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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

What I've learned from men by Barbara ehrenreich Essay

What I've learned from men by Barbara ehrenreich - Essay Example I don’t agree when she said that we may be able to learn from men what to do with anger (227), as women have long since learned to express anger in a civilized way, positively producing the desired effect, making men realize that women are able to stand for themselves. That does not lessen them as women. Instead it makes them women with substance. Women can be very aggressive but not rude, acknowledging their talents, abilities, skills and success with humility. Expressing oneself nicely rather than looking and waiting for a fight, makes a person better understood and listened to. Women today acknowledge that having education, firm character, belief in oneself and humility, do not make them less of a woman, but rather leads to essentially being a lady. For me being ladylike empowers a woman in getting what she wants. I believe that how you act and treat others determines how others act and treat you. Ehrenreich, Barbara. â€Å"What I’ve Learned From Men† From Idea to Essay 2009: A Rhetoric, Reader, and Handbook. McCuen-Metherell, J.R. and Winkler, A. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009. 224-227. Google Books. Web. 5 March

Monday, October 28, 2019

Child Protective Services Essay Example for Free

Child Protective Services Essay Ice users in the state of Hawaii, estimated to have reached 30,000 in 2003, were spending as much as $1. 8 billion every year to maintain their addiction in what has been referred to by U. S Attorney Ed Kubo as the â€Å"highest usage of ice in the country. † (Sinq, 2003) Ice refers to methamphetamine, a strong, extremely addictive stimulant which could be introduced to the body by smoking, sniffing, oral ingestion, or injection and affects the nervous system. (Drug-Rehabs. org, n. d. ) The substance was believed to have been discovered in Japan sometime in 1919 and was actually used as a nasal decongestant in 1932. It was manufactured legally as non-medical tablets in the United States, taking the form of â€Å"dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) and methamphetamine (Methedrine). † It rapidly became a favorite among athletes, university students, and even long distance truck drivers – people who need to stay alert for long periods of time. An injectable form was developed during the 1960s but was subjected to severe restriction under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. (Drug-Rehabs. org. n. d. ) Today, Prosecutor Peter Carlisle of Honolulu said that adult people in Hawaii have been turning to ice instead of alcohol – in fact the highest number of adult ice-users (by state) in the entire country is found in the state of Hawaii. In Honolulu, it was estimated that about 38% of all those arrested for various offenses have been found positive for methamphetamine. Moreover, while the average rate of sentenced methamphetamine traffickers for the entire country in 2001 was placed at 14%, the rate for Hawaii had been 51%. (A Message from Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, 2007) This only means one thing: ice trafficking in Hawaii has grown to be a very flourishing industry, which, to some people, indicates that ice abuse has already reached epidemic proportions in the state. As a matter of fact, recorded deaths attributed to methamphetamine use have also been steadily on the rise since 2000 when 34 persons were believed to have died from using the substance. In 2001, the number rose to 54 then climbed to 62 in 2002 before decreasing slightly to 56 deaths during the year 2003. In 2004, ice-related deaths rose again to 68 and as of the middle of May 2005, there were already 38 ice-related deaths in the state of Hawaii. According to Dr. Kanthi De Alwis, Chief Medical Examiner of Honolulu, majority of deaths from ice were due to the substance’s effect on the human brain and heart. He said that ice weakens and enlarges the heart, and blocks the coronary arteries. In some of the cases, Alwis said, blood enters the brain, killing the ice user almost instantly. (Drug-Rehabs. org, 2005) User death did not prove to be the only adverse effect of the ice epidemic on Hawaiian society. A much more damaging consequence had been its effect on children. In fact it was observed that although abuse of alcohol and illegal drugs also resulted to fractured families, ice addiction had proven to be more powerful and destructive, consuming â€Å"parents’ lives so quickly that experts placed it in a class of its own. † (Dayton, 2003b) As of 2003, almost 85% of the 7,000 children who were under foster care were children of ice users. Most of these children were traumatized. They also showed signs of being â€Å"angry† and were often destructive in their ways, aside from the fact that most of them lagged in their school work. Many of them have expressed their belief that their parents abandoned them either because something was very wrong with them, or their parents simply stopped loving them. If left unattended, experts feared that these children might end up as substance abusers themselves. At the very least, they are expected to suffer from the long-term effects of living with constant violence and chaos in the family. This is what some health professionals are trying to prevent, according to Jack Maynor who works as a child counselor in a spouse-abuse shelter. (Dayton, 2003a) In many cases, children were separated from their parents because of the parents’ addiction to ice. Families where either or both parents are ice addicts are characterized by violence, child abandonment, or both. Peggy Hilton of the East Hawai’i Child Welfare Services said that there are people who become totally addicted to methamphetamine in only a matter of a couple of weeks. She explained that ice is characterized by â€Å"extreme levels of domestic violence [and that] after a binge, ice users ‘crash’ and can sleep for days, leaving the children in the house to fend for themselves. † According to officials of the Child Protective Services, they are separating up to forty children from their parents every month due to ice addiction in the Big Island alone. (Dayton, 2003b) The effect of parents’ addiction to ice among Hawaiian children has been very extensive. Professionals working with children of methamphetamine abusers often talk about the depressing experiences of these children. James Jolliff, a clinical psychologist from Waimea, recalled working with a girl who found her ice addict father hanging from a tree in their backyard in an attempt to kill himself. He said that while her father was rescued from that suicide attempt, the girl was traumatized and would remain to be so for a long time to come. (Dayton, 2003a)

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Benedict Arnolds Treason Essay -- essays research papers

After defeating British troops in Saratoga, Congress made Benedict Arnold a major general in the Continental Army. Washington wrote a commendation saying that Arnold was a brave officer. Despite the promotion, Arnold remained at the bottom of the list. There were four other major generals superior to him. Arnold was soon off once again to help the northern army. Ticonderoga had fallen back into enemy hands. British General John Burgoyne and his troops were moving rapidly down from Canada toward Albany. Arnold fell under the leadership of General Horatio Gates. Arnold and Gates were complete opposites. Gates appeared cautious and calculating while Benedict was persistent and hasty. Gates held position on an area overlooking the Hudson River. His plan was to wait for an attack. He knew that the British were low on supplies from their long march from Canada and planned on using that to his advantage. Arnold disagreed, urging Gates to attack General Burgoyne during his progress. However, Gates didn’t trust Benedict or believe in his tactics. Once the battle begun there was no holding back. Disobeying Gates orders, Arnold led a furious attack. Upon the barrage of bullets swarming the battlefield, Arnold was shot in the leg. Ironically this was the same leg that had been wounded in t he battle at Montreal. Thanks to Arnold’s valiant effort General Burgoyne and his men were faced with retreating. Over six hundred British soldiers were killed. On October 16, General Burgoyne surrendered his sword to General Gates, instead of Arnold. This had disgruntled Arnold greatly, given that it was his brilliant, tactical assessment that forced the British army to surrender. This had made the victory bittersweet threw his perspective. Following the battle, Arnold lay in an Albany hospital for three months. Arnold left the hospital with a â€Å"fracture box† around his bad leg. Gates distort over Arnold’s disobedience stripped him of his rank. However, the Continental Congress restored his rank as a reward for Arnold’s spirited efforts. After Ticonderoga, Arnold was having problems getting reimbursements from Congress for his expenses. Unfortunately, Arnold lacked receipts for those purchases. Arnold felt his loyalty and honor were in question given that Congress was slow to react to Arnold’s claim. Soon after Washington requested that Arnold come to Valley Forge to converse his ... ...d to the point. He remitted Arnold a draft of 6,000 pounds. Generous as the British were to Arnold, they never completely trusted him as an officer in their service. Though he conducted a raid into Virginia and led the tragic expedition to New London, the British declined to give him a high command. After Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown, Arnold took his family to London, where he received both respect and admiration, but no employment. Later, he moved to Canada- to St. John, New Brunswick and entered the shipping business. Eventually, Arnold moved his family back to London and tried to secure command when the war with revolutionary France broke out. Denied an opportunity to return to military, he traded with the West Indies, where he was greatly appreciated. Rejected once more in an effort to help the military, Arnold died in 1801, forlorn and almost forgotten in Britain. His wife out lived him by three years, but had the satisfaction of seeing her children have respectable careers and attain mild fame. If none has achieved such military importance as their ancestor, the tireless â€Å"Dark Eagle† as the Indians called him, none has put self-interest or injured pride before honor.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

An Economically Important Crop

A. sativa is an economically important crop and ranks sixth in world cereal production after wheat, rice, maize barley and sorghum (FAO, 2012). It is an important role as food for human and feed for animals in central high lands of Ethiopia; it is one of the best dual-purpose cereal crops. Ethiopia as a region with wide altitudinal range, substantial temperature, and rainfall differences with diverse edaphic conditions create a wide range of agro-ecological conditions and microenvironments. Ethiopia, is considered as a secondary center of diversity for the oat, little has so far been done towards determining the genetic diversity, population structure and acid soil tolerance capacity screening of Ethiopian oat accessions. More nutritious and high yielding oat varieties are needed to run an efficient livestock industry as well as to secure human food security on which dependence of increasing population is taking ride. So, it becomes important to take advantage of the germplasm available to develop the superior cultivars for specific needs.Thus, the present study was undertaken to identify or catalogue oats genotypes along with the assessment of genetic diversity prevalent in different geographical regions in the country and from USA, Netherlands and Australia. The 176 oat accessions were used for the present investigation and they were sown in a RCBD design with two replications at each site. Observations were recorded on various morpho-agronomic characters viz; plant height (cm), internode length (cm), number of nodes per main stem of a plant, number of tillers /plant, Flag leaf length (cm), length of panicle (cm), number of spikelets per panicle, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, biological yield per m2 (g), grain yield per m2 (g), and harvest index (%). This study also provides one of the first reported investigations of association analysis in a diverse population of oat, and thus, it will provide a useful benchmark for comparison with future results and with results from other species. Accurate assessment of the levels and patterns of genetic diversity has tremendous importance in the analysis of genetic variability in cultivars; identifying diverse parental combinations to create segregating progenies with maximum genetic variability for further selection; and introgression of genes from more exotic germplasm to broaden the genetic diversity of oats. The results obtained in our study provide a better understanding of genetic diversity along with its aluminium tolerance from different regions of Ethiopia as well as USA and Netherlands and Australia oat germplasm accessionsBased on molecular and agro morphological data there are no clear differentiation between populations; the population that were analyzed as genus level, A. sativa population and A. abyssinica population. The present study revealed that the oat accessions had significant wide range variability with respect to qualitative and quantitative traits. Moreover, the variations observed (both qualitatively and quantitatively) were fairly distributed across the regions/populations the accessions were collected from. These indicated potential genetic diversity prevalent in oat accessions, which can be harnessed future breeding and conservation endeavors in Ethiopia. A high genetic diversity exists in Ethiopian accessions as well as in USA and Netherlands- Australia accessions. There is a significantly higher variation within the populations than among the populations. In addition, there is a significantly higher variation within cultivated as well as within wild than among the cultivated and among wild. Furthermore, there is a significantly higher variation within species than among the species.The molecular diversity analysis was carried out using 19 SSR markers in all the 176 germplasm. The SSR markers showed clear differentiation between wild and cultivated, but they failed to differentiate from Ethiopian and USA and Netherlands-Australia cultivated oat accessions. The following molecular data were recorded for allelic parameters like, number of alleles/effective alleles; average heterozygosity; genetic diversity; and Polymorphic Information Content (PIC), demonstrating the availability of adequate genetic diversity in the wild oat accessions that can be exploited in the future. These variations in the allelic parameters were also noticeable across regions/populations sites. Peculiarly, the geographic populations, Shewa and Gondar and Arsi, had the most excessive number of effective alleles in 176 oat accessions the whole, 81 A. sativa accessions, and A. abyssinica accessions; and expected/unbiased expected heterozygosity measures. This indicated that these regions possess higher importance towards through introgression desirable genes into other oat genotypes in Ethiopia. The following molecular data were recorded for allelic parameters like, number of alleles/effective alleles; average heterozygosity; genetic diversity; and Polymorphic Information Content (PIC), demonstrating the availability of adequate genetic diversity in the wild oat accessions that can be exploited in the future. These variations in the allelic parameters were also noticeable across regions/populations sites. Peculiarly, the geographic populations, Shewa and Gondar and Arsi, had the most excessive number of effective alleles in 176 oat accessions the whole, 81 A. sativa accessions, and A. abyssinica accessions. This indicated that these regions possess higher importance towards through introgression desirable genes into other oat genotypes in Ethiopia.Cluster analysis grouped 176 genotypes into five clusters whereby the individuals within any one cluster are more closely related than are individuals in different clusters. Our expectations were, the hexaploid specie might be grouped together and tetraploid species may have clustered together, while hexaploid and tetraploid species should have to be clustered separately since they possessed different genome. unlikely to our expectation the result showed that hexaploid and tetraploid were grouped together. Clustering these groups were similar both in molecular and agro-morphological data. Similar results were found for molecular data. The DARwin 5.0 software was used to generate the dendrogram. All the genotypes were clustered into 3 clusters of different sizes. On the other hand, results of PCA and various recorded values of important agro-morphological descriptors were jointly used to determine the groups identified in the molecular analysis at a STRUCTURE present k=2. As a result, the first group, USA and the Netherlands – Australia belonged to the cultivated oats, A. sativa; whilst the second groups were predominated by accessions from the Ethiopia, both cultivated and wild. Consequently, it was concluded that Cultivated oat groups had higher genetic diversity than their respective Wild oat counterparts in Ethiopian oat germplasm. The current study showed that Root Length (RL) was affected more by Al toxicity. Lower Al toxicity levels less than 50 Â µM had no significant effect on the growth performance in most oat accessions, while the growth of RL showed a decline with increasing Al concentration and toxicity levels. The impact of Al toxicity on oats germplasm became influential upon toxicity level increments. The optimum Al3+ concentration for tolerance level could be 112.5 Â µM oats. Thus, these accessions should not be recommended in area where soil acidity is predominant. However, A. vaviloviana accessions were highly Al tolerant as revealed by root growth performance and can be promoted in area where soil acidity is a challenge. This study is the first of its kind to evaluate the performance of Ethiopian oats to Al-toxicity. The study clearly showed the possibility of developing lines and genotypes that can tolerate acidity in Ethiopian context and support agricultural development in acidic soil area in the country. In conclusion, the present study generated unique outcomes in terms of directing the phenotypic and molecular genetic diversity; population structure of the genepools; and to identity of sub-groups up to the species level. It is considered to put the platform for future breeding and genetic resource conservation programs in Ethiopia.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Preliminary Study of an Automotive Assembly Plant

Politecnico Di Torino 1 Facolta' di Ingegneria Automotive Engineering FINAL ASSEMBLY Preliminary study of an automotive assembly plant for high volume production(1300cars/day with 2 type of cars, 4 doors and 2 doors respectivly, and flexible in volume, 3 shifts of workers) Ma Wei supervisor: Prof. COZZARI GIULIANO Index 1. General infomation from the internship 2. 1 high production volume of the assembly plant 2. 2 pace calculation 2. 3 area calculation and process layout 2. 4 flexibility and automization of the system 2. â€Å"make or buy† decision 2. Review of tutorials and further applications of the tutorial 3. 6 General knowledges aquired from the assembly lecture 3. 7 Extension of the tutorial 3. 8. 1 product breakdown structure(PBS) ; bill of material(BOM) 3. 8. 2 work breakdown structure(WBS) 3. Time analysis and relative calculations 3. 1 working time analysis(WCT, takt time) 3. 2 system length and area calculation 3. 3 facility layout 4. Tool and equipment selection 1. General infomation from the internship 1. high production volume of the assembly plant As is define in the internship reoprt, the production volume of the plant that we study is 1300cars/day, with 3 shifts of workers making the planned working time up to 21 hour a day. We developed a rough plan for the entire assembly production process, and then divided our thesis into four parts according to the function of each part. Following the sequence of each part, they are respectively: Stamping process, body in white process, painting process and fianl assembly process.Normally each department is separated with one another, located in different locations inside an assembly plant, and each department has its own building structure, thus we call them stamping shop, body in white shop, painting shop and final assembly shop. Moreover all of these building structures are placed considering the convenience of the entire manufacturing process, to facilitate the flow of materials and parts, to simplify stocks management. For example, stamping shop normally locates near the gate with a stock area to facilitate the incoming of sheet metal.Body in white shop and painting shop lies in between final assembly shop and stamping shop, in order to shorten transfer process. Finally, final assembly shop often locates beside the supplier park, where massive subgroup parts of a car are stocked. 1. 2 pace calculation Since our focus is on the word â€Å"high volume†, we must estimate the overall pace of the plant. The required standard time can be calculated considering: 1. 1300 cars/day. 2. 3 shifts of workers with 7 availiable working hours per shift. 3.Overall equipment efficiency=90% 4. Standard time STn is the time needed to assemble a car, starting from pressing shop up to final test at final assembly shop. AWT(available working time)=3*7*60=1260 min STn=AWT/1300=0. 97min=58sec. It means that each 58 seconds there will be a car coming out from the plant. 1. 3 area calcula tion The area calculation is decided in the internship report, through the benchmarking result of many plants and we chose the average area of the plants that is most close to our requirements.And here is the decision: Stamping| BIW| Painting| Final Assembly| 40800? | 60900? | 48000? | 71400? | Usually the process layout is like this(I will only focus on the final assembly process): But for the final assembly, I find it more advanced for logistic and warehouse management is I choose the final assembly line like this: In my later discussion, we can see more advantages of this kind of solution according to the three main sub-processes of final assembly. 1. 3 flexibility;automization of the systemEquipments are most devoted resource since nowadays factories are normally capital intensive. So we have to determine the automization level at the first approach of an assembly plant. The four processes, stamping, body in white, painting and final assembly, have their own process capability a nd different automization level. Here is the automization level selection criteria and methods to be flexible of the system. And we will make our choice accordingly. Stamping STAMPING| COST AND THE CHOICE| 1. ransfer muiti-station mechanical presses with a very high cadence(over than 15 cycles/min) fitting with very high production rate(over than 600 series/day)| Very high, not fitable for our plant because according our make or buy decision, we only make necessary body parts in order to save capital and better focus on â€Å"core business†. | 2. traditional mechanical or new generations hydraulic presses with a medium cadence(between 10 and 15 cycles/min), interconnected by automatic systems, fitting for medium production rate(60-600 series/day)| This fits our production system adequately.Since our assumed working cycle time is 6sec(=10 cycles/min) and it meets the requirement of 1300cars/day. On the other side, this is capital intensive but not as expensive as the first one . | 3. traditional hydraulic or water forming presses, with manual loading/unloading, with low cadence, fitting for low production rate(less than 60 series/day)| This criterion is not fit for mass production. Nowadays labor intensive production is used for the elite market. | Major factors influcing cost: press and dies depreciation, maintenance costs and material handling.And thus it is very important to maintain a good level of overall equipment efficiency and a good utilization level. Furthermore, in order to keep the production cost low, sheet metal usage degree must be optimized, through detailed study of cutting schemes and stamping methods and technology(sheet metal stamping dimensioning). | Flexibility: the process flexibility is reached to the required level(2 different types of cars with 9 different parts to stamp) through changing of dies according to detailed production plan. We should avoid to change dies too frequently, for the sake of saving more productive up time.Th e production plan should follow the material requirement plan of later processes, and the logistic department should set adequate arrangements for the finished parts. | Body in white For high or medium volumes body in white welding and assembling, hard automation(robot intensive) and flexible production systems are used. Assembling tools are specific for the parts of each type of car. System flexibility/convertibility is achieved through specific tools rapid change, so that it is possible to set easily the mix model level on the same equipment or line.Major factors influencing cost: specific equipment and tools depreciations, maintenance and materials handling cost. Overall equipment efficiency and utilization level. Painting Painting process is a continuous flow process and each process are sequenced. We can divide it into two categories: 1) pre-painting treatments. 2) painting. 1). In reference of automazation and flexibility, the pre-painting process is not strictly relevant b ecause, for example, processes such as washing, degreasing or phosphating are not robot intensive, they actually are continous flow process with only a few operations.And each type of BIW(in our plants, refer them as type A and type B) can be processed in the same way with the same time, temperature and many other conditions. 2). The painting process is robot intensive because it is applied by automatic robots with electrostatic spray, along with automatic controlled air, temperature and humidity inside the painting booth. This process is relatively complex and harmful to human body. So in case of mass production, no labor force is enrolled in this process.Flexibility: Since equipments and tools are not specifically developed for each type of car, flexibility can be easily obtained by changing the process automatization software. And customized order-to-make product is mainly reflected in this process. Controlling program should be adjustable in order to change the color of the car easily. Major factors influcing cost: specific direct material(dye) and energy consumption, manpower necessary to manage the process and equipment maintenance costs. Final Assembly In terms of final assembly, manpower accompanied by flexible conveyor system is needed.This process is mainly labor intensive because many complex operations, such as cockpit module, steering leverages, seats and mobile parts are performed by technicians, but not machines. Certain level of automatization is required for simple operations such as joining, mechanical groups screwing and fixed glasses application. Moreover, ergonomic is important for labor intensive operations, so that assembling stations and conveyor systems have to be comfortable for the operators. For example the tow conveyors is an ergonomic solution for screw drivers.It can lift up the heavy body from BIW, to make the operator reach the lower part of the body. Recently new type of tow conveyors became more convenience since they allow t echnicians to stand on them and move along the operation line. Flexibility: product models mix along the final assembly line, thus flexibility can be obtained by high level of logistics and organizational complexity, which must use modern product and process information technologies, called â€Å"digital factory†. Moreover, â€Å"just in time† principle must be applied in supplying subassembly modules to the final assembly line.Major factors influcing cost: direct manpower, material handling, specific logistic information technology systems. 1. 4 â€Å"make or buy† decision In evaluation of make or buy decision, several factors should be considered: ITEMS FOR â€Å"MAKE† DECISION| ITEMS FOR â€Å"BUY† DECISION| 1. Availability of development capacities inside the company, at least equivalent to the one offered by External suppliers. | 1. Not availability of specific â€Å"know how† to develop in a competitive way the specific component or se rvice. | 2. Better protection of company’s know how in relation to products/processes considering core business| 2.Availability of reliable suppliers for the components or services required, in relation to the company’s targets. | 3. Needs of internal processes integration by logistic flows and final product quality level improving. | 3. Availability of alternative supplying sources in the geographical areas of strategic interest for the company. | 4. Not valid alternatives to component or services purchasing. | 4. Opportunity to simplify internal production processes and focus production resouces (man power and capital) on â€Å"core business†| 5. Necessity to utilize existing productive capacities inside the company. 5. Opportunity to reduce company owned investment by using or incrementing supplier’s productive capacities avaliable, assuming them the risk of volumes depending on the trend of market. | ITEMS FOR â€Å"CO-MAKERSHIP† DECISION| 1. N ew necissities of production capacities developing but not enough economy scale to proceed in an autonomous way. | 2. Partners have common or complementary interest in developing in a synergic and competitive way the new solutions required to guarantee the industrial mission. | 3. Partners have at disposal complementary or synergic technological capacities so that roduct/process innovation could be speed up without incrementing too much economical investments. | In genaral, an assembly plant doesn’t manufacture the sub group components of the car, for the sake of lean production, technology concentration and cost minimization. So no matter whether they are outsourced or manufactured by the same industrial group of other plants, we can consider them â€Å"buy† parts. It is easy to explore these elements from the vehicle systems point of view: All above mentioned elements and systems are out-sourced and they are assembled into higher level subassemblies aside the princip le assembly line.These elements and systems are based on evolutive technical solutions, which â€Å"know how† belongs generally to specialized companies components producers; A strong cooperation between those companies and car makers is necessary in case of technical projects development and experimentation and homologation on vehicle phases. 2. Review of tutorials and further applications of the tutorial 2. 1 General knowledges aquired from the assembly lecture During the assembly technology course, we gained the concept of automotive final assembly and aquired some basic knowleged about this process.First of all, the difinition of automotive final assembly can be concluded from the lecture: the final manufacturing process joining all of the finished subgroup components and modules to finish the car and make it functionlized, through different stages of assembly process with the right consequence. The final assembly process should consider from both management point of view and technological point of view: management concerns main subassembly groups and modules Here we consider the assembly of only these components in order to simplify the process.Also, some subgroups assembly are introduced in the lecture, which are normally performed inside the final assembly shop but not on the principle line. These sub-assembly parts should be considered since they are not out-sourced but manufactured inside the plant—stamping shop. So we won’t get the finished, assembled parts until we assemble them by ourselves, inside the final assembly shop. Along with subgroups assembly, ergonomics concern is introduced, which is a non negligibly problem in setting up the plant. Ergonomic: a). A study of the relation between people and their work environment. b).Is used to prevent injuries and illnesses associated with the design of physical work. c). Is used to increase employee safety and comfort and to optimize work performance and quality. Due to the complex ity of the system and inconvenience caused by the huge weight of the body in white and finished parts, ergonomic problem is closely related with the working stations and carrier systems that we use. Thus each process of the system uses specific equipment to orientate the car body in the right direction to technicians, and specific tools to hold finished parts to let technicians move them easily. ow conveyors let the installation of suspension more easily Moreover, the right sequence of final assembly is introduced. I will strictly follow this sequence to develop my assembly shop, because any mistake in sequence makes it impossible to build up later steps and lead the entire process to failure. Then I will build up working time analysis. 2. 2Extension of the tutorial 2. 2. 1 product breakdown structure(PBS) ; bill of material(BOM) Product breakdown structure is hierarchical and can be represented by the following scheme(tree diagram) F A B1 B2 C21 C13 C12 C11 E D F A B1 B2 C21 C13C12 C11 E D In which: A=final module (a car) B=1st level subassembly (powertrain, suspension system†¦) C=2nd and 3rd level subassembly (complete engine, transmission†¦) D=completed elements (cylinders, engine shafts†¦) E=partially completed elements (pistons, valves†¦) F=raw materials Using PBS, it is possible to: a). Manage the designs and standard carry-over solutions with other product lines. b). Underline links between elements, subassemblies and final product. c). Precise â€Å"make or buy† decision for each element. d). Activate manufacturing engineering plan for â€Å"make† parts. ). Activate purchasing orders for â€Å"buy† parts. f). Confirm cost for module components, considering the targets defined in the setting phase, according to the purchasing management system. Now let me define the PBS of the final assembly. I won’t list the lower levels of subassembly parts because the final assembly area is responsible for assembling mo re than 3000 in/on the painted vehicle shell, and if I focus too much on the minor parts, it would draw the attention away from the study of the system. Also, I extend the content of PBS, to get a bill of material table, more detailed. . 2. 2 work breakdown structure The work breakdown structure is a tree structure, which shows a subdivision of effort required to achieve an objective. In order to reach the WBS, I need to analysis each working processes first. The following figure is what I have obtained from the internship report. All of the data in this figure is roughly estimated, but the sequence and layout of final assembly is expressed. Final assembly process can be functionally divided into: trim line assembly, chassis line assembly, final assembly and final testing. ). Trim line assembly This station is focused on installing the following main components: the electric wiring and harnesses, the shell insulation and radiator insulation, the air duct system, the headliner, the c ondenser sub-assembly, the pedal sub-assembly, and the fire wall insulation. Other parts are also installed in this station such as the wiper links and the washer tank and its hoses and connections. To install the above described parts, a different conveyor system is adopted from the ones used in the paint area.So the shell is transferred from the paint-line conveyor system into typically a double rail chain or self-moving conveyor (floor-mounted), the elevation and speed of the body-shell are adjusted so it suits the production workers and allow them spatial access and enough time to complete the job. Some manufacturers have adopted a moving belt system for the line workers so that they can keep up with higher production rates. The first step in the trim assembly area is to remove the shell doors to facilitate the installation process, so large fixtures can be used inside the shell to aid the workers.The removed doors are hung on an overhead conveyor system that keeps running the d oors through the plant without any value being added to them. A typical layout for the trim assembly area can be shown as following: b). Chassis assembly The chassis assembly area is also called the marriage area, where the power-train of the vehicle is coupled with the vehicle body-shell. To achieve this, the vehicle shells are transferred to an overhead conveyor system to permit the chassis installation from the bottom. The assembled ower-train components are supplied from a sub-assembly area typically called the engine-line assembly area. The engine-line area features all the steps needed to install the different hoses, controllers and cables to the main engine body, in addition to coupling the engine to the transmission and the torque converters. The engine sub-assembly utilizes different types of conveyance depending on the accessibility needed, the station’s configuration (left- and right-side workers), and the weight of the assembled power-train; typically a combinatio n of an overhead system and an AGV(automatic guided vehicle) is used.The final assembled power-train is then mounted onto an AGV or a trolley equipped with a hydraulic lift, and then shipped to the marriage area. overhead conveyor and trolley with lifter In the marriage area, the vehicle shell will be synchronized with the AGV so both meet at a specific location that features the power torque machine that will use bolts and fasteners to join the power-train and shell together. Additionally, the elevation of the suspended shell is programmed according to specific settings to facilitate the mounting process. The powertrain is lifted via the hydraulic lift to meet the stationary shell.This process sequence is shown in the above figure. Several features within the vehicle shell are typically used to guide the power-train assembly to ensure its location and orientation within the vehicle; some laser projection-based sensors might also be used to ensure accurate placement. In addition, po wer-tools with built-in torque sensors are used to ensure fault-proof operation. Applying the right torque is essential in delivering mechanically sound joints that will not fail or fatigue due to under-torque or over-torque conditions. A typical layout for the chassis line assembly area can be shown as following: | ). Final assembly and testing area The final assembly area features the vehicle shell on tires for the first time. It is connected to the previous chassis assembly process, and each chassis assembly line can feed two final assembly lines. Thus for the sake of maximum utilization of the entire system, we set two final assembly lines. Each final assembly line is divided into three sequential parts: 1st. In the first part, preassembled bodies are put on a stop and go conveyor system, to facilitate the transferring from one station to the next.And the bodies are arranged across the axle of the line, to facilitate front-end module assembling and to keep operations such as ele ctric battery connections, air filter connections ergonomically. In this part fixed glasses are also assembled by automatic systems. 2nd. In the second part, car bodies are put on continuous double slat conveyor. Here, parts such as seats, garnishes, door modules, lighting systems and the rest parts of the vehicle are assembled. 3rd. In the third part, underbody operations such as adjusting the vehicle suspension and adjusting steering wheels are performed.After the assembly is complete, the completed vehicle starts the testing phase, where the following tests are conducted: alignment tests for wheels and turning radius, headlight test, side-slip test, engine drum test, and the brake test. The alignment test focuses on adjusting the wheels through the manual adjustment of the top of the front and rear wheels and the camber of the front and rear wheels. Further alignments ensure that the steering wheel is positioned accurately. The alignment test is typically done in a chassis dynamo meter chamber, shown in the figure. a chasis dynamometerAdditionally the turning radius can be tested and adjusted by measuring the right and left turning angles of the front wheels. The headlight test evaluates the photometric axis of the headlamps by projecting them on a screen and then measuring any deviations. The drum test is conducted by driving the vehicle into the chassis dynamometer to check the vehicle driving conditions. Also, the brake test evaluates the brakes’ performance by applying and measuring the braking force of each wheel (drag, service brake, parking brake). Finally, I can obtain the WPS from the integration of each above process. 3.Time analysis and relative calculations 3. 1 working time analysis(takt time, number of workers) In order to analysis the working time, I shall introduce the concept of takt time first. The takt time is the time that must pass between two succeeding unit completions in order to meet the demand, if the products are produced on e unit at a time, at a constant rate during the net available work time. The value of the takt time drives the key design choices for the assembly system. The takt time is defined in equation (1). (1) When the takt time is known one could decide how many assemblers and stations that are needed.It is quite hard to determine the number of assemblers needed in order to complete a product but here one basic method is presented. After the number of assemblers has been decided the number and layout of processes can be decided. The minimum number of assemblers can be calculated with equation 2. (2) If for example a product takes 100 minutes to assemble and the takt time is 1 minute, the process needs 100 assembler minutes every minute, consequently 100 assemblers. The formula does not take into consideration other activities that the operators perform apart from assembling such as picking and handling.A production system is also dependent on support labor which will of course increase the number of assemblers needed. When one has determined that the process is in need of 100 assemblers, the next step is to decide in which way the work should be allocated between the assemblers and thereby which method of assembly that should be used. On the one hand, one operator could work with one product from start to finish for 100 minutes. On the other hand, the total work content could be divided into 100 operations each taking 1 minute to perform.Now that the takt time concept is clear, I will start to analysis this according to my specific system. Actually, the first step in designing an assembly system is to calculate the takt time. I will calculate the takt time following these conditions: 1). The demand for daily production volume is 1300 units. 2). The system is operated by 3 shifts of operators. 3). The working hours per day for an operator are assumed to be eight hours. 4). Total downtime including scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, set-up times, breaks, lunch time is one hour per day.Takt time = Net avaliliable working time per dayaverage damand per day = 3*8-1*601300 = 0. 97 minute = 58 second The planned cycle time will be lower based on that there are inefficiencies regarding manpower issues and overall equipment effectiveness: Planned cycle time = 58*0. 85*0. 9 = 50 second Then the minimum number of workers can be obtained, under the assumption that the total assembly time (adding the time deeded of each operation in each station, i. e. : the labor time required in order to finish the assembly of a single vehicle) is 21 hours (empirical).We can assume that each operation is processed by an assembler because the final assembly is a labor driven process. No. of workers = total assembly timetakt time = 21*60*6058 = 1304 Thus, we have 1304 workers and if two workers are assigned to each work station, then we have 652 stations. Due to impossibilities for further analysis of working time, I can not get exactly the cycle time of each operation, but the time analysis methodologies should be stressed: a). Stopwatch study analysis For time measuring it is necessary to proceed as follows: 1).Workers are preventively trained to apply working standards and are informed about stopwatch study analysis and ways to proceed. 2). By statistical criteria, the number of operative cycle to observe is determined, considering also dispersion phenomena of analyzed process. 3). For each one of the macro-phase of operative cycle, time employed is recorded. 4). Working speed is punctually compared to the normal one, introducing eventual adjustment. 5). Time adjustments(increasing) for each working phase are applied following specific tables, to consider tiredness and physical efforts taken on during working shift.Applying the methodology is possible if the analyst is concerned about technologies of analyzed phases, in order to ensure in advance that working conditions follows manufacturing engineering plan, and proposing eventually necessary i mprovements. He must also observes movements considering ergonomics, defining normal and sustainable working speed. This evaluation implies also the application of specific rules related to physical efforts, tiredness, working positions and movements repetition.As a consequence, for each working phase analyzed, it is applied a time increasing coefficient, according to a standard table, elaborated on statistical and scientific considerations, by International Rules Institutions, with ergonomic, physiology, and working means experts associated. In case of uncertainty of working speed estimation, the analyst could perform observations on different subject, up to reach a calibrated evaluation. Furthermore, he can also use some available database, according to previous consolidated experiences.For each group of operations, it is important that the experts separate active times from inactive times necessary for machine/equipment waiting or movements between different working stations. Act ions to be adopted are related to inactive phases, that are not adding value phases. b). Time studying with modern techniques Same criteria of the first one, with the only difference that time observations are performed through video recording cameras, appropriately positioned and remote controlled, that allows measuring contemporary more operations, relating each other. c).Analysis with pre-determined standard times MTM technique (Methods Time Measurement) consists of previously analysis that allows quantifying time necessary for each working micro-phase included in the operative cycle. Measurements are performed in office and are very precise and objective. Application requires a big effort in terms of analyst technician, with high cost and long elaboration times. For this reasons MTM technique fits with widespread repetitive operations. d). Instantaneous Observations Analysis It fits for auxiliary operations only, including office operations.It is necessary that the analyst have good knowledge about function and roles of observed employees. He performs periodical inspections In the interested area and with established route by statistic method, so to cover all workplaces. He must evaluate: if workers are on their own workplace/if they are active/type of operation performed/type of tools used. 3. 2 system length and area calculation I will roughly calculate the length of the final assembly line. I say â€Å"roughly† because I will assume the distance between each product is 5m, and this distance is constant for all the three major processes belonging to final assembly.Although this assumption couldn’t be precise, this approach can represent the right process to calculate the system length. Firstly I will calculate the speed of the line: Speed = distancetakt time = 5m/58s = 0. 087 m/s Then I will apply this speed to the total assembly time: Length=speed*total assembly time=0. 087m/s*21*3600=6577m Finally, I should apply an modify coefficient, be cause large portion of the system paths are built for transferring, not value adding. 6577*150%=9865m Once the length is calculated, I can apply it to the width of the line, which is hypothesized to be 10m. 865*10=98650m2 And finally the subassembly line area should be calculated according to the same method, and added to the main line area. 3. 3 facility layout In arranging the plant layout, There are a lot of benefits: 1. Minimize the production time. 2. Minimize the production cost. 3. Minimize the material handling, in terms of time, cost and equipment type. 4. Minimize the investment in the equipment. 5. Utilize existing space more effectively. 6. Maintain flexibility of arrangement and operations. There are three basic types: process layout, product layout, and fixed-position layout.According to the selection criteria, I will choose the product layout. A product layout (also called a flow-shop layout) is one in which equipment or work processes are arranged according to the pr ogressive steps by which the product is made. The main issue over the final assembly line is the assembly line balancing. As we use the conveyor systems to carry the product, the time interval the product will stay in each workstation is identical, thus the cycle time of each workstation is identical as well (= 58s in our system).At each workstation, work is performed on a product either by adding parts or by completing assembly operations. The work performed at each station is made up by many bits of work, termed tasks, elements, and work units. The total work to be performed at a workstation is equal to the sum of the tasks assigned to that workstation. The assembly-line balancing problem is one of assigning all tasks to a series of workstations so that each workstation has no more than can be done in the work- station cycle time, and so that the unassigned (that is, idle) time across all workstations is minimized.The problem is complicated by the relationships among tasks imposed by prod- uct design and process technologies. This is called the precedence relationship, which specifies the order in which tasks must be performed in the assembly process. The steps in balancing an assembly line are straightforward: 1 Specify the sequential relationships among tasks using a precedence diagram. The diagram consists of circles and arrows. Circles represent individual tasks; arrows indicate the order of task performance. 2 Determine the required workstation cycle time, the same as takt time Determine the theoretical minimum number of workstations required to satisfy the workstation cycle time constraint using the formula, the same as the number of workers calculation. 3 Select a primary rule by which tasks are to be assigned to workstations, and a secondary rule to break ties. 4 Assign tasks, one at a time, to the first workstation until the sum of the task times is equal to the workstation cycle time, or no other tasks are feasible because of time or sequence restr ictions. Repeat the process for Workstation 2, Workstation 3, and so on until all tasks are assigned. Evaluate the efficiency of the balance derived using the formula Efficiency=sum of task timesactual number of workstations*workstation cycle time 6 If efficiency is unsatisfactory, rebalance using a different decision rule. Example: This table shows typical chassis assembly sequence of a car, and I will draw a precedence graph according to this table: Then, we can calculate the minimum number of workstations required: no. of workstations=45+50+11+15+9+12+12+12+12+8+958 = 4 So we can arrange the precedence graph accordingly: And the final Efficiency=1954*58=84%It can be seen that in station 4, only 9 seconds are employed among 58 seconds available time. To reduce this inefficiency, some independent operations can be added to this station. In this final assembly shop, we should analyze the work of all workstations, one by one, and reach a balanced assembly line finally. 4. Tool and eq uipment selection The final assembly area is considered a labor-driven process due to the high labor value-added work compared with other stations in the assembly plant. In this case, the right solution for labor and machine corporations is the key successful factor.Trim line: For the trim line assembly, the conveyor system should be changed from the one used in the paint line. We use the floor-mounted conveyor for the trim line and specially, I want to stress that since the plant should has a high production capacity, I choose to add an additional moving belt system to facilitate the workers for the high production rate. Moreover, for operations that will move heavy parts(doors, cockpits, windshield†¦), automation robots are selected instead of human labor. Robots are faster and more precise in installing heavy and big parts than human labor.For wirings, insulating applications, fuel tanks, steering leverage and etc. , I will choose to use human labors because these operations are too complicated for robots, and some area are deep inside the body shell and intangible for robots. On the other hand human labors have the advantage of agility, allowing them to go inside the body shell. In addition, batter-driven screwdrivers(low and medium torque models) should be equipped by the assemblers, to allow them fast and accurate fastening. Here are some pictures of the above mentioned tools and equipments: loor-mounted conveyor with moving belt Chassis line: For the chassis line assembly, the overhead conveyor system is needed to lift the vehicle shell and thus allow the installation of the powertrain system. In order to guide the pre-assembled powertrain system, the AGV(automatic guided vehicle) is used. At the same time battery driver screwdrivers and electric torque wrenches with torque limiters are used by workers to assemble the body and the powertrain system. Also, in order to ensure accurate placement, some laser projection based sensors are needed.Then the installation of wheels and exhaust system happens simultaneously. On the one hand line workers install exhaust system with the help of carrying robots. On the other hand multiple torque wrenches tightens the wheel. Of course tires must be handled with the help of the handling equipment in order to save time for the line workers. This process can spares much time for the powertrain assembly. The overhead conveyor system and the AGV. A multiple torque wrench is fast and precise A electric torque wrench with limiter A tire handler   Final assembly line:The vehicle is coupled with tires now, so a double slat conveyor system is selected to carry the body. In addition, a variety of arm and drop lifters are needed for the ergonomics consideration. Also, fluid filling machines is crucial in this stage: fuel tank, engine, transmissions†¦ For the testing phase, we need testing machines. For example the chassis dynamometer is necessary for the alignment test, the turning radius test an d the break test. The headlight test evaluates the photometric axis of the headlamps by projecting them on a screen and then measuring any deviations.A double slat conveyor A chassis dynamometer A seat handling partner References: 1. COZZARI GIULIANO, Assembly technologies,2010. 2. MARCO GOBETTO, Production Management,2010. 3. Mohammed A. Omar, â€Å"THE AUTOMOTIVE BODY MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES†, 2011 4. FILIP HELLMAN, BJORN LINDAHL, JONAS MALMBERG, thesis of â€Å"Mixed-model assembly line at Volvo Construction Equipment† 5. Marshall L. Fisher and Christopher D. Ittner, â€Å"THE IMPACT OF PRODUCT VARIETY ON AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLY OPERA TIONS: ANAL YSIS AND EVIDENCE† 6. technical note five: FACILITY LAYOUT

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Fifth Meditation essays

Fifth Meditation essays In the Fifth Meditation by Rene Descartes, he makes a case for the existence of God. He goes on to give reason to prove his argument that to exist is to believe in God for with out God we would not exist. Descartes gives the analogy of a mountain and a valley, pointing out that if a person believes that a mountain exists they cannot deny the existence of a valley, as stated in this quote: From the fact that I cannot think of a mountain without a valley, it does not follow that a mountain and valley exist anywhere, but simply that a mountain and a valley, whether they exist or not, are mutually inseparable. Descartes states the argument here, But from the fact that I cannot think of God except as existing, it follows that existence is inseparable from God, and hence that he really exists. Then he goes on to explain his reasons for the existence of God, It is not that my thought makes it so, or imposes any necessity of the thing itself, namely the existence of God, which determines my thinking in this respect. For I am not free to think of God without existence. He is saying, without God he would not exist, and if he does not exist he cannot think therefore God must exist if he has the ability to think. He supports his arguments further, as we see here, Descartes gives his conclusion, it states, I have perceived that God exists, and at the same time I have understood that everything else depends on him, and that he is no deceiver; and I have drawn the conclusion that everything which I clearly and distinctly perceive is of necessity true. He is saying, first of all, that everything that he unmistakably understands is true; he clearly understands God, therefore God exists! To support his conclusion he gives the argument, even if I am no longer attending to the arguments which led me to judge that this is true, as long as I remember that I clearly a ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Napolean Bonaparte1 essays

Napolean Bonaparte1 essays Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the small island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. He was born at a very hectic time. Corsica was trying to gain independence when French troops invaded. He was born during a war, and hell die because of one. When he turned ten his parents sent him to a military school just outside of Paris. He devoted himself to learning and gaining experience to military tactics, it paid off. When he was 16 he became a lieutenant in the artillery. Revolution broke out the same year. He joined the military of the French Republic. In October of 1705 a government official told Napoleon to defend the palace where the National Convention took place. He, with his small army, defeated the thousands of royalist in minutes. He is declared a hero. In 1796 the Directory appointed him to command a French army. He marched into Italy and liberated it from Austria, although some say he conquered it. The Directory wasnt doing very well. In 1799 it accused the French people of being corrupt. Napoleon seized this opportunity to take it over. On November 9, 1799 he and 500 soldiers took over one chamber of the National Legislature and drove out the members. The second chamber voted to end the directory. France was now in the hands of three officials, called consuls. Napoleon was one. In 1800, he and his fellow consuls set up the plebiscite in which the citizens had the right to vote yes or no on an issue. On December 2, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor. The plebiscite made this so. The Pope crowned him himself. People thought he was a godsend. He greatly changed the economy of France by making a lot of reforms. He set up a bank, let emigres back into France, he let their be freedom of religion, he freed slaves, and set up the Napoleonic Code. The people outside of France thought differently about Napoleon. They hated him. ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

No More Conventional Antonyms

No More Conventional Antonyms No More Conventional Antonyms No More Conventional Antonyms By Maeve Maddox One of the innovations of Newspeak, the version of English used by the totalitarian government in Orwell’s dystopic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, was the elimination of antonyms. A writer at the Oxford Dictionaries site explains: By choosing which words the populace can use, The Party can choose to shift thought in a more positive or negative direction to suit their needs;  ungood, for example, makes the populace feel less negative than  bad  would In 2015, some of the populace seem to be choosing to add un- to adjectives like good and rich rather than look for conventional antonyms: The Rich Are Less Ethical Than the Unrich [A Resort] Like Palm Springs, only for unrich people The government is clearly pandering to the masses, i.e. the unrich people. Few fanfic writers actually write good stories. Some are unrealistic, unplanned, ungood stories.   I was all set to move to Erdington until last night [when] I found some  ungood stories about the area I will be living in. In the end, the good outweighed the  ungood and Im happy I chose this  place. Ill be traveling light when it comes time for me to cross, when I cross†¦ This unwide road†¦ (song lyrics) . Abercrombie Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries [issued] a half-baked apology for his incendiary comments on why the unthin, the unyoung and the unbeautiful dont belong in AF clothes. As a stylistic device, words like unthin and unbeautiful can be used to humorous effect. Adding un- to words in an effort to obscure meaning or avoid thought, on the other hand, is not an option for writers who wish to be taken seriously. 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 Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph ExamplesIs There a Reason â€Å"the Reason Why† Is Considered Wrong?Prepositions to Die With

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Art - Essay Example The roofs of churches were vaulted and supported by thick stone walls, rounded arches and massive pillars. The creation of large churches during the Romanesque period was propagated by the strong devotion to Christianity and the church. There was a common belief among the Christians that the world was going to end a thousand years after Christ’s birth. This made people to have more commitment and devotion to church and so the churches had to be increased in size so that they could accommodate the large masses. The increase in size was also caused by political and cultural reasons. Flying buttresses is a masonry structure which typically consists of an inclined bar on an arch that extends from the top part of the wall to the pier which is some distance from the wall. Its main function is to carry the thrust of the vault. The pier is often crowned by a pinnacle which adds weight and enhances stability. The buttresses evolved during the gothic era as they allowed the building of high ceilinged churches (Kleiner 267). This changed the Notre-dame in Paris church architecture in general; it made the churches to have high vaults as they were strongly supported by the buttresses and pinnacles. They made churches to be bigger with high

Friday, October 18, 2019

Online discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Online discussion - Essay Example With this in mind, the use of critical literacy is important for children’s learning and social development because this particular instructional approach enables the students to carefully examine and decode critical perspectives on texts they read. Through critical literacy, students are expected to understand how these texts could significantly influence and change their perspectives on how they should act as one of the members within the society. Dora is one of Mattel and Nickelodeon’s famous cartoon characters for female children. To ensure that the older Dora version will not create wrong perception on how teenage children should be like, the company exerted an effort to gather opinions from mothers who patronage Dora as a suitable toy for their children (SFGate, 2011). Q.2 What can adults do to support children’s critical literacy? Parents and adults have a significant role to play when it comes to children’s critical literacy. At a very young age, c hildren do not have the ability to distinguish the differences between good and bad image and action. In the absence of proper guidance from the adults, children can easily be influenced by what they see, hear, or read without actually knowing whether or not the thing they have absorbed is good.

Commercial Law Master Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Commercial Law Master - Case Study Example For the first dispute of withholding payments due to Gilfil plc, the company can proceed against Tryan in the England & Wales High Court (commercial) without approaching the respective county court since value of claim would exceed 25,000. See relevant case Dalkia Utilities Services Plc v Celtech International Ltd [2006]1 Civil cases at first instance are heard in the County Courts (for minor claims) or the High Court, which is divided into three divisions: Queen's Bench, Family and Chancery. Cases may be appealed to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division). Cases may be appealed from the County Court to the High Court2. For the third issue of Gilfil plc having found their suppliers Eliot Electrical contractors infringing their exclusive and patented design of Phoebus brand. in the name of Pharos, they may file a suit against them in the respective Patent County court. See case 3 Gilfil plc may also implead Barton and Tryan for having sold duplicated version of their Phoebus brand. For the issue of negligent delivery of goods by the carriers, Gilfil plc may file a suit against them in the county court or High court depending up on the value of the claim. In the event of claim exceeding 25000, they can be made a party in the case they are filing against Tryan. Dispute resolutions As for withholding of payment for bills for which goods have been satisfactorily supplied, clause 3(2) of the contract says that order shall be placed on a monthly basis for the entire duration of the contract. The buyer having failed to do so, the seller had every right to repudiate the contract for the reasons of breach. But the seller has not given 30 days notice of its intention to cancel the contract as provided in clause 11 (1) of the contract. It only says 'may" and not "shall" which means notice is not mandatory in the event of a breach. Clause 11(2) will not apply since it is attracted only if there has been no breach in which case notice is construed as mandatory by the words "shall". Clause 5(6) of the contract says that payment shall not prejudice the right of the buyer. In the first place there was a breach on the part of the buyer by failure to place orders because of which the seller later declines to supply for having up other contracts. The breach though may be due t o restructuring, the buyer can not invoke "force majeure" clause nor had they notified the seller about their intention not to place orders temporarily. Where as clause 5(6) payment of any bill does not affect buyer's right under the contract, they have no case to withhold payment of the bills duly supplied. Even if it happens to be the bill goods of which have been damaged in rain, the buyer has no right to do so due to insurance clause. And even otherwise, they failed to receive the goods when it arrived and carriers have done the best possible option available to them, though

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Cause and effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Cause and effect - Essay Example It is commonly known that when a person engages in physical activities, the heart rate and blood pressure increase, making the heart be exercised as well. Moreover, healthy diets are now getting popularly advertised and embraced for the same reason of having health benefits. In relation to cardiovascular diseases, Ivan Gyarfas states that there are no vaccines against such diseases but there is prevention. He mentions having healthy living as the top reason for such prevention. In the past three decades, studies show that the death rate caused by cardiovascular diseases decreased by forty percent. The reason for two-thirds of the decline is the awareness and practice adopted by people about healthy lifestyle. Diets were designed to reduce calories, fats and salts that improved control of hypertension, the growing popularity of fitness exercises, and smoking cessation--all of which have nothing to do with drug medications(1). This shows that indeed, eating healthy foods, exercise and quitting smoking all lead to a better healthy body. On of the causes cardiovascular diseases that have caught the attention of researchers lately is the psychosocial factor. The authors, Susan Everson-Rose and Tene Lewis claim that this is an important factor that must be considered in treating or preventing the disease and studies must be strengthened so that the relation of such factor will be established as a well-researched standard. The two writers claim that the emotional state of a person contributes as a risk factor to cardiovascular disease. Among the conditions they have explained are anger and hostility which is said to be â€Å"typically characterized by a suspicious, mistrustful attitude or disposition toward interpersonal relationships and the wider environment, considered to be enduring which means, it is a personality trait† (475). â€Å"Anger is an emotion which is considered to be one component of a broader, multi-dimensional construct that includes hostili ty and aggressive behavior†. This emotion is caused by perceptions of unjust events or actions (Everson-Rose & Lewis, 475) which could probably be true or imagined. Injustice causes anger which eventually causes hostility that somehow affect how the heart functions which consequently turn to heart problems. Other factors that are considered psychosocial are environment stressors. Examples of such are work-related stress and acute life stress. As mentioned earlier, researchers are seriously considering the possible effects of such factors in patient however, Lang, Lepage, Schieber Lamy and Kelly acknowledge in their article the fact that this is not fully supported. The reason for this is perhaps the multiple factors that may be involved, practiced by patients who were also used as research materials. Among the other factors that affect the poor acknowledgement of work related risk factors are smoking and high cholesterol (7). Other psychosocial factors are social factors which take on the subsets of social ties, social support and social conflict. It has been observed that people with strong support systems like family and friends; reduce their risk of having heart problems. On the other hand, those who have been isolated either intentionally for the purpose of studies or naturally because of certain personal reasons,

Music and Pornography Censorship Research Paper

Music and Pornography Censorship - Research Paper Example Censorship refers to a practice whereby public communication or speech is suppressed, particularly if it is regarded as harmful, objectionable, or sensitive by media outlets, governments, as well as other regulatory bodies. Various reasons lead to censoring on public content since the responsible bodies believe they contribute to immorality (Cloonan and Drewett 11). The various reasons that lead to censoring of content include pornography, obscenities, hate speeches, need to safeguard young children, enhance national security, or restrict or promote religious or political views. Various forms of censorship prevail in the current society. Any content is subject to censorship based on people’s location or activities taking place in a country (Chapman and Ciment 5). The media on the internet, radio, television, movies, books, and music are subject to censorship. Censorship is implemented in different forms every day. For example, music and pornography are among the key media type s, which censorship is exercised (Jones 18).

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Cause and effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Cause and effect - Essay Example It is commonly known that when a person engages in physical activities, the heart rate and blood pressure increase, making the heart be exercised as well. Moreover, healthy diets are now getting popularly advertised and embraced for the same reason of having health benefits. In relation to cardiovascular diseases, Ivan Gyarfas states that there are no vaccines against such diseases but there is prevention. He mentions having healthy living as the top reason for such prevention. In the past three decades, studies show that the death rate caused by cardiovascular diseases decreased by forty percent. The reason for two-thirds of the decline is the awareness and practice adopted by people about healthy lifestyle. Diets were designed to reduce calories, fats and salts that improved control of hypertension, the growing popularity of fitness exercises, and smoking cessation--all of which have nothing to do with drug medications(1). This shows that indeed, eating healthy foods, exercise and quitting smoking all lead to a better healthy body. On of the causes cardiovascular diseases that have caught the attention of researchers lately is the psychosocial factor. The authors, Susan Everson-Rose and Tene Lewis claim that this is an important factor that must be considered in treating or preventing the disease and studies must be strengthened so that the relation of such factor will be established as a well-researched standard. The two writers claim that the emotional state of a person contributes as a risk factor to cardiovascular disease. Among the conditions they have explained are anger and hostility which is said to be â€Å"typically characterized by a suspicious, mistrustful attitude or disposition toward interpersonal relationships and the wider environment, considered to be enduring which means, it is a personality trait† (475). â€Å"Anger is an emotion which is considered to be one component of a broader, multi-dimensional construct that includes hostili ty and aggressive behavior†. This emotion is caused by perceptions of unjust events or actions (Everson-Rose & Lewis, 475) which could probably be true or imagined. Injustice causes anger which eventually causes hostility that somehow affect how the heart functions which consequently turn to heart problems. Other factors that are considered psychosocial are environment stressors. Examples of such are work-related stress and acute life stress. As mentioned earlier, researchers are seriously considering the possible effects of such factors in patient however, Lang, Lepage, Schieber Lamy and Kelly acknowledge in their article the fact that this is not fully supported. The reason for this is perhaps the multiple factors that may be involved, practiced by patients who were also used as research materials. Among the other factors that affect the poor acknowledgement of work related risk factors are smoking and high cholesterol (7). Other psychosocial factors are social factors which take on the subsets of social ties, social support and social conflict. It has been observed that people with strong support systems like family and friends; reduce their risk of having heart problems. On the other hand, those who have been isolated either intentionally for the purpose of studies or naturally because of certain personal reasons,

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

E-Commerce and the Value Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

E-Commerce and the Value Proposal - Essay Example The platform of e-commerce has emerged as one of the popular modes of performing related operations of retail chain businesses in an electric form. Notably, the activities in e-commerce include performing operations and making transactions with the use of internet. For several businesses, the platform of e-commerce is also used for gathering relevant information about consumer market and competitors’ actions amid the prime ones. The rationale behind conducting this study was to explore the benefits and identifying the challenges that Sainsbury’s experienced with respect to introduction of e-commerce in its business process. Besides, further supporting the assessment of the identified issues, certain recommendations has been made that will certainly assist the business of Sainsbury’s to improve its operational process. Considering the fact that the platform of e-commerce has emerged as one of the beneficial approaches to reach more customers in highly conventional setting thus, apparently, the prospective to conduct this study was to explore e-commerce trend in the global retail market. Along with this prospect, the significance of conducting the study also laid in exploring the issues that Sainsbury’s faced within aggressive e-commerce trend in the marketplace by other competitive businesses. Rationale after the study resolution to recognised the problems of the corporation that can be positively to sustenance the company in developing its commercial procedure. Appropriately, this study will support the company.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Imports and Exports Essay Example for Free

Imports and Exports Essay The importing and exporting of goods are flourishing despite the economic pitfalls splattered across the media. Let’s face it, if there is demand for a product this usually means there is a market. And where there is a market, there is sure to be a product waiting to rest in the hands of those who need it. There is a phrase for this recipe. Its called â€Å"Supply and Demand. † Supply and demand results in trade. A case worth examining is how effective trade is between the United States and foreign countries. The article entitled â€Å"US versus China Hidden Export Advantages and Trade Opportunities† is an examination of just how effective trade can be between two countries where supply and demand exists. The author uses the example of how there continues to be a high demand for soybeans in China. It has been reported that China consumes more soybeans than any other country. With soybeans being a chief product of the United States, this creates a competitive advantage of exporting this valuable commodity. Another fine example the article gives in regards effective imports and exports, is the fact that the Untied States has been very profitable in supplying waste and scrap metals to Chinese plants. These Chinese plants in turn, recycle the iron, steel, copper and aluminum into substantial new metals. Statistics show that this more than doubled the surplus of the United States in the year 2009. In summary, this article was very instrumental in supporting the success of imports and exports between international countries, despite economic complexities.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Changing Marketing Strategies of Pharmaceutical Companies

Changing Marketing Strategies of Pharmaceutical Companies Abstract Pharmaceutical companies spend large sums of money in the time-consuming research and development of new drugs and the new classes of drugs. Each company marketing in the US seeks the possible payoff of staggering high profits which is possible on their patented medicines. Because of the lack of price regulation in the marketing environment in the United States, the United States has become a premium sales market targeted by all pharmaceutical companies. This explains the continued willingness of each pharmaceutical company to persist through the entire long process of idea, creation, development, testing, approval, marketing and distribution despite the high possibility of product failure. The pharmaceutical companies have had to additionally contend with more US federal FDA rules, regulation and oversight in the United States for the entire process before receiving clearance to start marketing their drug product. Other influences like HMOs and Social Security cap limits affect prof itability structure. Over the last fifty years newer marketing strategies by pharmaceutical companies on prescription drugs include a directive appeal to the end consumer to increase the odds of making corporate profits and a marketing focus on social and internet interaction. Introduction Pharmaceutical companies produce specialized medical drug material designed to fill a need. These pharmaceutical companies are usually multinational operations located in key countries around the globe. Many have grown to become complete facilities that attempt to do the entire spectrum of research, develop, test and finally market the subject drug in order to reap the whole benefits possible from the entire cycle (Kaitin, 2010). The pharmaceutical industry has shown over time that they have the capability to increase consumer perceived value with their unique drug products using their own successful plans for timely marketing. But because of these old and new factors causing cumulative hurtles, a new trend in marketing in the pharmaceutical industry is now to additionally market direct to the customer, for example: TV advertising spots showing a new superior drug product which has special features making it directly appealing to a consumer. Changes in basic marketing structure tacti cs will be evaluated for the key levels of pressure from these internal and external factors as these pharmaceutical companies seek to address continuing ongoing product failure rates, increasing US regulation and the ever present potential competition from others inside their own industry. This trend has been a natural development over the last hundred years or so. This is reasonable because the same research that produces one drug may produce an entire class of drugs for market. Confidentiality, control, patents and oversight give these pharmaceutical companies the oversight. It also allows each pharmaceutical company to keep maximum control of all their connected environments. And by controlling these the final marketing each company achieve continues the cycle of giving the most control over the drug for the marketing campaign. The drug industry often competes worldwide and on different economic levels but in some specific territorial markets like the United States, pricing structures are not preset by the government and therefore the free market sets its own competitive standards for pricing giving the possibility and most often the probability of higher drug prices with the resultant bigger profit level opportunities. However these are offset by rigorous structural standard guidelines set by the FDA that must be complied with for any drug sold or marketed to the US public. In the past, drug companies in United States, marketed to doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and sometimes middleman companies as transitional handlers of the newest product. Marketing drugs in the United states has now changed as developers are now targeting consumers directly through television spots, online advertising and in print ads. The direct appeal is to make the end point consumer aware of the name of the drug and its benefits. The object is to have the consumer become familiar with the trade name, ask for the drug directly from their doctor thus boosting the initial sales of the new product and creating a ready market. Industry History Marchetti Schellens (2007) outline the structures of development showing it to be complex and expensive. Not only does the potential class or specific drug have to be discovered or created, it has to show promise for certain illness or disease, then pharmaceutical research can proceed through certain phases. Pharmaceutical companies have a history of costly product failures. Generally theres three clinical phrases and all this can take upwards of 15 years to complete. Additionally the FDA has trended over the last decade to creating higher pressures against drug companies by not approving as many new drugs for marketing. The probability odds are that any specific drug in early clinical phase has only 8% chance or less of ever becoming public (Food and Drug Administration, 2006) (Kummar, 2007). In the United States the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sought to control the drugs available to Americans because of the number of tragedies that have resulted in birth defects o r deaths. The most highly publicized incident was in the mid-1960s and the drug was called thalidomide which for pregnant women often resulted in severe birth defects. As an end result of public outrage creating governmental pressures, the pharmaceutical companies are overseen at all levels and must now successful clinical trials. Lamb(1998) writes that testing protocols have been standardized and once clinical trials are completed there is a analysis period with the end result being an application to the FDA called an NDA ( new drug application) which contains all the technical information. Over the last forty years (1970s -2010) and now in 2011 differential forces are in opposition to the ends of pharmaceutical companies. Environmental and safety issues, new technologies, mergers and the rise of managed care and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) have all effectively changed the environment thats pharmaceutical companies operate in. additionally in 1997 the FDA changed regulations relating to the presentation of risk level. This action in the United States opened the door for pharmaceutical companies to directly market to the public .This freedom for the pharmaceutical companies is offset by the FDA still having oversight surveillance of the specific phases and clinical approval. The FDA must approve the drug. After the drug is marketed there is oversight for continued compliance by the pharmaceutical companies to ensure a low-level of side effects during marketing. Post approval by the FDA comes solely after this period (Silverman, 2011). Pharmaceutical company spending on marketing exceeds that spent on research.[3][22] In 2004 in Canada $1.7 billion a year was spent marketing drugs to physicians and in the United States $21 billion were spent in 2002.[4] In 2005 money spent on pharmaceutical marketing in the US was estimated at $29.9 billion with one estimate as high as $57 billion.[3] When the US number are broken down 56% was free samples, 25% was detailing of physicians, 12.5% was direct to consumer advertising, 4% on hospital detailing, and 2% on journal ads.[4] In the United States approximately $20 billion could be saved if generics were used instead of equivalent brand name products.[3] Although pharmaceutical companies have made large investments in marketing their products, overall promotional spending has been decreasing over the last few years, and declined by 10 percent from 2009 to 2010. Pharmaceutical companies are cutting back mostly in detailing and sampling, while spending in mailings and print advertising grew since last year.[23] Historical Marketing Pharmaceutical companies have employed various methods of marketing their products and this idea can be understood by the phrase â€Å"How would you like to be in an industry where your buyers are uninformed about your product and almost 100 per cent insensitive to its price?† (The Business Edge Consortium, 2010). For many decades this was true. Around the mid 80s this started to change â€Å"The result of these industry conditions was impressive profit growth through the middle of the 1980s. With significant barriers to entry, docile suppliers, powerless buyers, almost no threat of substitutes, and little rivalry, the pharmaceutical industry in the 1980s was just about as perfect an industry as one could imagine. Given its attractiveness, the industry attracted the attention of genetic and molecular biology scientists and the venture capital community, who saw its appeal and thought their revolutionary approaches to drug therapy could attract enough money to overcome the for midable entry barriers the industry enjoyed. Thus, as scientific advances in biotechnology took hold, numerous entrepreneurial companies like Genentech and Amgen were founded to commercialize new scientific breakthroughs. Genentech, the first biotech firm having commercial success, developed a protein that broke up blood clots. Amgens famous molecular biology used recombinant DNA to produce erythropoietin, a hormone that increases the supply of red blood cells in anaemic patients under treatment for cancer and other diseases. By 2000, erythropoietin was generating $2 billion in sales and another $3 billion in licensing revenue for Amgen. Both of these new entrants fared very well in this attractive industry:Genentech went public in 1980, and by 2001 its shares had appreciated 2700 per cent since its IPO. Amgen shares, first offered in 1983, soared more than 16,000 per cent. Starting in the mid-1980s, the barriers to enter the pharmaceutical industry began to show cracks. New legislation made it easier for generic drug companies to enter the market. In the USA, the 1984 Waxman-Hatch Act, which changed the rules for generic drug manufacturers, reduced the barriers to generic entry. Instead of having to prove the generic drugs safety and efficacy, the act required companies only to prove their formulas were equivalent to that of the brandname drug. The subsequent growth in generic drugs was profound. By 1996, generic drugs accounted for more than 40 per cent of pharmaceutical prescriptions. Aside from the influx of generics, the pharmaceutical companies also saw a wave of biotechnology competitors enter their industry Genentech, Amgen and many others suggesting that economies of scale meant less than they used to, and that barriers to entry, while still high in absolute terms, were dropping, thanks in part to the availability of venture capital. Further, the biotech companies new science-focused research model, known as rational drug design, stood the traditional approach to drug discovery on its head. These drug companies worked backwards from known disease biochemistry to identify or design chemical ‘keys to fit the biochemical ‘locks of that disease.† Traditionally they employed very effective strategies that includes educational sponsorship to cover the costs of continuing instruction for top medical personnel, sponsorship of articles in well-respected journal publications, providing free drugs samples to doctors and promotional gifts that include a corporate logo or specifics about a drug the idea behind the promotional marketing is to simply connect the new drug with an old medical symptom and encourage the writers of the prescription to fulfill the marketing cycle. Promantally pharmaceutical samples are still given out to doctors as a promotion and marketing tactic and it works (Alexander, Zhang Basu, 2008). A few generations ago these forms of marketing worked well for the pharmaceutical companies. However circumstances have changed. The FDA seeks to discourage the intimate connection between pharmaceutical companies and their pharmaceutical representatives is the connection to the doctors prescribing medicines, these days d octors see more patients and fewer pharmacy drug representatives, additionally there is a continuing trend by hospitals, doctors and pharmacies towards being conservative in their recommendations and prescriptions because of lawsuits of all kinds (Pharmaceutical Industry History, 2007). Medical drug malpractice suits in the US are rising. Fiscus (2008) writes that â€Å" In the United States, the growing use of DTC advertising has raised challenges to one of the strongest defenses available to drug manufacturers against failure to warn allegations in product liability suits for prescription drugs and medical devices: the learned intermediary doctrine. Under this doctrine, a manufacturer fulfills its duty to warn by adequately informing a learned intermediary, typically a physician.† Current Marketing .In 2010 the global pharmaceutical market is worth over 825 million with a large percentage of this comes from newer and mature drug products and there are over 100,000 health-related websites (The Business Edge Consortium, 2010). The statistics show that marketing by pharmaceutical companies is changing because of external pressures. There has been a dramatic rise in U.S. physicians routinely using d the web to check or research information making the relevance of digital promotion all the more important Pharmaceutical companies have risen to the changing challenge of Internet marketing and now promote and advertise doctor friendly physician and customer service online portals like PubMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National, and Physicians Interactive (Kaitin, 2010). Pharmaceutical marketers are relying more on connecting digital medical information to their target audience through focused marketing, interactive social media campaigns, and cell and mobile linked advertising all targeted to connect to the 145 million + U.S. adults who go online for health answers . The old saying â€Å" time is money† is accurate in the case of pharmaceutical companies as it takes upwards of 15 years to develop a potential drug which only has a 8% probability of getting out of trials and going to market. Therefore it is a necessity to carefully control costs and expenses where possible. One major area of expense has been having marketing representatives which were costing out as high as15 to 20% of a pharmaceutical companies annual drug product revenues. As pharmaceutical company overall expenses and costs have additionally escalated over the last few generations there is a need to reduce expenses down where possible. So the switch from costly pharmaceutical representatives to cheaper graphic marketing is easily understood. Finkelstein (1997) wrote that Competitive and technological changes in the pharmaceutical industry-from powerful new drug chemistries to innovative RD partnerships and marketing plans-are reshaping the business strategies of many phar maceutical and biotechnology companies Given these cost pressures it is understandable that the pharmaceutical companies are looking for better ways to market their drugs. The newest strategy is now to promote what is known as marketing blockbuster medical drugs directly to the consumer public. The idea was to empower the consumer. Right now only the United States and New Zealand allow pharmaceutical products promoted by DTC (Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturers, 2011). When an individual consumer requests information and the medicine by name by their Doctor some of the responsibility while also applying pressure on the doctor to prescribe the new medicine. Additionally both the small and large pharmaceutical companies are now using digital media to promote their products. From TV and cable to Internet ads consumers are constantly being made aware of the virtues and minor drawbacks of a number specific pharmaceutical drugs. The reasoning behind this strategy by the pharmaceutical companies is relatively simple, if they can promote their products and make its trade name and cure synonymous with the ongoing medical complaint in the publics mind, then they can create momentum utilizing the end customer. Another reason for doing this is to get any of their major blockbuster drugs to pay for the company costs for their other company made drugs sold in smaller volumes Another reason for marketing these blockbuster drugs as to make a success of these drugs synonymous with the company name creating consumer goodwill towards the next product. The latest trend is for reduction in the number of blockbuster drugs and pharmaceutical companies delvin g back into their former research to find potential missing new specialized drugs, .this can be seen clearly by the reduction in applications to the FDA showing ever reducing numbers of new drugs. Another complication that pharmaceutical companies must contend with is the ever-growing number of over-the-counter substitutes (OTCs) that the consumers choose to purchase as an alternative. Over a period of 20 years Naprosyn was widely prescribed as an arthritis remedy but now is available as an over-the-counter drug. A whole spectrum of drugs from arthritis to antihistamines are now available without prescription providing relief to customers but adding little to the economic bottom line of pharmaceutical companies that originally developed these drugs. Another complication in drug marketing is the force exerted by HMOs on doctors and what doctors prescribe .Generally the majority of HMOs are not big on covering high prescription costs for new medicines recently brought to market. The economics are easily understandable because it is not about a single client which needs a single drug but the numbers are multiplied by the potential hundreds of thousands. Therefore HMOs seek to be conservative. And because of that they create a potential customer roadblock for pharmaceutical companies with the new drug on the market at a very high price. Because of the HMO will not cove r the price then the customer must, which generally means the consumer settles for less than the newest product. managed care organizations (MCO), compared with 5 per cent of the US population covered in 1980. These MCOs typically provided full coverage for prescription drugs. But, because of their sheer mass, these institutions had considerable bargaining power with drug companies If present industry overview is taken into consideration then the global pharmaceutical market in 2010 is projected to grow 4 6% exceeding $825 billion. The global pharmaceutical market sales is expected to grow at a 4 7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2013. This industry growth is driven by stronger near-term growth in the US market and is based on the global macroeconomy, the changing combination of innovative and mature products apart from the rising influence of healthcare access and funding on market demand. Global pharmaceutical market value is expected to expand to $975+ billion by 2013. Different regions of the world will influence the pharmaceutical industry trends in different ways. http://www.da-group.co.uk/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=31%3Amicro-and-macro-environmentscatid=2%3Amarketing-lecturesItemid=3 CURRENT CHALLENGES FOR THE RESEARCH-BASED INDUSTRY To understand why â€Å"business as usual† is no longer an option for the research-based drug industry, it is worth considering some of the myriad challenges that drug companies currently face. At the top of the list is the upcoming onslaught of patent expirations of many highrevenue- generating branded medicines. Between 2009 and 2012, worldwide sales for these products will exceed $112 billion (Table 1). Included in this list are 36 blockbusters (drugs with annual sales of $1 billion or more). Some important examples include Singulair (montelukast), with more than $4 billion in annual sales (patent expiration in 2012); Plavix (clopidogrel), with more than $8 billion in annual sales (patent expiration in 2011); and Lipitor (atorvastatin), with an industry-leading $13.7 billion in annual sales (patent expiration in 2010). Given that only 3 in 10 new products, on average, generate revenues equal to or greater than average industry RD costs,1 the loss of patent protection on the se blockbusters represents a very real threat to the industrys ability to sustain its own growth. Without question, many of the large pharma mergers and acquisitions announced in 2009 reflect the industrys desire to avoid the imminent danger of the patent cliff, rather than an interest in enhancing RD capabilities or scope. The current environment for innovation presents formidable economic, regulatory, and political challenges for the research-based pharmaceutical industry. In particular, the growing time, cost, and risk related to drug development are stubborn obstacles to filling industry pipelines and boosting the output of new pharmaceutical and biological products. Presented here is a model of an innovation network. Although structures may vary, the innovation network offers the best mechanism to ensure viability and economic success for all sectors of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, as well as the uninterrupted flow of innovative lifesaving and life-improving medicines for waiting patients. The Rise of Contract Research Organizations Clinical trials are administered by investigators at hospitals, academic institutions or managed sites. The investigators find and enroll healthy and symptomatic volunteers, each of whom is required to sign an informed consent acknowledging acceptance of the drug and its potential side effects. The testing protocol and informed consent form are monitored by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in the sites where the trials are conducted. In essence, the IRB acts as an ethics committee to ensure the safety of patients and volunteers. Once clinical trials are completed, the data are subjected to biostatistical analysis over a 6 to 12 month period.3 If the data yield promising results, the sponsor seeks final approval though a New Drug Application (NDA). The NDA must contain all scientific information the sponsor has gathered and typically fills 100,000 pages or more.4 During the review period, the FDA assesses the safety and effectiveness of th e drug, the manufacturing process, and the risk-benefit calculus.5 By law, the FDA has 180 days to either approve the application or notify the sponsor of the opportunity to request a hearing on the merits of the application.6 In practice, however, the FDA review process takes more than two years; in 1996, for example, the mean approval time for NDAs was 17.8 months, down from over 30 months during the late 1980s.7 Following approval, the FDA may require additional post-market research. Post-market surveillance regulations require the sponsor to collect and periodically report additional safety and efficacy data.8 In addition, the FDA may request further clinical research (Phase IV) to find new uses for the drug, test dosage formulations, compare the drug to competitors treatments, and assess long-term effects.9 Finally, pharmaceutical Conclusions A continuous call for ethical standards by pharmaceutical companies that market in the United States is often put aside because company marketing and business model of making profits matter more.(Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturer, 2011). Brezis (2008) writes that the US public will lose out in the long run because the pharmaceutical companies are more focused on marketing and profits than about public health. Drug trial deaths still happen and have been described as a trade secret. It is not just one of the big pharmaceutical companies by Johnson Johnson, Merick and others whose own safety documents raise concerns that are buried in stacks of papers while marketing continues (Brezis, 2008). But this is offset by the ability of both the doctor and patient to use the Internet to search out the detailed information and become truly informed. Each of them can then make an informed decision about the benefits and potential drawbacks of using pharmaceuticals.