The National Geographic Society :: history

The National Geographic Society â€Å"It’s right here†, was the old guard’s response when I asked him where I could find the National Geographic Society. Immediately upon entering the gates of the Shura Council Compound, I found a plaque on one of the two buildings indicating it to be the National Geographic Society. I entered the Society and began to analyze all of its aspects to determine whether or not the museum is achieving its purpose of improving the study of geography in Egypt. The National Geographic Society is not fully achieving its purpose due to several reasons. First of all, the lack of advertising is preventing the attraction of more visitors and funding. Secondly, poor organization makes it harder on visitors and researchers to find specific items they are looking for. Finally, inadequate presentation makes visits to the museum uninformative and unappealing. Consequently, the National Geographic Society is in need of funding to improve the aforementioned factors which are negatively affecting the purpose of the museum. The lack of advertising is preventing the museum from attracting more visitors and funding thus negatively affecting the purpose of the museum. Many people are unaware of the existence of the museum which prevents them from visiting it. If people are not going to the museum, this means that they will not have the opportunity to learn about geography from the museum. For example, monthly lectures that are held in the debate room always have low attendance. Furthermore, poor advertising is preventing funding; an important factor to any non-profit scientific organization which rely mainly on government grants and donations. An increase in funding can be used to finance many aspects of the museum, including advertising, in order to improve the study of geography in Egypt. However, the small amount of visitors makes philanthropists and the government less interested in giving funds. Consequently, the Society is financially unable to advertise and thus cannot improve the study of geography in Egypt. Hiring an advertising agency to begin a campaign is necessary. Advertising through television, billboards, flyers and even emails will help attract more visitors and researchers as well as attention from government and thus help the museum in achieving its purpose of improving the study of geography in Egypt. The lack of organization is preventing the National Geographic Society from fully achieving its purpose; as it makes it harder on visitors and researchers to find the specific items they are looking for.

Native American Cultural Assimilation

Native American Cultural Assimilation from the Colonial Period to the Progressive October 2, 2011 Introduction Although the first European settlers in America could not have survived without their assistance, it was not long before the Native Americans were viewed as a problem population. They were an obstacle to the expansion plans of the colonial government and the same to the newly formed United States. The Native Americans were dealt with in various ways. During expansion some were outright exterminated through war while others forcibly made to relocate to lands deemed less than ideal. The idea was to make them vanish – out of sight, out of mind. Though their numbers in terms of population and tribal groups dwindled, they persisted and continued to be a problem in the eyes of the federal government. In the latter part of the nineteenth century the United States government instituted a new way to wage war against the Native Americans. This involved assimilating their children through government-run boarding and day schools. Federal policy-makers were sure that by giving the Native American children an American-style education, they would eventually evolve into â€Å"Americans† and return to their reservations, but forsaking their previous culture, traditions and way of thinking. The federal government assumed that as the aged died off and, with the children assimilated, within a few generations at most, there would be no need for reservations or Indian policy, thus accomplishing the original goal of making them vanish. There is little doubt that assimilation through education failed on almost all fronts, but through my research I hope to uncover some positives for the Native American children, especially those affected by late nineteenth century Indian policy which removed them from their families and, in some cases, sent them into an alien world hundreds of miles away. Throughout the history of, especially, European imperialism, â€Å"the relationships between indigenous peoples and colonizers usually proceed through a series of phases. Generally speaking, the first phase involved the establishment of colonies which meant the disruption of Native societies and usually the displacement of people. In most cases, there was some degree of violence and if complete domination was not swift, treaties were drawn up by â€Å"resetting territorial boundaries in order to maintain a degree of order. † Because resource and land acquisition was the main goal of the colonizers in the first place, treatie s seldom lasted and violence continued. In most cases, the next phase in colonialism to lessen violence and restore order was to try assimilation. Assimilation could mean turning the indigenous population into a work force or perhaps a marginalized group of ‘others’ who speak the colonizers language†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [1] As colonial expansion kept growing in North America, assimilation was attempted on several levels. Attempts were made at outright Native American removal from their lands and, when that did not work, religion was probably the most widespread â€Å"weapon† of the colonizers to subdue the Natives. Priests, Catholic and Protestant, (usually backed by an armed force) were more often than not unsuccessful in their attempts to force civilization on the Natives. 2] Assimilation by this means was further complicated because of competing religions. Natives who embraced Catholicism offered by French or Spanish colonizers further distanced themselves from Britis h colonizers and vice versa. European wars of the 17th and 18th centuries between Catholic and Protestant powers carried over into the North American colonies and the Native Americans were situated in a no-win situation. As a result of victories in these wars, not only did 1. Holm, Tom. The Great Confusion in Indian Affairs. pp. 1-2. 2. Findling and Thackeray, eds. Events that Changed America in the Seventeenth Century. p. 72. the British resent Native Americans who fought against them in the wars, they crept deeper into Native American territory until their defeat in the American Revolution. [3] Now, what had been colonial expansion in America turned into national expansion of the newly created United States. As the eighteenth-century came to a close and the major players in expansion had changed, policy toward Native Americans stayed essentially the same it had been under the British. Early in the nineteenth-century and the Louisiana Purchase in hand,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Thomas) Jefferson, much as he struggled with the issue (Indian policy), could simply not envision a future for the United States that included a place for ‘Indians as Indians. ’ As president, Jefferson tried to design an Indian policy that would humanely assimilate Native Americans into the new republic, but his vision of national expansion turned out not to have any room for Native Americans. [4] Those who refused or resisted assimilation would be forcibly pushed westward to lands deemed unfit for anything by most Americans. [5] As expansion increased further West, the Native Americans faced another subtle weapon in addition to religion from the government in its attempt to subdue them – American-style education. Years of violence, forced removal to Indian Territory and forced religious indoctrination had failed to solve what the federal government referred to as â€Å"the Indian problem. [6] the Native Americans may not have flourished in their new land, but they survived and would not go away. As a result, American policy shifted from trying to vanquish the Indians to trying to make them vanish. Starting as an experiment in the early nineteenth-century and continuing until it became 3. Hightower-Langston, Donna. Native American World. p. 365. 4. Conn, Steven. History’s Shadow. p. 3. 5. Garrison, Tim Alan. The Legal Ideology of Removal. p. 7. 6. Ninkovich, Frank. Global Dawn. p. 185. olicy in the last quarter of the century, new Indian policy would be to extinguish Native American cultures through an American-style education of the young. The thinking was, educate the Native American children to American culture to assimilate them and, for the time being, contend with the adults on reservations. The idea behind this was, after a few generations, the adults would die off and the new generations of American educated, assimilated â€Å"citizens† would survive, but not their old cultures and ways of life. The balance of this paper will focus on the assimilation through education policy. â€Å"In 1794 the nation made its first Indian treaty specifically mentioning education, and many more treaties would contain similar offers and even demands for compulsory schooling of tribal children. In 1819 Congress provided a specific ‘civilization fund’ of $10,000 for the ‘uplift’ of Indians, and the assimilationist campaign continued to employ legislation, treaty making (until 1871), and other expedients to achieve its goals. Initially the United States government through its office/ Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), depended upon Christian missionary societies, but by the later nineteenth century the government dominated the educational effort, having established a loose system of hundreds of day schools, on-reservation boarding schools, and off-reservation boarding schools, BIA and missionary schools together to Christianize, ‘civilize’, and Americanize Indian children: the rigidly ethnocentric curriculum aimed to strip them of tribal cultures, languages, and spiritual concepts and turn them into ‘cultural brokers’ who would carry the new order back to their own peoples. †[7] 7. Coleman, Michael C. American Indians, the Irish, and Government Schooling. pp. 1-2. The idea of targeting Native American children for ’civilization training’ actually began in the seventeenth-century in New England where Native children were separated from their families and situated in â€Å"praying towns. † A Christian education was aimed at the children â€Å"because they (the colonists) believed (Native American) adults were too set in their ways to become Christianized. †[8] From this early attempt at assimilation through education, Native American education developed into fairly formal on-reservation schools run by churches and missionary societies, with limited funding by Congress. These schools were made possible after such actions as the Indian Removal Act which concentrated Native Americans in Indian territories and under somewhat more control of the federal government. These mostly denominational schools offered the only American-style, limited as it was, education until after the American Civil War. â€Å"†¦ after the conflict (Civil War) the nation developed the Peace Policy, an approach that gave schools a renewed prominence. The carnage of the war encouraged reformers to find new ways to deal with Native nations other than warfare. †[9] Under this peace, the federal government was to provide the necessary funding for â€Å"schools, administrators, and teachers. †[10] There was some funding for the policy by Congress, but not nearly enough. With limited funding, day schools were established on reservations. One-room schools were the norm where â€Å"government officials encouraged a curriculum of academic and vocational subjects, and sometimes the Office of Indian Affairs paid a reservation carpenter, farmer, or blacksmith to offer courses. †[11] 8. Keller, Ruether, eds. Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America. pp. 97-8. 9. Trafzer, Keller and Sisquoc, eds. Boarding School Blues. p. 11. 10. ibid. p. 11. 11. ibid. p. 12. About the same time these one-room schools were being established, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Edward P. Smith submitted his annual report favoring boarding schools over day schools. In his report â€Å"Smith stated that the use of English and the elimination of Native languages was the key to assimilation and civilization. †[12] In a plan for national system of Indian schools (October 18890 sent to the Secretary of the Interior, a successor of Smith’s, Thomas J. Morgan, offered the following: When we speak of the education of the Indians, we mean that comprehensive system of training and instruction which will convert them into American citizens, put within their reach the blessings which the rest of us enjoy, and enable them to compete successfully with the white man on his own ground and with his own methods. Education is to be the medium through which the rising generation of Indians are to be brought into fraternal and harmonious relationship with their white fellow citizens, and with them enjoy the sweets of refined homes, the delight of social intercourse, the emoluments of commerce and trade, the advantages of travel, together with the pleasures that come from literature, science, and philosophy, and the solace and stimulus afforded by a true religion. [13] Carlisle Indian Industrial School Ten years prior to Commissioner Morgan’s report, Richard Henry Pratt, a former United States Army officer who had commanded a unit of African American â€Å"Buffalo Soldiers† and 12. Trafzer, Keller and Sisquoc, eds. Boarding School Blues. p. 12. 13. Prucha, Francis Paul. Documents of United States Indian Policy. p. 177. Indian scouts in Indian Territory following the Civil War, began his own quest of assimilation through education. In 1879, he â€Å"secured the permission of the Secretary of the Interior, Carl Shurz, and Secretary of the War Department McCrary to use a deserted military base as the site of his school. †[14] Using this site in Pennsylvania, he felt that he could take Native American children from the reservations and by distancing them from tribal influences, turn them into Americans. With the site secured and community support behind him, the next step was to recruit students. He headed to the Dakota Territory where he was tasked to bring back Native American children to Carlisle. Aided by a teacher/interpreter, Pratt was able to bring back the first class of 82 students. Unfortunately, when he got back to Pennsylvania, necessary basic living supplies previously promised to them by the Bureau of Indian Affairs were not to be found. â€Å"The children slept on the floor in blankets. †[15] In time, some funding was secured privately from â€Å"former abolitionists and Quakers who were eager to be involved in his success and who often visited the school. † Using his military background, the school (for both boys and girls) was modeled after a military academy. Instilling discipline and a sense of â€Å"time† was important to Pratt if he was to make progress with the children and, as one of his former teachers commented on the children, â€Å"they have been systematically taught self-repression. †[16] Although that first recruiting class consisted of only 82 students, by the time the school was at full operating capacity (the school survived 39 years), enrollment averaged 1000 students. [17] 14. Landis, Barbara. â€Å"Carlisle Indian Industrial School History. † http://home. epix. net/~ Landis/histry. html 15. ibid. 16. ibid. 17. ibid. Other Indian Schools Similar types of federal Indian boarding schools were located in the West. They may have been physically closer to reservations, but had the same ideals and philosophy of Carlisle. With military-type discipline, children were ‘encouraged’ to leave their Native American culture behind and accept Americanization. One of the best known of these schools, the Haskell Indian Institute, was located in Lawrence , Kansas. [18] It differed from most Indian schools in the East in that, after a few years (and graduates) it, like other western Indian schools began to staff itself with former students in teacher and, in some cases, administrative roles. [19] Another Native American school of note was the Flandreau Indian School, opened in 1893 in eastern South Dakota primarily for Ojibwe and Dakota students in its early years. [20] Like Haskell, its main function was industrial education for boys and domestic science for girls. No matter which school the children attended, Carlisle, Haskell, or Flandreau, there were common problems faced by the children: â€Å"initiation (into the white man’s universe), discipline, and punishment, along with overall problems – and achievements – of pupil adjustment. †[[21] Some children absolutely resisted Americanization – a favorite form of resistance was arson and those who, at least on the face of it, accepted â€Å"the white man’s ways† were often subjected to rejection by their peers or elders or suspicion by non-Indians. 18. Warren, Kim Cary. The Quest for Citizenship. p. 15. 19. ibid. p. 15. 20. Child, Brenda J. Boarding School Seasons. p. 7. 21. Coleman, Michael C. American Indians, the Irish, and Government Schooling. p. 8. Conclusion Throughout my research there was a common theme in the sources I used – one group trying to impose its will on another. I realize that most of this paper has seemed like an indictment against, first, the European colonizers, then the European-American expansionists and, finally, the Americans in their treatment of Native American peoples, despite what may have seemed, at least some of the time, noble intentions. Sobeit. Actions by Native Americans against non-Native Americans have almost always been reactionary. Throughout history this was evident. In early colonial America, fighting between the French and English (initially in Europe and other parts of the world) spilled over into North America ‘to the contested margins of their empires. Native Americans in league with the French initiated what became King William’s War when they helped massacre British settlers of Schenectady, New York, on February 9, 1690. [22] The Native American motive for participating proba bly was not to see further expansion of French territory into Native American land, but more likely a response to years of violence committed by the British toward them. Moving ahead a couple of centuries, it seemed like the united States government still held to the mindset that â€Å"the only good Indian is a dead Indian,’ not necessarily dead in a physical sense, but dead in a cultural sense. Continued expansion westward was problematic for the federal government because every time there was another â€Å"push†, there always seemed to be Native Americans in its way. Violence in many forms against the Native Americans to try to vanquish them had little success, so new policy, though experimental at first, was implemented in the nineteenth-century and gained support of so-called reformers. The new 22. Bobrick, Benson. Angel in the Whirlwind. pp. 18-19 policy was designed, not to vanquish the Native Americans, but make them vanish. To make them vanish, again not so much physically, but culturally, the federal government adopted policies demanding assimilation. This assimilation would be accomplished by educating the Native American young in a way that would â€Å"Americanize† them. After their Americanization the young would take their training either back to the reservation or mainstream America, leaving their Indian culture behind, thus making the Indian culture gradually vanish. To this end, â€Å"the federal government began its boarding school program for Native Americans during the late nineteenth-century as part of a crusade by a coalition of reformers who aimed to assimilate Native Americans into dominant Anglo-Protestant society through education. With a fervor that was partly evangelical and partly militaristic, the creators of the boarding school system hoped that through education, they could bring about a mass cultural conversion by waging war upon Native American identities and cultural memories. †[23] The negatives of the new Native American assimilation/education program far outweighed the positives. The Native American children were cast into what was essentially a whole new world very alien to them. One seemingly small example of this change was the wearing of shoes. Some children had never worn shoes in their lives, but were suddenly forced to wear them. The children were disciplined harshly for speaking anything but English in the schools; harassed by peers, reservation elders and, sometimes, suspicious non-American Indians depending on the degree they accepted assimilation; taught trades and skills that were becoming obsolete; and, probably worst of all, so psychologically confused, many were later unable to function on the reservation or in the white man’s world. 23. Bloom, John. To Show What an Indian Can Do. p. xii On the positive side of boarding schools, many children were removed from situations of abject poverty and given room and board. The food and living arrangements were totally foreign to them, but it was better than they had previously known. Moving the children from the reservations also kept them quarantined from the disease prevalent there. One of the benefits of completing their boarding school experience was that many graduates later began to staff the schools, especially in the West, somewhat lessening â€Å"white† influence and the school’s ability (and will) to make cultures and ways completely disappear, a positive for the Native Americans, but a prime example of the failure of the schools to carry out federal policy. Though most of the education the children was rudimentary, at best, but in some cases students embraced learning and took their education to the next level. They went on to more formal schools and used their training and education back on the reservations to become leaders with a better understanding of the Native American/American relationship, while others infiltrated local, territorial, state or federal Indian agencies once manned only by white bureaucrats, most who were ignorant when it came to dealing with Native American problems. Assimilation had failed as a governmental policy and, as more and more educated Native Americans left the reservations and adapted to the white world, while retaining fundamental culture and ways, and was replaced by acculturation. Acculturation was not a federal policy, it describes a necessary survival tool used by the Native American to preserve what little was left of their cultures and ways of life. Instead of their educations making them subservient to their master (the federal government), education allowed those Native Americans with the desire and wit to attain respect. Gaining this respect from both their own people, as well as the â€Å"white’ American people took time, but with it came, little by little, more agency and the ability, right and courage to have a say in how their lives were to play out. As bad a reputation as they have had in the past and even to this day, the fact that reservations still exist shows the unwillingness of some Native Americans to let their traditions die. The popularity of Indian art, jewelry and music serves to keep the cultures going. Just as the early settlers of the West found out, they are everywhere, though in decreasing numbers, and will not go away. Works Cited 1. Bloom, John. To Show What an Indian Can Do: Sports at Native American Boarding Schools. Minneapolis, MN, USA, University of Minnesota Press, 2000. http://site. ebrary. com/lib/apus/Doc? id=10151303 2. Bobrick, Benson. Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution. New York, NY, USA, Penguin Books, 1998. 3. Child, Brenda J. Boarding School Seasons; American Indian Families, 1900-1940. Lincoln, NE, USA: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. http://site. ebrary. com/lib/apus/Doc? id=10015709 4. Coleman, Michael C. American Indians, the Irish, and Government Schooling: A Comparative Study. Lincoln, NE, USA: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. http://www. netlibrary. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=184858 5. Conn, Steven. History’s Shadow: Native Americans and Historical Consciousness in the Nineteenth Century. Chicago, Il, USA: University of Chicago Press, 2004. http://www. netlibrary. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=262649 6. Findling, John E. and Frank W. Thackeray, eds. Events that Changed America through the Seventeenth Century. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Press, 2000. http://www. netlibrary. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=77716 7. Garrison, Tim Alan. The Legal Ideology of Removal: The Southern Judiciary and the Sovereignty of Native American Nations. Athens, GA, USA: The University of Georgia Press, 2002. http://www. netlibrary. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=103178 8. Hightower-Langston, Donna. Native American World. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 2003. http://netlibrary. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=79081 9. Holm, Tom. The Great Confusion in Indian Affairs: Native Americans and Whites in the Progressive Era. Austin, TX, USA: The University of Texas Press, 2005. http://site. ebrary. com/lib/apus/Doc? id=1010671 10. Keller, Rosemary Skinner, Rosemary Radford Ruether and Marie Cantlon, eds. Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America. Bloomington, IN, USA: Indiana University Press, 2006. http://www. netlibrary. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=171513 11. Landis, Barbara. â€Å"Carlisle Indian Industrial School History. † http://home. epix. net/~landis/histry. html 12. Ninkovich, Frank. Global dawn: the Cultural Foundation of American Internationalism, 1865-1890. Harvard University Press, 2009. http://site. ebrary. com/lib/apus/Doc? id=10402533 13. Prucha, Francis Paul, ed. Documents of United States Indian Policy. Lincoln, NE, USA: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. http://www. netlibrary. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=53529 14. Trafzer, Clifford E. , Jean a. Keller and Lorene Sisquoc, eds. Boarding School Blues: Revisiting American Indian Educational Experiences. Lincoln, NE, USA: University of Nebraska Press, 2006. http;//www. netlibrary. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=162267 15. Warren, Kim Cary. The Quest For Citizenship: African American and Native American Education in Kansas, 1880-1935. Chapel Hill, NC, The University of North Carolina Press, 2010. http://site. ebrary. com/lib/apus/Doc? id=10425421

Dramatically changes Essay

As the play progresses, Prospero dramatically changes. In Act 1 Scene 2, Shakespeare presents Prospero as a powerful, calculating and commanding character. Also in Act 1 Scene 2, he manipulates and controls Ariel. However, in Act 5 Scene 1 he changes dramatically. Whilst he remains powerful and commanding, us as the audience get a completely different impression of him from the way he acts and by the tone of his voice. We begin to see a more merciful, forgiving character. In Act 1 Scene 2, Prospero is full of vengeance. We know this because he creates the tempest as part of his revenge, â€Å"the tempest that I bade thee†. The audience get the impression that he is an evil and tyrannical individual. It also evokes sympathy from the audience for the ones he is attempting to get revenge from. Whereas in Act 5 Scene 1, Prospero is willing to reconcile. We see an example of this when he tells Sebastian and Antonio that he will not tell Alonso about their treason plot, â€Å"I will tell no tales†. This shows the audience that Prospero really does want to sincerely reconcile and that he can be compassionate. This is done in an aside; therefore only the audience, Prospero, Sebastian and Antonio hear this. This excites and involves the audience; enhancing the performance. Throughout the play Prospero’s relationship with Ariel varies from Act 1 Scene 2 to Act 5 Scene 1. In Act 1 Scene 2, Prospero uses harsh tone of voice and imperative verbs to manipulate Ariel. Frequently through out the scene Prospero uses one-word commands when speaking to Ariel, â€Å"Speak. Tell me! †¦ Go! †¦ Hence†. This shows the audience that Prospero is in command and also shows that Ariel is subservient to Prospero. But in Act 5 Scene 1, Prospero uses a softer tone and a more gentle voice. He still uses imperative verbs, but in this scene, he doesn’t use them to manipulate Ariel. For example when he commands Ariel to do something, â€Å"Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell†. This shows the audience that he is still being commanding but by not using a harsh tone he makes Ariel feel as though he is no longer compelled to carry out Prospero’s orders but he now has a choice. Also, in Act 1 Scene 2 Prospero just utilizes Ariel to gain revenge over his usurpers. In this scene, Shakespeare uses uncompassionate phrases to show that Prospero cares only about his revenge and not what Ariel is feeling or thinking; â€Å"Is there more toil? † (Ariel), â€Å"there’s more work† (Prospero). This evokes the audience to think that Prospero is completely selfish and heartless. However in Act 5 Scene 1, Prospero starts to value and heed Ariel’s opinions. There is an example of this when Ariel tells Prospero how guilty and sorry his usurpers feel. He tells Prospero that he would feel sorry for them if he were human. Prospero shows he values Ariel’s opinions, â€Å"Dost thou think so, spirit? â€Å". This demonstrates to the audience that Prospero has changed significantly and that he is a more compassionate and loving character.

Organizational Technology Integration Evaluation Model Essay Example

Organizational Technology Integration Evaluation Model Essay Example Organizational Technology Integration Evaluation Model Essay Organizational Technology Integration Evaluation Model Essay Organizational Technology Integration Evaluation Model Leopold E. Madrigal University of Phoenix An organizational technology integration model will be proposed using a specific case in the automotive industry, one that took place in 1998. A consideration to be noted is the potential that the proposed model could had been used successfully at the time of the presented cases implementation as it may be used today in any situation to assess technology efficiency. Antecedents The problems the United States auto industry had during the late sys and sys ere the lack of discipline, high absenteeism rates, and low morale among employees, all of which resulted in inefficiencies and low quality products. Even with lesser quality, the (MM) Fremont plant averaged 34 man-hours of labor per automobile, versus only 20 at Toyota (Redder, Henry, Smith, 1985, p. 36). The implementation of new technologies in the American automotive industry, such as lean manufacturing principles, self-directed teams, quality circles, and flexible operations required that employees and their unions were aligned and committed with this new direction. The results in organizations implementing new technologies in which stakeholders bought in were as expected and manufacturing productivity as well as products quality improved. Product quality and production efficiency augmented as a result of implementing new technologies and new manufacturing approaches, as in example: Lean manufacturing, quality circles, self-directed work than several of Gems newer plants. Plans are to reach an annulled 200,000 units in 1986 with a work force of 2,500 a level which rivals Japanese productivity (Redder teal. , 1985, p. 38). International Truck Engine Company In 1996 International Truck Engine Company was evaluating the implementation of new technologies to improve its manufacturing efficiency. One of the new technology approaches considered was the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system. Firms around the world have been implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems since the asses to have an uniform information system in their respective organizations and to reengineering their business processes (Philippians, 2002, p. 87). For this new project other technologies were considered besides the ERP system implementation. The automotive industry in America was adopting lean manufacturing principles driven by the success of the Toyota Production System (TAPS) that was first implemented in America in 1985 at the ANNUM plant in California. Toasts extraordinary success is indisputable, and the TAPS has been a major element in its increasing status in the world automotive industry (New, 2007, p. 3546). As part of the lean manufacturing initiatives the objective of a new organizational design that empowered employees and promoted teamwork in self- directed work groups was set in motion. Our major finding is that highly empowered teams are more effective than less empowered teams (Kirkland Russell, 1999, p. 69). This initiative represented a new approach to an organization that was very conservative in their management of shop-floor operations. It was also decided that a new facility would be designed and built in accordance to lean manufacturing principles, as in example modular assemblies should flow directly to the point of application in production sequence. The new facility would be installed in Mexico, in an effort to lower production costs, many U. S. Rims manufacture products offshore in countries with low labor costs (Oldenburg, Roman, Treaty, 2007, p. 423). The challenge Beyond the imminent challenge that an experienced team of people would find while setting up a new manufacturing facility the additional requirement to implement new technologies compounded the complexity. The new technologies to be implemented consisted of new technical designs for manufacturing, new conceptual designs for manufacturing processes while using lean manufacturing initiatives, new management practices such as self-directed work groups, and a new ERP system implementation. Lean manufacturing based on the Toyota production system (TAPS) changed the final assembly into a mixed model final assembly system to level the demand on their suppliers, converted the linear subassembly lines into U-shaped subassembly cells and redesigned the Job shop into manufacturing cells. Final assembly operates with a take time, and the cells are designed to have a cycle time slightly less than the take time and to operate on a make one, check one, and move one on'(MO-CO-MOO The task consisted of planning the implementation strategy, building a new facility n a foreign country using lean manufacturing principles, selecting and hiring the leadership team for the new facility, implementing a new ERP system for the organization, and capable to start production of trucks being built at other facilities to alleviate some of the capacity restrictions while reducing the manufacturing cost. In summary, there were three major areas in which the implementation team had to be focused: 1) the manufacturing system, 2) the human integration to the new manufacturing design or the socio-technical system, and 3) the ERP system as an enabling technology. While working on the design and implementation of the manufacturing system the implementation team had to take into consideration that the manufacturing system is the beating heart of any manufacturing company. The manufacturing system is defined as a complex arrangement of physical elements characterized by measurable parameters (Black, 2007, p. 3643). The socio-technical system included the design and implementation of self-directed work groups and a multi-task development program tie to a payment structure, the people who work in a manufacturing system are the internal customers, and the system must be signed to satisfy their needs. At the same time, the manufacturing system must produce products that satisfy the needs of the external customers (Black, 2007, p. 643). The ERP system implementation was viewed as an enabling technology to enhance performance. ERP systems consist of a number of functional modules such as materials management, production planning, sales and distribution, human resources, and financial accounting. In order to serve the needs of a wide range of companies with different characteristics, ERP systems in general, and these modules n particular, are built on the bes t practices, which represent the most cost-effective and efficient ways of performing business processes (Sackbut Submarine, 2006, p. 7). There was an advantage in the way the organization decided to take on this challenge as it was to be set up in a new facility with new management and new people, with it some of the change management issues could be diminished. Change management is primarily a human resource management issue. This is because implementing new procedures, technologies, and overcoming resistance to change are fundamentally people issues (Banal, 2009, p. 36). The deliverables Any organization that decides to invest in technology does it because there is an expectation about the future state of the business and how that technology, once successfully implemented and performing will be fit to meet the future organizational needs and those of customers and stakeholders. Technological innovation is an important source of value creation. The application of knowledge to human activity allows for the more efficient production of existing products and services (Shame, 2009, p. 7). The expectations the organization had from the new technologies implementation ere: 1) To increase in 120 units per day the medium duty truck assembly capacity, 2) To increase in 60 units per day the heavy duty assembly capacity, 3) To reduce the man-hours per truck by 10%, 4) To reduce the cost of direct labor by 70%, 5) To implement an ERP system integrating information from all performance and assemblies), 7) To limit online stocking areas by designing narrow aisles along the assembly lines, 8) To implement quality circles and multi-ability development programs for people, and 9) To increase the quality of the product by minimizing the end-of-line defects-per-truck. The expectations regarding the soft systems technologies, those related to the people, were that each person should go through a specific training program to be certified to perform all operations of at least three assembly stations. The belief was that a certified person should be able to perform without incurring in mistakes while working at line speed (take time). The lean system is designed to produce superior quality products. Toyota believed in company-wide total quality control and therefore taught it to everyone, from the company president down to every production worker. They were able to hang from a company that made Junk to one that could give customers products of high reliability (Black, 2007, p. 3644). The ERP system implementation represented another piece of the technology improvements and even though no clear measures of success were established there were some beliefs about the outcome. Typical benefits of ERP systems commonly cited in the literature include, but are not limited to, inventory and lead time reductions, improved on-time deliveries, reduced operating costs, enhanced customer relationships (Hit et al. 2002) and improved decision making (Sackbut Submarine, 2006, p. 49). The situation By March 1998 the new facility had initiated operations although on a limited basis. Only one of two assembly lines was ready to assemble trucks, the other assembly line, the cab fabrication, and pain t areas were being conditioned for production. The materials flow design and the use of Kanata and assembly modules were in place. The new personal seemed to be comfortable with the processes, procedures, tools, and systems at their use. The ERP system was already set in production environment. The organization was concerned about the situation at the new assembly plant. Millions of dollars were committed and expended to increase the corporations production capacity, improving production efficiency and product quality, while reducing manufacturing costs. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The situation was that trucks were getting at the end of the assembly line with missing parts, the required materials were not available at the plant much less at the point of use. The production ramp-up plan had to be aborted and redesigned to reduce the compounding problem of assembling incomplete trucks to be reworked at the truck storage area. The root causes of the problem at hand were not easy to identify as there were many variables unknown to manufacturing experts at other assembly plants. The organization was dealing with a new manufacturing facility, with a new operational philosophy based on lean manufacturing, with new processes, new tools, new systems, new inexperienced people, and in a foreign country with a different language. Problem definition and purpose statement In summary, the problem at hand was that the new assembly facility was incapable of producing five trucks a day without missing some components, the missing quest planning (MR..). In consequence the trucks presented many defects at the end of the assembly line making undesirable to ramp up production to the expected 30 units per day planned to be produced by April 1998. Without the opportunity to build clean trucks it was difficult to assess the improvements in the man-hours per truck or any manufacturing costs reductions. Moreover, the new installed capacity was theoretical as given the high number of missing components there was no opportunity to test the assembly line at top line speed. The purpose while inducting an assessment of effectiveness of technology implementation would be to test each of the different technologies implemented at the new assembly facility from the planning and designing stages throughout the pre-production and implementation stages. Once those tests were completed an integration test between the different technologies would need to be carried out. Finally, the total system would be tested. At this point the data gathered at different performance levels may provide evidence to validate the new technologies as fit or no fit to meet the deliverables defined in the new facility original concept. Any discrepancies found during any of the unit, integration, or system tests would provide information to be analyzed to evaluate a design change, include additional capabilities, or modify the expectations about the outcomes. Assessing the effectiveness of technology implementation At that time the situation was reviewed using some approaches from the general systems theory (SST), meaning that the desired state of the system was defined and contrasted against the current state of the system. General systems theory is, as emphasized, a model of certain general aspects of reality. But it is also a way of seeing things which were previously overlooked or by-passed, and in this sense is a methodological maxim (Bertelsmann, 1972, p. 424). The tool to assess the effectiveness of technology implementation to be proposed in this paper was not the one used at the time the described situation was taking place although the addition of the SST as a design and performance validation tool will be included . The new facility contained different technologies. The result being sought was the resultant of each of those technologies individually performing as planned. Then hose technologies would be tested interacting with other technologies while performing flawlessly, and delivering as expected as an integrated system. Banal (2009) suggested three different stages of testing: 1) Unit testing, 2) Integration testing, and 3) system testing. The proposed methodology would include those three stages. The different technology components may be tested using Thompson (2003) assessment table that described that the assessment is a function of crystallized or ambiguous standards of desirability and the degree of completeness of beliefs about cause/effect knowledge (University of Phoenix, 2012). This approach is also supported by some management problem solving tools as the one presented by Tennyson Isis (2011) who stated that an effective performance improvement approach must start by identifying a performance problem and then finding ways of solving that problem. Thompson assessment techniques are similar to the initial step in the systemic problem solving approach by defining the desired state of the system and its desired output (standards of desirability) and contrast it against the complement this app roach and discover the root causes of the problem one has to e prompt to ask the reasons and purposes behind systems design decisions by using a V model life cycle test. In an ideal technology implementation a V model life cycle test should be used. The V model requires that each deliverable be verified in an attempt to identify defects as early as possible and to ensure that specifications are complete and correct. The model specifies that activities in one stage must be completed before moving on to the next stage (Banal, 2009, p. 274). The stages included in the V model life cycle are: 1) defining reasons for testing, 2) acknowledging structure jesting, 3) testing and verification at the design stage, 4) testing within a system implementation, and 5) testing with a system maintenance environment (Banal, 2009). The next diagram shows Thompson (2003) technology assessment table: Beliefs about Cause/Effect Knowledge Standards of Desirability Complete Uncertainty Crystallized Efficiency test Desired state is achieved Ambiguous Extrinsic Measures Organizational rationality In summary, the proposed methodology flows as presented in the next table: Unit Interrelation System System Ideal state Technology component Define performance at ideal state Define performance as designed System Current state Technology components Define performance at testing stage Defining reasons for testing Understanding structured testing Testing and verification at the design stage Testing within a system implementation Testing with a system maintenance environment Each of the different technology components needs to be defined in terms of performance as by design and evaluated during the V model life cycle (bottom part of the table) as a unit, after that as an interactive technology, and finally as part of a system (moving toward the right side on the table). Each test result needs to be confronted objectively to the ideal state, as per design, so whenever possible specific and objective goals must be defined to assess the current performance of each unit, their integrations, and as a total system against the desired performance. At this point Thompson assessment table can be used to evaluate the different stages according to the following premis es: When standards of desirability are crystallized and beliefs are complete, efficiency is the desired meaner of assessment. When standards are crystallized and beliefs are incomplete, assessment of effectiveness is y achieving a desired state. When standards are ambiguous, but beliefs are complete, extrinsic measures such as someone elses opinion is used. Finally, when standards are ambiguous and beliefs are in complete, then a predetermined organizational measure is used (University of Phoenix, 2012). It is important to notice that the success of any assessment methodology depends in a good definition of the expected outcomes of a technology implementation. Those outcomes need to be validated at the designing stage to clarify if such technology implementation is capable of providing them. Then as the implementation moves from design into integration of technologies, it is tested in different pre-production environments, these validation need to be performed against objective measurements or against expectations with solid foundations of attainability. Conclusions The proposed technology implementation effectiveness assessment tool would be appropriate to any technology implementation situation. As stated earlier a key component of the success of the assessment resides in a clear and objective definition of what is expected from the implementation. The definition of performance parameters at the design phase will provide an objective guidance while performing the assessment assuming that those parameters are within the technology capabilities. The technology implementation described in this paper was resolved by September 1999. Each of the different units and components of technology implemented were analyzed and tested. Their different interrelations with other technology components were also evaluated and tested, on a one-to-one basis as well as combining three or more different technologies as required by design. It was one of those interrelations the one that was not performing as it was substitution module, residing in external software, was not providing the information into the new facility ERP system. New components for trucks were not available to the ERRS MR.. System and in consequence were not being scheduled in the production plan or in the materials releases to be sent out to suppliers.

The Formative Era of Chinese Civilization essays

The Formative Era of Chinese Civilization essays In the formative era of Chinese civilization as early as the first millennium b.c. the Chinese thought of the world as all the regions of the heavens, and within the four seas. They called it Tianxia, which literally means under heaven. Because this was a universal term, with an undertanding of the inhabited world known to the Chinese at the time, it implicitly meant All Under Heaven. Tianxia was first of the entire physical world, the arena in which human history was acted out (The Chinese World). China is a very large and beautiful country. It is full of history and culture. Even so, China has grown slowly and unevenly to its present size. This is due to the fact that all the components that China consists of havent always existed in harmony in the past. They have fought long and hard for their freedom and independence as a people. Its a very interesting society with many different aspects that make it worth a very close look into the areas of geography, economy, and history, past and present. The people of China, from all the nationalities within have joined together to create a wonderful culture and have a glorious revolutionary tradition. They have bonded together and fought long and hard to become a free people. The people of China encountered wave after wave of struggles for national independence, liberation, for democracy and freedom. It wasnt until the 20th century that great historical changes have taken place in China. The Revolution of 1911, which was led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, put an end to the feudal monarchy and marked the beginning of the Republic of China (Chinascape). Unfortunately, even threw all that, the Chinese people had yet to fulfil their historical task of overthrowing imperialism and feudalism. After many hard and tortuous struggles, it finally came to an end in 1949. They overthrew the rule of imperialism, feud...

Bioavailability And Bioequivalence Studies

Bioavailability And Bioequivalence Studies Each year so many drugs loss their patent protection and opens the door for the generic alternatives. In this way Bioavailability and Bioequivalence studies becomes most important. Bioavailability is defined as â€Å"The rate and extent to which the active moiety is absorbed from a drug product and becomes available at the site of action.† Bioavailability can be generally documented by a systematic exposure profile obtained by measuring drug and/metabolite concentration in the systemic circulation over a particular time period. Scope of Bioavailability studies: Development of new formulations of the already existing drugs. Determination of effect of excipients, patient related factors and possible drug To ensure the of quality of a drug product during the early stages of marketing in order to determine the influence of manufacturing factors, storage and stability factors on drug absorption. The systemic exposure profile of drug or metabolite obtained by measuring concentratio n in the systemic circulation over a particular time period during clinical trials in the early stages of drug development can serve as a benchmark for subsequent bioequivalence studies. Bioequivalence is a relative term which shows the absence of a significant difference in the rate and extent to which the active ingredient becomes available at the site of drug action when two or more identical dosage forms administered at the same molar dose under similar conditions. Bioequivalence mainly focus release of drug substances from its dosage forms and subsequent absorption into the systemic circulation i.e. test dose plasma concentration-time will be identical with reference dose plasma concentration-time without showing any significant statistical differences ,then test dosage form will consider as therapeutically equivalent to the reference dosage form . Scope of Bioequivalence studies: To establish relativity between different formulations used during the development of a new produc t. The therapeutic equivalence of a generic product and the reference product can be demonstrated. Development of a modified release form of a product which has already approved as an immediate release formulation. Development of alternative salt form for pharmaceutically equivalent drugs. Bioequivalence studies are designed to establish equivalence between the test and reference products. If test and reference products are found to be bioequivalent,by this one can expect that the test product will also be therapeutically effective. Bioanalytical method validation includes all of the procedures that demonstrate that a particular method used for quantitative measurement of analytes in a given biological matrix, such as blood, plasma, serum or urine is reliable and reproducible for the intended use. Bioanalytical method validation parameters: Accuracy Precision Selectivity Sensitivity Reproducibility Stability Validation documentation is done, by using specific laboratory investigatio ns ,which ensures that the performance characteristics of the method is suitable for the intended analytical use. The analytical method is applicable only when the validation parameters are in acceptable range. Types of validation: A. Full Validation Developing and implementing a bioanalytical method for the first time. Full validation is required for a new drug entity. If metabolites are added to an existing assay for quantification full validation is required. B. Partial Validation:

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Drugs and Alcohol in American Popular Culture - Essay Example As for the authors’ credentials, Dr. Primack is a faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. He is also a faculty of the Division of Adolescent Medicine and therefore he has an authority regarding adolescent behavior in the context of medical science, for adolescent behavior is the main subject of this particular study. Moreover, he is also a recipient of the Physician Faculty Scholar Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The other author, Dr. Douglas is another faculty member of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Dr. Kraemer is a third faculty member of the same medical school. Dr. Douglas and Dr. Kraemer are affiliated with the Center for Research on Health Care of the same educational institution, and so it implies that they already have considerable background on how to conduct research on health care. The authors, being experts in their fields, with their medical degrees, with Primack’s expertise with adole scent medicine, and with Douglas’ and Kraemer’s experience with research on health care, make up a team of researchers that possess full credibility. The study is published by the National Institutes of Health, particularly PubMed Central and the U.S. National Library of Medicine. This is a reputable institution when it comes to research on health. This source is barely 3 years old and is certainly not that old for it to be considered unreliable or obsolete. The thesis advanced by the authors based on the results of the study is that there is an â€Å"independent association between exposure to cannabis in popular music and early cannabis use among urban American adolescents†. ... authors based on the results of the study is that there is an â€Å"independent association between exposure to cannabis in popular music and early cannabis use among urban American adolescents† (Primack et al.). The objectivity of the presentation and analysis of data lies in three facts. First, the sample size of 1198 American and African-American students is large enough to become representative of the group of adolescents exposed to popular music with cannabis content. Secondly, the researchers used statistical analytical tools like multivariable regression, bivariate analysis, and additional analysis in the form of finding out whether there was a correlation between cannabis use and alcohol, but of which the researchers have not found any significant relationship. Thirdly, the study is objective and credible because the methods used in the study had been preapproved by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board prior to the execution of the study (Primack et al.). If the procedure had not been approved by the board, it would not have been published by the NIH and it would not have been considered credible and objective. On the support to its claims, On the subject of comprehensiveness, the study was actually able to find the differences when it comes to various variables vis-a-vis the degree of correlation between exposure to popular music and cannabis use among the respondents: â€Å"Current use of cannabis was associated with higher exposure to cannabis in music, having a favorite artist with a higher number of songs with cannabis references, older age, lower grades, less demanding parenting, less supportive parenting, higher sensation seeking, and higher rebelliousness [while] ever use of cannabis was associated with higher exposure to cannabis in