Designing a Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Designing a Study - Assignment Example To test the hypothesis, the Wilcoxon signed rank tests would be the fitting test. This test examines whether the data available supports the assertion that a prolonged daily exercise length implies a faster rate of weight loss. The test has been used previously in similarly befitting roles. (Han et al. 2011) notes: We used two-sided Wilcoxon rank sum tests for differences in location for these variables as well as for age and years of education. To carry out the test, the researcher needs to calculate the differences in recorded weights before and after the study period. All weight losses will be noted with a plus sign and all gains by a minus sign. Because the positive results (those with plus signs) are the center of our study, we assign them the title k-observed, denoted as kobs. Then using the value of the smallest integer kÃŽ ± we shall calculate the rejection region for kobs. We then observe whether our kobs is contained in R, that is without the boundaries of the rejection region. If kobsЄR, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. Let us put our R at 4, just for illustration. If kobs=3, then we fail to reject the H0 owing to the earlier explanation that kobsЄR. Han, X., Rozen, S., Boyle, S. H., Hellegers, C., Cheng, H., Burke, J. R†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦, Kaddurah-Daouk, R. (2011). Metabolomics in Early Alzheimer’s Disease: Identification of Altered Plasma Sphingolipidome Using Shotgun Lipidomics. Lipidomics in Alzheimer’s Disease. Vol 6. Issue 7. p. 7. Nishiumi, S., Kobayashi, T., Ikenda, A., Yoshie, T., Kibi, M., Izumi, Y.,†¦..Yoshida, M. (2012). A Novel Serum Metabolomics-Based Diagnostic Approach for Colorectal Cancer. Metabolomics for Colorectal Cancer. Vol. 7, issue 7. p. 4. Plichta, S. B., Kelvin, E. Munros Statistical Methods for Health Care Research. Statistical Methods for Health

Observation, Assessment and Planning Cycle in Childcare

Observation, Assessment and Planning Cycle in Childcare Gurcharan Pall Explain the observation, assessment and planning cycle. The process of effective planning observation and assessment is a vital factor in identifying children’s individual needs interests and abilities. In order to plan for their learning and development. This process has been recommended by Early Years (2013) and this involves the practitioners following a three step cycle which consists of planning, observation, and assessment. The practitioner will discuss each stage of the cycle and its practical application to the child’s individual needs. Every child whatever their background or circumstances has the right to support, which they need to enjoy and achieve and make a positive contribution. (Every Child Matters 2003.) With the use of planning observation and assessment the practitioner can support the learning and development requirements for each child in their care. The cycle follows three steps. STEP 1 PLANNING Planning every area of learning and development is important to ensure the child`s achievement The Practitioner should follow identified observation and assessment of the child through relevant play through a range of mixed adult –led and child initiated activities. Step 2 Observation The second stage is of observation which looks at the part of process that helps practitioners learn about the individual children .Observation may also identify the delayed areas of the child’s development which would signal that additional support may be required. A good point. There are two types of observations which are formal and spontaneous. More information can be collected from spontaneously observing the child, as without prior warning, the child will be playing naturally. Formal observation may find the child nervous and self-conscious and they may not play or interact, therefore no observation can then take place. Formal observation is more directed towards observing the child’s development of a particular task/skill or the child understands and knowledge. Step 3 ASSESSMENT Assessment plays an important part in helping parents, carers and practitioners to recognise children’s progress, understand their needs and to plan activities and support† (Early Years 2013) The two types of assessment use are; formative assessment and summative assessment. Firstly formative assessment is an on-going children’s assessment. (CHILD DEVELOPMENT) This is gone by the practitioner observing the child on a regular basis for example playtime on a weekly basis. The second assessment is the summative assessment and this is the evidence that is collected though the formative assessment over a period of time. These assessments are used to review the development progress of children against meowed development on milestones REF For example, the child is formatively assessed a weekly basis dewing play and building blocks. The summative assessment will be that the child’s development has improved, as the child can now not only connect the building blocks together but over a period of time the building blocks have progressed and the child can now build wall’s to make a building. There are showing their development. EFFECTIVE PLANNING (WRITE IN ESSAY FORM) > is based on regular, a curate assessment of children’s learning, Knowledge and skills > reflects supports and challenges children’s current interest, Enthusiasms and their learning and development > is a flexible, working document, which is responsive to spontaneous events > enables all practitioners to contribute, understand and articulate why experiences have been planned > enables children, parents and practitioners to have a voice in the planning process PLANNING IN PRACTICE- KEY ELEMENTS; Provide opportunities for individual children’s emerging needs, interests and stage of development based on previous observations and evaluations Identify appropriate links between experiences and EYFS development statements (learning intentions) Provide interesting and challenging experiences for all children within the seven areas of learning and development Outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis Identifies differentiation for individual children or groups of children Provides a range of child initiated and adult-led experiences Identify high quality teaching strategies’ together with support and intervention that mach individual children’s needs (next steps) to ensure good progress Evaluate planned and unplanned learning Reflect on learning environment to adapt and enhance provision DESCRIBE HOW TO DEVELOP PLANNING FOR INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN Planning when being arranged should be flexible to take into account different age group children`s different background the weather and the unexpected. The child`s planning should be based upon your assessment and observation of the individual child so you can take the best steps for their further learning and development. The Development Matters guidance is and can be a very useful tool in planning successfully the child`s ability to move on to the next stage of development. There are 3 steps of planning. Long term. Providing you with themes and topics you may cover over the term. All links to learning and development areas, a balance of indoor, and outdoor activities. Periods of rest and being quite are also required. Medium term. A better detailed plan of topics and themes to be covered. Consideration of other routines such as mealtimes babies sleeping times. All main resources within your setting`s as play areas, equipment storage areas, book corner. A observation area for you to identify the child`s needs. Short term. A weekly plan of plans, observational findings and activities to be carried out. Making reference to the child`s interest .The particular piece of equipment or resource that may be needed the area or amount of room required, health and safety issues that may arise. Ensure you have made arrangements for all the different age groups, and children with disabilities and special educational needs. A good outline of the different types of planning. Long term planning will provide an overview of topics and themes practitioner will cover for children in their care however long term planning will not identify which interest children will have so any planning should be flexible to be able to adapt at last minute if required. Spontaneous activity is one of the most effective learning experiences. Weather is a very strong interesting subject for the children i.e. rain , snow, winds and sunshine many points of interest can be made from the weather many activities can be made use of, Rain, flooding control of water what rain stops you doing, Snow, melting snow building objects snowball fights to began. Wind, power of wind, moving objects leaves trees people movement, flags, sun, heat outdoor activities. The Main difference between formative and summative assessments methods is primarily the time scale involved in each of the assessment types. Formative Assessment is the process of obtaining factual information. Based on firsthand knowledge, gathered by the practitioner whilst spending time with the child, observing the habits and routines of the child. The Sources of information can range from photographs, videos or even conversations with the child’s parents as this can highlight things that otherwise could be missed as behaviour at home can be very different for some children. The process of assessing what young children know and can do poses particular challenges for young learners. Assessing children is often â€Å"unreliable,† as young children’s performance is not necessarily consistent over even short periods of time. Contextual influences and emotional states can affect how they perform on assessments. Moreover, young children develop at vastly different rates and their developmental and learning patterns can be episodic, uneven, and rapid. Understanding what children know is important for tea chers, since children’s new knowledge builds on prior knowledge. Given these factors, teachers’ use of formative assessment to inform instruction is an essential piece of effective pedagogy. Formative assessment is much more than repeated assessment measures over time. Formative assessment is a process, which includes a feedback loop to assist children in closing the gap between current status and desired outcomes, milestones, or goals. It informs and supports instruction while learning is taking place, by having children receive feedback from the instructor. It also includes multiple sources of evidence gathered over time. The formative assessment process is not a single event or measurement but rather an ongoing planned and intentional practice to evaluate learning with teaching. Formative assessments yield descriptive data—not necessarily judgments. It often takes the form of observational protocol using evidence collection as a means to examine children’s cognitive processes. Formative assessment may be defined in different ways in state regulations and interpretations. The definition best captures the essence of formative assessment for the purposes of this brief focused on young children. It is defined as, â€Å"a process used by carers for children during instruction periods that provide feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning, to improve children’s achievement of intended instructional outcomes.† Summative Assessment is almost a conclusion of your collective knowledge gained from doing your Formative assessment’s, this is obviously an assessment that is done over a longer period of time as all the prerequisite Formative assessments need to be completed. This knowledge gives the practitioner the ability to make an educated verdict on the achievements of the child. The EYFS Profile is the summative assessment used to review children’s progress along the early learning goals. Summative assessment also employs a variety of tools and methods for obtaining information about what has been learned. In this way, summative assessment provides information at the early year’s levels. Defining characteristics of effective summative assessment include a clear alignment between assessment and instruction, as well as the use of assessments that are both valid and reliable. When objectives are clearly specified and connected to instruction, summative assessment provides i nformation about a children’s achievement of specific learning objectives. Individual Learning Programmes can be formed from using these particular assessments, these assessments should also, supports and endeavour to comply with the ethos devised through â€Å"Every Child Matters†. Conclusion I can conclude that it’s a vital part of the process between carer/care organisation’s to stringently follow the observation assessment and planning cycle as this can effectively show any pitfalls in the learning and development process of the children. With formative and summative being the most useful and statutory assessments in situ, the only problem I find, is they can be restrictive or to slow in fully identifying issues and vital time can be lost to the carer/ organisation and the child. Flexibility by that carer/organisation is crucial to the learning development of the children and individual learning programmes can be a good guideline to promote the weaknesses and turn them into strengths through focused sessions which should be reviewed as frequently as possible to ensure the child’s learning does not become static and too focused on any one particular set of problems or issues, learning the child’s strengths through the formative and summative methods can genuinely help create Individual learning programmes tailored to the child allowing you to improve their weaknesses through their strength i.e. a young person learns through music quicker than reading so using song’s to remember the alphabet (using strength to overcome a weakness) this is the main focus of correctly using the above mentioned methods and adhering to the observation, assessment and planning cycle. Reference www.barniesdaynurseries.com, http://ceelo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ceelo_policy_report_formative_assessment.pdf, Department of Education (2013): Improving the functionality and range of education and childcare from birth to 5 years, www.gov.uk/government/ Updated 1st Sep 2014 Accessed 27th Oct 2014 http://www.education.com/reference/article/formative-and-summative-assessment/ Every child matters 8th September 2003 (from HM Treasury – www.gov.uk/government/uploads (Presented to parliament by the chief secretary to the treasury by command of her majesty September 2003) Observation, Assessment and planning cycle Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage DFE 2014 Ref united nations (1989)convention on the rights of the child, united nations, network Childeminding and Ofsted effective practice: observation, planning

Names in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery :: Shirley Jackson Lottery Essays

One of the leaders and important man of the town is Mr. Summers.   Summer is a   season of the year.   It is the season of growing, the season of life.   His name   represents partly the old pagan fertility ritual because the harvest that is being sacrificed to is being grown in the summer.   This is supposedly, according to Old Man Warner, what the lottery held each year was all about.   But, in this case, the harvest should be fine because the setting of the story tells us that â€Å"the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green† (74).   Mr. Summers did many things to slowly ween the old tradition, the old harshness, out of the ordeal.   He had the wooden chips replaced with more convienent slips of paper.   He also â€Å"spoke frequently...about making a new box† (75), so, therefore, he also represented new ideas as well as old.   The new ideas that the close-minded village people would not accept.   If given the chance, Mr.   Summers would have more than likely accepted and backed the motion to cease the   lottery and stop the sacrifice.   Even though he conducted the lottery which someone was sacrificed (murdered) he is seen as one of the most innocent characters because of his â€Å"new† ideas and wishes for something better.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mr. Summers, with all of his importance, had someone over him though.   Mr. Graves, the postmaster, must have been of more importance and power than he   because Mr. Summers had to be sworn in by Mr. Graves before he could have the right to be the official of the lottery.   As the reader might easily derrive, Mr. Graves symbolizes the sacrificial killing being caused by the lottery.   His superiority over Mr. Summers is also symbolic.   It shows how the sacrifice and the lottery in itself is more important than the new ideas presented by Mr. Summers and a few other villagers.   But, Mr. Graves has many more villagers behind him sharing his views.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of these is Old Man Warner.   Mr. Warner is the oldest man in town and, therefore, having the most knowledge of what the original tradition was all about.   He lets us know that there has â€Å"always been a lottery† (77).   He is repetadly shown â€Å"warning† the younger parents and the younger generation of what they are in for if they do away with the lottery.

Argumentative Paper- Innocent Until Proven Guilty

More than 20 years ago, Troy Davis, an African-American man from Georgia, was convicted of shooting and killing an off-duty police officer and sentenced to death. Several years later, seven out of nine eyewitnesses altered or completely recanted their stories (Troy). There was an obvious lack of evidence linking Davis to the crime. His legal team argued that he was Just in the â€Å"wrong place at the wrong time† (Troy). The U. S. Supreme Court repeatedly ruled against Davis' appeals for a new trial. Davis was ultimately executed based on the original Jury verdict.Troy Davis maintained his innocence until his death by lethal injection on September 21, 2011. His last words to the family of the murdered officer were, â€Å"All I can ask is that you look deep into this case so you can really find the truth† (Troy). There are a countless number of convicts like Troy Davis that are sentenced to death, but insist they are innocent. How do we know if they are truly guilty or n ot? Just because a Jury finds a person guilty, does not mean they are. From 1976-2005, 119 people were released from death row with evidence of their innocence Cost).This hooked push lawmakers to abolish capital punishment, also known as, the death penalty. There are several reasons why the U. S. Should abolish the death penalty. First, and most obvious, the Innocent may be wrongly executed. There Is proof of wrongfully executed people. Yes, It Is very rare but it has happened before. Secondly, some Jurors are reluctant to convict If It meaner putting someone to death (Should). It Is bad enough to convict someone of a crime they did not do, sentencing an Innocent person to Jail time. Sentencing an Innocent person to death, Is an even more guilt- earning act.Meaning, some Jurors will not convict at all If they know they will have anything to do with putting a person to death. It may be because of their religious beliefs, uncertainty, or anything of that nature. Lastly, capital punish ment Is much more expensive than life In prison. It costs around $500,000 to keep a person In prison (Reasons). Executions cost approximately $2 million per person (Reasons). A large amount of this money comes from the taxpayers! Many people are for capital punishment and have strong beliefs on why It should stay In the U. S.First, the death penalty gives closure to the families of slain vellums (Should). They feel like Justice has been served. Secondly, It contributes to the problem of overpopulation In the prison system (Should). It Is true all U. S. And state federal prisons are overpopulated, some as much as 33% (U. S. ). Another reason people are pro-capital punishment, Is because DNA testing Is now available and can now effectively eliminate almost all uncertainty as to a person's guilt or Innocence (Should). Many people who opposed the death penalty are now for It, all because of the availability of DNA testing.They think If DNA proves a person Is guilty, then they are guilty . However, what If there Is not any DNA evidence, but other evidence linking a person to a crime such as, an eyewitness? Executing the murderer of a volt will give closure to the velum's family. What If simply meaner the real murderer is out on the street and able to take more lives. Pro capital punishment activists believe executing death row inmates will help solve the overpopulation problem in the U. S prisons. Obviously, yes it would but why would you want to think of a person as a waste of space?That person could actually be innocent and ultimately executed to help with the overpopulation Just because he was wrongfully convicted. Pro capital punishment activists also believe since DNA evidence is available now, there is almost no way a person can be wrongfully convicted. However, like Troy Davis' trial, some cases have no DNA evidence linking to them to a crime. WSDL you still execute them? The United States is ranked fifth in the world behind China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Ira q, among the number of executions (Death).

Charles Dickens Essay

How has Charles Dickens put forward to us a sense of the hardtimes as shown in the town and education system? A main theme in the Charles Dickens book, ‘Hard times’ is the Industrial Revolution, how technology had advanced drastically, yet the standard of peoples lives were decreasing and getting ever harder. No more is this emphasised, than through the basic layout and look of the, appropriately named, ‘Coketown’. The town was supposed be evolving both technology wise and money wise, yet each building was as plain and as dirty as the next, closely resembling most of the people who work and will work in the town, those being the young machinists – the children of ‘Coketown. ‘ Although the standard of living was supposedly better through the Industrial revolution, with new communication, transportation, and manufacturing methods, it meant there was an even greater demand for workers to work the machines. The life of a worker in the Revolution was, monotonous, and could kill the spirits of even the most imaginative of people. As a result, from a fairly young age, the children were taught not to have imaginations. ‘Only facts’ were to be learnt and applied to everyday life. Thomas Gradgrind is the patron of the school in which this process is highly used and believed in. Gradgrind himself was bought up believing there was nothing more to, ‘this life’ than facts. Imagination would only get in the way of the children when they started working in the factories. We are introduced to the method of teaching immediately at the beginning of the story. ‘What I want is Facts,’ and the opinion of the Gradgrind, being that, ‘Facts alone are wanted in life. ‘ To emphasize this, ‘facts’, has a capital F. According to this theory, there is no religion, no clear identity, and only one belief and purpose. This is ironic because most of the people of the time were quite religious Christians and it shows a contradiction between their beliefs and views. The first paragraph is almost a monologue with Gradgrind, because no one interrupts him. This shows his importance, the slight fear he inflicts on people, when the children spoke to him with a, ‘trembling voice’, and the respect they have for him. With these aspects in mind, it is easy to see how he influences the children’s minds and opinions. Gradgrind’s ambition is to, ‘plant nothing else and root out everything else,’ but facts. The children are not even to, ‘fancy’ anything. So much so, the room in which the children are being taught is just a, ‘plain, bare, monotonous vault,’ of a classroom. The word vault, indicates the children are trapped in the education system. Every bit in the room is the same, boring and dull and in no way creative – so the children would get no mental stimulation from it. It leaves little to the imagination, as with Gradgrind himself. Dickens uses technical and geometric words, like ‘square,’ and, ‘plain’ to put forward to us his rigidity in his belief as though the whole education system was personified through Gradgrind. In addition, the subject of facts also helped Dickens to describe Gradgrind. Through his, ‘inflexible,’ voice. Unchangeable, like the childrens futures. Also, his necktie, wrapped around his neck, ‘like, a stubborn fact. ‘ With the inspector watching the class, this style of education was enforced on the teachers. As a result, they themselves were ready to teach the children in such a way, it would blow the children, ‘clean out of the regions of childhood. ‘ Gradgrind himself, believes that this is the right way of teaching. Consequently, he has learnt little about the complexity of human nature, causing him to believe that everything about people can be simply reduced to science, and that by training the, ‘vessels’ in the way he is, he is giving them a future and a chance in life, when really he is removing them. The metaphor, ‘vessels’ is the word Gradgrind uses for children. It shows first hand how he thinks about his children. A class comes in, he fills them with facts like a bucket, then they go to work in a factory. A new class comes in, and so on, all the time, them learning nothing about morals and principles of life. Chapter two is metaphorically named, ‘Murdering of the Innocents’. It shows what the education system is potentially doing to the children in it. It is not only killing the children’s imagination and identity, but also deprives them of a decent future. With the education currently received, the children will be both physically and mentally, ‘deformed’. The true impact on the education system to the children, is shown in chapter when two children are juxtaposed. One child, by name of Sissy has just moved to the school, and another child, Bitzer, has been taught at the school for most of his life. Our first introduction to Sissy, is by her being called, ‘number 20,’ by Gradgrind. This is because a name shows a personality, and imagination, along with nicknames. As a result, Gradgring calls herself, ‘Cecilia’. Anything in the children’s lives which requires imagination, a unique style, is removed by Gradgrind, quite easily because of the respect the children have for him. He rejects Sissy’s father belonging to, ‘the horse-riding’. He then gives the job the title of a, ‘veterinary surgeon’. This is ironic, because Sissy has dealt with horses all her life, so understands them more and probably knows more about them than Gradgrind does, yet he doesn’t want understanding, he wants facts. That is why Sissy cant give the definition of a horse.

Mr Posgais Biology II Class Lab essays

Mr Posgais Biology II Class Lab essays Mr. Posgais Biology II class often pondered the thought of insects attraction to certain colors on flowers. Well, on September 14, 1999, we decided to experiment and figure out which colors on flowers were more dominant over others. Our Biology class divided up into groups of two and three people. Each group took a different colored piece of poster board. One person in each group applied Tangle Trap to the twelve by nine inch area and stapled each board to a piece of lattice. We then took the lattice outside, about fifty feet from the school building and left it outdoors for about forty-eight hours. When we retrieved our lattice, we counted the number of insects on each board and proved our hypothesis, that insects prefer yellow flowers and white flowers over the other colors, to be During the week of September 13, through September 17, Mr. Posgais Biology II class carried out an interesting experiment involving insects and their Pollination is vital to insect and flower reproduction. Birds and insects drift from flower to flower, selecting the appropriate flavor of their choice to carry on their necessary task of nature. With the way nature works, this process sounds to be simple; however, it is much more complicated and in a sense, more unbelievable than you could ever imagine. A bird or insect flies or walks up into the flower to reach the pollen. As time moves o, that same bird and/or insect will move on to something else and carry the pollen with it. The pollen being transferred like this is a major factor in the flower reproduction system. My class came up with the hypothesis that the insects would be most attracted to the colors of yellow and white. Our hypothesis was proved to be true when we brought in the lattice containing all of the individual colored poster board ...

History of Photography and the Camera (Timeline)

History of Photography and the Camera (Timeline) Several important achievements and milestones dating back to the ancient Greeks have contributed to the development of cameras and photography.   Here is a brief time timeline of the various breakthroughs with a description of its importance.   5th-4th Centuries B.C. Chinese and Greek philosophers describe the basic principles of optics and the camera. 1664-1666 Isaac Newton discovers that white light is composed of different colors. 1727 Johann Heinrich Schulze discovered that silver nitrate darkened upon exposure to light. 1794 First Panorama opens, the forerunner of the movie house invented by Robert Barker. 1814 Joseph Niepce achieves first photographic image using  an early device for projecting real-life imagery called a  camera obscura. However, the image required eight hours of light exposure and later faded. 1837 Louis Daguerres first daguerreotype, an image that was fixed and did not fade and needed under thirty minutes of light exposure. 1840 First American patent issued in photography to Alexander Wolcott for his camera. 1841 William Henry Talbot patents the Calotype process,  the first negative-positive process making possible the first multiple copies. 1843 The first advertisement with a photograph is published in Philadelphia. 1851 Frederick Scott Archer invented the Collodion process  so that images required only two or three seconds of light exposure. 1859 Panoramic camera, called  the Sutton, is  patented. 1861 Oliver Wendell Holmes invents stereoscope viewer. 1865 Photographs and photographic negatives are added to protected works under copyright law. 1871 Richard Leach Maddox invented the gelatin dry plate silver bromide process, which means negatives no longer had to be developed immediately. 1880 Eastman Dry Plate Company is founded. 1884 George Eastman invents flexible, paper-based photographic film. 1888 Eastman patents Kodak roll-film camera. 1898 Reverend Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film. 1900 First mass-marketed camera, called the Brownie, goes on sale. 1913/1914 First 35mm still camera is developed. 1927 General Electric invents the modern flash bulb. 1932 First light meter with photoelectric cell is  introduced. 1935 Eastman Kodak markets Kodachrome film. 1941 Eastman Kodak introduces Kodacolor negative film. 1942 Chester Carlson receives a patent for electric photography (xerography). 1948 Edwin Land launches and  markets the Polaroid camera. 1954 Eastman Kodak introduces high-speed Tri-X film. 1960 EGG develops extreme depth underwater camera for U.S. Navy. 1963 Polaroid introduces the instant color film. 1968 Photograph of the Earth is taken from the moon. The photograph, Earthrise, is considered one of  the most influential environmental photographs ever taken. 1973 Polaroid introduces one-step instant photography with the SX-70 camera. 1977 Pioneers  George Eastman and Edwin Land are  inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 1978 Konica introduces the first point-and-shoot autofocus camera. 1980 Sony demonstrates first consumer camcorder for capturing moving picture. 1984 Canon demonstrates first digital electronic still camera. 1985 Pixar introduces the digital imaging processor. 1990 Eastman Kodak announces Photo Compact Disc as a digital image storage medium. 1999 Kyocera Corporation introduces the VP-210 VisualPhone, the worlds first mobile phone with built-in camera for recording videos and still photos.

How John Albert Burr Innovated Modern Lawn Mowing

How John Albert Burr Innovated Modern Lawn Mowing If you have a manual push mower today, it likely uses design elements from 19th Century black American inventor John Albert Burrs patented rotary blade lawn mower. On May 9, 1899, John Albert Burr patented an improved rotary blade lawn mower. Burr designed a lawn mower with traction wheels and a rotary blade that was designed to not easily get plugged up from lawn clippings. John Albert Burr also improved the design of lawn mowers by making it possible to mow closer to building and wall edges. You can view U.S. patent 624,749 issued to John Albert Burr. Life of Inventor John Albert Burr John Burr was born in Maryland in 1848, at a time when he would have been a teenager during the Civil War. His parents were slaves who were later freed, and he may also have been a slave until age 17. He didnt escape from manual labor, as he worked as a field hand during his teenage years. But his talent was recognized and wealthy black activists ensured he was able to attend engineering classes at a private university. He put his mechanical skills to work making a living repairing and servicing farm equipment and other machines. He moved to Chicago and also worked as a steelworker.  When he filed his patent for the rotary mower in 1898, he was living in Agawam, Massachusetts. Inventions of John Albert Burr The object of my invention is to provide a casing which wholly  encloses  the  operating gearing  so as to prevent it from becoming choked by the grass or clogged by obstructions of any kind, reads the patent application. His rotary lawn mower design helped reduce the irritating clogs of clippings that are the bane of manual mowers. It was also more maneuverable and could be used for closer clipping around objects such as posts and buildings. Looking at his patent diagram, you will see a design that is very familiar for manual rotary mowers today. Powered mowers for home use were still decades away. As lawns become smaller in many newer neighborhoods, many people are returning to manual rotary mowers like Burrs design. Burr continued to patent improvements to his design. He also designed devices for mulching clippings, sifting, and dispersing them. Todays mulching power mowers may be part of his legacy, returning nutrients to the turf rather than bagging them for compost or disposal. In this way, his inventions helped save labor and were also good for the grass. He held over 30 U.S. patents for lawn care and agricultural inventions. John Albert Burrs Later Life Burr enjoyed the fruits of his success. Unlike many inventors who never see their designs commercialized, or soon lose any benefits, he got royalties for his creations. He enjoyed traveling and lecturing. He lived a long life and died in 1926 of influenza at age 78.   Next time you mow the lawn, acknowledge the inventor who made the task a little easier.

Cause and Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cause and Effect - Essay Example Global warming is the rise in earth temperature mainly due to its inhabitants and their activities. On average 7 billion tons of carbon di-oxide is emitted into atmosphere by various activities. It not only threatens human beings, but also animals and fertile land. Gases like carbon dioxide, methane are main contributors to this nuisance(Ham et al.,1993) Most of the sunlight is reflected back from earth, but the presence of these unwanted gases prevents its flow back to outer space and consequently re-reflected on to the earth. Use of chemicals and dumping of industrial waste into the sea are the main factors to this evil cause This rise in temperature causes melting of polar ice caps, rise in sea levels, floods, killer storms, droughts, extinction of species. Coral reefs are at a direct threat from global warming, various skin diseases and cancers are gifts of global warming Bibliography : Ham, J , L H. J. M. Janssen, and R J. Swart. Non-co? Greenhouse Gases: Why and How to Control? : Proceedings of an International Symposium, Maastricht, the Netherlands, 13-15 December 1993. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 1994. Print. Aristotle, , and Books W. W. Great. The Works of Aristotle : Volume 2: Volume 9.

Planning Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Planning Report - Essay Example This plan establishes strategies and policies which are aimed at achieving the county’s long term vision. Upon its approval, the General Plan will update the 2006 Vicinity and Bowie master plans policies and recommendations. The staff in the meeting wanted to brief the Council on the current re-planning efforts together with the scheduled proposed plan topics goals and the scheduled outreach strategy to the public (Levy, 2012). Elements of the report and those involved in the meeting The meeting took place in November1, 2012 and the main subject of the meeting was County General Plan Update Briefing. The meeting took place in the Council Hearing Room, County Administration Building, and Upper Marlboro in Maryland. The Prince Georgie’s County Planning Commissioners are the ones who participated in the meeting. Accord relative to the agenda Relative to the agenda, an accord was set forth. For example, all items which were listed under the Consent Agenda were distributed t o every member of the Planning Board for review. All items are also considered to be routines and will be acted upon by the Board by one motion. The main agenda for the meeting was to strategize on how the city can update or improve on the 2002 Prince George General Plan and this agenda was followed to the latter. ... This is because the meeting created a room for the participation of all members and also stimulated creativity among the members. This can be attributed to the central location of the meeting which did not make any member feel inconvenienced. The seats in the meeting room were arranged in circle in a way which all the members could see each other. This encourages participation in the meeting and makes every member to feel part of the meeting. The meeting was well coordinated with a leader and all members had their names written on their seats and this is to enhance participation and identification. Water provided to the members provides a nice touch to the meeting and the round table used in the meeting helps to prevent all barriers of communication. What was discussed in the meeting? All the strategies necessary for the improvement of the Prince George General Plan were discussed during the meeting in accordance to the agenda of the meeting (Beatley, 2005). A discussion of the count y wide planning including the James Rowley Training center in the United States Secret Service was discussed together with the Campus master plan update and the proposed development. Improvement of the Kreative Kids Child Care Center was also discussed in the same meeting. The proposed designation of the three Prince Georges County Historic Sites was also discussed in the report as part of its county wide planning division (Levy, 2012). The improvement on Beech Tree, South Village as part of the specific design plan of the meeting was also discussed during the meeting. A detailed site plan of all the projects proposed for improvements were also discussed. Generally, the meeting mainly discussed on all strategies which can help the county in the improvement of the 2002

Develope a research plan for this topic = Risk factors for Proposal

Develope a plan for this topic = Risk factors for Helicobacter pylori Infections among residents in a Native American settlement - Research Proposal Example Assumptions, Limitations and Delimitations: As the rate of H. pylori seropositivity augments with age, 78% of the residents around 14 years displayed seropositivity. Total follow up of the entire population is not possible so the population is segmented and regular follow up will be maintained in the current research. Summary: Regular follow up is essential to demonstrate the exact age of acquiring H. pylori infection. Remarkable difference is observed in the seroprevalence of various ethnic communities, therefore population is segregated right from the beginning of the study. Reports established that the prevalence of infection is high in children so the study is conducted for the children below 20 years. Future Implications: The results procured from the study will be statistically examined and will be compared with the present findings. This is definitely going to be a step to alleviate iron deficiency anaemia and prevention of H. pylori infection at earlier age. Contribution to social change: The study will help in the prevention of H. pylori infection at the earlier age. It is an effort to locate the prevalence of H. pylori infection in a particular community, in a particular age, onset of infection and its correlation with the iron deficiency anaemia. Thus it is a contribution towards the social upliftment of the Alaska communities. Parkinson, A.J., Benjamin, D. G., Bulkow, L., Wainwright, R.B., Swaminathan, B., Khanna, B., Peterson, K.M., Fitzgerald, M. A. (2000). High prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in Alaska Native Population and Association with Low Serum Ferritin Levels in Young Adults. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 7(6),

World History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World History - Essay Example The country was divided as never before or since and it was seemingly the last time civilians bravely sacrificed themselves for a cause. The Vietnam War divided the nation along ideological battle lines. The older generation, the ‘establishment’, was of the WWII period and operated under a nationalistic perspective. They believed that to be a true patriot was to blindly follow the authority of the governmental powers that be, to support your ‘country’ even when you thought it was wrong. The young college protesters, the ‘new generation’, the counter-culture redefined this notion of patriotism. They believed that to be truly patriotic was to question the decisions of government and openly dissent when it was judged to be wrong. The philosophical chasm was wide and emotions ran deep on both sides. Those that protested sacrificed much. They suffered the scorn of their parents who couldn’t understand why their children were rebelling against the very foundation of their parents’ beliefs thus causing what was referred to as the ‘generation gap.’ Some war protesters were killed by soldiers of the National Guard as was the case at Kent State and South Carolina State. The protesters and draft-dodgers were thought of as anti-American by the mainstream citizenry who regarded their actions as nothing short of treasonous. This attitude makes one wonder what the ‘greatest generation’ thought they were fighting for during WWII. They fought to defend freedom on foreign soil but were very much opposed to the constitutionally guaranteed right to peacefully assemble in their own country (Bexte, 2002). The war protesters of the 1960’s had the courage to act upon their political and philosophical convictions unlike those who are opposed to the Iraq War today. The two conflicts are eerily similar on many fronts yet the public reaction has been very dissimilar. Then as now, those opposed to the war are

A multinational company maximises its competitive advantage by Essay - 1

A multinational company maximises its competitive advantage by controlling its own supply chain. Discuss - Essay Example Most numbers of the MNCs in the present business environment are likely to strengthen along with build wide network of their supply chain strategies in order to attain superior competitive position (Costinot, Vogel & Wang, 2011). With regard to the field of governance, the supply chain mechanisms that implement by the MNCs are often incorporated with complex systems due to the prevalence of different structure along with power proportion existing between the business partners. The organisations such as McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and Nestle S. A. among others are highly inclined with maintaining strong supply chain governance that enables them to proactively perform range of business operations across the global subsidiaries. In relation to increase the efficiency along with the business operations, organisations are significantly influenced by the aspect of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). According to the present increasing growth of globalisation, FDI portfolios have major bearing upon the competitive position of the MNCs. FDI has long been identified as an essential aspect for the countries, facilitating them to stabilise their respective economic position. The development of FDI can only be made through the accession of MNCs into respective business markets. The integration of MNCs generally enables the countries to obtain substantial direct investment and also radically develop their commodity along with technical trade facilities (Qin, 2011). In this context, the theories associated with the efficiency of the firms have greater influence regarding the success of an organisation (Kusluvan, 1998).Based on the competitive scenario of the modern business environment, the primary objective of this essay is to demonstrate an in-depth understanding about the conventional theories associated with the major attributes that can be observed to remain in an unconventional SCM process. The essay therefore, tends to critically assess and justify the importance of an e ffective set of SCM process along with its key roles that further lead organisations to accomplish greater competitive advantage. 2. Discussion 2.1 Theories of the Firms With respect to the unconventional changes along with rapid development of SCM strategies made by the global organisations, it is widely accepted that strategies are generally developed in order to attain long-term sustainability in the competitive market. A few of the major theories associated with firms’ long-term sustainability have been briefly demonstrated in the following discussion. Coase Theorem The concerns associated with building interpersonal relationship regarding the individual efficacy creeps through taking into concern the conventional theorem ‘The Problem of Social Cost’, which developed by Ronald H. Coase. In relation to Coase theorem, the issues associated with impossibility in terms of making scientific comparison of interpersonal individual efficacy can be considered as one o f the problems of social cost. In order to effectively deal with the problems of social cost, the Coase theorem and its disciples play an essential role for the modern entrepreneurs to reduce optimum influence of externalities such as air or noise pollution (North, 1992). The Coase theorem of the firms tends to define economic efficiency concerning economic allocation with the

You are asked to analyse current developments in Canadian cultural, Essay

You are asked to analyse current developments in Canadian cultural, political and economic business environment impacting investment plans of a German-based luxury car manufacturer - Essay Example This paper will explore current developments in Canada’s cultural, political and economic business environment and how they affect Audi’s investment objectives. With its stable democracy, economy, and culture, Canada ranks high on the list of ideal investment locations in the world. The economy has been thriving since the end of World War Two, and the country has been in the good books of major international organisations for as long as it has existed. The country’s middle class has been growing steadily over the years, and there are no signs that it will shrink anytime soon. The number of wealthy citizens has also increased significantly in the past two decades, creating more spending power and expanding the market for luxury goods (Anastakis, 2013:21). Like all manufacturers of luxury products, Audi seeks to move as many of its goods as possible in the cheapest and most effective way possible. Audi has had operations in Canada since 1971, and it was one of the first automakers to venture into a market that was relatively unexploited at the time. As at January 2015 Canada had made almost 15% of the automobiles assembled in North Ame rica. The Economist has also rated the country’s business scene as the most conducive among G7 countries that produce vehicles. Canada has recognised its automobile industry as a key sector in its current and future growth plans. As such, it has put in place measures to support manufacturers in the country. Although Audi does not have an assembly plant in Canada, it still exports a significant amount of vehicles to the country, and operates dealerships that cater to the needs of its Canadian customers (Peters, 2013:26). A core aspect of supporting automakers is guaranteeing a global market for their goods. Using the Global Markets Action Plan, the Canadian government has signed 7 different free trade agreements with thirty-eight nations. In addition, it has signed or adopted

A multinational company maximises its competitive advantage by Essay - 1

A multinational company maximises its competitive advantage by controlling its own supply chain. Discuss - Essay Example Most numbers of the MNCs in the present business environment are likely to strengthen along with build wide network of their supply chain strategies in order to attain superior competitive position (Costinot, Vogel & Wang, 2011). With regard to the field of governance, the supply chain mechanisms that implement by the MNCs are often incorporated with complex systems due to the prevalence of different structure along with power proportion existing between the business partners. The organisations such as McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and Nestle S. A. among others are highly inclined with maintaining strong supply chain governance that enables them to proactively perform range of business operations across the global subsidiaries. In relation to increase the efficiency along with the business operations, organisations are significantly influenced by the aspect of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). According to the present increasing growth of globalisation, FDI portfolios have major bearing upon the competitive position of the MNCs. FDI has long been identified as an essential aspect for the countries, facilitating them to stabilise their respective economic position. The development of FDI can only be made through the accession of MNCs into respective business markets. The integration of MNCs generally enables the countries to obtain substantial direct investment and also radically develop their commodity along with technical trade facilities (Qin, 2011). In this context, the theories associated with the efficiency of the firms have greater influence regarding the success of an organisation (Kusluvan, 1998).Based on the competitive scenario of the modern business environment, the primary objective of this essay is to demonstrate an in-depth understanding about the conventional theories associated with the major attributes that can be observed to remain in an unconventional SCM process. The essay therefore, tends to critically assess and justify the importance of an e ffective set of SCM process along with its key roles that further lead organisations to accomplish greater competitive advantage. 2. Discussion 2.1 Theories of the Firms With respect to the unconventional changes along with rapid development of SCM strategies made by the global organisations, it is widely accepted that strategies are generally developed in order to attain long-term sustainability in the competitive market. A few of the major theories associated with firms’ long-term sustainability have been briefly demonstrated in the following discussion. Coase Theorem The concerns associated with building interpersonal relationship regarding the individual efficacy creeps through taking into concern the conventional theorem ‘The Problem of Social Cost’, which developed by Ronald H. Coase. In relation to Coase theorem, the issues associated with impossibility in terms of making scientific comparison of interpersonal individual efficacy can be considered as one o f the problems of social cost. In order to effectively deal with the problems of social cost, the Coase theorem and its disciples play an essential role for the modern entrepreneurs to reduce optimum influence of externalities such as air or noise pollution (North, 1992). The Coase theorem of the firms tends to define economic efficiency concerning economic allocation with the

Healthcare Service Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Healthcare Service - Assignment Example The vast services provided by the company consist of: brain injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, tracheotomy, long-term ventilator support, genetic neurological condition, Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease, and palliative care needs. The centres primarily function to provide top notch assistance in the recovery of patients. Capio emphasises on the provision of comfort and maximisation of individual capabilities. To further improve its services, the company promotes unlimited duration regarding the recovery period necessitated by the patients. As a private healthcare provider, Capio is operated through investments. It is, therefore, logical for the administration to seek for higher profits. Basically, survival in the industry requires sufficient profits to ensure that operations are maintained. Meanwhile, the nature of the company suggests that managers have to provide their share. In fact, the efforts of managers in determining the problems and providing efficient solutions will determine the success of Capio. Although the company appears to have robust operations, there are several aspects that have to be analysed in the efforts to improve profitability. Indeed, strategies are required and plans are needed to set the firms in the right direction. Regularly, the clinical managers and finance executives gather to discuss profit enhancement schemes. Part of the meeting tackles the major concerns of the company specifically the detriment to high income. The highlights of the meeting detailed several alarming circumstances. Part of these is the rising cost in operating the centres. In this circumstance, the role of the manager is to appraise the situation and create possible measures to prevent and mitigate adverse effects. The manager has to constantly communicate with the different entities involved with the firm. Most instances suggest that problems have to be viewed holistically. This approach, however, appears to be limited as some concerns are better comprehended specifically. Overall, the manager has to ensure that the functions of the centre remain within the context of its existence while evolving to a profit driven section of the company (Davidmann, 1998). The manager is provided with several approaches to resolve the current demise. In particular, traditional methods appear to be effective boosting the revenues of the centre. Also, modern strategies are useful in increasing the profit of the centre (Blanchard, 1994). It has to be noted that the manager has to follow processes and procedures. In addition, cooperation derived from other entities of the company is a major boost in the profit maximisation initiatives. Primarily, the centre is concerned with the exceeding cost incurred because of the operations. The two major contributors to the increase are the staff cost and the medical consumable. Accordingly, the use of agency staff has increased the burden of the centre. In addition, medical consumables have increased by 64% compared with the figures registered during the previous year. Basically, these are problems that will adversely affect the outcome of the net profit. Increased costs both in materials and in labour are valuable reductions to the revenues obtained for the year. Other important aspects that were revealed as a result of an investigation involved procurement and stock management. Based on the results of the investigation, the procurement process is independent from the

Structuring Supply Chains Based On Product Segmentation Commerce Essay

Structuring Supply Chains Based On Product Segmentation Commerce Essay The world has just gone through one of the worse crisis since the Second World War. In order to reduce the negative impact, companies have tried to reduce cost by any ways, by freezing all expansion, by reducing the number of employees, by launching quick wins project in order to free-up cashà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to summarize nothing sustainable. In order to catch a sustainable growth that will reduce the impact of any future crisis, to obtain a competitive advantage, companies need to design an optimized supply chain. This optimization will lead to a supply chain that are no more a cost but an competitive advantage, a supply chain that brings value, a supply chain that become strategic. The time and the cash spend to source; to produce and to distribute product and services are so huge that companies cant afford to ignore it. When designing its supply chain, companies need to keep in mind that ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL, meaning that one supply chain configuration cant fulfil each customers requirements. Indeed, each customer has different needs which cant be fulfil in the same way. One customer may seek for a company able to provide reactive supplies, while another company is seeking for minimum purchasing costà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Providing different product/service implies having different supply chain configuration. The objective then is to provide different global services which go far beyond the product itself. Nowadays, companies cant provide a product only. They need to provide a global service meaning that they have to provide quality service which goes with the product. The level of quality that needs to be reached is then determined by the customers requirement and willingness to pay a certain price. Customers may want seek for a good quality/price product, some other may want to have a extremely high quality and innovative product, some other are looking to receive the product at their place the next day they purchased it,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ And in order to be able to provide this global service that includes the product, companies need to design their supply chain accordingly. This thesis is focusing on understanding the different choice that a company can make when designing its tailored supply chain. Each product is designed differently, and each product (or service) is meant to be for one specific customer. The time when Ford was making one single car for everyone is over. We will focus on how to design its supply chain based on product segmentation. We will first identify the different type of supply chain configuration a company can choose based on its corporate strategy. We will then try to define the meaning of the segmentation and what are the main criteria to perform it. This will lead us to identify the different models that currently exist, models that will help companies to segment, categorize and design tailored supply chains. Then we will try to apply the models on a real case and try to redesign the company supply chains going from an AS IS statement to a TO BE ideal situation. Product Segmentation and Supply Chain Segmentation Segmentation Definition Segmentation can be defined as: Process of defining and sub-dividing a large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics. [http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/market-segmentation.html]. The main purpose of segmentation is to help to decide what configuration of the business is the most suitable for what customer. The concept of one size does not fit all has for meaning that each customer has a different need and this need cannot be fulfilled in the same way the other customers need are fulfilled. In supply chain the purpose of segmentation is to configure the processes in a way that will lead to a competitive advantage and then to profit. However, we cannot fulfill in a different way each single customer as this will increase the cost so much that the company wont survive. Thus, it is important to build groups that have similar needs and provide one single service for this group. Different type of Supply Chain Functional Product VS Innovative Product The idea of categorizing product in order to identify the most suitable supply chain is not new. In 1997, Fisher introduced a new concept in order to better serve the customers. Fisher said that the first step in devising an effective supply chain strategy is therefore to consider the nature of the demand for the product ones company supplies, [Fisher]. He identified several factors that will influence the design of the most suitable Supply Chain, factors such as Product life cycle, demand predictability, Product variety and market standards for lead times and services. Thus, he started by categorizing product based on theirs characteristics. He identified two types of products: Functional Product and Innovative Product. The main difference of these two types of product influence the type of supply chain needed to optimize the supply of these products. Fisher defines Functional Products are products with long life cycles and with low demand uncertainty. Conversely, innovative product s are products having a short life cycle with high demand uncertainty. Fisher went event further as you can see on the Table 1 below in the distinction between Functional and Innovative Products: Figure 2: Matching supply chains with product characteristics (Source: Fisher, 1997) Hau L. Lee also developed Fishers idea on the distinction between Innovative and Functional Products as you can see on the table below: Table 1: Demand Characteristics  [1]   The impact of this distinction on the Supply Chain type is tremendous. The choose to develop a Lean Supply Chain or an Agile Supply Chain is easier thanks to this new distinction as we will see on the next part. Lean, Agile, Leagile Supply Chain Based on the functional and innovative products concept, we are now able to introduce different supply chain strategy. Each companies objectives are different, thus when designing its supply chain, the aim of this new organization will be different. We are introducing here different strategy when designing its supply chain: The Lean Supply Chain aims to reduce the waste and thus the cost while providing high quality products/services. The Agile supply chains objective is the flexibility to fulfill the customer demand while this ones predictability can be very low. The Leagile strategy is a hybrid solution, combining the Lean and Agile strategy in one. The first time we heard about Lean Manufacturing was in 1988 by John Krafcik in a article he wrote in the Sloan Management Review: Triumph of the Lean Production System  [2]  when he was describing the Japanese production model which is essentially the elimination of waste. Naylor et al provided with a interesting definition: Leanness means developing a value stream to eliminate all waste including time, and to enable a level schedule [Naylor et al.]. Since then, the concept becomes much broader. Indeed, Christopher and Towill highlighted the fact that the Lean Supply Chain works better with a stable demand and where variety is low  [3]  : which correspond to the functional products. From this statement we can already start to have a clearer view on what supply chain for what products; thus, functional products need Lean Supply Chain. The lean supply chain will focus on cost reduction for standardized mass-products [Volker Stich, Jan Christoph Meyer]  [4]  . The origin of agile concept lie partially in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) [M. Chritopher, D. Towill]. The Agile Supply Chain allows using a highly flexible supply chain in order to better serve the customer. As for the Lean definition, Naylor et al. introduce a definition for agility concept: Agility means using market knowledge and a virtual corporation to exploit profitable opportunities in a volatile marketplace [Naylor et al.]. With an Agile Supply Chain it is much more efficient and effective for product with high volatility in the demand and high variety which correspond to the innovative products. In the table below, Chritopher and Towill went even further in the difference between a Lean and an Agile Supply Chain: Table 3: Comparison of Lean Supply with Agile Supply: The distinguishing Attributes  [5]   Distinguishing Attributes Lean Supply Agile Supply Typical Products Commodities/Functional Fashion Goods/Innovative Marketplace Demand Predictable Volatile Product Variety Low High Product Life Cycle Long Short Customer Drivers Cost Availability Profit Margin Low High Dominant Costs Physical Costs* Marketability Costs** Stockout Penalties Long Term Contractual Immediate and Volatile Purchasing Policy Buy Materials Assign Capacity Information Enrichment Highly Desirable Obligatory Forecasting Mechanism Algorithmic Consultative *Physical Costs: All Production costs, distribution costs and storage costs **Marketability Costs: All obsolescence costs and stockout costs If only, both agile supply chain advantages and Lean Supply Chain advantages could be put together to build a perfect supply chain, it would be the best of both world. Coming from this pursuit of perfection, the concept of Leagile [Naylor et al] supply chain appeared. This concept suggests using lean supply chain for the upstream flows and the agile supply chain for the downstream flows. In practice, this strategy is using what is called The decoupling point or Postponement. This concept principle is to keep sub assembly inventory and to produce finished goods only when the order is know. Chritopher and Towill pointed out one important fact is the information de-coupling point: they argue that the furthest point upstream to which information on real demand flows i.e. information which has not been distorted by inventory policies such as re-order points and re-order quantities contributes to the Agility of a company. Figure 1: The decoupling point  [6]   Stable and Evolving Supply Chain As pointed out Volker Stich and Jan Christoph Meyer, all the approach discussed earlier are focusing on the demand side. Hau L. Lee introduced a new concept called Stable and Evolving supply processes. This concept is focusing on the supply side of the supply chain. Hau L. Lee provided a useful definition as follows: A stable supply process is one where manufacturing process and the underlying technology are mature and the supply base well established. [Hau L. Lee] An evolving supply process is where the manufacturing process and the underlying technology are still under early development and are rapidly changing, and as a result the supply base may be limited in both size and experience. [Hau L. Lee] There is more difference between stable supply processes and evolving supply processes, the figure 2 is summarizing some of these differences. The link should be made with Fishers Functional and Innovative products: Functional products tend to use a more mature and stable supply process but this is not always the true. Hau L. Lee provides several example summarized in the figure 3. Figure 2: Supply Characteristics. (Source: Hau L. Lee) Figure 3: The uncertainty Framework: Examples. (Source: Hau L. Lee) Segmentation Factors Determining the Customers Needs: Order Winner and Market Qualifier The definitions of Order Winner and Order Qualifier found in the APICS dictionary are quite interesting: Order winners are those competitive characteristics that cause a firms customers to choose that firms goods and services over those of its competitors. Order winners can be considered to be competitive advantages for the firm. Order winners usually focus on one rarely more than two) of the following strategic initiatives: price/cost, quality, delivery speed, delivery reliability, product design, flexibility, after-market service, and image. [APICS Dictionary 2008]  [7]   Order qualifiers are those competitive characteristics that a firm must exhibit to be a viable competitor in the marketplace. [APICS Dictionary 2008]  [8]   When Terry Hill invented this new concept of Order Winner and Order Qualifier, he aimed to linked operations objectives with Marketings one. The operations people were then in charge of managing the supply chain in a way that the company will obtain a competitive advantage and win the market. As you can see on the APICS definition, several strategic initiatives have been identified: price/cost, quality, delivery speed, delivery reliability, product design, flexibility, after-market service, and image. Based on that, R. Mason-Jones et al. combined the Fisher concept with Hill concept as you can see on the figure 2. The key information is that companies need to excel and focus on the Market Winners factors while being highly competitive on the Market Qualifiers. The figure 3 shows that the company is focusing on Cost and obtained a competitive advantage on the price. The important point is that this company is not neglected the others key competitive factors and its performance is always above the critical minimum performance which if it would have been below, it would have eliminated the benefice acquired from the competitive advantage. Figure 2: An example of using the classification matrix based on market winners and market qualifiers [Source: R. Mason-Jones et al.] Figure 3: The performance matrix [Source: Nabil Montassir] Another concept that needs to be took into account is the difference with Importance and Performance BLABLABLABLABLABLA Corporate Strategy (Operation Excellence, Customer Intimacy, Innovation Excellence) When designing a new Supply Chain or even redesigning an existing one, it is important to be consistent with the corporate strategy. The supply chain needs to be aligned with the overall company strategy. We can summarize nowadays strategies by three main one: Operation Excellence, Customer Intimacy and Innovation Excellence. The operation excellence meant to provide the best quality/price ratio. The objective is to decrease the cost in order to sell it at the most competitive price without reducing the quality. The market winner is definitely the price. This strategy is likely to suit a Lean Supply Chain which aims to reduce the waste and therefore the cost. The Customer intimacy is focusing on providing the highest service level to its customers. Agility, flexibility, reactivity are suitable adjective to describe the aim of this strategy. The price is no more the market winner but the Service level is. Agile and Leagile Supply Chain is likely to be the best strategy to compete on this market. Innovation Excellence as the name indicates has to be at the cutting edge of innovation. The company wants to provide always the most advance product. The cost is higher than the other product and the company aim to touch the Early Adopters who are willing to pay a higher price to get an advanced product, thus the market winner is Innovation. The forecast for these kinds of products are difficult and the stockout as well as the obsolescence can be very high. Therefore it requires a rapid time-to-market if the product knows a rapid growth. Supply Chain Key Classification Variables From the table 2, A. Lovell, R. Saw and J. Stimson identified key cost drivers of the supply chain. They conclude that all costs apart from manufacturing there is a small set of drivers: throughput level and variability; product size and weight; value and the demand variability/service factor [A. Lovell, R. Saw and J. Stimson]. They even go further by reducing this number to three by combining the value with size and weight to form product value density [A. Lovell, R. Saw and J. Stimson]. Using these three key cost drivers, supply chain segmentation can be done. Each group of products resulting from this segmentation will share common characteristics. Table 2: Principal Cost Drivers in the Supply Chain [Source: A. Lovell, R. Saw and J. Stimson] In the same spirits, J. Aitken, P. Childerhouse, M. Christopher and D. Towill identidfied five key market characteristics that will be use to design Supply Chains. They use the term DWV [Christopher and Towill (2005)]: Duration of life cycle, Time Window for delivery, Volume, Variety and Variability  [9]  . They argue that for Short life cycles products, the end-to-end supply chain lead time needs to be reduced and optimized which will allows a higher flexibility and a faster time-to-market. Volume and Variability are similar to Lovell et al throughput level and demand variability. However, variety has been taken into account in Lovell concept: Higher the variety is lower the average demand by SKUs will be as the demand will be spread across a greater number of SKUs. It will require a higher flexibility to produce the right product at the right moment. A postponement strategy is well adapted to this kind of environment. Before going further, the table below summarized the key factors that will influence supply chain segmentation: Table 2: Factors influencing Supply Chain Segmentation [Source: A. Lovell, R. Saw and J. Stimson] Segmentation Methods and Model: Choose your supply chain strategy From the previous part on the segmentation factors, we have found different criteria: From these different criteria, many people developed different model and matrix to help them in segmenting the supply chain. In this part we will introduce those models, try to explain their advantage and disadvantages. At the end, we will choose the one we think the most complete and use it during the practical part of this thesis. Many of the models we will introduce use the same concept Volkers 4 folds model: The criteria used by Volker are the Demand predictability and the customer needs. The demand is either easy to predict or non-predictable. The customers require low cost or high flexibility. From this matrix, we can obtain 4 different type of Supply Chain: the Accurate SC, the Agile SC, The Cost-Efficient SC and the Responsive SC. The cost-efficiency represent to the Lean Supply Chain we introduced before. A predictable demand which allows high planning accuracy and therefore enables the most efficient design of the involved processes [Volker] combines with the cost as the order WINNER in clearly indicates that a Lean SC (or Cost-efficient SC) as the best fit. At the opposite, when the demand is non-predictable and the order WINNER is the service level (through the high flexibility) the most suitable Supply Chain will be the agile one. When the demand is predictable and the customer requires high flexibility, it requires the highest accuracy in the planning processes, to guarantee th e required availability and flexibility. The last part is the responsive one the Supply Chain needs to be cost effective while the demand is unpredictable which suggest that a Leagile Supply Chain is the most suitable one. Figure 5: Supply Chain segments and Supply Chain phenotypes [Volker] Advantage: The main advantage is its simplicity, easy to understand and to use. It includes the customers needs. Disadvantages: From the table Factors influencing Supply Chain Segmentation, we can see that this model is using only Markets criteria. It doesnt include any product criteria or source criteria. The throughput level is also missing which makes difficult to determine the importance of the product and the manufacturing strategy that we will use. Therefore, this model is missing key decision factors. This model is limited to the strategy level and doesnt go on the operational level which makes difficult to configure the supply chain. Hau L. Lees model: Same type as the Volkers model, Lees model is using one same criterion: the demand predictability (or the demand certainty). The other criterion is the Supply Uncertainty. The segmentation possibilities: Efficient, Risk-hedging, responsive and agile corresponds at the same concept we introduced before. Advantage: Simple and take into account the supply side. Disadvantage: As for Volkers model, it doesnt include any product factors. And it doesnt include the throughput level. This model is limited to the strategy level and doesnt go on the operational level which makes difficult to configure the supply chain. RELs 9Box: This model use two factors: the Throughput level (in value) and the demand variability It divides the products in three major groups and three different supply chain strategies: Green group: The characteristics of this group are a high throughput level and a low variability in the demand. Easily to forecast using statistical methods, the accuracy needs to be very high as the service level should be high. The value of those product are high so the DIO Days of Inventory Outstanding needs to be low in order to avoid to have too much cash tied up in the supply chain. This group is the major group and needs to get the full attention and the priority from the business. Orange group: As for the green group, MTS Make-to-Stock strategy will be privileged with an average or medium customer service level. The priority is given to the green group. The forecasting method used would be a statistical method or a smoothing average. The forecast accuracy needs to be high and the days of inventory target should be put on average: again the priority is given to the green group. This groups demand certainty is in overall lower than green groups and the throughput level is lower as well. Red group: This groups main characteristic is the low demand certainty that make difficult to drive the supply chain. Thus the manufacturing strategy privileged is the MTO Make-to-Order strategy. As it the fluctuation in demand is too high, the forecast become highly challenging and the accuracy target should be Medium/Low and the DIO target near none. Advantages: Much more operational than the other model we have viewed so far. It goes in a much deeper level than the other model. It is as well simple to use and easy to communicate. Disadvantages: It doesnt include product characteristics into account. It doesnt include the supply side factors and doesnt include customers needs. In addition, it gives us information on the supply chain configuration but forget to identify the supply chain strategy: Lean, Agile, Leagileà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Product Value Density Model: The main difference of this model with the others is that this one is using three segmentation factors while the other methods were using only two. Indeed, this model is using the Product Value Density, the throughput level and the demand-service factor (variability of the demand). From the table showing the supply chain cost (see chapter Supply Chain Key Classification Variables, table XXX), Lowell identified four major factors that impact cost all along the Supply Chain: the Throughput level, the product size and weight, the product value and the demand variability. These four factors become three by combining product size and weight and the product value forming the Product Value Density (PVD). This model can be representing in a three dimensional graph but for ease of comprehension only two dimensional graph will be used (see Figure XXX). Thus, we will consider: the demand variability-service and the throughput; the PVD (product value density) and the throughput; the PVD and the demand variability-service. When introducing his model, Lowell concentrates on the inventory and the transportation side of the supply chain as you can see o n the figure XXX below. Advantages: Take into account product and market factors. Disadvantages: Mainly focus on operational level and focuses on the inventory and transportation part of the supply chain. DWVs model: This model is the one I chose for the practical part. This model is more a guide than a matrix. By the letters DWV, we always take into account all the main factors when determining the supply chain design and configuration. Duration of life cycle, Time Window for delivery, Volume, Variety and Variability Variety = postponement The chosen model: The model chose for the practical part is the first one we have shown, the Volkers model. But we will change it a little so it can include the throughput level (in value) as well as the variety level. So this new model is using four different factors: The customers need, the demand Uncertainty (or variability), the throughput level and the variety level. The throughput level helps us to prioritize the resources through an ABC analysis of the value per product or family of product (ex; Do we really need to build an agile supply chain for a C class product?). It is important to understand the customer needs but business is business and if one customer is not really profitable then the importance for us decrease as much as the throughput level decrease. The variety level helps us to identify the product that may need a postponement strategy. Key Performance Indicators Before to go forward, it is important to introduce the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that we could/should/will use to keep visibility on the supply chains. KPIs are like a speedometer on a car that helps us to know at what speed we are driving. When dealing with an Agile Supply Chain, the performances that we need to keep a close eye on them are: OTIF (On Time In Full): Companies set up Agile strategy to fulfill a specific needs for their customers. They need to get a product when they want, where they want and at the right quantity. And these customers are willing to pay a higher price to get their suppliers that flexible. So any companies setting up an agile supply chain need to make sure that the OTIF performance are extremely high to not disappoint their customers. Forecast Accuracy: If our purpose is to have a Lean strategy, then the forecast accuracy needs to be high. In general, when having a lean supply chain, companies have a make-to-stock production configuration which is equivalent to a forecast-to-stock. Having a bad forecast accuracy will lead to mismatch between demand and supply. Either the company will end up having excess inventory or not lost sales. This KPIs analysis can be done for each of them. Each time we will introduce a new KPI, we will try to explain how important it is for one or another supply chain configuration. Supply Chain Design Practical Example The supply chain design consists on how to structure its supply chain. It involve the configuration of your sourcing (Source) strategy, the production (Make) strategy and the distribution (Deliver) strategy. All these strategy together represent the Supply Chain Configuration or design. Electrolux Make configuration In this part, we have to take different decision, like the production configuration MTS, MTO, ETO, Batch Size, Prioritization, Temporal Physical Postponementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) SOURCE Strategy (Suppliers Partnerships, Suppliers Selection, Suppliers Performance Service Levelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) DELIVERY Strategy (Delivery Lead Time, Transportation Modes, Service Levelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Inventory Strategy (Safety Stock Level, Inventory Level, Inventory Location, Physical Spatial Postponement) Segmentation Model (Nine Box, Product Value-Density Model, Agile Lean Matrixà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Nous effectuerons  : Case study Ce que je pense faire, cest en effet dutiliser les matrices prà ©sentà ©s dans la deuxià ¨me partie et les appliquà ©es a cette entreprises pour restructurer sa supply chain. Les indicateurs de performances seront à ©galement intà ©grer. Ce cas doit à ªtre lillustration des choix faits en fonction de ce que vous avez trouvà © en II ( la fameuse matrice de dà ©cision) SNECMA Presentation Industry Specification SNECMA current strategy SNECMA TO-BE Supply Chain based on product Segmentation Model Case Study Conclusion

F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

Nick Carraway’s Look at Man   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nick Carraway, the first character introduced in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is primarily acts as the â€Å"guide and pathfinder†; he relates the story from what others have told him. He strives at all times to be objective, and his comments are balanced. His amusingly contemptuous remarks show his sense of humor, and although he is straight-laced, he does not bore the reader. Nick is introduced directly, but Gatsby remains a distant character for a good while. The establishment of Nick’s reflective, tolerant personality is essential, as are his limitations, so the reader doesn’t just dismiss him as Fitzgerald’s mouthpiece. The fact that he disapproves of Gatsby so early on helps the reader to go along with his judgments when he tells of Gatsby and unfolds the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first mysterious glimpse of Gatsby prepares the reader for much of what is to come. The imagery of â€Å"silhouette,† â€Å"moonlight,† and â€Å"shadow† in this passage prepares the reader for Gatsby’s shadowy, dark character. Many more of his actions appear to the reader, and Nick, as â€Å"curious.† The fact he is‘ trembling’ shows he is intense in his emotions-- and none of this is for show; Gatsby believes he is alone. His concentration on the â€Å"single green light† represents his determination to succeed, his constant drive; everything is designed so he can be with Daisy. He then vanishes; echoing the end of the book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nick is unlike the other characters of the book; he is not one of the â€Å"careless people.† He has a conscience, he is not selfish-- he has decency, which is well demonstrated in his efforts for Gatsby’s funeral. His down-to-earth character shows how superficial Daisy and Tom are. They are ruthlessly practical, where as Gatsby is a hopeless dreamer. Nick guides the reader between these two extremes while remaining a detached observer whilst being involved in the action-- â€Å"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nick’s aim to be truthful and objective makes the reader trust him. When Nick says Gatsby has a â€Å"rare smile with a quality of eternal reassurance in it,† the reader knows his riches or parties, but is telling it to the reader straight aren’t charming Nick. His contempt for much of what Gatsby says, but also Nick’s tolerance, is emphasized when Nick doesn’t mock him-- ‘â€Å"I lived . .

Warrior Marks Essay -- essays research papers

Warrior Marks   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Female circumcision is a traditional ritual that is mostly practiced in Africa on young girls with ages that vary from birth to pre-pubescent. It is reported to have its origins (with varying degrees of reliability) in ancient Egypt. Female circumcision was also discovered being practiced in western India and eastern Asia until it was outlawed around the turn of the 20th century (common era). The procedure is varied through three different types of circumcision: Infibulation, clitoridectomy and Sunna. Clitoridectomy and Sunna are minor version of the circumcision with Infibulation being the most drastic. These practices cause serious health hazards in some women, which become greater in adult years with the introduction of menstruating, intercourse and childbirth. Clearly, there must be a powerful reason for this procedure to continue given the complications and mandatory repetitious post surgeries. Some accounting must be taken in order to understand why women are put in such peril. The answer lies in culture. A person's culture and background define the belief system and understanding that a person holds as innate truth. All choices and decisions are made because of culture and anything that is in direct opposition to culture affects the decision process and their beliefs. Other important elements to understanding the continuance of female circumcision are social and religious traditions, power/alienation relationships, and aesthetic tastes. Is this longstanding tradition necessary and if so are there ways to incorporate more conducive (sterile instruments, medically certified/experienced doctors, age limit, etc.) methods of performing the operation? However unnecessary an outsider may think the practice is, the irrevocable fact is that this tradition is an important element of cultural identity. If the operation somehow was not completed by a certain age in the girls life, she would be encouraged by her peers as well as her elders to seek out and request the circumcision. Different from most traditional practices in African, female circumcision is exclusively reserved for women’s presence and men are excluded from detailed knowledge of specific events. Females normally have these operations performed on them before or at puberty. It is common for the mother or other close relative usually holds the girl in pa... ...iciently abhorrent that we will actively work to change the behavior. I would recommend that the United Nations take a more practical stand on the issue and begin to put in place alternatives that will at the very least make the practice of female circumcision more sanitary. These organizations offer condoms to reduce the spread of aids and food resources to incite healthy eating habits so they should begin to train these countries to complete the practice in exact medical form. This does no mean that the United Nations or any other organization agrees with the practice, it simply means that positive efforts are being made towards reducing unnecessary after effects. We will never be able to address whether or not the process is necessary because we do not understand the culture. However, we can make it better. Everyone in America does not agree with abortion, which could be considered female genital mutilation, however the choice to have the procedure done is available and it is available under medically trained doctors that are focused on keeping the patient safe. The patients of female circumcision should also have these options available. To understand does not mean to condone.

How do you define environmental science? Essay

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field that combines information from many disciplines, such as biology, geography, chemistry, geology, physics, economics, sociology (particularly demography, the study of populations), cultural anthropology, natural resource management, agriculture, engineering, law, politics, and ethics. Ecology, the discipline of biology that studies the interrelationships between organisms and their environment, is a basic tool of environmental science. Atmospheric science is a branch of environmental science that includes the study of weather and climate, greenhouse gases, and other airborne pollutants. Environmental chemistry examines chemicals in the environment, including soil and water pollution. Geosciences—for example, environmental geology and physical geography—study a wide range of environmental topics, such as soil erosion, groundwater use, ocean pollution, and climate. Scientists in these sub-disciplines not only evaluate environmental quality but they also develop ways to restore damaged environments. Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, (including but not limited to Ecology, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Soil Science, Geology, Atmospheric Science and Geography) to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems. Environmental science provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems.[1] Related areas of study include environmental studies and environmental engineering. Environmental studies incorporates more of the social sciences for understanding human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. Environmental engineering focuses on design and technology for improving environmental quality. Environmental scientists work on subjects like the understanding of earth processes, evaluating alternative energy systems, pollution control and mitigation, natural resource management, and the effects of global climate change. Environmental issues almost always include an interaction of physical,  chemical, and biological processes. Environmental scientists bring a systems approach to the analysis of environmental problems. Key elements of an effective environmental scientist include the ability to relate space, and time relationships as well as quantitative analysis. Environmental science came alive as a substantive, active field of scientific investigation in the 1960s and 1970s driven by (a) the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to analyze complex environmental problems, (b) the arrival of substantive environmental laws requiring specific environmental protocols of investigation and (c) the growing public awareness of a need for action in addressing environmental problems. Events that spurred this development included the publication of Rachael Carson’s landmark environmental book Silent Spring[2] along with major environmental issues becoming very public, such as the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, and the Cuyahoga River of Cleveland, Ohio, â€Å"catching fire† (also in 1969), and helped increase the visibility of environmental issues and create this new field of study. * How does the relationship between science and technology affect   environmental problems and solutions in today’s society? It usually goes like this: Someone uses the power of SCIENCE to make a Really Cool Thingâ„ ¢ that causes unintended environmental problems (e.g. the car). If enough people care about the problems, then someone, again using the power of SCIENCE, makes something to fix or reduce the problem (e.g. the catalytic converter, hybrid car, etc.). If not enough people care about the problem, then they continue using the Really Cool Thingâ„ ¢ until the problem becomes such that it cannot be ignored (e.g. air pollution in California), whereupon people are compelled to make or enact something in an effort to fix or reduce the problem. Read more: How does the relationship between science and technology affect environmental problems and solutions in today’s society? | Answerbag http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2679770#ixzz2HM50PYt6 * Why is the concept of environmental sustainability important, and why should it be studied? What are the historical patterns surrounding sustainable and unsustainable human interactions with the environment? * In general, how do human values affect sustainability given current challenges facing society? * After reviewing the research on the environment, how do environmental hazards affect human health? Provide at least two examples.

Chromosome 6 Summary

Summary of Chromosome 6 by author Robin Cook: Chromosome 6 begins with the murder of an infamous Mafia figure, Carlo Franconi. His Mafia competitors are the number one suspects for the shooting, and these suspicions rise when Franconi’s body disappears from the morgue before the autopsy is carried out. Medical examiner Jack is confused and interested by the case, along with his partner Dr. Montgomery. However, their attention is sidetracked by the arrival of a mutilated, unidentifiable body that has been found in the river.The two doctors are disturbed by the appearance of the body, because it has been completely mutilated. When they discover that the body is also missing its liver, they go on a quest to find the reason why, which takes them into the dangerous jungles of Equatorial Guinea. Here the two men discover the scary possibilities of medicine and science and the unethical experiments being carried out on humans and animals. In Chromosome 6, there are two stories being told. The first story takes place mostly in New York, where the medical examiners are faced with the task of doing an autopsy on Carlo Franconi.Alongside that story, we are introduced to Kevin Marshal, a 34-year-old geek who works for GenSys, a biotech company. Kevin lives in Equatorial Guinea, where he’s doing research using Bonobos, a type of primate. Equatorial Guinea is where the second story takes place, where Kevin must solve a mystery of his own. Along the way he is helped by Melanie Becket and Candace Brickman. Then, Jack and Kevin's stories merge into one complicated, unified plot. Although Jack is the main character in this story, Kevin is by far the most memorable. Both the group in New York and the one in Africa risk their lives to learn their respective truths.

Archimedes’ Autobiobraphy

our site – CUSTOM ESSAY WRITING – DISSRTATION EXAMPLES & FREE ESSAYS Abstract The invention of mathematical formulas used in physical and chemical sciences has played a crucial role in technological advancement exhibited in the contemporary society. Many of these inventions were made in the early and the late 1800’s, while some made as early as 200 BC’s. Many scholars in the contemporary generation have shown increased interest in studying the motivation of these ancient inventors and how they managed to develop their ideas (Netz & Noel, 2007). This paper will document the autobiography of Archimedes of Syracuse, who has been considered a pioneer through inventing mathematical formulas. â€Å"Archimedes of Syracuse† Archimedes was born to Phidias, a mathematician and an astronomer in 287 BC in Syracuse, a city in Sicily (Zannos, 2005). There is no clear information about his early life and his family, but some people claim that his nobility was of Syracuse and that he was related to the King of Syracuse, Hiero II. During this period, Syracuse was considered a centre of commercial activities and as a young person growing in this busy city Archimedes developed an interest in solving complex mathematical problems facing the people of Sicily (Anderson, 2009). After acquiring much information from the local schools he attended in Syracuse, he travelled to Egypt for further learning in Alexandria University. Upon completion of his education, Archimedes travelled back to Syracuse where he lived a life of innovative thinking and solving problems through critical thinking as well as application of mathematical formulas (Geymonat, 2010). King Hiero II was impressed by Archimedes’ inventions which o ffered solutions to various challenges (Neal, 2011). One of Archimedes’s inventions that impressed King Hiero II was Archimedes’ screw that enabled the King to empty water from a hull of his ship. Archimedes was also asked by the king to find out how he could determine the amount of gold on his crown without destroying it. Archimedes addressed this by immersing it in water and determining the volume of the water it displaced, then determining the weight of the crown, thus its density (Dijksterhuis, 2009). This information enabled him to determine the purity of the crown. Apart from his innovations, Archimedes participated in the defense of Sicily from the Romans. Sicily was considered a centre of political and geological activities, as an Island located between Carthage and Rome, Sicily was faced by the challenge of ally issues. That is, the King did not know whether to form an ally with either Rome or Carthage: This is because, forming an ally with i.e. Rome, could have led to enmity between Sicily and Carthage (Gow, 2005). Archimedes was given the responsibility of constructing walls to protect the city from Carthaginian or Roman attacks. He also developed war machines that could be used during attacks. In geometry, Archimedes contributed significantly towards the development of the basic principles of pivot as well as pulley system. He also contributed significantly towards the understanding of the principle of buoyancy, defined as the power of liquid to exert an upward force on an object placed in it (Paipetis, 2010). Archimedes died when Rome at tacked Syracuse, he was attacked by an enraged soldier, who had demanded that he accompany him to King Marcellus’ tent (Jaeger, 2008). In conclusion, Archimedes had a significant contribution to in mathematics and physics. His ideas regarding the calculation of density of objects immersed in water as well as the idea of buoyancy are currently used in various learning systems and in practical circumstances. Archimedes can also be considered a patriot owing to the fact that he defended his nation fearlessly from the cruel Roman Soldiers, an act that led to his death at 75 years (Archimedes, Netz &Eutocius, 2004). Bibliography Archimedes., Netz, R. and Eutocius, (2004). The works of Archimedes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dijksterhuis, E. (2009). Archimedes. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Netz, R. and Noel, W. (2007). The Archimedes Codex. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press. Zannos, S. (2005). The life and times of Archimedes. Hockessin, Del.: Mitchell Lane.Geymonat, M. (2010). The Great Archimedes. Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press. Anderson, M. (2009). Archimedes of Syracuse: The chest of ideas : A historical novel. Faifield, Iowa: 1st World Publishing. Gow, M. (2005). Archimedes: Mathematical Genius of the Ancient World. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow. Paipetis, S. (2010). Archimedes’ Contribution in Physics and Mathematics. Dordrecht: Springer. Neal, C. (2011). Archimedes. New York: McGrawHill. Jaeger, M. (2008). Archimedes and the Roman imagination. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.