Halting Mad Cow Disease Hysteria Essay -- Health Food Disease Meat Ess

Halting Mad Cow Disease Hysteria If you had to choose between having Mad Cow Disease or becoming the top scientist in your field, which would you choose? The answer is obvious. Most realize that Mad Cow Disease, i.e. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a fatal disease that has been present among cattle populations in Europe over the past couple decades. In BSE, brain cells begin to die, forming sponge-like holes in the cow’s brain tissue. Evidence shows that consumption of infected cattle could correspond with the contraction of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a similar disease in humans. Although few people have been diagnosed with CJD worldwide, they remain fearful of showing symptoms of CJD; commonly resulting in death within a year. For this reason, many Americans panicked when becoming aware that the first case of BSE was discovered in the United States in December of 2003. Unfortunately, the media is quick to show infected cows, distempered and shaking in their stalls, without giving sufficien t information of the disease’s origin or the preventative measures being taken to halt its spreading. Before consumers restrict beef intake from their diets they should consider their risks. In America, chances of developing BSE is far slimmer than becoming infected with other food-borne illnesses. Although many Americans were recently startled by a reported case of Mad Cow Disease in the United States, they are assured protection from infection by: consumption of selected meats, closely guarded packaging plants, and regulation in beef imports. To fully understand the spreading of BSE, one must first know the diseases origin. The cause of the disease is not official, but three theories are considered. The fi... ...eats contact. Finally, families who eat spinal or nervous tissue of cows can greatly reduce their risks of developing mad cow disease by not purchasing such items. The beef industry is willingly under surveillance, making all attempts to produce safe and healthy products. American residents should be assured that all necessary precautions have been taken to keep Mad Cow Disease out of the United States and consumer-friendly beef on market shelves. An excerpt from the FDA Consumer Magazine leaves the nation with this very â€Å"important message from both the Harvard and GAO studies. . . We must continue to work hard to make a good system even better. The FDA and the states will continue their aggressive inspection program and will continue to work closely with all components of the cattle and feed communities to help make a, thankfully, low public risk even lower.†

Operational Research Essay

Stock control or Inventory control has been in use for a long time. While small organizations may use manual methods to track their stock, complex global organizations make use of sophisticated systems like ERP’s to handle inventory control. There are various stock control methods in use. The methods used by a business organization depend upon not only the size and complexity but the type of industry it is in. A DIY superstore may use a method like the Order Point where the demand is driven by the customer’s buying patterns with little or no control by the manufacturer. As against this, a stock control method like MRP is used in companies like the Executive Upholstery Company where demand is dependent upon sales forecast and the sales orders. In the following paragraphs the stock control methods used by Executive Upholstery Company and DIY superstore are examined and also compared with each other to provide insights into the two methods discussed. Order Point Method – DIY superstore Supermarkets, warehouses and even some manufacturing companies tend to use Order Timing Decisions or Order Point methods for inventory control where the demand is not certain. The demand pattern in a DIY superstore is seasonal and is dictated by the consumers. The demand is independent of the manufacturing processes and many variations in demand need to be considered while controlling the inventory. Traditionally stock control was done using guess work to identify the stock levels and re order points. Factors like Safety Stock, EOQ, an Lead Times were not considered. Because of the huge numbers of items involved, and also the need to cope up with variable and uncertain demand patterns, manual methods gave way to some techniques like ABC/ VED analysis; Forecast Order Point. In ABC analysis, for instance, the inventory is categorized by the importance of the contribution to the final product cost. Some classification can be the ‘most important’, ‘important’ and ‘less important’. In the Forecast Order Point method of stock control, the future demand is calculated using the historical demand patterns. Time series methods like simple average, weighted average and exponential smoothing methods can also be used to forecast demand more accurately. In the DIY superstore example, the simple average method was used to forecast demand and lead time. Based on the 5 weeks of Master Production schedule, re order point for various items for the week6 were determined. Table 2 below shows the reorder point for the various items based on the 5 weeks of maser Production Schedule. The inherent problem with this technique is that it assumes that the forecast is near accurate and there is safety stock. In a weighted average method of forecasting technique, weighting to the most recent demand is given more and less to the earlier weeks. Techniques like Exponential smoothing are used to forecast the demand more accurately when there are trends in data and data is available for a longer period of time. Considerations like Safety stock and Service Level need to accounted for while using any forecasting technique. MRP in Executive Upholstery Company MRP is used when the demand is more certain and is based on sales forecasts, sales orders. It uses a time phased production schedule dictated by the capacity available. MRP uses, apart from this top level demand, inputs like Bill of Material, Stock on hand, Purchase orders already placed. Bill of materials lists all the parts and components required to make finished products and subassemblies. A structure diagram for BOM can be made using various levels with the finished product being at level 1. Manufacturing organizations do use stock files and work order files. Stock files list current stock of all parts: finished, raw material and sub assemblies. Work order files list replenishment orders which have been already placed. The main consideration of MRP is to produce a set of ‘time phased requirements’ (orders) for each component in the system at specified intervals of time – days or weeks. The first step in MRP is to identify the Gross Requirements for each component or assembly – how many in each time period. The Gross Requirements for each part in the example at table 1 is arrived at by identifying the demand quantity of each of the three types of chairs (Captain, Recliner and Director) from the Master Production Schedule and multiplying this quantity by the quantity in each part in its bill including the parts of sub assemblies and then adding them up all to arrive at the total demand for each part. While calculating the Gross Requirements, the lowest level components are used. Also, the beginning inventory(stock on hand) as well as the purchase orders pending were taken into consideration while calculating the net Requirement for each part. Another concept used in the example in Table1 is the Planned Order Releases which are scheduled orders by taking into consideration lead time, lot sizes. Summary MRP solves more complex issues like which part to order and when for a production process which are not easily amenable in a stock control method like Order Point. Order Point calculations do not take into consideration lot sizes, safety stock, and the more methodical approach of calculating Gross Requirements and net Requirements of each part involved in a finished product.

Unions at the Work Place

Work dominates modern life. Work can be satisfying, enjoyable and rewarding. Many of the difficulties which face several nations today arise from the fact that, over many years, a lot of people who want to work have been denied the chance to do so. Most employers treat their workers fairly. But some do not. Complaints about the way they were treated by their employer are rampant. Even the best bosses can make mistakes from time to time. Unions exist to help people at work and make the work place a better place. Basically, unions work on the simple principle that while an employer might be able to ignore the views of a single worker, if all workers speak with one voice the employer has to take notice. Unions encourage their members to take part in collective decisions on workplace issues and these views are then put to the employer. From time to time, Union members in the same workplace will get together to talk about common problems. The issues most likely to come up are pay, safety, unfair treatment of a group or individual, or simply the way the work is organized. The union members will usually elect someone to speak on their behalf – a shop steward or office representative. The rep will then discuss their concerns with management. Where the union has a recognition agreement with management they reach decisions together on key issues. In bigger workplaces there will be a number of representatives, sometimes from different unions, speaking on behalf of different groups of workers. And in very big workplaces some of these union representatives will spend much of their working day dealing with union business, talking to management helping solve problems on behalf of their members. Most sensible employers welcome these arrangements. They understand it is better for workers to have an independent means of dealing with problems rather than letting them fester or hoping they will be sorted out by the supervisors or line managers who are sometimes the cause of the problems. However, is that enough? Shall Unions' responsibility be limited to those of their kinds or should it be widened to apply coverage to the whole society at large? Ross M. Martin, in the book Trade Unionism – Purposes and Forms, p. 62 wrote: â€Å"The responsibility of the part to the whole is inseparable from the idea that society is an organism. For the trade union that means a responsibility which extends beyond the membership, beyond the class, to society at large.† When we talk of trade union, we talk of association of workers for the purpose of improving their economic status and working conditions through collective bargaining. Historically there have been two major types of labor unions: the horizontal, or craft, union, in which all the members are skilled in a certain craft (e.g., carpenters); and the vertical, or industrial, union, composed of workers in the same industry, whatever their particular skills (e.g., automobile workers). A company union is an employee-controlled union having no affiliation with other labor organizations. The term closed shop refers to a company that hires only union members. In a union shop, employees are required to join a union within a specified time after being hired. An open shop does not restrict its employees to union members. Labor unions are essentially the product of the industrial revolution of the 19th century. In Great Britain, miners and textile workers were organized in the 1860s. Most European labor organizations today are either political parties or are affiliated with political parties, usually left-wing ones. In Britain today there are almost 23 million people in paid employment. Most of them spend up to a quarter of their lives at work – longer, on average, than anywhere else in Europe. Today almost seven million people in Europe belong to TUC unions (founded in Manchester in 1868) that is almost one worker in every three. Wherever people work there are union members – or potential union members. They include men and women; full-time and part-time workers; people in big businesses, and those in small ones; people who work for the government and those who work for themselves. Union members are no different from anyone else, except they tend to be better paid and have better working conditions because they have someone to stand up for them. Unions contribute to the success of an enterprise by helping employers plan for the future and manage change. Some of the most dynamic companies work routinely with the unions to keep their workforce informed on crucial issues. The development of worker and union involvement in an enterprise is known in Europe as ‘social partnership'. In some workplaces arrangements to involve workers more closely have been developed with formal â€Å"works councils†. European regulations require such works councils for large companies that operate in more than one EU country. They also require consultation where big changes or redundancies are planned. Sometimes companies and unions have to find imaginative solutions to changes in demand for goods and services. The social partnership approach allows both sides to explore ways of working to the benefit of employees as well as the enterprise. Many union movements in the underdeveloped countries have led anticolonial campaigns toward political independence. In the United States, Unions began developing in the 1830s. Among the important early organizations were the Knights of Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World. A milestone in the history of American unionism came in 1886 with the formation of a group that eventually became the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), an association that includes nearly all of the larger U.S. Unions. The U.S. Labor movement gained support from such new deal laws as the Wagner Act (1935), creating the National Labor Relations Board, but later was restricted by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. By the late 1970s some 20 states had banned the closed shop through right-to-work laws. In bargaining with companies in economically troubled industries in the 1980s, U.S. Unions often sought to save existing jobs through concessions (give-backs) of earlier gains, and in 1993 unions unsuccessfully fought passage of the North American free trade agreement, fearing job losses if it were ratified. U.S. Union membership has steadily declined from its peak of 35.5% of the nonagricultural workforce in 1945; in 1992, when U.S. Unions had 16,390,000 members, it stood at 15.8%. Today there are unions in virtually every country in the world. In countries as far apart as South Africa and Poland unions have been at the forefront of campaigns for social change. Internationally, world trade unionism was split after 1949 between two rival organizations: the World Federation of Trade Unions (1945) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (1949). The International Labor Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations.

Persuing a Career in Civil Engineering Essays

Persuing a Career in Civil Engineering Essays Persuing a Career in Civil Engineering Paper Persuing a Career in Civil Engineering Paper Why do I want to be a civil engineer? Until recently, I did not know the answer to this question myself. I was extremely confused when it came to choosing a career. There were so many fields that interested me that I found it difficult to make up my mind. Then I read about civil engineering, an occupation involving the construction of buildings, roads, and bridges. As I looked further into civil engineering, I began to like many aspects of this career. Civil Engineers play a crucial role in the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings. Before beginning construction civil engineers plan layout and every other aspect of a building. As the article â€Å"Architecture (building)† on Microsoft ® Encarta ® remarks â€Å"Architecture must satisfy its intended uses, must be technically sound, and must convey aesthetic meaning† because â€Å"Architecture is a social art† (page 1 of 19). Structural engineers are principally concerned with the structural form of a building, whereas architects are concerned with the integration of the building functions, form, mechanical system, as well as the building itself. It is through their collaboration that complex building can be designed. Designing the overall frame of a building is the first step in constructing a viable and stable structure. According with the Attila Lawrence’s article on the â€Å"architectureweeek† web page, â€Å" In today’s competitive business environment, corporate cultures tend to focus on improving product quality while minimizing costs and managing risks†, (page 1 of 2). Furthermore, the English poet Sir Henry Wotton said: â€Å" Well building have three conditions: Commoditie, Firmenes, and Delight† (qtd. In Architecture (building) page 1 of 19). Structure and aesthetics of a building are related through efficiency, lightness, elegance, and the principles of minimizing weight and using the least material possible to control cost. Civil engineers and architects together design in detail the various components of a building and the materials to be used. According with the article â€Å"Building Construction† on Microsoft ® Encarta ®, â€Å" The major elements of a building include the following: The foundation, the structure, the exterior walls, the interior partitions, the environmental-control systems, the vertical transportation communications, and the power, water supply system†, (III elements of a building, page 2 of 12). Furthermore, as the article â€Å"Building Construction† on Microsoft ® Encarta ® remarks, â€Å"As a eneral rule, state laws require a registered architect or engineer, or both, to execute the design and to make sure the design complies with public health, zoning, and building-code requirements†, (II construction industry, page 1 of 12). Thus the designs of a building are not only influenced by the principles of physics and economics but also by laws t hat are set down by every culture to make buildings conform to their standards. Another factor that influences the design of a building is technology. The article Architecture (building) Microsoft ® Encarta ® explains: â€Å"Architectural form is inevitably influenced by the technologies applied† (page 1of 19). One such technology is the AutoCAD design software. It is used to design sophisticated construction, mechanical, and electrical, structures. According to professor Curtis Burkett, â€Å"AutoCAD is an excellent software that had changed the way of drawing plans and design structure† (personal interview). Paper designs of buildings are a thing of the past. In the age of computers, civil engineers design and test their structures on computers. Civil engineers use their knowledge to make the calculations required for the design of projects and supervise the drafting. Susan Knack in the article â€Å" who builds big† says that the most fun thing about civil engineer job is â€Å" applying problem-solving skills to resolve real-life problems, visiting job site, seeing my designs transformed from paper to real life, and every once in a while, getting to rappel off a building,† (page 2 of 3). Civil engineers calculate the most efficient way to put together the various components of a building, and establish detailed programs for the coordination of site activities. Eugene L. Bass in the article â€Å"The Law Civil Engineering,† says: â€Å"The law has attempted to be of assistance in providing a definition of supervision of the construction of engineering structures. It means the periodic observation of materials and completed work to determine general compliance with plans, specifications, and design and planning concepts,† (page 1 of 2). During construction the civil engineer is charged with the responsibility of insuring that the facility is constructed according to plans and specifications and that the materials and equipment incorporated in the project are those that were called for in the original design. Construction site are among the most dangerous of all industrial workplaces. In the article â€Å"The law Civil engineering† by Eugene L. Bass, â€Å" Supervisions of the construction of engineering structure does not include responsibility for the superintendence of construction processes, site conditions, operations, equipment, personnel, or the maintenance of a safe place to work or any safety in, or about the site† (page 1 of 2). Civil engineers have the control over the employees and the job site, and are the overall coordinators of the work, but they are not responsible for the safety of the workers at the construction site. Protecting construction workers from injury and disease is among the greatest challenges in occupational safety and health. For the construction workers is important to have contractual protections from responsibility for jobsite safety. Civil engineers continuously check the integrity of the buildings, and carry out any emergency reapers that might be required. According with the article â€Å"Building Construction,† Microsoft ® Encarta ®: the contractor, architect, and engineer are legally responsible for any deficiencies in the construction or design for a period of several years after acceptance,† (II construction industry, pages 2 of 12). A civil engineer skill is the knowledge of methods and techniques as applied in surveying and construction and maintenance of works. Furthermore, civil engineers have to take preventive measures to stop corrosion of building parts. For example, Susan Knack in the article â€Å"Who builds big? † explains things that engineers are use to do for the maintenance of a building. She says: â€Å"I investigate why buildings leak and deteriorate and design new construction and repairs to deal with these problems,† (page 1 of 3). Civil engineers have many ways to examine deteriorate building parts, but the most common is the nondestructive evaluation.. According with the article â€Å" Nondestructive Evaluation for Historic Preservation,† Architectureweek web page, â€Å" An investigation usually begins with a walk-through survey of the entire site and structure† then â€Å"A close inspection can then take place, documenting all or selected areas of the building† finally â€Å" An inspection of building systems may address all or only some elements and features of the building, including site and subsurface conditions,† (page 1 of 7). In conclusion civil engineers conceive, plan, construct, and operate facilities that meet basic human needs. It is an exciting field where I can use my creativity to build beautiful, useful and lasting structures. Moreover, civil engineers play an important role in a culture in the sense that a culture is known by what it creates and leaves behind for future generations. I have determined that civil engineering is the career that I want to pursue. I am counting on my passion for building structures that are unique to succeed in this field.

Easy and Common German Adjectives to Remember

Easy and Common German Adjectives to Remember Beginning German learners usually learn basic common adjectives first, such as gut (good), schlecht (bad), schà ¶n (pretty), hsslich (ugly), neu (new), alt (old). But your knowledge of German adjectives could grow exponentially without much mental effort, if you used what you already know with some slight modications. Being aware of the following will help you learn a whole array of easy German adjectives. Cognate Adjectives:The German language has a surprising large amount of cognate adjectives in English. They differ mostly by their suffixes. There are only slight differences between these adjectives in the two languages. Even if you dont remember these differences when speaking, the adjectives resemble one another so much, that a German speaker would understand what you are trying to say :(dont forget to switch the c to a k when writing them!) English adjectives ending in : diagonal, emotional, ideal, normal, national, original English adjectives ending in : tolerant, interessant, elegant English adjectives ending in : excellent, intelligent, kompetent English adjectives ending in : generell, individuell, offiziel, sensationell English Adjective ending in : allergisch, analytisch, egoistisch, musikalisch English adjective ending in :aktiv, intensiv, kreativ, passiv English adjective endings in : freundlich, hungrig, persà ¶nlich, sportlich Using Present and Past Participles as Adjectives:Though you need to know how to form participles to begin with, these are easily mastered. (See Participles) Basically one changes a present or past participle into an adjective simply by adding the appropriate case ending.For Example:The present participle of schlafen is schlafend.Das schlafende Kind - The sleeping child. (See Present Participle)The past participle of kochen is gekocht.Ein gekochtes Ei - The cooked egg. (See Past Participle) Adjective Combinations:These types of adjectives give a nice punch to conversation and serve to further itensify and emphasize what you are trying to say. (Just make sure to not overuse them.) The easiest ones to remember are the ones that are a literal translation from English. There are several of them and are mostly adjective combinations with colors and some with animals:Color adjectives with ... dunkel (dark), hell (light) and blass (pale)etc.For Example: dunkelblau (dark blue), hellbraun (light brown), blassgelb (pale yellow)same: schneeweiß (snowwhite) rabenschwarz (ravenblack), blutrot (bloodred)Animal Adjective Combinations:Some of these are not at all expressed in English in the same way, nevertheless the visual picture associated with these adjectives make them easy to remember.aalglatt - to be smooth like an eelbrenstark - to be strong like a bearbienenfleissig - to be busy like a beemausarm - to be as poor as a mousehundemà ¼de - to be dog-tiredpudelnass - to be wet like a poodlewieselflink - to be as swift as a weasel

Life Span Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Life Span Development - Research Paper Example Children go through many physical and emotional changes and these years play a very important role in the lives of individuals as its effects last for the rest of the life. According to Erik Erikson’s theory of socio-emotional development, a person develops skills, self-esteem, confidence, a sense of responsibility, and learns about love and family values (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981). By the time a person reaches young adulthood, a person focuses more on interpersonal relationships and looks for a partner to commit to, which increases a sense of belonging. Erikson calls this stage Intimacy vs. Isolation (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981). A study concludes that romantic love in young adults consists three main factors: connectedness, attraction, and painful love (Seiffge-Krenke, Shulman, & Kiessinger, 2001). The relationship of a person with parents, the marital status of parents, and a number of other factors related to different stages of development have a significant effect on the romantic love of young adults (Seiffge-Krenke, Shulman, & Kiessinger, 2001). Selecting a life partner is one of the most important decisions of young adults and has a significant influence on the life of a person. Social Penetration is a term used to define relationships that move from liking to greater closeness and intimacy (Altman & Taylor, 1973).

Women's movments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women's movments - Essay Example Mass women’s movements are no longer there since the beginning of the era of organizations that acts on their behalf such as the National Organization for Women. Opposition to women demands also led to the decline and the backsliding of the women’s movement in many forms such as silence and backlash in legal attacks on the actions taken, and the media portrayal of some women. There were also a lot of opposition from politicians, employers, and bureaucrats in the private and the public arena as Epstein (2002) asserts. The job evaluators were not keen on increasing women’s salaries to equalize it with the mens but wanted to protect the interests of their private employers. Employers also opposed any pay rises due to the fear of high costs, and working men feared a pay cut to increase the womens wages. Men with masculine superiority never wanted women work to be equal to theirs and opposed the idea greatly. There were also employment and economic changes by capitalists aimed at achieving flexibility, maximize profits, and make the movement weak. Males were opposed to payrise for women, as they wanted them to remain inferior to them in all aspects (Ehrenreich, 2005). Many changes occurred in the organizations such as labor movements not related to feminism leaving feminism organizations to focus on races, cross-class, and global focus.Women remain the active caregivers with or without pay. One major cause of the decline in the womens movement is the continuous attack on feminism and the decline of the other activist’s movements that encouraged women to demand their rights. There is a big decline in the Black Power Movements and the civil rights such that they have weakened. The other groups such as the gay and lesbian rights groups nowadays have no direction and the movement’s leaders are not willing to discuss the problems facing movements in the