - 947 Words

Many experts differ on the definition of what a â€Å"gang† is. Police use the term to refer to groups that hold and defend territory, or turf. Experts use the term to describe any congregation of youths who have joined together to engage in a delinquent act (Siegel Welsh, 2011). The State of Florida (F.S.S. 874.03) defines a Criminal Street Gang as â€Å"means a formal or informal ongoing organization, association, or group that has as one of its primary activities the commission of criminal or delinquent acts, and that consists of three or more persons who have a common name or common identifying signs, colors, or symbols and have two or more members who, individually or collectively, engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal street gang activity† (Statutes Constitution, 2016). As children progress through adolescence they learn quickly who they get along with and who they don’t. They bond with certain groups of kids that they have things in common w ith. For some this need provides a social and emotional basis for antisocial activity transforming the clique into a â€Å"gang† (Siegel Welsh, 2011). Researcher Jeffery Fagan found that most gangs fall into one of four categories: 1. Social - few delinquent activities other than alcohol and marijuana. 2. Party – drug use and sales to finance drug use. 3. Delinquent – serious delinquent behavior avoiding drug use and dealing. 4. Organized – heavily involved in criminality. Gang violence. Many former gang members in theShow MoreRelatedPrison Gangs : The United States991 Words   |  4 PagesThe fact that prison gangs are not visible to the public makes them seem unknown to the public eye, however the pose the same threats to the United States as all other gangs. Prison gangs are also often written off and forgotten about by authorities due to fact that they are incarcerated. â€Å"Due to their seclusion from the public and their minimal visibility, prison gangs are difficult to target and are thus frequently overlooked as threat actors, which enables them to commit various crimes withoutRead MoreThe American Of American History Essay1523 Words   |  7 Pagescourse of American history, the usage of gangs has always been embedded in the striving desire to be rebel, such as defeating the overhanging stature of the British empire. However as the 13 colonies formed a colonial gang in an effort to el iminate British influence in America, the definition of the word gang has transformed into an entirely different meaning. One common definition of a gang is a group of three or more individuals who engage in criminal activity and identify themselves with a commonRead MoreThe Criminal Aspect of Social Media1360 Words   |  5 Pagesdays. Social media is now an essential communication method in today’s society. While this initial thought is correct, criminals have also adopted this medium and often use it to communicate and to further their illegal activities. As such, law enforcement needs to look at the various internet applications of social media as an open source information platform in which criminal intelligence can be gathered 24 hours a day. Failure to do so means key pieces of an investigative puzzle may be overlookedRead MoreEssay about Street Gangs in the United States1399 Words   |  6 PagesStreet gangs in this country can probably be traced back to the first wave of Europeans who migrated to the colonies for a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the first gangs were formed as a means of self protection, with the thinking that there is simply strength in numbers. The missions of gangs in today’s society have grown and emerged to include many violent criminal avenues, including drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion but the original thinkingRead MoreCriminal Activity in Salinas1695 Words   |  7 PagesWhy are we still plagued with gang violence and activities? What are the root problems for this increase in crime? What are the solutions? Before we can even try to come up with solutions to reducing and preventing crime would have to be understanding the factors behind the crimes that are plaguing Salinas California. We all know that the main reasons for crimes are gangs, but why do we have gangs. First of all the main reason we have gangs is because of the old gangs members that have become fatherRead MoreWhy Street Gangs Exist993 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction The reason behind the street gangs has been largely associated with myriad of social and economic reasons. Among the reasons as to why youth join gangs are desperation due to poverty as well as breakdown of a family as a cohesive unit. According to the survey of gang areas, Los Angeles showed identical poverty map within the area. In ss much as there are some other reasons behind youth joining gangs, when critically analyzed it, reveals that such reasons are always directly or indirectlyRead MoreThe Police Criminal Intelligence Bulletin1705 Words   |  7 Pageslooking over one’s shoulder so that the gang will not hurt them or a family member. Gang Control Strategies To control gangs, law enforcement agencies have used preventive approaches, including community organization, social intervention, opportunity provision, suppression and organizational change (Spergel, 1990). Not unlike the ones that were talked about earlier. Suppression has historically been a major strategy used by police and involves targeting gang leaders and hard-core members for surveillanceRead Morere various reasons behind young people joining street gangs. One of the reasons young people800 Words   |  4 Pagesre various reasons behind young people joining street gangs. One of the reasons young people join street gangs is because of neighborhood disadvantages. A theory that can contribute to why young people might join street gangs is Social Disorganization Theory. Social Disorganization theory assumes that â€Å"delinquency emerges in neighborhoods where neighborhood relation and social institutions have broken down and can no longer maintain effective social controls (Bell, 2007).† Social DisorganizationRead MoreOperation Blue Rag, By San Diego1597 Words   |  7 Pageshave officers assigned to gangs on either a full-time or part-time basis. Their conclusions underscored the necessity for rapid, multi-agency, coordinated responses to control illegal gang activities (Torres, S. 1998). Operation Blue Rag, a program developed in San Diego, California, focused on the city s black street gangs, while Operation Red Rag, implemented the following year, targeted Blood or Piru gangs. They were both federally funded through the Urban Street Gang Drug Trafficking EnforcementRead MoreJuvenile Gangs Essay980 Words   |  4 PagesFinal Project Andrew Rodriguez CJ150 Kaplan College Mr. Templeton August 30.2012 Juvenile gangs have become a serious and growing problem in many areas throughout the U.S. It is unlikely that gang control strategies can be successful as long as legitimate economic alternatives are lacking. I will be exploring the possible proactive solutions to this social problem. Juvenile gangs on the street and in prison â€Å"Violent crimes committed by juveniles are not diminishing, as other crimes, as reported

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Bmws Operation Management free essay sample

BMW is a company that manufactures cars, motorcycles and engines by implementing the ten operations management decisions. The design of cars is usually made by the designers and the company uses an interesting technique in which they put the designers of interior and exterior against each other in a friendly competition, then the head designer of the specific series chooses the best design of this series. After choosing, he then builds a clay model of the car and enhances its visuals to see how it would actually look like. Then managers from all departments come to examine the prototype and check for faults and mistakes and if everything checks out, the design will be send to the executives to check its relevance. The quality control procedures that BMW operates within, is achieved through a system of quality audits at the stages of production of parts, and at the stages of the components and in the assembly plants. BMW Group established common policies on flexibility reserves to make sure that their capacity is extremely versatile in production amount. BMW is the worlds leading luxury car company and is devoted to maintain and improve its existence in key markets worldwide. Layout decisions are important because they allow a company to be more competitive by considering capacity, processes, flexibility, cost, quality of work life, and customer contact and image. BMW uses intelligent software tools as well as WMS (warehouse management system) which is a computer software designed for managing the movement and storage of materials throughout the warehouse, in order to reduce production costs and increase the number of output in distribution centers. BMW applies selection processes for both internal and external applicants which ensure the appointment of the highest quality staff. BMW is using a service management system as part of a bigger plan to improve supply chain lifecycles. Inventory, material requirements planning, and JIT decisions deal with issues such as how much inventory of each item should exist, and when to reorder. Maintenance deals with issues like how to build reliability into the process and who is responsible for maintenance Introduction: Operations management is a discipline concerned with the production of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs. BMW is one of the companies that implements the ten operations management decisions. It’s the operations managers that are responsible for the way the production is planned. Managers in all companies, perform the basic functions of the management process which are planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. These are applied to the decisions they make in the 10 major operations management decisions. These decisions include: The design of goods and services Managing quality Process and capacity design Location strategy Layout strategy Human resource and job design Supply-chain management Inventory, material requirements planning, and JIT ( just-in-Time) Intermediate and short-term scheduling Maintenance History: BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded by Franz Josef Popp in 1916. BMW is currently the 1st most valuable car brand in the world and the 23rd most valuable brand in the world; in 2011 it was the 2nd right behind Toyota. BMW’s brand value increased 10% while Toyota’s brand value decreased by 10%. It currently own â€Å"Rolls-Royce Motor Cars† which is a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles and â€Å"MINI† which is a British automotive marque which specializes in small cars. BMW’s main products are: 1 Series: The 1 Series was introduced in 2004 and was the first sports hatch in the highly competitive compact car segment. The 3 Series is the benchmark premium sports saloon, and continues to define the compact executive car segment. It was launched in 1975. Series: The 5 Series car was launched in 1972 and is available in both Saloon and Touring models with a number of petrol and diesel engine options. The 5 Series is known for its agility, performance and driving dynamics. 6 Series: The 6 Series comes in two models, Coupe and Convertible, and is available in a Launched in 2003, the 6 Series has become renowned for its sporting elegance and cutting-edge design. 7 Series: The 7 Series is BMW’s luxury Saloon, combining performance, elegance and dynamic appeal. X5: The X5 was the first car in the Sports Activity Vehicle Segment, when it launched in 1999. These can appeal to buyers who enjoy the command driving position, as well as the dynamic driving characteristics of a BMW. X6: The X6 offers a unique proposition: four-wheel and drive model, high levels of performance combined with a sports car coupe body style Z4: The Z4 is BMWs premium sports car range and was launched in 2003, uses innovative technology and a lightweight engine to offer the ultimate roadster driving experience. M Series: BMW M combines technology and expertise gained from BMWs motorsport activities and translates it for the road. BMW M launched its first road car, the M1, in 1978 and the range has since expanded to include the M3 Coupe, Convertible and Saloon, the M5 Touring and Saloon, the M6 Coupe and Convertible and the Z4 M Roadster and Coupe. The company’s bestselling car is the BMW 3-Series which in 2005 accounted for nearly 40% of the companys car sales; and the company’s most profitable car is the BMW 5-Series which accounts usually for 50% of the company’s profits. In 2011, BMW created a sub brand called â€Å"BMW i† which commercializes in low emission vehicles. It unveiled 2 cars under the â€Å"I† brand, the BMW i3 which is an urban electric car and BMW i8 which is plug-in hybrid sports vehicle which can reach a speed of 100 km/h in 4. 8 seconds. BMW cars are found all over the world and in some countries it is the leading car brand. In 1994, BMW acquired Rover Group, which is known for its Range Rover. But eventually in 2000, Rover Group was divested. In South Africa, many car manufacturers such as Ford and GM divested in subsidiaries, but BMW still retains full ownership of its operations in South Africa. BMW uses a hybrid of diversification and concentration strategy. BMW manufactures its vehicles in 7 countries, Germany, Mexico, Russia, United Kingdom, Austria, U. S. A and South Africa. BMW also has local assembly operations using complete knock down components in Thailand, Russia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Chennai, India. BMW uses a detailed analysis to see if they can achieve their goal in particular countries and if the cost of labor is acceptable hence the opening of manufacturing plants in Mexico, Russia and South Africa. In some countries there are income inequalities; BMW has a solution for that because of its diverse cars. It has cars for low income people up to the high income people. The price of BMW cars varies from models to series. A 2,000$ BMW E30 can be found up to the BMW Hydrogen 7 at 1,000,000$. BMW’s prime competitors are Mercedes-Benz and Audi which in some countries have taken the market for a limited time then lost it due to BMW’s fast production of new cars. Germany exports 97% of its goods to other countries. Similarly BMW and its German competitors rely heavily on exports to make profit. In 2010, BMW produced 399,009 BMW 3-series in which 25% of them were exported to U. S. A. Also in 2010, BMW sales were 1,224,280 cars in which only 43,000 were to the local market, it also sold 98,047 BMW motorcycles of which 500 were to the local market. BMW uses a lot of third-party export intermediaries to facilitate the exporting process in a lot of countries. BMW also exports engines. â€Å"Alpina†, which is an automobile manufacturing company that sell their own cars based on BMW cars, work closely with BMW so their processes are integrated into BMWs production lines. While working closely with BMW, it made the BMW Alpina B7, a high-performance 7-Series, which is priced at 123,000$. It produced a limited amount of B7’s; almost 50% of them were exported to the U. S. A and were quickly sold out. Design of goods: The design of a BMW car starts in an extensive and enthusiastic procedure. Its most exclusive function is the unique BMW internal design competition. This is where developers in the professions of external and internal contend against each other with their suggestions. Their thoughts and styles are first drawn two-dimensionally on document or on the computer. They then later make a three-dimensional form as elaborate clay models or in virtual renderings using CAD. BMW won multiple awards for its impeccable design of cars, including â€Å"iF Product Design Award† for the BMW 1 Series M Coupe, â€Å"iF Product Design Award† for the BMW 6 Series Coupe, â€Å"German Design Award in Silver† for the BMW 5 Series Touring, â€Å"Winner Automotive Brand Contest† for the BMW 328 Hommage, â€Å"Louis Vuitton Concept Classic Award 2009† for the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics and a lot more. Karim Habib, a 42-year old Lebanese-born Canadian, has been named the new head of BMW Design, beginning June 1. He planned the design of the present 7 Series, will report to Adrian van Hooydonk, the senior vice president BMW Group Design. Habib started his career at BMW in 1998, and worked on a number of cars before moving to Mercedes-Benz in 2009 as head of the Stuttgart firms advanced design studio. He was lured back last year by BMW to run the companys Exterior Design group. The design of BMW cars has been increasingly progressing every decade. There are renowned designers that have made a name of themselves thanks to the BMW Company and in return they gave BMW the best design of cars possible, some of these famous designers of the present day are: Adrian van Hooydonk, he is responsible among others for the gull-wing Z9 Gran Turismo prototype, BMW 6 series E63/E64 and E65 7 series. Jacek Frohlich, he is responsible for BMW F10/F11, the newest 5-series. Juliane Blasi, who is responsible for the second generation BMW Z4. Karim Habib which we already spoke about, and many more. Quality management decision: Managing quality deals with issues like how quality is defined, and who is responsible for quality which is the key for improving operations. It permits building good and successful strategies of differentiation, low cost, and response. Good quality increases the company reputation and image, and therefore increases profits. The quality control procedures that BMW operates within, is achieved through a system of quality audits at the stages of production of parts, and at the stages of the components and in the assembly plants. Suppliers of materials and components also follow the same quality control principles. BMW considers quality as a key importance in every stage of the production process. It places a great value on customer feedback and manages quality according to their needs. It empowers its employees so that they become committed to the organization. The employees attitude to quality prevents mistakes and ensures continual improvement and therefore increased profitability. The principles that it applies are consistency and complete coverage of all requirements throughout the development and manufacturing process. When cars are then delivered to the distribution centers, their quality is also checked again and they have a full pre-delivery inspection before delivering them to the customer. In case a fault is found, the BMW management structure allows its team to react quickly and work on the problem. BMW has received a quality certification, which is the DIN EN ISO 9000, a quality standard with international recognition. BMW Group production has been confirmed as the first-class quality standards many times. Process and Capacity design: Because demand is vague, the BMW Group established common policies on flexibility reserves to make sure that their capacity is extremely versatile in production amount. These policies are obligatory for strategic planning, and they reflect the way BMW interact with long-term need concerns. They are included in the load-planning model. For a production line, we identify between the maximum potential (per week or per year) based on running consistently seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and normal capacity under normal working conditions. Maximum capacity is a specialized characteristic of the product line, whereas normal capacity depends on the working-time technique, which differs for various development levels and from nation to nation. We show normal capacity as a percentage of the maximum capacity. Reducing the maximum potential by the flexibility reserve (a percentage) gives the disposable potential. In load planning, any usage between the minimal and the disposable potential is possible, but utilization above the normal potential drives overtime expenditures up. Location strategy: BMW is the globes leading high-class luxury car company. This is thanks to their brilliant marketing strategy across the world. Their forceful sales strategy reaches out to millions of people every year across a number of regions. Their existence is felt universally, adding to the company’s universal dominance. To make that dominance a bit stronger, BMW are to set out various locations for car production, all of which have not been touched before. This will come in line with BMW’s plans to establish new partnerships with different automobile companies across the globe to help their growth and expansion plans. BMW manufactures its vehicles in 7 countries, Germany, Mexico, Russia, United Kingdom, Austria, U. S. A and South Africa. BMW also has local assembly operations using complete knock down omponents in Thailand, Russia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Chennai, India. BMW is devoted to maintain and improve its existence in key markets worldwide. BMW Group marketing subsidiaries are present in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and U. S. A. Also BMW currently has 17 production facilities in six countries: Berlin plant, Dingolfing plant, Eisenach plant, Contract production in Graz (Austria), Goodwood plant (GB), Hams Hall plant (GB), Landshut plant, Leipzig plant, Munich plant, Oxford plant (GB), Regensburg plant, Rosslyn plant (South Africa), Shenyang plant (China), Spartanburg plant (USA), Steyr plant (Austria), Swindon plant (GB), Wackersdorf plant. South Africa is a key location for BMW. In South Africa, many car manufacturers such as Ford and GM divested its subsidiaries, but BMW still retains full ownership of its operations in South Africa. BMW are increasing production of their new 3 Series in South Africa. Millions have been invested in order for this development plan to go ahead. This is a key location as the South African car marketing is currently thriving. It is also in a great location as many of BMW vehicles cars are exported from the country, with it having close connections to other key areas. Frank Peter Arndt, a Board Member of the BMW board and the Chairman of South African division of BMW said how important the 3 Series is to South Africa and the rest of the world. He said â€Å"The BMW 3 Series is the most important volume-produced model for the group, as well as the biggest-selling model in the entire premium segment. Mr. Arndt believes that despite the global economy being uncertain, BMW can still reach targets this year throughout the world. They are so confident that demand will be high that a third shift in BMW’s South African plant is being introduced. Layout strategy: Layout decisions are important because they allow a company to be more competitive by considering capacity, processes, flexibility, cost, quality of work life, and customer contact and image. It deals with issues like how the facility should be arranged and how large it must be in order to meet the plan. It can help an organization achieve a differentiation, a low cost strategy or response. If a layout is efficiently implemented, the flow of materials, people, and information within and between areas will be much easier. BMW adopts the warehouse layout that supports a low cost strategy in order to achieve this objective. This type of layout deals with minimizing total cost by examining the capacity of the warehouse. Instead of physically restructuring the warehouse layout or investing in expensive warehouse technology, BMW uses intelligent software tools as well as WMS (warehouse management system) which is a computer software designed for managing the movement and storage of materials throughout the warehouse, in order to reduce production costs and increase the number of output in distribution centers. Human resources: BMW applies selection processes for both internal and external applicants which ensure the appointment of the highest quality staff. Special selection events are designed to give applicants every opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities in a variety of relevant activities, to learn as much as they can about the organization and to take responsibility for the role they are applying for. Generally, vacancies will be advertised internally and wherever possible a current member of staff will be recruited into a position. Only if an internal appointment is not possible will BMW consider external recruitment. BMW encourages its employees in the development of their careers. BMW operates an equal opportunity policy which is a stipulation that all people should be treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular â€Å"distinctions can be explicitly justified. † Supply chain management: Car manufacturer BMW is using a service management system as part of a bigger plan to improve supply chain lifecycles. The platform introduction was triggered by complexities in the technology rooted in its cars and subsequent demand for systems to support servicing, said Bennie Vorster, the group’s vice president of IT solutions and technology standards. We are working on the adaptation of the software to cover new car releases, and updates will be made,† Bennie Vorster said. Supply chain management continues to be a challenge for manufacturers whatever the sector, Vorster told Computing. â€Å"Warehouse spaces to handle supply are becoming smaller and firms must deal with issues related to customers’ requirements for more choice and flexibility. So complexities related to the increasing demand for ‘just in time’ delivery processes must be met by efficient supply chain management systems,† he said. The incorporation of mobile connectivity between systems and necessities from manufacturers or sales departments translates to short supply chain processes. â€Å"To avoid inefficiency both in terms of time and space, we don’t order parts long before the production time to keep in our warehouses in case a customer orders a car of any particular specification. â€Å"For that reason, the technology behind the process linking suppliers and manufacturers has to be seamless and as fast as possible,† said Vorster. BMW uses â€Å"SAP†, which is very popular business software, as its core platform along with a set of modified legacy systems. The company is looking at updating some of the programs managing diverse parts of its supply chain management procedure, and uses the Agile programming model to speed up delivery processes. Inventory, material requirements planning (MRP), and JIT decisions: Inventory, material requirements planning, and JIT decisions deal with issues such as how much inventory of each item should exist, and when to reorder. Inventory is the items which the firms possess during the implementation of their jobs in the production process. It can take any form of the product such as raw material, work in process or finished goods. The Production procedure in car development is very complicated, in order to fulfill customer requirements and preferences. Conventional techniques of preparing, managing and tracking the procedure are not appropriate any longer. Thus new techniques are required. At BMW, a system dynamics strategy is used. A simple powerful inventory simulator with a friendly user-interface can considerably improve the inventory procedure. This simulator is used on a day-to-day basis to support monthly, weekly and daily inventory reviews as well as everyday tracking of the performance of the procedure. To highlight the effectiveness of the developed simulator, the manager of the production-planning division at BMWs plant in Regensburg, who said in an interview: â€Å"The simulator used within our division permitted us to improve our results for more than 2000 units this year. This was possible, because the simulator revealed in advance the opportunities of increasing production by introducing extra changes in the production schedule†. Because these 2000 units were required to fulfill customer requirements, this lead to an improvement in net-income of more than 15 million US$. A material requirement planning is an effective inventory control system that provides the necessary information for a company to compete in the global marketplace. BMW applies excellent standards for its internal processes by using service-oriented architecture (SOA) to redesign its material requirements planning operations, and to enable a more innovative supply chain management strategy based on flexible quantity agreements. The SOA is an IT architecture plan that is open, flexible, and adaptable for developing modular service-based business solution. It enables enterprises to differentiate their business by lowering material handling costs and improve vendor management. JIT (just-in-time) production is producing and delivering goods on time. The benefits of JIT are: reduced operating cost, improved quality and performance, increased innovativeness, flexibility, improved delivery. BMW is beyond JIT. It shifted from just-in-time production to delivery on demand. BMW sends JIT delivery schedules to suppliers who receive the information via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) or by accessing the SAP Automotive Supplier Portal, where up to date information about the delivery needs is posted. The order includes all parts required to build each car. For example, the X5 has hundreds of components listed in the bill of materials. SAP Automotive gathers the delivery schedules for each part to fit the BMW assembly-line planning and sequencing directives. Suppliers then send BMW information about the delivery date. Maintenance: Maintenance deals with issues like how to build reliability into the process and who is responsible for maintenance. it is a very important issue because it ensures sustainability of the product. It’s a method used to keep an organization running efficiently. Herman Adams, a maintenance planning specialist in the BMW Body Shop, said: People who buy a BMW are paying for the engineering and quality, not for breakdowns on the plant floor. â€Å"To achieve maintenance and reliability excellence, its all about being the driver. † On the macro level: We look at ways that can ensure the equipment is going to be able to do what we want it to do, says Seaman. And, on the micro level: We plan all of our maintenance and schedule it. It does not schedule us, says Adams. Managers and technicians at BMW are motivated to build and plan maintenance to comply with the plant’s needs. They use reliability centered maintenance (RCM) which is a strategy used to improve production and efficiency of the plant. It includes determining a way to increase operating procedures like maximizing a machine’s uptime by adding more workers or making engineering modifications. They focus on managing the equipment to ensure much efficiency as possible. Moreover, they can easily buy from external partners’ commodity skill opportunities like changing air filters. There are four different units in the plant that take a distinct spin on maintenance which are: the body Shop, assembly, the paint shop and facilities/energy. In BMW, there is no maintenance manager position. Rather, there is a managerial representative from each unit that plan maintenance. Maintenance and reliability doesnt reside in one department or with one individual, says Adams. Everybody owns maintenance, reliability, uptime and overall equipment effectiveness. Its a team game. Conclusions and Recommendations: BMW is a well known and highly valued brand. Hence, it is a benefit for the company. In the premium section market, the prices for the vehicles are greater and therefore the well established brand creates credibility and warrants the customers to the purchase of a BMW. An example of this is the BMW 3-series. In the section for premium middle-class vehicles, despite the price, the 3-series is the best selling among the competition. The diversity in their portfolio is wide. In the different sections, many editions of the vehicles are provided. Moreover, BMW will release new models not only of existing but also in new series in the near future. The various vehicles available are the same in all the different markets. Thus, despite where the car is bought, the style is identical both with regards to efficiency and after sale services which creates creditability among the clients. In the three years that passed, BMW had greater sales volume than its nemesis Mercedes-Benz and at the same time a significantly greater profit edge on each car sold which is a strength for BMW. Also, it has not been dealing with the same problems with quality that Mercedes-Benz has been dealing with. Actually the quality that BMW has held has often provided the backbone to maintaining a strong brand which provides devoted and satisfied customers. BMW offers great competency and the organization produces most of the car by themselves. BMW is not reliant on any other organization that could force them to utilize products that are not according to BMW standards. Many car producers work together with regards to research and development but BMW has announced their independency and want to keep their business developments to themselves; therefore, BMW gets left out of the opportunity in reducing costs as well as synergy effects. A trend is emerging in the automobile industry which is to use the same elements in different types of products or brands. Also here, BMW varies from the market average since they customize their cars after each model themselves. Even though BMW has not collaborated with any organization, it is still apparent that BMW is trying to acquire new market shares. In addition, higher interest rates could impact the revenue results negatively since 41. 1% of the purchased BMWs are financed by BMW Financial Services. Causing the successful growth of BMW are the constant investment in innovation; the latest technologies and knowledgeable employees. BMW should keep its sustainability because it’s influenced by the operations management decisions. It should keep on introducing new products into the market and diversify. It should also create new technologies in order to produce cheaper cars, to meet the increasing customers’ demands. Moreover, in planning and operations processes, pollution should be taken into consideration. BMW should accelerate the production of the BMW i3 and BMW i8 that are pollution-free as well as making it cheaper. It should use resources efficiently in order to decrease the cost, and therefore making more profits. Thus, demand will increase and customers will be more interested in the purchase of the car. Customer satisfaction is what elevated BMW to such a high pedestal which means they should maintain the operations management decisions that have been successful for them.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

The Evolution of Google Penguin Algorithm Updates

Penguin: The History The original Penguin algorithm arrived on April 24, 2012, and was aimed at rooting out and penalizing websites with low-quality links and too many keywords. Alongside the Panda algorithm, Google wanted to reward sites with valuable, relevant links, and penalize sites that had built unnatural links solely to increase their search rankings. Penguin initially affected around 3.1 percent of all search queries and had a significant impact on how webmasters approached SEO, causing many to shift towards unique content. Penguin 2.0 made further tweaks to the algorithm, affecting around 2.3 percent of all search queries. Similarly, Penguin 3.0 built off the tweaks made in the previous updates. Penguin 1.0 The Penguin update is Google’s latest crackdown on what it terms webspam: Techniques used to boost PageRank without providing value to visitors. Launched on April 24, the update affects 3.1% of searches and targets sites that abuse Google’s existing quality guidelines. So far Penguin’s main impact has been on websites that rely on link networks for traffic. Using exact match anchor text, especially if the links are bought rather than organic, is a red flag to Google, as are spammy comments using exact match link signatures, guest posts on irrelevant websites and low-quality article directories, and links from sites that contain dangerous or dishonest content and links. Penguin is not an attack on the use of SEO. Instead, it is the latest phase of Google’s war against webmasters who abuse links and rely on other on-page SEO tricks. The search engine behemoth believes that real people’s enthusiasm for content is the best indicator of quality. This means that social signals and sharing are becoming more and more critical to PageRank. Providing your visitors with high quality, unique content that offers useful information that they’ll want to share is thus becoming more and more important; this is the only type of SEO content that’s going to pay off for you in the long term. If your website focuses on providing engaging, fresh content for visitors, then you have nothing to fear from Penguin. Avoid future problems by focusing your link-building efforts on getting high-quality links from influential websites in your niche or industry. Think link quality rather than quantity. Links are the natural consequence of an engaging, content-rich webpage rather than a tool to be manipulated. Google has very helpfully released specific guidelines for its Penguin update. It advises websites to avoid the following: Hidden on-page text and links that exist only to boost rankings. Cloaking or redirects that mislead your site’s visitors. Sending automated queries to Google to boost rankings. Keyword stuffing and hidden keywords that are there only to fool the search engines. Multiple domains or subdomains with duplicate or irrelevant content Doorway pages and pages created for affiliate schemes that have little or no original content. Pages that contain phishing links or install viruses and trojans. Note that there is nothing in the guidelines to concern websites that exist to please their visitors. However, if you feel that Penguin has unfairly punished you, Google has provided an online form for complaints about the effects of the update. Google’s latest push against webspam is not going to be its last. The days of building traffic via link networks and paid links are over: Websites now have to earn their links by merely being link-worthy. The search engine wants SEO to be transparent and honest. It is guaranteed to continue its war against websites and SEO experts who try to game its algorithms. Ultimately the Penguin update is good news for honest webmasters and quality websites and blogs. Focus on providing unique, engaging content on a regular basis and make it as easy to share as possible with social network buttons. The more attractive your website and its content to real people the more it will rise in the rankings. What Sites Got Hit? Google’s most significant updates often knock webmasters for a loop. Even with hints beforehand that Google was planning an update targeting over-optimization, no one knew what to expect before Penguin came about. Since Google doesn’t tell us exactly what they’re doing- or even what they’ve done, after the fact – it leaves SEO experts to analyze their changes to sort out what happened to the algorithm and what ranking factors are most likely to get you into trouble. Now that the Penguin update has been launched, it is easier to see what Google was targeting, but the only way to know for sure is to study a large number of sites and look for a common thread between those that were impacted by the update. Microsite Masters has done the research and published the results on their blog. They found two factors that the penalized sites had in common: Targeted anchor text: Every single site they found that was penalized used keyword-optimized anchor text for at least 65% of their incoming links. Yes, that’s right–every single site. Links from irrelevant sites: Almost half of the penalized sites had no links from other sites in the same niche, and over 70% of the penalized sites had less than 30% of their links coming from related sites. What to do About the Penguin Update? The mere mention of an update to Google’s search algorithm is enough to inspire fear in the hearts of many internet marketers, bloggers, and webmasters. For those who make a living off ad revenue and affiliate sales, being ranked highly on Google is critical to success. Being de-indexed by Google has been referred to as â€Å"internet death.† When a site is de-indexed its content becomes invisible to search users, which translates into traffic almost wholly vanishing. The following advice will assist you in avoiding such a nightmare situation. Calm Down; It’s Not the End of SEO When the update known as Penguin was released, many anxiously awaited to see the impact it would have on their traffic. A good number of these people were just now recovering from Google’s previous algorithm update, Panda. While the aftermath of the previous update was nothing short of cataclysmic, Penguin seems to be much milder in comparison. This is likely due to many webmasters learning from the lessons taught by Panda. The main focus of this update appears to be backlink spam and keyword stuffing. Avoid Black-Hat Backlinking Services Even before the release of Penguin, Google sent a strong signal that paid backlinking services will not be tolerated. It did this by de-indexing BuildMyRank.com, one of the most successful and popular of these services. This sent shock waves across the SEO community and signified things to come. Google designed Penguin to more effectively weed out sites with backlink profiles determined to be unnatural and intended to game the system. Never use automated software and services to build vast amounts of low-quality links in a short amount of time. Penguin sniffs these out like a shark smells blood. This kind of linking strategy is blatantly unnatural and will almost guarantee a stiff penalty. Instead focus on backlinking methods that Google views as natural, such as guest writing on blogs and websites that fall under the same niche category as the content you are trying to rank. The Death of Exact Match Anchor Text Penguin has made it clear that link diversity is essential for surviving Google’s wrath. This is especially true when it comes to choosing anchor text. The majority of the sites punished by Penguin had one thing in common; the blatant exploitation of exact match keywords. This was once considered perfectly sound SEO strategy for dominating specific keywords but has since become tainted by black hat services spamming irrelevant anchor text to exploit Google’s algorithm. Keyword anchor text can still be used but in smaller doses. A general rule of thumb is to have exact match anchor text make up under 50% of your total link profile. Keyword Stuffing A former holy grail of SEO has now become detrimental to success. Stuffing a whole host of keywords together and producing sloppy, low content articles will now prove toxic to your traffic. Google views this as a blatant act of spamming and punishes it severely. The safest route is to pick just a few keywords and strategically place them throughout your content. Make sure your keywords do not seem forced or out of place. Do not treat an article as filler to place keywords. Content should always be relevant, interesting and grammatically correct. Your keyword ratio should be between 2 to 5 percent of the entire article. Penguin 2.0 The world’s biggest search giant released the Penguin 2.0 update on May 22, 2013, and this latest transformation of the Google search algorithms further improve the quality of the results delivered. The latest update is aimed at clearing spam off the Internet by penalizing websites which attempt to artificially increase their standing in the search results by using black-hat SEO tactics. This update focusses in particular on elements such as keyword-stuffed anchor text and aggressive link building strategies. Webmasters who might have been over-optimizing their content may be looking at a sudden drop in traffic since the release of the latest update. If your site has been hit by Penguin 2.0, then you will need to think about taking a new direction in your search engine marketing campaign. Which Sites Are Affected by Penguin 2.0? The latest update focusses heavily on links and anchor text, and the ratio of your site links will determine whether your website benefits or gets penalized. In particular, websites containing links with keyword-stuffed anchor text have been hit the hardest. If the content of your website includes large amounts of anchor text with exact-match key phrases, then it looks very unnatural in the eyes of Google’s crawlers and your traffic will likely suffer as a result. Any website which has made use of aggressive link building campaigns may be adversely affected by Penguin 2.0. This includes sites containing backlinks from other websites deemed low quality in Google’s eyes and sites which contain a lot of other outgoing links. Additionally, having an excessively high percentage of keyword-rich incoming links will hurt your website. Other bad places to have a high percentage of your backlinks include webpage footers, blog comments, unrelated websites and other pages which are also penalized by Google. Those who have brought links before will almost certainly find that the vast majority of their backlinks appear on such sources. How to Survive Google Penguin 2.0 For the most part, the things which have constituted good SEO tactics since the first release of Penguin back in 2012 should still work. Google has not changed its policies; it has simply become better at enforcing them and making sure that less and less spam and otherwise junk content makes it into the search results. While ideally, you should have already discontinued any black-hat SEO tactics long ago, it is even more important now to change your strategy if you haven’t done so already. If your website has been severely hit by the latest algorithm, then it may be time to completely redo your content as well as entirely change your search engine marketing strategy. Now is the time to ensure that your website is filled with quality and original content that human readers want not only to read, but also to share with others. Content that gets social signals is exactly what impresses Google and, in some cases, it may even end up going viral. The modern Internet is very much about social media and it is an inescapable fact that any successful website is successful due to the very fact that its visitors are the ones promoting the site by sharing content that they like on sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Any webmaster should also do their bit to encourage the sharing of content by providing social networking buttons to accompany suitable articles and other pages. When it comes to link building, you need to be looking for natural links rather than having more links on irrelevant or otherwise unsuitable sources. Going after the cheap and easy links is only going to hurt your business in the longer term. Instead, focus on getting links on other sites which deal with relevant niches and industries. People should be clicking on those links because they want to learn more about something or they want to read references supporting another piece of content. Finally, ensure that you have content creation and marketing strategy. This needs to be something that you are one-hundred percent committed to. If you are running a blog, ensure that it is updated frequently and consistently to encourage your existing readers to come back regularly while also attracting new ones. This will also help to encourage social signals and natural, organic traffic. When it comes to dealing with social media, it is important not to ignore important social signals. Social media is about interacting with your readers by responding to their queries and comments and getting involved with the community that builds up around your business and website. Google wants to reward popular websites which draw in traffic organically rather than that those which put every effort possible into manipulating the search engines. In conclusion, make sure that you abandon the old strategies of search engine optimization if you haven’t already. Focus on your human readers and customers – that is what today’s SEO is all about. What Was Punished by Penguin 2.0? Google Penguin 2.0, released in May 2013, is the latest major version of the search giant’s algorithm in a long stream of updates which focus on penalizing over-optimized content and, in particular, many of the link building strategies which were once deployed by the vast majority of search engine marketers. Whether you are doing much of the SEO yourself or hiring a company to do the work for you, it is essential that you pay close attention to Google’s webmaster guidelines as it is becoming increasingly difficult to artificially manipulate a website’s standing in the search results. The following takes a look at seven of the most prominent ways to get yourself booted out of Google’s indexes. 1. Keyword-Stuffed Anchor Text Anchor text refers to the clickable text representing a hyperlink. Traditionally in search engine optimization, anchor text contained keywords designed to artificially increase the ranking of a webpage in the search engine results. Search engine marketers have often optimized their anchor text in such a way that it contains keywords associated with the contents of the page linked to. However, using the same anchor text to excess will ultimately flag your website as over-optimized and, not only this; it also annoys your human readers. You should overcome this situation by diversifying your anchor text to include a wider variety of keywords to avoid repetition and make it look more natural within the context of the content itself. 2. Paid Links Google’s dislike of paid links is certainly nothing new, but its latest algorithm updates are getting better and better at determining which links have been paid for. Link buying often means that you end up with backlinks plastered all over the Internet often accompanied by content which is completely irrelevant. Do not forget that your ranking in the search engines is becoming increasingly heavily influenced by the content of the websites that link to your own. Paid links represent a completely artificial way of manipulating the search results and, if you use link buying services, there is a high chance that your website will be kicked out of the Google indexes within a matter of months. 3. Link Stuffing Internal links are meant to guide human visitors to other pages on your website which they may be interested in. When used with this intention in mind, internal links are useful if not essential to any user-friendly and easily navigable webpage. However, it is poor practice to have too many of these internal links as it makes your website look over-optimized both to your visitors and to the search engines. Be particularly wary of using drop-down menus and the same anchor text in your internal links. 4. Keyword Stuffing Aside from its use in anchor text, keyword stuffing in the other content of a webpage is also something that many search engine marketers are guilty of. In spite of constant condemnation from Google, many people still seem to believe in things like the myth of keyword density. In reality, however, paying attention to keyword density inevitably leads to over-optimized content of questionable quality. Stuffing your content with keywords will not help to increase your search engine ranking and, these days, it is more likely to get your site penalized. As with your anchor text, diversify your keyword usage and only use them in such a way that they blend in naturally with the rest of the content. 5. Invisible Text Webmasters hoping to manipulate the search results with minimal effort sometimes use invisible text containing a list of keywords and phrases. Using CSS, this text is the same color as its background thus hiding it from human readers while remaining visible to the search engine crawlers. Unbelievably, many webmasters are still using hidden text on their sites in spite of Google have been easily able to uncover this method and remove offending websites from its indexes. 6. Duplicated Content While there is nothing wrong with posting your content for which you own the copyrights across multiple websites, it is important to remember that Google doesn’t like this. Publishing unique content is a must, and this has long been the case in spite of many people still not paying attention to this fact. Worse still, content theft remains a major problem on the Internet with unscrupulous and lazy webmasters stealing content to post on their sites or to use in their marketing campaigns. Google is becoming increasingly better at detecting such sites and those posting stolen content can expect not only to have their website de-indexed but also to have it taken down entirely. Penguin 3.0 One year after the Penguin 2.1 update, Penguin 3.0 has finally arrived. Google recently confirmed that the most recent update to the algorithm started rolling out on Friday, October 17. So what’s different about Penguin 3.0? How do you know if you’ve been affected, and how do you recover if you’ve been hit? Penguin 3.0: What’s New? The new algorithm helps sites that have cleaned up their webspam signals since the last update and demotes sites with newly-discovered spam. Penguin 3.0 is a worldwide update which will be rolled out throughout weeks. It’s aimed at further improving search results by punishing websites that violate Google Webmaster Guidelines. Google has stated that it’s an algorithm change, not merely an update. Most SEO experts predict it will affect a similar number of websites as Penguin 2.0, but the full impact will only be known in the coming months. Google is not in the habit of revealing precise details, but when it has been fully rolled out, we’ll probably receive some form of official announcement. Do You Need to Take Action? If you’ve previously used dubious SEO strategies to improve your search rankings, you will have already been hit by previous Penguin updates. However, if you’ve since taken the appropriate measures to clean up your link profile and publish more relevant, quality website content now is the time to check your rankings and your organic search traffic data. If you’ve noticed any sudden drops in rankings, it’s likely you’ve been affected by Penguin 3.0. There are no quick fixes, but with a little effort, you can recover. You may have to wait until the next algorithm update to see if the changes have made a difference, but it’s still wise to act now. Steps to Recovery If you’ve been affected, it is most likely because of too many unnatural links pointing to your website. You can track down all your inbound links with tools like Google Webmaster Tools, Majestic SEO, and Ahrefs. So what qualifies as a poor-quality link? Links on article directories and link farms Any paid links, apart from advertisements Irrelevant links posted on forums or social media Too many exact keyword-match anchor text links Once you’ve used one of the above tools to source the origins of your inbound links, you need to contact the relevant webmasters and ask them to remove your links. If they refuse or can’t remove them, you can use Google’s Disavow Tool. The Bottom Line However you’re affected by Penguin 3.0, you need to continue to build better links on more authoritative sites and avoid stuffing your content with too many keywords. This can only be done by producing original, relevant, and high-quality content that people want to link to. If you are unfamiliar with how to compose such content, outsourcing an experienced content writer is an easy and inexpensive alternative. This is the best way to avoid being affected by the Penguin algorithm in the future.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Genocide In Rwanda Essays - Rwandan Genocide, Rwandan Civil War

Genocide in Rwanda The definition of genocide as given in the Webster's College Dictionary is "The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group." This definition depicts the situation in 1994 of Rwanda, a small, poor, central African country. The Rwandan genocide was the systematic extermination of over eight hundred thousand Tutsi, an ethnic group in Rwanda, by the Hutu, another ethnic group in Rwanda. In this essay I will briefly describe the history of the conflict of the Hutu and Tutsi, the 100 days of genocide in 1994, and the affects of the massacre on the economy and the people of Rwanda. To fully understand why this slaughter occurred, we must first look at the history of the Hutu and the Tutsi. In the early 1900's, the Tutsi were placed in positions of power by Belgium, because they looked "whiter". Governed by Belgium's racist way of thought, ethnic identity cards were introduced. The Catholic Church supported the Tutsi and the new social order and educated the Tutsi and imposed their religion on them. Though the population of Rwanda was ninety percent Hutu, they were denied land ownership, education, and positions of power. In the 1950's, the end of the colonial period, the Hutu overthrew the Tutsi government. The Hutu maintained the practices of ethnic division, and the Tutsi were forcibly removed from positions of power. Many Tutsi fled from Rwanda and were not allowed to return. Many Tutsi that stayed in Rwanda were killed. Supported by Uganda, the Tutsi formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a rebel army. The rebel army was anxious to regain citizenship and their homes in Rwanda, and began a civil war that lasted four years. The world wide coffee market crashed, and coffee being the main export of Rwanda, led to unemployment and hunger of many Rwandans. This, along with pressure from Belgium forced the Hutu to agree to share power with the Tutsi. This was a hoax, for the Hutu government was secretly planning revenge on the Tutsi. The revenge being planned was the extinction of the Tutsi. With help from Hutu extremists, hate propaganda, sub-humanization of Tutsi, firearms, and machetes were distributed among the Hutu citizens. The extremists assassinated the president for fear of giving in to the Rwandan Patriotic Front's demands. Through these elements necessary for genocide, the killing began on April 6, 1994. Checkpoints were set up, covering the major routes and borders around Rwanda. These checkpoints consisted of Hutu military checking ethnic identity cards, if they were Hutu they lived, if they were Tutsi they were killed immediately. Many of the Tutsi gathered in churches, which were considered sacred, but they turned into slaughterhouses where many were massacred. The killing lasted for one hundred days. More than eight hundred thousand people were massacred, one third of the Tutsi population being wiped out. During this time there was no outside help from the United States or any other country. The UNAMIR (United nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda) were given orders to stay on "stand by" and were not allowed to intervene because they would breach their monitoring mandate. Eventually, though, the Rwandan Patriotic Front defeated the militias and the Rwandan army, and the genocide ended. Although the genocide is over, disease and war still plagues this small, poor country. Many Tutsi, trying to regain their lives in Rwanda, are still tortured and harassed by the Hutu. This is because there are many witnesses to the brutal crimes of the Hutu, and many have not been put on trial yet. Painstakingly lengthy trials have prevented many of the accused murderers from ever being put on trial. The Rwandan economy remains dependant on coffee and tea exports and foreign aid, and "the economy suffers greatly from the failure to maintain the infrastructure, looting, and neglect of important cash crops and lack of health care facilities". In conclusion, the 1994 massacre in Rwanda deserves attention. Many will argue that use of the term "genocide" is incorrect in describing the war of 1994. They argue that there were only two, true genocides in the twentieth century, of the Armenians, and of the Jews. This is only a matter of opinion. As the Webster's College dictionary defines "genocide",

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Ethical Issues at the Radiology Department

Ethical Issues at the Radiology Department Introduction Being a radiographer means being very cautious and careful with instructions. It is especially important to follow the existing code of ethics once a patient and a radiographer do not speak the same language.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Ethical Issues at the Radiology Department specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since the radiographer was not concerned with the fact that the patient could not speak English properly, the former broke the principles of radiography ethics by conducting a procedure that could harm the patient in the case study provided. History The case of ethics in radiography, which is discussed below, is quite simple. According to the case details, an elderly (56-year-old) Asian woman, who had a feeding (nasogastric) tube implanted, was admitted into a hospital. In the hospital, she underwent a computer tomography on her brain. Due to the specifics of her condition (a feeding tube ), she had to have her chest and abdomen checked with X-rays every day for more than fifteen days, which is considered inacceptable due to exposure to great doses of radiation and the following negative effects on the functioning of the organs. Since the radiographer was aware of the threat that the procedure poses to people, it was imperative that the procedure should have been carried out less frequently or that the patient should have given a written consent for the radiography to be carried out. It seems that the procedure was not obligatory in the given case, since the patient supposedly felt well and did not need an urgent examination, yet the standard daily examination of the tube was still desirable (Duncan Warwick, 2011, para. 9). In order to avoid the threat of disclosing the patient’s personal data, including her name, it will be required that the patient should be nicknamed in order to address her without revealing her identity. The patient will be referred to as Xiu in the process of the case analysis and discussion.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Patient Consent The patient’s consent is, in fact, one of the key issues in the study. First and most obvious, the case study in question never mentions that the informed consent was obtained in the first place. Indeed, according to the details of the study, the patient has not been provided with the explanations concerning the procedure. More to the point, since the patient was unable to give an informed consent in English, it is impossible to figure out if the patient actually understood what she was told; neither is it possible to define whether the radiographers actually received the confirmation for the procedure to take place. The case description is admittedly obscure when it touches upon the discussion of the specifics of the procedure between the radiograph ers and the patient’ it can be suspected that there was no informed consent retrieved at all. Ethical Dilemma The ethical dilemma faced by the radiographer in the given case is, in fact, very complicated. On the one hand, it is imperative that the informed consent of the patient should be obtained before the procedure is started. Performing radiography on a patient, who does not speak English and, therefore, is most likely to be unaware of the possible negative consequences of the radiography, seems unethical. Hence, it was obviously required that a translator should have been invited as the radiographer’s assistant. On the other hand, radiography is one of the procedures that must be carried out regularly; therefore, it was imperative that the patient should undergo the procedure as prescribed by the doctor. Hence, the radiographer faced a difficult choice between making sure that the feeding tube, which the patient’s life depended on, was in order, and prevent ing the patient from receiving an additional dose of radiation. The issue of informed consent, therefore, though doubtlessly relating directly to the case, is not the key ethical issue in it. It is the factor determining the impossibility of retrieving informed consent from the patient that matters in defining the ethical paradox in the given case.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Ethical Issues at the Radiology Department specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To be more exact, the ethical concern in the case with Xiu can be defined as performing an urgent procedure on a patient, when it is clear that they do not understand what is happening due to the language barrier. It is obvious that in the environment specified above, the patient is practically unable to give their informed consent (Seiden, Galvan Lamm, 2006); therefore, the two ethical concerns (i.e., Xiu’s unawareness of the procedure consequences and the absence of her informed consent) should be included in the case. After all, the Code of conduct and ethics published by the Society of Radiographers specifies that a radiographer must satisfy themselves â€Å"that the appropriate informed consent has been gained prior to undertaking any examination or procedure and follow the SCoR guidelines in Consent to imaging and radiotherapy treatment examinations: an ethical perspective and good practice guide for the radiography workforce† (The Society of Radiographers, 2008, p. 6). Hence, both the principles of consent and communication (The Society of Radiographers, 2008, p. 5) were challenged in this case. Handling of Ethical Dilemma Though quite questionable, the decision made by radiographers seems quite adequate. Indeed, the negative effects of an excessive radiography session are considerably less threatening than the possible problems with the nasogastric tube and the following impossibility for Xiu to obtain food (Lamont, 2011). Despite the adequacy of the choice made by the radiographers, one still must address the issue of informed consent and the handling of the essential information related to the patient. Technically, the breach of the healthcare ethics is still evident, seeing that little to no investigation concerning the procedures that the patient had undergone by that time was conducted. According to the existing Code of practice for radiographers (2007), making sure that the radiography session complies with the prescriptions provided by the doctor is obligatory:Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Radiographers should not carry out a procedure that may be considered dangerous without first confirming instructions for the procedure with the person authorized who has made the request, and satisfying themselves that the instructions contain no error† (Australia Institute of Radiography, 2007, p. 3) Learning Outcomes The case study under consideration offers a lot to learn. It shows how flexible and resourceful a radiographer must be in order to facilitate the provision of the medical services of the finest quality and the protection of the patients from the possible threats to their health. More to the point, the study gives the information concerning the possible issues that a radiographer may face with a non English speaking patient. Consequently, the study encourages a radiographer to act more cautiously and make sure that the actions to be carried out comply with the existing instructions, as well as with the healthcare ethical principles. Finally, and most importantly , the case study makes a very valid point concerning the issue of informed consent. It is a very clever way of reminding a radiographer about the workplace ethics. What may seem a legitimate step in addressing the patient’s disorder and maintaining the patient’s safety may finally turn out to be a faulty move that will lead to drastic consequences. In a wider sense, the aforementioned piece of advice can be interpreted as a suggestion to be extremely cautious when it comes to retrieving any kind of information from non English speaking patients. It is obvious that, had the patient provided the radiographer with the related information, i.e., the fact that she had already had two brain computer tomographies and experienced fifteen radiographies in a row by that point, the radiography would have not been carried out. Therefore, the very fact that the patient did not speak English should have been a warning sign for the radiographer. The study, therefore, offers an import ant lesson in carrying out a specific procedure on a patient, who is unaware of what is going on due to the language issues. It is essential that the patient should know what is going on and what medical procedure they are going to undergo; thus, a patient will be able to inform the radiographer on the details that may conflict with the procedure in question and trigger major complexities. Conclusion Having a range of responsibilities and bound by the existing ethical code, a radiographer must be very careful in their work. It is essential to make sure that the procedures conducted meet the requirements and comply with the current medical standards. In addition, a radiographer must be able to communicate with the patient in order to avoid making harm to the latter. Once a patient and a radiographer understand each other, the amount of mistakes and misconceptions will be reduced to nil. Reference List Australia Institute of Radiography. (2007). Guidelines for professional conduct for radiographers, radiation therapists and sonographers. Melbourne, AU: Australia Institute of Radiography. Web. Duncan, K. Warwick, R. (2011). X-ray confirmation of nasogastric tube placement: documentation in patient notes. The Royal College of Radiologists. Web. Lamont, T. (2011). Checking placement of nasogastric feeding tubes in adults (interpretation of X ray images): summary of a safety report from the National Patient Safety Agency. The British Medical Journal, 342, 1–4. Web. Seiden, S. C., Galvan, C. Lamm, R. (2006). Role of medical students in preventing patient harm and enhancing patient safety. Quality and Safety in Healthcare, 15(4), 272–276. The Society of Radiographers. (2008). Code of conduct and ethics. London, UK: The Society of Radiographers.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The educator as a public intellectual Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The educator as a public intellectual - Essay Example In principle, teachers are the second guide and protector after the parent. Significantly, they mold the child by introducing him/her to the foundations of education and making the student conversant with how to interact with others. Similarly, teachers’ contributions to society are by molding and developing the future generation in accordance with the social and cultural structures of the given community. For instance, it is the role of teachers to provide moral and intellectual leadership to the youth by preparing them to be critical thinkers and active citizens in society. Significantly, life is a journey encompassing experience and knowledge gained. Therefore, one meets individuals who build their characters and adds some benefits to their lives as a whole. For instance, too many people in Baltimore Mr. Jim Beglin are nothing short of a public intellectual. Furthermore, being a sociology teacher Mr. Beglin has been able to enlighten the students on the need for better social behavior, planning, and political consciousness. Therefore, with Mr. Beglin as their educator students at Bishop Walsh School have been able to quench their thirst for knowledge while at the same time get to be influenced by right living subscribing to the conscious doctrine of life. Mr. Beglin subscribes to the philosophy of integrity, and hard work pays off. In essence, by equipping and always reminding his students of the need to be true to themselves and only rely on what one has worked for has improved the students’ behavior and attitude to an admirable level. Therefore, through motivating his students and assuring them of the significant benefits that accrue to an individual, who strives to earn and live on his/her sweat. Significantly, this doctrine has been spread to how the students carry themselves and act in society, hence influencing even more members of the community. In principle, Mr. Beglin noting the need to educate more people in Baltimore, he started hosting

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Catharine bond hill Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Catharine bond hill - Term Paper Example According to recent research, fully 80% of all economic majors and postgraduates within the United States are men all stop this is a shocking statistic due to the fact that women comprise upwards of 60% of all college and university enrollment within the United States at the given time. Likewise, the purpose of this brief analysis will be to underscore the importance that women play within this field and draw particular inference with regards to the impacts they can have based upon the life and experience of what can only be described as an exceptional woman within the field. In such a way, the preceding analysis will seek to draw inference based upon the life of Catherine Bond Hill and the means by which women within her profession can seek to affected impacts, whom this profession specifically aims to serve, and the overall outlook and future of this profession with regards to the analysis of current and key statistics. Furthermore, it is the hope of this author that such an analys is will be the reader to an understanding of the increased importance that women should place upon the field of economics means by which they can seek to affect the quality within this field over time. ... However, as has been described, below and extent to which women began to be represented within economics is necessarily been constrained. Although it is beyond the scope of this analysis to determine whether or not this constraint is due to natural/personal choices or a systemic level of sexism within the field, nonetheless, the rate of growth that women have seen within economics over the past half-century has been abysmally low as compared to other fields of study. This very low rate of representation is something of a unique dynamic in an arena in which equality is virtually praised to have been met (Peterson 279). Whereas many professions and fields of academics aim to serve specific segments of society, the environment, science, or philosophy, is various profession and fields are generally concentric upon facilitating a key level of value within a specific community of stakeholders. Conversely, those individuals that engage in economic studies are necessarily interested in maxim izing value for each and every stakeholder within society. Such a macro view sets this field apart from any other fields. Accordingly, the need for women to be represented within it is great due to the fact that they are able to bring a unique perspective of a previously disenfranchised and ultimately silent group that represents fully 50% of the global population. In such a manner, the reader/researcher can understand the profession aims at seeking to understand and define a level of resource allocation with regards to the ever-increasing population and never-ending human demands that are placed upon finite resources (Dimand 15). Moreover, in an age of increasing environmental destruction and the impacts of global

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Healthy living Essay Example for Free

Healthy living Essay Healthy lifestyle for both adults and children is more important than anything else. Healthy lifestyle habits will reduce your risk of getting diseases; you will feel better, have more energy and prevent the risk of chronic diseases. Living healthy also helping you to feel happy and have more self confidence which results in a better quality of life . in today’s The term healthy lifestyle encompasses several factors that need to be brought together in order to gain the benefits, namely exercise, healthy eating and a body mass index (BMI) in a normal range. Healthy lifestyle, particularly for children is their insurance policy for a lifetime of good health, and as research has shown, may significantly reduce the chance of contracting chronic illnesses and diseases. Regular physical activity is important for a healthy growth, development and well-being of children, the British Heart Foundation has carried out research into the fact of living a healthy lifestyle, eating healthy can stop you gaining weight, which means reducing the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. It can also help lower your cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of some cancers. Chronic illnesses associated with obesity, lack o exercise and a poor diet include the following * Coronary heart disease * Cancer * Stroke * Diabetes * High blood pressure (Hypertension) * Chronic Obstructive pulmonary Disease (COPD) 2. Healthy Eating along with a healthy BMI and exercise is the third element of a healthy lifestyle for children is eating a healthy diet. A healthy diet is again protective against a whole host of chronic illnesses, eating fruit and vegetables everyday helps children’s grow and develop, boosts their vitality and can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases And children are especially susceptible to behavioural problems due to deficiency of essential vitamins and minerals that are derived from the food that we eat. Educations by example in the young child greatly improve their chances of eating a wide variety of nutritious foods as they move from childhood into adolescence. Children who eat meal around the table with others are more likely to try different foods, therefore lowering the possibility of them becoming picky eaters. In order to eat healthily food should be selected from the various different groups to make up a nutritionally balanced plate. These groups are * Carbohydrates potatoes, rice, bread, pasta and other starchy food * Protein meat, eggs, fish, beans, milk, cheese, and other dairy products * Fat butter, oil, spreads * Fruit and vegetables * Sugars sugary drinks, sweets 3. Activities for young children, Regular physical activity are important for the healthy growth, development and wellbeing of children and young people Physical play and leisure activities can have a hugely positive effect on children’s healthy living. Even though IT and computer games are becoming more popular with the children instead of traditional exercises, they still need physical exercises into their everyday routines. In 2006 professors in Glasgow identified through a study of 545 nursery school children, that one hour of exercise a day was required for children to maintain a healthy BMI, in addition to eating healthy diet. Play is an essential part of a Childs development and we are focusing here particularly on the physical and mental wellbeing aspects. There are many opportunities in the local community for involving children in physical exercises for example of these * Trips to the local park * Indoor children’s play centres * Specialist activities for children at leisure and recreation centres Creative in add ion to the physical activities as a means of promoting a healthy lifestyle, cookery demonstrations and activities can have a profound effect on children encouraging them to prepare and taste healthy foods that they may not have previously been introduced to. The use of different colours and textures of food in recipes can fuel a child excitement and interest where it may not have previously been held. Games displays and the creation of posters can all assist with the promotion of a healthy lifestyle for young children. 4. Wellbeing is the state of being comfortable healthy and happy. In child it is necessary to evaluate children regularly to identify any children who may be displaying sings of emotional or social difficulties affecting their wellbeing. Children should feel comfortable enough to be able to express themselves in an environment that they perceive as positive and safe, and this should be encouraged. Wellbeing for families there are many public and private courses that run including the triple p programs (positive parents programs) which runs nationwide offering invaluable support to parents. Courses are available for different age groups of children and are delivered by experienced and appropriately trained practitioners. These courses have proved a lifeline for some parents who have been struggling in silence to conquer various emotional, physical or behavioural aspects of their children’s lives. This is a fantastic tool for improving parent’s wellbeing and offers an opportunity for parents to meet in secure non judgemental and confident environment where they can discuss their own issues that they are experiencing with practitioners and fellow parents †¦

Friday, November 15, 2019

Soviet Nationalities Policy

Soviet Nationalities Policy After the Bolshevik Revolution, Bolsheviks inherited a vast multinational empire. The Soviet Union inherited the Russian Empires multiethnic character. Composing just over half the population, ethnic Russians shared the worlds first socialist state with more than 100 minorities, some numbering in the millions and others numbering in the low thousands. Some, such as the Poles, were Westernized and urbanized. Others, such as the peoples of the Caucasus and Siberia, lived in small villages and tribal-based societies. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews all inhabited Russia and had needs that presented challenges to any state. The problem of what to do with all these different ethnic groups in the new state formed the center of the â€Å"nationality question.† In order to promote the integration of the non-Russians into the Soviet state, Lenin’s nationality policy was practical and flexible enough. Unlike the late tsarist era, when non-Russian ethnic groups were discri minated by the imperial regime, the nationalities enjoyed formal political equality. This was seen as an important requirement for obtaining equal socioeconomic and cultural rights across various peoples and helping less developed nationalities to overcome their backwardness. Lenin believed that this strategy would eliminate ethnic discrepancies and settle the â€Å"nationalities question† for good and Lenin advocated recognition of the various peoples of the old empire as separate nationalities. In the localities the Soviet authorities pursued the policy of â€Å"indigenization† (korenizatsiia), designed to increase steadily the proportion of the representatives of the indigenous nationality in the local party and state administration. In addition, during the 1920s, the center actively co-opted representatives of non-Russian elites into central governing bodies. Moreover, the early nationalities policy of the Bolshevik government displayed considerable tolerance of no n-Russian languages and cultures and even systematically encouraged the development of â€Å"minor† languages. All this helped expand the ranks of non-Russian educated elites and led to a flowering of literature, the arts, and sciences in some of the republics and national autonomies. Korenizatsiia set the stage for the Soviet Unions current crisis of authority among the non-Russians. As an integrated linguistic, cultural, and personnel policy it sought to legitimate multiculturalism in the Soviet Union without creating multiple centers of power. The implementation of this policy during the dislocation wrought by industrialization raised the prestige of non-Russian languages and cultures and created the social bases necessary for multiculturalism. The establishment of multiple official languages and creation of social bases of support for them guaranteed â€Å"long-term or permanent linguistic division†. Korenizatsiia, in effect, â€Å"institutionalized and legitimated linguistic conflict and thus maintained it and perpetuated it†. The liberal language policies and the indigenization drive endured until the mid-1930s, helping to enlist the support of broad sections of non-Russian populations for the party and the Communist regime. More controversially, they accelerated the process of nation building among major nationalities and nudged some of the minor ones in the same direction. The â€Å"indigenized† administrations tended toward greater independence from the center and craved greater national and cultural autonomy. They became breeding grounds for the spread of national communism in the republics as the desire to combine Communist ideas with national traditions. Contrary to the expectations of the Communist authorities, their policies did not do away with nationalism, but gave rise to nationalist ideologies and to gradual consolidation of nationalities into nations. It was clear that the evolving national elites would not remain content for long with formal equality and would sooner or later claim gr eater political rights to complement their cultural and language rights.Between 1933 and 1938, korenizatsiia was not actually repealed. Its provisions merely stopped being enforced. There also began purges of the leaderships of the national republics and territories. The charge against non-Russians was that they had instigated national strife and oppressed the Russians or other minorities in the republics. In 1937 it was proclaimed that local elites had become hired agents and their goal had become dismemberment of the Soviet Union. Stalin’s radical policies were accompanied by purges among republican elites to curb any nationalist tendencies and â€Å"deviations.† They soon escalated into an all-encompassing wave of terror that peaked in 1936-38. It dealt a crushing blow to the administrative elites in the republics. The terror affected the elites of all nationalities, but its consequences in the union republics were particularly severe as it undermined many of the ac hievements of indigenization. Stalin’s policies and the methods used to enforce them to a great extent put a chill on the process of nation building that had begun in the 1920s. As a result of the Stalin revolution, many of the ideological imperatives of the Soviet nationality policy were transformed. In the 1920s the party leadership had sought to eradicate all vestiges of the imperial mentality of Russians, derided as â€Å"Great Russian Chauvinism.† Now the emphasis was reversed, and local nationalism was perceived a much bigger threat. The calls for international solidarity of proletarians were replaced by the new integrating ideology of Soviet patriotism and by the leader’s cult. Yuri Slezkine has described the USSR as a communal apartment in which each national group had its own room. To be sure, not all rooms were of the same size or importance. It should be noted, however, that to the very end of its existence the USSR remained at least rhetorically, but also in many practical ways, committed to the idea of cultural diversity. Russian culture was certainly â€Å"first among equals primus inter pares†, but a certain space was always granted to non-Russian language and culture. The Soviet Union was a communal apartment, where each of the national republics had a separate room. They could decorate the room however they liked. They got to make the major decisions, but never pretended that they owned the apartment. He gives details the â€Å"Great Transformation† of 1928-1932, during which ethnic diversity was highlighted and celebrated; it then explains the â€Å"Great Retreat† during the 1930†²s, when nationalism as a whole was disc ouraged except those select nationalities that reinforced socialist ideas and contributed to the overall success of the USSR. The author states to the fact that certain nationalities were seen as more worthy, therefore superior to others. It may not be along class lines, but the people of the Soviet Union were still divided. This promotion of nationalism most likely created more problems for the Soviet government in the long-term as nationalism grew stronger and threatened the Soviet’s unity and control.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Employer Rights and Responsibilites Essay

Their are certain laws in place which cover employment. Employment law is likely to have a profound impact on employees throughout their working lives. It governs the employment of every employee and working in the UK. Any worker or employee working in the UK is entitled to certain employment rights, and protected by employment law. Employment law does not always work in the favour of the employed as it also protects the rights of employers too. There are numerous employment rights. It is important for these laws to be fully understood, otherwise it is possible to end up going down the route of unfair dismissal and discrimination claims. It is vital an employee stays on top of the law with regard to the following: Breach of contract, Workplace Bullying, Compromise Agreements, Constructive Dismissal , Data Protection, Disciplinary procedures and suspension, Discrimination, Flexible Working, Health and Safety, Holidays, Maternity and Paternity rights, Redundancy, Sexual Harrassment and Sickness Absence. Many pieces of lawful legislation have been grouped together into more recent Acts which cover existing Acts known as regulations and identified as statutory fundaments of the more recent act implemented. Please see below laws and legislations which cover employment: Employment Rights Act 1996 – This act is the main act which covers majority of the areas in employent. These areas will be covered in the worklace as company policies and procedures, which will outline the laws and legislations in place. It includes the protection of wages, Guarantee payments, protection from suffering detriment in employment, time off work, dependants, study and training, suspension from work, Maternity-Adoption-Paternity-Parrental leave, flexible working, termination of employment, unfair dismissal and redundancy. National Minimum Wage Act 1988 – Creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom, currently ? 6. 19 per hour for workers aged 21 years and older, ? 4. 98 per hour for workers aged 18-20 years old. This act too effect on 1st April 1999. There was no national minimum wage before 1988 and often workers were most vulnerable to low pay. The national minimum wage act is universally applicable to anyone who has a contract to do work, except for a consumer or a client. The Working Time Regulations 1998 – a United Kingdom statutory instrument which regulate the time that people in the UK may work. The regulations apply to all workers and not just employees. The regulations stipulate minimum rest breaks, daily rest, weekly rest and the maximum average working week. It sets a default rule which, although one may opt out of it, that workers may work no more than 48 hours per week. It also grants a mandatory right to paid annual leave of at least a minimum of 28 days (including bank holidays and public holidays). It creates the right to a minimum period of rest of 20 minutes in any shift lasting over 6 hours. Disability Discrimination Act 2005 – This act ensures that people with a disability are treated fairly. This act enables disabled people to have equal rights with accessing their local community, using public transport, working and applying for jobs and joining clubs. Renting out a property, study and education. Equality Act 2010 – This act requires equal treatment in access to employment as well as private and public services, regardless of the protected characteristics of age disability, gender, reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. In the case of gender there are special protections for pregnant women. In the case of disability, employers and service providers are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to their workplaces to overcome barriers experienced by disabled people. Sex Discrimination Act 1975 – This is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protects men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marriage. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 – This act defines the fundamental structure and authority for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare within the United Kingdom. The act defines general duties employers, employees and contactors, suppliers of goods and substances for use at work, persons in control of work premises, and those who manage and maintain them, and persons in general. The act lays down certain principles for the management of health and safety at work, enabling the creation of specific requirements through regulations enacted at statutory instruments or through codes of practices. The following are some of the statutory instruments that lay down detailed requirements: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at Work Regulations 1992 Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 There was also the intention with this Act to simplify the existing complex and confused system of legislation. This act sets out the objectives for securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work; protecting persons other than those at work against risks to healtha nd safety arising out of or in connection of activities of persons at work; controlling the keeping and use of explosive or highly flammable or otherwise dangerous substances, and generally preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of such substances. Having used various resources to research for this question on employment law, I have taken the time to go through my own company policies and procedures folders. There are three large folders for policies and procedures all of which cover all the government laws, legislatons and regulations expected to be followed. I have chosen to continue this question by referring to a number of my company policies and procedures, their key features and identifying which government law, legislation and regulation they support. RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 – Outlines the requirements and arrangements for incidents which are legally required to be reported to the Health and Safety authorities. Some types of incidents may be reported to the health and safety authorities and also be reported as a clinical incident to the care quality commission. Fire Safety – This supports the regulatory reform Fire Safety Order 2005. Outlines the arrangements which are implemented to enable fire safety risks at the company premises to be assessed and to identify adequate physical and procedural controls including key elements such as staff training essential to be implemented. It outlines the responsibilities and fire safety risk assessment. There are details for what is essential to be put into a fire safety risk assessment such as fired doors, fire exits and alarms. First Aid – This outlines the necessary procedures to be carried out for service users, staff or visitors to be treated for injury or sudden illness promptly and safety until placed in the care of a professional or moved to hospital. It supports the government laws of Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 and Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996. Stated within is how records of first aid treatment should be made along with first aid training to be completed and refreshed at the correct times, usually necessary for renewal every 12 months. COSHH – Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002 – In place to ensure all health and safety risks of hazardous substances are assesed and controlled in accordances with the legal requirements. It supports the following lawful legislation in place; The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002, Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999 and Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. The company undertakes a wide rang of activities which can have a potential to expose employees and others to substances hazardous to their healt and safety. The purpose of the policy is to lay down a consistant approach to undertaking risk assessments of such work and to implement controls, so as to achieve effective protection of employees and ensure consistency. Manual Handling – Intended to ensure the provision of equipment to minimise the moving and handling of patients manually by staff. It supports Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. It explains how manual handling is one of the most common causes of injuy at work and can lead to serious injuries. It expects appropriate practical training to be given before manual handling takes place. There must be a risk assessment in place. Explained within is the correct equipment required for manual handling to be carried out correctly. Any injuries at work sustained are required for the person to complete an accident form. Before a person who has injured themselves can resume with manual handling activities they must have an occupational health assessment. PPE – Personal Protective Equipment – Aims for protective clothing suitable for work to be provided. It supports Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Ionising Radiatiosn Regulations 2002, Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 and Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 2002. I It expects protective items to be provided. Equipment such as hearing protection, eye protection, protective footwear, a protective mask or respirator, high visibility clothing, a welding visor or a hard hat, aprons, latex gloves etc. There is a high degree of user choice as to when and whether the protection is worn. Often the procedure to ensure people are using the protective equipment provided is a result of a disciplinary action. Employees do not pay for PPE, the company is to provide this.