Scholarly paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scholarly paper - Essay Example In this paper, a close understanding and analysis of the said article shall be handled in an aim of making the process of dealing with hypertension much easier and much effective for many individuals today. Early studies believed that hypertension only occur among the old aged generation. However, the new researches in medicine actually note the possibility of even the young generation to incur hypertension issues as well. Without clear symptoms, it is best advised by healthcare workers today that prevention be a better applied matter of consideration among individuals' lifestyle and heath habits as related to the process of improving one's health status towards becoming more ensured of being safe from hypertension attacks. Overstressing from work is certainly a huge matter that greatly contributes to the process of building up matters that result to hypertension. Aside from stress, a person's lifestyle imbalance could also result to unforeseen hypertension. Considerably, a person not having the right balance of work and recreation and is having too much of either of both could have the possibility of developing hypertension symptoms that may not be that easy to identify making early prevention much of a harder process to take into consideration. For this particular matter, nursing aides and other medical staffs

The Effects of Poverty on the Inner City Family Values Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Poverty on the Inner City Family Values Essay The family is the basic unit of the society. It is an institution that is composed of the father, mother and their children. It can be said that the existence of the family is a simple matter but we should realize that the conglomeration of families is what makes up the world today. The existence of families is governed by family values that are passed from generation to generation. Family values are proven to be effective in keeping families intact no matter how dynamic the world is. In other words, the inability to maintain and practice family values at home makes a family chaotic thereby affecting the society as a whole. There are various family values that are utilized and practiced by families worldwide. However, most of the common values include individuality, integrity, industry, knowledge, compassion, love of family and optimism (Learning Family, 1999, p. 1). These values are useful in keeping family cooperation and order that will result to happiness at home. Moreover, we are aware that family values affect how we face the realities of life. Our values can manifest to others about what kind of people we are, and can assist them in understanding our actions (Learning Family, 1999, p. 1). In this paper, the primary factor that could affect family values is the problem of poverty that surfaced in the world today. This paper will give a simple yet thorough discussion of the effects of poverty on actual and perceived families found in the inner city and their values. The basic manifestations of poverty are overpopulation, food shortage and related problems, high crime rate and poor educational background of which family values can be applied in solving for these problems. Poverty and Its Effects to Actual and Perceived Inner City Family Values Poverty is a problem that hits the whole world. Many countries are suffering from poverty and its constituents always hope for changes. Having families forced to fill the streets due to inability to afford a house is a reality. Even in the United States, there people who are found in the streets as they could not afford to own a house (Wattenberg, et. als. , 2003, p. 517). It is for a fact that the United States has been considered as a country that has the highest national income worldwide (Wattenberg, et. als. , 2003, p. 517). Yet, poverty still exists due to unequal distribution of income and wealth. Due to this situation, many families are becoming malfunctioned as their children caused so many problems in the society. Family values are no longer frequently taught among children since juvenile delinquency is rampant nowadays. There are two kinds of families that we need to deal with in analyzing family values in relation to poverty in the inner city and these are the actual family and the perceived inner city family. In order to have a basic backdrop in understanding the paper, it should be put in mind that these two kinds of family will be analyzed with respect to each manifestation of poverty together with the family values mentioned earlier. Hence, the purpose of this paper is trying to stress the differences in views between the actual and the perceived poor inner city family. Schools are getting problems of truancy as a sign that parents can no longer control their children in their homes. Parents are more focused in solving financial problems that they tend to forge their children’s emotional and psychological needs. Overpopulation and Its Effects to Actual and Perceived Inner City Families The problem of poverty includes population growth. As time continues to exist, the number of people living in this world also increases. In line with that, life expectancy as well as standards of living became more complicated. Besides, the populace has developed into a huge number that is about six billion, and continues to increase over time (Overpopulation Website, 2008, p. 1). In addition to that, the pressures of rising populations on natural resources and commercial greed coalesce, resulting to detrimental consequences (Overpopulation Website, 2008, p. 1). As many people exist, there is shortage of space in cities wherein most families live to earn a living. Housing problems occur and the government is trying to resolve the issue. Due to the rising number of unemployed people, homeless families continue to increase. Children start to show disgust in the situation leading them to stray in the streets. Aside from that, many families stay in the streets to earn a living by selling whatever materials to passersby and run errands to other people. Besides, those people in the countryside try to relocate into inner cities in order to search for economic opportunities. This situation adds to the burden of having a congested place in the urban and suburban communities. Diseases that affect the people living in the cities continue to be a problem since clean water supply is limited. In other words, overpopulation greatly affects those families who live in the inner cities since all other huge problems related to poverty exist there. For a detailed analysis on the effects of poverty on the actual inner city family values, we need to consider the matters discussed earlier. The main focus in this section is the effects of poverty on the actual families in inner cities and their values. Considering overpopulation, there are family values that are utilized by actual families. These values include industry, compassion, and optimism. Actual inner city poor families are aware of the value of industry, compassion and optimism. First and foremost, the hardships that these families need to bear require an optimistic heart so that life can be fully enjoyed. Small amount of food can be shared by family members and a few clothing supply can be used by them. However, actual families are weak in terms of compassion since they would not care for other people’s welfare as long as their own families can survive. The future is that a family of three members who are earning the minimum wage in the year 2009 can still considered as living below the federal poverty line. The only family values that can prevent this situation are industry since there is no other way. Yet, because of poor educational background leading to poor qualification in work with better pay make the family members indolent. The effect of poverty on the value of industry is very severe as long financial crisis may result to inadequacy of work qualifications. Actual families and its members usually blame each other in their poor educational background due to the coming of more family members leading to more mouths to feed. Parents are always blamed by their children of their inability to afford for the educational needs of their children. As a result, the value of industry never worked out due to lack of work qualification. In addition, poor actual families view poverty as something that they do not deserve as they thought they worked hard to earn a living. Whatever it may be, the actual families still believes that no matter how hard life is, optimism is a value that should not be discarded. On the other hand, the views of perceived families on inner city values are much more different than views of actual family. The perceived family in the inner city viewed overpopulation as the failure of the government to address the issue. Perceived families most likely blamed the government for not giving then sufficient work opportunities that resulted to their economic difficulties. Aside from that, perceived families living in urban and suburban communities do not care about the value of compassion. Most frequently, people in inner cities who are poor fight against each other over little resources. Their dire needs of living allowance made them inactive to the welfare of other people but for themselves. In addition, perceived families in inner cities are not optimistic in nature. They tend to submit to negative actions just to escape poverty. There are so many cases of theft, robbery and even rape that exist in perceived families due to the inability of family members and even neighbors to help each other. The scarce resources in the inner city due to overpopulation pushed young children to wander in the streets for possible alms and donations. Just think of the existing people in the streets begging for food and basic necessities, perceived families in the inner cities experienced these things. However, the value of industry is something that is treasured by perceived families on inner cities. This is due to the fact that if they will not work to earn a living, they have nothing to eat. Their children will suffer more due to lack of sustenance. Poor perceived families on inner cities could be aware of the fact that only a sincere industry could give them a chance to earn a living.

Internet Censorship Essay - Internet AccessShould be Restricted to Prot

Access to the Internet Should be Restricted to Protect Children      Ã‚  Ã‚   We are now entering an age of computers where people have almost unlimited access to information. There are entire books and encyclopedias that can be purchased for use on personal computers. Information such as stock prices to computer-aided design programs to entire business operations is being used and accessed through the power of the computer. This information is obtained through the thousands of computer programs out on the market, but most importantly, it is obtained by access to what is called the "Internet." The Internet is the term for the ten thousand plus interconnected computer networks throughout the world that enable us to gather and dispense any type of information almost instantly. For the 1.5 million computers and the 10 million plus users, the Internet gathers information easily and quickly by means of messages, newsgroups, discussion groups, and conferences (rmuir, '94). Anyone who owns a computer and has the necessary software and hardware can have a ccess to this infinite amount of information.    This, of course, can include children. Right now children at the age of seven are speeeding down the "information superhighway," accessing an almost unlimited amount of information. In fact, there are schools on the Internet with their own World Wide Web homepages already. Unfortunately, some of this information isn't geared for children and can even be strictly for adults. Just as inappropriate material in books and magazines is regulated, there too should be some form of Internet regulation and ethics because children of secondary schools have access to any and all information including that information which is objectionable and ev... ...p://www.eff.org:80/CAF/cafuiuc.html rmuir@chs.cusd.claremont.edu FYI, RFC#1578 -Schools and Internet, February 22,1994, http://chs.cusd.claremont.edu:80/www/people/rmuir/rfc1578.html Abrahams, Janice. Janice's k12 Cyberspace OUTPOST. October 1,1994. http://k12.cnidr.org/janice_k12/schools.html, http://k12.cnidr.org/janice_k12/menu.html The Family Resource Center in Santa Clara, California, Parents Helping Parents. October 25, 1994, http://www.portal.com:80/~cbntmkr/php.html Gore, Albert. Speech at Royce Hall, UCLA Los Angeles, CA. January 11, 1994. http://sunsite.unc.edu:80/icky/speech2.html Morrison, Michael. Computer Writing and Research Center. University of Texas at Austin. Personal Interview. December 3,1994. Hoker, Delia. Computer Writing and Research Center. University of Texas at Austin. Personal Interview. December 3,1994.   

Latino Culture Related to Purnell Model Essay

Cultural competence is the ability to interact well with people of different cultural backgrounds (Rundle, 2002). It provides the best ways of meeting the needs of diverse patient population which is always on the increase, as well as ways of effectively advocating for them. This means that cultural competence has the benefit of enabling nurses to deliver services that respect and effectively respond to health beliefs and practice needs of diverse patients. Through the process of globalization, nurses are moving to places of nursing shortage to offer their knowledge and skills beyond their home country (Campbell, 2003). In this case, information about culture, ethnicity and race becomes important to nursing profession and health care. This paper examines the culture of Latino’s under the guidelines of Purnell’s Model of cultural competency. It looks at issues relating to health promotion, disease prevention and management factors affecting health which are basically the aims of community health nursing. The Purnell model is a model that was developed to provide and organize framework for nurses to use as cultural assessment tool. The model is a concept where all people have been represented at various levels. They range from global society, community, family and the individual and I will utilize this model to explore the Latino community. Heritage/Culture selected Latino includes any person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South American, Central American or other Spanish culture regardless of race (Crouch, 2004). Their origin can be viewed in different perspectives including country of birth of the person or person’s parents before their emigration, heritage, nationality group or lineage. Latino may be of any race, including Black, White, Asian and Native American. The reason for their migration to new places include availability of work, housing from friends and families which had already settled in new places, availability of bilingual education, better living conditions, and a better quality of life. Some of the occupations that have been associated with Latino include restaurants, construction, and factories. Communication Language is considered the most important characteristic of any culture and within the Latino community the dominant language that is spoken is Spanish, although it has been found that the younger Latino population has made English their preferred language of use. As such, Spanish speakers are scarce among the general population and this could be a barrier to the success of immigrants who do not speak English well. As regards nonverbal communication, maintaining eye contact can be interpreted as intimidating. Latino social norms give emphasis to the importance of communication in interpersonal relationships. Latino’s tend to have an indirect communication style. Respect is highly valued and shown by using formal titles and by being very polite and all members of the family take part in this. Family roles and organization The culture of Latinos is socialistically characterized by dominant cooperative group activities. While working in a group not all are expected to do equal share and not working is not looked at as an offensive behavior. Responsibilities are shared among the community and the whole group is held accountable for its actions. Harmony and cooperation have been emphasized and there is little room for individual function. The father or the oldest male relative is given the greatest power. The women, on the other hand, are expected to submit to these men. As for child rearing, grandparents play a vital role in this process in imparting moral values to children, for instance, regarding good marriage practices. Divorce is unacceptable and the petitioners could be treated as outcasts. Workforce Most of the occupations that are associated with Latino’s include those in hotel and restaurant, construction and factories. However, it is worth noting that a great deal of Latino’s are private wage and salary workers and many others employed as chief executives, physicians and surgeons, teachers, lawyers and reporters. With regard to women, their primary role is to fully participate in the Hispanic culture and keep the family together. Bio-cultural ecology When it comes to identifying the Latino’s population by a type of skin color most would consider themselves as Caucasian while a few identify themselves as Black. Many others associate themselves with indigenous race while others are increasingly identifying themselves as â€Å"other†. Their origins range from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Guatemala. Notable differences among the Latino groups center on the aspects of language refinement, educational status, cultural values and attitudes toward mental health treatment (Brice, 2001). I found that an America Latino’s are prone to illnesses such as COPD, diabetes, asthma and obesity. Diabetes and heart disease are great in Latinos then the non-Latin population is attributed to lifestyles difference such as the intake of fatty foods. It is very difficult to detect some illnesses due to their biological variations of individuals from the Latino communities. Some illnesses take time before they are detected and effectively treated and that is why there is no specific genetic disease associated with the Latino community. But research has been known to find cases of sickle cell diseases as well as cystic fibrosis in these individuals. Sickle cell disease is found in 1 out of 24 Latino’s while 1out of 46 Latinos is believed to have cystic fibrosis. High risk behaviors Poverty and high drop-out rates have resulted in high drug use cases and unsafe sexual practices among the Latino’s. Findings have revealed that Latino students of 12th grade registered highest rate of use of illicit drugs such as crack and heroin. However, older Latino’s registered lower drug use compared to other races. Case studies have revealed that the use of seatbelts was least among the Latino’s, therefore increasing the risks of crash fatality. Nutrition Food has a very important role in the culture of Latino’s. In some cultures, food is given as a combination of food and herbs either when hot or cold. Typically, good appetite is linked to good health. The food preferences of children are respected and they are not forced to eat what they don’t want. There’s a belief that a child might fall sick if given food of the wrong temperature. Mothers always withhold food that might cause illness to children. Experience has made them identify a list of harmful foods and this is passed along from generation to generation (Brice, 2001). Pregnancy and child bearing practices The pregnant women are told what to do according to what their culture says, resulting in lower participation in their own health care. These women prefer that their mothers attend to them during their labor (Noble & Lacasa, 1990). Pregnancy is treated as a hot condition; hence foods characterized as hot are avoided. This might not be a good practice because proteins, which are considered hot, are avoided by these women. Death rituals There is a belief that when a person dies, the person has moved to a different phase of life (Noble & Lacasa, 1990). Even though the person isn’t there physically, they believe the person still lives in spirit. In traditional Latino families, the bulk of care provided for a terminally ill family member is performed by female relatives who are unlikely to ask for outside help to cope with the stress of looking after someone who is close to death. Ideally, spending time with a family member who is close to death allows relatives to resolve outstanding issues within the family. Spirituality Most Latino’s are affiliated to Catholicism with others attending Protestant churches. A small percentage of Latino’s fall under secular domain. Most of them attend churches characterized by many Latino’s attendees and Hispanic clergy where services are offered in Spanish. This religious faith also treats all human life as sacred. Therefore, spiritually if a Latino feels pain or illness arise this may be seen as a test of the individual’s and the family’s religious faith. Heath care practices and health care practitioner Latino’s have retained their traditional health practices, although the use of Western medicine is more prevalent. The result of this is that modern health care practices such as screening tests and use of preventive health care measures haven’t been adopted. This has also been attributed to a lack of health insurance which results in fewer visits to medical practitioners. According to my findings â€Å"physical and mental illness have mostly been attributed to an imbalance between the person and the environment, with influences being emotional, spiritual and social state† (Campbell, 2003). Conclusion I choose the Latino community to focus on because according to research the Latino’s is one of the ethnic cultures that is rapidly growing in the United States of America. It is evident that the Latino community is a culture rich group. For a society that is socialistic in nature, its values and beliefs are predictable; their aim is to put people together, which is a good idea. As much as these beliefs are accepted and respected, some of them are obviously retrogressive and should be done away with. For instance, restricting hot foods for pregnant women; this means that most of them will lack proteins. It is ultimately up to the nurses and the people to understand, and respect the differences that exist between them so that they respect each other’s views in the end. My reaction to their belief is I am glad that I am not considered a part of their culture. I think it is unfair that the women take on a weak role. I am a strong, outspoken, competent, independent individual. I love my family and I will do anything for them but there has to be boundaries. Reference Brice, A. (2001). The Latino child: Speech, language, culture and education. (1st ed., pp. 64-77). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson. Campbell, C.R. (2003). Two eagles in the sun: A guide to U.S Hispanic culture. (3rd ed., pp. 26-38). Houston, Texas: Two Eagles Pr. Crouch, N. (2004). Mexicans & Americans: Cracking the culture code. London, England: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Noble, J., & Lacasa, J. (1990). The Hispanic way: Aspects of behavior, attitudes and customs in the Spanish-speaking world. (1st ed., pp. 46-58). Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books. Purnell, L. (2008). Guide to culturally competent health care (Purnell, guide to culturally competent healthcare). (2nd ed., pp. 66-78). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: F.A. Davis Company. Rundle, A. (2002). Cultural competence in health care: A practical guide. (2nd ed., pp. 82-90). Hoboken, New Jersey: Jossey-Bass.

Gendering World Politics Essay

Gender analysis of international relations can no longer be considered new. Both in history and political science, scholars of women and gender and foreign relations have carved out what is now robust subfields. In Gender in World Politics, Tickner’s first chapter explores the encounter between feminism and international relations sub-field of political science. She first establishes the debates within each. Feminism has been the subject of a debate between liberal feminism and its rivals, while IR has seen three: science realism versus idealism, realism vs. social. It is in the context of this policy, â€Å"third debate† means the meeting Tickner feminism and infrared. More specifically, feminism is expanding IR agenda on several fronts, including normative theory, historical sociology, critical theory and postmodernism. In this context, Tickner investigates â€Å"Gender Dimensions of War and Peace and Security† in Chapter Two. In the 1990s, feminists began to question â€Å"realistic† outlook on security, most of which have had a top-down, state-centered, the structural approach. Feminists , however, mostly come from the bottom up, starting at the micro level. For example, feminists attacked the premise that wars have been fought to protect women and children, in fact, in his opinion, to the extent that wars tend to generate massive refugee crisis, violations and rampant prostitution, are disproportionately women wild. In Chapter Three, Tickner moves on to the global economy. Here, feminists have joined the debate on globalization, especially questioned the boosterism often seen in the industrialized West. For example, they use gender analysis to reveal the unpleasant realities of home-based labor in the developing world. What multinational corporate managers would call â€Å"flexibility† and â€Å"cost containment,† the overwhelmingly-female workers would see as lower-paying, less-sta ble, and less-regulated labor. Gender perspectives on democratization, state and world order are the focus of chapter four. In contrast to conventional IR, ignorant of democratization, and more recently â€Å"democratic† peace theories, feminism IR-examining the micro level, where democratic transitions can exclude women or even leave them materially worse. Tickner then looks at women and international organizations (both the United Nations and non-governmental organizations) and norms (such as human rights). In the fifth and final chapter, Tickner suggests â€Å"Some Pathways for IR Feminist Futures.† Clearing these routes involves â€Å"knowledge traditions† that, for example, challenge prevailing gender laden dichotomies such as rational / emotional, public / private and global / local. It also includes new methodologies for IR, such as ethnography and discourse analysis. In the end, Tickner IR urges feminists to remain connected to the broader discipline even when they question their basic assumptions. Tickner synthesizes a wide range of recent literature and thus provides us with a solid understanding of the subject. His is not the only introduction to feminist IR but is a very good. Tickner is careful not to claim too much for feminist IR or fire other approaches. It also takes little for granted, holding such basic terms as â€Å"globalization† and even â€Å"gender† to scrutiny. And finally, this is a nuanced work. Tickner presents fairly represents and disagreements among feminists as well as the geographic and methodological. Similarly, captures the dilemmas facing IR feminists. For example, feminists must work within existing state structures or face them from the outside? If based on the state of progress or in the market. If the book has a weakness, it is one of style. . The writing, moreover, is better and more accessible than in many other political science texts. However, I often find difficult to tackle prose. In part, this is a matter of style, writing Tickner most lack color and verve, interesting anecdote or a vivid illustration. And partly it’s a matter of using the political scientist. â€Å"This language is understood by those inside†, as she says Tickner in another context, â€Å"but can seem quite bewildering, and sometimes even alienating to those outside, making communication very difficult transdisciplinary. Again, the language is typical of the field and could be much worse, but the repeated occurrence of terms such as â€Å"epistemological†, â€Å"postpositivist†, â€Å"problematize† and â€Å"privilege†, as verb , tends to swell the sentences and make the book seem longer than it is. In the end, however, a minor weakness, and definitely should not be allowed to deter non-specialists. In addition to the contribution of the book itself feminist IR, this is one of its great virtues brings relevant trends in political science historians who study women and gender and foreign relations. For many historians have discovered that, in the words of Cynthia Enloe fine, â€Å"the personal is international â€Å". This discovery is facilitated and enriched as Tickner helps us to cross the disciplinary divide. J. Ann Tickner, Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992). Cynthia Enloe, Bananas Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics (Berkeley and London: University of California Press, 1990) Jan Jindy Pettman, Worlding Women: A Feminist International Politics (London and New York: Routledge, 1996)

A Phenomenal Woman- essays

A Phenomenal Woman- essays Maya Angelou, born, Marguerite Johnson, was sent along with her brother to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, when her parents were divorced. Growing up, she learned what it was to be a black girl in a world whose boundaries were set by whites: As a child she always dreamed of waking to find her nappy black hair metamorphosed to a long blonde bob because she felt life was better for a white girl than for a black girl (Rigney 45). Despite the odds, her grandmother instilled pride in young Marguerite, with religion as an important element in their home. After five years of being apart from their mother, Marguerite and her brother, Bailey, were sent back to Saint-Louis to be with their mother. This move would change Angelou's life dramatically. While living in Saint Louis, she was raped by her mothers boyfriend. After which she confided in her brother what had happened, and soon the person was found dead. Young Marguerite believed her voice had killed him this caused her to become mute for nearly five years. Her dysfunctional childhood spent moving back and forth between her mother and grandmother caused her to struggle with maturity. She became determined to prove she was a woman and began to rush toward maturity. Because of her past, Maya Angelou went on to be an inspiration to men and women across the nation. She has the unique ability to challenge the divisions of race and class throughout her books of poetry and her autobiographies. Angelou is probably the most widely recognized figure of a poet in contemporary U.S. culture. Her work is found on television, in the movies, on the radio, in print, on the Internet, and at the 1993 presidential inauguration. Given this extraordinary career, she also serves as an exemplary figure to women undergoing many difficulties related to domestic violence and sexual abuse. She has been through what they are encountering, and she offers an...

Business improvement tools - Lean and Six Sigma methodologies The WritePass Journal

Business improvement tools - Lean and Six Sigma methodologies Abstract Business improvement tools Lean and Six Sigma methodologies AbstractIntroductionConcepts of Lean and Six SigmaLean Six SigmaDiscussionChallenges of lean Six SigmaConclusionReferencesRelated Abstract Lean and Six Sigma methodologies are stand-alone tools and have been implemented in isolation by many businesses in the past. But there have been recent shift in the paradigm, as more and more businesses are implementing the integrated approach. The aim of this study is to understand the concept of lean and Six Sigma as a combined approach an also to investigate the advantages and the probable challenges in implementing lean Six Sigma in both manufacturing and service industry. Introduction Businesses are always looking out for the ways to improve their bottom line. Business improvement methodology has been constantly developing from the last century (Snee, 2004). While businesses have always ventured for improvement, but improvement as we think about it today, began with the seminal work of Taylor (1911) on scientific management. Among various process improvement methodologies, Six Sigma and lean are considered as the best methodologies widely used by various industries and are currently referred to as state of the art. But, there is a drawback in applying only one of the two methodologies alone, as the continuous improvement may have the deficiency of being slow. In the next section we would discuss the concepts of Six Sigma and lean. Concepts of Lean and Six Sigma The six sigma methodology is founded by Motorola and is a well disciplined and structured approach to enhance process performance and to obtain high levels of quality and low levels of variability. A six sigma process is expected to be statistically 99.99966% free of defects i.e, it aims for reduced defect rate of 3.4 per million opportunity (Brady and Allen, 2006). The Six Sigma approach starts with the identification of the need for an improvement initiative. The lean methodology founded by Toyota help organizations to achieve on time delivery of the right quality and quantity to satisfy customers (Salah et al. 2010). Lean helps in eliminating waste, variation and work imbalance. Waste not only includes unnecessarily long cycle times, or waiting times between value-added activities but also include rework or scrap, which are often the result of excess variability, so there is an apparent connection between Six Sigma and lean. Lean Six Sigma The phrase lean Six Sigma (LSS) is used to describe the integration of lean and Six Sigma philosophies (Sheridan, 2000). Figure 1 shows how lean and Six Sigma can be integrated for process efficiency and effectiveness. According to Bendell (2006), the concept of LSS as an approach to process improvement is yet to fully mature as an area of academic research. Smith (2003) has argued that the majority of the efforts to implement LSS comprehensively in organizations have not been realized to its full potential. Specifically, in case of fusing lean and Six Sigma, the two approaches are often been implemented in isolation (Smith, 2003). This has produced subcultures of lean and Six Sigma in an organization, which can cause a conflict of interest and drainage of resources (Bendell, 2006). Figure 1: Integrating the two improvement approaches (Source: Juran Institute) Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) have demonstrated through Figure 2, how each approach can gain when seen as a single framework and a certain balance can be reached when integrated effectively. The figure explains that equilibrium is needed to achieve between the two, moving from the blinkered approach in any one direction. Figure 2 indicates that an organization can run into risk by becoming too lean and therefore rigid in responses to the market and subsequently impacting on value creation. On the other hand, concentrating too much in reducing variation beyond the requirements of the customer would waste unnecessary resources in the pursuit of zero variation. To bring equilibrium, sufficient value should be created from customers’ viewpoint, so that market share is maintained, while at the same time variation should be reduced to an acceptable levels so that cost can be lowered by removing any over-engineering of the process. Figure 2: Competitive advantage of lean, Six Sigma and lean Six Sigma (Source: Arnheiter and Maleyeff, 2005) Six Sigma complements lean philosophies by providing tools and knowledge to deal with specific problems that are identified along the lean journey: â€Å"Lean eliminates ‘noise’ and establishes a standard† (Wheat et al., 2003). Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) have taken this discussion further in their work on the integration of lean and Six Sigma, and have outlined the benefits of such a consolidated approach. For example, Processes can be kept on target, effectively reducing waste incurred through faulty processing by incorporating lean with other scientific approaches like control charts for attaining quality. LSS is also widely recognized as leadership developmental tool. According to Welch and Welch (2005) the benefit of this principle lies on the capacity of developing a cadre of great leaders. Kiemele (2005) has suggested critical success factor for the deployment and implementation of LSS in the organization such as leadership alignment, proper selection of people and projects, training, motivation, accountability, information technology, marketing and supply chain management. Snee (2010) has supported the requirement of leadership aspect for implementing LSS by mentioning, â€Å"without the full support and involvement of top management the improvement effort is likely to wither on the vine†. Also George (2002) has signified that in order to influence the LSS learning in an organization,  there is a need of strong curriculum, communication channel, technology exploitation and documentation of best practices. In the following section we would explore the advantages and the probable challenges of implementing LSS through case studies. Case 1: Application of Lean Six Sigma in Manufacturing [Source: Lean and Six Sigma A One-Two Punch, Smith, 2003] The case study is about a manufacturing factory named Heatcraft that makes commercial refrigeration equipment. Though the factory had been following lean principles for a year but still, too many units were coming off the line leaking, creating costly rework loops, warranty claims and customer dissatisfaction. A lean Six Sigma Team led by Doug Bonner, a TMB senior consultant and Six Sigma BB was assigned with the objective of determining and fixing the major causes of leaks. â€Å"Once we knew what to work on, we began to map out the process† said Bonner. The team started its first kaizen event by breaking down the transformation steps successively noting down each time the product changed. Analysis revealed that more than half of the leaks were in the return bend of the coil. The team even found multiple variations in the way the units were made, from how far the coils were from each other and to how much the tubes stuck out before brazing connected them to the return bend. They determined which variations contributed to the leakage after analyzing the process, more specifically the differences between the two lines. Also the team fixed the quality issues of each brazer brazed by the employees, resulting in better quality at the source. The efforts from that first Six Sigma kaizen week yielded a 75% reduction in quality issues and a 40% overall reduction in leak rates by just focusing on one defect. Discussion As in the literature, we have seen that Six Sigma complements Lean principles; here in this case study also, we have found that the organization was rolling out too many faulty units irrespective of the fact that they used lean philosophies. The combination of both the approaches has helped the organization to get rid of the leaks. Using the tools of LSS, the lean Six Sigma team mapped the process, which helped them to reveal that the plant made two types of units with same bend. For investigating the process further the team created cause and effect diagram for the process, listing the five M’s and E. As Bonner said â€Å"All you need is one defect to cause a lot of grief†, so the cause and effect diagram proved helpful in measuring each step carefully and more importantly, the effect on the final product could be examined carefully. Such a detailed scrutiny of the process actually revealed the prime cause of the problem and helped the team to fix it up. By Applying LSS principles, the team standardized brazer quality. This actually ensured the better quality of the source materials used to manufacture the end product. Such a standard has brought a change in culture of the organization as the workers started getting feedback from their co-workers regarding their work after it has been tested in the test tank. Among the ancillary benefits, lean Six Sigma team’s efforts and observations also corrected problems with the header. After carefully watching the mapping process, the team discovered the piece was not being seated properly in the joint. The piece was reduced by  ¼ inch and a standard specification was institutionalized. This improvement reduced the defects to a significant extent and helped in achieving better flow and throughput. LSS principles help in yielding significant amount of process improvement by eliminating minute problems which remain undetected in normal production cycle. For example, we can understand that just focusing on the soldering aspect of the units, the organization has benefited to a substantial extent. Such a process improvement in an organization can be translated into various ways, be it financial benefit or customer satisfaction. The lean component helps in reducing waste from the process, whereas the Six Sigma component reduces the possibility of error. The integrated approach of the two principles helps the organization in attaining increased productivity or in broader way, financial gain as less rework need to be done on an end product. Simultaneously from the customer perspective, the improved quality of product creates a satisfaction among them. Also a decrease in operational cost due to process efficiency and increase in customer satisfaction would provide an opportunity for th e organization to serve more number of customers, hence resulting in revenue gain for the organization. Case 2: Application of Lean Six Sigma in a Service Industry [Source: Lean six sigma in a call centre: a case study, Laureani et al. 2009] This case study is focused on a large corporation in the service sector operating in the vehicle leasing and renting industry. Its European call centre was receiving an average of 1,200,000 calls annually from customers who had an issue with either the level of service received or the billing/invoicing process. Most of the time they failed to solve the problem at the first attempt, hence leading to customer dissatisfaction and unnecessary repetition of work in the Centre. The objective of the project was to increase the first-call resolution ratio. A cross functional project team was created led by black belt consultant with the intention of implementing DMAIC Six Sigma methodology integrated with lean principles in order to increase first-call resolution ratio. The project scope was laid down by the team, identifying which specific areas of the call centre and services they were going to focus on and also a high-level process map was created. The lean principles were used to identify and remove the four different types of wastes such as motion, waiting, over processing and defects that were hindering their first-call resolution ratio. The operational definition of first-time call resolution was developed and it was agreed by the major stakeholders involved in the whole process. The team sliced the measurement data into different dimensions and after analyzing they observed that two types of queries were accounted for 70% of unresolved first-time calls. The team provided tested improvement actions which resulted in reducing the percentage of unresolved calls from 11.82 percent to 8.45 percent. As this result seemed satisfactorily, the improvement actions were rolled out to the whole call centre. There was 3 per cent decrease of unresolved queries after first contact which resulted in 36,000 fewer calls to the call centre on an annual basis. Discussion The LSS methodology has not only helped the organization to reduce the waste by reducing the unnecessary movement of call centre operators who needed to move to perform some routine task such as sending/receiving fax but also helped to define first-time call resolution. This has actually helped to achieve the desired performance as the parameter to measure the success of first-time call resolution was apparent to all employees. Also the lean component of LSS has helped in reducing the waiting time for an operator to access necessary information from other department for catering the need of customers query. Hand in hand, as a part of the process, a consistent measurement system was followed that has assisted in measuring the performance of the process.   In precise, the DMAIC process has helped in developing advanced statistical techniques and to become â€Å"technical† in the approach to problem solving, implementing Six Sigma. On the contrary, the lean approach developed a culture towards continuous improvement and elimination of non value added activities before Six Sigma implementation. Drawing on the principles of LSS, tools and philosophies of both methodologies has enabled them to produce breakthrough innovations such as the quick wins in the improve phase that resulted in profound business improvements. The improvement ideas were pre tested through the pilot group and data were collected from the pilot group to quantify the improvement actions followed by calculation of the sigma value. This strict procedure of deploying improvement actions has ensured the overall quality of the services and helped them to reduce unresolved queries to a significant extent. One of the critical success factors for continuous improvement efforts at an organization is the availability of a common set of problem solving tools (Chapman and Hyland, 1997). This has been effectively achieved through the toolkit that Six Sigma and lean has provided when integrated. A known type of query was solved by the customer service at the first place without any defects. Hence the customer didn’t need to call back, thus the unnecessary works were reduced and customer satisfaction was increased. Challenges of lean Six Sigma Reviewing the above two case studies we have found some problems common two both the case studies. In the first case study of Heatcraft, we have seen some standards were institutionalized, but for fostering a climate for continuous improvement, an organization must train their employees about LSS principles. This training of employees can be time consuming as it would require balance between routine work and the work involved in LSS training and projects. In the second case study of Call Centre, the Black Belt consultant left the organization by handing over the completed control plan to the process owner and there was no commitment of revisit from their end. So, the assurance that improvement actions are still in place and the process has not reverted to the pre-project status was not there. It is not known from both the case studies that, how much each organization spent for training employees about LSS principles and also the cost of implementing LSS solutions in their business as it has been indicated by Senapati (2004) that such training cost and cost of implementing LSS solutions can be expensive. Also, LSS sustainability in the process requires high skill and sufficient resources are required to ensure its sustainability. Conclusion Lean and Six Sigma paradigms can be considered as influential catalysts for change as stand-alone methods but more provokingly, when fused together represents an exceptionally powerful tool. When the cultural aspects of lean are aligned with data driven investigations of Six Sigma, the integrated approach can bring a genuine and sustainable approach to organizational change and process improvement. References Arnheiter, E.D. and Maleyeff, J. (2005), â€Å"The integration of lean management and six sigma†, The TQM Magazine, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 5-18. Bendell, T. (2006), â€Å"A review and comparison of six sigma and the lean organisations†, The TQM Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 255-62. Brady, J.E. and Allen, T.T. (2006), â€Å"Six sigma literature: a review and agenda for future research†, Quality and Reliability Engineering International, Vol. 22, pp. 335-67. Chapman, R.L. and Hyland, P.W. (1997), â€Å"Continuous improvement strategies across selected Australian manufacturing sectors†, Benchmarking for Quality Management Technology, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 175-88. George, M.L. (2002), â€Å"Lean Six Sigma, Combining Six Sigma Quality with Lean Speed†, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Kiemele, M.J. (2005), â€Å"Critical success factors for deploying and implementing lean Six Sigma†, USA Armor School Research Library (March 2006), available at: www.amc.army.mil/amc/pe/documents/sestrng/Kiemele.ppt/ (accessed 4 March 2008). Laureani, A., Antony, J., Douglas, A. (2010) â€Å"Lean six sigma in a call centre: a case study†, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 59 Iss: 8, pp.757 – 768 Senapati, N.R. (2004), â€Å"Six Sigma: myths and realities†, International Journal of Quality Reliability Management, Vol. 21 No. 6, pp. 683-90. Sheridan, J.H. (2000), â€Å"Lean Sigma’ synergy†, Industry Week, Vol. 249 No. 17, pp. 81-2. Smith, B. (2003), â€Å"Lean and Six Sigma – a one-two punch†, Quality Progress, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 37-41. Snee, R.D. (2004), â€Å"Six Sigma: the evolution of 100 years of business improvement methodology†, International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 4-20. Snee, R.D. (2010), â€Å"Lean Six Sigma   getting better all the time†, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 9-29. Salah, S.,  Rahim,  A., Carretero, J.A.,  (2010). â€Å"The integration of Six Sigma and lean management†.  International Journal of Lean Six Sigma,  1(3),  249-274. Taylor, F. (1911), â€Å"The Principles of Scientific Management†, Norton, New York, NY. Welch, J. and Welch, S. (2005), â€Å"Winning†, Harper Business, New York, NY Wheat, B., Mills, C. and Carnell, M. (2003), â€Å"Leaning into Six Sigma: A Parable of the Journey to Six Sigma and a Lean Enterprise†, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Danie Theron as a Hero of the Anglo-Boer War

Danie Theron as a Hero of the Anglo-Boer War On the 25th of April 1899 Danie Theron, a Krugersdorp attorney, was found guilty of assaulting Mr W. F. Monneypenny, the editor of The Star newspaper, and fined  £20. Monneypenny, who had only been in the South Africa for two months, had written a highly derogatory editorial against the ignorant Dutch. Theron pleaded extreme provocation and his fine was paid by his supporters in the courtroom. So starts the story of one of the Anglo-Boer Wars most illustrious heroes. Danie Theron and the Cycling Corps Danie Theron, who had served in the 1895 Mmalebà ´gà ´ (Malaboch) War, was a true patriot - believing in the just and divine right of the Boer to stand against British interference: Our strength lies in the justice of our cause and in our trust in help from above.1 Before the outbreak of war, Theron and a friend, J. P. Koos Jooste (a cycling champion), asked the Transvaal government if they could raise a cycling corps. (Bicycles had first been used by the US army in the Spanish War, 1898, when a hundred black cyclists under the command of Lt James Moss were rushed in to help with riot control in Havana, Cuba.) It was Therons opinion that using bicycles for dispatch riding and reconnaissance would save horses for use in combat. In order to gain the necessary permission Theron and Jooste had to convince the highly skeptical burghers that bicycles were as good, if not better, than horses. In the end, it took a 75 kilometre race from Pretoria to the Crocodile River Bridge2 in which Jooste, on a bicycle, beat an experienced horse rider, to convince Commandant-General Piet Joubert and President J. P. S. Kruger that the idea was sound. Each of the 108 recruits to the Wielrijeders Rapportgangers Corps (Cycle Dispatch Rider Corps) was supplied with a bicycle, shorts, a revolver and, on special occasion, a light carbine. Later they received binoculars, tents, tarpaulins and wire cutters. Therons corps distinguished themselves in Natal and on the western front, and even before the war had started had provided information about British troop movements beyond the Transvaals western border.1 By Christmas 1899, Capt Danie Therons dispatch rider corps were experiencing poor deliveries of supplies at their outposts on the Tugela. On the 24th December Theron complained to the Supplies Commission that they were severely neglected. He explained that his corps, who were always in the vanguard, were far from any railway line where supplies were unloaded and his wagons regularly returned with the message that there were no vegetables since everything had been carted off to the laagers surrounding Ladysmith. His complaint was that his corps did both dispatch riding and reconnaissance work, and that they were also called upon to fight the enemy. He wanted to offer them better sustenance than dried bread, meat and rice. The result of this plea earned Theron the nickname of Kaptein Dik-eet (Captain Gorge-yourself) because he catered so well for his corps stomachs!1 The Scouts Are Moved to the Western Front As the Anglo-Boer War progressed, Capt Danie Theron and his scouts were moved to the western front and the disastrous confrontation between the British forces under Field Marshal Roberts and the Boer forces under General Piet Cronje. After a long and hard struggle up the Modder River by the British forces, the siege of Kimberly had finally been broken and Cronje was falling back with a vast train of wagons and many women and children - the families of the Commandos. General Cronje almost slipped through the British cordon, but eventually was forced to form a laager by the Modder near Paardeberg, where they dug in ready for a siege. Roberts, temporarily indisposed with the flu, passed command to Kitchener, who faced with a drawn-out siege or an all-out infantry attack, chose the latter. Kitchener also had to deal with rearguard attacks by Boer reinforcements and the approach of further Boer forces under General C. R. de Wet. On the 25th of February, 1900, during the  Battle of Paardeberg,  Capt. Danie Theron bravely crossed the British lines and entered Cronjes laager in an effort to co-ordinate a breakout. Theron, initially traveling by bicycle2, had to crawl for much of the way, and is reported to have had a conversation with British guards before crossing the river. Cronje was willing to consider a breakout but felt it necessary to put the plan before a council of war. The following day, Theron sneaked back to De Wet at Poplar Grove and informed him that the council had rejected the breakout. Most of the horses and draught animals had been killed and the burgers were worried about the safety of the women and children in the laager. Additionally, officers had threatened to stay in their trenches and surrender if Cronje gave the order to breakout. On the 27th, despite a passionate plea to his officers by Cronje to wait just one more day, Cronje was forced to surrender. The humiliation of surrender w as made much worse because this was Majuba Day. This was one of the main turning points of the war for the British. On the 2nd of March a council of war at Poplar Grove gave Theron permission to form a Scout Corps, consisting of about 100 men, to be called the Theron se Verkenningskorps (Theron Scouting Corps) and subsequently known by the initials TVK. Curiously, Theron now advocated the use of horses rather than bicycles, and each member of his new corps was provided with two horses. Koos Jooste was given command of the Cycling Corps. Theron achieved a certain notoriety in his remaining few months. The TVK were responsible for destroying railway bridges and captured several British officers. As a result of his endeavors a newspaper article, 7th April 1900, reported that Lord Roberts labeled him the chief thorn in the side of the British and had put a bounty on his head of  £1,000, dead or alive. By July Theron was considered such an important target that the Theron and his scouts were attacked by General Broadwood and 4 000 troops. A running battle ensued during which the TVK lost eight scouts killed and the British lost five killed and fifteen wounded. Therons catalogue of deeds is vast considering how little time he had left. Trains were captured, railway tracks dynamited, prisoners freed from a British jail, he had earned the respect of his men and his superiors. Therons Last Battle On the 4th September 1900 in the Gatsrand, near Fochville, Commandant Danie Theron was planning an attack with General Liebenbergs commando on General Harts column. Whilst out scouting to discover why Leibenberg was not at the agreed position, Theron ran into seven members of Marshalls Horse. During the resultant fire fight Theron killed three and wounded the other four. The columns escort was alerted by the firing and immediately charged up the hill, but Theron managed to avoid capture. Finally the columns artillery, six field guns and 4.7 inch navel gun, were unhitched and the hill bombarded. The legendary Republican hero was killed in an inferno of lyddite and shrapnel3. Eleven days later, the body of Commandant Danie Theron was exhumed by his men and later reburied next to his late fiancà ©e, Hannie Neethling, at her fathers farm of Eikenhof, Klip River. Commandant Danie Therons death earned him immortal fame in Afrikaner history. On learning of Therons death, De Wet said: Men as lovable or as valiant there might be, but where shall I find a man who combined so many virtues and good qualities in one person? Not only had he the heart of a lion but he also possessed consummate tact and the greatest energy... Danie Theron answered the highest demands that could be made on a warrior1. South Africa remembered its hero by naming their School of Military Intelligence after him. References 1. Fransjohan Pretorius, Life on Commando during the Anglo-Boer war 1899 - 1902, Human and Rousseau, Cape Town, 479 pages, ISBN 0 7981 3808 4. 2. D. R. Maree,  Bicycles in the Anglo Boer war of 1899-1902. Military History Journal, Vol. 4 No. 1 of the South African Military History Society. 3. Pieter G. Cloete, The Anglo-Boer War: a chronology, J.P van de Walt, Pretoria,351 pages, ISBN 0 7993 2632 1.

With reference to Bourdieu's theory of distinction and other Essay

With reference to Bourdieu's theory of distinction and other relevant theorists on social class, give a detailed example of how a specific habitus shapes consumer behaviour - Essay Example In this status hierarchy a person develops his/her social class. With reference to 1960s -70s France; Pierre Bourdieu has analysed the society in great detail. He worked on how the knowledge and usage of different cultural relics have shaped over time. In addition to this he also examined how people develop certain taste for food, clothing, music and their overall lifestyle. Bourdieu also studied the uncountable struggles between various classes and the emergence of their fragmentation in today’s capitalist society. He taught people how to alter their perceptions and expectations when they are at a stage of the hierarchy and at the same time he provided options to people to compete for the class position they desire (Bourdieu, 1984). Some of the concepts explained by Bourdieu are clarified in the following section. â€Å"The projection of capital on to a particular axis with an aim to create a constant, linear and homogenous series which helps in identifying the social hierarchy involves a tough operation. In doing this, various types of capital are brought down to one single standard. This theoretical phenomenon has an objective foundation; exchange rates differ according to the power relation amongst the owners of the capital (Giddens, 1994). There is a prerequisite for reducing the spaces between the capital to one dimension, however, if someone willingly converts the capital, the creation of a two-dimensional space clarifies that the importance of exchange rates. Therefore, Bourdieu has extended the phenomenon of capital on the basis of an underlying idea in which capital is converted in normal sense. Although Bourdieu has not explicitly spelled out the foundation of different types of capitals and their conversion rates; they can be deduced by further researches. Capital is capable of bu ilding a relation between two people in a particular social space, but this principle does not necessarily create an absolute order of the society, along

Love Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Essay

Love Office of Community Oriented Policing Services - Essay Example The police officers will regularly tour the schools to spot bullies and victims. Upon finding a bully incident, the police officers can immediately arrest the bullies and drag them to jail for the filing of the appropriate charges. However, schools follow traditional norms of hiring the security guards to handle the school’s anti-bullying efforts. The guards arrest students who bully the teachers, administrators, school employees, and students. In addition, Scott Berinato (2007) emphasized the school guards can reduce the 27 percent K-12 bullying statistics in United States schools. The police will enter the bullying scene when requested by school authorities, students, parents, and other affected persons. Police records show that the current bullying scene includes 27 percent of K -12 students classified as bullying victims. The bullying statistics includes 8 percent of teachers being threatened by bullies in elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, the school administ ration of New England School refused to allow the police to have access to the controls of the school cameras. The police wanted full control in order to take full charge in case a school shooting incident or illegal activity. However, the police were only allowed to view the camera’s films of the school shooting incident. ... 12 defined policing as â€Å"a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.† Consequently, the police must encourage the school administration to do its share to effectively prevent or reduce the bullying statistics within the school’s premises. Furthermore, the above police department article Bullying in Schools (Sampson, 2009) states that bullying is composed of two components, repeated harmful acts and imbalance of power. It involves repeated physical, verbal, or psychological attacks or intimidation directed against a victim who cannot properly defend him or herself due to the assailants’ size or strength, or the victim is outnumbered or psychologically resilient. European and Scandinavian studies show that bullies are aggressive, domina nt, and slightly below average intelligence and reading ability. Additional research shows bullies compensate their poor social skills with bullying strategies. Bully victims are generally smaller and weaker than the school bullies. In addition, Anne Garrett (2003) reported accused 2007 shooter, Andy Williams, was a constant victim or target of California’s Santana High School’s bullies. Williams shot the students who bullied him. Several years after the Williams shooting spree, a study showed that one half of Santana High School students did not feel safe inside the school’s premises. In addition, one third of the students of Santana High School reported they were victims of the school bullies’ constant verbal abuses. In addition, 17 percent of same

M4A1 PART B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

M4A1 PART B - Essay Example This is the reason why measures taken by management and employees are often too late or inadequate. For example, in 2006, Jerry York, a GM board member had urged the automaker to unload Saab and Hummer but the idea met resistance and ended in ultimate losses (Krolicki, 2009). Now, one of these concerns is near bankruptcy whereas the other one is supervised by court. Out of resistance, the current culture of GM is less tolerant to differences, portrays less appetite for risk taking and exploiting the opportunities in hand, and appears to be narrow-minded to the social concerns that are emerging everyday and endangering its stability and existence in future e.g. increasing labor cost with excessive payload of surplus labor, and also the lack of attention paid to environmental issues. Due credit must be given to our predecessors but with the changes in absolutely every segment of our lives, GM must prepare itself first for the present and then for the future by first letting go of its same bureaucratic culture which is a souvenir from baby bombers. GM is trying hard to compete with the companies that value the importance of cultural diversity, innovation and technology along with appropriate leadership. It has acted like a shelter for many managers who were afraid of getting out of their comfort zone and face the current challenges (Krisher, 2012) . Instead our culture has provoked them to use the chain of command principal, as an excuse for lack of performance and innovation. Considering the last near bankruptcy experience, GM culture has to change. In the light of past experiences, I would recommend that GM needs to evaluate the need for change and incorporate all necessary amendments not only in its operations and processes but in the overall organizational culture with a special emphasis to our most valued assets, our human resources. According to

Christian Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Christian Education - Research Paper Example Background/History From the beginning, the gospel has always called Christians to teach and to learn. Teaching is a very important means by which the central message of the Christian faith can be communicated. Individual Christians grow as a part of a community of faith. â€Å"Children grow in the faith by the intentional action of parents, pastors, teachers and other members of the community. Christian educators participate in a God-initiated† (Matthew 28:19-20), â€Å"Spirit-empowered activity† (John 14:25-26). The living Word of God works in and through educators as they engage learners in intentional learning activities that fit each learner and are designed to pass on the Faith. In the educational process the Spirit of God encounters the people of God of all ages so that they are nurtured in the faith, grow in knowledge and are inspired and empowered to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, proclaiming the Good News, serving God and others faithfully, and working for peace and justice i n God’s world. B. Hypothesis and Arguement In furtherance of his gospel of ‘integration’, he goes ahead to emphasize the role of the family in forming the minds of children and preparing them for the outside world. In fact, of all the subjects Ken touched upon in his writings, one of the closest to his heart is the family. As one who was brought up by a dedicated mother with no father, he consistently addresses the need for a true Christian home. Leadership in the home was a central theme that runs through his works. His book â€Å"Fathering like the Father: Becoming the dad God wants you to be†, sums up his views.

International Human Resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

International Human Resource - Essay Example However, the nature of their work and the type of organization they work for will determine how these common environmental factors are perceived - whether they are seen as positive or negative, threats or opportunities Over the last two decades there has been a profound shift in thinking about the role that people play in the success of the business, with a growing view that the management of people is a key organizational capability and one, which should be highly integrated with the strategic aims of the business. A cornerstone of this notion of International human resource management is the creation of linkage or integration between the overall strategic aims of the business and the human resource strategy and implementation Managers should keep informed about important factors and developments in both their external and internal environments. They can do this by constantly 'scanning' their environment, which is, by establishing and maintaining a network of contacts, maintaining good communication channels, keeping up-to-date in their field and monitoring important issues and activities. It is not necessary to be an expert on modern day business to know that there are few organizations entirely limited by national boundaries. The smallest independent entrepreneur in the UK will have office equipment made in Japan or the USA. At the level of large trading organizations, many of these companies operate across the globe or are the competition with the companies operating in that way. It is indeed impossible for most employing organizations to act as if their world was bounded by the national border of the country that is their home base. Across the world there is increasing extension of trading blocks, increasing development of internationally operating multinational corporations (MNC's), and increasing internationalization of business. International marketing is the performance of business activities designed to plan, price promote and direct the flow of the company's goods and services to consumers or users in more than one for a profit. (Cateora & Graham 10) A key factor in the increasing internationalism of employment is that there are cultural differences between nations. There are differences in national attitudes and value systems. International human resource strategies It is argued that all international organizations will have to develop international HRM policies and practices. This will manifestly not be easy. On the other hand, it will be crucial to the success of the international business. Schuler et al (1993:721) define the field as covering Human resource management issues, functions and policies and practices that result from the strategic activities of multinational enterprises and the impact on the international concerns and the impact on the international concerns and goals of those enterprises. Most international business employ both locals and expatriates; most have overall strategies and try to be culturally aware in each country; they aim to be successful in each location, and successful overall. If they are to achieve this they will need to have clearly thought out, well integrated human resource strategies that are part of , and contribute to , their overall international

Christian Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Christian Education - Research Paper Example Background/History From the beginning, the gospel has always called Christians to teach and to learn. Teaching is a very important means by which the central message of the Christian faith can be communicated. Individual Christians grow as a part of a community of faith. â€Å"Children grow in the faith by the intentional action of parents, pastors, teachers and other members of the community. Christian educators participate in a God-initiated† (Matthew 28:19-20), â€Å"Spirit-empowered activity† (John 14:25-26). The living Word of God works in and through educators as they engage learners in intentional learning activities that fit each learner and are designed to pass on the Faith. In the educational process the Spirit of God encounters the people of God of all ages so that they are nurtured in the faith, grow in knowledge and are inspired and empowered to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, proclaiming the Good News, serving God and others faithfully, and working for peace and justice i n God’s world. B. Hypothesis and Arguement In furtherance of his gospel of ‘integration’, he goes ahead to emphasize the role of the family in forming the minds of children and preparing them for the outside world. In fact, of all the subjects Ken touched upon in his writings, one of the closest to his heart is the family. As one who was brought up by a dedicated mother with no father, he consistently addresses the need for a true Christian home. Leadership in the home was a central theme that runs through his works. His book â€Å"Fathering like the Father: Becoming the dad God wants you to be†, sums up his views.

Conflict in friendships Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Conflict in friendships - Research Paper Example Such love, care and understanding the relationship is based on the knowledge and trust on each other (Damon, 1977; Selman, 1980). It has also been observed through research, that close relationships play a key role in the socialization process during adolescence which in turn helps in an individual’s overall development of self. Friends become an integral part of people, during adolescence, when their dependence on their parents lessens, and that on their peers or people their own age, grow over time. However, interpersonal conflicts between friends are common, and given the high amount of reliance and interdependence on each other, such conflicts can prove to be devastating to their mental and physical health. This paper aims to study, analyze and discuss the normative aspects of such interpersonal conflicts among friends. Review Findings: Interpersonal conflict can be defined as a dynamic process which takes place between individuals or groups in co-dependent or interdepende nt relationships. The chances of occurrence of such an event are directly dependent on factors such as situational or personal i.e. where there is a personal history of conflicts between the individuals concerned, or differences between the individuals; or it may be on account of their positions (Fink, 1968; Pondy, 1967; Wall and Callister, 1995). The term conflict on the other hand, can be described as one which includes the presence of one or more of the following factors – disagreements over various issues; interference; and / or negative emotion (Barki and Hartwick, 2001; Pondy, 1967; Wall and Callister, 1995). These above mentioned factors can also be described as cognitive factors, behavioral factors or affective factors influencing interpersonal conflicts. Although there are various other key reasons behind the occurrence of interpersonal conflicts between friends, one of the most researched topic is the one related to disagreements. Friends often tend to argue over a number of things. These arguments tend to be over various issues on which they disagree and stems from various factors such as differences in their personal values and attitudes, perspectives and notions, needs; interests, opinions and goals etc among others. Interpersonal conflict is associated with certain typical behavioral traits or reactions which include excessive arguments and debates over certain issues; constantly trying to compete with each other; attempts to manipulate the situations or friends; backstabbing – which is considered one of the most common reasons leading to interpersonal conflicts among friends; often leading to aggressive and hostile reactions and repercussions. Furthermore, it must also be noted that despite these traits being closely associated with interpersonal conflicts among friends, the mere existence of one or more of such behavioral traits does not necessarily imply the existence of a conflict. The conflict is known to exist / occur only whe n one friend tries to interfere or argue / debate / question the other friend’s behavior or motives, and prevents them from attaining their desired goals. Furthermore, apart from factors which are known to be the cause of conflicts between friends, there are a range of overwhelming emotions, which are also closely related with interpersonal conflicts. These include a series of negative emotions such as fear, hatred, agony, anger, frustration, anxiety etc among others.

My Last Duchess Analysis Essay Example for Free

Summary of a poem My Last Duchess Essay A duke had killed his seventeen-year-old spouse following three long stretches of marriage, and wedded another young lady. The principle character and speaker of the lyric is Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara. The other individual tuning in to him (his recipient) is the emissary (marriage operator) sent by the Count of somewhere else called Tyrol. The duke is discussing the composition on the divider while planning to go down to meet the Tyrol, the dad of the proposed young lady, and other individuals who have come to finish the new proposition to be engaged. The lyric resembles a bit of casual conversation, however it is intended to uncover an account of persecution, desire, pride, defilement, kill and the covetousness for share. Whats more, the genuine story behind the scene of the dukes gloating, which the pursuers induce themselves is the topic of the lyric. The subject of this lyric is the wide hole between the alleged high culture and low individual conduct in the upper and the decision class of Renaissance Italy. If we analyze the poem further, My Last Duchess analysis will reveal that the motivation behind the writer is to uncover the genuine character of the duke and ridicule the way of life that he speaks to, by and large. The monolog is planned so that it uncovers the genuine character of the duke who is having a casual chitchat with a guest; the pursuers need to investigate the story behind his bragging. As the duke is getting ready to go first floor, likely putting on his garments, he sees that the courier is taking a gander at the artistic creations on the divider. He starts to discuss the artwork of his past spouse (the duchess). He says that it was an artwork by the popular Italian painter sibling Pandolf. The manner in which he rehashes the name and uses fra or sibling before the craftsmans name proposes that the duke is attempting to inspire the guest with his closeness with specialists. Likewise, we see that he is endeavoring to give the impression of being a craftsmanship sweetheart (person of good taste) when he depicts the artistic creation with the expressions of a workmanship faultfinder – the profundity and enthusiasm in the sincere look†¦ imitate the black out half-flush that blurs along the throat†¦ Then he brags about his specialty of talking by in a roundabout way saying that he doesnt have the ability of saying little things in the correct way. However, that is another case of his pretention. He guarantees that he is such a great man, to the point that nobody has set out to get some information about the red spot on the cheek of the duchess. Be that as it may, we see that he is such a mean, insidious disapproved, envious and critical man who feels that if his significant other takes a gander at or grins at guests and some other guys, it is a direct result of her sexual energy with them: he surmises that the painters casual discussion had prompted the spot of satisfaction to show up on her cheek! At that point he gloats about his nine hundred years of age name, and gripes that the duchess did not give exceptional respects to that. With typical individuals, that doesnt check in a conjugal relationship, in light of the fact that everybodys better half is a spouse as a matter of first importance and it isnt important to address him by his status-name. He says that she used to expedite the red spot of satisfaction her cheek not just he gave a good (look) on her bosom, yet in addition when she saw any normal individual protest or occasion. We realize that some young ladies cheeks turned out to be red because of the sun, because of bashfulness, outrage, or even with no reason when they just grin or talk. The duke is an improper despot who cant consider anything positive; most presumably on the grounds that he is shrewd disapproved of himself. He says that her looks went all over the place, that she would thank and value anything or anybody, that she was too effortlessly inspired, and that she used to grin at any individual who gone by her. We never discover any indication that the duchess was ethically blameworthy of the sorts of allegations he is making against her; on the off chance that she was in reality awful, this improper man would have said it no hazy words. Nobody will be ever persuaded that to grin, to thank, to be intrigued, to be bashful, or to converse with individuals is such a wrongdoing, or unethical behavior. Nobody will trust that a spouse should take a gander at her better half, with the exception of in social orders that trust that all ladies are normally malicious! Truth be told, in social orders which do treachery to ladies, men are generally undermined, malevolent and uncalled for. The duke is an image of oppression and the demoniac male in Renaissance Italy, as well as in all social orders all things considered and put. At the peak of the emotional ballad, the Duke uncovers that he had murdered his past spouse, the duchess painted on the divider. He says that he would not like to stoop (twist low) before her to state that she ought not grin at other individuals, ought not get awed by normal individuals and things, ought not redden, and ought to carry on in the correct approaches to exhibit the immense name of her better half! He includes that he didnt have the expertise of discourse and that she would not comprehend him; but rather regardless of whether he had it and she could comprehend him, he would not stop before only a spouse to reveal to her what he didnt care for. This additionally uncovers his actual character. At that point he says, even without minding what he is stating, that he offered orders to stop every one of her grins together. That implies he offered requests to execute her. The murder of his own better half and the manner in which he indiscreetly takes, is stunning and appalling. The duke is an ideal accumulation of every shrewd quality, the abuse of intensity and the outrageous persecution and shamefulness. There are likewise some emotional activities in the ballad, first and foremost, the duke advises the other man to take a seat and take a gander at the photo. Towards the finish of the sonnet, he instructs him to stand up: Will it satisfy you rise? We additionally figure different things that the characters must do. As the duke is saying all the frightful things in regards to his own particular spouse, the other man appears to attempt to leave the place! Be that as it may, the duke instructs him to pause: Nay, well go down together, sir. The following minute, we find that he is influencing the man to hold up just to give another bit of gloating! He indicates a statue and tells his visitor that it is his own statue as god Neptune preparing the ocean horse. This additionally symbolizes this interest for a spouse like a prepared pony. The ballad closes with the duke as yet discussing himself as an incredible man and an admirer of workmanship. References: SparkNotes: Robert Brownings Poetry: â€Å"My Last Duchess† |  http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/browning/section3/ My Last Duchess Analysis Shmoop |  https://www.shmoop.com/my-last-duchess/analysis.html Robert Browning: â€Å"My Last Duchess† by Camille Guthrie | Poetry | https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/144033/robert-browning-my-last-duchess Read next: Character analysis of Daisy Buchanan Wilfred Owen A War Writer Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen

Polymerisation of Light Cured Resin Cements

Polymerisation of Light Cured Resin Cements Discussion (3000-4000 words) Resin-based composite cements are widely and commonly utilised for the cementation of all-ceramic restorations to the prepared tooth structure because clinical studies have identified that using resin cements for this purpose enables the all-ceramic restorations to have an increased fracture resistance in service and thereby improved clinical performance (Kilinc and others). However, this purpose is only fulfilled optimally if the light-cured resin cement is adequately cured to achieve a sufficient degree of polymerisation. In order to initiate the curing reaction, light energy of an appropriate intensity and wavelength must activate and excite a sufficient number of photoinitiators in order to generate an adequate quantity of free radicals. The generated free radicals can then interact with the C=C bonds within the resin monomer and initiate the polymerisation reaction which results in the formation of a polymer (Dias et al, 2008). An adequate cure would consequently determine the s trength of the reinforcement that is achieved via the application of a resin cement to the ceramic specimens. Light transmission Talk about LT at different distances. Increasing the distance decreases both LT and DC. Lack of light can be overcome by increasing light intensity or increasing exposure time In this study, light-cured resin cement was utilised and adequate LT of restorations is even more pivotal for the for the polymerisation of these light cured resin cements because all these cements can utilise is the light that is transmitted through the restoration, or in the case of this study, the ceramic disc (Kilinc and others). The presence of a ceramic disc also restricts the transmission of light to the resin cement as according to Strang et al, a ceramic is capable of absorbing between 40-50% of the curing light (Passos et al, 2013). In this study, light cured resin cement The light transmission in this study was proved to be affected by the thickness and opacity of the ceramic disc as well as the distance from the curing tip. The translucency of a ceramic depends on its crystalline structure, light refractive indexes and the thickness of the ceramic (Kilinc and others). An opaque material may be ideal for aesthetically demanding clinical situations but opacity has been shown to affect light transmission as well as the polymerisation of the resin cement. It is clear from the results in this study that increasing the thickness or opacity of the ceramic disc decreases light penetration through the disc (Duran et al, 2012). A ceramic disc of increasing thickness or opacity would allow lower light energy to be transmitted through it and resultantly, lower LT. An opaque ceramic contains a higher percentage of chroma and this chroma pigment has the ability to absorb light, therefore less light is transmitted through the ceramic and consequently, negatively influencing the polymerisation of the resin cement (Passos et al, 2013). The results also highlighted the fact that the polymerisation was adversely affected with increasing thickness or opacity of ceramic specimens. The presence of a ceramic disc would influence light attenuation and therefore decrease the number of photoinitiators that are activated in the resin cement. The consequence is a lower DC (Filho et al, 2010). Most clinicians implement a curing regime of 400mW/cm2 for 40 seconds and this is thought to be generally enough for adequate polymerisation when applied directly on the ceramic restoration. The ISO recommend a curing light intensity of 300mW/cm2 and the depth of polymerisation should be no greater than 1.5mm. In this study, the curing time used was 30 seconds at an intensity of 800mW/cm2 (Akgungor et al, 2005). In the darker shades and thicker ceramic specimens, (give combos) had reduced light transmission as low as values†¦ therefore, the resin cement cured through these groups of ceramic discs were far from possibly achieving adequate polymerisation (Kilinc et al, 2011). Another option is to use dual-cured resin cements and dentists and clinicians tend to prefer to use dual-cured resin cement systems when cementing all-ceramic restorations because of the important of achieving adequate light transmission through the indirect restoration, which would consequently lead to an optimal degree of conversion of the cement layer, and the chemical reaction of dual-cured resin cements theoretically guarantees a satisfactory polymerisation of the cement as it could compensate for the lack of DC obtained via photo-activated means which would consequently improve clinical performance. The chemical polymerisation of dual cured resin cements is expected to guarantee the cure of the material even in the deeper regions where limited light reaches (Indian journal of dental research). The lower light transmission influences polymer development by primarily decreasing the C=C bond conversion since the polymerisation process is reliant on on the light exposure to both the ceramic but most importantly, the resin cement (Ilday et al, 2012). The lower the degree of light reaching the luting agent, the lower the degree of polymerisation and consequently, the lower the success and longevity of the resin-strengthening mechanism (Pazin et al, 2008). Light transmission through the ceramic and to the resin cement is vital because if the ceramic restoration/disc prevents polymerisation light from reaching the resin cement layer, causing inadequate polymerisation of the cement layer. This consequently affects the strength of the restoration and the risk of debonding is higher in poorly polymerised cement (Akgungor et al, 2005). During the process of light activation, the light passing through the ceramic is absorbed and scattered. Thereby, the light irradiance produced by the light source is attenuated and its effectiveness is reduced as the ceramic thickness increases (Filho et al, 2010). This was proven in a study by Meng et al, in which it was shown that a light intensity of 800mW/cm2 decreased significantly to 160mW/cm2 after light transmission through a 2mm thick ceramic specimen (Filho et al, 2010). The greater the LT through a ceramic material, the greater the irradiance reaching the resin cement surfaces and accordingly the greater the DC and mechanical properties (Pick et al, 2010). The light transmission through a ceramic restoration may affect the degree of polymerization of resin cements, because the amount of light that reaches the cement layer is decreased.10In general, the factors affecting light transmission through a ceramic material include the thickness and shade of the ceramic material, its microstructure, and the presence of defects and porosities. However, the thickness of indirect materials interposed during photo-activation is a key factor for light attenuation, and polymerization generally decreases as thickness increases.12 The physical and mechanical properties of resin cements may be affected by the thickness and microstructure of ceramic restorations. It is important to emphasize that light-cured resin cements should receive an adequate energy density to reach good polymerization and mechanical properties. Furthermore, only effective photo-activation may ensure clinically acceptable hardness levels of dual-cured resin cements, mainly in criti cal areas. Considering these issues, further studies are needed to find a way to compensate light attenuation aggravated by the interposition of indirect restorative materials. http://www.duhs.edu.pk/download/jduhs-vol.7-issue-2/9.pdf DC Increasing the distance, thickness or opacity of ceramic/resin cement layer would mean that the top few millimetres of the resin cement would adequately polymerise and the remaining material would poorly polymerise due to lack of light (Silva et al, 2009). Insufficient curing also enhances the solubility of the cement which is the common cause of debonding of the restoration (Dias et al, 2008). As the properties of the resin cements are directly related to the degree of polymerisation, the resin cement used for cementation was measured using FTIR. Favourable resin cement polymerisation is vital in order to obtain optimal properties of the cement in order to prolong the longevity and clinical performance of the overlying all-ceramic restoration (Ilday et al, 2012). Various studies have stated the importance of a high monomer-to-polymer conversion with a highly cross-linked polymeric network in order to obtain a clinically successful resin-based restoration. The presence of an increased amount of monomers decreases both DC and mechanical properties and the fracture resistance of the restoration (Francescantonio et al, 2013). The DC% of the resin cement was decreased under the darkest, thickest ceramic combination than under the thinnest, lightest ceramic. The clinical performance of both the resin cement and the ceramic restoration depends on many important factors, with one of these being the degree of polymerisation (journal of the Serbian chemical society). One way of assessing the DC of the resin cements is through the use of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) which detects the C=C stretching vibrations directly before and after curing of the resin cement material (Obradovic et al, 2011). Several factors have been shown to influence the polymerisation of resin-based cements such as the thickness of the resin cement layer, the intensity of the light source as well as the type of light source used, the distance from the curing tip and the duration of curing. The composition of the resin-cement can also affect the rate of polymerisation via factors like the polymer matrix, the filler particles and the coupling between matrix and filler (Obradovic et al, 2011). After a certain period of time, the DC graph appears to straighten off with no increase. This limited conversion is due to limited mobility of the radical chain ends and this limits the conversion of the pendant methacrylate groups from monomer to polymer (Obradovic et al, 2011). During the process of light activation, multiple growth centres are produced and the matrix transforms from a liquid to a viscous phase via the production of a polymer network from a monomer, i.e. the process of gelation. However, subsequently, the polymer network is highly cross-linked as most of the monomer is converted to polymer which results in the link between the monomers and the oligomers with the network being restricted due to limited diffusion (Filho et al, 2010). With light activation, there is a production of free radicals via the excitation of photoinitiators which enables the initiation step to occur instantaneously. As the propagation phase proceeds, the resin cement changes from a liquid to a viscous gel state, thereby making it increasingly difficult for monomers to diffuse to the polymeric growth centres. As a result, as the polymerisation reaction proceeds, less monomer is converted to polymer (Mendes et al, 2010). The rate of polymerisation reduces as the reaction proceeds due to the formation of fewer polymer growth centres. This promotes the formation of loosely cross-linked polymers and poorer mechanical properties (Silva et al, 2009). Adequate polymerisation of the resin cement is crucial for stability, optimal mechanical properties and the clinical performance of the indirect all-ceramic restoration. Furthermore, a greater degree of polymerisation would result in a greater bond between the resin-cement and the ceramic and consequently, maximum bond strength (Ilday et al, 2012). Along with using thinner or less opaque ceramic and resin cement layers, the cure depth of the resin cement, the degree of conversion and consequently the strength of the restoration can be increased by longer light exposure times or increasing the light intensity (Ilday et al, 2012). The latter two factors were not evaluated in this study. Insufficient polymerisation commonly causes early failure of the cemented all-ceramic restoration (Duran et al, 2012). BFS Flexural strength were found to show a relationship with conversion of double bonds with the resin cement (Ozturk et al, 2005). Ceramic specimens luted with a resin luting agent exhibited greater flexural strengths than the specimens without any form of luting agent (Pagniano et al, 2005). Look at pagniano journal for more info- if space left. The discs were left for 24 hours prior to BFS testing because the cement undergoes polymerisation for 24 hours after curing and if BFS was tested straight after curing, then the cement would not have reached the maximum polymerisation possible and therefore the risk of debonding and poor flexural strength is greater (Akgungor et al, 2005). The magnitude of strengthening is reliant on on the flexural modulus of the resin cement. This can also be known as the modulus of elasticity. (value of resin cement according to dr Addison journal). The modulus, in other studies, has been identified to be between 7 and 12 GPa. The elastic modulus of the cement is vital to study because it is related to how effectively stress can be transmitted between the all-ceramic restoration and the tooth structure. Moreover, it provides an indication as to how well the cement can resist elastic deformation which ultimate would endanger the integrity of the bonded interface between the ceramic and cement. Ideally, the resin cement should have an elastic modulus that is between that of dentine and the ceramic restorative material (Braga et al, 2002). Flexural strength of brittle materials is likely to be more affected by surface defects or imperfections such as porosity, cracks and other related flaws. Specimen failure is thought to initiate at the bottom surface of the specimen and all ceramic specimens were placed with the non-irradiated surface facing towards the load application and therefore a lower DC would lead to a reduced flexural strength (Pick et al, 2010). From BFS testing, it was evident that a decrease in BFS generated at the resin-ceramic interface when testing the ceramic specimen (A3.5 at 1.40mm) with the lowest DC. Resin coating significantly increased the mean BFS of the greatest conversion system but not as significantly in the other two groups of ceramic specimens tested. It should be noted that the system with the greatest DC had the greatest change in BFS which highlights the importance of DC on the magnitude of resin-reinforcement that is achieved (Fleming et al, 2012). Despite the resin-reinforcement, it is suggested by Yesil that failure still occurs and the mode of failure is caused by surface flaws or flaws within the ceramic material, the adhesive layer, or the bonded cement and flaws in the interface (Yesil, 2009). Furthermore, in a different study carried out by Thompson et al, the results demonstrated that when clinically failed glass-ceramic restorations were analysed, the majority of these restorations failed because of fractures and most of the fractures initiated from flaws and stresses originating from the adhesive resin cement interface and not from the restoration contact surface (Yenisey et al, 2009). Clinically, the thickness and opacity of the ceramic restoration acts as a barrier to light penetrating the methacrylate resin-based composite cements. Therefore, the durability of the bond produced between the ceramic restoration and the resin cement as well as the interface between the cement and the surrounding tooth structure will be compromised. For resin-based composites, a maximum value of DC is ideally wanted in which there is complete conversion of the monomer double bonds to network contributory single bonds. However, the conversion is normally between 45-70% because vitrification stops the reactions by inhibiting diffusion (Isgro et al, 2011). The strength values may be different due to the absence of polishing in the ceramic specimens that were tested for BFS. The discs used in LT testing were polished whereas the ceramic discs tested in BFS were not polished. Instead, the internal fit surfaces of the dental ceramics were roughened to promote adhesion. The strength values obtained may have been affected by the absence of polishing of dental ceramic specimens prior to mechanical testing. (see Isgro et al, 2011) for more info. Give values of % increase between cemented and uncemented samples and the mean values. Look at Pagniano et al, 2005 for information on how the interaction between cement and ceramic affects BFS. Add if word count available. Future work Look at effect with different light output- look at Duran et al, 2012 journal. If space left, look at Pazin et al journal for info on degree of cross-linking. Look at SEM images Look at Molin et al, 2006 and Isgro et al, 2011 for info on contraction stresses for BFS In conclusion, adequate polymerisation is desirable to reduce problems associated with post-operative sensitivity, microleakage, risk of recurrent caries, discolouration, in addition to decreased mechanical, chemical and physical properties of the resin cement. Furthermore, it will compromise the clinical success and longevity of the restoration. Sufficient DC would also improve the biocompatibility of the restoration and most importantly, the resin cement layer by reducing the number of residual monomers that are leached into the oral environment (Kim et al, 2009; Yan et al, 2010; Braga et al, 2002).