Category: Uncategorized

Hope Charity Event project

Project Outline:

Project Title: Hope

Project Justification: This project has the potential to help raise additional funds for the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity for the purpose of helping them to increase the level of support they provide families with terminally ill children. This unique charity helps all those who are being affected by an illness across the UK, and require donations from the general public to continue supporting more families in the coming weeks, months and years.

Project Scope: This project will consist of the planning, development and running of an event in the aim of raising funds for the chosen charity. The project planning and development stages are to be carried out from October 2012 in the light of launching the event in February/March 2013, all depending on the chosen location. Areas of the event will include an Arts Exhibition, as well as music and dance performances from a range of individuals.

Project Deliverables: The project will be focused around the sale of art work created by our clients, in which several artists will be creating art based around the chosen charity. Other participants including musicians and dancers will be a form of entertainment for the customers to enjoy, but will not be the main source of income for this project. Throughout the project, the following materials will be delivered in order to successfully manage the overall project.

Progress Reports

Planning and Development Schedule

Weekly Meeting Notes

Final Event Report

Project Success: The project success will be measured through the amount of funds raised. Any profit made will be seen as a success.

Constraints: The constraints of this project are determined by the work of project members.

The successful and timely completion of project tasks in accordance with the project requirements.

Budget allocation is essential to the success of this project and may require further fundraising and or sponsorship to help fund the project.

Suitable location for the event to be undertaken in which can cater for all project requirements.

Business Case:

Project Rationale: The aim of this project is to organise a fun and enjoyable event that will raise funds for the chosen charity in order to help finance the support families require whose children are suffering from terminal illnesses. The location being suggested for this event is situated in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, which is on the boarder of North London. Communication with the necessary organisation is currently being undertaken and updates will be provided within regular progress reports. The project will be undertaken by five business management students from the University of Bedfordshire, some of whom have previous experience in organising and running charity events.

Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity require the ongoing support from the general public in order to be able to continuously provide support to the children and families who are affected by a terminal illness. Without donations from such projects, the charity would be unable to provide the level of support necessary, resulting in fewer families gaining the crucial care they so badly need. The benefits of supporting this charity is the ongoing support they can provide to many families across the United Kingdom, making those lives of those suffering that little bit easier and the continuing connections between charity and family.

Project Objectives:

To determine a suitable event in which can raise sufficient funds for the chosen charity.

To come up with the right amount of money needed for the project

To identify the right people to fund the project

To lobby for funds from well wishers

To prove to the people that the project is for charity

Chosen Project and Alternative Options: Upon initial discussions a number of event ideas were mentioned, in which the project discussed. The project chosen is based around art, which will involve an Arts Exhibition alongside performances from musicians and dancers. This event was selected by the project group due to its feasibility, customer base and the level of donations that can be achieved.

Alternative options suggested in the preliminary stages were a football tournament, an Arts Exhibition, a music show and finally a dance show. Through discussion with project members, it was agreed that a football tournament would raise very little funds due to the limit of people who are able to get involved. Furthermore, it was felt that this sort of event was too common and wouldn’t be enjoyable for all members of the team. However the other three suggestions were liked by the group but again, it was believed that none of these suggestions would raise sufficient funds for the chosen charity if they were to be run individually. The team therefore decided to combine the three ideas of art, music and dance to form one event.

Benefits of Project: The benefits of running such an event is firstly that certain team members have organised and run similar events in the past, some of which were for charity. This will provide the project with an understanding of what is required and group members can use their experiences to ensure certain issues are avoided where possible. Secondly, there are a great number of talented artists, musicians and dancers out there today that enjoy participating in such events. Participants will be carefully selected and this will be measured by previous experiences individuals have had and the passion they have for what they do in order to ensure we get participants whose talents will help to raise funds for the charity.

Thirdly, the project will be useful in appealing to the people that this organization is solely for charity, but not profit oriented as it has been claimed. Many people have organized for such events in order to benefit. Therefore, such an opportunity will be used to inform the general public on the nature of this project. This will help in creating a good image of this project particularly to the surrounding community which is expected to benefit most.

Constraints: This project comes with some constraints that will need to be managed effectively and action taken when necessary. The constraints that are currently apparent that will or may affect the project are;

Location: Currently this project is planned to take place in Hertfordshire, near North London. Some team members may not be able to get to the location, but currently all team members have stated they are happy with the selection and do not have any issues at this point in time.

Budget: Due to the desired location for this project, the budget may become an issue as the cost of the venue could potentially be higher than the initial funding. Fundraising prior to the event may be undertaken as well as the likelihood of looking to gain sponsorship.

Dependencies: This project is dependent on a variety of activities being completed to schedule in order for other activities to be undertaken on time. Such activities are dependent on one another due to the project structure so all team members must ensure they are carrying out their roles accurately and timely so that no area of the project is delayed.

Besides, there should be a proper organization of this project. The role of each and every person should be clearly stated. No one is expected to assume the role of leadership. All the people will be delegated duties based on their expertise, experience and interest. This will help to eliminate any misunderstanding which may confuse them. Hence, the project will run smoothly.

Risks: There are risks associated with a project like this, in which the project team must continuously keep in mind and ensure a contingency plan is in place that will enable action to be taken instantly if and when necessary. The risks that are currently apparent include;

Under Budget: The funds provided by the project board may be insufficient in which the project will require further funding. This will be down to the project team to raise.

Overambitious plans: the planners for this project may set unrealistic plans that may be difficult to accomplish. This will put an unnecessary pressure on the concerned parties.

Poor coordination: there may be uncooperative operations during the implementation of this project. This is true since its success is solely dependent on the commitments of the organizers.

Budget Estimates:

Due to the nature of this event, the required budget is essential to the success of the project. The key cost for this project is in terms of the project venue which could potentially reach a total of around£300.Although this will not be funded completely by the project board, Hope will look to hold fundraising events prior to the actual event to raise the required funds. Furthermore, sponsorship will be a focus of the project team, in order to raise these additional finances.

Another cost that will be incurred by the project team is that of refreshments for the event. This will be a low cost and may therefore be paid for by the project team rather than out of the allocated funds provided. However, it may be that a company would be willing to donate a variety of refreshments as a form of sponsorship. This cost is likely to be around the £30 mark if required to pay.

The projected budget currently for this event is roughly £330 but this cannot be confirmed until the venue has been agreed. Finance requirements are being kept to a minimum although the venue will be our major cost for this project.

Project Team:

The project team is consisted of five Business Management students, some of whom have previously organised and run charity events. Project Manager for this event is Sam Antrobus who arranges and conducts all meetings and ensures activities are completed to schedule. He is seen as the co-ordinator of the group as he delegates tasks effectively to the team, has a vision for the projects goals and is confident in what he does. Sam is also seen as a resource investigator, alongside his colleague Scott Shipway. Both team members are able to develop contacts and explore a range of opportunities. Scott is an outgoing and enthusiastic individual who has the potential to make the most of key opportunities.

Gemma Punnett is seen as a monitor evaluator as well as a team worker within the group. Her work style enables her to view all available options resulting in accurately judging the potential outcomes and therefore enabling her to make key decisions. Her teamwork skills allow her to effectively co-operate with her peers in which she listens to the team’s opinions and ideas and avoids any form of friction within the group.

Sameer Mansour is seen as a team worker as he listens to group ideas and looks at ways in which those ideas can be put into actions. He co-operates well with his peers and avoids any confrontation with his team members. With a bit of assistance from his team members he has the potential to become a shaper within the group has he is driven to overcome any situations that may obscure the project and has the ability to work within a challenging environment.

The final project team member is Bader Alghusn, who is a strong team-worker and also seen as the plant of the group. His creativeness and free-thinking enables him to generate ideas within the group and make suggestions that the group an act upon. His co-operation and listen skills make him a good team-worker and can help with the day to day organisation of this project.

Lessons Learned:

From previous events run by several members of the project team it is clear that a clear structure is required for the success of this event. If activities are not completed to schedule then it will make it difficult for the event to succeed. Furthermore, a strong relationship needs to be built and developed with the venue provider throughout the event process. Their expertise will be essential to this project so a strong level of communication will be vital. It is important not to over compliment things when planning this event as it will only cause problems further down the line.

Milestone Plan (Leading up to Christmas Period)

There are a number of milestones throughout this project that need to be met to schedule at all times. Leading up to the Christmas period (weeks 8 to 11) there are a number of milestones that must be met. The table below shows this and who is responsible for certain areas. Further milestones will be created during this time for the next stage of the project.

Task Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Person/s Responsible

Detailed Business Case Reasons Key Milestones, Expected Benefits, Risk Assessment     Sam Antrobus & Gemma Punnett

Stakeholder/Communications Strategy Project Team & Project Board Clients & Consumers Suppliers   Scott Shipway & Sameer Mansour

Project Plan for Delivery/Execution     Activities & Time Management Assign Activites Scott Shipway & Gemma Punnett

Venue Agreement Contact Venue   Contract Agreement   Sam Antrobus

Project Log Update Update Update Update Sam Antrobus

Risk Register TBC TBC TBC TBC Sameer Mansour & Bader Alghusn

Quality Register TBC TBC TBC TBC Bader Alghusn & Sameer Mansour

Charity Agreement Undertake Discussion Update Report Confirm Details Receive Resources Scott Shipway & Sam Antrobus

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Social problems

First social problem

Homelessness is a social issue that my group experiences. It is a state of individuals who need normal access to lodging, and is created by a few elements, for example, emotional instability, medication ill-use, physical or sexual misuse, and basically not having enough cash. Individuals who have complex life problem identified with emotional instability and substance ill-use are the well on the way to be homeless in light of the fact that they can’t hold an unfaltering employment and as a result, can’t manage the cost of rent. Likewise, homeless might be created by physical and sexual ill-use. Those continually getting attacked by their families may decide to flee and look for shelter in the boulevards as opposed to acknowledge a life of day by day beatings and assaults. This is exceptionally predominant among teens and women.

At last, the most imperative motivation behind why individuals get homeless could be because of the inaccessibility of competitive lodging for low wage individuals. This shows that individuals have a tendency to get homeless out of unavoidable circumstances. There are individuals who do have work yet they gain excessively little to pay for rent, power, water, and other lodging costs. In the event that an individual loses his occupation, then they clearly have no real way to pay for anything whatsoever (Edward et al,. 430). With everything taken into account, homelessness is a developing issue and obliges social activity. This might be achieved by building moderate lodging units to low salary individuals, securing ladies and kids from misuse, and helping medication addicts conquer their addictions and giving individuals with dysfunctional behaviors competitive health awareness.

Second social Problem

Social problem might be characterized in numerous distinctive ways. They impact everybody and a few of us experience problem commonplace as an aftereffect of our race, religion, sexual orientation, or low pay. Others encounter problem from mechanical change or declining neighborhoods, others are influenced straightforwardly by wrongdoing and savagery in their own particular neighborhood, and in some cases meanings of social problem are changed by public opinion on account of progressions around you. Finally so as to accomplish the motivation behind this which is to inspect and talk about diverse problem and circumstances that cause social problem, for example, destitution. Overpopulation and social problem go hand and turn in today’s general public and there are numerous reasons and components in the matter of why these problem exist. Calculates that prompt overpopulation that causes social problem are the build in the amount of single parents in poor neighborhoods restricted to the decrease in conception rates in the more productive parts of the nation, how the demise rate is at a relentless decay on account of restorative developments in rich and poor nations, the impacts foreigners have on an environment and the populace development that happens, the impact folks leave on children (Richard 23).

social problem will dependably exist on the grounds that social problem change as time progressions. We regularly have a tendency to disregard what we call necessities others call extravagances. Along these lines later on I trust social problem will get to be non-existent yet that is about outlandish. I additionally feel that destitution is an immense issue we confront as a world and that despite the fact that it is difficult to take care of this issue, we must take a gander at it as a progressing issue and try our hardest to help tackle this issue. In last I feel that overpopulation with a couple different components, for example, infections, youthful pregnancies, and the particular case that I think has the most significance is nature’s domain you experience childhood fit as a fiddle you into the individual you grow up to be.

Third social problem

Teenager Smoking: Preventing teenagers from smoking is an enormous test numerous groups confront today. Numerous groups can just watch without activity while nearby organizations keep on offering tobacco items to minors, significantly under danger of punishment of law. Late studies demonstrate that a huge rate of youngsters today are getting their cigarettes from stores, for the most part service stations or comfort store. As youngsters keep on having the capacity to purchase their own particular cigarettes, more groups start to force stronger disciplines on shippers who offer to the high school children (Logsdon 10).

One group has encountered accomplishment in their endeavors to stop the offer of tobacco items to minors. Woodridge, Illinois, began a program, seven years back that disallowed and strictly rebuffed the offer of tobacco items to minors. The whole program incorporates neighborhood permitting of merchants, rehashed undercover assessments to check whether the deal to minors has halted, and training projects in schools. Woodridge has turned into a model group as different groups are moving to stop adolescent tobacco utilization. A late national study demonstrated that 36.5% of females, and 40.8% of guys purchase their cigarettes from stores, whether it be a corner store or a market. Surely, as more shippers see the inconvenience they confront if discovered offering to minors, they will quit offering. Genuine, tightening down on saves that offer tobacco to minors isn¹t going to totally stop the issue of teenager tobacco utilization. Adolescents keep on getting them from different sources. Yet it most likely does hamper their endeavors. With more instruction in schools, and maybe stronger disciplines for youngsters got with tobacco, more teenagers will see the problem with the tobacco use, and will stop the propensity.

Fourth social problem

Youth committing Suicide: Suicide is purposeful conveyed toward oneself demonstrations that end in death(“suicide,” Compton’s). After an arrangement of traumatic occasions, ordinary adapting capacities could be pushed over the edge; the result may be suicide. In every year, a normal of 30,000 suicide passing happen in the World. It is evaluated that 5,000 of those suicides are submitted by teenagers. One real reason that the suicide rate among adolescents is so high, is that the adolescent years are a time of hullabaloo. New social parts are, no doubt adapted, new connections are, no doubt created, substantial progressions are happening, and choices about what’s to come are, no doubt made throughout the high school years. Adolescents have a tendency to submit suicide after extensive progressions, huge misfortunes, or ill-use has happened in their lives (Helen, et al 22). An essential change seeing someone, or self-perception may help a young people’s propensity to submit suicide. The passing of a friend or family member, the departure of an esteemed relationship, and the misfortune of self-regard are some critical misfortunes which may be a component in teenager suicide. Saw ill-use, for example, physical, enthusiastic, mental, sexual, social ill-use or disregard can prompt self-murder. Critical changes, misfortunes, and ill-use can advertise self-destructive inclinations.

Few self-destructive individuals have some kind of wretchedness, yet the individuals who have one could be incited to submit suicide. There are two fundamental sorts of dejection endured by self-destructive people. The main sort is sensitive misery. This sort of dejection is the response of a troublesome and frequently traumatic experience. Endogenous wretchedness is the second sort of discouragement. It is the consequence of an emotional sickness which is diagnosable by an expert. Some self-destructive individuals have a combo of both sensitive sorrow and endogenous melancholy. Others could have dejection, which is undiagnosed

Fifth Social Problem

Abortion is a developing issue in the world among ladies and their entitlement to recreate youngsters. Pretty nearly one to three million abortion s are carried out every year. Ladies get abortion s for some reasons, for example, for assault, adolescent pregnancy and wellbeing reasons. Assault is one of numerous reasons that cause ladies to pick abortion to end their pregnancies. What to do about their pregnancy is required, albeit numerous or them felt they were completion a life (Tajfel 13). They are insightful enough to know how they would treat their illegitimate tyke. They loathe their attacker, and stress that in the event that they kept their children, they would abhor their kids for helping them to remember such a frightful time. Junior ladies somewhere around 15 and 19 record for no less than 5 million abortion s consistently – 1 million of them in the World. Truth be told, one of each five pregnancies happens to a young lady. In circumstances like this, some individuals are certain that they could deal with the youngster, while others realize that they are not primed or develop enough to take so many obligations.

Much of the time the youngster would have nobody to depend on however a single parent with no educating, and possibly a non-strong crew. He or she would have a curved, hopeless childhood, left helpless further down the road. An alternate reason that causes ladies decision abortion is wellbeing issue. There is an extent of problem, including the tyke being conceived with Down’s Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, or a demeanor to corpulence, which can further down the road reason stopped up courses and heart disappointment. In an alternate case, individuals should frequently settle on decision between sparing the mother, as of now a working part of pop culture, or giving her a chance to die to attempt and spare the child. Taking everything into account, for any pregnant lady, settling on a choice to prematurely end her tyke is terrible and heartless, yet under certain circumstance, for example, assault, youthful age and wellbeing reasons, a lady would decide to end her pregnant by fetus removal.

Works Cited

D’zurilla, Thomas J., Edward C. Chang, and Lawrence J. Sanna. “Self-esteem and social problem solving as predictors of aggression in college students.”Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 22.4 (2003): 424-440.

Layard, Richard. “Mental health: Britain’s biggest social problem?.” (2005): 1-34.

Logsdon, Jeanne M. “Interests and interdependence in the formation of social problem-solving collaborations.” The Journal of applied behavioral science 27.1 (1991): 23-37.

Swanson, Helen, et al. “The relationship between parental bonding, social problem solving and eating pathology in an anorexic inpatient sample.”European Eating Disorders Review 18.1 (2010): 22-32.

Tajfel, Henri, ed. Social identity and intergroup relations. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Running Head: HORMONES AND LEARNING AND MEMORY

Hormones and Learning and Memory

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Hormones and cognitive enhancement:

Cognitive enhancement involves enhancement of the mind capacity for various cognitive functions such as reasoning speed and memory capacity. Hormones can have a profound impact on the cognitive performance of an individual since they can have a profound impact on the neural plasticity. Moreover, sex differences between men and females indicate may result into differences in cognitive capabilities between the two sexes. Research has been done on the impact of hormones on the neural plasticity as well as sex differences that result into differences in the cognitive capabilities between men and women. This essay reviews how hormones influence neural plasticity and the cognitive enhancement of an individual. Moreover, the article reviews the differences between males and females that result into differences in cognitive functions.

How hormones influence neural plasticity:

Cognitive enhancement involves extension of the mind capacity, accomplished through improvement of various internal and external systems of perceiving and processing information (Bostron and Sandberg, 2009). Cognitive enhancement does not relate to the speed of cognitive capacities but pertains to the benefits resulting from a cognitive enhancement intervention (Bostron and Sandberg, 2009). As such, a cognitive enhanced person is one who, through cognitive enhancement intervention, has improved his cognitive performance. Neural plasticity involves the ability of the neural system to change or switch between activities functionally and in the organization. Neural plasticity has a profound impact on the cognitive enhancement of an individual. For instance, increased neural plasticity results into enhanced cognitive ability.

Neural plasticity can be affected by various factors, among them being education, training and hormones. Moreover, hormones have a profound impact on neural plasticity and the cognitive enhancement of an individual. Various researchers have found a relation between cognitive Oestradial hormone and cognitive enhancement. According to Luine (2008), Oestradial hormone has several effects on the brain those affect the neural plasticity of the brain. In other researches, progesterone and Testerone hormones are associated to neural plasticity, suggesting that the hormones act on neurons, improving the neural plasticity of the brain and thus enhancing the cognitive performance of the brain (Luine, 2008).

Sex differences between males and females that provide evidence of the hormonal and neural correlates of cognitive function

Research suggests that males and females behave differently on various cognitive functions. Various studies indicate that females produce better results compared to males on matters concerning verbal abilities, reasoning speed and memory capacity (Davies and Wilkinson, 2006). On the other hand, studies indicate that males outdo females on matters concerning mental rotation and mathematical tasks (Davies and Wilkinson, 2006).

The hormone Testerone has been associated with the cognitive difference between males and females. This is a steroid hormone that is secreted by males from the testes and females from the ovaries. Studies indicate that males produce more Testerone hormone compared to female, resulting to the difference in the cognitive abilities between males and females (Bell et al, 2005).

In the brain, Testerone affects various cognitive functions such as attention, memory and the spatial ability of an individual. According to Nugent et al. (2005), males usually produce higher levels of Testerone compared to women that explains the difference between the two sexes on memory capacity. According to Bell et al. (2005), men usually have larger brains compared to women, and that explains why men and females exhibit different cognitive capacities.

From the article, it is evident that the hormonal differences between males and females produce varying cognitive capabilities. For instance, women exhibit enhanced reasoning speed and verbal capabilities compared to men. On the other hand, men exhibit improved memory capacities compared to women. These differences are usually caused by hormonal differences between men and women. For instance, research indicates that males produce more Testerone compared to females, explaining the differences between cognitive functions between the two sexes.

References

Bell, E, Willson, M, Wilman, A, Dave, S & Silverstone, P. (2005). Males and Females Differ in

Brain Activation During Cognitive tasks. Alberta, Canada: Elsevier Inc.

Bostrom, A & Sandberg, A, (2006). Cognitive Enhancement: Methods, Ethics, Regulatory

Challenges. Springer Science + Business Media.

Davies, W & Wilkinson, L. (2006). It is not all Hormones: alternative Explanations for sexual

Differentiation of the Brain. UK: Elsevier.

Luine, V. (2008). Sex Steroid and Cognitive Function. Journal of Neuroendoclinology.

Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 20 (6).

Nugent, A, Bain, E, Thayer, J, Sollers, J & Drevets, C. (2005). Sex Differences in the Neural

Correlates of Autonomic Arousals. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 80 (3).

United States of America.

Hometown Bank

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Question 1

A sticky scale brings Webster’s attention to whether caulking tubes are being properly capped. If a significant proportion of the tubes aren’t being sealed, Webster is placing their customers in a messy situation. Tubes are packaged in large boxes of 144. Several boxes are inspected and the following number of leaking tubes are found:

Sample Tubes Sample Tubes Sample Tubes

1 3 8 6 15 5

2 5 9 4 16 0

3 3 10 9 17 2

4 4 11 2 18 6

5 2 12 6 19 2

6 4 13 5 20 1

7 2 14 1 Total 72

Calculate p-chart three-sigma control limits to assess whether the capping process is in statistical control.

Solution

n = 144, EMBED Equation.2

EMBED Equation.2

EMBED Equation.2 . Therefore, statistical control.

Question 2

Webster Chemical’s nominal weight for filling tubes of caulk is 8.00 ounces EMBED Equation.2 0.60 ounces. The target process capability ratio is 1.33. The current distribution of the filling process is centered on 8.054 ounces with a standard deviation of 0.192 ounces. Compute the process capability index to assess whether the filling process is capable and set properly.

Answer:

Process capability ratio:

EMBED Equation.2

Process capability index:

EMBED Equation.2

EMBED Equation.2

Logistics and Operations Management

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Horsemeat Consumption in Europe

Over the recent years, horse meat has been a major problem in the United Kingdom. One major source originates from Northern America in places like Canada as well as Southern America in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. The European horsemeat problem began when meat testing within Ireland proved that some beef products contained the equine DNA. This menace has spread across the European continent and in the process, entangling many distinguished brands, which result to timely product abandonment and therefore poor customer concerns by the relevant authorities as well as poor government investigations into the continent’s complex food dispensation chains.

Findings

Due to the ongoing European horsemeat contamination scandal, a good number of the beef supplies company executives are considering looking at their risks and uncertainties and on a regular basis. The horsemeat contamination in the beef lasagne is one example of the unexpected interference that occurs when the company executives ought to prepare themselves to handle. Economic pressures contribute to a larger percentage of the risks, which contribute to contaminations in the supply chains (Doeg, 2005 166). According to Humane Society International (2012), every year about one hundred thousand tonnes of horsemeat become imported to the European Union states and the origin of this meat is from the above countries. In addition to the large amounts of meat supplied to the European Union nations, about tens of thousands of this meat is slaughtered for human consumptions within the European Union itself. The Humane Society International (2012) has carried out studies over the issue of horsemeat in the European meat consumption market especially in three member states, which include France, Netherlands and Belgium where meat consumption is a normal phenomenon.

Sampling studies carried on beef lasagne in France, Belgium and Netherlands.

Beef Lasagne is an Italian flat dish, which is made by incorporating several ingredients and sauces into several layers and then baking the dish in an oven. This dish is an olden Italian meal, which is very delicious. The ingredients are made from pork and beef mixed with fresh pasta, creamy béchamel and Italian mozzarella. According to a sampling food survey conducted by the European Food Standards Agency over the wide spread of horsemeat in beef products, one of the products found to contain traces of more than one percent pig meat include Apetito Beef Lasagne (FSA, 2013). The Apetito Company in their defence state that they produce majority of beef lasagne just like any other company however, their beef products in most cases, are imported in large chunks or as whole muscles from their approved suppliers. They inspect their meat but do not carry out comprehensive analysis of the Bute found in the imported meat so as to detect traces of harmful substances (FSA, 2013). The sampling done of the beef lasagne was carried out in two phases and the results obtained proved that out of the 224 Apetito Beef Lasagne sampled in phase one, 214 contained more than one percent pig DNA or contain both pig and horse DNA (FSA, 2013). As for the second phase, the Apetito Beef Lasagne tested contained a threshold of more than one percent pig DNA but did not contain any horse DNA above the one percent threshold.

Also, a report by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2013) proved that there were undeclared traces of horse as well as pork DNA were found in meat products especially lasagne, beef burgers and Bolognaise, which are already readymade meat products that have been contaminated by horse meat as well as pork DNA. The European government and the related meat industries are conducting a large scale and nationwide meat testing to determine the problem. Each and every year, beef lasagne, which contains traces of horsemeat, is being delivered to France, Netherlands and Belgium in large numbers, which are more than ten thousand tones. In most cases, most of the livestock slaughtered are not bred in France, Netherlands and Belgium. According to Humane Society International (2012 1), not all the livestock slaughtered for beef lasagne are raised in these countries however, they are transported across the European Union borders and then slaughtered in the states for meat consumption. Live animals in the past years have been transported across the three nations partly due to the close proximity of slaughterhouse in either country (Humane Society International, 2012). In France, exportation of beef for making lasagne has extended to the neighbouring states of France like Spain as well as Poland (Humane Society International, 2012).

The governments within the European Union and especially in the United Kingdom have begun efforts to ensure the coordinated response towards the establishment and investigations of the menace across Europe. The European Union on its part agreed that the tests for the imported beef products in foreign countries should be tested for the presence of horsemeat and more so throughout the entire meat food chain. The report also indicated that the major people responsible for the distribution and sale of horsemeat are the food retailers and manufacturers as well as the food suppliers who are legally responsible for making sure that the beef products are labelled correctly. The British Food Standards Agency, who are responsible for ensuring food safety, and the Food Authenticity Programme, which develops the required testing methods that check whether the beef lasagne products have been properly labelled or have contaminations, are responsible for the illegal distribution of horsemeat (Humane Society International, 2012).

Processed beef lasagne in Ireland and Spain

Taco Bell, which is an American Based food retail company was involved in the horsemeat scandal and in recent times, has withdrawn the sale of its taco beef product in the European nations and the reason was the fact that some of the sols beef lasagne were found to contain more than ten percent horse DNA (Humane Society International, 2012). These products include beef skewers, made by Brakes catering company, beef lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese, which are ready Birds Eye meals. In Europe, Taco Bell has various outlets in Europe, one in Essex, the other in Manchester and about three in Spain. The companies in recent times said that after testing their beef lasagne, the presence of horsemeat became evident in the products. The Taco Bell Company revealed that some of the beef products, which they bought from their suppliers in Europe contained traces of horsemeat. Immediately the company realized this mistake, they withdrew their sale of beef and also discontinued their purchase of meat products, and later contacted the Food Standards Agency (Humane Society International, 2012).

The presence of low level horse DNA in beef products prompted the Birds Eye to go ahead and remove their readymade beef meals from supermarket shelves based on the fact that they were made from Belgian Companies (Meikle, 2013). The products include the traditional 340g spaghetti Bolognese, the 400g Shepherd’s Pie and the 400g beef lasagne. Further tests that have been conducted on the Birds Eye product, and in particular on the beef lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese, show that these products contain traces of Horse DNA. This has prompted beef manufacturers and traders to introduce a new DNA testing program, which will make sure that no pulverized beef product will be distributed to the retail stores without undergoing thorough screening and DNA testing (Meikle, 2013).

Beef testing in Europe

The local authorities in European countries as well as the Food Standards Agency carry out close to one hundred thousand tests annually, as part of their routine, to detect the numerous food safety issues and fraud issues encompassing the food industry by using the risk based approach system (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). The Food Standards Agency requires a more vigorous response from the food industry so as to demonstrate their campaign in fighting the horsemeat scare across Europe. The Food Standards Agency aims at ensuring that every food industry prepares food, sells their products and deserves their product with the quality it has advertised on its cover paper. Food operating businesses are required to carry out authenticity tests on every processed beef products, for example lasagne, beef burgers and meatballs, and then provide the tested results to the Food Standards Agency (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). The tests results, which have been submitted to the Food Standards Agency, ought to be published by the specific retail company that was responsible for carrying out the tests. This ensures there is maximum transparency in the food testing and authenticity system for the benefit of the beef product consumers. Additionally, the Food Standards Agency is conducting a nationwide inspection incorporating the various beef products, which are available for consumption to UK consumers. The companies responsible for supplying public institutions like schools and even hospitals are part of the Food Standards Agency sampling programme. 

The various countries’ local authorities aim at identifying and understanding the various factors that lead to the presence of meat products, which have not been labelled as ingredients so as to eliminate, explain and correctly label such products. The local authorities have undertaken numerous activities including carrying out surveying in order to come up with relevant information regarding the possible presence of pig DNA or possible traces of horse DNA in the wide range of beef products, which are available to the UK consumers (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2013), the survey will take samples from pre-packed beef products at retail stores, which claim the products are beef or either beef combined with other labelled meat species. These include meat balls, burgers, sausages and minced beef. The other samples that will be sampled include frozen beef products, imported beef products from the third world countries and fresh beef products. This survey will aim at selecting a percentage of the beef products, which represent the goods that are available on the consumer market and the samples are taken in such a way that enforcement actions ought to be taken, if necessary, in order to protect the well being of the consumers.

Conclusion

Even though the horse meat scandal has proved to be detrimental especially to the well being of the European citizens, the realization of this vice by the relevant agencies as well as the local authorities has proven successful in the fight against the consumption of such products. In Europe, chilled horsemeat, fresh horsemeat as well as processed horsemeat products are readily available for the consumption of the population. According to the report by the Humane Society International (2012 14), horsemeat is commonly sold in the form of smoked meat slices or can either be incorporated as a cheap convenience ingredient to the meat products rather than selling it as meat steaks with such products including beef lasagne, which is a common delicacy in Europe. The low levels of occasional consumptions that have been reported indicate that horsemeat is a readily available commodity in most European countries. The high levels of horsemeat importations especially from the third world countries is not accounted for and therefore; not reflected in the labelling packages as beef products that come from a reliable country of origin (Humane Society International, 2012 15).

Recommendations

The survey carried out shows that about ninety percent of the companies involved in the study together with the local authorities have been involved in the uncertain economic growth and the impact on supply chains management (Doeg, 2005 169). On a risk management perspective, numerous European beef processing and supply company executives ought to try and understand how their suppliers operate. It is their right to be part of the supply and logistics by carrying out their own independent inspections and analysis of the specific beef product and in so doing, the companies would comply with the standards required by their clients (Doeg, 2005 24). As soon as a company determines that the beef products obtained from the supplier contains traces of horsemeat, then the company ought to introduce a benchmark system, which will be responsible for testing fully all the products bought so as to ensure there is no other trace of pig DNA or horse DNA within the purchased products. In so doing, it would create a system whereby the suppliers and retailers have a disclosure agreement concerning the presence of horse DNA in the food products (Doeg, 2005 25).

Safety is the key factor to consider when managing the movement of beef products from the source to the retail store. However, due to mistrust issues on terms of correct labelling of the beef products, horsemeat contamination has become a major problem in European countries (De Leon, Meacham & Claudio, 2003 68). An example is the Taco Bell food retail chain, where apart from horse DNA being found on their beef products, the supplier on the other hand had agreed to supply only Irish beef since they had Polish meat in their preservation chambers for supply during harsh economic times (Sullivan, Barthorpe & Robbins, 2011 18).

The truth aspect has not entirely been lost on the clients. A UK based Consumer Intelligence company conducted research and suggests that about twenty percent of British grown patrons have confessed to buying of less meat due to the horse-meat scandal (Donald & Waters, 2007 118). About two thirds of the adult population surveyed confessed that they have trust issues with food labels, at the same time, more than sixty percent alleged to having plans of buying meat from their neighbourhood butchers due to the horse-meat contamination (Meyer, 2013). This means that the retailer companies such as Taco Bell ought to become accustomed to the risks involved and act accordingly because the horsemeat contamination might become a menace and if not realized early, then the food processors might continue with their insufficient standards of manufacturing beef products, which turns out to be cost cutting more so to the suppliers of the beef products.

The control of food imports especially from countries, which are outside the European Union, ought to comply with the strict food safety standards and requirements so as to make sure the products are equivalent to the produced foods found in the European nations (Belasco & Horowitz, 2010 71-74). The imported foods become subject to constant food checks especially by the local authorities and health officers at the ports as it helps to ensure that they comply with the regulations (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). The other important factor to consider is having one entry point for the imported beef products. These border examination posts ensure that meat products are inspected and the health officers make sure there is no pig or horse DNA in the products (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). In case the imported products pose any threat to human consumption, then the present legislation permits the ban of such imports. The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 uplifts bans against contaminated meat since the products risks human health (De Leon, Meacham & Claudio, 2003 95).

Reference

Belasco, W. and Horowitz, R. 2010. Food Chains: From Farmyard to Shopping Cart. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 2013. Processed beef products and horse meat. Available at HYPERLINK “http://www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/food/labelling/processed-beef-horse-meat/” http://www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/food/labelling/processed-beef-horse-meat/. (Accessed March 24, 2013).

De Leon, S., Y., Meacham, S., L and Claudio, V., S. 2003. Global Handbook on Food and Water Safety: For the Education of Food Industry Management, Food Handlers, and Consumers. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher.

Doeg, C. 2005. Crisis Management in the Food and Drinks Industry: A Practical Approach London: Springer.

Donald, C and Waters, J. 2007. Global Logistics: New Directions in Supply Chain Management. London: Kogan Page Publishers.

Food Standards Agency. (2013). Update on progress of FSA beef product surveys. Available at HYPERLINK “http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2013/mar/surveys-update” http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2013/mar/surveys-update. (Accessed March 24, 2013).

Humane Society International. 2012. An investigation into the availability of horsemeat in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Available at HYPERLINK “https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:MR41YaxWGXgJ:www.hsi.org/assets/pdfs/horses_EU_horsemeat_retail_investigation_Oct2012.pdf+&hl=en&gl=ke&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESj_T5ZLfu-X8COua88hkijKlFMHagZOz8BGp630jfvK2LhWEIMWt6wdIvVjyEVIH_AZXWWAZQX1447GABO_-AipUwdRIH6QEH0K1eAXfQApZrn8ukVoF2BMDySkR3XRaatKc7s-&sig=AHIEtbTWp15xjE33Z3kv8PRaAfB9X9AyuQ” https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:MR41YaxWGXgJ:www.hsi.org/assets/pdfs/horses_EU_horsemeat_retail_investigation_Oct2012.pdf+&hl=en&gl=ke&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESj_T5ZLfu-X8COua88hkijKlFMHagZOz8BGp630jfvK2LhWEIMWt6wdIvVjyEVIH_AZXWWAZQX1447GABO_-AipUwdRIH6QEH0K1eAXfQApZrn8ukVoF2BMDySkR3XRaatKc7s-&sig=AHIEtbTWp15xjE33Z3kv8PRaAfB9X9AyuQ. (Accessed March 24, 2013).

Meikle, J. 2013. Horsemeat scandal: Taco Bell withdraws UK beef products. Available at HYPERLINK “http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/01/horsemeat-taco-bell-withdraws-beef-uk” http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/01/horsemeat-taco-bell-withdraws-beef-uk. (Accessed March 24, 2013).

Meyer, A. 2013. Horsemeat scandal points to growing task of risk management for CEOs. Available at HYPERLINK “http://www.retailleader.net/top-story-international_business-horse_meat_scandal_points_to_growing_task_of_risk_management_for_ceos-1799.html” http://www.retailleader.net/top-story-international_business-horse_meat_scandal_points_to_growing_task_of_risk_management_for_ceos-1799.html. (Accessed March 24, 2013).

Sullivan, G., Barthorpe, S. and Robbins, S. 2011. Managing Construction Logistics. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

QUESTION 1

The patient Ms Janisevic is clearly suffering from a range of diseases and under various types of medication that has led to the deterioration of her health. Her medical records indicate a hip transplant that she underwent twenty three years ago with a serious need for its revision. She also is of a very advanced age group which in most cases is associated with various types of diseases. Research has undoubtedly proved that people of advanced ages, especially women tend to need company around them. This is also advisable since it reduces stress, depression and other diseases associated with it. Failure to sufficient company and friendly surrounding leads to the exact opposite. This explains why most old people die of various diseases that were hardly traceable in their earlier ages.

In the case of Ms Janisevic, she has had the replacement for twenty three years as mentioned above with a series of medication such as Digoxin, Frusemide, and Oral Hypoglycaemic medication, Panadeine for pain relief, Coloxyl and sennacot. Besides her lack of sufficient company of her daughter, the revision of the replacement may be caused by stress and old age. It is also evident that her medical history is not as clear and in certain instances has suffered from type 2 Diabetes and chronic Atrial Fibrillation. The detection of these two diseases may have hindered the detection of the need for the revision. The reason may also be the inability for her to accommodate all the medication correspondingly, thus the need to carry out one process at a time to put her health into consideration.

QUESTION 2

According to Engfer, and Fairview Health Services, (2007), “Younger people who have a hip replaced are more likely to need a second surgery. That’s because the new parts can wear out earlier, since younger people are often more active than older people” (Pg 67). Clearly, Ms Janisevic was not very old at the time of her first surgery. In the United States of America, a sixty year old woman is considered not very old and still capable of a whole lot of activities if determined. The author also relates to the case in the sense that the lady in question would find it more difficult to stay at home idle in the earlier twenty three years when the surgery was done in order to avoid boredom. This could have been a reason leading to a faster wearing out of the tissues replaced, thus need for another. A nursing care plan should be devised for utmost care and treatment since as most medics argue, it is a very delicate procedure. According to Cluett, (2010), “revision hip replacement surgeries are more complicated, and the results of surgery are not as good. Because of this, orthopedists make every effort to delay hip replacement until an age where the hip implant will hopefully last the patient’s lifetime.” Thus, due to her age, it will be advisable to carry out the revision but with intensive care as well.

QUESTION 3

Cluett, (2010) clearly argues that, “… new developments in types of hip implants are constantly being investigated. Ceramic hip replacements are among the new prosthesis types being implanted into some patients.” Thus, due to the sensitivity of the process and the increasingly invention of the new procedures, the patient should be adequately observed before discharge. This is necessary so as to cater for any chances of failure in the process or inadequate response. Similarly, the patient is quite old with limited access to her daughter with whom she might be most comfortable with. Therefore, the hospital management should ensure full recovery on her part before decision to release her is made. Release is also based on the patient’s willingness to leave the hospital and take care of herself according to the medication given. This is because the level of recovery is at times psychological.

References:

Cluett, J. (2010). Ceramic Hip Replacement Surgery. Orthopedics. Retrieved from http://orthopedics.about.com/od/hipkneereplacement/i/ceramic.htm

Engfer, L., & Fairview Health Services. (2007). Your Guide To Total Hip Replacement. Minneapolis, Minn: Fairview Press.

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Hobbes perceives human beings to be machines that often seek to pursue their own good. He asserts that humans tend to be exclusively self interested and usually concentrate on activities that enhance their wellbeing and avoid those that have negative implications. In particular, he argues that all activities that humans engage in are geared towards satisfying their personal needs and desires. He also indicates that humans are very reasonable to the point that they pursue their interests as effectively and optimally as possible (Pojman, 2006). He contends that only a central political authority that is leviathan can be able to deliver humanity from this state of nature that is considered miserable.

In contrast, Rousseau appreciates that humans are naturally good. According to him, they have freedom and equality that is accorded to them by nature. However, he indicates that the human nature that is characterized by natural goodness has been increasingly corrupted by civilization and society. He blames the inherent contingent social history for altering the human nature. He further shows that this corruption can be overcome if humans invoke their free will that would enable them reconstitute themselves politically and uphold democratic principles. Notably, these are beneficial and enhance the holistic wellbeing of the society.

The mechanistic view of humans by Hobbes has various implications on their general wellbeing. To begin with, it implies that the human body can be easily manipulated to achieve the selfish interests of the soul. Well, humans participate in various activities in order to earn a living. These can only be achieved if the body is physically fit and can carry out the relative activities with ease. Indeed, a healthy human being who can function optimally is beneficial to the society. The various skills enable him to be able to survive in this capitalistic society. Notably, humans maintain the body through exercise and healthy living in order to enable it perform the activities accordingly. This is exemplified also through use of pharmaceutical products to cure the body in times of sickness.

However, the mechanistic view of the human body has also had various negative effects that have in turn undermined the human worth. In particular, incidences such as abortion contravene the notion of sacredness that considers the human body to be a holy entity. Further, the generalization of humanity as brutal and often seeking to further self interests by Hobbes can be contested. In this regard, he fails to acknowledge the rational nature of humanity as well as the intrinsic differences that accord humans different characteristics. Nevertheless, considering the fact that the world is usually in a state of anarchy and high level of disorder, the aggression presented by Hobbes can be justified. Essentially, it enables humans to deal with various challenges and enhance his wellbeing.

Rousseau’s perception of humans can be considered to be rational and based upon the principle of liberalization. In this regard, it is worth noting that the society is characterized by a high level of disorder that is manifested through brutality, poverty and competition. Therefore, to be able to earn a living, it becomes increasingly imperative for one to conform to the same. In particular, humans assume aggression for effective competition. Lack of this has adverse effects on their wellbeing as it deprives them of critical resources that are required for survival. Notably, this contributes significantly to the perceived corruption. Nonetheless, it can be posited that this is aimed at enhancing the welfare of humanity. It should also be appreciated that humanity is characterized by a high degree of diversity and seemingly, competition tends to disadvantage certain segments that may not have sufficient power to compete.

Reference

Pojman, P. (2006). Who Are We? Theories of Human Nature. Oxford: University Press.

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Hoda indicates that masculinity is politically changing as well as historically fraught that attempts to define its incomplete and deficient role in the society. The changes exiting in this division is shown in Hoda Barakat’s the Stone through the protagonist Khalil who is not ready to accept his identity imposed to him by the society (Aghacy 1998 pp. 14). In the novel, one of the key themes that is indicated by Hoda deals with and also criticizes the gender roles in Lebanon during the civil war. As Fayyad succinctly address it, the novel presents the war as a situation whereby gender roles are over determined with the participation of the community through basic fighting (fighting for basic needs in the community) touch stone of masculinity identity (164).

Nevertheless, it is evident that the novel male protagonist is not at ease with the male roles since he portrays aggressive male role and consequently into a female inner space. Khalil who lives in a good apartment in Beirut at the time of the war come up with psychological and physical feminine traits. Because the inner spheres that is always considered the feminine represents the sage place that Khalil adopts to protect himself. He spends most of the time in the apartment dreaming and cooking. After every free time he finds himself cleaning up his room whenever a battle ends. Khalil feels the need for cleanliness and order, this feeling grows until it leads to an obsession. After every battle, his room is fresh and new as if the builders had just left the room. This is a very clear idea that other men are not up to take the candle of men jobs and prefer taking female jobs hence masculinity is not determined by gender but by the roles and individual plays.

Unable to fight in wars in the street, he tries to develop order in doors so that he can preserve form the violence in the street. There are types of masculinity that are presented in the novel. The first type of masculinity is made up of youths who broke the door of conventional masculinity and come to manhood via the door of history, that shapes the destiny a region of importance on the world and the second type consists of those Khalil’s age that have got a grip on the important things in life (Barakat, 12). This is a true significance of the types of masculinity present in the world. According to the novel masculinity differs with generation of people. For example, it indicates that the old in the society have a male masculinity of fighting for the society in most of its needs such as during war and other basic family issue but there other is the generation Y (Khalil age bracket that cannot fight for the society they are living in creating a gap between gender responsibilities.

Hoda needed to show the theme of masculinity in different versions, but not according to the roles individuals play. The most evident one is the ideal case of Khalil who is ready to take of his personal issue not support the society he is in, making other to suffer and fight in the street while he is tidying his room. According to the novel, the author used masculinity to show how characters in the novel behave when it come to general responsibilities. For example, he concludes that people like Khalil are cowards who cannot fight for the society while there are those in the streets who feel the pinch of the society they are coming from hence able to fight for their need.

Khalil lacks the access to attractive versions of masculinity that converts the life of youths around the world to a life explode hence he remains alone in his narrow passing place in a feminine state of submission to other. He is reluctant to accept the mark of gender hence finds refuge of making personal choices in life as compared to other in the society he is living. For example, he remembers a time that his voice broke; to him it represented a moment, which he considers that his sex had broken (Barakat 142). According to the author characters of individuals in the novel was evident with the version of masculinity they showed to the society.

His passivity and longing for submission is apparent when it comes to his sexuality. He dreams of the men he loves and always keeps waiting for their visits but he fails to take about his feelings or take any type of action as a man. This is a clear indication that the author defines Khalil as an example of many other people in the world including those of his age and those older than him in the age bracket. The author defines the plot of the novel by different roles that man in the society portray, the plot is divided into two distinct groups of those accepting masculine roles to those against these roles in the society. In addition, the author uses masculinity concepts to define the roles of characters in the novel depicting those that support contemporary individuals and their masculinity traits and those in fear of masculinity roles in the society such as Khalil.

The other novel that the paper seeks to use is the Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne (p. 23). The symbolism shown by the author is very distinct with the difference in masculinity of the characters in the novel. The nature of masculinity is shown in the face of Georgiana’s. it shows the struggle between science and nature, via his repeated attempts of removal of masculinity. The class between nature and science shows the concept of women and man, through the femininity of nature and masculine characters of the globe of science.

All through the story, nature is seen as feminine and is present through Georgiana. This is the same way how science depicts masculine and symbolizes through Aylmer. The dilemma or the conflict between nature and science of the attempts that men have in control of women. According to Eckstein, modern science is full of masculine endeavourers as well as nature is considered as metaphorically female (512). All through history, people refer to nature with the preceding word of “nature” making individual to belief that nature can only be considered feminine. A true appeal of such beliefs is evident in the contemporary world, where women are now fighting for gender rights all over the world. Rucker sees how Georgia frightens Aylmer, it is seen from the novel that Aylmer fears sexuality (443), especially feminine sexuality. He is concerned with managing his wife and her looks. This shows the theme of women versus men.

Aylmer sees Georgiana as an object for perfection with the exception of birthmark in him. Before meeting her all his was dreaming was science and the art of perfecting nature. He was posed with the degree of belief of man ultimate control of nature (p 29). This clearly shows what he ought to perfect from the exiting nature. The author tries to define the difference between men and women perception and stereotype of nature evident among the characters in the novel. The author comes with clear description of the role that main character such as Aylmer and Georgiana have towards depicting the roles that gender roles have to the society.

In order to balance the considerations of Georgiana and the mark, Nathaniel includes the opinion of the masculine observer; if the birthmark did not show the admiration of the contented selves, then the problem lies to the gender roles that nature has indicated in the society of the type of relief that the character presents in the novel. According to Nathaniel the information, streaming from nature is coupled with different meaning in the world of science. He concludes that Aylmer is a person who wishes to define masculinity as the only source of changing nature. Based on the above principles between nature and science, the author used masculinity to define the plot of the novel. He divided the plot into several potions defining the role of masculinity in Gender roles.

It can be concluded that masculinity plays a significant role in shaping one’s life both as nature and as science. Both novels have indicated the fear of masculine roles among characters in the novels hence showing a sense of masculine responsibility. It is also evident that both are using masculinity in developing plots and character representation.

Works Cited

Aghacy, S. (1998). Hoda Barakat’s” The Stone of Laughter”: Androgyny or Polarization?. Journal of Arabic Literature, 185-201.

Erskine, John. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” In Leading American Novelists. New York: Books For Libraries Press, 1968.

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Hofstede Framework and Individualism versus collectivism

Culture plays a significant role in international as well local business. It has been defined in several ways. Culture could be defined as a collective encoding of the mind that differentiates an individual, a member of a group, a nation or a state from the others. In this case the ideal state that the model tries to explain is Italy. Italy is a country of varying regional characteristics and remarkable beauty (Trompenaars, & Woolliams 2004). It is a place of that holds historical pride and cultural achievement. Italian culture allows all the aspects of life as a result those intending to mix effectively into Italian community and culture or even to break the Italian business market as compared to Australian Business market. Understanding the Italian culture is a vital component for the business success hence hofstede Framework will play part is defining the culture.

Individualism versus collectivism

Italian culture is greatly described as an individualistic, meaning that it holds much emphasis on close family ties and individual responsibility. This means that Italians tend to care of their immediate family first and themselves. With respect to business context, individualism affects Italians preferences to do business with individuals there are already familiar with. Collectivism as a culture is not preferred in Italian business hence investors should consider not to take this concern. For individual or groups intending to invest in Italy one should consider individual preferences and needs before starting businesses.

Power Distance

Power distance is identified as the extend to which the powerful members of organizations and institution such as families accept that power is distributed unequally. As if Italy the power distance is not evident as the organizations such as family groups are the once in access to the power. In order to have a flourishing business in Italy investors should be able to integrate this power source so that their business could be in order.

Uncertainty Avoidance

Italy has a high score of on uncertainty avoidance; meaning that Italians are not comfortable during ambiguous situations. Despite the fact that Italian civil and penal codes are complicated, formality in Italian society is very important so as to that of Australia which is also high. Thus, investors should take this in consideration when trying to bring business on board.

Long-term Orientation

The Italian culture scores less that 50 making it short term orientation culture that drives great concern to have great respect for tradition and history as well as the focus on fast or quick impacts in the future. Thus, investors should consider an historical short-term point of view. This affects business contracts and strategies. Business investors should consider short term contracts and strategies since the law of the land considers this perspective.

Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Framework

Culture can be best explained in the intricate interaction of values and behaviour assumptions of the society. For the essence of determining the Ideal cultural that can withstand business investments, Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Framework helps to explain this key concept (Varnum et al. 2010).

Relation to nature

The people of Italy have the duty to control nature, subjugation, and work together with nature to uphold balance and harmony. When undertaking business meeting in Italy it is obvious to express open disagreements for establishing relationships and not making business decisions. For example, when greeting business colleagues in Italy one should use their last names or professional titles.

Time orientation

The rule of punctuality in the Italian business environment is taken seriously. For example, even though you as an investor are expected to arrive on time to any business conference or meeting, the Italian counterparts may not adhere to this rule hence when investing time consideration should be apprehended. It is also evident that the Italian legal system and bureaucracy are slow; therefore investors should take note that business actions and decisions may take a longer time.

Control and trust

Italian people trust their own business and people when conducting business thus, for an individual or group willing to start business they should consider the trust of the people by employing Italian staff as well as use their raw materials. Despite the fact that Italian culture is dominated with personal control they have they own preferences (Rugman & Collinson 2009).

Accomplish and Activity

The people of Italy concentrate for the moment and striving for personal goals as it can be reflected from their individualistic thinking hence when establishing business one should consider the preference and accomplishment of individuals.

Responsibility

Italian businesses have great responsibility and concern for oneself and individualist relationship. For investors to establish outstanding businesses in Italy they should consider group and individual differences before commencing investment procedures.

Space

The physical space that exists in Italy is both private and public. In Italian case, the country lies on private space since most of organizations and business institutions are family owned hence merging and business decisions should be highly considered to this individual since they own 75% of Italian businesses.

References

Rugman, A. M., & Collinson, S. 2009. International business. Pearson Education.

Trompenaars, F., & Woolliams, P. 2004. Business across cultures. Wiley. com.

Varnum, M. E., Grossmann, I., Kitayama, S., & Nisbett, R. E. 2010. The Origin of Cultural Differences in Cognition The Social Orientation Hypothesis. Current directions in psychological science, 19(1), 9-13.

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Hohokam Canal System

Abstract

At about the time Christ emerged people began moving into the Gila and Salt River valleys. Very little is in public knowledge about these people that begun the initial small hamlets above the Salt River along its terraces. They are believed to have lived a sedentary agricultural life style through instituting fields along the Salt River margins. They are most likely to have depended on flood waters for their farming. They farmed on wet soils in places that had been swamped when floods and running water bloated their rivers further than their banks. It is feasible that by AD 50 they introduced a competent technology: canal irrigation. This innovation would later lead to the novel Southern Arizona prehistoric culture christened Hohokam. Canal irrigation had previously been employed by people in Southern Mexico who lived along small drainages and rivers. However, their canal systems never arrived at the sophistication and size of the Hohokam Canal System.

The Hohokam Canal System

The earliest Hohokam Canal Systems are believed to have been small canals that were closely located near rivers. In this kind of predisposition the earliest canals must have been especially disposed to demolition through floods. The first large Canals were designed by Hohokam irrigation engineers between A.D. 650 and 750. These canals had the capacity to transport large water quantities onto the Salt River second or upper terrace. By A.D 750-950 a period referred to as the early colonial period, large incorporated canal systems had been established in both the southern and northern sides of the Salt River. These canals were characterized by their large sizes and their monumental shapes. Most of them were over 13 miles in their length with the largest amongst the Hohokam canals being 21 miles about 33km in length. Two large ancient canals are still conserved in part of the four waters located in the southern part of the Archaeological Park and the Pueblo grand museum (Ackerly and Randall 34).

Location of the Hohokam Canal Systems

The Canals are located in the Phoenix valley of Southern Arizona. Hot dry regions in the world have generated some of the most outstanding pre-industrial civilizations. Arizona’s southern desserts are not an exception to this phenomenon. The pertinently named modern Phoenix which is today the fifth largest city in the United States of America, stems not from ashes but the ruins of what is believed to have been the most agriculturally productive and populous valley in the west way before 1600 CE (Breternitz 45).

When the early archeologist Frank Hamilton entered the Salt River in the 1890s he climbed on top of an earthly monument on what would later become latter day Phoenix. He exclaimed that he had discovered one of the most far-reaching ancient settlements that had not been seen before. Before them toward the south, north and east a long series of house mounds lay extended in endless successions. Entrepreneurs that arrived from the Eastern part of the US several decades earlier did not only come across house mounds but also the previous courses of the most immense canals that had ever been built in pre Columbian America. They later enacted large scale irrigation through the laying out of new canals in the footprints of the pre-historic ones. This triggered the growth of what would be the Phoenix City (Haury 123).

In 1922 the City of Phoenix City Engineer Turney Omar used the canals early maps in combination with his knowledge of the ancient Hohokam to publish the first primeval map of the antique canals and ruins of the Salt River valley. The most far-reaching records were published by Midvale Frank an archaeologist who dedicated his life to jotting down traces of the Hohokam as the remains of their culture were ruined by the increasing expansion of urban growth and modern agriculture (Howard 234).

When the first farmers, explorers and trappers penetrated the Salt River valley, they were quick to note the remarkable ruins left behind by the Hohokam. Villages that contained platform mounts, trash mounts and elliptical ball courts covered open ceramic pots and other artifacts that were present in the entire valley. Extending from the river was a vast structure of deserted Hohokam canals (Masse 408).

The ancient canals and ruins were a cause of pride to the untimely settlers who envisaged their robust agricultural civilization taking center stage as the legendary phoenix bird from the Hohokam society ashes. The canals were sometimes used as Wagon roads. Contrastingly, they also created unwanted channels when these areas started being developed by modern day farmers ((Ackerly and Randall 36).

Culture and Society

The extraordinary people referred to by archeologists as the Hohokam were the constructors of the huge canals, earthen monuments, and adobe houses in large amounts that extremely impressed the early visitors to the Salt River valley. From 400 to 1400 CE the Hohokam millennium the basin at the convergence of the Gila and Salt rivers formed the core of their cultural and geographic domains. For 100 decades the Hohokam sustained an acknowledgeable cultural identity amongst the many people who were inhabitants in the ancient south west and neighboring Northwestern Mexico (Breternitz 47).

The remains of polish to brown pottery with designs that are painted in red litter the Southern Arizona basin floors that are low lying. These remains are the most abundant and distinctive material remains of former Hohokam residents; Creative farmers who used a mixed blend of agricultural strategies to farm their crops in the agricultural terrain. They in the end engineered irrigation networks outshined in size and breathe only by the Andean Canals. Apart from generating exclusive artifact styles the Hohokam set themselves apart from their ancestral Mogollon, Pueblo and most archaeological southwest cultures by the kind of public buildings in their big villages. The platform mounds and ball courts reflected the Hohokam community rituals and characteristic beliefs (Haury 127).

The fact that the Hohokam shared similar ways of assembling and adorning pottery as well as other forms of utilitarian design and canon styles shows that they were in close communication with each other and held common understanding of such matters. The fact that they shared farming and crop technologies indicates that they bowed to the same solutions in mitigating the challenges they faced in desert farming. Given that they built similar structures for their communal rituals means that they must have been guided by a mutual set of beliefs (Howard 240).

The unique archeological remains identifying Hohokam heartland stretch over a 30,000 expansive square in the southern half of Arizona an area that is larger than the modern day state of Southern Carolina. The Hohokam culture hallmarks are explicitly bounded by the upper reaches of the Growler Mountains to the west, the Verde and Agua Fria rivers to the north, the Mexican border to the south, the Mogollon rim to the northwest and the Dragoon Mountains to the south east (Masse 410).

In this far flung territory a lot of commonality has been found in archaeological remains, however they also exhibit some differences. Inhabitants of certain sectors chose only elements of the overall cultural package to integrate into their lives. For instance, in the northeastern part of the Hohokam territory is the Tonto basin whose inhabitants used red buff pottery but never constructed ball courts. However, they in the end erected platform mounds. Cultural practices were mixed up in the Tonto basin due to the migration of the Hohokam and the non Hohokam in this area (Ackerly and Randall 40).

When the Spanish explorers reached Hohokam territory in the 17th century they came across Native Americans with diverse lifestyles and languages. They included people speaking; Athabasca languages in western Apache, Piman languages in the central portion and Yuman languages in the Colorado River. This means that the Hohokam were not homogenous in all their cultural aspects (Breternitz 50).

However, the Hohokam remain remarkable in the world because amongst all ancient societies they are the only ones who hold the unique peculiarity of having constructed gigantic canal networks of up to 23 km in length and in the end irrigated large tracts of land to the tune of 80,000 acres. This was all in the absence of any ensuing level of societal complexity including the absence of a state government (Haury 130).

The Hohokam built earthen platform mounts and ball courts of expansive sizes in relation to those that have been found elsewhere around the globe. This was without an established administration. These monuments informed a distinct pattern to the Hohokam territorial landscape (Howard 301).

Construction of the Canal System

Information excavated in the recent past is providing new leads about the engineering of the Hohokam canal. The engineers in this project were zealously aware of the soil, the local topography, drainages, the dips and slopes. They harnessed a complicated knowledge of the water flow through channels as well a sequence of methods for ensuring that water was delivered in the field surfaces. Each method was suitable for a particular topographic setting for instance flat river terraces and steep slopes. These canal systems were developed in respect to the characteristics and needs of the environment (Masse 412).

The canal systems had a chain of physical elements. A wear was constructed at every point that the river met the canal. A wear is a kind of a dam that reaches but does not cross the river completely. The objective was to use it in raising the river’s water level and direct it into the canal. In the canal a head gate which refers to a large water control gate was built. This ensured that the amount of water that entered the canal was put under control. The major canals transported the water towards the fields and away from the river. Research indicates that major canals were conspicuously large at their junctions with the river; however, they tended to reduce in size as they advanced towards their finishing point (Ackerly and Randall 50).

Materials

The stone was scooped by hand through using huge wedge shaped pieces of stones which were referred to as stone hoes. Wooden digging sticks were also employed to ensure the soil was loosened. The soil was then taken away from the canals by use of large baskets. Discrepancies on the size of the simple leveling frame that has been employed in several preindustrial agrarian societies may have been employed to set up canal gradients. It is also believed that water was carried along in the canal in the course of construction in order to ensure that the soil was loosened. This meant that the system utilized more time and labor. The flooded canal was then dammed and the water permitted to disperse before resuming construction (Breternitz 50).

Exterior Design

Visitors to the Salt River valley are more often than not surprised when they come across a fertile agricultural region prospering in the arid Arizona desert. Nonetheless these contemporary agricultural precedents are not without a beginning. From AD 550 to 1460 the ancient Hohokam built one of the biggest and most complicated irrigation networks ever constructed by the use of ancient technology. By AD 1150 hundreds in miles of these incredible waterways generated green paths that stemmed from the Gila and Salt rivers. These green paths were dotted with huge platform mounts which made them gain a lot of attention from the local archaeologists (Haury 131).

When farmers purchased land areas that were affected by prehistoric canals they were premeditated and taken away from the purchase to counterbalance costs sustained in filling it. When the modern farmers began filling traces of the ancient canals a number of high-flying citizens started being interested in these archaic monuments. They developed maps that indicated the locations of mounds, canals and villages. This forms the foundation of the modern day Hohokam scholarship. Local farmers generated maps of the canals located on the southern side of the Salt River in what is the modern day Chandler, Tempe and Mesa (Howard 350).

Interior Design

Recent reconstructions of ancient canals indicate that about 900,000 cubic meters of soil could have been dug out while doing excavations for the major canals in both the classic and colonial periods. Apart from that it is also estimated that 500, 000 cubic meters of soil may have been excavated during the sedentary era (AD 850-1160).

The decrease in the amount of water that travelled in the canal through seepage, and evaporation, led to a reduction in the size of the channel that carried the water. When the channel was reduced the water’s velocity remained rather constant and was somehow between two fundamental brinks. The sides of the canal were eroded if the water was allowed to travel too fast. On the other hand, soil particles would settle out of the water if it was allowed to slow down. When this occurred the water canal silted up necessitating increased maintenance. Distribution canals were made to take water out of the major canal systems transporting it to the fields. They were also utilized in manipulating the relationship between the ground surface and the canal’s water level (Masse 413).

Several kinds of control features were used to manage water distribution systems. Diversion gates have been found at control features junctions to adjust the flow of water. Water control gates or tapons were usually erected in the distribution as well as the key canals. Whenever it was closed the tapon caused the water to back up and rise in altitude, this created head water. By using water control features the Hohokam created a very complicated irrigation system.

Labor Force

Construction of the Hohokam canal system necessitated a considerable amount of human labor. The amount of labor that was necessary for the construction of the Hohokam canal system partly relied on the amount of water that flowed in the Salt River at any one given point in time. In both the Classic and Colonial times the Hohokam went through various flooding periods of the Salt River. The floods more often than not annihilated the canals which had to be subjected to more redesigning and reconstructing faces. The amount of labor and time that was required to build the major canals cannot be estimated (Ackerly and Randall 52).

Various factors including the number of continuous days, the amount of soil excavated by one worker in a day, the number of persons working per day, the number of discontinuous days and the amount of time workers worked on each day over the entire period in which the work was done all impact on the approximation of labor and time exhausted in the entire period in which the Hohokam Canal system was constructed. Since one individual has the capacity to excavate three cubic meters of soil in a day, the construction of multi canals would need over 25,000 person days. This indicates that some canals took so many years to be completed. It is estimated that it may have taken 1 million person days of coordinated labor to build the trunk lines of only one major Phoenix basin canal system. This does not include the amount of labor and time needed to make repairs after floods and storms, build secondary lines in the fields, as well as clean up the yearly build up of canal sediments (Breternitz 60).

The operation, construction and maintenance of the canal systems must have thus required a considerable and well managed effort. Individuals from all villages along the major canals must have contributed to the first construction and to the expected maintenance of the canals wears and head gates, resolving of confined disputes, and the establishment of water scheduling and allocations. Small and more local groups of farmers would organize for the building and preservation of distribution and branch canals. Unlike most traditional groups in northwestern and southwestern Mexico the Hohokam must have had a sophisticated sociopolitical structure.

If It Were Built Today

The Hohokam canal was built in AD 550 to 1460, and rebuilt in the 1920s. As much as the rebuilding was about 10 decades ago its construction is not very distinct from the modern day construction of canal systems. The Hohokam employed several techniques that are being utilized by today’s engineers and would probably continue being used in the future. For instance the use of diversion gates in the Hohokam canals is still being employed in modern day canal systems. Apart from that the damming of canals to allow flooded water to disperse also occurs in modern day construction of canal systems. Additionally human labor is also being used to excavate soil and stones from the canals. As much as more developed machines are being used to replace the stone hoes and digging sticks the idea is still the same (Haury 145).

Today rather than excavate the canals with stone hoes and digging sticks for 25,000 human working days modern day sophisticated construction cranes can excavate an entire canal for less than a year. Additionally, the kind of transport system in use today is more efficient and sophisticated than what was being used in the ancient ages. Dump trucks and flat bed trailers have now replaced the human labor that was used to move the debris, stones and waste for many years (Howard 360).

In modern day construction of canals permanent dykes are constructed to dam the canals unlike in the ancient days when the damming was temporarily done. If reconstruction of the canal is done today 120 million tons of soil is likely to be excavated. This is more than half the amount of soil that was excavated during the ancient construction of the canal. Apart from that given the efficiency and sophistication of modern day machines, the project is likely to create 40, 000 new jobs (Masse 415).

In addition today’s designers use computers to aid them in their work in comparison to the ancient age engineers. They are capable of stimulating, drafting, animating and estimating different angles of building the canals that the early engineers had to draft on the ground. Modern day engineers know how the canal is likely to react under different amounts of water before even they break the ground. The advantages that modern day Engineers have is that they can adopt the knowledge of the ancient Engineers and improve on it to come up with better and more efficient and cost effective canals (Ackerly and Randall 56).

Works Cited

Ackerly, Neal W., Jerry B. Howard and Randall H. McGuire La Ciudad Canals: A Study of Hohokam Irrigation Systems at the Community Level. Arizona State University Anthropological Field Studies, No. 17. Tempe (2010): 34-56 Print.

. Breternitz, Cory D. Prehistoric Irrigation in Arizona: Symposium 1988. Soil Systems Publications in Archaeology No. 17, Phoenix. (2009): 45-76. Print.

Haury, Emil W. The Hohokam: Desert Farmers and Craftsmen, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.(2006): 123-154. Print.

Howard, Jerry B. and Gary Huckleberry The Operation and Evolution of an Irrigation System: The East Papago Canal Study. Soil Systems Publications in Archaeology No. 18, Phoenix. (2009): 234-456. Print.

Masse, Bruce Prehistoric Irrigation Systems in the Salt River Valley, Arizona. Science 214(23): (2008): 408-415. Print.