A Year Round Education and Staff Burnout

As our population increases, schools are being faced with the problems of overcrowding and under funding. Many school districts are proposing a year round education program. I feel that year round education is only a â€Å"quick fix† for school districts d will be detrimental to teachers children and families. Over crowding in schools is becoming a problem in almost all communities. Many schools are building trailers and additions to accommodate a higher capacity. Some districts are proposing building new schools. This raises issues of changing boundarie bussing, and higher taxes. Some districts are proposing a multi- track year round education program. On the surface, year round education seems a logical solution to the overcrowding. Children are separated into four tracks. Each track follows a different schedule going to school for six weeks then having three weeks off. This means that there is a ays one track out of school. This plan increases the school†s capacity by 25%. The year round education plan will only temporarily save taxpayers money. Schools were not made to be year round facilities, many schools are no even air conditioned. Maintenance and janitorial staff will need to be hired full time year round. They ll have to put in over time to get projects done and larger projects will need to be contracted out. The additional cost for transportation, utilities, support staff, ect, may not be worth the inconvenience. Not to mention the extra wear that a school ill take by having children in it year round. In the long run, maintaining a school for a full year may prove to be more costly. Staff burnout is another concern with year round education. Teachers will no longer be able to supplement their income during the summer with seasonal jobs. In some plans teachers will be able to either take the breaks with the children or act as a s stitute for the tracks who are in school. If the teachers choose to substitute they will miss out on their breaks, leaving little time for planning and relaxation. Teachers will miss out on programs to further their education, thus stunting their prof Administrators get a worse deal. They are now responsible for four â€Å"mini schools† and school is always in session so getting away is sometimes hard. Some plans offer to hire a second principal justified by the increased population. Another expense i rred by the year round education plan. Year round education may affect the quality of education for some children. Teachers with more education, credentials, and tenure will opt for the preferred track. Children on the less preferred track will get a different quality of education. Good t chers in general may prefer schools who have the traditional school year. The year round education plan also takes a toll on the family time in many ways. In some plans two children from the same family may not be on the same track and therefore do not have the same breaks. Scheduling time for family outings will be harder One child will always have to mind a bedtime. Taking family vacations is impossible unless one child is taken out of school. Non custodial parents will also have a problem spending their time with their children. Now most active non-custodial parents take their children for a large portion of the Summer break. This time spent with the non-custodial parent gives the child a ense of â€Å"living† with that parent. This arrangement will no longer be a reality. Extended time with the non-custodial parent will hardly be possible unless again one child is taken out of school. I believe this will also cause many divorced parents t eturn to court to revise their decrees, another cost to taxpayers and parents. Year round education may also put a financial strain on working parents. Many parents rely on older siblings to watch younger siblings during school breaks. If the school calendars don†t coincide parents will usually have to pay for alternate care. Some experts think that a year round education will be beneficial to children because they will not have the long break where knowledge is lost. They are concerned with the information that is lost. I believe that information will be lost anyway if a ild is not genuinely interested. School is a place to learn how to learn and to learn the foundations of the world around. College is the place where the information type of learning should take place. Retention is always a concern with any break, b studies show that learning loss begins to occur during the first two to three weeks. By having more breaks during the year we may find more learning is lost. The never ending school year can be very stressful for a child. With a multi- track system playmates will have different breaks causing children to envy different schedules and be unhappy with their own. Children will miss out on events or have to de with the anticipation of school the next day. With a three week break children barely get to relax before having to prepare for school starting again. For children who do not particularly enjoy school this can be a extremely stressful because there i not a long enough break to emerge themselves in something that they enjoy. Extra curricular activities will also be effected. Students may have to attend practices and meetings on their off weeks. They will risk missing out on the team activities, pep rallies, and major events. It is impossible to schedule four separate da es, science fairs, and homecoming games. School will never cease so students will not get the break that they deserve. The programs themselves will get a lower turnout. I believe that less popular clubs and organizations will eventually be gone. Someone posed a the question that if year round education was the traditional school calendar, and a â€Å"new calendar† was proposed where children were only educated for nine months each year would the American public even consider it? My answer is, â€Å"ye The idea of year-round schooling goes back to the seventeenth century. It is actually two hundred years older that the traditional school year. The oldest year round school today is only thirty years old. This means that all other schools once opted I think back to my own Summer vacations. The first two weeks were always spent winding down from the long school year. Then we began to venture out and embark on new adventures. I can remember long bike rides and mapping out new spots to explore, ea day getting farther in to some sort of quest. Sleepovers every other day at each other†s house with my next door neighbor. When I was a child we stayed with my father in Chicago for six weeks of the Summer. That was an experience I would never relin ish. Over the Summer my family took vacations. We went canoeing in the boundary waters of Canada and drove cross country on a whim without the anticipation of getting ready for school. School plays the role of teaching children how to learn. Summer break is a chance to apply what they have learned and enrich their lives with personal experience. Switching to a year round education plan will be detrimental to our children†s problem s ving skills, creativity, and happiness. Overall, I believe that there are too many downfalls and not enough benefits to switching to year round education. Turning to year round education as a solution to over crowding in schools would only be a temporary solution. A year round education wo d put too much stress on our children, families, faculty, and community. We should learn from the past and leave the traditional school year in tact.

Policy Framework Development

Introduction In this essay, I will discuss the welfare state since World War II and how it has impacted society in England and Wales. In addition, I will discuss the importance of social policy, how it was developed and the four most frequently used approaches. The ideas behind these approaches will be explained and some examples of such policies in different fields will be provided. Overall, evidence will be provided on how social policy became educational discipline in its own right. The origins of the National Health Service One of the most drastic social policies put into action in England and Wales has been the implementation of free medical treatment for all, through the National Health Service. According to Alcock (2008), illness was very common and health care expensive before the National Health Service (NHS) came into existence in 1948. Poor housing, overcrowding, poor sanitation, malnutrition and lack of education were common, enabling the spread of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. Life expectancy was considerably lower, at a mere 60 years. During the 19th century, health care was provided through the workhouse, or municipal and voluntary hospitals. The rich were often treated in their own homes or in a private practice. A lady Almoner was responsible for carrying out a means test, which determined who got medical treatment, she was also responsible for approaching charities for funding. (Alcock, 2008) The ideology behind the development of the NHS was to put an end to ignorance, squalor , disease and poverty, by ensuring health care was available to all. This included free treatments for all, a family benefit scheme and full employment. Although some saw it as a politically risky move, Prime Minister Churchill gave his full backing for the NHS in 1943, thus starting the reform towards free health care. As Bochel reports: â€Å"During 1944, White Paper proposing a national health service, and the election of a Labour Government in 1945 made the establishment of a NHS almost certain. The necessary legislation was passed in the 1946 National Health Service Act.† (Bochel, 2009, p. 332). Finally, the NHS became a reality on July 5th 1948. It was an enormous achievement but due to the significant investment in time, money and resources, it was not met without opposition- this was a time when there were food and fuel shortages, as well as a dollar economic crisis. However, the general public wanted the new service to succeed, and as such Britain became the first country in Western Europe to offer free medical service, funded through the general taxation system. According to Bevan: â€Å"It was based on three core principles which include; it meets the needs of everyone, to be free at the point of delivery and it to be based on clinical needs, not ability to pay.† (National Health Service History, 2012). These core principles have remained the same since the creation of the NHS (Bochel, 2009,p. 332). However, free health care as provided by the NHS proved to be very expensive, with the drug bill increasing from ?13 million to ?41 million within the first two years of its creation. Additionally, as medicine progressed as a science, new technologies and methods increased the cost of the NHS from ?200 million to ?300 million. The provision of free health care for all led to excess demand, adding pressure to the already limited medical resources. The Government was reluctant to cover the excess cost, as it needed to invest in other sectors, such as education. As a result, charges for certain services, such as spectacles and dentures, as well as for prescriptions were implemented (Alcock2008). Neo-liberal ideology and the NHS In 1979, when the NHS had been in place for several decades, a Neo Liberal Government was elected, with little sympathy for the state provision of welfare and the high level of expenditure associated with it (Bochel, 2009, p. 332). Neo-liberal ideology supports the reorganization of the financial and organizational aspects of healthcare services worldwide, based on the argument that the then-existing health systems had failed. According to the recommendation report in 1983, four major problems of health systems globally were: i) misallocation of resources; ii) inequity of accessing care; iii) inefficiency; and iv) exploding costs. It was claimed that government hospitals and clinics were often inefficient, suffering from highly centralised decision-making, wide fluctuations in allocations, and poor motivation of workers (Alcock, 2008). Quality of care was also low, patient waiting times were long and medical consultations were short, misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment were comm on. Also, the public sector had suffered from serious shortages of medical drugs and equipment, and the purchasing of brand-name pharmaceuticals instead of generic drugs was one of the main reasons for wasting the money spent on health (Navarro, 2007). Private providers were more technically efficient and offer a service that was perceived to be of higher quality. Neo-liberal policies Examples of policies implemented by the Neo-Liberal Government were those based on cost-effectiveness. Cost-effectiveness was presented as the main tool for choosing among possible health interventions for specific health problems. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were used to measure the burden of disease and thus allowing comparisons between specific health problems. Greater reliance on the private sector to deliver clinical services was encouraged, with the expectation that it would raise efficiency. It was suggested that Governments should privatise the healthcare services, by selling the public goods and services, buying the services from the private sector, and supporting the private sector with subsidies. In order to increase efficiency, unnecessary legal and administrative barriers faced by private doctors and pharmacies would need to be removed. Neoliberal policies in healthcare were heavily criticised as they reportedly misdiagnosed the problems and its treatment, lea ding to a situation worse than it was before the policies were implemented. Shrinking from welfare state to minimum liberal state, retreating from most of the public services and letting the area to irrationality of market dynamics is making pharmaceutical, medical technology, insurance, and law companies the lead actors. It has been claimed that a system providing services according ability-to-pay rather than healthcare need, ensures decreased availability and accessibility to services† (Danis et al., 2008; Janes et al., 2006; Unger et al, 2008). New Labour and the NHS In 1997, the New Labour Government was elected, with a main focus to make a significant improvement on peoples’ health. This was expected to be done by rebuilding the health services within the NHS through â€Å"decentralizing of power and decision-making to local health trusts†. Decentralising was important in order to achieve increased responsiveness to local health needs by widening patient choice, and promoting organizational efficiency. The underlying premise was that decentralization would shorten the bureaucratic hierarchical structure and allow flexibility for local trust managers and health professionals- thus improving organizational performance from the ‘bottom-up’ (Crinson, 2009 :p 139). In 1997 the Government put forward its plans in the White Paper: â€Å"The New NHS: Modern, Dependable† (Blakemore 2003:p 172). The objective was to reduce bureaucratic control from the centre and restore autonomy to health professionals within the NHS. A t the same time, the Government was determined to limit public expenditure by looking at what was already put in place by the previous government. One of the new Labour objectives was to reduce the number of people on the treatment waiting list by offering patients greater choice of provider at the point of inpatient referral. This was put in place from January 2006 onwards, where patients have been offered a choice of at least four hospitals when referred for treatment by their general practitioner. In addition, a new inpatient booking system was put in place, where patients themselves could book their place and time of treatment (Adam, 2006). In 1998, health inequality targets were included in the public service agreements with local government and cross-department machinery was created to follow up a ‘Programme of Actions’, which had the general aim to reduce inequality in terms of life expectancy at birth, and to reduce the infant mortality rate by 10 per cent by 20 10 (Glennerster, 2007 : p 253). Examples of health care policies implemented by New Labour are: Maximum waiting times for in-patient treatment: six months by 2005 and three months by 2008; Patients able to see a primary care practitioner within twenty-four hours and a GP within forty- eight hours; Maximum waiting time of four-hours in emergency rooms; Plans to improve cancer treatment and health inequalities. In addition, in order to improve efficiency, two bodies were set up to give advice and push for more consistent and effective clinical standards in determining the cost of new drugs and procedures. This was the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (Glennerster,2007 : p 250). However, as argued by Peckham and colleagues (year?), the decentralization of the NHS had mixed results. They note that the process of decentralization was not clear and that there were contradictions, reflecting a simultaneous process of centralization and decentralization, in which local perf ormance indicators were centrally-set. If achieved, this resulted in increased financial and managerial autonomy. However, there was some supportive evidence that decentralization had improved patients’ health outcome, as well as improved efficiency in coordination and communication processes (Crinson, 2009 : p 140). The Government at the time met its target for treatment waiting lists by 2000- the number of people on the waiting list had fallen by 150,000. However, one main criticism came from the doctors, nurses and other health professionals where they were the ones dealing with prioritizing patients based on medical need, whilst having to explain to other anxious and angry patients why their treatment is delayed (Crinson, 2009). Coalition Government and the NHS In 2010, the newly established Coalition Government published the NHS White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS policy’, prepared by the Department of Health. This policy included important changes compared to those proposed by the previous Government, and reflected the aims of the Coalition’s five year plan. Some of the proposed changes include: i) responsibility for commissioning of NHS services shifted to GPs, as the Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities were dissolved, and ii) Foundation Trust status granted to all hospitals, ensuring increased autonomy and decision-making power. These reforms were part of the Coalition’s broader goal to give more power to local communities and empower GPs. By way of estimation, it is expected that this cost to about 45% for the NHS management. Strengthening of the NHS Foundation Trusts in order for these Trusts to provide financial regulation for all NHS services was another objective of the reform. An independent NHS board was set up, with the aim to lead and oversee specialised care and GP commissioning respectively. The objectives behind the Coalition Government’s plans was to increase health spending in real terms for each year of Parliament, with full awareness that this would impact the spending in other areas. The Coalition Government still maintained Beverage idea that all health care should be free and available to everybody at the point of delivery, instead of based on the ability to pay. It was expected that this approach would improve standards, support professional responsibility, deliver better value for money and as such create a healthier nation. Although the Prime Minister rectified it in his speech, the Government failed to provide a clear account of the shortcomings of the NHS and its challenges. The preparation of the White Paper, which was to pass the coalition committee’s examination, saw more compromises. The elimination of PCTs was not foretold but the conservatives would make PCTs remain as the statutory commissioning authority responsible for public health despite their commitment to devolving real budgets to GPs. It was rumoured that the Liberal Democrats policy of elected representatives to PCTs appear weak. The compromise was to give greater responsibility for public health to local authorities and eliminate PCTs. This resulted in the formation of the GP commissioning consortia and the Health and Wellbeing Boards. Despite concerns raised by stakeholders, the proposals saw just a few changes. Maybe we can call it a missed chance in retrospect. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be argued that without the NHS coming to force when it did at such a dire time after the Second World War, the already high mortality rates would have continued to rise. The NHS was vital in changing peoples’ lives in England and Wales and around the world. The system was designed meet everyone needs, regardless of financial abilities and without discrimination. Many changes have taken place since the birth of the NHS in 1948. Four different Governments adapted the NHS with their policies and legislation. However, throughout its evolution, the NHS still provides healthcare free of charge, as was intended from its conception. References Alcock, (2008). Social Policy in Britain. 3rd ed.Basingstoke: Palgrace Macmillan Alexion Pharma (2010). Politics and Policy [Online] www. [email protected] Available From: http://www.pnh-alliance.org.uk/politics-and-policy/the-department-of-health-publishes-equity-and-excellence-liberating-the-nhs. [Accessed on: 06 Nov. 12] Blakemore, K (2003). Social Policy an introduction. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Open University Press. Blakemore, K, Griggs, E. (2003). Social Policy an introduction. 3nd ed.England: Open University Press. Bochel, H., Bochel, C., Page, R., Sykes, R. (2009). Social Policy Themes, Issues and Debates. 2nd ed. England: Pearson Education Limited. Crinson, I. (2009) Health Policy a critical perspective. London: Sage Publication Ltd. Glennerster, H. (2007). British Social Policy. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Danis, M.Z., Karatas, K., Sahin, M.C. (2008). Reflections of neoliberal policies on healthcare field and social work practices. World Applied Sciences Journal, 5(2), 224-235. Ezeonu, I. (2008). Crimes of globalization: health care, HIV and the poverty of neoliberalism in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Social Inquiry, 1(2), 113-134. Hospital Stories from Hell: National Health Videos (1998) [DVD] London: Channel 4. Recorded off –air 19/03/1998 Macara, S. ( 1998). Nursing Studies. BBC News: True to its principles [Online]. Available from: NHS Choices. Moonie N. (2003). Health and Social Care. Series ed. Oxford: Heine Educational Publisher. Navarro, V. (2007). Neoliberalism as a class ideology; or, the political causes of the growth of inequalities. Int J Health Serv, 37(1), 47-62. NHS. ( 2012). Nursing Studies. About the NHS: NHS core principles [Online]. Available from: NHS Choices. Oliver, Adam. â€Å"Further progress towards reducing waiting times†. Health Policy Monitor, April 2006. Available at http://www.hpm.org/survey/uk/a7/1 . [Accessed on: 14 Nov. 12] Pennies from Bevan: National Health Videos (1998) [DVD] London: Chanel 4. Recorded off –air 14/06/1998 Rivett, G (2012). Nursing Studies, National Health Service History. [Online]. Available from: http://www. NHS history.net [Accessed 06 March 2012). Socialist Health (2010). Coalition Health Policy 2010 [Online] http://www.sochealth.co.uk. Available From: http://www.sochealth.co.uk/campaigns/health-and-social-care-bill-2012/coalition-health-policy-2010/. [Accessed on: 06 Nov.12] Viveash, B, Senior, M. (1998). Health and Illness. London: Macmillan Press.

Motherhood and Womanhood as Illustrated in Tillie Olsen’s Essay

Tillie Olsen’s â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing,† is a short story presented in monologue form which reverberates a mother’s angst over motherhood and the stereotypical images attached by society to the female gender (particularly to womanhood and motherhood), which as a result becomes an image that the reflected takes on. The mother, whose identity was not divulged, illustrates the character’s universal relevance in terms of the images that she creates in the minds of the readers that as one listens to the mother’s reflections one may find herself entangled in the same situation and, perhaps, even share the same sentiments with the protagonist, even if the reader comes from a different time and place. The whole monologue translates the metaphorical â€Å"ironing-out† or straightening what she perceives as the â€Å"wrinkled† part of her personality of and the world around the main character using imageries that seem to conceal what is really happening within the individual’s reality. Her recollections of the past suggests one of the definitive behaviors women, regardless of time and space, have performed (sometimes with resentment but most of the times willingly— perhaps since the outside perceived pressure is insurmountable or they just want to maintain their sanity despite of the challenges): inability to translate into assertive words and actions what they really feel at the time when these should have been their refuge to their predicament. Hence, resentment is contained in a vacuum until such time when the ‘self’ could no longer contain the pressure she begins to vent out her emotions to other persons, things or events. Thus we hear the protagonist, in the end saying, â€Å"â€Å"My wisdom came too late. She has much to her and probably little will come of it. She is a child of her age, of depression, of war, of fear† (par 50). Realization dawned on her at a time least expected – when relationships (between mother and daughter) seemed to be â€Å"on the rocks,† when years that could have been considered most precious to the mother as well as to the mother have already past, and when everything else (the frailty [physically and emotionally]) of both characters (mother and daughter) could have been restored. Imagery colors the mothers’ world long before reality sets in. â€Å"She was a beautiful baby †¦ You do not guess how new and uneasy her tenancy in her now — loveliness (par 4); I was nineteen. It was the pre-relief, pre-WPA world of the depression (par 8): you spoke of her rare gift for comedy on the stage that [aroused] laughter out of the audience so dear they applaud and applaud and do not want to let her go (par 17). Even the convalescent home where Emily was forced to stay after her mother could not keep her any longer is described in the mother’s monologue as a place that resembles a saintly sanctuary: â€Å"Oh it is a handsome place, green lawns and tall trees and fluted flower beds. High up on the balconies of each cottage the children stand, the girls in their red bows and white dresses, the boys in white suits and giant red ties (par 26); she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron (par 51), which illustrates the paradox in the main character’s and her daughter’s life – the iron represents her as the mother who tries to straighten out the wrinkles (seemingly problematic condition in her daughter’s life as well as in her personality, which are represented by the dress being ironed out [before it was beautiful and served as a covering for the body, figuratively a conceals the characters’ soul and real identities]); both and the board and the iron served may be perceived as the outside pressures [the mother, represented by the iron being pressed by significant other’s stereotypical conception on motherhood and womanhood and the board, may be perceived as the sturdy socio-cultural norms that unavoidably shapes others’ perception of the main characters’ roles and identities. In all of these situations, reality (which is generally described as depressing) are presented alternately with the pleasant imageries creating an impression of concealing what is in existence like the mask that the mother has, perhaps put on for a long time before she finally had the courage to accept the natural order of things. The mother in the story, while ironing, â€Å"attempts to understand or â€Å"iron out† her ambivalent feelings towards her nineteen year-old daughter Emily, the oldest among her five children, and who is described as having a troubled childhood. Her monologue moves between the present and the past, starting from Emily’s birth during the â€Å"Depression† era of the 1930’s when the she was herself was just nineteen years old. With the monologue, the mother painfully recollects how she neglected Emily because of circumstances beyond her control. Throughout the mother’s monologue, the intended recipient of the message remained unnamed, although there was a particular mention of a social worker in the story (par. 30) and one hears the third person at the beginning of the mother’s monologue, â€Å"She’s a youngster who needs help and whom I’m deeply interested in helping. † In the monologue, the mother reveals her responsibility and guilt in motherhood. As the finishes her monologue, one could feel how she is caught between feeling responsible for her daughter’s unhappy childhood and recognizing her powerlessness and lack of alternatives. Nonetheless she realizes her own identity is separate from her daughter: even though she is part of her daughter yet separate from her, hence her daughter has a life of her own. In the end the mother ends her monologue: She is a child of her age, of depression, of war, of fear. Let her be. So all that is in her will not bloom — but in how many does it? There is still enough left to live by. Only help her to know-help make it so there is cause for her to know — that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron (par 51). In much the same way, the person having a mind of her own, may choose to follow or reject how her significant other’s (in this case, the mother) upbringing (so Emily is described as, â€Å"She kept too much in herself, her life was such she had to keep too much in herself) (par 50). † Such behavior is explained in a study conducted by Robert Karen (1990) in which he stressed there are traits that are learned— that whether a person trusts others or not, whether one anticipates love or rejection, whether one will feel good about himself as a person depends on how much an individual learns from his significant others: These are not inherited traits, they are learned; and although subject to change, they are initially determined by the sensitivity and reliability of the care you received in your first years (in Karen 15). Because of the pressing process the characters have learned to adjust to imposing situations (how they react [whether positively or negatively] depends on how they perceive the process). Both characters’ personalities were subjected to the pressing forces of society and each person’s reactions to these pressures. The â€Å"ironing† process ended up straightening â€Å"wrinkled† dress (problematic characters); the change did not take place out of the individuals’ efforts but because they were forced by outside empowering factors. Without these outside forces, these characters might have remained â€Å"wrinkled† nonetheless. Hence both the process of â€Å"ironing out† has become both a necessity and a luxury (since there could be different modes of â€Å"ironing out† (others could be less tiring and takes only a while). Works Cited: Karen, Robert. (February 1990) â€Å"Becoming Attached,† Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved April 09, 2009 from http://www. psychology. sunysb. edu/attachment/online/karen. pdf Olsen, Tillie. â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing†

M3C Identification of managerial, financial, legal and ethical Essay

M3C Identification of managerial, financial, legal and ethical implications - Essay Example Health insurance has its challenges in the world today and many organizations in the world today face many problems due to the insurance policy. Problems are sometimes evident when the employees of various companies or organizations are taxed much more because of the high living standards today. Problems that are financially related to the health insurance scheme, the ethical and legal implications faced by the people using the health insurance scheme. Problems basically come into an organization when employers do not involve their employees of the increase in the cost of the scheme. It could be effective if the employers are told what would happen prior to the imposture of the tax. Pilzer (2005) also goes ahead to say that in 2006 instead of an employer sponsored group plan, some employers are offering defined contribution health benefit plans whereby the employer simply reimburses the employee; tax free, for the cost of their individual and family policy. This effectively lowers the cost of individual or family policy up to fifty percent since an employer receives tax deduction and the employee is not taxed on the reimbursed amount. Most people today with individual and family policies are paying their premiums themselves without an employer which costs them twice as much on the after tax basis. These majorly affect the employees of an organization financially. In some countries today the taxation is mostly imposed on any employee working with the government sector or a private sector. The policy is usually discussed by the ministry of health and becomes effective on the date passed by the relevant parties. Here, they are taxed on a monthly basis and this could be a disadvantage and a disadvantage to some. The insurance fund benefits the whole family and helps in paying hospital bills for someone who is sick. The major problem crops up in an organization when the premiums are increased after

Celebrity culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Celebrity culture - Essay Example Here the concept of becoming an icon or even any mythical quotable legend arises. In modern world, business has surfaced that makes use of the same concept in marketing, selling, propagating of concepts, methods, trends and preferences. To get into the rudimentary details of what has been happening around one has to grasp the concept of celebrity culture. This culture refers to the popularizing of certain people or group that have certain attributes considered exceptional. These attributes, during the last decade were compulsorily entailed characteristics and dispositions like virtue, abilities, decency and intelligence. Today this culture has become a mix of positive and negative sides like fame and infamy. It is important to idealize the concept of celebrity culture before getting into the details. People today have a great latitude and capacity to sway in accordance with their desires. Albert Einstein, Galileo, Stephen Hawking and so forth, provide examples of those who worked had to enlighten the world with the jewels of science. They earned a genuine value for becoming a celebrity. But, an important thing here is the mentioning of people who earn such status with the help of infamy. They are being accused of promoting sex, drugs, crimes and such abnormal antisocial activities to become a celebrity. Role of media, that is actually the vehicle of this culture, is being accentuated. The celebrity culture is not new. In olden times, lords and kings used their resources to make them a god-like figure. In the case of pharaohs we see the same culture that had them build massive structures and great social influence on the lives of their subject. Herostratus, a Greek figure, in 665 BC burnt the temple of Artemis in a bid to become popular. This move of his was a typical attention pulling and heroism oriented. Later, his name was taken surreptitiously rather than openly by the youth due to governmental decree. This shows that the phenomenon that drives the celebrit y culture is not modern. We see that virtuous and pious people as the holy Abrahamic books reveal about, were such celebrated characters and personalities that are even revered in their posterity. The case of the death of Socrates is known to all and he has posthumously been venerated a lot among great men. In this culture people strive for achieving a status by the dint of their intellect and other abilities, some make use of vicious methods like dating with rich or daring in a reality TV for such fame. Thus it is point to ponder that this culture has made lives superficial and eccentric behaviours are seen. Some say that bizarre behaviour can bring a lot of attention and fame for being heretic or norm breaker. We see that religious books are replete with histories of people who achieve posthumous fame. Stories of Pharaohs and tyrants are told in a lot more number causing them to become a mythical creature. Another aspect of celebrity culture is that it causes a change in dispositi on of the audience as far as their living and behaviours are concerned. People try to seek ways that can bring fame to them and they adopt ways of those people who are their celebrities. We see that today many crimes related to getting rich through easy way, being popular in a little time are often attributed to these desires. The moods and mental abilities tend to stick to these role models so that there can be any

Is leadership something that comes naturally Essay

Is leadership something that comes naturally - Essay Example (1999) are of the opinion that leaders are made since extensive training is needed in any case, therefore those who thinks that leaders are born will be unable to explain why then training and development sessions are held in order to make a leader more successful. Eric Garner (2005) is against the saying that leaders are born. It takes certain efforts in order to become a leader. Garner are of the opinion that it is not enough to be born with certain qualities, a person also has to be aware of how these could be used in order to produce results. Wally Bock (2006) adopted a balanced approach while expressing his views on the subject. He says leadership comes both naturally and with education and experience. He says that it cannot be just one of the two, otherwise we would have had leaders who have no educations at all and they would be very successful or in the other case we would have had leaders who are alike since they have received the same education and were trained to become a model leader. A vast majority of writers are agreeing with the opinion of Bock. They, however, argue about which qualities have to be inborn and which qualities should come with education and experience. They say that anyone can learn to become a leader. However, there are some qualities that cannot be taught, the so called intangible ones, and the ones that cannot be measured and explained, for instance, natural decision making, complex problem solving, and self-development and group development. On the other hand, there are many qualities that can be learned, for instance, time and task management, communication skills, negotiation skills, ways how information can be presented, debating and most importantly motivating. Without developing the abilities that are even inborn apart from learning new ones a leader will never become successful. Duggan and fellows (2007) suggest that for becoming successful in profession, leaders must focus on self-development, therefore, be quite

The Cash Flow of ABC Limited Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Cash Flow of ABC Limited - Essay Example The cash flow statement provides valuable information on the quality of income and sales, dividend and interest covers, the cash available per share and the cash returns generated by the assets. These are discussed in the following sections. In addition to the quick ratio or current ratio (Monetary Assets / Current Liabilities) and the liquidity ratio (Current Assets / Current Liabilities), another very useful ratio to analyses a company’s performance is the quality of income (Net Cash Inflow from Operations/ Net Profit before Interest and Tax). The quality of income ratio helps understand the company’s income a little better. The net cash inflow for ABC Limited is  £155 and the Profits before interest and tax totals to  £67, thus making its Quality of Income Ratio as 2.313. This ratio helps analyze the amount of free cash that has been utilized to increase the capital expenditure. It computed as Retained Cash Flow (After Div. Paid) / Cash Paid for Acquisition. For the case of ABC Limited, the amount of money that has been invested to capital expenditures is  £ 115 and the total amount of free cash is  £134 (i.e. Net cash from Operating Activities less the tax paid less the dividends paid = 155 - 15 – 6). Thus the capital expenditure ratio totals to 1.165%. It is clear that ABC limited has invested a high amount in capital expenditures and still there is a net increase in cash, indicating that the company has performed very well in terms of collecting the cash from the customers. The cash owing cover signifies the total amount of free cash (i.e. Net Cash income from operations less the tax, less interest and fewer dividends) that is used to settle the total owing of the company. Calculation of the cash owing cover can be done by dividing the total owing by the retained cash from operations (after dividend). ABC Limited has a total owing of  £72 m and the net free cash after dividends totals to  £134 m (155 – 15 – 6 ) thus making the cash owing cover to total to 0.537. Therefore the number of years to pay off debt is 0.5years or 6 months. This indicates that ABC limited can pay off the debts in a very short period.

Leisure and Recreation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leisure and Recreation - Essay Example Also what new ideas you would bring to that particular sports program.   Worth 25 points   b) Is there one thing that you’ve learned this quarter that has changed your mind about recreation? What is it? How did it change your perception of recreation? Explain in a minimum of 350 words. Give a strong defense of your point of view. Tell me and your classmates why you feel strongly about your position.   Worth 25 points   Answer these 3 Questions on Leisure and Recreation   (Question #1)   What are the benefits of leisure to you? Explain?   (Question #2)   In your personal life, do you leave enough time for leisure and recreation. If so, what do you like to do? Explain.   (Question #3)   What trends do you see in the future for leisure and recreation?   Without a doubt, instructional sports are vital to the development of any organization. Instructional sports incorporate discipline, organization, and vital teamwork that is necessary in to thrive in real-lif e. It influences individuals to focus and train on a consistent basis and enjoy the competitive nature of it. In addition, instructional sports are pivotal it enables children to grasp rules and tactics that are associated with sports. It develops knowledge and skill that are undoubtedly crucial if an individual wants to pursue particular sport as their profession. One key element that is vital in instructional sports that is not found in any other recreation is the fact that it builds leadership and collaboration. These leadership skills are vital as they cultivate an aura of experience that most children lack in their life. With experience, individuals can portray their willingness to perform and excel in sports. However, the challenge in recreation sports is to seek instructors and tutors who truly understand the game and know how to mentor individuals. Without proper mentoring, individuals will not be able to taste the true essence of instructional sports. These dynamic skills e nable individuals to mature and embed these crucial skills in real life. Hence, instructional sports are critical since they are a foundation of forming discipline, organization, and collaboration. In order to enhance instructional sports, I would bring professional athletes to mentor these kids. I truly believe that these athletes possess experience and instincts that can be truly valuable to this program. In addition, I would give incentives for students if they achieve certain milestones. For instance, if they are playing competitive football, merits would be based on goals achieved in their position. Moreover, I would try to attach the socialization agent with instructional sports. Instructional sports require team dynamics. Thus, allowing peers to collaborate with each other in a social environment can truly add a new aspect to instructional sports. Lastly, I would add technology to instructional sports, visual game simulation to mimic real life situations in a technical settin g. My perception of recreation has changed in many ways. First and foremost is the fact that recreation sports do allow individuals to experience their passion for sports and compete at a decent lever. Many individuals dream of competing at a professional stage. Unfortunately, they might not possess the talent to play in the professional standard, but they can portray the love of the game through intramural sports. Individuals who have other priorities can truly indulge in recreational sports without feeling the pressure of succeeding.

General Motors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

General Motors - Research Paper Example Management isolation slowed down GM’s ability to recognize and to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. The company failed to recognize the following: (1) that their American consumers’ wallets were getting tighter and that probably they needed smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles like Toyotas; (2) they forgot to keep a close eye on their competition (Toyota beating them on economical cars and BMW beating them on luxury and coolness); (3) that their structure and culture was impeding them to compete effectively (Staff 14). The US Government’s bailout Joseph Bower, Harvard’s Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration, like many wondered whether it was right for the US government to support one competitor (GM) against a group of healthy rivals (Staff 16). Of course fears of government intervention have been justified through lessons from history demonstrating governments’ poor stewardship of industry. However, this time round Mr.

Tyger Anthology Poem Essay Example for Free

Tyger Anthology Poem Essay The poem begins with the speaker asking a fearsome tiger what kind of divine being could have created it: â€Å"What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame they fearful symmetry? † Each subsequent stanza contains further questions, all of which refine this first one. From what part of the cosmos could the tiger’s fiery eyes have come, and who would have dared to handle that fire? What sort of physical presence, and what kind of dark craftsmanship, would have been required to â€Å"twist the sinews† of the tiger’s heart? The speaker wonders how, once that horrible heart â€Å"began to beat,† its creator would have had the courage to continue the job. Comparing the creator to a blacksmith, he ponders about the anvil and the furnace that the project would have required and the smith who could have wielded them. And when the job was done, the speaker wonders, how would the creator have felt? â€Å"Did he smile his work to see? † Could this possibly be the same being who made the lamb? Form The poem is comprised of six quatrains in rhymed couplets. The meter is regular and rhythmic, its hammering beat suggestive of the smithy that is the poem’s central image. The simplicity and neat proportions of the poems form perfectly suit its regular structure, in which a string of questions all contribute to the articulation of a single, central idea. Commentary The opening question enacts what will be the single dramatic gesture of the poem, and each subsequent stanza elaborates on this conception. Blake is building on the conventional idea that nature, like a work of art, must in some way contain a reflection of its creator. The tiger is strikingly beautiful yet also horrific in its capacity for violence. What kind of a God, then, could or would design such a terrifying beast as the tiger? In more general terms, what does the undeniable existence of evil and violence in the world tell us about the nature of God, and what does it mean to live in a world where a being can at once contain both beauty and horror? The tiger initially appears as a strikingly sensuous image. However, as the poem progresses, it takes on a symbolic character, and comes to embody the spiritual and moral problem the poem explores: perfectly beautiful and yet perfectly destructive, Blake’s tiger becomes the symbolic center for an investigation into the presence of evil in the world. Since the tiger’s remarkable nature exists both in physical and moral terms, the speaker’s questions about its origin must also encompass both physical and moral dimensions. The poem’s series of questions repeatedly ask what sort of physical creative capacity the â€Å"fearful symmetry† of the tiger bespeaks; assumedly only a very strong and powerful being could be capable of such a creation. The smithy represents a traditional image of artistic creation; here Blake applies it to the divine creation of the natural world. The â€Å"forging† of the tiger suggests a very physical, laborious, and deliberate kind of making; it emphasizes the awesome physical presence of the tiger and precludes the idea that such a creation could have been in any way accidentally or haphazardly produced. It also continues from the first description of the tiger the imagery of fire with its simultaneous connotations of creation, purification, and destruction. The speaker stands in awe of the tiger as a sheer physical and aesthetic achievement, even as he recoils in horror from the moral implications of such a creation; for the poem addresses not only the question of who could make such a creature as the tiger, but who would perform this act. This is a question of creative responsibility and of will, and the poet carefully includes this moral question with the consideration of physical power. Note, in the third stanza, the parallelism of â€Å"shoulder† and â€Å"art,† as well as the fact that it is not just the body but also the â€Å"heart† of the tiger that is being forged. The repeated use of word the â€Å"dare† to replace the â€Å"could† of the first stanza introduces a dimension of aspiration and willfulness into the sheer might of the creative act. The reference to the lamb in the penultimate stanza reminds the reader that a tiger and a lamb have been created by the same God, and raises questions about the implications of this. It also invites a contrast between the perspectives of â€Å"experience† and â€Å"innocence† represented here and in the oem â€Å"The Lamb. † â€Å"The Tyger† consists entirely of unanswered questions, and the poet leaves us to awe at the complexity of creation, the sheer magnitude of God’s power, and the inscrutability of divine will. The perspective of experience in this poem involves a sophisticated acknowledgment of what is unexplainable in the universe, presenting evil as the prime example of something that cannot be denied, but will not withstand facile explanation, either. The open awe of â€Å"The Tyger† contrasts with the easy confidence, in â€Å"The Lamb,† of a child’s innocent faith in a benevolent universe.

Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) System

Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) System Chapter 1. Introduction Nowadays, in the most of areas it is necessary to work with large amounts of growing visual and multimedia data, at the same time, the number of image and video files on the web is quite big and is still rising very rapidly. Searching through this data is absolutely vital. So, there is a high demand on the tools for image retrieving, which are based on visual information, rather than simple text-based queries. Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) consists of retrieving the most visually similar images to a given query image from a database or group of image files. It is a quite useful thing in a lot of areas such as Photography which may involve image search from the large digital photo galleries; Medicine it is used to assist in diagnosis. In most of diseases, their visual characteristics carry diagnostic information and visually similar images correspond to the same disease category. The output of a CBIR system can help to make a decision (Tahmoush, 2007); Military detection of e nemy soldiers or vehicles from screen photographs; Crime prevention it helps police in suspicious peoples identification from large image databases and in image retrieval of crime scene photos (Wen, 2005); Geography frequently used in Geographical information systems (GIS) (Hafiane, 2006) and many others. CBIR has been a subject of intense research over the last 15 years. It is one of the most difficult research areas in multimedia computing and information retrieval. During the research history many different image matching, indexing and retrieval algorithms have been tried. Practice shows that user queries described by visual information are more effective and more precisely meet user needs, than standard text search queries. It is because visual information is closer to the humans perception of the world. 1.1 CBIR Systems Many CBIR systems and tools have been developed to make queries based on visual content. During the 90-ies several notable commercial systems were introduced. IBM developed Query By Image Content (QBIC) system, which lets user to make queries of large image databases based on visual image content properties such as Example images; User-constructed sketches and drawings; Selected color and texture patterns. (Flickner, 1995) Soon after that â€Å"Virage Image Search Engine† of Virage Inc. was developed, which provides an open framework for building systems that explicitly manages image assets by directly representing their visual attributes. (Bach, 1996) Several online content-based web search engines can also be mentioned. â€Å"WebSEEk† developed by Image and Advanced Television Lab, Columbia University. It allows making queries by example and by desired color composition. â€Å"Chabot†, Developed by Department of Computer Science, University of California, which allows to search by colors, but offers limited options such as choosing one dominant color. (Veltkamp, 2002) Global Memory Net (GMNet) was launched for public access in late June 2006. It is a digital library of cultural, historical, and heritage image collections. Among other text-based searching types this web library has a possibility to search by image content. It has two basic options for content based searching. Search by example image, based on its color and shape and by user drawing. For CBIR, GMNet uses SIMPLIcity developed by Prof. James Z. Wang of Penn State University. (Chen 2006) Different CBIR systems use different types of user queries. Typically tools for the content-based image retrieval consist of query statement and a result presentation; this query can be done by providing an example image a sketch, or by choosing desired colors for the image. Results are presented by the top several similar images based on the similarity measure. 1.2 Research Questions Despite the large number of CBIR systems developed, there are still a lot of challenging problems in this area. The important sides that still need to be improved are speed of retrieving, when working with the large databases, accuracy and effectiveness of the retrieved results. So the researchers from multiple disciplines are deeply concerned with these aspects. Comparisons by image content are much more complicated task than by textual data. Generally, content-based image retrievals are based on comparison of image content descriptors that represent visual features of the image. Different features can be used to obtain the image descriptor. To meet specific user needs and in various cases some of them are more effective than others. Sometimes the implementation simplicity is as important as retrieval accuracy and effectiveness. Based on the previous discussion, research questions are the following: What are the basic retrieval techniques? What kind of features are usually used? How the features are obtained from the image? How these features are matched? How the retrieval results are presented to the user? How accurate can be the algorithms, which are relatively easy to implement? 1.3 Objectives The CBIR research often involves two areas computer vision and database systems. The database systems part studies database indexing, searching and retrieval techniques and computer vision part is about image processing, obtaining the image descriptors and image matching. In order to answer the research questions this dissertation focuses on a computer vision part. Image processing and image transformations are used by CBIR systems in order to extract image descriptors. CBIR systems are based on different image features descriptors matching. Some of these systems perform image comparison by multiple features at the same time and some of them use only one feature. In this dissertation we are going to investigate what are the basic techniques used in CBIR systems, which are based on different feature descriptors. We will make a detailed overview of these basic methods. We are also going to implement one of the most effective algorithms in the CBIR field. This is Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm (Lowe, 2004) and see how effective and accurate it can be. Chapter 2. Literature Survey 2.1 CBIR systems typical architecture Typical CBIR system has two main functionalities. This is Data insertion and query processing. Data insertion procedures are performed independent of user interaction.   They are applied to all the data. The purpose of this process is to extract visual features from the images in the database. These features are obviously smaller than the actual image and they are then stored for easy comparison reasons, as a characterizers of each image. Query processing starts with user specific request. Request can be done in several ways: By an example image, by giving desired pattern or object, color distribution and etc. Query processing module obtains the visual features from the given request, metric is defined. Then similarity is measured based on the chosen metric and some set of the most similar images are . Features extraction itself involves, selecting the features that have to be extracted, it depends on the type of user query. The feature extracting algorithm is chosen to create the feature vector from the selected features. Eventually, image descriptor is formed which are then used to compare the images. (Torres, 2006) 2.2 Semantic Gap Basically, similarity searching between the images is based on low-level and higher-levels of queries. (Eakins, 1996) Low-Level Similarity in this case visual features to describe the image are primitives such as color, texture and shape. Higher-Levels, Semantic Similarity at higher levels, similarity searching is not based on a simple features. In this case images are described by higher level of semantic attributes. This involves identification of the object types depicted in the image. These two levels of queries form the problem called semantic gap. Semantic gap can be defined in the following way: â€Å"The semantic gap is the lack of coincidence between the information that one can extract from the visual data and the interpretation that the same data has for a user in a given situation.† (Datta, 2008) In another words, images with high low-level feature similarities may still be different in terms of user perception. So similarity by low-level features, not always mean semantic similarity of these images. 2.3 Content Comparison Techniques This dissertation is concerned with low-level similarity features extraction .CBIR for low-level similarity queries needs techniques which can be used to obtain the image content descriptors to compare images based on their color, texture and shape. Color Image content comparison by color is based on matching images by their color distribution. In this case image feature identifies the proportion of pixels of specific color or colors within an image. So one can make color searches by indicating desired concentration of colors or by an example image with desired color distribution and get similar images. Color histograms are widely used to extract the color distribution descriptors from the image. It is a statistic of the color of pixels in the image. First color distribution is represented by appropriate color histogram, and then color vector is formed from that histogram. Lets discuss several color feature extraction histograms. Conventional Color Histogram (CCH) This histogram consists of occurrences of each color in the image. Each pixel is associated to only one its own histogram bin only on the basis of its own color. This color histogram uses the probability mass function of the image pixel intensities. (Suhasini, 2009) Fuzzy Color Histogram (FCH) as an opposite to CCH, in FCH each pixel is associated to all bins of histogram with different degrees of membership depending on color similarity of the pixel. This is done by fuzzy-set membership function. (ferone, 2008) Color Correlogram (CC) color correlogram of an image is a table which is indexed by color pairs, where the d-th entry of (i,j) cell shows the probability of finding the color j at a distance of d from a pixel of color i in the image extracting. Such a feature from the image is tolerant to the changes in appearance of the same scene which can be caused by changing the viewing positions, but color correlogram is more difficult to compute than color histograms. (Huang, 1997) Texture Retrieval by image texture in a similar to color-based feature extraction, but it looks for visual patterns in images rather than colors. So it looks at homogeneity that is not a result of a single color presence or intensity of a pixel value. Sometimes it also provides more spatial information. The most basic method used to extract the texture descriptor from the image is based on Fourier Transform. The initial image is transformed by the Fourier function. As the method works on digital images, Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) is used. DFT converts images from the spatial domain into the frequency domain, where all the spatial frequencies of the original image are represented. In another words this transformed image shows intensity variations over a number of pixels. Transformed data is grouped to obtain several measures from it. Then descriptor is formed of these measures and is used for comparison. (Nixon, 2007) Shape Shape-based image retrieval comparison looks at shapes of regions within an image and searches for the shapes similar to given as in a query image. Edge and blob detections are important parts for the shape feature extraction. These edges and blobs are points or regions in the image that are either brighter or darker than the surrounding. Several methods are used for shape-based image retrieval, which involve different kind of image filtering and image transformations. One of the most effective algorithms for shape-based image retrieval is Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm, which was first developed by David Lowe in 1999, at the University of British Colombia. It takes a single image as an input and returns a set of detected image features. In SIFT algorithm image filtering is based on Gaussian function. After image filtering SIFT uses Difference of Gaussian (DoG) pyramid for blob (keypoint) detection. The image feature descriptor, which is called keypoint descriptor is 128 element feature vector and formed of gradient magnitudes and orientations computed for the area around the identified keypoints. (Lowe, 2004) Chapter 3. Research Method 3.1 Research approach Mathematical methods play key role in the most of CBIR algorithms. Often mathematical solution of the problem is difficult or impossible to implement practically, therefore it is important to assess the method in practice. Thats why Experimental approach will be used in this dissertation. This method of primary research forces to experience and overcome all the difficulties that can appear during the practical implementation of theory. It requires focusing on the details of algorithm and clearly shows advantages and disadvantages of the particular algorithm. It also gives possibility to assess the instruments used in experiment, which are not less important than algorithm itself. In this dissertation, one of the CBIR algorithms for shape-based image retrieval will be implemented for a number of images and the results will be assessed 3.2 Tools and Technologies used This study focuses on the algorithm which involves image processing. It will be implemented under the Microsoft .net framework platform and using GDI+ and C# programming language. .Net framework provides managed interface for GDI+; therefore its relatively easy to process images using this platform. Microsoft Visual Studio .Net will be used as an IDE. This experiment will also show how useful can be .net framework library and C# language for image processing purpose. References: Bach J., Fuler C., Gupta A., Hampapur A., Horowitz B., Humphrey R., Jain R., Shu C., (1996) The virage image search engine: An open framework for image management SPIE Conference on Storage and Retrieval for Image and Video Databases; Chen Ch. Ch. (2006),Using Tomorrows Retrieval Technology to Explore the Heritage: Bonding Past and Future in the Case of Global Memory Net; available at: http://ifla.queenslibrary.org/IV/ifla72/papers/097-Chen-en.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009 Datta R., Joshi D., Li J. and Wang J. Z. (2008) Image Retrieval: Ideas, Influences, and Trends of the New Age. Eakins J.P. (1996) Automatic image content retrieval are we getting anywhere?Department of Computing, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, available at: http://www.cs.uu.nl/docs/vakken/mir/materials/literature/eakins.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009 Ferone A., Maddalena L., Petrosino A., (2008) The Enhanced Color Histogram: a way for dealing with uncertainty in CBIR systems, University of Naples Parthenope, Department of Applied Science; Flickner M., Sawhney H., Niblack W., Ashley J., Huang Q., Dom B., Gorkani M., Hafher J., Lee D., Petkovie D., Steele D. and Yanker P.(1995) Query by Image and Video Content: The QBIC System, IBM Almaden Research Center; available at: http://www2.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~nicolast/courses/cs422/ReadingProjects/qbic.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Hafiane A., Chaudhuri S., Seetharaman G., Zavidovique B. (2006) Region-based CBIR in GIS with local space filling curves to spatial representation Huang J., Kumar S. R., Mitra M., Zhu W. J., Zabih R. (1997) Image Indexing Using Color Correlograms, Cornell University; Lowe D. G. (2004), Distinctive Image Features from Scale-Invariant Keypoints, Computer Science Department University of British Columbia; available at: http://people.cs.ubc.ca/~lowe/papers/ijcv04.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009 Nixon M. S., Aguado A. S. (2007) Feature Extraction and Image Processing, Academic Press; Suhasini P.S., Dr. K. Sri Rama Krishna, Dr. I. V. Murali Krishna (2009) CBIR Using Color Histogram Processing; VR Siddhartha Engineering College; available at: http://www.jatit.org/volumes/research-papers/Vol6No1/13Vol6No1.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Tahmoush D.   Hanan S. (2007)A Web Collaboration System for Content-Based Image Retrieval of Medical imag;available at:http://www.cs.umd.edu/~hjs/pubs/medicalimagepapers/TahmoushSPIE07a.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Torres R. S., Falcà £o A. X. (2006)Content-Based Image Retrieval: Theory and Applications; available at: http://www.dcc.unicamp.br/~rtorres/artigos/journal/torres06rita.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Veltkamp R. C., Tanase M. (2002) Content-Based Image Retrieval Systems: A Survey; Department of Computing Science, Utrecht University; available at: http://give-lab.cs.uu.nl/cbirsurvey/cbir-survey.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Wang J. Z. (2001) SIMPLIcity: Semantics-Sensitive Integrated Matching for Picture Libraries; available at: http://infolab.stanford.edu/~wangz/project/imsearch/SIMPLIcity/TPAMI/wang2.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Wen Ch. Y, Yu Ch. Y., (2005) Image Retrieval of Digital Crime Scene Images, Forensic Science Journal; available at: http://fsjournal.cpu.edu.tw/content/vol4.no.1/06-95-04.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009.

Experiment for Identification of Paracetamol

Experiment for Identification of Paracetamol PATRICK ANTWI MANU IDENTIFICATION OF PARACETAMOL THROUGH THE USE OF PHARMACOPIEA TEST ABSTRACT Paracetamol is widely used (NHS Choice, 2012) for the relief of minor pain, toothache, headaches, symptoms of cold and reduces of patient’s temperature (control fever symptoms). It is classified as a mild analgesic agent. The following procedures were used during the experiment of identification of paracetamol. TLC method is important for separation of mixture. This technique is commonly used to determine the presence of particular compound through comparison of Rf values of both unknown samples and the standard samples. Melting point analysis is also useful for identification of compound. The melting point range can be indicated and recorded with the help of a thermometer. For instance, the melting point of paracetamol ranges from168 to172 degree Celsius Infra-red spectroscopy is one of the most essentially useful methods for identification of compound. It is usually used to identify medicines that contain correct drug in most pharmaceutical industries. Structural information about the functional group of unknown compounds can be ascertained through the use of infra-red spectroscopy. Significantly, the results generated during this experiment attest the accuracy and importance of these methods for identification of compounds. For example, the Rf values of TLC method as well as infra-red spectroscopy analysis demonstrated the presence of paracetamol and cafeine in sample ‘B’ and ‘D’ respectively. INTRODUCTION Paracetamol is the best alternative choice for children and ulcer patients who have a minor pain such as headache and children. Consequently, too much it (NHS Choice 25/06/2012) can cause severe harm to the kidney and the liver. AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT Identify paracetamol from various unknown samples through pharmacopeia test. Hypothesis The range of melting point of the samples that contain paracetamol would be (168 to 172) degree Celsius. Again, the samples that contain paracetamol only would turn into violet without changing to red after the experiment D. The Rf values of unknown samples that contains paracetamol would be the same as the Rf value of the standard sample when compared. Apparatus used for the experiment Micro-spatula UV-light Indicator IR spectroscopy Melting apparatus Pencil Rule Chromatography tank TLC plate Thin capillary tube Conical flask Beaker Micro-pipette Materials used Ethyl acetate Four unknown samples Water Dichromate METHODS Melting point analysis Melting point analysis was conducted for all the four unknown samples labelled A, B, C, and D. Small amount of crystals of each unknown samples was fetched into the melting point capillary tube. The capillary tube contained the sample was placed into the melting point apparatus. The samples temperature was measured with digital thermometer. Hence, both initial and final melting point of the samples was observed and recorded. This experiment was repeated twice to obtain the ranges of the melting point. INFRA-RED TECHNIQUE During the experiment, the arm of IR spectroscopy was cleansed with (ethanol) alcohol. The background of IR spectroscopy was scanned. Hence, each sample was placed on the mouth of the IR spectroscopy and scanned. The wavelength detected the various bound in each compound. Copies of each compound scanned was printed out for observation and reading. EXPERIMENT D FOR IDENTIFICATION TEST ANALYSIS The experiment D was conducted for all the four unknown samples labelled A, B, C, and D. 0.1g of each unknown samples were measured with macro spatula and 1ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid was added to it. The solution was gently shake and heated to boil for about three minutes. 1ml of water was added to the boiling solution. After boiling, the solution was then placed in an ice bath to cool. Observation was made and there was no precipitation form. Therefore, 0.05m of 4.9/L solution of potassium dichromate was added to it and the colour developed for sample ‘B’ was violet without changing into red. However, the colour developed for sample ‘A’ was slightly red and changed to purpled whilst sample ‘C’ and ‘D’ developed yellow hint colour and diluted violet colour respectively. TLC METHOD A solvent system of about 20ml of ammonia: methanol: chloroform (1:19:80) was placed into the chromatography tank. A filter paper was placed against the wall inside the chromatography tank. The tank lid was placed on to prevent the evaporation of the solvent. The tank was left for about twenty minutes to allow saturated atmosphere to be formed. TLC method was conducted by using four unknown samples labelled A, B, C, D and ethyl acetate. During the experiment, a solution was made from each of the four unknown samples A, B, C, and D respectively. Thus, about 10mg of each sample was fetched with micro-spatula into the small beaker and dissolved with the small volume of ethyl acetate. Moreover, TLC plate was prepared by measuring 1.5cm distance from the edge of the plate with a rule. A horizontal line was drawn and marked the intervals with a pencil. The distance in between each interval was about 1.5cm apart. The line was demarcated into six intervals for the four unknown samples as well as the standard samples, which comprises of paracetamol and caffeine solution. Each solution was fetched with the help of a micro-pipette and spotted on the TLC plate at different intervals. In addition, the standard sample solutions of paracetamol and caffeine were spotted on the same plate at different position. Thus, spot A, B, C, D, Par and Caff in that order. The TLC plate was placed into the chromatography tank and covered with the lid. The solvent then moved up gradually through capillary action. Hence, the solute spotted on the TLC plate moved up along with the solvent (thus, mobile phase). TLC plate was removed from tank when the solvent reached about 2cm distance to the edge and marked with a pencil. Moreover, the plate was left to dry for about 20 minutes. After the evaporation of the solvent has taken place, TLC plate was then placed under the UV light for observation. A drawing was made with a pencil around the new spots formed on the plate. A measurement of the distance travelled by both solvent and substance were recorded. The Rf value was calculated for both unknown samples and the standard samples. Therefore, the Rf value was calculated base on the formula below. Rf value = distance travelled by substance divided by the distance travelled by solvent. Finally, the Rf values of unknown samples were compared with Rf values of the standard samples. The Rf value for paracetamol Rf = 3.90/6.1 Rf value = 0.639 = 0.64 RESULTS (b). Melting point analysis results SAMPLES A B C D MELTING POINT RANGE 171- 175 171 172 200 206 159 The sample ‘A’ is a bit higher than the normal range of the standard paracetamol sample. Equally, sample ‘B’ indicated the presence of paracetamol as the ranges 171-172 degree Celsius (c). (d). EXPERIMENT D FOR IDENTIFICATION ANALYSIS results SAMPLES A B C D Colour of solution Slightly red and turned to purple Violet Yellowish hint Dilute violet Sample ‘A’ developed purple colour which shows para-aminophenol The colour achieved for sample ‘B’ was violet which show positive result and it was therefore indicated the presence of paracetamol. The colour developed for sample ‘C’ was yellow hint which indicated the presence of caffeine. However, sample ‘D’ developed diluted violet colour which shows the presence of caffeine and paracetamol. Infra-red analysis results Sample AÂ   Sample B Bond Functional group Frequency / wave number absorption cm-1 Intensity v N-H amine 3319.12 stretch strong v C-H 2794.94 stretch strong/medium v O-H Hydrogen bond in alcohol, phenol 3109.51 stretch Strong v C=C 1650.71 Aromatic stretch s v C=O 1609.82 amide stretch N-H delta amide 1562.66 amide bend v C=C Aromatic stretch 1504.96 aromatic stretch The functional group obtained on sample ‘B’ indicated the presence of paracetamol. Sample C Sample D (g). Results for TLC analysis STANDARD SAMPLES Paracetamol Caffeine Rf values from TLC analysis 0.64 0.89 SAMPLES A B C D Rf values from TLC analysis 0.74 0.64 0.89 0.73 The Rf values calculated for TLC analysis indicated that sample B is paracetamol when compare with the standard samples. Thus, 0.64 Compound A, C, and D are less polar since they travelled faster and further in the mobile phase and they are more attracted to the mobile phase than compound B. However, compound B is more polar and travel slowly in the mobile phase. It is most attracted to the stationary phase. Discussion The experiment D of sample ‘B’ clearly showed positive outcome and indicated the presence of paracetamol as violet colour was achieved. In addition, TLC analysis also indicated that sample ‘B’ was paracetamol when Rf value of unknown samples ‘compared to the standard samples. Therefore, this shows the accuracy and precision of the positive outcomes of the experiment. Equally, the ranges obtained from melting analysis for sample ‘B’ also confirmed the presence of paracetamol. Experiment D of sample ‘A’ showed deep purple colour and the infra-red analysis confirmed that, it is para-aminophenol. Moreover, both experiment D, TLC method and infra-red analysis confirmed the presence of caffeine in sample ‘C’. However, sample ‘D’ developed dilute violet colour TLC analysis which shows a mixture of (two compounds) paracetamol and caffeine. The infra-red analysis also confirmed that, sample ‘D’ was a mixture of two compounds. Time SUMMARY REFERENCE Barber, J., Rostron, C.,(2013). Pharmaceutical Chemistry Hill, G., Holman, J,. (2011) Chemistry in Context. 6th edition NHS Choice, (25/06/2012). Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Painkillers-paracetamol/Pages/Introduction.aspx APPENDICES Mobile phase: Rf value: retention factor for thin layer chromatography. Stationary phase: TLC: thin layer chromatography UV light: ultraviolet light

Brave New World-A Sterile Society :: essays research papers

â€Å"Cleanliness is next to Fordliness†, was an attitude impressed upon the people of Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World. A society free of disease and suffering was achieved through a technique of conditioning called hynopaedia. â€Å"Civilization is sterilization†, was a hynopaedic slogan used to achieve the ideal society. This idea was manifested through the anesthetizing people’s emotions, the sterilization of humans and the cleanliness of society. The Brave New World sterilized people of emotions through the elimination of families and the promotion of soma. To eliminate close bonds between two people promiscuity was advocated. This was achieved through hynopaedia during childhood. Through this technique intimate relationships between people were eliminated. People of Brave New World did not know what a family was. At the mention of the words mother and father, during a tour of the London Hatchery, the students became silent and many began to blush. Soma was another devise used by citizens of Brave New World to let them escape and forget their emotions. It was a tranquilizer widely used in Brave New World. It allowed people to go into a trance whenever they wanted to escape their surroundings. This was shown when Lenina Crowne and Bernard Marx were visiting the reservation. During the Warden’s speech to the couple, Lenina Crowne swallowed half a gramme of soma to escape the boredom of the Warden’s speech. The som a allowed her to seemingly be paying attention when in reality she wasn’t listening or thinking of anything. The attitude of civilization is sterilization was also achieved through the sterilization of the female population. Bokanovsky’s Process made it possible for the Brave New World to control the amount of fertile women in society. Even with the advancement of scientific technology human ovaries were still needed for the manufacturing of embryos. Fertile women were encouraged to undergo a hysterectomy. In return for selling their ovaries, women received six months pay. Around seventy percent of the women in Brave New World were infertile. These women were called freemartins. Freemartins were produced through injecting female embryos with a dose of a male sex-hormone. The society of Brave New World believed civilization should be composed of clean and robust people. The nurses in the Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning Rooms were described as, â€Å"trousered and jacketed in the regulation white viscose-linen uniform, their hair aseptically hidden under white caps.† This image expressed how everything was done in a systematic and sterile way.

Civil War Journal Essay example -- essays research papers

Dear Journal, August 2, 1863 With Dixie in my heart, today is the day that South Carolina recruited me for this war. I must soon be ready to go to the regiment I was assigned to. I am in the 3rd Infantry Regiment of South Carolina. I would rather have been in the cavalry since, the Great State, I raise horses, but they needed infantry even more. I will do anything to help the Confederacy. Emily, Joseff, and Soo are sad that their Pa is leaving them. I told them not to fret and remember that I am fighting for what our forefathers wanted. They wanted to have an equally distributed government as not to have a ruler and people with no say. That promise has not been kept, and to start anew, we seceded. The children understand, having the Confederate flag gleaming in their eyes. I said my fare-thee-wells to Anna, the children, and the servants. "Never forget me. We will be together under one nation, the Confederate Nation. Our spirits will live on, bringing forth rights to rule as we please." Going off to war is a tough thing to do. I am forced to leave my family, horses, plantation, and slaves to fight for the pride. The proudest of keeping those elements intact. Keeping those in order is a war in itself. -Jonathan Cort Dear Journal, August 17, 1863 The war front is quite an unimaginable experience unless you go through it yourself. We have little rations of horrid food. Hard tack full of meal worms and chicory coffee. Our Mamie's collared greens is what I miss most right now. I do not feel kindly towards the food, but as long as we are able to keep alive on hard tack and goobers, we will fight to the very end. I am on of the newcomers of t... ...he nation. What I got was being a cripple, and a country where Jeff Davis does not prove his States' rights theory. This is not what I was fighting for. I do not think that is what anyone was fighting for. We, the Confederacy, wanted Peace, Love, and Justice and make our country work. Well, now I realize that those thoughts are just wishful thinking for a Southerner. The war still goes on, and life does, but I want it to be over. All what I lived for, is gone in a blast. My family left me, and I am not allowed back into the war. I am too weak to go on anymore either. The doctors gave me Valium to take. I might as well ease the pain of my heart on Christmas Eve to follow the starry night and have it guide me into heaven. I thank you for being there to help me through this. Now I must meet the honored soldiers that have fought bravely. Maybe in the Great States above, it should be the way it is meant to be. As what Michael has said, "La vie Confederate!" -Jonathan

Maxine Hong Kingston: `No Name Woman`

In the story ‘No Name Woman’, Maxine Hong Kingston describes unique experience of women in China and social relations existing in the Chinese society. The continued existence of the â€Å"traditional† Chinese family pattern or some reasonable compromise thereof is often explained as necessary to the Chinese way of life, when, in fact, the way of life referred to has ceased to exist. This sometimes leads an author to ignore the fact that the family referred to may be a survival of an institution past its time as a functional prerequisite of the system in which it occurs rather than a prerequisite of the general system currently extant. The story vividly portrays social life of Chinese village people, oppression and male dominance affecting family relations and destinies of women. The main questions are: What is the role of a family unit and an individual in Chinese society? What is the impact of social status and position of women on family structure and sexual relations?, What is the role of economic relations in Chinese village and their impact on a family unit? The story can be interpreted as a historical discourse which unveils family structure and family relations excising in the society. From the story, readers know that in each kinship structure there are certain generalized structural requirements which must be satisfied if the structure is to continue its existence. Maxine Hong Kingston depicts that it is essential that some distinctions on a sexual basis be brought out in every kinship structure, but the same is also true for the society as a whole. Kingston describes: All the village were kinsmen, and the titles shouted in loud country voices never let kinship be forgotten. Any man within visiting distance would have been neutralized as a lover-â€Å"brother †¦ .. younger brother,† â€Å"older brother†Ã¢â‚¬â€œone hundred and fifteen relationship titles (Kingston n.d.). The role differentiation of women relative to men in the kinship structure can never vary independently of that for women in the society at large. The question of education in terms of family structure is an extremely broad and complex subject addressed by Kingston. Three factors are always of great importance in such educational structures. In general, these are: (1) the content of the education, (2) the methods by which it is taught, and (3) the person or persons who carry out the teaching. There is a tendency to devote a larger proportion of one's concern to what is taught than to the other two categories (Stockman 27). Kingston describes that the methods used, the systems of rewards and punishments by which the learning process is bolstered, and the roles of the primary teachers are of equal importance. The above remarks apply to family education in general and that of children raised from birth within the family in particular. Some special mention must also be made of the education of members brought into the family from outside at a more mature age. There are two major types of such individuals–those brought in by adoption and those brought in by marriage. The former may be brought in while quite young, and the earlier the age at which the adoption is made the more closely do the educational features of the case resemble those of the raising of other children (Shu 199). To the degree that the adopted person is mature, and always in the case of marriage, there is the problem of introducing the new member to the specific family personalities and the particular family situation in which the new member will in future act. Kingston tells readers that: When the family found a young man in the next village to be her husband, she had stood tractably beside the best rooster, his proxy, and promised before they met that she would be his forever. She was lucky that he was her age and she would be the first wife, an advantage secure now (Kingston, n.d.). There is in all family systems a specifically institutionalized method of integration of new members, though the rigidity of the system and the sphere of action covered by it may vary enormously. In these respects, the introduction of new members via marriage is far more important than any other mode of their introduction. â€Å"Maxine’s aunt, face blame for exposing their communities to the threat of death or actual death in relation to outside forces† (Griffiths 353). The other major mode, adoption, never occupies so strategic a role numerically, since in every family there must be at least one such introduction by marriage, whereas adoption is not necessarily so ubiquitous in family systems. Role differentiation in family structure is depicted as the distribution of persons among the various positions and activities distinguished in the kinship structure and hence the differential arrangement of the members of the structure. This immediately raises the question of the terms on which differential arrangement is made. â€Å"Brothers and sisters, newly men and women, had to efface their sexual color and present plain miens. Disturbing hair and eyes, a smile like no other, threatened the ideal of five generations living under one roof† (Kingston, n.d.). Kingston depicts that the members of society must always recognize some structure of role differentiation and orient their action to it. Therefore, although the primary basis of a given role differentiation might be, for example, political, the phenomena involved cannot be understood solely in terms of the political variable. Whatever the basis of the differential arrangement of members in a society or group, the action of members of the group and of outsiders in their relations with this group must in part be specifically oriented to this inescapable arrangement. Thus differentiation may be to a marked degree interdependent with one or more of the other four structures to be discussed here, but it is never a dependent variable of one or of any combination of them. Before going further into this aspect of role differentiation, however, a word or so more needs be said on the functional background of the phenomenon (Lee 17). First, there is the distribution of individuals among the total number of positions of whatever sort in the structure under consideration. This must be done regardless of how numerous or varied either the positions or the individuals may be (Shapiro 5). The number and variety of both categories will, of course, have substantial effect upon the concrete result, but the status of the requirement as a requirement is not affected by these considerations. The line drawn between the sexes in these respects is sharp and is one of the main factors in the consideration of the family problems. There are, of course, other possibilities of variation along these lines. One other interesting aspect of role differentiation on a basis of sex distinction is that it is so frequently a focus for stress in changing social systems. This usually puts considerable pressure on those patterns which institutionalize a sex differential regardless of objective criteria. â€Å"My aunt could not have been the lone romantic who gave up everything for sex. Women in the old China did not choose† (Kingston, n.d.). This is apt to be peculiarly true when the changes being made are in the direction of industrialization. The institutional basis of industrialized societies must lay peculiar stress on the differentiation of individuals on a universalistic basis. Economic allocation in kinship structure has been defined above as the distribution of the goods and services making up the income of the units of the structure and of the goods and efforts making up the output of the units of the structure among the various members of the units. Economic activities and interrelations, insofar as their sphere is confined to kinship orientations, are best studied for present purposes as they operate within the family. There are, of course, all sorts of economic relations defined in the relational approach to kinship, but, changing as this does with every change of ego, description of the relations is confined to descriptions of ego's relations with other specific relatives, and any systematic operations of kinship groups fall from the picture (Stockman 67). To survive physically, the members of these groups must obtain and distribute these requirements. â€Å"In the village structure, spirits shimmered among the live creatures, balanced and held in equilibrium by time and land† (Kingston, n.d.). The story portrays that the members of the familial and family groups must have food, shelter, clothing, and similar necessities if they are to survive physically. â€Å"In patriarchal culture, these stories function within what Sandra Lee Bartky has called a â€Å"pedagogy of shame† that instructs young girls to learn about the inherent danger and corruption of their bodies† (Griffiths 353). These requirements are not in the nature of free goods as that concept is defined by the economists, and even if they were, the problem of distribution would still arise in the social context to offset the effect of jealousies which might well arise no matter how homogeneous the articles concerned might be intrinsically, and so forth. The link between the family groups and the larger economic aspects of the society as a whole has an additional importance since the status of the entire family in industrialized societies tends to be largely dependent upon the occupational role of the member or members upon whom the group depends for the bulk of its support. The second question of the directness of the contribution to the family needs has as its limiting case the self-sufficient agricultural family. Here the family might produce all it consumed without reference to exchange for any purpose with individuals or groups outside the family. The situation of the modern industrial worker's family is at great variance with this since the overwhelming bulk of the income in this case is in the form of money power–earned for work having no necessary connection with the goods and services for which they are spent (Stockman 76). Critics admit that: â€Å"Kingstone’s style of appropriation reveals the boundaries that define the older narrative as fortresses, and the ways these intellectual fortresses mirror other, fortress-like ideological formations† (Shapiro 5). Kingston describes that this residual core of family duties which are performed directly is important because the duties are so often integrally connected with the substructure of role differentiation in general and that of sex roles in particular. The story shows that villagers depend upon the voluntary submission of the family members due to the inculcation of the value system of the society of which they are a part. â€Å"The villagers punished her for acting as if she could have a private life, secret and apart from them† (Kingstone n.d.). There have been cases of sons who have even stood unrestrained and permitted themselves to be beaten nearly to death by their fathers for faults committed. Such extremes are unusual, but they indicate the lengths to which these matters carry. Other factors in the implementation of power and responsibility are the interrelations with other family substructures which bolster their exercise. â€Å"But Maxine has increasing trouble applying this framework to the complexities of her family's story and to the complexities of American and Chinese societies† (Lee 17). It has already been pointed out above that the patterns of economic allocation, role differentiation, and solidarity are intensely important in these respects. This must not be taken to indicate any particular general causal priority of one of these elements over the others. In sum, family structure depends upon and determines economic and social relations dominated in the society. The story â€Å"No Name Women† is a good historical source which helps to understand the role of family in economic relations and social values. Responsibility here means the accountability to other individuals or groups of an individual or individuals for his or their own acts or the acts of others. Social values and strong family relations portray that social action within certain limits is always an extreme, and in a sense it is the symbol of social frustration. Nevertheless, if the family is to function as a unit, it must be possible to see to it that certain requirements are met, by force if necessary, and it must be possible to take a definite person or persons to account if they fail to meet the family values. Works Cited Griffiths, J. Uncanny Spaces: Trauma, Cultural Memory, and the Female Body in Gayl Jones's Corregidora and Maxine Hong Kingston's the Woman Warrior. Studies in the Novel 38 (2006): 353. Kingston, Maxine Hong. No Name Woman. N.d.   2007. Lee, K.H. The Poetics of Liminality and Misidentification: Winnifred Eaton's Me and Maxine Hong Kingston's the Woman Warrior. Studies in the Literary Imagination 37 (2004): 17. Shapiro, E.H. Authentic Watermelon: Maxine Hong Kingston's American Novel. MELUS 26 (2001): 5. Shu, Y. Cultural Politics and Chinese-American Female Subjectivity: Rethinking Kingston's Woman Warrior. MELUS 26 (2001): 199. Stockman, N. Understanding Chinese Society. Polity Press, 2000.

Analysis of Direct Costs Essay

Introduction Developing and building a drone is one thing while developing a navigation system is completely another aspect. A drone can be considered a toy without a well-engineered design and functional navigation system. The navigation system is mainly used to give commands to the drone to undertake actions that are compatible with the development of the drone. With all the funds that are put into the development of the drones, the navigation system is developed in manner that cannot be prone to outside interference like hackers, terrorist or anyone that would take over the drones navigation system. It must contain a system that will be able to take commands from a single base irrespective of the geographical condition that the drone is in (Bhimani, Horngren, Datar, Rajan, et al, 2012). A prediction of the main cost that is associated with the VectorCal’s drone navigation system production. There are two main costs associated with the production of VectorCal’s drone navigation sy stem, they are direct labor and material costs. There are also two types of labor costs associated with the production of the navigation system, indirect and direct labor. Direct labor is labor consumed in areas that have a direct connection with the production or provision of service, and it is produced by skilled workers and business operators. An example would be workers who are in the production line of the navigation system. These employees are welders, cutters, engineers, equipment operators, technicians of equipment, mechanical, production supervisors and any employee directly related to the production of the navigation systems. Indirect labor is labor consumed in the administrative areas of business that support production and trade. Employees who are on  the administrative side of the business are what cause an expense, and this cost is indirect because they are not directly responsible for the production of the navigation systems themselves. These employee’s include engineers, assistants, secretaries, drivers, human resources, trainers, marketers and accounting, all employees indirectly related to the production and sale of the produ ct. VectorCal’s navigation systems have two types of Material costs as well, direct materials and indirect materials. Materials or supplies are the basic elements that are transformed into the finished product through the use of labor and manufacturing overhead costs in the production process. The material costs can be direct or indirect materials are those that can be identified with the production of the finished product, which can be easily seen as part of the product and represents a significant cost of the finished product. Indirect materials are parts or supplies that are involved in the production process of the article, but not classified as direct materials. A good example would be nuts and bolts used in the production process, and as such are considered an indirect materials manufacturing cost. A comparison of the direct and indirect cost that is associated with the navigation system within VectorCal and my company. The main cost within the development of a navigation sy stem for VectorCal’s or Remote Control Unlimited’s drone, will be in labor and material cost. The labor cost will mainly be used in the acquisition of highly trained and experienced programmers. The programmers will have to work in a team since the navigation system is quite a complex task and numerous ideas are required. One team of programmer can be working on the global positioning and tracking system of the drone while another team will be entitled in safeguarding the system from unauthorized access and interference. It also crucial to note that, the drone navigation system will need constant maintenance and improvement, which is a continuous labor cost. The labor cost can be predicted to vary from $12 million to $16 million only on the system development without taking into consideration the maintenance labor cost. Material cost of the drone navigation system may involve the use of highly specialized pieces of electronics and equipment. In some cases where drones are used for long distance missions, a satellite may be used. The material cost can be predicted to vary from $4 million to $7.5 million depending on the functionality of the drone. The main cost may be high but  this is mainly due to the fact that it is being developed from scratch. After the navigation system is developed, it can be used on multiple drones with the only requirement of maintenance and upgrading the system. The main cost can be considered to be a one off cost that is extremely crucial. The total main cost will range from $16 million to $23.5 million and may need further analysis of hidden costs. The direct cost is seen to be almost similar with extremely little difference in range. However the indirect costs have quite a big difference. VectorCal’s indirect cost will be quite minimal since they will adopt an already working rationale in the development of their drone navigation system. This means that they will follow an example of an already working system and thus reduce mistakes and repetitions that would cost the company quite huge sums of money. The only way to control both the cost is by emulating an already successful idea and le arning through it. This reduces mistakes and tends to guide new developments in what to do and what not to do. The result will be saving time and huge expenses (Chadwick, 2002). Compare your company with VectorCal relative to the price of acquisition, semi variable costs, and allocated direct and indirect costs of the drone navigation system. The acquisition cost of a fixed asset is the economic sacrifice to acquire the asset and make it ready to be used in an activity. It includes the purchase price and any other necessary expenses such as freight, broker fee’s, registration procedures in the case of goods whose domain must be registered like a drone or airplane. The cost of purchasing function, platform construction, assembly, testing and staff training By comparing Remote Control Unlimited and VectorCals relative price of acquisition, VectorCal price will quite high compared to Remote Control Unlimited’s price, since it is already running and has firm roots within the market. Also VectorCal has a proven credibility within the market, a thing that Remote Control Unlimited will be striving to acquire. The semi-variable costs are composed of fixed and variable costs, such as salaries are fixed costs, but overtime is considered a variable cost. Both companies direct costs are incurred when purchasing products to ensure the production of the navigation systems, but the indirect costs are those related to administrative salaries, office costs, and membership costs. Setting up a business and running it to profitability is not a simple issue, but it can be simplified with good  planning and market research. References Bhimani, A., Horngren, C., Datar, S., Rajan, M. et al. (2012) Management and Cost Accounting. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Prentice Hall, p.369 – 378. Chadwick, L. (2002) Essential Finance and Accounting for Managers. Harlow, London, New York, Massachusetts, San Francisco, Toronto, Son Mills, Sydney et.al: PearsonEducation, p.280-281 Direct Labor, Direct Materials, and Overhead, (nd). http://academic.regis.edu/dbush/Accounting/Accounting%20Help/DL%20DM%20OH/acc_dl_dm_o.htm Candace Webb, Demand Media, (nd), Labor Cost Vs. Material Cost. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/labor-cost-vs-material-cost-11368.html Definition of ‘Acquisition Cost’, (nd), http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/acquisition-cost.asp Direct vs Indirect Costs, (nd), http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/research/OSP/direct-vs-indirect-costs.cfm