The Advantages Of Stupidity Essays (931 words) - Intelligence

The Advantages of Stupidity Most people say being stupid will lead no where. They claim that it is the worst possible condition in which to spend one's life, and if possible, it should be completely avoided. They would even suggest if the symptoms of stupidity are caught in the early stages, it could easily be treated by a surgeon. The most effective method used to do this is the chainsaw technique, later described in volume two. Yet, perhaps if people took a closer look at some of the advantages stupidity had to offer, they wouldn't have such a negative attitude toward it. After reading this paper, one will underezd the advantages of stupidity. Admittedly, stupidity has certain disadvantages. Life isn't a bowl of cherries. And being stupid doesn't make it any fruitier. Being stupid can annoy even the most sensitive people. If one acts stupid, and does it in the wrong crowd, like a group of adults, it will seem more immature than funny. If one is forced to act stupid while dealing with lower life forms, for example, high school teachers, one may encounter barriers such as cruelty and insensitivity, with the utterance of statements like, "Think with your head straight!" or, "You have a brain, use it." Yet these are all true, there are still many advantages to stupidity. The first advantage is very easy to underezd. Stupid people are never asked to do a lot. Many have noticed that people tend to steer away from someone they feel may be stupid. This is for a very good reason. The stupidity which they posses makes a name for themselves, a name which can be very difficult to shake. Possibly, it is a word which describes the working habits of the person, such as "crappy". Yet, this creates a positive situation for the stupid person. They will have a lot of free time on their hands for more of lifes truly meaningful pleasures. Some of these activities are combing facial hair, and counting the pixels on a Sony TV. Now, there has been a rumour going around that suggests that stupid people have low expectations. This is true. They are so stupid that they don't realize great from O.K. They could have a Sanyo cordless phone, but would probably choose instead a Pierre Cardin alarm clock telephone, because it comes free with their sensamatic folding bed. And someone with the "advantage" of stupidity might have a hard time doing certain tasks, or setting things up. Yet this isn't all bad. For example, if a stupid person leaves the chore, and comes back to it later, no one will be able to underezd it. Would they get fired from their job? No. For the very simple reason that no one would underezd their work except for them. The job would have to be given back to the stupid person, perhaps with a higher salary, or someone would do it for them, leaving them with even more free time! Free time is great for brainstorming (Admittedly this seems to be a bad choice of words!). Yet the ideas stupid people create tend to be original. For example, when was the last time someone stupid said something, and made one think about it? It seems that people are always talking about someone elses dumb idea. An example of such an idea would be, "How many stories will that english teacher drop before having a stroke?" This would suggest that stupid people may have the upper hand when it comes to thinking up original ideas. In fact, the next time someone wants an original idea for something, they should try talking to their local, community stupid person. The reason for this is that while a stupid person thinks with his head, he does not do so an organized manner. This is why they have so much creativity. By thinking in this fashion, their ideas have a natural tendency to flow more easily, without the interruptions which occur from the editing of thoughts that logical people would have normally. Thus if someone else should say to one, "That was a stupid idea!" one should merely look that person straight in the eye, and say, "Thank-you!" This also means that the claim, "Stupid

Some All Words and Expressions

Some All Words and Expressions Some All Words and Expressions Some All Words and Expressions By Maeve Maddox Youll hear some of these in conversation and see them on blog sites, but when it comes to formal writing, beware of these all words and expressions. all of I ate all of the cookies. The of is unnecessary. Better: I ate all the cookies. alright As my English teachers pounded into my brain, theres no such word as alright. There is the phrase all right. Is it all right if I search your house? already This word is an adverb. Too late! The cat has already eaten the canary. all ready This is a phrase. When you are all ready, Ill get the car. We were all ready to go to the movies. altogether This word is an adverb meaning entirely. Your idea is altogether wrong-headed. all together This is a phrase. All together, now, sing! The family was all together for Thanksgiving. alot This is the bane of English teachers and, I suppose, editors. The expression is a lot, two words. I like you a lot. My children read a lot. There is a word allot, a verb meaning to divide into lots. When I plan my day, I allot four hours to meals and a minimum of six hours to writing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Cost-Effective vs. Cost-EfficientWork of Art Titles10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official†

Opera concert review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Opera concert review - Essay Example The stage was set in a mixture of different bright colors and the lighting was good enough to bring out the mood and the sentiments. The actors adorned Japanese costumes and used some Japanese words to make the performance authentic. The Japanese tune, â€Å"Mi-Ya-Sa-Ma† was played in perfect Japanese style and helped in reinforcing the Japanese theme. These played out very well by giving me some insight into ancient Japanese society. The wordplay and the clarity in which the words were delivered kept me interested throughout the performance. The manner in which the actors used language and rhyme brought out their professionalism in using such stylistic devices to entertaining the audience. The comedy in the performance came out effortlessly. The choice of the characters was an outstanding one, and amongst the major things that made the performance memorable. The chorus was excellently done. Each and every character involved in it gave it their best and it came out perfectly. The singing was well harmonized with the comedy and this was even clearly expressed by the items used by the ladies and gentlemen of Japan. The opening line, â€Å"If You Want To Know Who We Are† (Sullivan, & Gilbert Act 1) was quite an exciting attention grabber. It created some curiosity in me that I was eager to know what would happen. The orchestra mostly on the overture was very satisfactory. There was exemplary harmony in the way the instruments were coordinated. The arrangement of the songs was such that they were expertly paced and created enough time for comic effect which was well expressed by the Japanese vase-full (Sullivan, & Gilbert Act 2). The role of the Mikado was given the justice it deserved. The character used his skills to sing and act it out giving it all the dignity befitting a real Emperor. In addition, Pooh Bah’s state duties were well captured. The singing was done in a clear tone and amazing diction. The character of Nanki-Poo was also very admirably played.

Woody Allen as a film Autuer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Woody Allen as a film Autuer - Essay Example The term â€Å"auteur† has French origins, and it refers to the theoretical approach to filmmaking, where the director is the central creative force in motion pictures (Menne 36); this concept has persisted over the years, and the term film auteur describing film directors that write and direct films through which they express their personal artistic vision. In as much as there is no clear evidence between â€Å"regular directors† and â€Å"film auteurs†, the distinction between the two does become codified, elucidated, and isolated with time with regards to the art, artist, and the particular categories to which they belong. The film auteur does not only express a cinematic vision, they are prolific in what they do by taking direct roles in relation to the medium and craft of filmmaking; the creative influence of a director on a film must be so profound for them to be considered the film auteur. According to the auteur theory in film criticism, a film reflects i ts director’s personal, creative vision, and the directors stand out as the original auteur; the list of strong distinctive film directors who qualify the title â€Å"film auteur† is very short. This paper will explore the world of Woody Allen, as a distinguished and highly talented film auteur, as seen in the movies Midnight in Paris 1978, Annie Hall 2005, and Manhattan 1979, in which he creates a unique world that no one else could bring to life except himself. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1935, and raised in a Jewish family that had a strong comedy culture, Woody Allen found his niche in comedy, and later in filmmaking when he first directed What’s Up, Tiger Lily in 1996. Since then, Woody Allen has a library of films to his name including his most acclaimed Annie Hall 1977, Manhattan 1978, and Midnight in Paris, where his one of a kind neurotic, unconfident, and flamboyant cinematic vision emerges. An auteur approach to filmmaking is evident in all his film s particularly because Allen uses themes and styles that make him distinguishable and unique from the pack as a film maverick (Quicke 95); for instance, a dominant theme in most of his films is the struggling artist as in the films Manhattan 1978 and Annie Hall 1977. In all these films, the backgrounds to the protagonists, the cinematography, and lighting elucidates auteur style in filmmaking, distinct and unique, unlike other regular directors. In Manhattan 1978, Allen explores the woes of a struggling television writer who is dating a high school girl but still develops feelings for his best friend’s mistress; Isaac, the main protagonist, is uncomfortable in his job and on top of it all, he cannot establish a solid intimate relationship with a woman his age. Isaac is a very frustrated artist, who feels confined in his current position yet his possibility for success seems obscured by his present situations, thereby further heightening his anxiety and unhappiness; his intern al and external struggles are captured vividly to present a picture of the struggling artist, as is often the case in Allen’s masterpieces. In the film Annie Hall 1977, Allen still explores the theme of the struggling artist through the protagonist Alvy Singer, a Neurotic comedian from New York, who falls in love with a woman named Annie Hall and becomes embattled with relationship issues in Manhattan (Knight 214). Allen brings a part of his own persona into the film by reveling a suffering in Alvy and himself by connection, in finding someone who truly understands him and appreciates his presence. This masterpiece reveals many struggles in Alvy, the whining comic persona; through Alvy’s decision to do an unconventional film that entails him talking straight to the camera concerning his problems, Alvy reenacts his life as a

OHS Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

OHS - Coursework Example The nurse only did what she had to do to the best of her ability with disastrous consequences. By using the Systems Approach to Occurrence Causation (SAOC), we can conclude that the cause of the occurrence can be traced to several factors that combined to bring about the event. We can start of by pointing out that the nurse was on duty unsupervised. This was of course what led to the patient sustaining the overdose which led to the brain hemorrhage that killed her. The second cause can be attributed to the nurse not having proper knowledge concerning the dosage required for the child and as such ended up giving ten times more than was required and the child’s system could not handle this. Third we can attribute the occurrence to a failure by the hospital to implement proper guidelines that would have prevented the nurse from administering the medicine without a doctor’s supervision. Lastly the medicine was administered at a time off the usual routine which made it hard for the doctor to be available as per schedule which could have negated the need for the Nurse to do the administration of the medicine alone without supervision. The other cause can be put down to understaffing at the hospital which meant there was no qualified pediatrician when the Nurse was doing her rounds administering the medicine. In this incident, the energy in this scenario is the medicine being administered and we can identify the administration of the medicine as the source of risk especially without proper supervision. A hazard is a source of potential harm in terms of human injury, ill-health and damage to property, the environment, or a combination of these. In this case, we can pinpoint the hazard as being the drug administered by the nurse. This case can also be used to express an example of psychosocial hazard. The work conditions were liable to cause the

Future Trends In Wireless Sensor Networks Information Technology Essay

Future Trends In Wireless Sensor Networks Information Technology Essay With the advances in the technology of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS), developments in wireless communications and WSNs have also emerged. WSNs have become the one of the most interesting areas of research in the past few years. Here, we look into the recent advances and future trends in WSNs. WSNs are usually composed of small, low-cost devices that communicate wirelessly and have the capabilities of processing, sensing and storing. The development of WSNs was motivated by military applications such as battlefield surveillance. WSN are being used in many industrial and civilian application areas, including industrial process monitoring and control [1, 2], machine health monitoring [3], environment and habitat monitoring, healthcare applications, home automation, and traffic control [1, 4]. A WSN generally consists of a base-station (also called as gateway sometimes) that can communicate with a number of wireless sensors via a radio link. Wireless sensor nodes collect the data, compress it, and transmit it to the gateway directly or indirectly with the help of other nodes. The transmitted data is then presented to the system by the gateway connection. This paper discusses the recent advances in WSNs that enable a wide range of applications and future development in applications like underwater acoustic sensor systems; sensing based cyber-physical systems, time-critical applications, cognitive sensing and spectrum management, and security and privacy management. Rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 describes the recent advances in WSNs. We discuss future trends in WSN in Section 3. Section 4 describes the research challenges for WSN. Finally Section 5 presents the conclusion. RECENT ADVANCES Recent advances in wireless and electronic technologies have enabled a wide range of applications of WSNs in military sensing, traffic surveillance, target tracking, environment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, and so on. Here we describe such type advances in WSN and their applications in various fields. Sensor Localization and Location-Aware Services Smart Home/Smart Office Smart home environments can provide custom behaviors for a given individual. Considerable amount of research has been devoted to this topic. The research on smart homes is now starting to make its way into the market. It takes a considerable amount of work and planning to create a smart home. There are many examples of products currently on the market which can perform individual functions that are considered to be part of a smart home. Several useful applications which take advantage of information collected by WSN are presented in [5]. Military New and emerging technologies, such as networks, support military operations by delivering critical information rapidly and dependably to the right individual or organization at the right time. This improves the efficiency of combat operations. The new technologies must be integrated quickly into a comprehensive architecture to meet the requirements of present time. Improvement in situation awareness [6] is must requirement. Other important application is detection of enemy units movements on land/sea, sensing intruders on bases, chemical/biological threats and offering logistics in urban warfare [7]. Command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting systems are well described in [8]. Industrial Commercial Since the long time wireless transmission of data is being done in industrial applications, but recently it has gained importance. Successful use of wireless sensors in systems such as supervisory control and data acquisition has proved that these devices could effectively address the needs of industrial applications. The critical process applications of WSNs in industry are monitoring temperature, flow-level, and pressure parameters. With the rapidly increasing technological advances in wireless technology and its subsequently decreasing prices, numerous wireless applications are being developed in industry. WSN in manufacturing industries can monitor and optimize quality control. Traffic Management and Monitoring Every big city is suffering from traffic congestion around the world. A sincere effort is being made to solve the traffic congestion. Congestion can be alleviated by planning managing traffic. A real-time automatic traffic data collection must be employed for efficient management of rush-hour traffic. Research on this topic is considered as part of the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) research community. ITS is the application of the computers, communications, and sensor technology to surface transportation [9]. The vehicle tracking application is to locate a specific vehicle or moving object and monitor its movement. This work also describes design of WSN for vehicular monitoring. As the power source (battery) is limited, it is important that a design of sensor node is power efficient. Structural Healthcare Structures are inspected at regular time intervals, and repairing or replacing based on the time of use, rather than on their working conditions. Sensors embedded into structures enable condition-based maintenance of these assets [10]. Wireless sensing will allow assets to be inspected when the sensors indicate that there may be a problem. This will reduce the cost of maintenance and preventing harmful failure. These applications include sensors mounted on heavy duty bridges, within concrete and composite materials [11], and big buildings. Agriculture Agriculture can also be benefited by the deployment of WSN to get the information regarding soil degradation and water scarcity [12]. With help of WSNs we can check the clean water consumed in irrigation and manage it. Topology and Coverage Control Topology control is one of the fundamental problems in WSNs. It has great importance for prolong lifetime, reducing radio interference, increasing the efficiency of media access control protocols and routing protocols. It also ensures the quality of connectivity coverage and increase in the network service as well. A significant progress in research can be seen in WSNs topology control. Many topology control algorithms have been developed till date, but problems such as lack of definite and practical algorithm, lack of efficient measurement of network performance and idealness of mathematical model still exist. Several graph models used in topology control, the present hot spots and the future trends on the research of topology control are presented in [13]. Quality of Service (QoS) Provision QoS support is challenging due to severe energy and computational resource constrains of wireless sensors. Various service properties such as the delay, reliability, network lifetime, and quality of data may conflict; for example, multi-path routing can improve the reliability, however it can increase the energy consumption and delay due to duplicate transmissions. Modeling such relationships, measuring the provided quality, and providing means to control the balance is essential for QoS support. There are various research opportunities in enhancing the QoS of WSNs. One of the researches is the project described in [14] that analyzes and enhances the performance of a WSN by deploying a simple max-min fairness bandwidth allocation technique. Mobility management Mobility is one of the most important issues in next generation networks. As WSNs are becoming the next elements of the future Internet, it is crucial to study new models that also support mobility of these nodes. WSNs are applicable in variety of cases that make it difficult to produce a standard mobility scenario. Following are some cases where the mobile support is necessary [15]. Intra-WSN device movement is probably the most common scenario in WSNs architectures, where each sensor node has the ability to change from its local position at run time without losing the connectivity with the sensor router (SR). In the case of inter-WSN device movement, sensor nodes move between different sensor networks, each one with its SR responsible to configure and manage all the aggregated devices. A research project of IETF working group NEMO [16] is an example of WSN movement. Sensor network deployed in a moving bus is a real scenario of this type. It is possible to have a scenario where a sensor network can use another sensor network in order to be connected through Internet. MANEMO [17] project is also an example. Security and Privacy Concern The field that paid less attention is the privacy concern on information being collected, transmitted, and analyzed in a WSN. Such private information of concern may include payload data collected by sensors and transmitted through the network to a centralized data processing server. The location of a sensor initiating data communication, and other such context information, may also be the focus of privacy concerns. In real world applications of WSNs, effective countermeasures against the disclosure of both data and context-oriented private information are indispensable prerequisites. Privacy protection in various fields related to WSNs, such as wired and wireless networking, databases and data mining, has been extensively studied in [18]. Effective privacy-preserving techniques are needed for the unique challenges of WSN security. Biomedical/Medical The uses of WSNs in biomedical and medical are in growing phase. Biomedical wireless sensor networks (BWSNs) show the future opportunities for supporting mobility while monitoring vital body functions in hospital and home care. There is a requirement for BWSN to develop in order to cover security handling, improved signal integration and visualization. They can also be used to achieve extended mobility outside the surgery room, monitoring of several patients/persons at the same time, and further adaptations to medical experts needs for information. As the Internet usage has become popular among people, e-services for the healthcare which is commonly known as e-Health, have recently attracted significant attention within both the research society and industry. Followings are several ongoing projects for healthcare using WSN: CodeBlue [19] an architecture proposed for tracking and monitoring of patients. ALARM-NET [20] a WSN built for assisted-living and residential monitoring. AMON [21] a Wireless Body Area Sensor Network System GlucoWatch G2 [22] use WSN to research wearable personal health system that will monitor and evaluate human vital signs. FUTURE TRENDS The future developments in sensor nodes must produce very powerful and cost-effective devices, so that they may be used in applications like underwater acoustic sensor systems, sensing based cyber-physical systems, time-critical applications, cognitive sensing and spectrum management, and security and privacy management. In this section we will look into all possibilities of further development in WSN applications. Cognitive Sensing Cognitive sensor networks are used for acquiring localized and situated information of the sensing environment by the deploying a large number of sensors intelligently and autonomically. Managing a large number of wireless sensors is a complex task. A significant research interest can be seen in bio-inspired sensing [23] and networking. Two well known examples of cognitive sensing are swarm intelligence and quorum sensing: Swarm intelligence is developed in artificial intelligence for studying the collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems. Quorum sensing is an example of bio-inspired sensing and networking. Quorum sensing is the ability of bacteria to communicate and coordinate behavior via signaling molecules. Spectrum Management As application of low-power wireless protocols is increasing, we can envision a future in which wireless devices, such as wireless keyboards, power-point presenters, cell phone headsets, and health monitoring sensors will be ubiquitous. But the pervasiveness of these devices leads to increased interference and congestion within as well as between networks, because of overlapping physical frequencies. Cognitive radios and multi-frequency MACs are some approaches that have been developed to utilize multiple frequencies for parallel communication. A generic solution is provided by SAS [24]: a Self-Adaptive Spectrum Management middleware for WSNs, which can be easily integrated with an existing single frequency. The inherent nature of WSNs makes them deployable in a variety of circumstances. They have the potential to be everywhere, on roads, in our homes and offices, forests, battlefields, disaster struck areas, and even underwater in oceans. This paper surveys the application areas where WSNs have been deployed such as military sensing, traffic surveillance, target tracking, environment monitoring, and healthcare monitoring as summarized in Table 2. The paper also surveys the various fields where WSNs may be deployed in the near future as underwater acoustic sensor systems, sensing based cyber-physical systems, time-critical applications, cognitive sensing and spectrum management, and security and privacy management. These application areas are being researched extensively by various people across the industry and academician [7, 9, 22, 24, 28].

Design Trends In Architecture Essay -- essays papers

Design Trends In Architecture The more things change, the more they stay the same. While art has always been an ever changing form, it has deep roots in traditionalism; whether an artist or designer looks at the art that came before him and is inspired to follow that form, is inspired to do something completely opposite, or sees the flaws which, if corrected, could make that work of art perfect, he is ultimately quite influenced by what came before him. Nowhere is this more evident than in the design styles found not only in art, but in architecture and interior design. The twentieth century has been a time of great innovation, and yet, very few eras have seen so many stylistic revivals. The popularity of these classical styles has often superceded that of the more experimental, modern ideas, reinforcing the idea that aesthetic beauty is absolutely timeless. The early 20th century saw a great deal of influence in terms of classical design. A classical revival had brought a return of emphasis on Palladian architectural motifs, which could be seen in large cities throughout the world, but especially in New York and Boston. In terms of interior design, Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman advocated a similar classical revival, which gave a sense of classical order to ornate interiors. (Severens, 85) Interior design at the turn of the century was very much concerned with aesthetics over simplicity, yet managed to maintain a sense of order and balance. Designers created interiors with a heavy reliance on French and Italian forms of furniture, floors, and panelling. This style, which was hugely successful, could be found in the work of interior designers over the next fifty years, and is the basis for much that is known as "traditional decorating" today. (Severens,88) One of the most successful revivals is the revival of the Gothic style, which is still quite apparent in architecture and interior design today. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, England began to realize the importance of the Middle Ages. "The Gothic past offered an acceptable, if inferior, option for study by educated gentlemen; and Gothic began to be an acceptable alternative for country houses" (Girouard, 180). This was the Gothic Architecture Revival. As Gothic architecture became more popular, the style came up against stiff competition from Chinese architecture. In the en... ...: London. 1991. Keller,Diane. The American Modernists. Simon and Schuster: New York, 1998. Kidson, Peter. The Medieval World. McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York. 1967. Lane, Mills. Architecture of the Old South. Abbeville Press: New York. 1993. Loth, Calder and Julius Trousdale Sadler, Jr. The Only Proper Style: Gothic Architecture in America. New York Graphic Society: New York. 1975. Mahoney, Kathleen. Gothic Style: Architecture and Interiors from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Harry N. Abrams, Inc.: New York. 1995. McDonald, Jane Anne. The Legacy Of William Morris. Rizzoli: New York, 1986. Newcomb, Rexford. Old Kentucky Architecture: Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, and Gothic. Bonanza Books: New York. Robertson, John A. A Survey Of American Architecture After 1950. McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, 1994. Rutman, Darrett B. The Morning of America, 1603-1789. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston. 1970. Severens, Kenneth. Southern Architecture: 350 Years of Distinctive American Buildings. E.P. Dutton: New York. 1981. Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530. Thames and Hudson: London. 1990.

Mattel’s Toy Recalls and Supply Chain Management Essay

This case talks focuses on the event in the year of 2007 when Mattel – the leading global toymaker – voluntarily recalled its toys from worldwide stores. Mattel’s name is synonymous worldwide for its most famous product – the Barbie Doll. The recall was initially for 83 toys which had excessive lead paint and soon after 6 more products we recalled which had a design problem of small magnets coming off the toys in addition to the use of lead paints. The lead that was used could potentially be toxic for children and the magnetic parts that could come off the toys could potentially be fatal for the digestive systems of children if ingested. All the toys recalled were manufactured in China and in total more than 1.5 million toys were called back. The initial diagnosis was that the main cause of the problem was â€Å"Made in China† however the case explores that the root causes for the default were defective designs. Background – Mattel & China * China had become the leading manufacturer of toys by 2000 * 80 % of toys coming to US were manufactured in China * 65% of Mattel toys were produced in China * Most Chinese toys were made in about 5000 factories located in Guangdon province in China. These factories were majorly owned by Hong Kong Mattel’s Supply Chain Mattel’s product fell into two broad buckets. First was the core products like Barbie dolls which sold through longer periods and the second bucket comprised of the non-core products which comprised of seasonal toys like movie characters. By 2007, more than half of the revenues for Mattel came from core products that were manufactured in Mattel – owned plants in china. The remaining products which were procured from local Chinese licensed vendors. Mattel had an inspection program in place for its products. Off the 5000 products that it used to develop each year, it would randomly check products by taking them off the production line. In order to supply paint to Mattel’s supply chain a vendor had to be a certified one. The complication with this arrangement was that on many occasions Mattel’s direct vendors contracted down to other suppliers who in turn contracted to other suppliers and thus the origin of certain products were difficult to trace – for example the lead paint. Even though Mattel had not allowed its vendors to sub contract to other vendors without its permission, it was not sure how well Mattel’s suppliers were adhering to this. Ironically, 200 of Mattel quality and vendor assurance employees were located far away from the production facilities in Hong Kong. As a good HR practice Mattel had hired a professor with international reputation for being a critic of worker treatment to report independently of any malpractices in Mattel. Reasons leading to the event * Pressures on Chinese toy manufactures. Most toy sales were coming from big box stores like Walmart, Target etc. The business model of these big retailers revolves around extreme cost pressures. This led to a lot of bargaining with Chinese manufacturers to cut down their costs. At the similar time, the Yuan had appreciated and increasing costs of raw materials (such as fuel costs) left little room for Chinese manufactures to invest in significantly progressive quality programs. * Manufacturing Problems Lead in paint was a frequently occurring problem for toy manufacturers. Even though Chinese manufacturers had put processes in place that had checks to avoid having lead in the paints, it was increasingly difficult to monitor the quality of paints * Design Problems In 2007 many toy products had small magnetic parts attached to them which could potentially get detached from the toys and then they could be accidently be ingested by the children. These magnets, once inside the digestive system were toxic and could potentially stick together and harm the intestines. Another design problem was that some of the toys were susceptible to being broken. Most of the designs were made outside China and thus this was not a manufacturing problem. * Product Misuse Some recalls of Mattel’s products were because of the potential misuse by children. There were choking or strangling hazards associated with some of the products that made the products dangerous. Mattel’s Response The expected impact of Mattel’s recalls was to the tune of $30 million dollars which was about half of the operating income of that quarter. The media coverage and global attention aggravated the issue. In order to deal with this Mattel’s response was as follows. * Three point check system As the first point check – for the lead paint every batch of paint could only be acquired from certified vendors. Second, the controls for vendors and contractors were made more stricter and random checks were constituted. Thirdly, the finished products would be subjected to final checks before they reach the customers * Sub contracting policies Mattel reviewed it’s subcontracting policies to control excessive subcontracting * Purchase of new equipment to detect lead Mattel incorporated a plan to purchase more lead detectors * PR & Communications The company followed a proactive communication strategy to address the issue. Conclusion The consumers reacted strongly to Mattel’s response. The case elaborates how systemic failures can almost cripple a global leader. Most importantly, the ‘made in china’ brand lost significant reputation because of this episode. However, better measures and corporate controls resulted from this event and they eventually transformed the manufacturing world for the better.

Neighbors essays

Neighbors essays On the street where I live, I see vibrant azaleas and blooming roses in my neighbors flowerbed. I see kites gliding through the sky on a cool spring afternoon as if they were angels on a cloud. I see the beautiful skyline of Memphis, TN and the bright lights of the Memphis Bridge as I look off of my balcony. I see large boats sailing down the Mississippi River. I see children playing and riding their bicycles, smiling as if it were the greatest day of their life. I see people walking, jogging and roller-skating on the river walk. I see some people lying on blankets just enjoying the moment, leaving the stress and pressures of their jobs and the world behind them, taking time out to enjoy family and self. I see fathers playing catch with their sons and mothers reading novels. When I look down my street I see happiness. On the street where I live, I hear crickets chirping, bees buzzing and birds singing. I hear the horns of cars, tug boats and trolley trains as they pass my apartment building. I hear dogs barking and howling to the screeching sounds of the fire truck sirens. I hear construction workers yelling, jackhammers pounding the concrete and the shifting gears of dump trucks driving away. I hear the up-tempo roar of motorcycles drag racing down the street. I hear the sounds of a trumpet coming from the Taylors apartment two doors down from mine. At twelve p.m. I hear the bells ringing from the local Catholic Church. I hear the sounds of the inner city. On the street where I live, I smell the aroma of mesquite bar-b-que. I smell sweet bubble gum ice cream as my son eats his favorite dessert. I smell freshly cut grass and the stench of mulch in the air. I smell fragrant flowers and honeysuckle overridden by the smell of burning oil at the local refinery. On the street where I live, I feel a cool breeze off the river blowing in my face. I feel the vibration from the train as it crosses the bridge. ...

Structure of cells essays

Structure of cells essays The cell theory forms a basis way for the way that biologists may now study living things. The cell theory states that all living things are made up of cells, cells are the smallest units of all living things, and all cells come from preexisting cells through cell division. The cell theory is an extremely popular method for biologists to observe organisms with. The cell theory applies to every single organism in the world. Whether an organism is made up of one cell or millions of cells, it is still made up of cells. Based on their cellular structures, all living cells can be divided into two groups: eukaryotic and prokaryotic. Eukaryotic cells are generally much larger and more complex than prokaryotic. Because of their larger size, they require a variety of specialized membrane organelles. These organelles are used to carry out metabolism, provide energy, and transport chemicals throughout the cell. Eukaryotic cells possess an internal membrane system that compartmentalizes the cell for various cellular functions. Prokaryotic cells differ significantly from eukaryotic cells. They lack a membrane- bound nucleus and instead of having chromosomal DNA, their genetic information is in a circular loop called plasmid. These cells have few internal structures that are distinguishable under a microscope. They are very small and they feature three main shapes: rod shaped, spherical, and spiral. Instead of going through an elaborate replication process like eukaryotes, bacterial cells divide by binary fission. There are also similiarities between the two types of cells. They both have DNA as their genetic material. Both are membrane bound and both have ribosomes. They have similar basic metabolism and they are both amazingly diverse in forms. ...

Solution and explain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Solution and explain - Essay Example Hence OpenBSD is recommended for servers. FreeBSD, a product of Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), is a PC compatible operating systems(OS) which can support Intel x86 family(IA-32) including MS Xbox and other systems like AMD 64, PowerPC and NEC PC-98 architectures. It is termed as a complete OS. The kernel, device driver and all sort of utilities like shell are incorporated in the one source code revision tracking tree(CVS). This OS is well known for its reliability and robustness. It has also been noticed in the long use of this OS that "no crashes have occurred and that no kernel updates have been deemed necessary, as installing a new kernel requires a reboot and resets the uptime counter of the system." (FreeBSD). Hence it is best OS for desktop systems considering its reliability and compatibility and ability of reporting uptime precisely. Formulating a data backup policy ensures data security from unexpected hazards. It is applied to safeguard the information resources that prevent data loss or data corruption. Data loss can expected any time by "an accidental deletion or corruption of data, system failure, or disaster". (Purpose and Scope: Data Backup Policy 2007).

Economics for Business and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Economics for Business and Management - Essay Example A situation in which marginal cost is higher than marginal costs implies that further improvements can be for society and, thus, it is inefficient for society to prolong its situation at that level. On the other hand, when marginal costs are higher than marginal revenue, it means that there are wastages and society would do better if lowers output such that marginal costs are reduced to be just equal to marginal revenues. This is the market equilibrium and market equilibrium is interpreted as â€Å"efficient† because marginal costs are just equal to marginal returns. Usually, the people who hold on to the view are economists, businesspersons, and pragmatic policy makers. However, economists who take this position qualify that for market to fulfil its role as efficient allocator of resources, certain conditions apply. For example, some of the conditions necessary conditions are believed to be as follow: 1. The good or service which the market will allocate are private goods or service. Private goods are goods in which consumption is rival and excludable in consumption. Rival means consuming the good or service will deprive others of the same good. Excludable means it will not be feasible, costly, nor impractical from depriving others of the good. 2. There are no externalities involved in consuming or using the good or service. Externalities are third party effects on the good. For example, goods that pollute are assumed to have negative externalities. In contrast, health services are believe to have positive externalities because improvements in health benefits not only those who have purchased the good that enhances health but also third parties. In a typical demand-supply curve, the demand curve represents society’s valuation for the good in terms of marginal utilities while the supply curve represents that part of the marginal cost-curve above the