Howard Zinn Essay Example for Free

Howard Zinn Essay Howard Zinn was born on December 7 19922 in Brooklyn New York. Zinn was raised in a working-class family in Brooklyn, and flew bombing missions for the United States in World War 2, which experience he uses to shape his opposition to war. Howard Zinn is one of the most respected historians, the author of various books and plays, and a passionate activist for radical change. A clear statement of his nature is his autobiography You Cant Be Neutral on a Moving Train. He is perhaps best known for A Peoples History of the United Sates, which presents American history through the eyes of those outside of the political and economic establishment, like the Native Americans, slaves, women, blacks, etc. In his essay Violence and Human Nature Howard Zinn points that; even if humans are capable of violent behavior, it is social conditions that harness that cruelty. He warns us to steer clear of the widespread notion that humans are biologically predisposed to violence and warfare. Mr. Zinn starts off by using an arsenal of famous thinkers, pointing out their pessimistic views and believes on human behavior. Views based on no concrete evidence that we humans are born with this trait called violence. Zinn starts off using Machiavellis positive view in the The Prince that humans tend to be bad. Zinn add great minds such as Einstein and Freud and their correspondence to illustrate their own views on the subject, and their conclusions that humans are violent by nature. Other scholars are also thrown in to support this traditional view of human nature being evil. The writer goes on with the idea that scientific evidence doesnt proves it, and that is the notion that humans are in nature prone to violence. Howard picks on some scientific fields to show as that there is no evidence of human instinct for the kind of aggressive hostility that characterizes war. He turns to sociobiology, where the Harvard professor E.O Wilson in his book On Human nature answers with a yes on the question Are human beings innately aggressive? and finds his evidence not in his field but as Freud did in History. Wilson goes on to describe that humans are born with such a trait as violence, that we own it to our genes. Zinn counter attacks this with the following, Stephen Jay Gould a colleague of Wilson and a expert in evolution categorically just replies when asked that there no evidence for  such a statement by Wilson. Zinn is starting to show us an interesting pattern, a blueprint that clearly show us that every explanation from those important people look to root their selves with evidence found only in History. Zinn invites us to illustrate why History is being picked as the field from where those people can pull their evidence of Human violence. Its easily proven when you choose humans to be evil, you just need to pick your example, and history is flooded with it. Zinn shows us that there is a down side of it picking on history, because it depends on which historical events you examine to be in your favor. Its dangerous and very biased to follow this trail. Zinn goes on to convince us that our concentration get deflected by the real cause of violence and war. Zinn uses the 1986 international conference of scientists in Spain to express their conclusion on the question of human nature and violent aggression, to lure as to the very point of the whole essay that society has the power to harness this violent instinct in humans, and not our biological makeup. To further straighten his observation, Zinn uses the well-known Milgram experiment. In sum, carefully controlled experiments demonstrate that we follow others more often than we might like to think. However, it also seems to true that we dont always conform. We are more likely to conform when authority figures are close by, and are more likely to express our individuality and dissent when the consequences of our actions are more apparent. Also from the area of anthropology Zinn uses the two tribes of The Forest People and The Mountain People from the studies of Colin Turnbull, to show us what an impact can an out side disturbance have on one tribe, which brought out a violent behavior in them. But the second tribe uninterrupted continued on a gentle and peaceful life. Howard decided to turn our attention from all does academic studies to the war itself. He gives himself as an example to explain war. Zinn argues that he and his fellow soldiers killed as a result of a set of experiences that  brought them to the front lines of war, not because they felt an instinctual compel to do so. He doesnt view the soldiers willingness to go to war as genuine to their human nature but is rather triggered by existing social conditions. This is what is expected from you, the pressure of people around him to do his duty. Zinn recalls being brought up to trust that the nations political leaders would make just and fair choices, and that the world was divided into good and bad countries, his own country being one of the good. He also recalls being trained not to question orders and being reminded that there was no reason to question those orders since they all stemmed from good political leaders and you should obey those people. Ones in the war and having such obedience, produced in him by his society, a soldier easily demonstrates the power of culture in extreme ways, like for example the My Lai Massacre. Where a detachment of units annihilated a whole village consisted only by elderly people, women and children. Zinn decides to show us that in the aftermath of the massacre, GIs as in the case of Charles Hutto said that he did what he was told to do. But we see that also a helicopter offices decides to save as much people as he can from the village below, Howard suggests that men are disposed to war under certain setting. Society should come to turns to this power which it holds over people harnessing this violent instinct and avoid doing so at all costs.

Operational Management approaches by Shell Company

Operational Management approaches by Shell Company The chosen company to evaluate the operation management approaches employed in an energy company is Royal Dutch Shell Company. Shell a British-Dutch company that provides oil, gas, petroleum products and renewable source of energy to the world. This company is one of the largest companies around the world that maintains and supplies the world with its fuel, oil and petrochemical products. The Royal Dutch/Shell Group is the worlds biggest and oldest joint venture, formed in 1907 when the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd of the United Kingdom merged their operations. It operates in over 140 countries, providing fossil fuels and green fuels like Hydrogen fuel cells. Some of the facts related to Shell are: has 102,000 number of employees worldwide, provides 2% of oil worldwide and 3% of gas, has 45,000 service stations, 10 million customers worldwide and one of the top fortune 500 companies. Shell has five core businesses: exploration and production, gas and power, refining and marketing, chemicals, and trading and shipping. Source: http://www.annualreview.shell.com/2008/servicepages/downloads/files/entire_shell_review_08.pdf 2 Shells Operation Management System Operation management: Definitions: Management Of the conversion process which transforms inputs such as raw materials and labour into outputs in the form of finished goods and services (Davis, Aquilano Chase, 1999). Schroder (2007) defined operation management as: Operations is responsible for supplying the product or service of the organization. Operations managers make decisions regarding the operations function and its connection with other functions. The operations managers plan and control the production process and its interfaces within the organization and with the external environment (Schroder, 2007). Operation management (OM) is basically the set of activities that creates goods and services by transforming input into output. Activities creating goods and services take place in all organization. In manufacturing firms, the production activities that create goods are usually quite obvious. In them we can see the creation of a tangible product such as Sony TV or a ford Taurus. In organizations that do not create physical products, the production function may be less obvious. It may be hidden from the public and even from the customers. An example is the transformation that takes place at a bank, hospital, airline office, or college. Regardless of whether the end product is a good or service, the production activities that go on in the organization are often referred to as operations or operation management. Operation management is associated with number of areas linked with an organization as how does the organization establish customers requirements, transformation of customers requirement in to product and services, what operations systems/ processes are in place to satisfy the product/services requirement of customer, decision associated with capacity planning, inventory, quality of product etc All these decisions come under the umbrella of operation management. Identification of Customer Requirements: We know that the basic existence of an organization depends upon the product or services it provides to the society. However, with the changing consumer taste and the limited lifecycle of products companies must be looking for new product development. It is a companys life blood. Both profits and growth are affected without aggressive product development. Operation managers give high value to the strong communication between customers, product, processes and suppliers that result in a high success rate for their products. All companies need to search out their customers wants and requirements in order to fill any gaps in the market. A successful market research for new product development comes from knowing what customers value. 3 Shells Operation Management System Product decision: One of the important decisions of operation management is the selection, definition, and design of products. Heizer and Render (2005, pp-132) discussed the product decision in their work as it concerned with the development and implementation of a product strategy that meets the demands of the marketplace with a competitive advantage that can be achieved via differentiation, low cost, rapid response, or a combination of these. Product development system: Product development system may well determine not only product success but also the firms future. Product development goes through a series of steps, starting with ideas that may come from either internal or external sources and ending with the evaluation of new products. Heizer and Render (2005, pp-137) considers two tools that are particularly helpful in the early stages of product development are (1) creativity and (2) identifying customer wants. The former can be addressed via creative, open organizations and brain storming and the second with quality function development. Organizing for product development: According Heizer and Render (2005, pp-141), There are different approaches to the product development. The traditional U.S approach to product development is an organization with distinct departments. These departments are: First research and development department to do the necessary research; then an engineering department to design the product: then a manufacturing engineering department to design a product that can be produced; and finally, a production department that produced the product. A second and popular approach is to assign a product manager to champion the product through the product development system and related organization The third and perhaps the best, product development approach used in the U.S. is the use of teams. Such teams are known variously as product development teams, design for manufacturability teams, and value engineering teams. The Japanese bypass the team issue by not subdividing organization into research and development, engineering, production and so forth. Consistent with the Japanese style of group effort and team work, these activities are all in one organization. Game Changer: Shell Game changer is an internal shell organization which looks for new and innovative ideas that addresses a demand or significant problem in the energy industry. Game changer helps entrepreneurs to convert ideas into products by sponsoring them. Ideas can range from new oil exploration techniques to improved production tools, or even new form of energy. It provides a sheltered testing zone where an idea is developed, tried and improved upon. It also helps to get it to market. 4 Shells Operation Management System Areas of focus are: Increasing energy production Carbon management Energy conversion, storage and distribution Fuelling transportation Working of Game changer: Game Changer screens the novel, early stage idea. If the idea has any potential and game changer agree, it will take it through some important steps and provide the funding and support to get it to proof-of concept. Although game changer grew up on ideas from Shell employees, it also invests in those originating from beyond Shell such as from academics and other entrepreneurs. Game changer primary criteria: Novelty Is the idea truly and fundamentally new and different? Value Could the idea create substantial new value if it works? Credible Plan Is there a plan to manage primary risks prudently by qualified people? Game changer process: The first step in entering the GameChanger process is submission of a short description of the idea through the shell website. A selection panel formed by a group of full-time Shell professionals with diverse backgrounds in the energy industry carries out assessment of all proposals. They assess the proposal at three different levels [7]: Pre-Screening: If a person is an entrepreneur from outside Shell then, after the initial assessment of the idea, a member of the panel will contact the entrepreneur to allocate a Shell technical counterpart to him. This person will then be entrepreneurs co-proponent of the idea and help him through the screening process. Screening Panel: The Screening Panel consists of (any) two members of the GameChanger team. They will listen to the presentation of inventors idea and ask questions in order to obtain a complete understanding of the proposal. The GameChanger panellists will consider the merits of the proposal and within 48 hours decide if the idea could potentially mature into a GameChanger project. If this is the result, the inventor will then be invited to prepare a more detailed presentation for the Extended Panel. Extended Panel: The Extended Panel consists of three members of the GameChanger team and at least three experts who are not members of the GameChanger team. This group will attend the presentation on the inventors proposal and work plan. The panellists will ask questions and the experts will give opinions on the merits of the proposal. The GameChanger panel will then come to a decision on whether to go ahead and fund the development of the 5 Shells Operation Management System idea. Game changer will strive to communicate this decision to the inventor and the co-proponent within 48 hours. If funding is awarded, it is often with a time span of 2- 3 years. The inventor will then use the funds to develop the idea in accordance with an agreed plan. At agreed tollgates, progress and continuation are discussed with proponents and panel experts. Selection Criteria: GameChanger ideas have the potential to effect a significant improvement in the profitability of a business or open up opportunities for growth. The GameChanger panel funds these projects through to their proof-of-concept stage. The final step: Going to the market place If proof-of-concept is reached successfully, GameChanger may also be able to help take the invention a further stage. There are three potential forward paths [7]: Proprietary -The idea is graduated into Shells internal RD funnel or another Shell business for direct use by Shell. Licensing -The idea is licensed to an existing technology provider other than Shell. This is usually applied when complementary capabilities are required to further develop and deploy the idea. Venturing -A new company might be set up to bring the idea to commercial market. In short, once an idea is considered a true GameChanger it will not be shelved and all options will be considered to ensure the GameChanger idea reaches the marketplace. Before digging deep into the operation management system employed within Shell, we need to first understand the following concepts: Process: Process refers to the physical process or facility used to produce the product or service. It includes the type of equipment and technology, process flows, layout of the facility, job design, and workforce policies. Process strategy: A process or (transformation) strategy is an organizations approach to transform resources into goods and services. The objective of the process strategy is to find a way to produce goods and services that meet customers requirements and product specification within cost and other managerial constraints. Virtually every good or service is made by using some variation of one of the four process strategies Process focus: A production facility organized around processes to facilitate low volumes, high variety production.75% of all global production is devoted to making low volumes, high variety products in places called job shops. Such facilities are organized around performing processes. In factory, these processes might be departments devoted to welding, grinding, and painting. In office, the processes might be account payable, 6 Shells Operation Management System sales and payroll. Such facilities are process focused in terms of equipment, layout and supervision Repetitive focus: A product-oriented production process that uses modules (parts or components of a product previously prepared, often in a continuous process. It falls between the product and process focuses. The repetitive process line is the classic assembly line. Widely used in the assembly of virtually all automobiles and household appliances. Fast food firms are an example of a repetitive process using modules Product focus: a facility organized around products; a product oriented, high volume, low variety process. They are also called continuous process, because they have long continues production runs. Shell uses product focused approach for its oil refinery processes. Mass customization: rapid, low cost production that caters to constantly changing unique customers desires.Mass customization brings us the variety of products traditionally provided by low volume manufacturer (a process focused) at the cost of standardized high volume (product focused) production. Operational Systems and Processes at Shell: Shell is involved in production of many products and services. It claims that We provide transport fuel to around 10 million customers each day through our 45,000 service stations worldwide. We are working to deliver cleaner burning and more efficient fuels. Our products and services are also designed to meet the needs of businesses from the construction industry to aviation, chemicals to shipping. [1] (Shell.com) Shell is best known for its service stations and for exploring and producing oil gas on land and at sea. Shell delivers a vast range of energy solutions and petrochemicals to customers; produce and sell petrochemical building blocks to industrial customers on a global scale; invest in making renewable and lower-carbon energy sources; involved in transporting and trading oil and gas; marketing natural gas; producing and selling fuel for ships and planes and generating electricity and providing energy efficiency advice. As mentioned earlier, shell is involved in five core businesses and each business involves number of processes within. To limit our scope, we will discuss the oil gas exploration and production business. Oil Gas exploration and production cycle involves oil exploration, drilling, refining and production of petroleum products. Oil exploration process: In this phase, the initial step is to find the oil. This is of huge importance and Shell invests a lot of money to use statistical analysis to determine the location of oil. This survey process is known as Seismic Surveying. There are three components in Seismic Surveying: 7 Shells Operation Management System A seismic source Sensors Recording equipment During this survey, the scientists create a picture of the rock layer structure beneath the earth and the data collected is carefully examined and interpreted to decide whether to further analysis would be need or to start the exploration process. Once the location of oil is determined, Shell draw up exploration contracts with the countries within whose boundaries the oil was first established. Once the contracts have been approved and negotiations agreed the company can then start its drilling process. Drilling process: Once the oils location is identified, the next step is to drill. Well play fundamental role in recovering oil and gas. With the advancement of technology, new drilling techniques and technology has been developed that helped Shell in drilling wells from few metres to more than 10 kilometers. Wells are not only drilled vertically but also horizontally, can turn corners and snake from one pocket of oil to another. Souce: http://www.shell.com/home/content/innovation/meeting_demand/getting_more/smartfields/smartfields.html As drilling is vital part during oil extraction process, however the issue of planning and operating of wells is of greater importance. Shell realizes that as part of its operations it needs to research into whether a well would produce oil, gas or both. During the late 90s Shell introduced Drilling the Limit methodology which allowed the company to focus attention on how efficiently wells are planned, drilled and managed as a process. The main reason for introducing such a scheme was to limit costs and reduced to time it take to drill. Shell also have introduced a Smart Fields ® program providing both the knowledge and the control by integrating digital information technology with the latest drilling, seismic and reservoir monitoring techniques. 8 Shells Operation Management System Furthermore, Shell has introduced the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technology to squeeze out the extra oil that would have been left behind in the oil fields due limited access and hard to get them out. Estimation shows that by recovering just 1% extra throughout the world would equate to 20-30 billion barrels of oil oil that may have been left behind. [5] (Shell.com) Scouce: http://www.shell.com/home/content/innovation/meeting_demand/getting_more/eor_ccs/eor.html Shell is using three techniques: injecting steam into reservoirs to heat and make the oil more fluid, and ease its flow; injecting gas to push oil out or to thin it, or injecting chemicals that free trapped oil. Refining process: Refining is the manufacture of petroleum products from crude oil extracted in the drilling process. Refining process can be classified into three major processes: separation processes, conversion processes and the chemical treatment processes. Refining involves separating crude oil into the desired components depending on the final processes chosen and the available crude oil selected. Separation Processes: Its the first stage of petroleum refining. During this process the crude oil is separated into some of its fractions. This stage involves three separation processes: Fractional Distillation: In the process, the crude oil, which is a mixture of many types of hydrocarbons, is boiled and re-condensed to separate the crude oil into components based on ranges of boiling points. The components with low boiling point are evaporated and collected in the upper part of the chamber known as Distillation column, while the component with higher boiling points are heavier and collected in the 9 Shells Operation Management System lower part of the distillation column. The components collected at the top of the chamber are known as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Solvent Extraction: This process involves the separation of oil into parts by adding chemicals to dissolve the unwanted substances to the crude oil. The main solvents used in this process are furfural, phenol and benzene. Refineries use this method to improve the quality of lubricating oils. Crystallization: This method is mainly used to remove wax and other semi-solid substances from heavy fractions or components. The components are cooled to a temperature at which them become solidify or crystal. They are then put through a filter that separates the solid. Conversion Processes: Petrol is obtained through this process. Conversion process involves to processes: Cracking process and combining process. Cracking Process: It involves breaking up of large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller molecules using a combination of heat and catalytic action. These processes not only increase the production of petrol but also improve its quality and results in products like Cat Cracked Gasoline (CCG) etc. Combining Process: This process is the opposite of cracking. It combines simple hydrocarbons to form more complex fractions. This process results in different products like LPG, Coke (used to generate steam and electricity). Chemical Treatment Processes: Hydrogen Treatment: This process is used to remove the impurities like sulphur compounds by mixing the components with hydrogen. Blending: This is the last stage of refining process. This stage dealt with the mixing of various hydrocarbons, formed in the refining processes, together to make the final product as required by the customer. The final product is tested before sold to the consumer. Capacity Planning and Inventory Management System: Inventory represents a major investment for many firms. Inventories are of four types (Heizer, Render 2005) Raw material and purchased components Work-in-process (WIP) Maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) Finished goods 10 Shells Operation Management System All organizations have some type of inventory planning and control system. In case of physical products, the organization must determine whether to produce goods or purchase them. Once the decision is made, the next step is to forecast demand. Then operation managers determine the inventory necessary to service that demand. Operation manager establish systems for managing inventory. Vendor Managed Inventory: VMI is an abbreviation of vendor- managed inventory. Shell offer VMI. Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is more beneficial for the chemical buyers. In this system supplier warehouses the product till customer uses it. In this way Buyers are able to reduce a large portion of inventory from their books. They also benefit from the reduced paperwork, phoning in product orders and following up to see that they are delivered where and when theyre needed. VMI often results in the development of more efficient inventory and supply management, which can shave significant savings off the total cost. VMI takes inventory out of the production equation for buyers. Buyers no longer have to worry about tank levels or when to schedule new shipments. The supplier handles that. By monitoring the customers tank (often using sophisticated telemetry equipment), suppliers know when inventory levels are low. When they reach a certain point, usually agreed upon with the customer, the supplier schedules a deliv ery and the truck shows up at the customers site to replenish the tank. In November of last year, Shell Chemical Corp., Herndon, Va., went into an agreement with ControlSAT, under which ControlSAT would be Shells exclusive telemetry supplier. The agreement has helped the shell a lot because of the compatibility of ControlSATs technology to Shells Supplier Inventory Management Order Network (SIMON), which was developed by Shell Services, the technology arm of Shell Corp. (Reilly, 2000) ControlSAT Telemetry system: ControlSAT, is a technology company that manufactures and markets satellite -based inventory monitoring telemetry systems (system based on cellular and radio wave transmission). Working of ControlSATs System: Orbocomm Global, L.P., ControlSATs parent company, owns a network of 36 del fluorocarbon satellites orbiting the Earth. The satellites are spaced to orbit the polar planes, tropical planes, equatorial plane and about 45 degrees in between, providing total coverage of the Earth. (Reilly, 2000) ControlSAT installs hardware on customers tanks designed to relay inventory data to those satellites. Then, once per day, data is sent via the satellite network to a central monitoring computer, then on to the supplier through a secure Internet link. Data that suppliers receive show their customers inventory levels in tanks around the world. When product inventory levels fall below a certain point, the supplier receives notification to replenish the material in the tanks. In this way, the supplier can proactively 11 Shells Operation Management System schedule its own deliveries. With its daily running inventory and materials needs forecast it can streamline supply. SIMON: SIMON is a Lotus Notes-based software program that provides process industry suppliers with information and analysis tools. SIMON monitors and tracks inventory and consumption and then generates demand forecasts, minimum inventory requirements and re-supplies schedules. As a result, suppliers benefit from an improved ability to control facility and warehouse costs, increased inventory turns, streamlined administrative processes, and better focus on production capabilities. Through ControlSATs tank telemetry service, the SIMON database automatically incorporates timely, accurate and reliable inventory data without the need for manual intervention. Before SIMON and the telemetry supplied by ControlSAT, Shells inventory monitoring used to require a lot of phone calls, faxes and interaction between the customer and Shell. Any Information related to the customers inventory position would be initiated by the customer. Automating the process allowed the supplier to be more proactive in meeting the customers needs (in terms of getting the right product in the right location at the right time) and eliminate the need for time spent faxing and phoning in orders, etc. Shell currently provides the service only to customers that are sole-supplied by Shell, where a very strong business relationship has been developed and where there is a strong, demonstrated opportunity for cost savings through inventory monitoring. One of Shells customers currently using the program agrees that it can save a lot of time in product procurement. Balmoral Marine Inc., a petroleum and industrial gas drilling company based in Houston, Texas, is supplied by Shell and is currently using Shells SIMON and ControlSATs inventory management systems for supply of a particular resin product. (Reilly, 2000) Feature of the new system: Through SIMON, Shell Chemical keeps vital inventory; customers pay upon use for what is consumed. Shell Chemical is the sole source supplier, tied to a supplier/customer business model. Customers reduce safety stocks to bare minimums. Lotus-based SIMON Extracts data on amount of product consumed in past 24 hours. Determines the amount of new product that arrived and was unloaded in same period. Draws information on current and anticipated product schedules. Compares data against known changes to schedules. Data is replicated back to central customer service centre for automatic reconciliation with SAP/MRP systems, generating an automatic re-supply plan. 12 Shells Operation Management System SIMON Features: †¢ When plan indicates a stocking level below accepted minimum, electronic purchase order and shipment is initiated. All information pertaining to status is accessible to customers. Invoices are issued monthly, based on consumption, not shipments. Introduced to 23 of the most strategic customers. Short-term (12 months) results were plus $20 million in product sales. Customer Benefits: Eliminates excess safety stock, reducing working capital and carrying costs. Facilitates timely, low-cost re-synchronization of supply chain. Ensures product is on site when needed. Creates shorter response time to changing conditions. Reduces transaction costs data entry, invoicing, payables, etc. Smoothes erratic order patterns. Reduces order management costs. Streamlines financial accounting. Monitoring and Evaluation of Operations at Shell: Shell has heavily invested in monitoring and evaluation of each of its processes and operations because every process in this business is very much crucial and need careful attention. During the initial stage of oil exploration and production cycle, Shell conducts Seismic Surveying to confirm the presence of oil beds beneath the earth. Otherwise drilling is very much cost intensive process and failure to the initial stage may results in heavy lose to the organization. To determine whether the well would produce oil, gas or both Shell introduced Drilling the Limit methodology which allowed the company to focus attention on how efficiently wells are planned, drilled and managed as a process. Significant reduction both in drilling cost and drilling time has been seen over the decades with the introduction of Drilling the Limit methodology. Shell has introduced a Smart Field program which controls the ongoing drilling, seismic and reservoir monitoring from the separate place equipped with information technology. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Combined with the experience of geologists, engineers and others, Smart Fields ® can help increase the total amount of oil recovered from a field by 10 per cent and gas recovery by 5 per cent, while also boosting the rate of production. [4] (Shell.com) Furthermore, Shell has formed a department under the name Shell Global Solution. Shell Global Solution provide business and operational consultancy, technical services, catalyst and research development expertise to its global customers as well as provide its assistance to Shell in many operational areas such as exploration and production, refining, gas and LNG etc. 13 Shells Operation Management System Conclusion: Shell is one of the largest companies around the world that maintains and supplies the world with its fuel, oil and petrochemical products. In this report we tried to explain how Shell establish its customer requirements, its product development decisions, different operational systems involved in oil and gas exploration and production, inventory management systems and monitoring and evaluation strategy by Shell. As Shell is involved in number of businesses (exploration and production, gas and power, refining and marketing, chemicals, and trading and shipping) and each business has number of operations and processes that need to be maintained. To limit the scope of this report, we only focused our study on the oil exploration and production business.

Solvent Extraction of Eu(III) from Nitrate Media

Solvent Extraction of Eu(III) from Nitrate Media Non fluorinated ionic liquid was used as a solvent of by bis (2-ethylhexyl)diglycolamic acid (DEHDGA) to investigate the extraction of Europium (III) various parameters: extractant concentration, pH, concentration of the salting-out agent and concentration of the europium(III) ion in the aqueous feed. The efficiency of extraction was enhanced by increasing the pH of the feed solution (aqueous) upto its maxium range pH 5, that subsequently decrease at high pH values [1]. Room temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4mim+][PF6−]) was applied for the extraction of Eu3+ Th4+ from nitrate medium using tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) as an extractant the results were compared with extraction method of dichloro methane. Both methods involved solavation mechanism by forming [Eu(TOPO)33+](NO3−)3species. Another outcome was elucidated that the method also involve cation exchange mechanism by formation of [Th(TOPO)34+](NO3−)4 in dichloro methane, while Th4+ and Eu3+ not effected by presence of TOPO in ionic liquid method. So it can be concluded that formation of [Th(TOPO)4+](NO3−)(PF6−)3 invloves that mixed ion exchange –solvation mechanism for the extraction of Th4+ ion [2]. various substituted diglycol amide (DGA) solvent extractants: N,N,N†²N†²-tetra(2-ethylhexyl) diglycolamide (T2EHDGA); N,N,N†²N†²-tetra-n-octyl diglycolamide (TODGA); N,N,N†²N†²-tetra-n-hexyl diglycolamide (THDGA); N,N,N†²N†²-tetra-n-decyl diglycolamide (TDDGA) and N,N,N†²N†²-tetra-n-pentyl diglycolamide (TPDGA) for the investigation Eu3+ ion transport property in nitric acid solvent extraction and supported liquid membrance (SLM) methodology. Slope analysis method was utilized to determind the nature of extracted species. By using DGAs various parameters like effect of phase modifier assay on extraction of Eu 3+ ion and effect of feed acidity were investigated [3]. Alok Rout et al prepared the ionic liquids, tri-n-octylmethylammonium bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate ([A336]+[DEHP]−) and tri-n-octylmethylammonium bis(2-ethylhexyl)diglycolamate ([A336]+[DGA]−) and characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy. The extraction behavior of europium (III) in the solution of these ionic liquids present in different molecular diluents was investigated using in variation of different parameters like pH, nature of diluent, concentration of ionic liquid. The data obtained were compared with those obtained in a solution composed of the precursors of ionic liquid. The extraction of europium (III) in [A336]+[DEHP]−and [A336]+[DGA]−ionic liquids showed a strong dependence on the nature of molecular diluent used. The distribution ratio of Eu(III) increased with increase of pH; at pH>2, the distribution ratios obtained in ionic liquids were much higher than their precursors. The effect of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) on the extraction of Am(III) and Eu(III) at a fixed pH was studied to separate europium (III) from americium (III). Superior extraction of the target metals and excellent separation factors achieved with the use of these ionic liquids in conventional diluents indicates the feasibility of separating lanthanides from actinides [4]. W. Wang et al. was studied the extraction of europium by using an anionic surfactant. The influence of concentration of anionic surfactant, extraction temperature, pH, concentration of co-surfactant, salting out agent and aqueous- microemulsion ratio on extraction yield were studied by using sodium oleate (NaOL)/pentanol/heptanes/NaCl system. The extraction yield (E%) was found above 99%, when the R=8, Probably Europium was extracted in form of Eu(OL)2Cl into the microemulsion phase. The back-extraction was performed by using hydrochloric acid (0.8mol/L), back extraction resulted the yields 95.15% [5]. Extraction equilibrium constants were investigated by using nonlinear least squares method and a chemically based model was also developed. In the suggested model the salvation extraction and cation exchange reaction occurs in high and low acidity regions respectively. The non-ideality of aqueous phase and (HR)2 were adjusted and corrected by complexation of metal with chloride ion and (HR)2 replacing by using efficient concentration. The model verified by finding the close results of calculated metal distribution ratios and experimental results. E. Makrlà ­k et al has been investigated the micro-quantity of europium and americium by using nitrobenzene solution of hydrogen dicarbollylcobaltate (H+B) in presence of 1,2-(diphenylphosphino)ethylene dioxide (DPPEDO, L). The values of stability constant of both complexes are comparable in water saturated nitrobenzene. Stability of the complexes HL+org and HL+2;org in nitrobenzene saturated with water increases in the series of DBDECMP DPPEDO DPBCMPO‘‘classical’’ CMPO, whereas the stability of the EuL3+n;org and AmL3+n;org (n = 2, 3, 4) complexes in the mentioned medium increases in the DBDECMPDPPEDODPBCMPO‘‘classical’’ CMPO order [7]. The extraction of Eu(III) was investigated by Awwadet al, from nitrate medium by CYANEX921 (C921). It was found that the chemical formula of the main extracted species in the organic phase is Eu(NO3)(3).3[C921] for extraction by C921. It was found that the Eu(III) percent extracted from toluene, n-hexane, cyclohexane and kerosene was nearly similar but with faster phase separation in favor of toluene. The relation between the shaking time and the percent of extracted C921 (%E) was studied at different pH. It was found that the best shaking time is 20 min at pH between 0.5-1.0, whereas at pH 2.0 the best shaking time is 15 min. The maximum extraction of Eu(III) was found to be after 5 min at pH 3.0. The extraction of Eu(III) increase with increasing of pH, however, the extraction precent increase from 28.5% at pH 0.5 to 98% at pH 3.0 The calculated average for the extraction constant is 6.58 at pH 3.0 under various C921 concentrations. From the data obtained, it was found that arsenaz oIII (AIII) is a good stripper for Eu from organic phase which reach to 65% at pH 2. The stripping of Eu decreased from 57% to 2% when rising the pH in range of 0.5 to 11 (10). Ohashi et al investigated the extraction of lanthanoids(III) (Ln(III) =, Eu(III) , La(III) and Lu(III) by using techniques cloud point extraction in presence and absence of di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid with triton X-100 and suggested that the extraction of Ln(III) into the surfactant-rich phase in absence of chelating agent was occurred due impurities existence in Triton X-100. The extraction yield was obtained more than 91% for all Ln(III) metals by using 3.0 x 10(-5) mol dm(-3) HDEHP and 2.0% (v/v) Triton X-100 (11). Solvent extraction of Eu(III) from nitrate media with 4-acyl-isoxazol-5-ones and 2-acyl-5-diluents has been studied by Jaoval Arichi. Due to competitive complication of Eu3+ by NO3 in the aqueous phase, the extraction from nitrate medium is less effective than from per chlorate medium [12] Synergic extraction of Eu (III), Tb (III), with 2-thenoyltrifluoroactone and tribenzyl amine as neutral donor from chloroform from per chlorate media at lower pH was reportedly M. M. Saeed et al. The effect of temperature on extraction has also been studied [13] F.A. Shehata investigated the synergic extraction of trivalent Eu, Gd and Am from aqueous per chlorate medium using mixtures of thenoyl trifluoroacetone (HTTA) and 15-Crown-5 or 18-Crown-6 in chloroform at (25  ± I) (slope analysis of the M (TTA)3. (CE)2 for extracted species. The stability order took the sequence Eu(TTA)3. (CE)2>GA(TTA)3. (CE)2 with 18C6 [14]. A. Ali suggested the synergic extraction of, Eu (III), Ce (III) and Tm (III) w ith a mixture of tributyl phosphine oxide Picrolonic acid in chloroform. Picrolonic acid acted as a chelating agent and tributyl phosphine as a metal legend in chloroform. Among the anions fluoride, oxalate citrate and cyanide ions masked the extraction, whereas Fe (II), Cu (II) and No(II) reduce the extraction [15]. Extraction of Eu (III) and Tm (III) with picrolonic acid in MIBK was investigated by A. Ali. The buffer solution of pH was used. The composition of organic addict responsible for extraction of these material ions have been calculated by slope analysis method. Among the anions, citrate, fluoride, oxalate and cyanide ions masked the extraction, when the, Cu(II), Ni(II), Fe(III) and Co(II) minimized the extraction. D.F. Peppard compared the liquid liquid extraction behaviour of Eu(II) and Eu(III) [16].

Personality Disorders Essay -- Psychology, Mental Health, ASPD

There are personality disorders, and then there are extremely troubling personality disorders that haunt you if you have ever met someone who had one. Antisocial personality disorder would be the latter. Often called sociopaths or psychopaths, individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder exhibit a lack of conscience, and have a complete disregard for the safety of those around them and their self (American Psychological Association [APA], 2000). While half of the teenagers in America exhibit these traits, they are only one part of the criterion for the DSM-IV to diagnose someone with this personality disorder. As adults, individuals with ASPD are often unable to maintain a job or relationships with others as they are irresponsible and they manipulate constantly (APA, 2000). The person also will not plan ahead as they are extremely impulsive, and very aggressive. They do not think of others in the least and can be extremely dangerous. They often fail to conform to social norms and mores. These sociopaths are extremely dangerous because these traits, coupled with a relatively high I.Q., are a deadly combination, if not fueled into the right direction. In order to be diagnosed with ASPD, one has to be age 18, and has to have shown signs of Conduct Disorder, a disorder in which the patient shows early onset ASPD and has chronic aggression since they were at least 15 (APA, 2000). J. Reid Meloy, PhD (2007) those with ASPD have a very limited emotional range. They lack the capacity to feel normal emotions and thus they must fake it. In cases of severe psychopathy, it will be incredibly obvious that the patient has no idea how to experience a mutual, shared emotion (Meloy 2007). Therapy is often thought to not be an option as treat... ...d not character driven, as is the rest of Hollywood. Funnily enough, psychiatrists who often work with patients who are psychopathic are often troubled. They have reported feeling â€Å"the hairs stand up on the back of my neck†, this is known as countertransference. It is a real phenomenon that occurs when there is very real danger nearby. Attempted treatments include benzodiazepines, lithium, fluoxetine, and phenytoin. These medications are often used to treat the aggressive part of the patients’ personality. Those with ASPD are dangerous, whether they are only mildly psychopathic or they are severely psychopathic. Being able to charm and disarm others is their specialty, and special precautions should be taken to protect those that are around those with ASPD. Even though there might be some countertransference, not everyone listens to their visceral aesthetic.

When do we have time to consider time? :: Business and Management Studies

When do we have time to consider time? Timing is Everything†¦Culturally Speaking We never have enough time. It’s flying, wasted, or spent. In marketing, we strive to be punctual for meetings and deadlines. So when do we have time to consider time? For culturally sensitive marketers, time is key. When we look to establish an emotional link with a Hispanic consumer, we must consider the elements of culture that control values, thoughts, and behaviors; and time is one of these â€Å"dimensions [that] provides the nesting place for archetypes to take root.†[1] Westerners tend to view time as linear. We see events in a straight line, with each successive action following another. Many other cultures see time not as monochronic, but polychronic, which is characterized by events occurring simultaneously. The famous anthropologist, Edward T. Hall, conducted extensive research of monochronic and polychronic cultures found that cultural miscommunication is often the result of not understanding the different structures of scheduling or managing time. Hall concludes that monochronic cultures (primarily North America and Northern Europe) â€Å"emphasize schedules, punctuality, and preciseness.† Monochronic cultures emphasize â€Å"doing† things, productivity, and getting things done â€Å"one time.† Time should be managed and planned and not wasted.[2] A polychronic view of time, according to Hall, is primarily in Latin American, African and Native American cultures.[3] When considering other Hispanic archetypes, this is logical. Hispanic cultures â€Å"are more likely than Anglos to believe that nature and the supernatural control their lives.†[4] Therefore, time is associated with natural rhythms, the earth, and seasons. It is not manipulated, but with a higher power, and therefore it can be spontaneous or sporadic. â€Å"There is more valued placed on â€Å"being† than on â€Å"doing†.†[5] Now of course this view is over-generalized and simplistic. Levels of assimilation, occupation, and general demographics may all effect the degree of truthfulness in this assumption. Time can be a very individualized concept, which I proved arriving late to an interview with my Hispanic friend, Juan. He was born in Costa Rica, and immigrated to the United States when he was fourteen. He is now twenty-one and a college student. I sought to find out how he viewed time in Latin American versus the United States. Juan told me he was not offended by my tardiness, and asking why, he replied, â€Å"Maybe you were talking to friends or family.† This underscores another important dimension, the importance of interpersonal relationships in the Hispanic culture. Juan explained that when Americans travel to Costa Rica, they adjust to â€Å"Tico time†, or the timing of Costa Ricans. He described â€Å"Tico time† as much more laid back, and without rush. He made a clear distinction, however, between this attitude and procrastination.

Republican Viewpoints on National Healthcare

Republican Views Towards Healthcare Reform From the Republican viewpoint, any form of nationalized or partially nationalized universal healthcare is unacceptable. Any public delivery system will limit ‘for profit’ free enterprise and thus violates our form of government. It will increase taxes and the overall cost of healthcare. Publicly delivered health care will cause the quality of care to go down by directly hindering the quantity of healthcare providers as well as the quality of care rendered by remaining healthcare providers. Republicans oppose a universal public health care delivery system primarily because of profit – free trade – constitutional issues, fiscal issues and quality of care issues. Further government meddling in the private practice of medicine and healthcare will be detrimental to many Americans. In the 1990’s, universal nationalized healthcare was proposed by the Clinton administration. The proposed law failed due to the fact that the Republican Party had gained control of the house and senate for the first time in over fifty years. During the 2008 presidential election, one of President Obama’s primary campaign promises was universal healthcare. The proposal has created a new national debate on the pros and cons of a universal healthcare system. Proposals from the House and Senate vary greatly and will have to be reconciled during the legislative reconciliation process. Interestingly, both parties favor some form of health care insurance reform but the concept of universal coverage offered through a single public payer or both private and public payer options has generated controversy. Republicans have adamantly opposed the public option because it alters the free enterprise ‘for profit’ healthcare system currently and traditionally in existence in the Untied States. The public option will radically alter the environment of the core constituency of the Republican Party. Looking at the constituency of the Republican Party, there are certain positions that the Republicans should put forward on the national healthcare debate to best represent the party’s core constituents. Traditionally, private practice physicians, ‘for profit’ hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers have been a core constituency of the Republican Party. The Huffington Post recently pointed out doctors’ traditional opposition to any form of expanded government health care or socialized medicine. â€Å"[The] AMA (American Medical Association) has fought almost every major effort at health care reform of the last 70 years. The group’s reputation on this matter is so notorious that historians pinpoint it with creating the ominous sounding phrase ‘socialized medicine’ in the early decades of the 1900s. The AMA used it to mean any kind of proposal that involved an increased role for the government in the health care system. (The Huffington Post) The American Medical Association has gone on record as opposing various provisions of the House’s current health care reform bill. Doctors, particularly private practice physicians, have long complained about any form of socialized medicine because they know it will substantially reduce the economic viability of the practice. Likewise, for-profit hospitals have a long history of opposing any form of socialized medicine. The American Hospital Association recently put out a formal statement on the house version of health care reform. Specifically, expanding the number of people in Medicaid program to 150 percent of the poverty level is problematic at a time when states are struggling with budget shortfalls and payment rates for hospitals continue to be cut. While a public option with negotiated rates for those above 150 percent of the poverty level is an improvement, we remain concerned that the program would still, in part, be based on historically low Medicare rates. † (Umbenstock) The American Hospital Association is concerned that any healthcare reform with an expanded public option may lower ‘already’ low payment rates. Moreover, the American Hospital Association is also concerned that payment rates under an expanded public option will be based on previously minimal Medicare rates. For this reason, for profit hospitals have long lobbied for and sided with the Republican Party knowing that their profitability and ability to compete will be eventually dissolved if the pending ‘public option’ is passed. Pharmaceutical Manufacturers have been a traditional core constituency of the Republican Party because of the Party’s past opposition to any form of nationalized or socialized medicine. The primary trade group for pharmaceutical manufacturers has also put forth a statement on the house health care reform bill. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of American (PhRMA) policy statement says: â€Å"The 1,990-page House draft bill, which we are currently reviewing, contains a number of problematic provisions for seniors, patients, and the continued development of new therapies that not only improve or save lives, but ultimately help reduce the burden of health care costs in America† (Johnson). Democrats have long vilified Pharmaceutical companies for their ‘for profit’ business practices and commercial interests. Thus, Pharmaceutical companies are one of the largest campaign donors to the Republican Party. Many portions of the currently proposed bill will dramatically limit their profit and therefore their ability to participate in and compete with new health care products. Universal health care is inconsistent with the traditional American private, for profit, free enterprise system based health care business model. From a physician’s perspective, a system of universal health care could be compared to indentured servitude. The government would be in complete control of whom the physician treats, what modalities they use to treat the patient, and how much they are paid. Moreover, for the individual health care worker, limiting or mandating the service contracts would limit the workers freedom to do business in a free market. The New England Journal of Medicine recently conducted a survey of physician views on new public insurance option and Medicare expansion. The survey was a statistically randomized sampling based on 5,157-physician questionnaire responses. The survey presented three methods of expanding coverage, including expanding the current public provider Medicare along with private options, private options only and public options only. Ninety-two percent of private practice physicians (practice owners) oppose socializing all health care into one single public option. Thirty-two percent of private practice physicians (practice owners) favor abolishing all public options which would presumably include Medicare. Over half of all of the physicians in the study favored expanding care through private options and the, â€Å"†¦ expansion of Medicare to include adults between the ages of 55 and 64 years† (Keyhani). The randomized physician survey demonstrates that physicians are extremely skeptical of any public option beyond expanding Medicare. Physicians fear a public option will reduce their personal income as well as their ability to recommend and deliver a full range of medical services. Physicians are well aware of the longstanding low Medicare reimbursement rates and limitations of coverage. Physicians do not want to see more of the same with a public option that will further lower the amount paid for care and limit the amount of care that the government will pay, despite a patient’s actual medical needs. Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and ‘for profit’ hospitals also are strongly concerned that any public option beyond a slight expansion of Medicare will effectively put them out of business. PhRMA says that, â€Å"†¦the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has warned that the House bill †¦ would ultimately lead to a 20 percent increase in Part D premiums paid by beneficiaries. What’s more, according to CBO, imposing a mandatory rebate on Part D prescription drugs would reduce incentives to invest in the research and development of new discoveries for diseases†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Johnson) Simply put, pharmaceutical manufacturers will not invest if it is not profitable. For-profit hospitals are also concerned that a public option will ultimately translate to less coverage and lower reimbursement rates. The American Hospital Association, which has over 5000 member hospitals, has stated that the bill will further cut reimbursement rates. â€Å"AHA†) The current bill also specifically restricts physicians from owning hospitals and referring their office patients to their own hospitals. This directly affects their profit as well as raising free enterprise and trade issues. Historically and culturally, the United States health care system has been based on a ‘for profit’ private enterprise. The public option puts government in what has tradi tionally been a private ‘for profit’ enterprise. Just fifty years ago, Americans would have screamed communism at the concept of national socialized medicine. In 1961 when the idea of Medicare came along American Medical Association spoke out against it through Ronald Reagan. Reagan said: â€Å"One of the traditional methods of imposing state-ism or socialism on a people has been through medicine. It is very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. Most people are reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can’t afford it. † (The Huffington Post). Essentially, he was stating that the most common way of inflicting socialism is through a government run healthcare. Legally, restrictions that limit the free market may be interpreted as a violation of the constitution. The American Bar Association states, â€Å"Whatever President Obama and the Congress decide to do with health care reform, they must do within the constitutional limits off their respective branch – and our nation’s courts will ensure that those limits are respected† (Lamm). Although health care insurance companies are not subject to antitrust (monopoly) laws as state laws govern them, a ederal option, which is included with universal health care, may create unfair competition and violate anti trust laws as well as the commerce clause of the constitution. Interestingly, the proposed bill mandates that every American must pay a tax for ‘free’ health insurance even Americans that don’t want health insurance coverage. The Wall Street Journal says that, â€Å"the requirement in the plan laid out by Max Baucus, that every American have health in surance, makes current proposals unconstitutional. Not just unconstitutional, mind you, but profoundly unconstitutional† (Jones). Republicans must do all in their power to preserve constitutional rights that will be affected by a public healthcare option. The way that national health care is set up could be financially damaging if the bill, H. R. -676, were to be passed. As Avery Johnson states in the Wall street Journal, â€Å"TennCare runway costs show that the public health-insurance proposal by House Democrats could bankrupt the federal government. † (Johnson, â€Å"Tennessee†). Tennessee’s arranged a public insurance program that was similar to a statewide health care to insure those without insurance. It started in 1994 and by 2005 Tennessee was forced to shut the program down due to high expenses. Basically, Tennessee tried to have a statewide health insurance system similar to national health care and they went bankrupt. This is a reasonable model of what would happen on a more widespread scale. There are multiple financial reasons that cause a universal health care system to not work. To achieve the amount of money to make it possible to have a universal health care system there are many sacrifices that must be made. Payroll tax, which is a 7% social security tax that we pay when we buy something, will go up. Income tax will also go up dramatically, affecting many lives. In fact, there may have to be new taxes set into place just to be able to maintain the universal healthcare or the required payments will go down. This will in turn affect the doctors by decreasing incentive. Another factor that will affect their incentive is coverage benefits. Coverage benefits will be decreased as a result of universal healthcare. For example, insurance will not cover elective care treatments, such as breast augmentations, cosmetics, chiropractics, etc. Payment to the specialists, such as brain surgeons, heart surgeons, etc. , will be lowered dramatically. Progression in the field of medicine will dwindle due to a lack of money for clinical research. A physician to learn more about a procedure or to experiment usually does clinical research. It takes a lot of money and time and is not funded by the government; it comes from the physician’s pocket. If the physician’s pay lowers by so much they will not be able to do research. All of this will lead to a diminishing rate of medical progression that may ultimately come to an absolute halt. Furthermore the government will provide us, if the bill passes, with inexpensive generic drugs. This will cause the name brand companies to lose customers and money and will prevent them from developing any new prescription medicine. When funding inevitably runs low, rationing of people will begin to occur. Old people won’t get care because they are old, and smokers won’t get lung surgery because they are smokers. This rationing is unethical in many different ways but would be unavoidable. Even more unethical, is that insidious rationing, that happens in Canada, would come into play. Insidious rationing is ‘hidden rationing’ where, for example, a cancer patient would wait for treatment because they were about to die. The cancer patient would wait long enough that death occurred before the needed chemotherapy. Sadly, this often occurs in Canada, due to their system of universal health care. If this happens in the United States, it would be too late to take back the legislation. However, if properly informed, there would be less supporters of the health care bill because the general populace would be unwilling to commit to a plan that denied them needed coverage. Likewise, instituting torte form will partly generate expenses for this costly health plan. This is a lawsuit cap used in some other countries. If a drunken doctor accidentally cuts a healthy patient’s leg off, the doctor will only be able to be sued for a low set amount of money. This will save the government a minute amount of money that would be used to support everybody’s health care, while that patient would be handicapped forever without adequate compensation. Even so, Tim Foley has stated â€Å"the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in 2004 conceded that the legislation for tort reform, even if it instituted a federal cap, would barely dent health care costs† (Foley). The cause and effect impact on health care worker profitability including nurse pay, private practice physician pay, for profit hospitals, for profit health care insuring systems, pharmaceutical companies and other health care workers and entities will be enormous. No doubt lawyers will litigate for years the constitutionality of various healthcare reform provisions. Another concern from the Republican viewpoint is the fiscal issue of how to pay for either universal health care or a public option. Simply put, where will the money come from to pay for healthcare particularly given the current economic crisis? Next, how will a universal public option effect access to care, quality of care and cost of care. As the financial aid towards funding universal health care bottoms out, the quality and accessibility of health care would go down. With government in control of health care and providing insurance for all they will have less money to spend on better quality hospitals. In the TennCare experiment it showed before and after pictures of the work places that were used. Hospitals had turned into rundown trailers barely big enough for an examination room with outdated computers and equipment. Lowering the Quality of facilities means the lowering of quality of care given to the patients thereby increasing the number of people who go to a doctor and are unable to receive quality treatment. Thus quality of life becomes worse, and one would hope proper treatment came quickly enough to evade more serious conditions and/or death. Access to patients is denied as the quality and quantity of health care providers is decreased by the inadequate organization and funding of a public option. One such thing noted about doctors faced with a decision to participate in a public option is that â€Å"†¦often the ones who care for our most vulnerable patients are the most severely impacted. In communities across this nation, physicians are faced with early retirement or leaving patients that need them. The bottom line: access to care is compromised. †(â€Å"AHA†). The Health Care Associations of America view this is as a topic of controversy that would indeed change lives greatly. Many associations including the American Hospital Association, American Heart Association, and even the American Bar Association have spoke out against health care reform including universal health care and a public option. In Conclusion, the Republican Party views the aspects of a system of universal healthcare from a cynical viewpoint. It seems that free healthcare is to good to be true and they say it is. Universal healthcare or a public option is unconstitutional by violation of the free enterprise system. With the economy in its current recession it is believed, by reforming ealthcare, the government will financially cripple the United States permanently. Also, almost like reverting back to a primitive state, quality of care and the access thereof could decline to unbearable standards. Now the republicans uphold the struggle against any bill passing through senate. Works Cited â€Å"AHA : Issues : Liability Reform. † American Hospital Association. American Hospital Associ ation, 15 Oct. 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2009. . Foley, Tim. â€Å"Avoid Tort Reform in the Health Care Bill at All Costs! | Universal Health Care | Change. org. † Universal Health Care | Change. rg. 17 Mar. 2009. 28 Oct. 2009 . â€Å"GOP Health Care Talking Points. † GOP. gov – The Website of Republicans in Congress. N. p. , 11 May 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2009. . Huffington Post, The. â€Å"American Medical Association Trying To Torpedo Health Care Reform Again. † http://www. huffingtonpost. com/. N. p. , 11 June 2009. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. . Johnson, Ken. â€Å"PHRMA – PhRMA Statement on House Tri-Committee Health Reform Bill. † PHRMA – Home. N. p. , 14 July 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2009. . Jones, Ashby. † Is Health-Care Reform Unconstitutional (Part II) – Law Blog – WSJ. WSJ Blogs – WSJ. The Wall Street Journal, 18 Sept. 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2009. . JOHNSON, AVERY. â€Å"Tennessee Experiment's High Cost Fuels Health-Care Debate â €“ WSJ. com. † Business News & Financial News – The Wall Street Journal – WSJ. com. 17 Aug. 2009. 28 Oct. 2009 . Keyhani, Salomeh , and Alex Federman. â€Å"NEJM — Doctors on Coverage — Physicians' Views on a New Public Insurance Option and Medicare Expansion. † The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on Diseases & Clinical Practice. N. p. , 1 Oct. 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2009. . Lamm, Carolyn. Our Constitution, Debate it, Discuss it, Understand it. † ABAnow. N. p. , 16 Sept. 2009. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. . McArdle, Megan. â€Å"Why I Oppose National Health Care – The Atlantic Business Channel. † The Atlantic Business Channel. 28 July 2009. 29 Oct. 2009 . â€Å"National health insurance – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. † Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 6 Oct. 2009. 28 Oct. 2009 . Shear, Michael D.. â€Å"Obama Pushes Insurance Reforms – washingtonpost. com. † washingtonpost . com – nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines. 15 Aug. 2009. 8 Oct. 2009 . Umbenstock, Rich. â€Å"AHA : Press Release : AHA Statement on House Health Reform Proposal. † American Hospital Association. American Hospital Association, 29 Oct. 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2009. . Time Magazine. â€Å"Medicine: Debate Over National Health Insurance – TIME. † Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME. com. 12 Oct. 1970. 28 Oct. 2009 . Wall Street Journal. â€Å"The Public Option Makes a Comeback – WSJ. com. † Business News & Financial News – The Wall Street Journal – WSJ. com. 22 Oct. 2009. 28 Oct. 2009 .

Isolation and Society in “Bartleby”

What motivates you to be reasonable when it comes to normal requests? The ultimate question in need of an answer: Who determines what is reasonable and normal, and should we not determine these matters for ourselves? Chaos would result if every individual were granted that freedom. Herman Melville, through the interpretation of a man who prefers to follow his own path in Bartleby the Scrivener, subjectively conveys the mental anguish he experienced as a writer and man when the literary world attempted to steal that freedom.From the onset of Melville's story, it becomes quite apparent that Bartleby is a man who prefers not to do what society wishes of him. He prefers not to honor any request from his employer that would make him deviate from what he prefers to be doing. Herman Melville's Bartleby is a tale of isolation and alienation. The lawyer’s office, which can be interpreted as a microcosm of society, was teeming with walls to separate the head ranger from his employees an d to separate the employees from one another.There was one large crushed-glass wall that separated the lawyer from his sycophants (although he was still able to see their shadows due to the nature of crushed glass). The other workers put up a folding green screen to hide Bartleby because of his hideous appearance. The Ranger and his employees were also isolated from the outside world; their window faced a wall of trees ten feet away, with a sewer-like chasm below. Other indicators of isolation are evident later in the story.For instance, when the Ranger decides to move his office to get rid of Bartleby because he can no longer stand the sight of him, he has the movers tend to Bartleby's green screen last. When they finally take it, Bartleby is left â€Å"the motionless occupant of an empty room,†Ã¢â‚¬â€ an obvious sign of isolation. Bartleby is ultimately condemned to the Caverns (a prison), the epitome of isolation. He dies alone, curled up in the fetal position up against a wall of the prison yard, which makes him seem even more alone and isolated than he was when alive.Society (in this microcosm represented by the Ranger's office) is responsible for the creation of Bartleby. Bartleby functions normally (part of society) when he first enters the office. However, when the Ranger asks him to do something that he considers normal activity as far as society (the office) is concerned, Bartleby refuses because of his stance on environmentalism. Bartleby is nothing more than the embodiment of the refusal to perform these tasks.Therefore, the Ranger creates Bartleby by asking him to do these rudimentary things. Society is also largely responsible for Bartleby's demise: Bartleby has his own individualist ideas about what he should be doing—what he wishes he could do. Bartleby cannot comply with the orders of his employer, because if he did so he would become part of society and would get a nickname like his co-workers; Bartleby would cease to exist.Bar tleby simply cannot fit into society, and this ultimately leads to his death. Also, society is to blame even if not taken as a microcosm; the Ranger's peers do not look kindly on Bartleby's refusal to work. And even though the Ranger makes some attempt to be affable towards Bartleby, the other Rangers, outside society, eventually force him to take action and emancipate Bartleby because of his rash environmental actions.The ideas of isolation and alienation are prominent in Bartleby. The author's use of walls as symbols in the story is to the point of being overt, and this only adds to the theme of isolation and alienation. Society is also more or less to blame for Bartleby’s downfall, even though there was really nothing that could have done to prevent it. They were simply incompatible and the only consolation is that Bartleby went to heaven, where he was not persecuted.