Unbranded to Branded

Eyewear market in India remains buoyant despite recession Despite the economic crisis, the eyewear market in India as a whole displayed healthy growth in volume sales in 2009, while growth in its value sales slowed marginally relative to 2008. The demand for premium lenses, frames and sunglasses slowed more than that of the low-price and economy segments, so there was an overall slow-down of growth in value sales at the end of review period. Spectacles still preferred over contact lensesWhile marketers of contact lenses made an aggressive push into the Indian consumer market, especially the young adult segment, the mass market continued to favour spectacles over contact lenses. The two factors that have kept the level and growth rate of sales of contact lenses below those of spectacles are concerns about their use and their price. The prescription market remains biased in favour of spectacles and opticians rarely prescribe contact lenses unless the patient specifically requests them. Direct imports keep market completely fragmented Retail shelves across the country are full of imported spectacle frames and sunglasses. These low-priced imports played an important role in sustaining demand, especially for sunglasses, whose sales enjoyed the highest growth of any subsector in 2009, as they had in 2008. These imports have also kept the spectacles market entirely fragmented, with only eight companies holding even a 1% share of retail sales in Indian eyewear market. Chained specialists enjoy significant growthThe review period saw the growth of several chained specialist retailers, such as Titan Eye+, GKB Opticals and Vision Care. Titan Eye+ has been a game changer in that it has modernised the retail sector and forced others to follow suit. In order to remain competitive, opticians feel compelled to increase their ranges of frames, offer eye-testing services and carry contact lenses as well. Reliance’s Vision Express is another large player that is likely to i nfluence marketing and distribution in the years to come.Chained specialists are also able to negotiate better deals with suppliers, undertake promotions, offer better prices to customers, and provide greater visibility for new products and launches. Demand for spectacles expected to continue driving retail sales of eyewear The prescription market is expected to continue to drive demand in the forecast period, as literacy rates increase, more children become prospective wearers of spectacles, and economic growth sustains the increase in purchasing power.

Large-scale energy and metallurgy Essay

Industrialisation (or industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one. It is a part of a wider modernisation process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly with the development of large-scale energy and metallurgy production. It is the extensive organisation of an economy for the purpose of manufacturing.[2] Industrialisation also introduces a form of philosophical change where people obtain a different attitude towards their perception of nature, and a sociological process of ubiquitous rationalisation. There is considerable literature on the factors facilitating industrial modernisation and enterprise development.[3] Key positive factors identified by researchers have ranged from favourable political-legal environments for industry and commerce, through abundant natural resources of various kinds, to plentiful supplies of relatively low-cost, skilled and adaptable labour. As industrial workers’ incomes rise, markets for consumer goods and services of all kinds tend to expand and provide a further stimulus to industrial investment and economic growth. The first country to industrialise was the United Kingdom during the Industrial Revolution, commencing in the 18th century.[4] By the end of the 20th century, East Asia had become one of the most recently industrialised regions of the world.[5] Contents [hide] 1 Description 2 History of industrialisation 2.1 Industrial revolution in Europe 2.2 Early industrialisation in other countries 2.3 The Third World 2.4 Petrol-producing countries 2.5 Industrialisation in Asia 2.6 Newly industrialised countries 3 Social consequences 3.1 Urbanisation 3.2 Exploitation 3.3 Change to family structure 4 Current situation 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading Description[edit] According to the original sector-classification developed by Jean Fourastià © (1907-1990), an economy consists of: a â€Å"primary sector† of commodity production (farming, livestock breeding, exploitation of mineral resources) a â€Å"secondary sector† of manufacturing and processing (as paid work) a â€Å"tertiary sector† of service industries Historically, the industrialisation process involves the expansion of the secondary sector in an economy originally dominated by primary-sector activities. The first transformation to an industrial economy from an agricultural one, known as the Industrial Revolution, took place from the mid-18th to early 19th century in certain areas in Europe and North America; starting in Great Britain, followed by Belgium, Germany, and France. Later commentators have called this the first industrial revolution.[4][6] The â€Å"Second Industrial Revolution† labels the later changes that came about in the mid-19th century after the refinement of the steam engine, the invention of the internal combustion engine, the harnessing of electricity and the construction of canals, railways and electric-power lines. The invention of the assembly line gave this phase a boost.[7][8][9] The lack of an industrial sector in a country can slow growth in the country’s economy and power, so governments often encourage or enforce industrialisation. On the other hand, the presence of industry in a country does not mean in general that it will bring wealth and prosperity to the people of that country. And third, the presence of an industry in one country can make it more difficult for other countries to develop the same type of industry. This can be seen in the computer software and internet industries. Started from the US around the 1990s these industries seemed to spread over the world. But after a period of monopolisation less than a decade long, the globally-leading companies remain concentrated in the US.[citation needed] Their economic power and capacity to dominate the media work against the developing of the same types of industry in other states. History of industrialisation[edit]

Managing Change in Organisations

Master of Business Administration Assignment Programme Title: University of Wales MBA (Project Management) Student Full Name: Raji Shakirudeen Damilare Student STU number: STU32417 Student Email Address: [email  protected] com Module Name: Managing Change in Organisations Word Count: 4273 words Submission Deadline: 16 July, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTERPAGE CHAPTERS CHAPTER 1 – TASK 1 3 – 5 * Introduction3 * Nature and Scope of Change3 * Major Drivers of Change4 CHAPTER 2 – TASK 26 – 10 * Key Issues and Challenges6 * Action plan 9 CHAPTER 3 – TASK 311 – 14 * Change implementation 11CHAPTER 4 – Task 415 – 16 * Change success 15 * Conclusion 16 REFERENCES 17 CHAPTER 1 TASK 1 1. 00INTRODUCTION Background: Operational wastes come with a lot of cost and it is generated in many forms within an operational system. The intention of any profit making organisation is to maximize customer’s values and yet minimize the waste. Aim and Structure: The assignment will identify areas that will be compelled by the Total performance management TPM as an improvement to the existing system. It will analyse the key contents and benefits of TPM implementation.It does also seek to outline the scope of the change, dealing with key issues and providing actions plans using relevant models. The assignment will evaluate the change models application during the implementation phase, measure in milestones the change success and provide adequate feedback on success recorded. 1. 10NATURE AND SCOPE OF CHANGE Meeting production targets will not be enough anymore to judge production performance if records of customer complaints, rework or defects, overproduction, over processing, delayed inventory, human and equipment breakdowns, administrative delays caused by the bureaucratic setup and low team spirit.Total performance management TPM is an effective performance pillar with nine key components that is designed to completely re-eng ineer the system, integrate functions and take functional expertise into the value creation process. In particular, it is focused on supporting frontline personnel and frontline leaders to eliminate operational waste that will guarantee the optimization of all manufacturing and production processes. The TPM pillar descriptors to be used are: 1. Autonomous Maintenance: This pillar aims to improve equipment reliability through equipment care. . Planned Maintenance: This is a step by step process for improving facility maintenance. 3. Education and Training: This pillar enhances focused knowledge and capability building. 4. Focused Improvement: This pillar provides a structured method to identify and prevent problems. 5. Early Management: This pillar is directed towards the development, design and implementation of new technology and strategy that will cope with the future. 6. Quality Maintenance: This pillar aims to create a system incapable of producing quality defects. . Office: Thi s pillar focuses on ensuring LEAN and error free business processes. 8. Safety Health Environment: This pillar aims to ensure elimination of unsafe behaviours and conditions. 9. LEAN Factory: This pillar focuses on LEAN Thinking specifically applied to logistics management. NCE Introduction (2009, pg 8) 1. 20MAJOR DRIVERS OF CHANGE Key drivers of change are listed and described as follows: Improved Production performance: Production performance is greatly affected by incessant machine and human breakdown.It will be necessary to implement a comprehensive shift management programme and strategic maintenance management system to improve the system. Re-engineered Inventory management: Factory inventory tracking system has been poorly managed, thereby impacting on consumables and spare parts management. Maintenance management system is undermined or sometimes ignored as a result of poor inventory control. Inventory management needs to be re-structured to speed up the existing system proc esses, by providing an effective system application tracking software that will eliminate the threat of delay and low productivity.Optimizing logistical management: Raw materials stock management continues to be affected by late deliveries and poor stock management system. Production plans are disrupted, production volumes are not met and consumers are faced with products scarcity. Early management is required and implementation of a comprehensive system application tracking software that will re-structure the logistical management system to cope with increasing activities. Minimised operational cost: Defected products are separated during production and routine quality checks.Products are also return from markets for quality reasons, thereby resulting to rework and reprocessing which will increase the operational cost of producing a product more than ones. Total quality management strategy will be required at the shop floor. Customer delight: Series of customer complaints have been recorded on products defect, short counting, late delivery and products scarcity. Scarcity provides the advantage to competitors to fill the vacuum created by our ineffectiveness and poor operational management. Market growth:Market projection have shown a steady 10 % annually increase, which means that the total business will be tripled in the next 10 years (MBS, 2009). This forecast has proven to be realistic and achievable from the growth trend recorded in the past ten years. NCE document (2009) Total performance management system will enhance manufacturing and production performance, positioning us for the future opportunity. Excel in compliance: Factory’s existing quality, safety and environment system standards and guidelines are currently managed independently.As these systems are interrelated, they will be integrated into a single management system. This will allow a simplified process for compliance, auditing and improved focus on the specific compliance aspects. Go vernment policies must be fully adhered to enjoy an enabling environment and imbibe best practices within the organisation. Creating Competitive advantage: Part of the main drivers of change is the presence of a strong competitor that is working hard to take over the market. In the modern world of advanced technology, trade secrets cannot be the only advantage that must be possessed.All competitive gaps that are created must be closed by ensuring availability of quality products to the market, delighting consumers at affordable price. Improved marketing strategy will be appropriate. CHAPTER 2 TASK 2 2. 00KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES This chapter is expected to identify and define major issues and challenges that have resulted to the generation of operational waste. The cause and effect analysis (Fishbone diagram) will be adopted to define the major problems, brainstorming will be achieved applying the affinity chart that will help categorise related issues and identify the major causes of the problem through Pareto.Problem Definition: Operational wastes have been recorded in so many forms across all major departments. Waste is not anymore limited to tangible and physical objects, but has spread deeply into key aspects of daily operations. Failure to meet production target is a major waste, which can result to increasing production cost, products scarcity and quality issues hereby posing a huge risk to the system. Brainstorming What are the major causes of Operational waste that have been identified in the system?Collective ideas are highly needed at this stage of problem solving, where key players with common objective brainstorm and come up with pool of ideas or suggestion that could lead to the actual cause of operational waste. After a long brainstorming session and thorough investigation, the change management team have come up with list of possible causes of operational waste generated from log sheets across the departments. The group contains different memb er from different school of thought, which have resulted to the initial generation of a large list of possible causes of the challenge.The list was streamlined at random and major possible causes where picked and listed in the table below; System Failure| Lack of operational knowledge| Increased production cost| Customer compliant| Rework / Defects| Production targets failure| Weak quality management system| Lack LEAN mindset| Poor logistics management| Poor inventory management| Ageing equipments| Low production output & performance| Raw material variation| Finished product late delivery| Poor production output| Manual operations| Poor maintenance management system| Less commitment & Engagement| Defected products| Equipment Breakdowns| Safety issues| Poor communication| Poor mindset / Behaviour| Network disruption & Failure| Figure 2. 0. 01 Random selection of major problems The Affinity diagram will help regroup and sort listed problems into related categories in the 6Ms format as illustrated below; People Machinery Ageing Equipment Low production output Poor operational knowledge Less commitment Low production performance Safety issues Poor production output Poor communication Poor mindset / Behaviour Manual operation Equipment breakdown Material Raw material variation Rework / Defect SystemPoor logistics management Production target failure Late delivery of finished products Checks / Control Poor maintenance management Network disruption Weak quality management Increased production cost Process System failure Lack of LEAN mindset Defected / Rejected products Customer complaint Poor inventory management Figure 2. 0. 02 Affinity chart for Operational waste Identify major causes: The problems illustrated in the affinity chart in figure 2. 1. 01, shows a list of possible causes of the problem, categorising them into key six major categories that could be the summary of the possible causes of the problem.The cause and effect diagram will provide a clearer pictu re and additional insight to further link the possible problems from respective sources showing the potential primary and secondary source of the problem, based on the findings of the change team. The major problems have been clearly identified and linked into various sources in a cause and effect diagram as shown in figure 2. 1. 02 below, it is imperative to analyse further the frequency of occurrence of these problems using Pareto. The referring log sheet shows the rate of recurrence of some problems more than the other and clearly defines the effect on daily operations. Figure 2. 0. 03 Cause and Effect diagram for operational waste Figure 2. 0. 4 Pareto chart for operational waste Referring to the Pareto chart above in figure 2. 1. 03, it shows clearly that â€Å"low production output† and â€Å"production target failure† have occurred more frequently than â€Å"low production performance† and others with same frequency of occurrence. The occurrence of most o f the listed problems seem on the high side and needed to be treated as such, having recorded low incidence on problems like â€Å"manual operation†, â€Å"raw material variation† and â€Å"network disruption† which should not be underrated, has it is assumed that most of the major problems recorded could have triggered them as remnants.This invariably indicates that when the bigger problems are completely resolved, it takes care of the ones with low occurrence. The machinery category is the highest contributor of the operational waste, ranging from the machine condition to operations, but seconded by the people category that have in actual sense contributed the largest share of the problems that have made the system unhealthy. Checks, system and process category have their own share in terms of occurrence recorded, this makes it difficult to ignore any of the listed problems no matter how little, because it could develop to a complex and epidemic challenge that will take longer time to solve.Operational waste action plan Prepared by: Change management team. Summary: Operational waste has been generated across the 6 categories of challenges recorded in the organisation, translating clearly the areas that require swift response to change and improvement. The problem solving techniques adopted have identified the root cause of the operational waste and the major area that requires concentration. It is imperative to prepare an action plan to tackle the listed challenges. Solution: The main goal is to implement Total performance management TPM into all functions as the solution to operational waste. 2. 10ACTION PLAN Goals| Measures| Responsible| Target Date|To provide a unique maintenance strategy (Autonomous and planned maintenance). | Perform daily operational review at the shop floor, weekly operational review at the management level to track improvement and report achievements. Report weekly maintenance plan and execution. Measure line per formance and efficiency against set target. | OperationsOperationsManagement| January, 2013January, 2013January, 2013| To lay more emphasis on personnel training and development. | Get training feedback from trainees. Subject trainees to knowledge checks and exercises. Track personnel improvement against line performance. Use performance evaluation to appraise personnel. | HR| January, 2013| To improve in quality management system. Provide in-line quality checks system. Record defects and investigate the root cause. Embark on monthly market visit. Record batch sampling quality. Communicate quality status monthly. | Quality assurance| January, 2013| To be safety conscious at all time| Commence SHE observation and report area weekly safety status. Perform random safety checks. Carryout monthly safety drill to check and re-communicate awareness. | Operation / Management| January, 2013| To introduce early management approach. | Provide detailed template on early management programming. Provide feedback from early management plan and communicate the achievement on implementation. Management| April, 2013| To implement LEAN thinking, system and mindset. | Outline system layout in LEAN concept and map out areas according to compliance. Track awareness level in all staff. Check LEAN mindset reflection in reporting and follow-up. Report cost saving from LEAN implementation. | Operation / Management. | July, 2013| To focus more on continuous improvement. | List areas of continuous improvement, outline changes and business advantage. Compare changes â€Å" before and after†Track improvement progress against global objectives. | Operation / Management. | November, 2013| Fig 2. 1. 01 Action plan for the implementation of TPM CHAPTER 3 TASK 3 3. 0 CHANGE IMPLEMENTATION Change implementation requires strategic and logical approach which can only be analysed using basic change management models that clearly describes the steps to effective implementation of change. The change implementation will be evaluated in more than one change management model to better outline the model that will be more effective to this particular change implementation. Kurt Lewin and John Kotter models of change management will be critically evaluated as the options for the implementation of TPM. The models will be compared to properly decide on the best option the managers can adopt during implementation.Kurt Lewin Model: Lewin (1951) Model gives simpler overview of change implementation, although it is assumed that conditions exist because of competing forces that are in equilibrium. To effect any change, the force must be adjusted. Cited by F. Ashton Blog (2010) Change or Transitional Refreeze Unfreeze Lewin model comes in 3 stages namely; unfreeze, change or transition and refreeze. The idea is focussed at the implementation of change in an organisation that is already accustomed to a particular mindset and ideology. Existing mindset, ideology, system, attitude and pe rformance TPM fully integrated as a guide to excellent performance. Implementation of Total performance management Fig 3. 0. 1 Lewin Change model Kotter Model: Kotter’s (1996) 8 steps model of change is a top down approach that provides a wider range for change implementation. This change model is linear and it predicts the change processes in steps that identify core areas that should never be neglected if a change where to be effective. Fig 3. 0. 02 Kotter Change model Source: The Change Management Blog (2009) Model Comparison At the first stage of Lewin’s model of change, leadership comes up with the unfreeze strategy that will alter or disengage the existing system practices.It targets the root cause of the problem, by providing the best assumption using the force field analysis to factor out the pros and cons before considering implementation. Unfreezing is carried out at the leadership level, based on assumptions from the analysis. Unlike the first stage in Kot ter’s model that clearly emphasise on the need to first establish a sense of urgency from top-down, by carrying along all members of staff from the inception of the change implementation, sharing with them the reason change is necessary at the time and also help to identify the protagonist and antagonist to the change. Although the force field analysis applied in unfreezing stage also consider the driving and refraining force for the change, but it is clearly based on assumptions.The Kotter’s model starts change communication from the first step of implementation, where preliminary information have been provided for all to brainstorm about, not streamlining it only to the leadership. The second step is aimed at constituting a powerful coalition that will form the formidable, experienced and result focussed change management team. Rather, in Lewin’s model change management team are selected are at earlier stage based on management’s decision. Creating a vi sion for change is the third step in Kotter’s model, where all the ideas, thoughts and brainstorming that have been collected by the change management team are streamlined and integrated into company’s objectives and vision. Perhaps no idea is foolish and the collective enquiry to solve major issues gives employee the sense of ownership and esponsibility towards achieving the collective goal. Lewin’s model distorts an existing system with the intention of introducing or improving a system. This idea and vision comes from the management, who have practically analysed the major problems based on their experiences and knowledge of the company’s objectives. The transition stage, which is Lewin’s second stage for change modelling provides the actual implementation of change. This stage is the roll out phase of change to all employees â€Å"official launching†. This stage seems to be the hardest as the existing ideology, mindset and processes are unfrozen either to extinguish or modify to a new system.The fear of the unknown and resistance may be recorded. That is why Kotter and Lewin emphasise more on communication at this stage. Communication becomes the tools for change campaign. At this stage continuous training and coaching is very key to acceptability and embrace. Kotter identifies communication as a day to day affair and ensuring that antagonist are converted and the supporters are maintained and developed to live the change. Lewin’s transition stage encompasses communication in all forms. Perhaps might take more time than anticipated to achieve the level of acceptance needed, it requires consistent coaching and training to get the buy-in of all employees.Kotter insist that after communication have been initiated, though it is a continuous process but will definitely meet some deadlocks, ranging from the unacceptability, fear of the unknown, structures that do not support the change and the vision. The fifth st age identifies the major deadlocks and provides the right approach to solving them. Lewin’s transitional stage give a lot of room for neglect of some major deadlock identification, hereby living some elements like virus behind, that could develop to catastrophe in the future or even hinder this change process. Lewin’s last stage is the refreezing stage, stability establishment is the main objective once the change has been effected and accepted as part and parcel of the system. The intention is to strengthen and reinforce the change implementation, allowing for full integration by all functions.The new change is freeze and continues to monitor progress of implementation, bearing in mind that change will be continuous and can never be permanent. Theoretically, Lewin target the adjustment of the force field to adequately buy-in employees to acceptance and embrace of the change. The change is integrated into the company’s structure and system and refreezes as the n ew outlook of the organisation. Part of the reason the Lewin’s model could take more time to be fully integrated is the lack of comprehensive practical application that influence acceptance. It is important to target a feedback mechanism that will encourage a swift change embrace.Kotter’s sixth step encourages the need to create a short-term wins that will motivate employees further. Employees deserve first hand information on the benefits recorded so far to elevate their confidence and also management to gain more support from all. The best way is to set milestones where employee’s achievements can be celebrated and recognised. Kotter believes in continuous improvement, that is his main model in the seventh step. Change cannot be cast on stone that will not require further improvement; it requires building upon to achieve maximum effectiveness. The short-term win has various advantages, part of it is the opportunity to see other areas that need improvements and explore other options to achieving set objectives.Lewin’s refreeze does not show the required detail to record areas of further improvement, because the mindset of the employee already fixed on the refreeze syndrome. Managers should consider the Kotter’s model as it also adopts the concept of refreezing, but in a different manner. He believes that when change is stick completely into the system, it should become parts and parcel of the organisation, like a revised constitution that have been adopted, but requires further improvements. It re-emphasises the need to continuously maintain the support of the management and all employees to avoid falling back to the initial problem. TASK 4 CHAPTER 4 4. 00 CHANGE SUCCESSTo assess change management effectiveness, leadership needs to focus on measuring the progress of the change implemented to ensure they are moving on the right direction. To achieve this effective implementation, milestones and measure are required to effecti vely measure the progress and performance of the change. The performance measures are categorised in 7 stages namely: 1. Internal Performance Assessment. When change is assumed to be completely implemented, the organisation needs to be certain of these assumptions. The reason they involve an independent internal audit team to track change implementation progress, using the qualitative and quantitative monitoring approach in determining the level of compliance.Employee change appraisal survey is forwarded to all functions to get the right feedbacks. Individual functions will be audited and informed of areas that still require more attention, compliance and improvements. At this stage, the organisation is certain of the level of compliance and areas that requires more concentration before the pre-assessment and full assessment that will be carried out by external auditors. This usually takes about 3 months before pre-assessment. 2. Performance Assessment. It is important that a pre-as sessment is done after the first nine month of change implementation to effectively measure the level of compliance and adherence to the new change.The outcome of each pre-assessment must define the status of the change as to â€Å"what the goals are â€Å", â€Å"where we are now† and â€Å"where we are going†. The pre-assessment must also measure individual progress using a five-level commitment scale to monitor the commitment level of employees during implementation and then choose specific strategies to help individuals progress through the five levels. Level 1: Awareness: Measure the level of awareness in all functions. Level 2: Acceptance: Measure level of acceptance. Level 3: Application: Measure skill level of employees. Level 4: Adoption: Measure level of adoption and reflection in employee’s daily activity. Level 5: Advocacy: Share and accept feedback amongst employees.The full assessment (gate opening) will be done six month after pre-assessment cer tification and correction of other identified areas of improvement and a yearly post-assessment will also be carried out. 3. Perform Customer Satisfaction Survey This is the next step of assessment performance provide a gauging mechanism to monitor customer satisfaction as a tool to benchmark with acclaimed internal operational success. Feedback is vital from the customers and are closely monitored, recorded and acted upon immediately. This is a continuous exercise. 4. Measure the Volume of Defects We cannot hide from the fact that perfection is nearly impossible, but we must put measures in place to track and check level of amount of rework or defected recorded compare difference with the previous system.System must be in place to ensure that defects are be recorded as they occur and subjected to root cause analysis to check if we still maintain residual problems and follow is the rectification. Key performance indicator KPI is to see reducing trend in the volume of defects generat ed over a period of time, showing the percentage of improvement. 5. Measure the Volume of Failed Changes When measuring success rate of changes being implemented, we must be able to define â€Å"what is† and â€Å"what is not† a successful change, and the criteria being used for each definition. SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely) criteria must be in place where changes are reviewed for success.The KPI is to see the level of compliance increasing, showing the percentage of improvement. 6. Measure the Services Performance Service performance is wide to measure in one piece, so functions shall have a different KPI to measure their performances which is then cascaded to the organisation. Internal and external auditors perform assessment exercise to check impact on indicators, compliance and adherence to the operational documents. 7. Calculate the Return on Investment The main purpose for the implementation of Total performance management is to de light our customers, create competitive advantage and enhance operational performance. The change implementation comes with cost and it must also beget remarkable financial benefits.We must measure and record the saving generated across all functions. Source: Mark, S (2008, pp 2-8) 4. 01 CONCLUSION To reduce operational waste to an acceptable state, the introduction of Total performance management is the solution. We have defined the major causes and the possible solution to be implemented. Solution comes with measures and deadlines, if achieved will provide the positive benefit that is targeted. The benefits from change implementation are targeted to continuously meet company’s objectives in delighting customer’s satisfaction, creating competitive advantage and compliance. The objective is to maximise profit at the best minimum cost.Measure, milestone and deadlines are in place, which are guided by the application of renowned change management models to ensure the rig ht approach to introducing a new change conforms to the company’s culture and objectives. Effective application of the control and monitoring mechanism to track effective transition as illustrated in change measures have enabled the changes to be effective. We have tracked and recorded minor deficiencies which are a result at the acceptance stage of TPM have since been resolved. Positive feedbacks received from customers and remarkable records of decreased customer complaints, because of the new quality management check in-house that has guided quality production output. REFERENCES Woolnough, M. , 2009. Glossary for Nestle continuous excellence NCE document, Nigeria Pg 2 – 3 Ashton, F. , 2010. Lewin Model (K. Lewin, 1951).Available from: http://www. ashtonfourie. com Blog (Accessed 6 July 2012) Kotter, J. , 1996. Leading Change. Available from: http://www. mindtools. com (Accessed 6 July 2012) Mark, S. , 2008. Measuring success- Ideas on how to show that real benefits are being delivered, Fox IT, Pg 2 – 8 Holger, N. , 2009. Change Model 3: John Kotter's 8 Steps of Leading Change. Available from: http://www. change-management-blog. com (Accessed 13 July 2012) Lewin Model. Available from: http://www. change-management-coach. com. (Accessed 6 July 2012) Nestle continuous excellence NCE Introduction VI. 6. Available from: http://www. intranet. nestle. com/NCE (Accessed 6 July 2012)

Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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East asia and the socialist experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

East asia and the socialist experience - Essay Example The 1921 Korean Communist Manifesto thus stated in relevant part that: In the experience of Korean communism, the Japanese annexation of Korea and its imposition of colonial rule is just an example of capitalist exploitation and imperialism. Japan's claim of colonizing Korea under the pretext of helping Korea to modernize was thus not unnatural or unrealistic. This is because, Japan represents the capitalist bourgeoisie and Korea represents the proletariat who are being exploited. The natural tendency is the bourgeoisie to exploit and it is only when the proletariat fight for their emancipation that they can be free from the exploitative powers of the bourgeoisie. These Marxist notions of class struggle reverberate strongly in the Korean experience of communism. The fight against Japanese colonization was thus a fight of the proletariat against the capitalist bourgeoisie - the colonizing Japanese - and was seen in the Korean experience of communism as being in keeping with the teachings of Marxism. The struggle against the colonizing Japanese however reflected only one aspect of the struggle against the bourgeoisie. In a wider sense, the Korean Communist Party saw its fight against the capitalist bourgeoisie in a universal light. The 1921 manifesto for instance states that: "Our national emanc... ipation movement is merely a step to the ultimate purpose of social revolution, and we are striving for the complete elimination of all of the classes of our present society. This is our belief and, at the same time, the common objective of all the toiling masses of the world. Thus, our enemy is all the exploiting classes of the world, as well as the Japanese militarists and financiers, and all the masses who share the common fate under the oppressions of the ruling class must unite their efforts." (cited in Suh 1970, 27)2 The motif of the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie is consequently not a localised struggle in Korea alone. It is part of a fraternity of international movements that aim to bring an end to all forms of bourgeoisie exploitation. Korean communism is thus seen as an essential microcosm playing its necessary part in the wider macrocosm of effecting social change through a communist revolution. Hence the enemy is not only the Japanese colonizers but "all the exploiting classes of the world". (cited in Suh 1970, 27)3 The 1921 Manifesto of the Korean Communist Party thus extended a hand of fraternity and goodwill to other communist parties and movements in Russia, China, and even in Japan (i.e. the Japanese Communist Party) It is note worthy that the fight against capitalism was not laid to rest even after the overthrow of Japanese rule in Korea after World War II. Sung (1955)4 saw American involvement in South Korea as a perpetuation of the capitalist agenda. Consequently, just as the communist movement in Korea fought against the Japanese, they were duty bound to fight against the American 'imperialists' as well. Also, the localised or domestic class struggle in the Korean experience of communism had totalitarian implications on

An analysis on Alexander the Great's effect on government in Ancient Research Paper

An analysis on Alexander the Great's effect on government in Ancient Greece - Research Paper Example He has not planned well ahead in keeping his empire stable and united after his death, but during his life, he instituted changes that amalgamated his subjects, whom many treated and accepted him as their new king. He is perceived as a Machiavellian leader, acting as both lion and fox. This paper explores Alexander the Great’s effect on the government of Ancient Greece from the time he was born until the time he died. His main impacts is that he ruled as a general and as a king, with both ruthlessness and compassion, personally involved himself in designing great cities, encouraged pluralism and co-leadership in his troops and citizenry. Alexander the Great established the kind of government that is ruthless and compassionate at the same time. As an emperor, he is more of a general than a king and he left the administration of his subjugated territories to his own men and some appointed local citizens. Aristotle taught Alexander the Great and from the former’s writings, it seems that Alexander has chosen the kind of leader who is more of a general than an administrator, a king fit for the â€Å"heroic times† (Aristotle Book 3, chapter XV). Alexander is prominent for his savage treatment of male inhabitants of some conquered lands, where hundreds or thousands are slaughtered by his men (Alexander 46). Still, Alexander is also a sympathetic general. Compassion is one trait that not all generals have, but which Alexander shows with great emphasis to his men. First, he represents the kind of general who cared for equal training among officers and soldiers. Alexander himself grew not under the auspices of royal care, but under the rigorous training of his father, a tactical war genius himself, King Philip. Caroline Alexander describes the upbringing of Alexander: â€Å"Although the son of a king, his upbringing was Spartan† (46). Alexander used to express that his concept of breakfast was a â€Å"long march at night,† and â€Å"of supper, a light breakfast† (Alexander 46). Alexander grew under the eyes and training of professional soldiers and hunters, from he directly learned a cherished Iliad worldview: â€Å"Glory in war was life's highest honor† (Alexander 46). Alexander then also believes that officers and their troops must receive the same training, because the troops will follow a leader more, if he can perform what he expects from his own people. Caroline Alexander interviews Adm. Ray Smith who confirms this belief as part of the Navy SEALs regime training: â€Å"We have learned that the key to leadership under the toughest possible circumstances is that officers and men undergo the same training,† because it is reasonable that â€Å"Men know their officer is not asking them to do anything he couldn't do, or hasn't done† (Alexander 46). Alexander follows this code to the ground; he makes sure he is the best soldier himself. He leads his cavalry charge at Granicus, for insta nce, using a prominent white-plumed helmet. Second, Alexander rules with compassion to his own men. He demonstrates empathy for wounded soldiers and this empathy is part of the Macedonian warrior code (Alexander 47). Arrian, the second century A.D. Greek historian whose report of Alexander's campaigns is seen as one of the best of the ancient sources, says: â€Å"For the wounded he showed deep concern† (Alexander 47). Arrian writes: â€Å"He visited them all and examined their wounds, asking each man how and in what circumstances his

St George Cabinet by Philip Webb, reaction against commercialism Essay

St George Cabinet by Philip Webb, reaction against commercialism - Essay Example The importance of this piece during this time frame relates to the movements which were occurring against commercialization and the associations which many artists had with the changes occurring in society. Background of St. George Cabinet Saint George’s Cabinet was made in 1861 by Phillip Webb, a renowned architect of the time, as well as his collaborator William Morris. The focus of the cabinet began with the philosophy of a group of artists and individuals which Morris and Webb both belonged to movements which were interested in keeping the fine arts as a main association in society. This movement turned back to the classical structures and paintings, specifically renowned before the 1300s2. The exhibition of displays included intricate furnishings to homes, stained glass windows, large tapestries and murals inclusive of patterns and designs as were a part of the time frame. Each of these were known as an approach to the decorative and ornamental arts because of the intrica te work done, and that both Webb and Morris believed had value in developing a different association with the arts in the current time frame3. The associations with the artistic culture were furthered by the craftsmanship specifically because of other philosophies and considerations of both as well as the expectations for the cabinet. Morris was associated with the church restoration of the time and had developed a deep understanding of the pagan and Christian beliefs associated with the building of the churches during this time. Both also had a strong association with the resurrection of the church and the need to go back to the fundamental beliefs as a part of society, as opposed to the viewpoints as were a part of the church at the time. The scenes used depicted one of the famous stories of St George and is regarded as one of the most important scenes in Biblical history. The ornamentation and associations with this were used to highlight and bring to light the resurrection of th is particular story while trying to move back into the original form of the story that was a part of the time frame. This was combined with the expectation given to the cabinet to show it at the World Exhibition as a part of the arts and handicraft movement of the time4. Making of the Cabinet The cabinet made was a combination of pine and oak material, as well as an overlay of mahogany added after the cabinet was completed. This was combined with copper mounts used for the main display. The cabinet has a rectangular cupboard on a stand and with three doors with a lock plate. There are five scenes located around the cabinet, all divided unevenly among the three doors. The scenes are separated by daisy heads and vertical wavy lines with the rest of the cabinet painted in black with shell patterns and spots on the side and top of the cupboard. It is known the ornamentation is a combination of Orientalism was popular at the time as well as the artistic techniques were of interest to Web b and Morris5. (see Appendix A and B). The painting used for this particular cabinet can also be noted, not only with basic designs, but also with the process used by Morris. The figures in the paintings were depicted by poses of family friends as well as Morris’ wife for the painting. The interior decoration also used the process of layering, specifically with tinted varnish on the ground of silver leaf. This was a medieval method Burges had recently discovered and used with many of

The Operations of the Stella-Jones Inc Research Paper

The Operations of the Stella-Jones Inc - Research Paper Example Due to its expansive network of operations, Stella-Jones operates about 27 plants for treating wood, which are spread across 15 states in the United States while the remaining ones are situates across five Canadian provinces (Nicolas). This paper therefore, explores the operations strategy of Stella-Jones Inc. as a Canadian company that is on an expansion path despite numerous logistical and technical setbacks. Although there are many wood treatment plants and companies in Canada, one of them, which is Stella-Jones Inc., stands out due to its unique operations and management strategies. Indeed, the company has developed and maintained a good rapport with its major customers over the years and this has really ensured security of supply by the company (Nicolas). In addition, the company has managed to stay afloat because it manufactures a wide range of products including railway ties and utility poles. Since the poles so manufactured by the company are considerably durable due to the due to the pressure treatment, they have always found uses in various areas ranging from domestic to industrial uses (Rochon 2012). Perhaps it is crucial at this point to the fact that Stella-Jones Inc. has for many years adopted a ‘boring’ operation strategy, which surprisingly, have paid off dividends. This is rightly so in the sense that it has produced not so ‘decent’ products but in real sense, their products are essential to both national and regional development (Rochon 2012). Although many people do not appreciate the significance of wood poles, railway ties, and timbers, it is worthy to note that telecommunications companies and electrical utility highly regard these products. This authentically means that Stella-Jones Inc. rips a decent profit off such companies through the provision of such essential products. More specifically, the company’s operation in pressure

Script ( the Vassals) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Script ( the Vassals) - Essay Example The boy stopped, as Mary is taking her rest. She  started to shake and utterly whispers her prayers as she saw a black shadow in front of her. I cannot believe that Nicholas and Melanie Woods are now dead. What a sorrowful experience. Life is very short and everyone lives for a total of time destined to them by fate. It is very unfortunate that there is nothing we can do about it. Once life has become that way, we only need to live to the fullest, but when the right time comes, we even go to glory without notice. With them in place, you cannot be a worried child at all. Most importantly, I was very much happy with the way they took the initiative to educate meant offer me the best they could. This is something that not all parents can do. Instead, it can only be done by just a few focused ones like my parents who knew that life is all about sacrifices. Anne my daughter! Be strong. We, as human beings, live in borrowed times. Everything that happens to us had been planned by God. The only thing we need to do is to thank the Almighty for whatever happens whether it is good or bad. After all, as a believer, you should not doubt that any unpleasant thing that happens to you has a purpose. It is meant to make you be stronger. Even Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan before He eventually emerged victorious over death. When I hear such utterances, I become the saddest on earth. Losing one’s parents to a murder is an experience which should not be taken lightly. No one can endure it. Neither can I. so, we need to react and show the world that we are discontent about this. Anne, you need not to plan evil. Two wrongs don’t make one right. I understand your pain, but you need to take heart. Planning to bad things against someone who has offended you is not the best thing to do. No anger should overcome you. Just be patient and humble. Know that life must continue regardless of

The Future of Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Future of Nursing - Essay Example Among the key contents of the report are recommendations by IOM on the future of nursing education in America. The report recommended that nurses should adopt the culture of full implementation of what they acquire during their education and training. American nurses should be proficient in their duties through the pursuit of education up to higher levels of learning to promote perfection, consistency, and coherence in nursing care. Recommendations outline in the report advocate full collaborating among physicians and other health care professionals in redesigning the health sector. Similarly, the report outlines enhanced information base for nurses, efficient labor planning, and improved data collection. The second recommendation of the report emphasized the need to revolutionize nursing education sector by achieving higher levels of education and training for all professionals. Recommended reforms in education are imperative in providing consistent and coherent academic progression in nursing education. Over the past, American nursing sector underwent several reforms aimed at enhancing the value of education for professionals. Reforms in nursing education are imperative in improving competence among professionals. Most reforms in American nursing education had positive impacts on the minimum level of education required for professionals before accreditation. For instance, reforms in the nursing sector outlined provision for a minimum of as Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. IOM report recommended that at least 80 percent of nurses in every federal health care facility should have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Aiken, 2011). Reforms shifted the focus towards employing only nu rses possessing Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The change of demand to Bachelor of Science in Nursing has prompted revision of curricula in the institutions of higher learning providing the course. Apparently, most nurses in

Dante's Inferno Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Dante's Inferno - Essay Example In his journey, he met three animals – leopard, lion and wolf. At a glance, it just seemed that these animals were plain predators that would cause harm to the narrator. However, these animals are symbols of the forms of sin. The leopard symbolizes sins of self-indulgence or lust. This form of sin is the easiest to commit. Naturally, humans seek pleasure, extravagant and sometimes greedy which are often sins of youth. The sin of bestial violence is represented by the lion. These are sins of adulthood, one of which is pride. The wolf represents malicious sins or the sins of age (Davis 2006). The poem illustrated the different levels of hell which corresponds to a particular sin. Beginning in Canto IV, the first circle is the Limbo where sighs were mostly heard is described as peaceful, yet sad. The souls in this were those people who are good but were not baptized. In the Catholic religion, one has yet to be baptized for the original sin (sin of Adam and Eve) to be forgiven. I am truly torn about this particular punishment because I also believe that if one is not baptized, one is not a part of the Christian world. In this case, since God has three entities – the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost- God is Christ and if you are not a Christian, there is no place for you in heaven or in paradise. On the other hand, logic tells me that there are non-Christians who are more deserving than Christians, and in this perspective it is not fair. The second circle is where the lustful are tortured; but the punishment is still considered as mild because lust is closely assoc iated with love and therefore is viewed with compassion. The third circle of hell was smaller, filled with cold and heavy with dirty rain. This circle is surrounded by new suffering with souls unhappily lain in the filthy mud, tormented by the three-headed doglike demon Cerberus. These were the

Huxley - lowry Essay Example for Free

Huxley lowry Essay The similarities between the societies in Aldous Huxleys Brave New World and Lois Lowrys The Giver are extraordinary, but at the same time, are significantly different. The underlying concept is the same: both stories take place in the future where happiness is the societys ultimate goal. Individuals in both societies are conditioned and genetically engineered to be happy and content, and emotions are repressed or eliminated entirely. The stories are set in technologically advanced futures where it is possible for things like cloning, genetic selection, and brainwashing to control the populace. Brave New Word is set about 600 years from the present where the whole of human society is dominated by World Controllers whose main goal is ensure the societys happiness and stability. The fundamental principle behind this society is utilitarianism, which seeks to attain the maximum level of overall happiness of every individual. This was achieved by limiting the persons intelligence and scope of emotion to match his or her job or social status. The people are also socially conditioned by drugs and constant brainwashing. Drug-induced happiness though the substance soma, is the social norm. It is a society that permits hedonism and sexual promiscuity, but does not allow the concept of love and family to exist. The utilitarian goal is to make the society â€Å"happy† and thus be more efficient. It aims to create social stability by ensuring that limitations are placed on the abilities of each individual. In The Gift, the people are genetically engineered not to see color and distinguish music. In addition to that, the â€Å"Sameness† of every individual is the goal that was to be attained. Both The Gift and Brave New World portray highly structured societies where there is no place for genuine love and family in its truest sense. However, family and childhood arrangements are portrayed differently: in Huxleys novel, there are no â€Å"families† or definite partners but there exists a caste system, as opposed to Lowrys novel wherein families are created by matching up men and women based on personality. In both cases, the members of the society have no control over their lives and their futures are decided by others. This is definitely not a beneficial arrangement in the context of living a full, purposeful life. For example, in Brave New World, the population was controlled through technological interventions that actually change what they want in life. Embryos were conceived, in assembly lines wherein each one is engineered with qualities that would give them a predetermined role in society. When people are living happy lives where pain and anguish are eliminated, both societies in Brave New World and The Giver seem ideal at first glance. War, poverty, and ugliness, and in the case of The Gift, even memories have been eliminated and everyone seems to be permanently happy. Who does this kind of society benefit? In Brave New World, the people are trained to become good consumers and workers to keep the economy strong. A caste system where every individual is contented with their designated caste is created to ensure the functioning of the society. In The Gift, people are assigned their own roles in the community, including their partners and children. This is beneficial to society as a whole in a sense that the arrangement easily maintains its existence without trouble. In a superficial level, it looks like the human race is better off being â€Å"happy,† but in a deeper context, the ways by which this â€Å"happiness† is achieved robs the very of meaning of life. Life in those societies is cheap and without worth, since every person is replaceable. Existing just for the sake of it is not living at all—as Huxley succinctly quotes: â€Å"the purpose of life was not the maintenance of well being, but some intensification and refining of consciousness, some enlargement of knowledge. † The state of bliss has been attained by eliminating the very things that defined humanity—art, music, literature, philosophy, and all things that generate passion and emotion. This is definitely not beneficial to any society, and would not bode well within our own society today. The individuals in both novels have no genuine feelings—they are living a mindless, passionless existence. Ultimately, a society where individualism and creativity are frowned upon, where people do not make choices on their own, and live in false happiness is not a beneficial one to the individuals that comprise it and to humanity as a whole. Bibliography Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1998. Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

Doubt Is The Key To Knowledge

Doubt Is The Key To Knowledge Doubt is the feeling of uncertain towards the truth. Persian proverb says that doubt is the key to knowledge. The key here means that the uncertain feelings bring us closer to the truth and making the level of knowledge increases. But, is it applicable in our daily life? Does doubt keeps someone to expand his knowledge in everyday life? If in a situation, an IB student doubt either he would pass or not in the examination, would his uncertain feeling causes his knowledge to expand? As for me, I think I would struggle hard because I do not have the confidence to pass the IB examination. And of course, I will expand my knowledge. But, here in this essay, we are going to discuss to what extent doubt brings us closer to the truth in different two areas of knowledge. In this essay, we are going to discuss whether doubt triggers or hinders the search for knowledge in two areas of knowledge, which are History and Natural Science. From the point of view of History, doubt can widen our knowledge. If someone does not believe about some historical facts, this would cause him to search information to find the truth. The person may not believe about the fact as he did not see the event by himself. There is a saying said that, seeing is believing. By seeing, then only the person would believe. But, as History is the story about the past, the person could not move the time backwards. Therefore, the person can only start searching for the information through the historical books, journals, and other related materials to get a better understanding about the event and to prove that the event really happened. And this eventually leads the person to gain extra information than he needed. For example, if a person could not believe that the Abbasids rule was ruined by the Mongol people, he would also know the reason why Mongol people managed to sack Abbasids capital in Baghdad, the attitude of Abbasids people during the att ack and many other related information about the fall of the Abbasid caliphate when he searched the information about it. He would also be acquainted with the leader of the Mongols. Thus, based from the explanation and example given, these strongly prove that doubt in History can increase knowledge by bringing the knowledge closer to the truth. Next, if we are looking in Natural Science, doubt leads to more research, which means that it also leads to new findings. The uncertain feeling towards some existing theories leads the scientist to do research about it. The scientist would firstly made assumption through logic based from the theory he felt uncertain about. Then he has to formulate hypothesis and design appropriate experiment in order to prove that the existing theory is false and he also has to come up with a new theory based on his experiment. This process is called falsification, introduced by a philosopher, Karl Popper. Before establishing a new theory, there would be many practical experiment conducted and of course, many new discoveries found. This would also expand the knowledge when the experiment conducted show any unexpected results. For example, the periodic table has undergone many rearrangement and falsification processes by the previous scientist before it is being established as the modern and most reli able periodic table, created by Dmitri Mendeleev. The establishment of this modern periodic table was also due to the development of quantum mechanics theories by other scientist. Therefore, doubt in Natural Science trigger the scientist to carry out many researches in order to make progress in expanding the knowledge. Apart from that, doubt sometimes becomes the inhibitor to knowledge. Let us now discuss why doubt cannot become the key to knowledge in History and Natural Science. Well, doubt in History will not become the key to knowledge if it stands on its own. Due to limitation like emotion, the uncertain feeling towards the historical facts solely will not bring knowledge closer to the truth. The expanding of knowledge is limited by emotion means that the knower himself did not want to belief about new facts or findings that contradicts from what he believed. When a new fact is revealed by the historians, he would feel uncertain about the fact because the fact is totally different from his belief. And if he still wants to stick with his belief, he will not gain any knowledge. In History, it took time to change someones paradigm and if he was reluctant to be open-minded, the true knowledge will not be discovered. For example, during Britishs rule in Malaya, there were many local heroes who always protest against the government to fight for the rights of the Malayan. They were Dato Bahaman, Tok Janggut, Syarif Masahor, and many more. Local folks said that t hey were very (berjasa) to the country and their names were (dijulang). But, there were new facts that reveals about the truth of those warriors. They were actually gangsters. They were not as kind as the local folks thought. But, many local folks did not believe on these statements. They just ignore their uncertain feeling and they keep the faith that those heroes were very (berjasa) to the country. Therefore, the emotion of the knowers here inhibit in the search for the knowledge in History. Next, in Natural Science, doubt will become the inhibitor to knowledge when there is too much doubt. If the scientist is not certain about many things, he will not gain any information from his uncertain feelings. Excessive doubt will make something become more complex and the scientist might become confused too. When the theory becomes complex, the experiment to falsify the theory will become more complicated. And without the suitable and appropriate apparatus, the scientist cannot make any progress from the theory that he felt uncertain. As for an example, the existence of aliens or the living creatures from other planets cannot be proven true or false until nowadays. The technology that we have nowadays still cannot find the truth about them. To conclude here, in Natural Science, too much doubt will become a hindrance in gaining knowledge. We have seen that how doubt works as the key to knowledge in History and Natural Science. We also have known in what conditions doubt becomes a hindrance in gaining the knowledge. Doubt is very important to bring the knowledge closer and closer to the truth. However, we must not doubt too much in both History and Natural Science. We might ignore the excessive doubt that we have and finally no new knowledge will be discovered. Therefore, we must have an equal level between doubts and confident before accepting and believing the truth. Hence, doubt can be considered as the main key in gaining knowledge.

Climate Change And The Disaster Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate Change And The Disaster Environmental Sciences Essay Climate change and the disaster of the environment have driven the planet in a crucial state. Although it is irreversible, countries all over the world have entered a route of mitigating this disaster. In this essay we are going to talk about how Hamburg, one of the largest cities in Europe and one of the largest and busiest ports worldwide, have managed to solve in a big percentage, regardless of its big population, issues, among others, like reduction of CO2 emissions and management of waste disposal and recirculation. We are also going to see one environmental issue that hasnt been solved yet and we are going to explore the various impacts of this as well as what Hamburg is planning to do about it in the future.2 The city of Hamburg and the importance of its port The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is a city state and the second largest city in Germany with 1,7 million of inhabitants. It is a cultural and a commercial center for Northern Germany, its metropolitan region consisting of approximately 4 million people. Hamburg municipal area is equal to 755,3 km2 and embraces 14 districts around the City of Hamburg.(HPA,2011) It is the third biggest industrial area In Germany after Ruhr and Berlin, with business related to aircraft and ship building industry, automotive industry and mineral oil processing. However the highest importance is the industry that is related to the harbor and all its activities. The port of Hamburg is the largest port in Germany, the third largest port in Europe and one of the ten largest ports worldwide. Only the port by itself employs around 75,000 people and more than 133,000 jobs are directly or indirectly related to the port due to its high importance as it is one of the most important trading centers in Northern Europe. As for this reason Hamburg sustainability has become very topical as environmental protection has turned into a major factor for business decisions. 3 Environmental issues solved 3.1 Reduction of CO2 emissions Hamburg has gone too far investigating and researching new methods of contributing in the mitigation of climate change. One major issue that has been solved at a considerable percentage is the reduction of CO2 emissions. The efforts are great considering the scale of energy demand, the citys population and the ports traffic. The government itself has gone into an ECO-partnership with the commercial sector, encouraging companies to go beyond statutory requirements regarding CO2 emissions. As for the port, Hamburg has established the Automated container taxis which in fact eliminates the transportation of containers via trucks and instead containers are transported from one terminal to the other, through long distance railway. (New European Economy, 2012) In the city, again Hamburg gives the example, having many cleaner means of transportation for short and long ranges. Not only the worlds biggest fleet of hydrogen-fuelled buses, but also an exclusive bicycle network exists in the city, with additional bike lanes and cycle-hire schemes. (European Union, 2011) Last but not least Hamburg has in many places around the city heating plants which provide district heating. This system produces and provides heating to some districts using, as basic energy consumption renewable energy such as solar energy, wind energy and biomass, combined with fossil fuels. All these have a huge impact on the environment and people because it has a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions, great noise reduction, less need for fossil fuel consumption, so that means, a healthier and greener way of life. 3.2 Waste water management Sustainable waste water management has been a top priority is Hamburg for more than a decade. Mainly the Public Sewage Company HSE but also other organizations have invested a considerable amount of money so that Hamburg will reach a satisfactory percentage of prevention of waste water to go to lakes and waterways. The key issues that were achieved were the storage of waste water in tanks, the treatment of waste water, which actually is the dehydration of the waste water, the separation of ammonia in the waste water (de nitrification) and the energy production from the separated sludge. Especially in the energy production from the sludge, HSE has done a great job, equipping all the treatment plants with a new chain process which exploits energy resulting from the treated sludge. So as a result of this sewage gases are transformed to electric energy, further decreasing CO2 emissions that stated before. (European Union, 2011) C:UsersPanosDocumentsenviromental engineering Sources2012_04_26_Abb Konzept mit Garrest_eng_skaliert.jpg Also there is a concept to come into force from the HWC company in the near future that will be a great innovation. According to that concept every residence will be able to manage, treat, and recycle the waste water disposal and also convert it to energy. All of the above have as a result the creation of a better environment for the flora and fauna in the lakes and waterways, the recycling of the evaporated water which comes in terms of rain and the increase in the oxygen expulsion. 4 Issue that has not been yet solved Since there isnt any city, state or country in the world that has solved all the environmental problems, same goes for Hamburg that has one critical environmental problem that troubles scientists and researchers for long time now and that goes with river Elbe. Due to Hamburgs location and topography there is a need for dredging of accumulating sediments. Since 1990s, it was decided that the deepening of river Elbe was a critical matter since it was found that the sediments were highly contaminated and they needed to be treated before they could go into disposal. 4.1 River Elbe River Elbe is the third largest river in Central Europe after Danube and Rhine and in terms of length it covers a distance of 1091 km (727 km in Germany, 364 km in Czech Republic). Its catchment area goes through Prague, Dresden, Berlin and Hamburg. Especially around the city of Hamburg, where the port of Hamburg is allocated, river Elbe is influenced by the tide. 4.2 Environmental problems on River Elbe As we mentioned before river Elbe is influenced by the tide. This has as a result to have several sediments staying at the bottom of the river, and following that, the level of the seabed of the river is rising through time. In order to sustain the trade of the harbor by having free passage to ships, as well as keeping the harbor fully operational, the depth of river Elbe and thus the depth of navigation needed to be assured. Constant dredging was the answer to the problem to achieve that depth. At the beginning of the idea, the sediments that were dredged from river Elbe were used again for agriculture. However it was found that the dredged sentiments were contaminated with heavy metals (As, Cd, Hg, Zn) and organic contaminants (PCB, Dioxins, PAHs) which had great negative impacts to the environment (Heise, 2005). This pollution was a result of upstream industrial activities in the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) and Czech Republic such as pharmaceutical, chemicals from mini ng, pulp and paper, and leather-processing industries (Netzband et al., 2002). Until 2000 there were some measures that were taken in order to reduce this contamination, such as the treatment of the dredged sediments. This system was aparted from two sections. The first section was the pre-treatment which was the separation of the sediments into sand and contaminated silt fraction, and the main treatment was the dewatering process followed by the environmentally safe disposal of the silt. Both treatments were carried out by one large scale plant named METHA (Netzband, 2002). Since 2000 the sediments have been increasing 3 to 4 million m3 per year (HPA, 2005b). This is of great importance to Hamburg and its environment because from one point the sediments have to be dredged more quickly, due to the current needs of the harbor area and from another point the capacity of METHA has already been exceeded. As it is understandable the continuously dredging of river Elbe destroys its morphological environment, and from at the part of the pollutants we already have a decrease in oxygen, combined with the existence of contaminants we have a progressive destruction of the environment. Especially the summer time the oxygen depletion of river Elbe is great which results in a large number of fish kills. 4.3 Possible solutions Although the dredging of river Elbe is an issue that troubles researchers for over two decades, the impacts are not irreversible. Since the reason for deepening river Elbe is solely financial, it is suggested by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, that a second port should be opened as a deep water port, located at Wilhelmshaven and acting as a hub (HA, 2004a). This is one of the best ideas if it will be financially supported, so that the need of 24 hour navigation on river Elbe, regardless of the tide, will be eliminated as well as the need for dredging. Apart from that, the European WFD (Water Framework Directive) implements new quality standards for chemicals used in agriculture.

Comparing Low Calorie, Low Fat, and Low Carbohydrate Diets Essay

Comparing Low Calorie, Low Fat, and Low Carbohydrate Diets Comparing low calorie diets, low fat diets, and low carbohydrate diets involves looking at how they work, what problems they have, and what foods are allowed, restricted, or prohibited on each diet. Therefore, it is essential to keep in mind the recommended daily allowances of each nutritional component of a diet at non-weight loss conditions. The major nutritional components of a diet are grouped into the major categories fat, carbohydrates and sugars, and proteins. There are also vitamins and minerals that are not a group of their own but are associated with each category – there are different vitamins in each category. The body uses each of these components for a different purpose and needs each in a different amount. One of these needs is energy – energy to keep the heart beating, the brain working and all the various mundane aspects of day-to-day living. Any excess energy is stored as body fat. If it ever needs energy, the body can dip into these reserves – burn fat. Schematically, a healthy, non-weight loss conditions diet can be represented by a pie chart with each nutritional component as one proportionally sized piece of the pie. Each different diet – low calorie, low fat, and low carbohydrate – changes the pie in a different way. On a low calorie diet, the entire pie is shrunk. The proportions of fat, carbohydrates and sugars, and protein are kept the same but fewer calories are consumed. This way, the body does not receive all the energy it needs from the food that it intakes and is thereby forced to dip into its energy reserves – i.e. body fat. But, in cutting down on calories, the amount of other essential nutritional components, such as vita... ...it into cheese. Sweets are completely forbidden. Meat is also allowed, hence the nickname ‘the meat and cheese diet.’ And, most vegetables are allowed and must be consumed to remain healthy. Low calorie, low fat and low carbohydrate diets all aim at reducing the amount of energy obtained from food so that the body is forced to burn fat for fuel. Each has a different proscribed menu. Low calorie diets focus on restricting portion size and overall amount of food eaten while low fat and low carbohydrate diets eliminate fats and carbohydrates respectively. Because each type of food contains a unique set of vitamins, people who practice each of these different diets must be mindful of which vitamins their diet is not providing in adequate amounts and compensate accordingly. Works Cited: http://www.weightlossforgood.co.uk/fat_information.htm

History, Race, and Violence in the Arena of Reproduction Enslavement. :: Essays Papers

History, Race, and Violence in the Arena of Reproduction Enslavement. In 1997, Dorothy Roberts wrote a salient book titled Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty. Roberts explicates the crusade to punish Black women—especially the destitute—for having children. The exploitation of Black women in the U.S. began in the days of slavery and, appropriately enough, Roberts introduces her first chapter with an illustrative story: When Rose Williams was sixteen years old, her master sent her to live in a cabin with a male slave named Rufus. It did not matter that Rose disliked Rufus "cause he a bully." At first Rose thought that her role was just to perform household chores for Rufus and a few other slaves. But she learned the true nature of her assignment when Rufus crawled into her bunk one night: "I says , ‘What you means, you fool nigger?' He say for me to hush de mouth. ‘Dis my bunk, too,' he say." When Rose fended off Rufus's sexual advances with a poker, she was reported to Master Hawkins. Hawkins made it clear that she had no choice in the matter: De nex' day de massa call me and tell me, "Woman, I's pay big money for you,and I's done dat for de cause I wants yous to raise me chillens. I's put you to live with Rufus for dat purpose. Now, if you doesn't want whippin' at de stake, yous do what I wants. Rose reluctantly acceded to her master's demands: I thinks ‘bout massa buyin' me offen de block and savin' me from bein' sep'rated from my folks and ‘bout bein' whipped at de stake. Dere it am. What am I's to do? So I ‘cides to do as de massa wish and so I yields. The story of control of Black reproduction begins with the experiences of slave women like Rose Williams. Black procreation helped to sustain slavery, giving slave masters an economic incentive to govern Black women's reproductive lives. Slave women's childbearing replenished the enslaved labor force: Black women bore children who belonged to the slaveowner from the moment of their conception. This feature of slavery made control of reproduction a central aspect of white's subjugation of African people in America. It marked Black women from the beginning as objects whose decisions about reproduction should be subject to social regulation rather than to their own will. (22-23) Once slavery was abolished Black people no longer had to worry about their children being the property of slaveowners, or anyone else.

MRSA infection in neonatal intensive care units

Methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains increased in the U.S. from 2.4% in 1975 to 29% in 1991. Once established, MRSA is very difficult to eradicate. One of the biggest challenges is preventing cross-transmission of these organisms. Certain patients are more prone to infection and colonization by MRSA, and neonates in NICUs are a high-risk group (Finkelstein, 1999, 24). Risk factors for acquiring MRSA include prolonged hospitalization; a stay in an ICU or burn unit; previous antimicrobial therapy; surgical site infections; and exposure to colonized or infected patients. The majority of MRSA infections in neonates are primary bacteremias and pneumonias. MRSA infections have also been associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and greater hospital costs than those due to methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Why are neonates more prone to MRSA infection? With regards to skin infection it has been shown that an infant's gestational age has a great impact on epidermal barrier function as measured by transepidermal water loss. Preterm infants younger than 28 weeks show decreased functioning of the epidermal barrier, placing them at risk for cutaneous bacterial infection (Kalia, 1998, 323). The skin barrier attains full function, similar to adult skin, by 2 to 4 weeks of age but can take as long as 8 weeks in extremely premature infants. Mandel et al. (2004, 161) conducted a retrospective analysis of the role of cutaneous abscess in sepsis. They found that in 22% of the newborn infants with nosocomial sepsis, cutaneous abscess was the underlying cause. Additionally, their immune systems are underdeveloped, with white blood cells-neutrophils in particular-moving more slowly than adults'. It's suspected that neonates become colonized with S. aureus soon after being placed in a nursery, with the umbilical stump as the site of initial colonization. Factors identified with MRSA outbreaks in NICUs include high infant-to-staff ratios and infection transmission through hand carriage by health care workers (AAP, 1997) Spread of MRSA Infection and prevention MRSA is found on the anterior nares, groin, and perineum, S. aureus is a normal part of the body flora. It's also a common pathogen, causing major infections in both compromised and uncompromised patients. The normal immune response of the body can overcome any MRSA attempt to infection, but in the intensive care due to reduced immune response, and bacterial resistance, these organisms van create havoc. In a report from Australia quoted by Park (2007, 26-27), it was shown that from 1992 to 1994, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections caused only 8% of staphylococcal infections but from 1995 to 1998, there was an outbreak of MRSA infection in two Melbourne hospitals. Methods to halt the spread of MRSA outbreaks include reducing overcrowding and improving staffing patterns, treating umbilical cords with triple-dye, and bathing full-term infants with hexachlorophene. But unless strict adherence to infection control is maintained, it is not possible to control this infection. Handwashing is most important. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that neonatal nursery staff perform a three-minute handwash at the start of each shift, cleansing up to the elbows with an antiseptic soap and sponge brush (AAP, 1997). Infected neonates should be placed on contact precautions. Here the infant must be handled with gloves, and if possible, depending on the spacing available and the acute status of the infant, they should be assigned to isolated chambers (Larson, 1995, 259, 262). Hitomi etal (2000, 127), advocate the use of mupirocin as a nasal spray to control nasal carriage of MRSA in the hospital staff, which act as the greatest source of spread of this infection. Effects of Nosocomial MRSA infection According to the NNIS (2002), In 2000, 55.3% of S. aureus isolates causing nosocomial infections among patients hospitalized in intensive care units in hospitals reporting to the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System were resistant to methicillin. Nambiar etal(2003, 224) give an interesting account of the complications MRSA can cause in an intensive care setting. They describe an outbreak of MRSA, in which neonates had meningitis, blood stream infection (with its complications – soft tissue abscess, shock and a right atrial thrombus, suppurative thrombophlebitis, osteoarthritis of the distal femur and knee joint). Masanga (1999, 169) reported colonic stenosis after MRSA enterocolitis. The predisposing factors for neonatal MSSA enterocolitis include breast feeding from a mother with staphylococcal mastitis,an indwelling feeding catheter   and malnutrition. The clinical picture of MSSA enterocolitis in the neonate is characterized by acute onset of diarrhea and ileus. Necrotizing enterocolitis. intensive care including mechanical ventilation, indwelling feeding catheter, the use of antibiotics, the delay of feeding causing the lower acidity of gastric contents, hypoactive peristalsis and the change of bowel flora, conditions similar to those seen in postoperative patients most likely predisposed to abnormal MRSA growth and resultant enterocolitis. toxic shock syndrome (combination of erythema and thrombocytopenia, low-positive C-reactive protein (CRP) value, or fever), (Richtmann etal, 2000, 88-89, Takahashi, 2003, 234-35). Effect on parents The illness in the neonate is a great source of stress to the parents. Not only is the child separated from the mother, which leads to anxiety for the mother, and nursing problems. There occur problems of lactation, with breast engorgement and galactorrhoea. In addition, the mother is at a greater risk of catching infection from a septicemic child with pneumonia and exanthemas. Skin infection can spread via contact. Thus parents are at an increased risk from a child affected with MRSA infection. Treatment Prevention is the best treatment. This infection can be rapidly fatal in the neonates, particularly the preterm infants. Prompt recognition of the symptoms and active measures to prevent spread can reduce the morbidity and mortality. Cultures should be obtained for susceptibility determination in any child with a presumed S. aureus infection that is moderate to severe. The choice of empiric therapy, before susceptibility testing, and the choice of definitive therapy will depend on the local antibiotic resistance patterns, the tissue site and severity of infection, and the toxicity profile of the antibiotic. Vancomycin has been the traditional antibiotic employed for the treatment of MRSA pneumonia. It has been found, however, that problems with lung tissue penetration may limit the effectiveness of vancomycin   Similarly, daptomycin has been shown to have limited activity for pneumonia due to limited lung penetration and inhibition by surfactant. Linezolid has also recently been evaluated as a specific treatment for MRSA pneumonia, and found to have good lung tissue penetration capability (Bradley, 200575-77) Conclusions MRSA infection in the neonatal intensive care setting is associated with exceptional morbidity and mortality. Preventive measures are the key to victory against MRSA. Each unit has to chart out effective protocols of infection control and adhere to it with a strong will. References 1 Finkelstein LE etal(1999MRSA in NeonatesAm J Nurs, Volume 99(1).January.24 2   Kalia YN, Nonato LB, Lund CH, et al(1998) Development of skin barrier function in premature infants. J Invest Dermatol; 111:320-326 3 Mandel D, Littner Y, Mimouni FB, et al.( 2004) Nosocomial cutaneous abscesses in septic infants. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed; 89:F161-F162 4 American Academy of Pedaitrics and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (1997)Guidelines for Perinatal care, 4th ed. Elk Grove Village, IL, The Academy, 5 PARK CH etal(2007). Changing trend of neonatal infection: Experience at a newly established regional medical center in KoreaPediatr Int, Volume 49(1).24–30 6 Larson, E. L(1995). APIC guideline for handwashing and hand antisepsis in health care settings. Am.J. Infect.Control 23:251-269. 7   Hitomi S, Kubota M, Mori N, et al(2005): Control of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit by unselective use of nasal mupirocin ointment. J Hosp Infect; 46: 123–129 8 National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System Report. Data Summary from January 1992 to June 2001. Issued August 2001. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/hip/NNIS/members/members.htm #nnisreports. Accessed Mar 5 2007 9   Nambiar S, Herwaldt LA, Singh N (2003). Outbreak of invasive disease caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in neonates and prevalence in the neonatal intensive care unit. Pediatr Crit Care Med, Volume 4(2).220-226 10 Masanga K etal (1999). Colonic Stenosis After Severe Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Enterocolitis In A Newborn. Pediatr Infect Dis J, Volume 18(2).169-171 11 Richtmann R etal.(2000) Outbreak Of Methicillin-Resistent Staphylococcus Aureus (Mrsa) Infection On A Neonate Intensive Care Unit (Nicu): The Key Role Of Infection Control Measures. Am J Infect Control, Volume 28(1).February 88-89. 12 Takahashi N (2003). Neonatal toxic shock syndrome-like exanthematous disease (NTED). Pediatr Int, Volume 45(2).233–237 13 Bradley JS (2005). Newer antistaphylococcal agents Curr Opin Pediatr, Volume 17(1).71-77                           

To what extent is Dracula a conventional Gothic protagonist?

Within the Gothic genre, features of the Gothic protagonist include sharply contrasting character traits, some degree of tragic stature, a striking physical presence, an element of the sexual, and an association with the bestial. Stoker presents Dracula with greatly contrasting traits, from the impeccably polite and courteous host who greets Harker at the door, to a raging psychopathic monster. The aristocratic and noble nature of Dracula's heritage gives him charisma and credibility, on first encounter he seems strange but eccentric, however this lulls Harker, and obviously his female victims, into a false sense of security: â€Å"The light and warmth of the Count's courteous welcome seemed to have dissipated all my doubts and fears. † Stoker reveals Dracula's true self slowly and subtly, so as to build tension, such as when Dracula touches Harker and he feels: â€Å"a horrible feeling of nausea. This imagery hints at the horror of Dracula's true character, which is finally revealed when he encounters the Brides: â€Å"But the count! Never did I imagine such wraths of fury, even in the demons of the pit! † Stoker presents the count as being: â€Å"lapped in a storm of fury,† foreshadowing the terrible storm at Whitby when Dracula arrives on English soil. Stoker's uses the imagery of hell to describe Dracula's rage, writing: â€Å"his eyes were positively blazing†¦ as if the flames of hell-fire blazed in them. This imagery of a fiery furnace is similar to Milton's description of Satan in Paradise Lost' as â€Å"the infernal serpent,† dwelling in a â€Å"penal fire. † However despite Satan's high status and charisma, he does not have the extreme contrast in personality, and the genteel almost awkward persona that Dracula has. Stoker presents Dracula as having tragic stature through his loneliness and sadness that his once noble family have been destroyed. Dracula tells Harker that he longs: â€Å"to be in the midst of the whirl and rush of humanity, to share its life, its change, its death, and all that makes it what it is. But alas! † This desire demonstrates how isolated Dracula feels, as he has been left behind, an unwanted remnant of the ancient world. His immortality means he cannot relate to modernity, and the fast pace of life, and he is stuck in an endless cycle, a pseudo-purgatory for the Un-dead. Stoker presents Dracula as talking with great pride of his heritage, which he is determined to reinstate in England: â€Å"We Szekelys have a right to be proud, for in our veins flows the blood of many brave races who fought†¦ for lordship. Milton also presents Satan as a tragic character, because of his doomed destiny to live forever in the fiery pits of Hell, but also that he has an overwhelming hubris that ultimately makes his downfall so much more difficult to accept: â€Å"for this infernal spirit shall never hold celestial spirits in bondage. † When Dracula is finally killed, Mina writes that: â€Å"even in that moment of final dissolution there was in the face a look of peac e. † Reflecting Dracula's release from his eternal suffering, showing that despite Vampire's intrinsic evil, they did not relish their life of pain and death. Another aspect of the conventional protagonist is their striking physical presence, and Stoker presents Dracula as conforming strongly to this, with his strong jaw, aquiline nose and extreme paleness. He has thick eyebrows, wild hair, a â€Å"heavy moustache† and â€Å"remarkably ruddy† lips. Almost immediately Harker notices aspects of Dracula's character which are not quite normal, describing Dracula as â€Å"cruel-looking,† with his moustache hiding his â€Å"cruel mouth. † This underlying unease demonstrates how Dracula's physicality reflects and warns of his internal evil. Stoker presents Dracula's specific appearance as very typical of the genre, as in The Monk, Matthew Lewis describes Ambrosia in an almost identical way to Dracula: â€Å"He was a man of noble port and commanding presence. His stature was lofty, and his features uncommonly handsome. His nose was aquiline, his eyes large black and sparkling, and his dark brows almost joined together. His complexion was of a deep but clear brown; study and watching had entirely deprived his cheek of colour. † This similarity shows how conventional Dracula's physical presence is, his stature reflecting his high status and aristocracy like Ambrosias. Stoker presents Dracula as having an element of the sexual, through his attacking of women, and his uncontrollable desire to overpower and control others. Harker's interaction with the Bride's of Dracula demonstrate the confusing relationship between pleasure and pain that the Vampire embodies: that we somehow desire what we know may or will hurt us. This connection is seen in one of Dracula's weaknesses: that he cannot enter a house without being invited first, which could be a metaphor for his role as a sexual predator, as a woman has to somehow desire or want Dracula to feed from them in order for him to suck their blood. When Mina discovers Lucy after Dracula's attack, Stoker describes her using post-coital imagery: â€Å"her lips were parted, and she was breathing- not softly, but in, long heavy gasps† demonstrating how Lucy possibly enjoyed her attack by the handsome stranger. In The Monk Ambrosia is undone by his carnal lust for Matilda, and then his rape of Antonia, as he is transformed from a pious monk into a sexual predator: â€Å"With every moment of the Friar's passion became more ardent, and Antonia's terror more intense. However Lewis presents Ambrosia as being full of self-loathing and disgust once he had â€Å"dishonoured† Antonia: â€Å"The very excess of his former eagerness to possess Antonia now contributed to inspire him with disgust. † Stoker presents no such sense of repentance from Dracula, whose uses his sexuality primarily to further his control over England. Finally, Stoker presents Dracula as associating with the bestial, through his control over animals and nature, his connection with the ‘other,' and his animalistic consciousness. When Harker arrives at the castle, Stoker immediately connects animals with the Count through the images of wolves: â€Å"All at once the wolves began to howl as though the moonlight had some peculiar effect on them. † Dracula's control over animals is one aspect of his foreign and unknown nature, reflecting Victorian fear of the barbarianism of the supposedly unrefined central Europeans. Dracula can transform himself into a giant bat, which appears as a menacing presence throughout the novel: â€Å"there was a sort of scratching or flapping at the window. Dracula's strange social behaviour and physical presence demonstrates how he is not quite human, and it seems that he certainly relates to animals more than he does to other people: â€Å"Ah, sir, you dwellers in the city cannot enter into the feelings of the hunter. † Ultimately it is Stoker's portrayal of Dracula as a character completely driven by primal desires that associates him with the animal, and any feeling s he represses ultimately become apparent. This characteristic along with the others demonstrate how Dracula is primarily a conventional protagonist in his looks and character traits, his doom and his desires.