Adopting Strategy and Operations Management Essay - 30

Adopting Strategy and Operations Management - Essay Example The author of the paper states that for the company’s operational perspective, they would be losing millions from the sales due to this market stagnation, but they must also augment it and continue and salvage what profit that could be had. Their target customers should be well informed of which stores are still operational so that somehow profits could still be derived while even offering discounts to entice the market. Business is always a gamble; it is something indefinite, uncertain, and ever-changing. It is important to be readily flexible in shifting and adapting operations should a profitable venture present itself. In an article by Sam Grobart for Bloomberg, he cites that mobile ads are garnering much profit for the companies that engage in it. In this age of social media and smartphones, the bridge of communication to the consumers can be easily bridged, which is why many companies should be shifting their attention into this. Google, which garners the most profit out of this, has also adopted its operations in a way wherein Android devices could also benefit. With the introduction of mobile-payment schemes, they have enabled their advertisers to have more of a monopolized attention to the consumers through their smartphones

Ethics in Public Administration Essay Example for Free

Ethics in Public Administration Essay The national bicentennial in 1976 marked two important birthdays for public administration. It was the ninetieth anniversary of the appearance of the first fully developed essay on what was considered a new or at least a separately identified field public administration. In that essay, the young political scientist Woodrow Wilson (1941) wrote the now famous words, administration lies outside the proper sphere of politics. Administrative questions are not political questions; although politics sets the tasks for administration, it should not be suffered to manipulate its offices. And it was exactly fifty years since the publication of Leonard White (1926) text, Introduction to the Study of Public Administration, the first in the field. Whites book was, for his time, an advanced and sophisticated attempt to marry the science of government and the science of administration. Whereas Wilson had argued that public administration is a field of business and should be separate from politics, White forty years later countered that public administration can be effective only if it constitutes an integration of the theory of government and the theory of administration. As fields or professions go, public administration is young. Its early impetus was very much connected with civil service reform, the city manager movement, the good government movement, and the professionalization of the administrative apparatus of government. It was in this era that principles of administration were developed and the first academic programs in the field were established at American universities. This was a heady era, during which the United States civil service was developed, an innovation adopted in many American states and municipalities. Formal systems of budgeting and purchasing were adopted, and other aspects of the science of management were applied to government affairs. Many of the early leaders in this reform movement also played out important political roles, most notably Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Public administration was new, a response to a rapidly changing government. The second era in public administration could be said to have begun with the Depression and the New Deal, followed by World War II. This era was characterized by the remarkably rapid growth of the government, particularly at the national level, the development of major American social programs, and ultimately the development of a huge defense program. At this time it became apparent that a large and centralized government can accomplish heroic tasks. Patterns were being developed and attitudes framed for the conduct of American government and the practices of public administration for the coming twenty years. This era also produced most of the major American scholars in public administration who were to dominate the scene from the 1940s into the 1970s. The period that followed was characterized by rapid growth in the public service and by extensive suburbanization and urbanization. But it was also a period of great questioning of the purposes and premises of public administration. A broad variety of social programs and services were developed, a cold war machine was maintained, and the public service continued both to grow and to professionalize. It seemed as if such expansion could go on endlessly. But by the mid-1960s several crises were developing simultaneously. In many ways, these crises seemed in part to result from the excesses of an earlier time. In other ways, they seemed to be an expression of old and unanswered problems built into our society and our system of government. The urban crisis resulted from relentless suburbanization governmentally supported. The racial crisis is closely connected, resulting in part from the serious ghettoization of American minorities in the central sections of our great cities. As the central cities have deteriorated, so have their public services. We continue to have unacceptable levels of unemployment, especially among minorities. And our welfare system is badly overloaded. The rapid depletion of our fuel resources results in an energy crisis, which comes hard on the heels of the environmental crisis. And, of course, there is health care, transportation, and on and on. All of these crises have affected public administration. Three particular events or activities occurred between the mid-1960s and 1970s that indelibly marked the society and the government and, hence, public administration: the war in Vietnam, the urban riots and continued racial strife, and Watergate. These crises and events resulted in new government programs and changed ways of thinking about and practicing public administration. Frederick C. Mosher and John C. Honey studied the characteristics and composition of the public service in the mid-1960s. 3 Their basic finding was that most public servants feel little or no identity with the field of public administration. Few have ever had a course and fewer still hold a degree in the subject. Public administration at the time seemed to have a rather narrow definition of its purposes, centering primarily on budgeting, personnel, and organization and management problems. Most public servants, it was found, identify with some or another professional field, such as education, community planning, law, public health, or engineering. Even many of those who would be expected to identify with public administration are more particularly interested in some subset of the field, such as finance, personnel, policy analysis, and the like. There was very little policy emphasis in public administration very little discussion of defense policy, environmental policy, economic policy, urban policy. There was, at the time, much talk of public administration as everyones second profession. Education for public administration in the mid-1960s hardly sparkled. The early furor of the reformers had died. The American Society for Public Administration was beginning to struggle. By the late 1970s, public administration had changed, both in its practice and its teaching. There are many indicators: the Intergovernmental Personnel Act; Title IX of the Higher Education Act; the Federal Executive Institute and the Federal Executive Seminars; the remarkable growth and vigor of education for public service; the Presidents Management Intern Program; the Harry S. Truman Foundation; the size and quality of ASPA; the development of the Consortium on Education for the Public Service; several HUD grants to public administration-related activities; a much heavier policy emphasis; a renewed concern for ethics and morality in government service; and the continued professionalization of the public service coupled with refinement of management methods at all levels of government. To affix the label new to anything is risky business. The risk is doubled when newness is attributed to ideas, thoughts, concepts, paradigms, theories. Those who claim new thinking tend to regard previous thought as old or jejune or both. In response, the authors of previous thought are defensive and inclined to suggest that aside from having packaged earlier thinking in a new vocabulary there is little that is really new in so-called new thinking. Accept, therefore, this caveat: Parts of new public administration would be recognized by Plato, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Hamilton, and Jefferson as well as by many modern behavioral theorists. The newness is in the way the fabric is woven, not necessarily in the threads that are used. And the newness is in arguments as to the proper use of the fabric however threadbare. The threads of the public administration fabric are well known. Herbert Kaufman describes them simply as the pursuit of these basic values: representativeness, politically neutral competence, and executive leadership (Kaufman, 1969). In different times, one or the other of these values receives the greatest emphasis. Representativeness was preeminent in the Jacksonian era. The eventual reaction was the reform movement emphasizing neutral competence and executive leadership. Now we are witnessing a revolt against these values accompanied by a search for new modes of representativeness. Others have argued that changes in public administration resemble a zero-sum game between administrative efficiency and political responsiveness. Any increase in efficiency results a priori in a decrease in responsiveness. We are simply entering a period during which political responsiveness is to be purchased at a cost in administrative efficiency. Clearly, the most interesting developments in modern public administration are not empirical but are philosophical, normative, and speculative. In public administration, the phrase social equity has emerged as a shorthand way of referring to the concerns and opinions of those who are challenging contemporary theory and practice. As yet, the phrase social equity, however, has little substance or precision. The problem of equity is as old as government. Dwight Waldo (1972) points out that much governmental action in the United States has not been simply discriminatory but massively and harshly so. Much governmental action has also, however, been directed toward achieving equality; paradoxically, action to assure assimilation and uniformity also has sometimes been insensitive and coercive. â€Å"Equality, he concludes, is central to the understanding of much recent and contemporary public administration. It has been seriously suggested that social equity be a standard by which public administrators, both in the bureau and the academy, assess and evaluate their behavior and decisions. Social equity, then, would be a criterion for effectiveness in public administration in the same way that efficiency, economy, productivity, and other criteria are used. Whenever an ethic or standard for behavior is described, it is essential to provide an accompanying caveat. In the present case, the social equity point of view will need to be buffered by recognition first that there is a high ethical content in most significant public decisions; public problems do not succumb simply to factual analysis. This being the case, if the public servant is to be an interpreter of events and an influencer, if not a maker of decisions, what, then, should be included in the standards of ethical behavior that guide the public servant? Surely the standards of ethics and morality that are applicable and sufficient to a citizen in private or in social relationships are not adequate for the public decisions of an administrator. And it is now increasingly clear that the decision problems faced by these administrators are seldom black or white in relation to their ethical content and consequences. There often is really no one best way, but rather a decision should be made that maximizes such results as are attainable given the resources available and minimizes negative side effects. And finally, one must accept the proposition that politics and administrative organizations are themselves the best protectors of administrative morality provided that they are open, public, and participatory. Within this context, then, we pursue the development of a social equity ethic for public administration. Modern public administration cannot assume these conditions away. Certainly pluralistic governments (practicing majority rule, coupled with powerful minorities with special forms of access) systematically discriminate in favor of established, stable bureaucracies and their specialized clientele and against those minorities who lack political and economic resources. Thus widespread and deep inequity are perpetuated. The long-range continuation of widespread and deep inequities poses a threat to the continued existence of this or any political system. Continued deprivation amid plenty breeds hopelessness and her companions, anger and militancy. A public administration that fails to work for changes that try to address this deprivation will likely eventually be used to oppress the deprived. What new public administration is striving for, then, is equity. Blacks Law Dictionary (1957) defines equity in its broadest and most general signification: [Equity] denotes the spirit and the habit of fairness and justness and right dealing which would regulate the intercourse of men with men, the rule of doing to all others, as we desire them to do to us; or, as it is expressed by Justinian, to live honestly, to harm nobody, to render every man his due. It is therefore, the synonym of natural right or justice. But in this sense its obligation is ethical rather than jural, and its discussion belongs to the sphere of morals. It is grounded in the precepts of the conscience not in any sanction of positive law. Equity, then, is an issue that we will find to be a question of ethics. We will also find it to be a question of law. The foremost theorist presently supporting a concept of equity in government is John Rawls (1971). In his book A Theory of Justice, he sets out a splendid framework for a fundamental equity ethic. When speaking of our government institutions, Rawls states: For us the primary subject of justice is the basic structure of society, or more exactly, the way in which the major social institutions distribute fundamental rights and duties and determine the division of advantages from social cooperation. By major institutions I understand the political constitution and the principal economic and social arrangements. Justice, then, is the basic principle and is dominant over other principles in Rawlss form of ethics. Rawls begins his theory with a definition of the individual or citizen and states: Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by the greater good shared by others. It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many. Therefore, in a just society the liberties of equal citizenship are taken as settled; the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interest. In developing his theory, Rawls suggests an intellectual device or technique by which the principles of equity can be set forth. The first and most important intellectual technique is the notion of original position. The original position constitutes an agreement upon the most basic principles of justice upon which all of the basic structures of society (social, economic, and political) will be predicated. The principles of justice that emerge are both final and binding on all: Since the original agreement is final and made in perpetuity, there is no second chance. To make this theory operative, Rawls then proposes two principles of justice: The first principle is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. The second principle is that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both: (a) to the greatest benefit to the least advantaged, consistent with the just savings principle, and (b) attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality and opportunity. 11 These two principles, then, are to be a right of the same significance or order as the present rights as we understand them in government. Hart further states: According to Rawls, acceptance of the two principles of justice means that the collective efforts of society would be concentrated in behalf of its less advantaged members. This does not mean that all inequalities would disappear and all good will be equally distributed to achieve parity throughout the society. There would still be disparities in income and status. But there is an irreducible minimum of primary goods (such as self-respect, rights and liberties, power and opportunities, income and wealth) that are due every man, and the minimum must be met. 12 Rawls states that this is a strongly egalitarian conception in the sense that unless there is a distribution that makes both persons better off (limiting ourselves to the two-person case for simplicity), an equal distribution is to be preferred. 13 It is obvious that Rawls theory of justice is vastly different from other contemporary patterns of moral reasoning. Rawls does not argue it because it is good or right but rather because there is an increasing importance to the interdependence of persons that makes notions of advantages and disadvantages less and less acceptable. It is a pervasive sense of noblesse oblige or a sense of eternity among people. Rawls states that in justice as fairness men agree to share one anothers fate. In designing institutions they undertake to avail themselves of the accidents of nature and social circumstances only when doing so is for the common benefit. Because not all persons are genetically equal, the more advantaged have a moral duty to serve all others including the disadvantaged, not for altruistic reasons but because of the significance of human interdependence. As Hart (1974) says, One serves because justice requires it and the result is the continuous enhancement of self-respect. Just actions, then, not only create the optimal condition for human life, they also are a major element in the rationalization of self. Although all of this theory and definition is interesting, we live in a world of large and very complex organizations where the application of such concepts is difficult. This is also a world in which organizations tend to elevate their own needs over individual needs and goals. The problem is one of making complex organizations responsible to the needs of the individual. This requires rising above the rules and routines of organization to some concern for the self-respect and dignity of the individual citizen. Rawlss theory is designed to instruct those who administer organizations that the rights of individuals would be everywhere protected. Hart summarizes this approach to social equity with the following: (1) The theory of justice would provide social equity with an ethical content. Acceptance of the theory of justice would provide the equitable public administrator with clear, well-developed ethical guidelines which would give social equity the force that it now lacks. (2) The theory of justice could provide the necessary ethical consensus -that the equitable public administrator has both the duty and the obligation to deploy his efforts on behalf of the less advantaged. (3) The theory of justice would impose constraints upon all complex public organizations since no organization would be allowed to infringe upon the basic liberties of individuals. (4) The theory of justice would provide a means to resolve ethical impasses (the original position). (5) The theory of justice would provide a professional code for public administration that would require a commitment to social equity (Hart, 1974).

The Construction Quality Assessment System Construction Essay

The Construction Quality Assessment System Construction Essay CONQUAS stands for Construction Quality Assessment System. Construction Industry Development Board Singapore now known as the Building and Construction Authority have developed it for the major public sector agencies and the various leading industry professional bodies to measure the quality level of completed project (The National House Buyers Association (HBA), 2009). The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is an agency under the Singapores Ministry of National Development. The BCA is championing the development of an excellent built environment for Singapore. Built environment refers to buildings, structures and infrastructure in our surroundings that provide the setting for the communitys activities. (Building and Construction Authority, 2006) At the beginning, the CONQUAS was introduced only to the local construction industry. CONQUAS have been launched since 1989 (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). Today, CONQUAS is widely recognized and also accepted internationally as a benchmarking tool for quality. CONQUAS is now a registered trademark. CONQUAS have adapted in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and India, UK and Hong Kong construction industries (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). The aim of CONQUAS was introduced to have a standard quality assessment system for construction projects. Furthermore, CONQUAS is to enable quality assessment to be carried out systematically within reasonable cost and time. Besides, CONQUAS is used to measure quality of constructed works against workmanship standards and specification (Building and Construction Industry, 2005). However, CONQUAS is an independent assessment. It is carried out by assessors from BCA Singapore. It was designed to gauge and benchmark the quality of workmanship through the sampling approach. On the other hand, it means not every unit will be inspected or evaluated by the assessor. Random samples will be pre-selected and inspected to represent the quality of the whole project (The National House Buyers Association (HBA), 2009). Since the launch of CONQUAS in 1989, more than 2,238 public and private building projects have been assessed by BCA. The total cumulative contract value of the assessed projects exceeds 81.9billion Singapore dollar (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). In 1998, BCA introduced a number of new features to CONQUAS resulting in the launch of CONQUAS 21 (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). Now, Malaysia is applying CONQUAS 21 into the building projects. Problem Statement The standard quality of the building product becomes the significant issue that is always discussed and disputed by the contractors, developers, and investors or house buyers. Quality assessment of the building before the developer vacant possession to the purchaser is the significant issue for the developer. The developer shall delivery the final building product to the purchaser which the building is achieved a standard quality. However, how many will ask: How should I ensure the quality of the product (property) that I purchased is fairly justified with the amount of money that I paid? Many of the investors and the house buyer are sacrificing a huge money to appoint a famous Feng Shui master, to conduct a property surveys and engaged property agent prior making decision to invest the property. Has the quality standard of the building product been assured and same as the show unit? (The National House Buyers Association (HBA), 2009). There are many developers intended to deliver the final product to the end user with free of defects and good in quality. Thus, to achieve the standard quality of the building production, the contractor can adopt the Construction Quality Assessment (CONQUAS 21) in the project to give the quality assurance workmanship of building product. Although, the CONQUAS 21 is applied in construction industry, however, it is brought any benefits to the contractors, developers and end users? Moreover, what are the impact of the CONQUAS 21 toward the contractors, developers and end user? Consequently, the researcher will carry out the research regarding the application of quality assessment system (CONQUAS 21) in construction industry. Aims Objectives Aims To investigate Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS 21) in construction industry. Objectives To study the principle and concept of CONQUAS 21 To find out problems occur when applying the CONQUAS 21 To find out the advantages of using CONQUAS 21 Scope of study The research will provide a detail description on the standard of CONQUAS 21 and procedures of the system. This is done through literature review on journal papers, conference papers, books and browsing through websites. Besides that, the researcher aims to the population of local contractors and developers who are adopted CONQUAS 21 in the construction projects. Researcher will investigate the reason of implementing the CONQUAS 21 in construction industry. Moreover, research will in-deep investigate regard the impacts and advantages of CONQUAS 21. Basically, a case study will be conducted to obtain more information regarding the implementation of CONQUAS 21. Research Methodologies Literature Research Cover journals, relevant textbook, and internet research and conference paper is the sources that I obtain my information and doing for my literature research. Interview Site agent, supervisor and the site manager will be interviewed by the researched to get more details about the CONQUAS 21. The interview is hold at Swiss Garden Residences site. Case Study Site visit to the Swiss Garden Residence would be the best way to figure out the effectiveness of CONQUAS 21. Besides that, it is to figure out the problems occur when applying the CONQUAS 21. Chapter Outline Chapter 1: Introduction In this chapter, the researcher is going to slightly introduce the background of CONQUAS. Besides that, the researcher is going to talk about the aims and objectives for this research. Chapter 2: Literature Review In this chapter, the researcher is going to discuss the concept and principle of CONQUAS 21. The information regarding the CONQUAS 21 are obtained from the literatures from books, articles, journals and web site. Moreover, the researcher is going to comment on the advantages of CONQUAS 21 and the impact of applying the CONQUAS 21. Chapter 3: Designing the case study and research methodology The researcher is going to use Swiss Garden Residences as the case study for CONQUAS 21. The researcher is going to interview the project manager, site manager and site agent for obtaining the relevant information. Chapter 4: Analysis of the secondary data After collecting the information, the researcher is going to do the analysis for the information obtained. The researcher is going to argue on the information obtained and give some opinion regarding the CONQUAS 21. Chapter 5: Conclusion and further studies In this chapter, the researcher is going to make a conclusion for the whole research and state out the further studies for quality assessment. Plan and Schedule Planned Schedule 2009/2010 2010/2011 Second Semester First Semester Second Semester Nov Dec May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Introduction Literature Review Designing case study Analysis Conclusion Actual Schedule 2009/2010 2010/2011 Second Semester First Semester Second Semester Nov Dec May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Introduction Literature Review Designing case study Analysis Conclusion Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Quality Philosophy Definition of Quality Different party defines the quality in different way. Some people will define it as to meet contract requirements, instead some people define it as the satisfaction of customer and others also define as it reaches the required standards. Totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs is the definition that The National Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines quality (Chung, 1999). The aims or requirements have been fulfilled or reached by any party, mean the quality standard has been achieved. Furthermore, quality also can be defined based on own opinion such as providing customers with products and services that consistently meet their needs and expectations (S.L. Tang, 2005), performance to the standard expected by the customer (S.L. Tang, 2005) and fitness for purpose (Chung, 1999). However, the definiton of quality is based on how a party to define, it can be defined is several way. Basic Concept of Quality Quality is the most important factor to be concerned in every field including construction field. In order to achieved the quality, the industries have come out with there are assessment system and guidelines to be carried out to ensure the works done in the construction industry can achieve the quality. ISO 9001:2000, Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) and Construction Quality Assessment (CONQUAS) is the assessment system that always used by constrction industry to ensure the works done reach the quality standard requirement. Case study of CONQUAS will be carried out in more details later. Quality can be quantified as follows:- Q=P/E Where, Q = quality P = performance E = expectation If Q is greater than 1.0, then the customer has a good feeling about the products or services (Besterfield, 1998). Furthermore, There are nine dimensions in the quality. All dimensions are independent, which means that an end product can be excellent in one dimension but poor in others (Besterfield, 1998). These nine dimensions details and their terms is the following:- Table 1: Nine dimensions of quality and their terms Dimension Terms Performances Primary products/service characteristic such as time, cost and workmanship aspect. Features Secondary characteristic, added consideration such as creativity in design and attractivenes. Conformance Meeting specification or industry standards, workmanship and clients requirement in contract. Reliability Consistency of performance over time, average time for the unit to fail. Durability Useful life period with less maintenance or repair. Service Resolution of problems and complaints, ease of repair. Response Human to human interface such as efficiency during meeting, fast decision making, effective human resources management. Aesthetics Sensory characteristics in design such as exterior finishes. Reputaion Past performance such as being ranked first in the tendering process. Adapted from Garvin, 1988, Managing Quality: The strategic and Competitive Edge, New York: Free Press. Furthermore, there are always the relationship between quality with cost, value, cycle time and productivity. The details of the relationship is shown as following:- Quality and Productivity Productivity increase will influence the quality by improvement Productivity = Salcable output / Resources used Quality and Costs Cost will increase if the quality of conformance increase Cost will increase if the quality of design increase Quality and Cycle Time The cycle time will be reduce if there is improvement of quality effort The cycle time to complete the activities is the key parameter Quality and Value Organizations must evalute the value they provide, relative to the competition Value = Quality / Price (S.L. Tang, 2005) 2.1.3 Quality Management Quality management will influence the quality directly. The principles of quality management are applicable to every industry, within all organisations and at every level (McCabe, 1988). The basic goal of quality management is the elimination of failure: both in the concept and reality of products, services and processes (Juran, 1989). The quality management is defined as all activities of the overall management function that determine the quality policy, objectives and responsibilities, and implement them by means such as quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement within the quality system (McCabe, 1988) The quality management have four stages in evolution, known as: Quality Inspection, Quality Control (QC), Quality Assurance (QA) and Total Quality Management (TQM) (UTM, 2003). Inspection and Quality Control are retrospective; their aim is find out the occurred problem by detection mode. Instead, the aim of Quality Assurance and Total Quality Management is reduce and to avoid problems occuring (McCabe, 1988). The characteristic of the different stages in Quality Management as shown following:- Figure 1: The four stages of quality management TQM QA QC Inspection Adapted from Dale, Boaden and Lescelles 1994: Levels of total quality management adoption Figure 2: The four stages of quality management Quality Assurance Quality systems development Advanced quality planning Comprehensive quality manuals Use of quality costs Involvement of non-production operations Failure mode Total Quality Management Policy deployment Involve suppliers and customers Involve all operations Process management Performance management Teamwork Employee involvement Quality Control Develop quality manual Process performance data Self-inspection Product testing Basic quality planning Use of basic statistics Paperwork controls Inspection Salvage Sorting, grading, relending Corrective actions Identify sources of non-conformance Adapted from Steven McCabe 1988: Quality Improvement Techniques in Construction Stage 1 : Inspection The first stage of quality management is inspection. The inspection is defined as activity such as measuring, examining, testing or gauging one or more characteristics of an entity and comparing these results with specified requirements in order to establish whether conformity is achieved for each characteristic (McCabe, 1988). Inspection is used by most of the construction industry to ensure the conformance. The site supervisor will carried out the inspection of the construction project. The supervisor will make the comparison the architectural works and structural based on the specification and drawing. If there is any defective works found by the customers, the contractor need to rectify the defective works until fulfill the customers requirement. Stage 2 : Quality Control (QC) Quality control will be carried out after the inspection done. Quality control is considered as a system of routine technical activities, to measure and control the quality of the inventory as it is being developed (Mangino, 1996). The procedure of Quality control is very complicated. QC mostly is based on the statistical analysis. Collection of data is required in QC to maintain the quality by statistical techniques. Stage 3 : Quality Assurance Quality assurance is defined as all the planned activities implemented within the quality system, and demonstrated as needed, to provide adequate confidence that an entity will fulfill requirements for quality (McCabe, 1988). The objective of Quality Assurance (QA) is to provide adequate confidence that a service or product will fulfill customers requirement by performing system audit, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, design of experiment and similar initiatives (UTM, 2003). In other words, QA is more specified on planning. The prevention of poor quality and defects is based on detection activities. Stage 4 : Total Quality Management The final stage of quality management is Total Quality Management. The implementation and understanding of quality management principles and concepts in every aspect of business activities are involved in this stage. The best service or product will be provided to the customer at the lower cost by using these activities. However, TQM is less formal; having either procedures or system, and it is hard to be described due to it is less in formality (McCabe, 1988). Normally, only guidance will be provided by TQM and it consider as a philosophy. Concept and Principles of CONQUAS 21 2.2.1 Introduction Recently, the requirement of customers towards the building that they purchase is quality. They wish to get the best quality of the purchase building as possible. In this condition, the developers have to play an important role to ensure the quality of the building project. The developers overcome the problem by using Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) into the construction project to maintain the standard of quality as the requirement. CONQUAS 21, ISO 9001:2000, QLASSIC will become the choice for the developers for their assessment system. Case study about CONQUAS 21 will be carried out by the researcher in more details. 2.2.2 Objectives of CONQUAS 21 There are three objectives in the CONQUAS 21 system: Act as a standard quality assessment system in construction projects. Inspecting quality assessment by: Measuring the specification and standard of the workmanship in the works done Randomly selecting the sample as represent the whole project To enable quality assessment systematically take place within reasonable cost and time (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006) Scope of CONQUAS 21 In CONQUAS 21 system, all the works done will be given points based on the quality standard. All of the given points will be added together to get the total quality score which also known as CONQUAS score for the construction project (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). The quality workmanship is better, the higher of CONQUAS score will be obtained. 100% is the maximum CONQUAS score in construction project, but our human being is unable to construct a work with zero-defects. The general building works is covered by CONQUAS 21 system. There are 3 components in the assessment: Structural Works Architectural Works and Mechanical Electrical (ME) Works There are different item to be assessed in the different component stated above (Building and Construction Authority , 2005). CONQUAS 21 is considered as first time right inspection approach (Building and Construction Authority , 2005) means that the rectification works will not take into consideration in CONQUAS 21 score for the assessment. Furthermore, sampling system is the assessment system used in the CONQUAS. The assessor will choose the unit according to the average, 1-in-4 apartment units in a residential development for the assessment (Building and Construction Authority , 2005). Thus, which unit will be chosen is unknown so the contractors have to ensure all of the constructed works are in good quality condition. If there is any defective found, the works will be considered as failed. Besides, the heavily equipment-base such as heavy foundation, sub-structure works and piling is not available for assessment and the work separate contracts or sub-contracts are not included in the assessment (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). The inspection is different with the inspection done by the site supervisor. Normally, the contractors have to purposely do an arrangement for the inspection which form a specific team for the inspection. There is a guideline have to be followed for the assessment. Components to be assessed Structural Works, Architectural Works and ME Works are the components under CONQUAS 21 assessment. Structural Works Structural Works can be considered as body for a building, the stability of the building will be affected if there is failure or defect in structural works. Thus, maintain its quality is necessary due to the cost of rectification is very expensive. Below show the details of the assessment of Structural Works:- Inspection of finished concrete, formwork and steel reinforcement have to be carried out on site during the construction site. If any component constitutes exceed 20% of the total structural cost, the pre-stressed concrete and structural steel are included in the assessment. If found the precast concrete volume more than 20% of structural concrete volume, the precast elements have to be assessed. Tensile strength of steel reinforcement and testing of compressive strength of concrete will be carried out on laboratory testing. Non-destructive testing of the uniformity and the cover of hardened concrete. (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006) Appendix 1 shows the quality standards of Structural Works. Architectural Works The components and finishes are classified in Architectural Works. The workmanship and quality can be easily seen and found. Below are the details of assessment of Architectural Works:- After the building have complete, the assessment have to be carried out on roofs, external works, external walls and internal finishes. All the assessment have to be carried out on site. Internal walls, doors, components, windows and floors are classified under the internal finishes. Functional and material tests such as on external walls and adhesion of internal wall tiles and water-tightness of window. (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006) Appendix 2 shows Architectural Works quality standard. Mechanical Electrical (ME) Works The progress of whole building will be influenced by ME Works. Air conditioning Mechanical Ventilation Works (ACMV), Electrical works, the basis ME fittings and Fire Protection Works are classified under the progress of the building. Below are the stage of assessment:- Concealed pipes, ACMV ductworks and electrical conduits are classified as installed works, the inspection on the item have to be carried out before embedded on site. The cooling tower, fire alarm control panel and Air-Handling Unit (AHU) are the final installed works which the assessment have to be carried out on site. Dry Riser Test, Earthing Test and Water Pressure Test are considered as selected works. The performance tests are carried out on them. (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006) Appendix 3 show the quality standard of ME Works. The Weightages CAT A (Commercial, Industrial, Institution and Others), CAT B (Condominium, Institution and Others), CAT C (Public housing), and CAT D (Landed properties) are the four categories of building that distribute the weightages for ME Works, Architectural Works and Structural Works in CONQUAS 21 system. The objective of weightage system is making the quality of a building is based on the CONQUAS score, it is a compromise between the cost proportions of the three components in the various buildings and their aesthetic consideration (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). In general, ME works consist 10% for four categories of building in average, 35% is consisted by the Structural works and the highest percentage is consisted by Architectural works which 50% in average for the four categories of buildings. The quality of Architect works is the most important with the highest percentage, second is represented by the Structural works and ME works is the lowest. Table 2: The Weightages in CONQUAS 21 Components CAT A Commercial, Industrial, Institution Others CAT B Commercial, Industrial, Institution Others CAT C Public Housing CAT D Landed Properties Structural Works 30% 35% 45% 40% Architectural Works 50% 55% 50% 55% ME Works 20% 10% 5% 5% CONQUAS Score 100% 100% 100% 100% Note: In general, projects with central cooling system having cooling tower, chiller system, etc are classified under CAT A. Otherwise, it will be classified under CAT B. Appendix 5 provides a guides with listing of building under the various categories. Adapted from Building and Construction Authority (BCA): CONQUAS 21 manual book CONQUAS Assessor In CONQUAS 21 system, only the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) officer can be the assessor to inspect the works done of the project. BCA will conduct a calibration program and training for assessors to attend to ensure competency and consistency in the assessment (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). Furthermore, CONQUAS 21 system is consider as independent assessment. Therefore, if the building or parts of the building project are acceptable, the architects and engineers are not allowed to use CONQUAS to make any decision unless the building contract specify it (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). Sampling Sampling system is introduced in the CONQUAS 21 system for the assessment. It is impossible for us to inspect every unit of the works done. Thus, the sampling system is used for the assessment, it helps the accessor a lot by saving the time and make the assessment easier due to the samples will be randomly chosen by the assessor for inspection. Furthermore, the sampling system want to make sure the inspection is sufficient to represent the whole building by referring to the gross floor area of the building. The assessment of CONQUAS 21 Assessment approach Sampling system is used by the CONQUAS 21 as the assessment system, the sample will be randomly selected for the quality assessment according to the location plan and drawing plan and it will be distributed based on the construction stages (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). The scoring will be done on the works that are inspected for the first time because the objective of this practice is to encourage contractors doing things right the first time is the principle of the CONQUAS 21 system which want to make sure all the contractor do the works well and maintain the quality in first time. Thus, the scoring will not take into account for the rectification works, only the first time works done will be inspected and scored in the CONQUAS 21 system (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). In filling the assessment form, X mean the work done do not fulfill the CONQUAS quality standard after inspection on it. Instead, consider the inspected work have reached the quality standard stated in the CONQUAS system. Besides, not applicable item will be noted as - in the assessment form. The number of over the total number of item assessed is the final score of CONQUAS for the whole project. Structural works assessment After the whole projects have been completed, the inspection on structural works only can be done. Wall, slab, beam and column can be classified as the Structural works. Below show the details of the assessment of a reinforced concrete structure:- Table 3: The assessment of a reinforced concrete structure Reinforced Concrete Structure Weightage % Formwork 15 Rebar 20 Finished Concrete 25 Concrete Quality 5 Steel Reinforcement Quality 5 NDT UPV test for concrete uniformity 15 NDT Electro-Cover meter test for concrete cover 15 Total 100 *If total precast concrete volume exceeds 20% of total structural concrete volume, assessment will be carried out for precast concrete construction. The points will be distributed proportionately between formwork/rebar assessment and precast concrete assessment based on the respective concrete volume percentage. Adapted from Building and Construction Authority: CONQUAS 21 manual book The structural works assessment is carried out by using sampling system which mean only part of the samples have been chosen to represent whole project for the assessment, not every unit is inspected. Thus, there are some guidelines for the assessment of structural works. The guidelines are shown as below:- Table 4: Guidelines for Structural works assessment Items GFA per Sample Min Sample Max Sample Remarks 1 Structural Elements 500 m2 30 150 For Non-Housing Project 1a Strctural Elements 1500 m2 30 50 For Housing Project 2 Concrete Compressive Strength 100% Declaration by Qualified Person 3 Steel reinforcement Tensile Strength 100% Declaration by Qualified Person 4 NDT UPV test for concrete uniformity 5,000 m2 2 sets 20 sets 5 structure members per set 5 NDT Electro-Cover meter test for concrete cover 5,000 m2 2 sets 20 sets 5 structure members per set Note: The computed number of elements to be checked must be evenly distributed throughout the entire block and cover at least 50% of floors in a block. They should also as far as possible cover the different types of structural elements. Adapted from Building and Construction Authority: CONQUAS 21 manual book The inspection is only site inspection, the inspection cannot be done at precast yard due to all the structure works to be inspected is cast in-situ concrete works, not the precast component. The inspection of the structural works is according to compliance to the standards (see in the Appendix 1, 1a, 1b 1c). The further assessment will be required if the structural steelwork in the structural works exceed 20% of the structural cost and the points will be distributed proportionately. The Pre-stressing Works is similar with the str

Flashbulb Memories :: essays research papers

Do Flashbulb memories differ from other forms of memory? â€Å"Our past is preserved in a variety of memories of very different nature† (Salaman, 1970) There are many proposed divisions and sub-divisions of human memory, such as working memory, procedural memory, semantic memory or episodic memory. Many of the systems seem to overlap, with each having varying functions related to the maintenance of what is essentially human life. For example, episodic and autobiographical memory fundamentally share the same functions. One of the many functions is what Tulving (1983) called â€Å"Mental time travel†, the ability to experience past event. Autobiographical memories are thought to be structured at different levels of temporal and spatial specificity that together are used as reference for the construction of â€Å"self†. This mental time travel can take place through different hierarchic levels of autobiographical organisation. The hierarchy level can be as general as â€Å"university† or as specific as remembering the topic of conversation with a certain person on a certain day (Cohen, 1998). Autobiographical memor ies are therefore seen as being autonoetic in that they carry information about the context in which they were experienced. One example of an extreme form of contextual specific memory is the death of Princess Diana. Many people especially the media ask a common question such as â€Å"what were you doing when you heard the news†. Many people claim to be able to remember such major moments with unusual clarity and vividness, as if the events were etched on their minds throughout their lives. The question is whether these â€Å"flashbulb memories† are functionally different to all other types of memory such as autobiographical memory. Brown & Kulik (1977), introduced the term flashbulb memory to describe memories that are preserved in an almost indiscriminate way. They postulated that these flashbulb memories were indeed different from ordinary memories, with some defining characteristics. Although these memories are thought to be photographic in their clarity and detail, they do not preserve all features of an event. Conversely Brown & Kulik proposed that idiosyncratic event details are remembered. These details help form what has been described as a â€Å"live† memory in that the â€Å"reception field† is remembered including ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘who with’ factors of an event. Brown & Kulik (1977) studied memories for important events such as the death of John F Kennedy. They found that irrelevant details were often recalled and it appeared that they had retained â€Å"a brief moment of time associated with an emotional event† (Smyth et al, 1994).

King’s Ghost In “Hamlet” Essay

During Shakespeare’s lifetime people were, in general, more religiously devout and more likely to believe in spirits and ghosts. Spirits could be messengers from heaven or evil in nature. This is one reason Hamlet so readily believed his friends when they told him they had seen his father’s ghost; he was also more likely to believe their story because his friend Horatio told it, and he is an intellectual. However, when Hamlet is all too willing to follow his father’s ghost, his friends, Marcellus and Horatio, are very reluctant to follow. Marcellus is reluctant to follow because he is afraid of the ghost. Most people are afraid of the unknown; this would include soldiers, who are used to fighting until the enemy is killed. Marcellus is dealing with a ghost, which he cannot defeat it with his partisan (though he hopelessly offers it), and this scares him. Marcellus is a soldier who is guarding Elsinore, and the ghost is wearing the armor that he wore to defend his land against Fortinbras, the old king of Norway. Another soldier, Bernardo, says, â€Å"This portentous figure comes armed through our watch like the king that was and is the question of these wars.† (Act I, p. 8) When Horatio speaks to the ghost he says, â€Å"If thou art privy to thy country’s fate, Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid, O, speak!† (Act I, p. 9) Marcellus and Bernardo believe it is an ominous sign and that perhaps the ghost has come with a warning about an imminent invasion; one that they would have to defend the castle against. Hamlet also thinks something must be wrong if his father’s ghost is in armor. Marcellus is also afraid of the ghost because it leaves just as the cock crows to signal sunrise. He knows that spirits, including evil ones, cannot bewitch during the day time and he is unsure yet weather the ghost’s intentions are good or evil, so he does not want anyone to follow it. Marcellus goes so far as to restrain Hamlet when he tries to follow his father’s ghost. Horatio is also reluctant to follow the ghost because he is unsure of its intentions. He is especially weary because he tried twice to speak with the ghost and it would not answer him, it apparently only wants to speak with Hamlet alone. He warns Hamlet that the ghost might convince him to act  without reason and drive him mad. He tells Hamlet not to follow the ghost because it could lead him off a cliff into the ocean. Despite his friend’s warnings, Hamlet decides to follow his father’s ghost and receive its message. Though Marcellus and Horatio were reluctant, they eventually follow, catching up to Hamlet after he has spoken with the ghost.

Celebrities in the 50s

Elvis Presley was only one of the big names of the 1950s, though probably one of the most recognizable. In the ‘50s television was gaining popularity and sitting down to watch T. V. was a family bonding experience. Celebrities were put on a very high pedestal, even more so than today’s celebrities. People like James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and John Wayne were treated like royalty. In the 1950s musicians, movie stars, and T. V. stars were some of the most important people in America. Musicians in the ‘50s were pretty bland, minus Elvis, they were all just stand there and sing their ballads or whatever they happened to be singing. Now, this is not to say that legendary artists weren’t born out of the ‘50s. Artists from the ‘50s include Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Hank Williams and Louis Armstrong. Johnny Cash is one of, if not the, most famous Country musicians ever. His biggest hits include â€Å"I Walk the Line,† â€Å"Burning Ring of Fire,† and the â€Å"Folsom Prison Blues. † He and Hank Williams were true â€Å"Outlaws† of Country music. Chuck Berry was one of the leaders in the rock and roll movement. He was the pioneer of rock music. John Lennon was quoted as saying â€Å"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’. †(www. wwwk. co. uk) Some of Chuck Berry’s more popular songs include â€Å"Johnny B. Good† and â€Å"No Particular Place to Go† Louis Armstrong was a very popular blues musician. He played in a lot of blues clubs in his home town of New Orleans, Louisiana until his mentor invited him to play in Chicago with him. After that Armstrong stayed in Chicago and kept playing there due to a large wealthy black community. Movies were a popular activity in the 1950s. James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Frankie Avalon, and John Wayne were royalty among Americans. Movies such as â€Å"Rebel without a Cause†, and â€Å"Some Like It Hot† were running ramped over society. James Dean was an American icon starring in movies such as â€Å"Rebel Without a Cause† and â€Å"East of Eden† until his tragic death in 1955 due to a car accident, he lived wild and on the edge and unfortunately that lead to his untimely death at only 24 years old. Marilyn Monroe was, and still is to a degree, one of the most iconic people in the movie industry. Monroe is an icon for beauty, women dream to look like her and men dream to find a woman like her. Some women even get piercings called â€Å"the Monroe† to imitate the beauty mark she had above her lips. John Wayne was the man that every man wanted to be. He starred in just about every Western movie made in the ‘50s such as â€Å"The Searchers† and â€Å"Flying Leathernecks†. His voice and stature were two of his biggest qualities. Television in the 1950s was just starting to popularize. Shows like â€Å"I Love Lucy†, â€Å"Gunsmoke†, â€Å"The Ed Sullivan Show†, and â€Å"Dragnet† were some of the more popular shows throughout the ‘50s. Television was considered a â€Å"family bonding time† in the ‘50s as families would gather together to watch programs such as â€Å"The Ed Sullivan Show. † Lucille Ball was a big T. V. star as the lead of â€Å"I Love Lucy. † There weren’t a lot of individual stars from T. V. , as most of the shows on T. V. in the ‘50s were talk shows. Celebrities in the 1950s have influenced stardomas we know it today. Musicians have shaped what we call music today by starting new genres and influencing new musicians with their work. Movie stars lead into the starlets that we know today by being basically considered royalty among Americans. And television stars shaped generations of families through â€Å"The Ed Sullivan Show† and â€Å"I Love Lucy. † â€Å"Famous Musicians of the 1950's. † When We Were Kids. WWWK, 2003-2009. Web. 24 Mar 2010. ; http://www. wwwk. co. uk/people/musicians/50s. htm; Rich, Candace. â€Å"Pop History – Famous People of the Fifties. † Fifties Web. Candace Rich, 10/09. Web. 17 Mar 2010. http://www. fiftiesweb. com/pop/famous-people. htm â€Å"Entertainment Scene: Top TV Shows, 1950s. † Entertainment Scene. Nielson Media Research, 1997-2010. Web. 17 Mar 2010. http://www. entertainmentscene. com/top_tv_shows_50s. html.

Shakespeare Research Paper Topics

Shakespeare Research Paper Topics Shakespeare Research Paper Topics Shakespeare research paper topics: how to make the right choice? You are studying in college or university and received the task to write research paper on Shakespeare? You do not know how to do this or you are completely lost in Shakespeare research paper topics? Then the present article is just for you. You are free to support people around you and understand the specifics of writing; in this case you will succeed in the process of writing the research paper. You are to know that the process of writing the research paper may be quite time consuming for people and it is necessary to take into account the difficulty of Shakespeare research paper topics. While writing the research the person is free to remember that the research presupposes not only the description of the material, but also the searching of some interesting facts and different points of view on this or that subject. Shakespeare research paper topics: Connection with literature Due to the fact that the research pape r is on literature, its role in this process is extremely high and the person is free to combine their knowledge in literature and of the literary work with the research done on this basis. The choice of Shakespeare research paper topics is high and the person should simply choose the proper evaluation of facts described in the text and use as many literary sources as possible. While working on the research on literature, the person is free to know some hints that may be helpful:The content of literary work and the proper evaluation of characters and facts described, The history of the literary work and the basis on which it was written, The biography of the author may be also helpful in this case, as it can provide the basis for a choice of Shakespeare research paper topics, Different stylistic devices may be helpful in order to reveal the nature of literary work and the writing style of the writer, The person must differentiate greatly about the significance of events in the text, as this can play the crucial role for Shakespeare research paper topics. Shakespeare research paper topics: the role of thorough research When the person is receiving the task to write the research it is necessary to be ready for the present task properly in order to implement it correctly. The first thing to do is to read the literary work itself, as in other case you will not be able to cite the material from the text and show the proper knowledge of Shakespeare research paper topics, The person should search the internet and libraries in order to find the newest books helpful in this written assignment.

Essay on Slaves, Convicts, and Free Settlers Essays

Essay on Slaves, Convicts, and Free Settlers Essays Essay on Slaves, Convicts, and Free Settlers Paper Essay on Slaves, Convicts, and Free Settlers Paper Slaves, Convicts and Free Settlers I agree that slaves, convicts, and free settlers differed greatly, although there are still some similarities about their lives. The comparison of freedom was very different with slaves, convicts and free settlers, while travel by boat was not very different, except for wealthy free settlers who paid for high-class travel. Experiences after the travel on boat also differed. Life for a slave was extremely terrible. African slaves were unwillingly captured, and transported by ship to America, from Africa, to work. Africans that were captured were separated from their families and friends, but the Europeans and Americans did not care. Africans were unable to fight back as the capturers were armed. While the Africans were transported towards America by ship, travelling conditions for them were very unpleasant. Slaves were tightly packed with each other and had no privacy. They had no control over the food that they ate. They were normally given beans, rice and corn. They had very limited supplies of water, and diseases were common. This experience was extremely unhygienic. Slaves hated it so much that they attempted to kill themselves. Some of them refused food, and some gathered to rebel against the crew, trying to get past the guards and jump into the ocean, drowning themselves. Approximately a quarter of slaves died during each journey. After reaching Am erica, slaves were auctioned. Crowds of people would appear for auctions. The Africans were examined, and then sold to the highest bidder. They were forced to work, and those who did not work hard enough were physically punished. Thousands of slaves were worked, starved, or beaten to death. Africans were obviously treated unfairly. While on ships, the experience of a slave was similar to those of a convict, but the working periods on land highly differed. Compared to a free settler, slaves had a very unpleasant life. Convicts were people who committed crimes and were punished. Many poor people had to steal as a living, since lots of them had lost their jobs. People were heavily punished if they were found guilty for very little crimes. Things like pickpocketing and petty theft would get you hanged to death, or locked up for many years. Crowds of people surrounding public hanging areas was normal, even parents brought their young kids there. Since there were so many poor people, places where people were hanged quickly became overloaded. Prisons also became overloaded. The government then came up to the idea of turning old naval ships into cramped, stinking, rat infested prisons on water. They were called ‘Hulks’. However, this only stalled the situation; the ships also eventually became overloaded. The government then sent convicts to Britain’s American colonies, but they also became overwhelmed with convicts. They then planned to send convicts to New South Wales. Conditions on ships for a convict was similar to a slave’s. They were cramped, unhealthy, and ate peas, bread, salted beef or pork, oatmeal, butter and cheese. Illnesses were easily passed on. Stormy weather was especially harsh for convicts because they constantly leaned into others and were only able to stabilize themselves with the bars above them. On the first fleet of convicts, about 30 people died, meaning that slaves had a worse environment. After arriving on land, they were forced to work very hard. The hot and dry land made it especially hard for the convicts. Convicts who did not work hard enough were sent to punishment areas where they had to work out of their exhaustion. Further punishments were done with beatings and floggings, which were achieved with things like whips, lashes and cat o’ nine tails. Convicts that had served their sentence became free settlers or travelled back home. While travelling by ship, convicts had a better experience compared to slaves. Slaves needed to work for their entire lives while convicts only needed to work until their sentence was completed. Free settlers were not forced to work at all. Free settlers were people who travelled to another country to start a new life. A majority of them were wealthy, and they usually travelled to Australia to look for a job and start a new life. While travelling across seas, free settlers who paid for the minimum fee had an experience that was close to a convict’s, but the environment was cleaner and they had hammocks to sleep on. Rich people who paid for a high-class experience had their own private cabins with soft beds and pillows, well-prepared food, and servants. After reaching shore, the rich people often bought large amounts of land and convicts to work for them. Free settlers often became farmers, but some became doctors. Living conditions for free settlers was still harsh, even for the rich. They needed to wait for the right time to harvest the crops. Some supply ships came to New South Wales to deliver food. During droughts and floods, farmers had a difficult time because they needed to protect their crops. As years pa ssed, food supply increased and life became easier. The life of a free settler was definitely better than a slave’s or a convict’s since they had freedom and weren’t unwillingly forced to work. To conclude, convicts, slaves and free settlers differed, but there were a few concepts of their lives that were similar. They all travelled to a different country by boat, and travel was very unpleasant for them all, besides rich free settlers. Convicts and slaves were forced to work very hard, and were beaten if they did not.

African American Heritage In Chicago

African American Heritage In Chicago Essay A History of African American Heritage in Chicago The massive exodus to the north began in 1915; a population of people weary of pervasive hostility and constraint in their former lives, fleeing a social system comprised of miserable oppression and repeated violence. The primary cities for resettlement became New York and Chicago, metropolises humming with the vigor of big-city life and the excitement of a new beginning. When the Chicago Commission asked African American migrants in interviews on Race Relations in 1922 why they came to Chicago, responses were similar. ?Im looking for better wages.? ?I wanted to get away from the South, and to earn more money.? ?I wanted to better my living conditions. ? One man, when asked what his first impression of Chicago was, responded ?When I got here and got on the street cars and saw colored people sitting by white people all over the car I just held my breath, for I thought that any minute they would start something, then I saw nobody noticed it, and I just thought this was a real place for colored people.? And life was good; if not ideal it was better than the disparaging environment of their prior residence in the South. This migration coincided with the War. Job opportunities sprang up everywhere as demand increased for more goods and services, and suddenly in 1920 the Negro population of Chicago had soared from 44,103 in 1915 to 109,594. The Illinois Central Railroad brought hundreds on free transportation, on the premise that they would employ their company. The Negro employment rate skyrocketed; the most popular jobs lying within the iron foundries, food products manufacturing, the tanneries, and the mail order industry. The major ity of blacks coming from the south settled in a limited area known as the South Side. Named the ?black belt of the city,? it was the most concentrated area of the African American population of the time. The difficulty of finding residence in the other parts of the city and the abundance of vacant houses aided in this settlement of the South Side. However, as deep-seated racial prejudice was still running rampant throughout the nation, loud protests erupted and whites quickly abandoned residential areas populated by blacks. Underlying racial hostility between blacks and whites was unfortunately gaining momentum. On July 27, 1919, this animosity was demonstrated in a terrible week of rioting beginning with the drowning of African-American youth Eugene Williams off a Lake Michigan beach. This event was a catalyst for a weeklong violent, bloody warfare. As black workers walked or rode the streetcars west and arrived to begin their shifts at the Stockyards, they were met by angry mobs of white gangs and workers, who attacked them mercilessly and drove them off. The mobs were beyond control. African American community members armed themselves and prepared to defend themselves and their homes against armed white gangs who tore into their neighborhood. The end of the week concluded in death tolls of 23 blacks and 15 whites, 157 persons being injured. The Chicago Commission on Race Relations was established soon after these staggering race riots, to study the roots and causes of the conflict. Their report on Chicago in 1992, with interviews of hundreds of black Chicago citizens, provided an insightful window into the race problem in the North, which attention was being drawn to due to the Great Migration. States the Chicago Commission on Race Relations in the document The Negro in Chicago, ?Both races need to understand that their rights and duties are mutual and equal, and that their interests in the common good are identical: that relations of amity are the only protection against race clashes; that these relations cannot be forced, but will come naturally as the leaders of each race develop within their own ranks a realization of the gravity of this problem and a vital interest in its solution, and an attitude of confidence, res pect, and friendliness toward the people of the other race. READ: Recycling Essay? The conflicts between blacks and whites have since subsided a great amount, but residue from the memories of violence and hatred still prevails. It will be a momentous day when we can be united as one indiscriminate, unbiased race, but that day has yet to come.

Management- Data for Sale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management- Data for Sale - Essay Example (Rugge & Glossbrenner, 1997) 1. Most data brokers do not fully investigate the client that they are selling information to. This results in impersonation being used as a primary tool by hackers to acquire personal information from data brokers. There is a high probability that this information can be misused and incidents in the past have proven that such information is misused. (Baynes, 2011) Not only is the information provided by data brokers subject to misuse intentionally, there are other instances where the information has been abused unintentionally. There are myriad cases of personal information being lost from the laptops and other resources of data mining companies and data brokers. This poses another serious question as to the security methods employed by data brokers. Again this signals towards an unethical method of dealing with security because there is as yet little legislation to push data brokers to ensure that all information is retained safely. (Whiting, 2006) 2. T he unrestrained proliferation of data brokers has a straight negative consequence. The increasing numbers of data brokers are facing tough competition in an unregulated market so they are forced to use any means to reach greater profitability.

Novartis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Novartis - Essay Example In addition, the company is concerned about the role of its employees in the provision of quality services and achieving the company’s performance target. To facilitate the objective, Novartis introduced the annual energy excellence awards to motivate its employees. Although, Novartis has promoted an extensive performance management process, their efforts have not attained the desired levels of expectation. The Performance Management Process Can Be Considered ‘Strategic’ Novartis PM Process is strategic since it links other HR polices such reward, talent development and training with its performance management policies. This is a good strategy since it enables the company to achieve its management objectives through direct approach. The pay for performance system is strategic since it enables the company to motivate its employees by rewarding them for exceptional performance. Moreover, the company can evaluate the value of its employees in terms of the value that they contribute to the company. Rewarding employees for exceptional performance also enables them to benefits from their initiatives and handwork (Randle, 2007). To implement the performance program Novartis has implemented a training program to equip its staff with the required skills. Although the PM process is rewarding in the short term, it cannot be relied upon in the long term. This is because; employee’s performance is limited to several factors including their ability and perf ormance capacity. Moreover, the policy does not promote loyalty and skill development among the company staff. This is because the employees are only concerned with the gains they are making out of their performance rather than the overall performance of the company. The HR policy does not help to sharpen the skills of individual employees since it focuses on the overall performance of the team rather than the performance of individuals. Line managers rather than HR staff drive the process. This is an advantage as well as a disadvantage to the company in terms of skill development and company’s performance. Line managers are more inclined to production and overall company’s’ performance rather than skill development. This makes them less suitable for the job considering that the company needs to establish a long-term relation with its customers. Alternatively, being managed by line managers is superior to being managed by HR officers since they focus on the prod uction aspect of an employee. Components & Techniques of the Process PM components and techniques involve employee rating and performance evaluation. The â€Å"First Steps 2006/7 was the first Novartis PM process for all V&D staff. The rating process was used to determine and categorize employees according to their performance capacity. Throughout the PM process, measuring or rating employees according to their performance ability is essential. However, the process is not beneficial to members of staff since it only targets employee’s performance rather than the cause of poor or exceptional performance (Marketline, 2012). The process only provides a comparison on employee’s performance rather than the cause of poor performance among employees. Consequently, the pulse check 2008 provides a review of employee’s performance rather than strategies to improve the performance. The survey emphasizes on identifying key improvements that have led to the company’s development. This is not a strategic move since it does not define any specific plan or activity that will lead to the company’

Definition essay You Pick Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Definition You Pick - Essay Example During this time there were numerous protests and people of a certain political persuasion demanded to â€Å"Ban the Bomb.† People felt that WMDs—especially nuclear weapons—were a kind of genie let loose from a bottle. Once loose, every country would develop nuclear weapons and everyone would hold everyone else hostage. These fears were heightened when both India and Pakistan developed nuclear weapons about 10 years ago. And when North Korea declared itself a nuclear power three years ago. Fear of a nuclear Iran continue to dominate American and Israeli foreign policy. But there is more to weapons of mass destruction than nuclear weapons. There are chemical and nerve agents, there are biological agents such as plague and anthrax. Many governments are known to maintain WMD programs and they are part of many militaries’ attack plans. On the flip side, there are many treaties in place to block their use but some countries stockpile them and use them as a deterrent. They have been used in the First World War (mustard gas), the Second World War (the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki), and when Saddam Hussein used them against his own people (the Kurds), as well as in many other instances. The term entered the public domain in a very significant way during the Iraq War, when the American government said Saddam possessed WMDs and that was the main reason why they would have to invade Iraq. It was, however, very hard to finds these weapons in Iraq in the end. There were great debates at the time about whether he had an active program or whether he had dismantled it. In fact he had had a program in the past and had dismantled it, but had told everyone publicly that he still had it in order to deter his enemies. Because of the terms salience in the debate about the Iraq War, weapons of mass destruction was named word of the year in

Economic Considerations, and not Justice, should be the Basis of Tort Essay

Economic Considerations, and not Justice, should be the Basis of Tort Law - Essay Example A tort is a common law that deals with resultant interactions between people. It is a civil wrong that mainly ensure the behaviors of an individual does not affect the well-being of another individual. A tort may not encompass an illegal activity, but it concentrates on the harm or loss an individual gets because of another individual action. It, therefore, helps people maintain their previous positions and status they enjoyed before the occurrence of the tort act. In a tort law, the tortfeasor is liable to reinstate the breach of an individual natural position through compensation mainly by monetary terms1. Various debates have prevailed on the intentions of tort law whether to restore justice or ensures people gain previous economic conditions. This is because tort suits make victims transfer problems to other people gaining previous positions while at the same time enduring justice. In as much as torts act as a form of justice, it basis should be economic considerations as justice remain relative through diverse societies. As opposed to common law, this guarantees punishment for the offender upon approval of offense; torts focus on judgment of liability. Concurrently, liability gets paid through economic means that cover compensatory damages to relieve the plaintiff. It is also significant to note that tort does not make judgments based on claims as opposed to criminal laws, which allow claims with support of evidence2. This, therefore, proves torts to be focusing on economic rejuvenation rather than ensuring justice for the offended parties. In an art, shell the argument attempt to reveal the intention of tarts laws, whether to ensure economic fairness of justice. Notably the economic discourse is coming into the forefront of tort law. As a result, many scholars have done proficient research on the arena to establish and gather evidence of the same. From the past, torts remain confused with the aspect of justice while, in real terms, they help restore econo mic lose suffered by the offended victims. They, therefore, are consequential economic loss experiences because of negligence causing a physical injury3. Coincidentally, confusion regarding tort based on justice rather than economic loss also arises due to strict liability accorded to torts. It, however, is essential to note that a difference regarding the economic nature of torts arises due to the strict liability characterized by tort laws. Consequently, torts are not diffusible by excuse or ordinary prudence a factor that approves torts to be focusing on economic justification. Therefore, in as much as torts act as a form of justice the main reason existing behind the action of torts remains economic reactivation4. Various theories can explain the reason why torts consider economic perspectives rather that justice. Deterrence theory, for instance, works on the basis that, for every action, there is equal and opposite reaction. Judging by the principles, deterrence theory ensures people who commit varied offenses remain responsible for their action through limiting future similar actions. From the perspective of this theory, torts subject people to reimbursement of the offended not to ensure justice, but ensure economic stability of the affected5. Consider a person affected by the actions a surrounding industry, which pollutes the immediate environments spreading diseases. The industry is responsible for spreading of diseases, therefore, is responsible for

Explaining Hardware Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Explaining Hardware - Essay Example This method would be fast and also would help maintain the records of the candidates who had participated in the survey. 3) Bank Checks: Bank Checks are fed into the accounting software of the Bank mainly by the forms. These softwares maintain the accounts as well as the database of the customers. This method permits the checks to be allocated directly into the customer's accounts. At the same time since the operator feed the data by filling the forms, the inner system of fields remains intact. 4) Retail Tags: These tags can be input by a simple word processor like MS Word or Open Office Write software. The A4 paper can used, on which at a time number of tags can be put depending upon their size. This method would be fast and save a lot of paper. 5) Long Documents: The Word Processor software like MS Word or Open Office Writer can best do data input for the long documents. With these methods we can do lot of formatting as well and the files can be stored easily not only on the hard disk but also on the external storage device. 1) Hand held computer: The output from the hand held computers would be more obtained in a better manner by transferring the data from hand held computer to the desktop or the laptop. This method permits us to choose amongst the wide range of the printers available in the market. Also some output can be obtained on the monitor itself. 4) Memorandum: For memos dot-matrix pr... 3) Resume: Resume can be easily and cheaply obtained on both the inkjet as well as the laser printer. Since it consists of only typed matter, with limited matter any of the methods can be used. 4) Memorandum: For memos dot-matrix printer would be more suitable. In these printers there is good facility of adjusting the paper sizes. Also paper roll can be put, thus making memo printing very fast. 5) Statistical Report: It can be best obtained by the bigger Dot printer. Its printing cost is quiet cheap and bigger papers can be printed 6) Company Annual Report: Laser printer would be more suitable in this case. Its printing is quiet cheap and fast. Even bulk printing would be affordable. Situations appropriate for the following devices: 1) Hard Disk: Hard disk is required in all computers and in all situations. Hard disks have capacity of storing large amounts of data and its speed is also fast. In our regular work we handle large amounts of data, which need to be stored. Also apart from the system software lots of other software has to be stored hence hard disk is necessary in all situations. 2) Floppy Disk: This is used when data is transferred from one computer to the other computer. However their capacity is limited and are less reliable. Hence these are being replaced by the pen drives. 3) RAM: RAM is compulsorily required in all computers as it stores the data on which we are working. Without RAM we would not be able to work on any files. 4) CDROM: CDROM can carry large amounts of data on a small disk hence it is widely used in almost all situations for storing data. 5) Tape: Magnetic tapes are used for storing audio and video files. These tapes can be easily played in video shooting cameras also. Role of Following in

Definition essay You Pick Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Definition You Pick - Essay Example During this time there were numerous protests and people of a certain political persuasion demanded to â€Å"Ban the Bomb.† People felt that WMDs—especially nuclear weapons—were a kind of genie let loose from a bottle. Once loose, every country would develop nuclear weapons and everyone would hold everyone else hostage. These fears were heightened when both India and Pakistan developed nuclear weapons about 10 years ago. And when North Korea declared itself a nuclear power three years ago. Fear of a nuclear Iran continue to dominate American and Israeli foreign policy. But there is more to weapons of mass destruction than nuclear weapons. There are chemical and nerve agents, there are biological agents such as plague and anthrax. Many governments are known to maintain WMD programs and they are part of many militaries’ attack plans. On the flip side, there are many treaties in place to block their use but some countries stockpile them and use them as a deterrent. They have been used in the First World War (mustard gas), the Second World War (the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki), and when Saddam Hussein used them against his own people (the Kurds), as well as in many other instances. The term entered the public domain in a very significant way during the Iraq War, when the American government said Saddam possessed WMDs and that was the main reason why they would have to invade Iraq. It was, however, very hard to finds these weapons in Iraq in the end. There were great debates at the time about whether he had an active program or whether he had dismantled it. In fact he had had a program in the past and had dismantled it, but had told everyone publicly that he still had it in order to deter his enemies. Because of the terms salience in the debate about the Iraq War, weapons of mass destruction was named word of the year in

Explaining Hardware Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Explaining Hardware - Essay Example This method would be fast and also would help maintain the records of the candidates who had participated in the survey. 3) Bank Checks: Bank Checks are fed into the accounting software of the Bank mainly by the forms. These softwares maintain the accounts as well as the database of the customers. This method permits the checks to be allocated directly into the customer's accounts. At the same time since the operator feed the data by filling the forms, the inner system of fields remains intact. 4) Retail Tags: These tags can be input by a simple word processor like MS Word or Open Office Write software. The A4 paper can used, on which at a time number of tags can be put depending upon their size. This method would be fast and save a lot of paper. 5) Long Documents: The Word Processor software like MS Word or Open Office Writer can best do data input for the long documents. With these methods we can do lot of formatting as well and the files can be stored easily not only on the hard disk but also on the external storage device. 1) Hand held computer: The output from the hand held computers would be more obtained in a better manner by transferring the data from hand held computer to the desktop or the laptop. This method permits us to choose amongst the wide range of the printers available in the market. Also some output can be obtained on the monitor itself. 4) Memorandum: For memos dot-matrix pr... 3) Resume: Resume can be easily and cheaply obtained on both the inkjet as well as the laser printer. Since it consists of only typed matter, with limited matter any of the methods can be used. 4) Memorandum: For memos dot-matrix printer would be more suitable. In these printers there is good facility of adjusting the paper sizes. Also paper roll can be put, thus making memo printing very fast. 5) Statistical Report: It can be best obtained by the bigger Dot printer. Its printing cost is quiet cheap and bigger papers can be printed 6) Company Annual Report: Laser printer would be more suitable in this case. Its printing is quiet cheap and fast. Even bulk printing would be affordable. Situations appropriate for the following devices: 1) Hard Disk: Hard disk is required in all computers and in all situations. Hard disks have capacity of storing large amounts of data and its speed is also fast. In our regular work we handle large amounts of data, which need to be stored. Also apart from the system software lots of other software has to be stored hence hard disk is necessary in all situations. 2) Floppy Disk: This is used when data is transferred from one computer to the other computer. However their capacity is limited and are less reliable. Hence these are being replaced by the pen drives. 3) RAM: RAM is compulsorily required in all computers as it stores the data on which we are working. Without RAM we would not be able to work on any files. 4) CDROM: CDROM can carry large amounts of data on a small disk hence it is widely used in almost all situations for storing data. 5) Tape: Magnetic tapes are used for storing audio and video files. These tapes can be easily played in video shooting cameras also. Role of Following in

Giant Pool of Money Essay Example for Free

Giant Pool of Money Essay The house prices were on the rise and many traditional home owners attempted their dreams of becoming a real estate tycoon. Although some buyers might have lived through the recessions in the 70’s, they never experienced it as a consumer and so only seeing housing prices go higher and higher, the idea of owning a home for the long run was embedded as a sure money maker. The last recession was more than 40 years ago and people don’t remember it because all of them were yet to be born or they were just too young. This is the case with all of the players in The Giant Pool of Money. Jim Finkel, Rachard the marine, Clarence Nathan, Adam Davidson, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Mike Francis, Mike Gardner, Glen Pizzolorusso, and Tonko Gast. I can’t blame any of them for falling in to Availability Bias because I too fell for it. Luckily, I bought a house that I could afford, unfortunately many of my neighbors did not. I was born in 1978 and this was my first opportunity of making a large investment for myself. Because I was bit weary, I asked a lot older mentors and family members if I should buy a home and not a single person said no. All of my friends had houses 2000sq ft or bigger houses for themselves! I couldn’t think of one reason why I shouldn’t buy a house and I’m sure many Americans felt the same and I was amazed how easy the entire process was! Like Richard the marine, I had the ability to lock in a 30 year fixed Veterans Administration loan but my lender opted for the interest only mortgage. Biases due to the irretrievability of instances also came in to play when asking, why throw money away when you can buy? It’s common knowledge to anyone that buying is always better than renting however, there are instances where renting can be more advantageous. People like Mike Garner that worked at mortgage banks were in a race to make the most deals against other lenders who were doing the exact same thing. Interesting enough, Mike stated that his boss hated the loans that they were dealing but he couldn’t do anything about it because â€Å"Other people are offering it†. His boss had been in the business for 25 years and everyone was making money. Glen Pizzolorusso, a sales manager like Mike Garner was making more money than he knew what to do with it so he did what everyone else did, buy houses! The second bias I’d like to look at is insensitivity to prior probability which is conveyed in the paragraph above. People tend to think of real estate investment as a solid investment like the people that had their piece in the pool of money and everyone involved. People are always going to resort to buying a real estate property versus renting if given the choice. It is perfectly reasonable to predict that house prices will rise in the future. I don’t think many people will ask themselves â€Å"how likely would this house devalue by threefold in next couple of years? † or much more modest â€Å"how likely would house prices fall next couple of years? † Prior availability of data available suggest that the chances are very slim. It seems like it was a perfect storm brewing with all the right elements that caused this bias. People with money to invest felt it was the right move since federal funds were at record low interest levels and there were significant growth in the housing sector. The bank workers such as Mike Francis simply satisfied the investors without knowing the outcome and with the initial success, the need of further investigating disappeared. One recommendation I have to prevent availability bias and insensitivity to prior probability, I would say is to carefully examine past history. We all know that last recession was in 1970’s but most people only know as the recession caused by the oil crisis but looking much more in depth, we all know that it was just more than oil crisis that resulted in the recession. Likewise, people are going to talk about the recession in 2000’s as greedy home owners trying to make money on houses that they couldn’t afford but we know that wasn’t the cause. There is more to the story then the headline and people need to investigate and look at all the possible outcomes. These two biases make it difficult to examine some of the outcomes and it’s everyone’s responsibility to look at all of the possible outcomes even if the chances are very small. We cannot point the finger at just one person in the story of Giant Pool of Money.

Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Status in Menstrual Cycle

Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Status in Menstrual Cycle Evaluation of oxidative stress and antioxidant status during  normal menstrual cycle Abstract: Background Objectives: Oxidative stress has been investigated to explain various physiological as well as pathological basis of many medical conditions. But very few data concerning the oxidative stress during normal menstrual cycle of eumenorrheic women are available. Thus, the purpose of study was to examine the physiological role of oxidative stress during normal menstrual cycle. Methods: 120 young healthy female subjects of reproductive age group (17-27 yrs), having regular menstrual cycle, were examined. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA), an oxidative stress biomarker and serum ascorbic acid (vitamin-C), an antioxidant vitamin were assessed in the follicular phase (on 7th day) and in the luteal phase (on 21st day) of normal menstrual cycle. Results: In the present study, significant higher (p0.05) levels of ascorbic acid were observed in the luteal phase when compared to the follicular phase. Non-significant negative correlations were also observed between MDA and ascorbic acid in both the phases of normal menstrual cycle. Significant increase in serum MDA level coincided with the increased progesterone and estrogen levels during the luteal phase. High levels of estrogen may be the initiator of lipid peroxidation process which eventually ends up with cellular injury during the luteal phase. Interpretation Conclusion: Oxidative stress has an important role to play in physiological phenomenon of the menstruation. Keywords: Antioxidants, ascorbic acid, malondialdehyde (MDA), menstrual cycle, oxidative stress. Abbreviations: MDA, malondialdehyde. Introduction Menstrual cycle is the result of complex interacting processes involving interaction of the hypothalamus, pituitary, ovaries, uterus, prostaglandins and neuroendocrine factors1. The normal menstrual cycle is a twenty eight day period which is divided into two phases i.e. follicular phase and luteal phase. The follicular phase is characterised by a low level of estrogen and progesterone which is followed by rise in estradiol, lutenizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone at the time of ovulation, while the luteal phase is associated with increased levels of progesterone and estrogen. These phases are associated with various changes in blood parameters along with variations in the sex hormones. Several powerful reactive oxygen species or free radicals or oxidants are produced during the course of metabolism in blood cells and most other cells of the body. These oxidants are very reactive molecules that can react with proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and other molecules which changes physicochemical status of the cell to alter their structure and cause tissue damage. Lipid peroxidation is a well established mechanism of cellular injury in human and is used as an indicator of oxidative stress in cells and tissues. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is one of the important byproduct of lipid peroxidation process which is widely used as an indicator of lipid peroxidation2. These free radicals are the target for the enzymatic and non-enzymatic scavenging systems3, which includes the antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, vitamin-A, vitamin-C, vitamin-E etc. that scavenge the free radicals and protect the tissues from oxidative stress. Oxidative stress has been implicated in various physiological as well as pathological bases of many medical conditions including reproductive system. Evidences have shown the dual effects of oxygen radicals in the physiological reproductive processes such as oocyte maturation, ovulation, menstruation, luteolysis, luteal maintenance in pregnancy, implantation and blastocyst development4,5,6, as well as in the pathological conditions like spontaneous abortions and infertility in females7. The imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants resulting from either an overproduction of free radicals or a deficit in antioxidant protection leads to oxidative stress8. Although, reports regarding variations of oxidative stress across the normal menstrual cycle in eumenorrheic women have been published, specially in reference to MDA (a marker of oxidative stress and an important byproduct of lipid peroxidation), but these are sparse and have conflicting trend. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of oxidative stress during the different phases of normal menstrual cycle by measuring the MDA which is served as an oxidative stress biomarker and ascorbic acid (vitamin-C), served as an antioxidant. Materials and Methods The present study was carried out on 120 normal healthy and regular menstruating female subjects aged between 17 and 27 years (mean age 20.53 + 2.9 years) selected from thexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Study was carried out in the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxPermission was also obtained from institutional ethical committee for carrying out the research work. After seeking an informed written consent and recording the detailed menstrual history (i.e. age at menarche, date of last menstruation, cycle length and days of bleeding), the subjects were then subjected to sample collection. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and serum ascorbic acid (vitamin-C) levels were assayed during their monthly menstrual cycle. All subjects were neither obese nor on any medication of any known pathologies. 5 ml of fasting blood samples were drawn from antecubital vein from each subject during the follicular phase (on 7th day of the cycle) and luteal phase (on 21st day of the cycle) after taking full antiseptic precautions. The MDA levels were measured by thiobarbituric acid assay method9. The principle of the method was based on the spectrophotometric measurement of the colour developed during the reaction of thiobarbituric acid with MDA. The concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances was calculated by the absorbance coefficient of malondialdehyde-thiobarbituric acid complex. Serum ascorbic acid was estimated spectrophotometrically, by using 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine10. The underlying principle was based on the oxidation of ascorbic acid to dehydroascorbic acid followed by coupling with 2,4- dinitrophenyl hydrazine under controlled conditions, in the presence of Thiourea as a mild reducing agent which gives red coloured osazones. The data thus obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using the PRIMER OF BIOSTATISTICS software. The comparison of variables was done using the Student paired ‘t’ test and correlation between variables was estimated by using Karl Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The significance level was considered at p Results The mean serum MDA and serum ascorbic acid levels during the follicular and luteal phases of menstrual cycle are presented as in Table 1. In the present study, the mean serum MDA (nmol/ml) level was greater during the luteal phase (4.294+1.60 nmol/ml) as compared to follicular phase (2.119+0.83 nmol/ml). The difference between MDA levels in the luteal phase was highly significant (p Lower values of serum ascorbic acid were found in luteal phase when compared to follicular phase. The mean values observed were 0.9399+0.40 mg/dl 0.8963+0.37 mg/dl in follicular phase and luteal phase, respectively. But, the changes were not significant statistically (p>0.05). In this study, a negative correlation was also observed between serum ascorbic acid (mg/dl) and serum MDA (nmol/ml) levels in both follicular and luteal phases but the correlation was found to be non-significant in both follicular phase (r value=-0.026, p>0.05) as well as in luteal phase (r value=-0.010, p>0.05). Table 1: Mean+SD levels of serum Malondialdehyde (MDA) and serum Ascorbic acid during follicular and luteal phases of menstrual cycle. Data expressed as mean and SD, * Highly significant, ** Non-significant. Discussion Present study has revealed the role of oxidative stress in the physiology of menstruation. We observed a significant higher levels of MDA while a non-significant lower levels of ascorbic acid in the luteal phase when compared with the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Previous studies also have correlated increased serum MDA levels during the luteal phase with the physiological phenomenon of menstruation in the healthy normal menstruating females which support our study results6,11. While, no significant differences in MDA levels throughout the normal menstrual cycle also have been reported12,13,14. Unlike our study results, a progressive significant rise in plasma ascorbic acid levels has been reported from menstrual to ovulation15. Similarly, â€Å"a sharp increase in the fasting level of plasma Vitamin C† also has been showed in some women during the middle of the menstrual cycle16. Whereas, some other researchers found no evidences of unusual variability of plasma ascorbic acid values throughout the menstrual cycle, which supports our study17. The significant rise of MDA and depletion of ascorbic acid levels during the luteal phase of menstrual cycle coincides with the increased levels of estrogen and progesterone, which is a characteristic feature of this phase18. Increased levels of estrogen and progesterone cause the proliferation of uterus while the initiation of sloughing of the endometrium is mainly due to the rise in the estrogen levels18,19,20. Thus, the high estrogen level from developing follicles may be the initiator of lipid peroxidation process21, which eventually causes the cellular injury followed by release of cytokines especially tumour necrosis factor-alpha, which generates reactive oxygen species from the tissues which in turn causes lipid peroxidation22. The generated free radicals may play an important role in spasm of the highly vascularised vessels leading to vascular necrosis and menstrual flow, when hormonal support for the endometrium is diminished. High levels of oxidative stress have been coincided with high levels of female sex hormone such as estradiol in previous studies also6,21,23. While, in other studies a significant negative correlation between these parameters in regularly menstruating females also have been established24. Whereas, some evidences show no significant correlation between ovarian hormones and oxidative stress during the follicular and luteal phases of menstrual cycle25. Present study perhaps therefore suggests that the high MDA level in the luteal phase may play an important role in the initiation of menstruation which is a well established cellular injury based phenomenon. Conclusion In conclusion, these results suggest that increase of serum MDA levels may play an important role in the physiological phenomenon of menstruation. References 1. Joseph L. Mayo. A healthy menstrual cycle. Clinical Nutrition Insights 1997; 5(9): 1-8. 2. Raharjo S, Sofos JN and Schmitt GR. Solid-phase acid extraction improves thiobarbituric acid methods to determine lipid oxidation. J Food Sci 1993; 58: 921-932. 3. Grunert RR and Phillips PH. A modification of nitroprusside method of analysis for glutathione. Arch Biochem 1951; 30(2): 217-225. 4. Sawada M and Carlson J. Superoxide radical production in plasma membrane samples from regressing corpora lutea. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1989; 67(5): 465-471. 5. Harvey AJ, Kind KL and Thompson JG. REDOX regulation of early embryo development. Reproduction 2002; 123: 479-486. 6. Akande AA and Akinyinka AO. Serum malondialdehyde levels during menstrual cycle. Afr J Biotechnol 2005; 4(11): 1297-1299. 7. Agarwal A, Aponte-Mellado A, Premkumar BJ, Shaman A, Gupta S. The effects of oxidative stress on female reproduction: a review. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2012; 10: 49. 8. Terada LS. Specificity in reactive oxidant signaling : Think globally, act locally. J Cell Biol 2006; 174: 615-623. 9. Satoh K. Serum lipid peroxide in cerebrovascular disorders determined by a new colorimetric method. Clin Chim Acta 1978; 90(1): 37-43. 10. Natelson S. Determination of ascorbic acid by using 2,4 – dinitrophenyl hydrazine. Techniques of Clinical Chemistry. 3rd ed. Springfield, USA: Charles C. Thomas. 1971: 165-166. 11. Karowicz-Bilinska A, Plodzidym M, Krol J, Lewinska A, Bartosz G. Changes of markers of oxidative stress during menstrual cycle.Redox Rep 2008; 13(5): 237-240. 12. Serviddio G, Loverro G, Vicino M, et al. Modulation of endometrial redox balance during the menstrual cycle: relation with sex hormones. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2002; 87(6): 2843-2848. 13. Elhadd TA, Neary R, Abdu TA, et al. Influence of the hormonal changes during the normal menstrual cycle in healthy young women on soluble adhesion molecules, plasma homocysteine, free radical markers and lipoprotein fractions. Int Angiol 2003; 22(3): 222-228. 14. Browne RW, Bloom MS, Schisterman EF, et al. Analytical and biological variation of biomarkers of oxidative stress during the menstrual cycle. Biomarkers 2008; 11: 160-183. 15. Michos C, Kiortsis DN, Evangelou A, Karkabounas S. Antioxidant protection during the menstrual cycle : The effects of estradiol on ascorbic – dehydroascorbic acid plasma levels and total antioxidant plasma status in eumenorrhoic women during the menstrual cycle. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2006; 85(8): 960-965. 16. Mickelson O, Dippel AL and Todd RL. Plasma Vitamin C levels in women during the menstrual cycle. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1943; 3(11): 600-602. 17. Hauck HM. Plasma levels and urinary excretion of ascorbic acid in women during the menstrual cycle. J Nutr 1947; 33(5): 511-514. 18. Ganong. William F. Gonads: Development and function of the reproductive system. In: Review of Medical Physiology. 13th ed. USA: Prentice-Hall Int. Inc. 1987: 364-369. 19. Llewellyn-Jones D. Everywomen A gynaecological guide for life. 4th ed. The Chancer press. Great Britain: 1986: p-48. 20. Whitley RJ, Wayne M and Nelson BW. Endocrinology. In: Teitz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry. Carl Burtis and Edward Ashwood (editors). Philadephia: Saundera company. 1992: p-1879. 21. Schisterman EF, Gaskins AJ, Mumford SL, et al. Influence of Endogenous Reproductive Hormones on F2-Isoprostane Levels in Premenopausal Women. Am J Epidemiol 2010; 172(4): 430-439. 22. Romero FJ, Bosch-Morell F, Romero MJ, Jareno EJ, Romero B, Roma MN. Lipid peroxidation products and antioxidants in human diseases. Environ Health Perspect 1998; 106: 1229-1234. 23. Sowers M, McConnell D, Jannausch ML, et al. Oestrogen metabolites in relation to isoprostanes as a measure of oxidative stress. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2008; 68(5): 806-813. 24. Bednarek–Tupikowska G, Bohdanowicz–Pawlak A, Bidzinska B, Milewicz A, Antonowicz–Juchniewicz J, Andrzejak R. Serum lipid peroxide and superoxide dismutase activity in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Gynecol Endocrinol 2001; 15(4): 298-303. 25. Lutoslawska G, Tkaczyk J, panczenco-– kresowska B, Hubner – Wozniak E, Skierska E, Gajewski AK. Plasma TBARS, blood GSH concentrations, and erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme activities in regularly menstruating women with ovulatory and anovulatory menstrual cycles. Clin Chim Acta 2003; 331(1-2): 159-163.