4-MAT Book Review Essay

Abstract Wheelan (2013) identifies the four stages of team development and provides detailed explanation of how a group transforms itself from a stage one group of uncertainty into a successful, highly productive stage four team. This requires work and a thorough understanding of the many internal/external influences that can occur during each stage. A team member or leader who is well versed in these stages and who can evolve with each stage will be better equipped to deal with possible obstacles that can hinder group progress and implement practices to help the group successfully work through a particular stage. The goal is for the group to become a team that will value the importance of everyone’s contribution within the group and how it relates to the overall ability of the group to successfully accomplish the mission. As this is achieved, the work will no longer feel like a chore as team members encourage, inspire, and have fun completing tasks and achieving the desired outcome (W heelan, 2013). In the first stage of group development, termed dependency and inclusion, team members are dependent upon the designated leader to provide a sense of belonging and to create an environment where members feel safe enough to suggest new ideas (Wheelan, 2013). The overall goal of stage one group development is the ability to create a safe and inclusive environment for all members as some may experience certain behavioral characteristics associated with feelings of insecurity and a need to feel included in the group. Stage one members may feel apprehensive about sharing their ideas until they feel that the environment is safe to share and that their input is valued (Wheelan, 2013). As members work through the group one stage, they will become more confident in their role and begin to rely less on the team leader for input. In addition, group members will begin to openly share their ideas, which in turn may create conflict within the group as different views and values will begin to be challenged among group members. Although uncomfortable, this potentially volatile but necessary part of stage two group development will lead to an increased trust among group members. Wheelan (2013) explains, â€Å"Only through conflict resolution and the development of a unified view of the group’s purpose and processes can true collaboration be achieved† (p. 28). During stage two group development, the team leader and team members’ ability to manage conflict resolution will determine whether the group succeeds or fails. During stage three, members of the group roll up their sleeves and begin to focus on the task at hand. Egos are checked at the door as team members begin to sense a clearer picture of individual and team goals and communication becomes more task-oriented (Wheelan, 2013). As stage three groups develop, productivity is increased and relationships are strengthened as the group can now move to stage four successfully if they continue to manage and adjust team roles and responsibilities, resolve conflict, and receive constructive criticism with an open mind. Concrete Response As a youth leader, I was tasked with forming a ministry team to work with school-aged children ranging in ages from 8 to 19 years of age. As a District Fire Chief for a large fire department, I assumed that this task would be similar to forming a team that responds to emergency calls; however, there were several items that I would overlook initially that would prove to be painful learning opportunities as I progressed through my ministry team building experience. First, and probably most important, was the fact that I assumed that everyone serving with me had a clear picture of what our goal was as youth leaders; to share the gospel of Christ through grace-filled passion demonstrated by love, compassion, understanding and encouragement. I still remember our first meeting as I handed out information regarding the bible study material we would be using. As I explained the syllabus and the details of the study itself, Joey, one of the volunteers, asked, â€Å"What is it that we are trying to accomplish through this study?† I explained that the objectives were listed in the packet and that  everyone should familiarize themselves thoroughly with the material provided. As Wheelan (2013) explains, it is the team leader’s responsibility during stage one to establish defined goals and to identify specific team member roles and how they will contribute to the overall plan. This error on my part led to confusion, frustration, and unfortunately the departure of some of the youth volunteers, as they did not feel that the value of their input was considered nor was a clear picture of what our purpose was explained. Critique Wheelan (2013) provides many good examples of what to do in certain circumstances that deal with safety and inclusion, conflict resolution, identifying roles and responsibilities, and fostering esprit de corps during group development. In addition, she identifies the positive traits that should be displayed by both team members and team leaders alike such as involving other members in the leadership of the group and actively participating in achieving objectives. While the strength of this book is displayed in the many examples provided by the author of what to do if a certain situation arises, this author was curious as to what a team leader or member would do if a team member must be dismissed for poor performance? While this is something that this author would not want to ever experience, I am curious as to whether or not Wheelan has ever experienced this in her studies and how might a leader or team member deal with this issue? Another consideration that this author believes infl uences group dynamics is socioeconomic and cultural diversity. While the above-mentioned positive character traits for leaders and team members are just a few of the many provided in this text, Creating Effective Teams does not address the internal and external influences that are ever-present in groups through socioeconomic and cultural diversity. This author believes that these two influences alone should be strongly considered, as group cohesiveness will depend largely upon a thorough understanding of how an individual’s worldview influences his or her perception of other group members and their individual role within the group. Action Clear concise communicated goals that explain the purpose, the mission, and how each member will contribute to the overall plan is the first action that  this author wishes to accomplish. Establishing a safe inclusive environment at the outset of group development is vital to member participation as this author plans to meet with both the youth ministry and worship ministry team in the upcoming week to encourage team member input and to identify roles, responsibilities, and a unified mission statement. Training team members in both my ministry and the fire department I work for in how to effectively manage group conflict is an additional action plan that this author hopes to achieve. Understanding that conflict is not necessarily a bad thing and that good can come from disagreements is important for everyone to consider when building our team. This author feels that this action will open up a new line of communication for individuals within my team to voice their concerns and contribute successfully to the group with sincere honesty. The third action that this author would like to achieve is to become a leader who evolves with the group as it develops through each stage. The beginning stages of the group’s development will require me to be more assertive; however, the ability to evolve as a leader to a more consultant role is where this author plans to take action. According to Wheelan (2013) as I allow members to share in the leadership function of the group, the likelihood that the group will succeed is increased. Reference Wheelan, S. A. (2013) Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders. Thousand Oaks: CA. Sage Publications, Inc.

What Is Risk? (Report)

1Introduction 2What is risk? 2. 1Material world and risk 2. 2Case study 1: allotment 2. 3Case study 2: sun exposure 2. 4Risk society and Ulrich Beck (1992) 3Understanding and knowledge 3. 1Geoffrey Rose (1850) 3. 2Epidemiology 3. 3Uncle Norman and last person 5Conclusion 6References Title: Risk and understanding through expert knowledge and lay dispute Introduction This report will look at how modern society is a risk society, how expert knowledge is used to understand risk and how lay people respond. Case studies will be used to show how expert knowledge on understanding and managing risk is communicated.These will show how the lay person disputes risks and make decisions without following the expert knowledge. The work of sociologists of Geoffrey Rose (1850) and Charlie Davison and colleagues (1991) is used to show how the lay person disputes expert knowledge by using their own everyday knowledge and experience. What is risk? 2. 1 Material world and risk In modern society we live i n a material world that now provides us with material goods which previous societies didn’t have. However these new material goods can bring us benefits but also can bring us risks.Putting yourself, or something, at risk is putting yourself in a possible situation which would have a negative outcome. Thompson et al. did a study in 1989 on cyclists who wanted to try to manage the risk of a head injury by wearing a helmet while cycling. The results showed an 85% decrease in the risk of a head injury if a helmet was worn. However, research by Walker (2006) concluded that if a car was to overtake a cyclist wearing a helmet, they would drive closer. Using this expert knowledge some people may chose to not wear a helmet to keep divers at bay even though with a crash the risk of a head injury would be higher. . 2 Case study: allotment In 2003 Tim Jordan and his family had an allotment in Hackney in which they thought the soil was safe. Eighteen months after getting the allotment the ir local authority, sent them a letter telling them the soil was poisoned with arsenic and lead. The test used by the council measured the total amount of poison in the soil using soil plugs. These samples were sent to a laboratory where the level of poison was compared to ‘soil guidance values’ (Exploring Social Lives, 2009 p. 54). This was a well established tests scientists used to develop their expert knowledge about soil and poisons.The soil was then tested in a different way with a PBET (physiologically based extraction test). The basis of this test was to measure the level of poison in the soil that would enter the human body. The test tries to create a situation of the soil passing through the human digestive system of a two year old. This test showed that the level of poison in the soil was less then the earlier test. Both tests gave the public information about the level of poison and therefore the level of risk in gardening on that soil. But each test gave th e lay person different information making it difficult for them to be certain about the risk.This case study shows that expert knowledge if not always consistent. 2. 3 Case study 2: sun exposure The sun exposure case study concentrates on Glaswegians attitude towards sun exposure whilst knowing the risks. Simon Carter conducts research on the attitude towards sun exposure drawn from interviews and focus groups of tourists between ages 20 – 35 who regularly travel abroad. This research found that those involved were aware of health advice on how to protect themselves from the dangers of sun exposure and why. Glaswegians find going on holiday without a pre-holiday tan as embarrassing.The Glaswegian term ‘peely-wally’ is used to describe people who are pale ‘When you’re away and the sunglasses and white legs come out I’m ashamed to be Scottish †¦ it’s like if you see a group of peely-wally people then they are Scottish. ’ (Expl oring Social Lives, 2009 p. 75) Even though these people knew about the risks of sun exposure they decided not to follow the advise to decrease the risk of damaging themselves due to the idea of looking healthy with a tan. This is an example of expert knowledge being disputed by the lay public because getting brown and having a tan was more important than the risk of illness in the future. . 4 Risk Society and Ulrich Beck In 1986 reactor number four of the Chernobyl nuclear power complex exploded and released radiation causing 28 deaths and left 200 people sick with radiation (Spivak 1992). As radioactive material is invisible to the human eye, it was a challenge for humans to know exactly where had been affected. This meant the public who lived in the ‘fallout’ zone to the radiation became reliant on the expert knowledge of the risk they were faced, ‘open to a social process of definition’ (Beck, 1989, p. 88). Beck defined ‘risk society’ (Expl oring Social Lives, 2009, p. 0) to describe the social impact of risk and showed how the complex risks in society needed expert knowledge to explain them. Understanding and knowledge of risk 3. 1 Epidemiology Epidemiology is a way of understanding how illness and disease is transferred across populations by tracing how the infections move across countries. Epidemiology has also been used in understanding risk when experts have used data to work out the probability (chance) of a risk happening. Doll and Hill (1950) showed that a high percentage of people who smoked had lung cancer and so they argued that smoking was a risk.This expert knowledge is based on understanding a pattern rather than the cause of lung cancer. 3. 2 Geoffrey Rose (1850) Epidemiological research is always carried out on a whole group of people but when the risks are communicated they are aimed at the individual. Prevention paradox was defined by Geoffrey Rose (1850). It describes the situation where the solution to prevent a risk will offer the community benefit that may not apply to each individual. Rose describes it best by saying that the ‘measure that brings large benefits to the community offers little to each participating individual’ (Rose, 1891, p. 850). Rose uses vaccinations to describe prevention paradox. Not every child will suffer from the illnesses prevented by vaccinations however every child will have a vaccination in order to prevent the one child that would need it. ‘599 â€Å"wasted† immunisations for the one that was effective’ (Rose, 1981, p. 1850). 3. 3 Lay dispute of risk Davison et al. found that people in every day life talked about health and illness. They knew people who had followed all the health advice and still became sick and died and other people who had not followed any of the advice and had no negative effects.This results in a type of lay epidemiology through which people dispute the expert knowledge and reinforce the exp erience of individuals in their everyday life. 4. Conclusion As society has become more complex and the public have more choices of consumer goods and services that there are risk as well as benefits in these. Many of these risks are complicated to understand and so need experts to study and explain them. This has led to the risk society where expert knowledge is used to help the lay public understand the risks facing them everyday.There is evidence that the lay public disputes the expert knowledge and makes decisions not to follow advice, such as using sun protection. This is partly because expert knowledge can be contradictory with different studies showing different risks but also because the expert knowledge does not always match the individuals experience. 1295 Words Beck, U. (1989) ‘On the way to the industrial risk-society? Outline of an argument’, Thesis Eleven, vol. 23, pp. 86-103 Bromley, S. Clarke, J. Hinchliffe, S. Taylor, S (2009) ‘Exploring Social Li ves’ Carter, S. and Jordan, T. Chapter 2 Living with risk and risky living’, Open University, Milton Keynes. Carter, S. (1997) ‘Who wants to be a â€Å"peelie wally’’? Glaswegian tourists’ attitudes to sun tans and sun exposure’ in Clift, S. and Grabowski, P. (eds) Tourism and Health: Risks, Responses and Research, London, Pinter. Rose, G. (1981) ‘Strategy of prevention: lessons from cardiovascular disease’, British Medical Journal, vol. 282, pp. 1847-53 Walker, I. (2006) ‘Drivers overtaking bicyclists’ [online], http://drainwalker. com/overtaking/overtakingprobrief. pdf (Accessed 14 April 2009)

Discrimination

It is about difference, and its value is the richness and variety that different people bring to society. There are so many ways in which people differ from each other. Examples are: Appearance-ability Gender-Talent Race-Beliefs Culture Equality: -Promotion of individual rights. It is about treating people fairly, regardless of their differences by ensuring that they have access to the same life opportunities as everyone else. People have equal opportunities as everyone else.People have equal opportunities for everything. Examples: -Equal wages for the employees with same qualification, experience doing the same job. Bonus is fixed according to proper performance based measurements. Inclusion: It is about ensuring that there are no barriers that would exclude people or make it difficult for them to fully participate in society. People must be included in all aspects of life, not excluded from some of them because of an illness or disability. Example: – Providing a ramp to give wheelchair access too building. -Providing information in a range of languages and in audio format.Discrimination: Discriminate people on the grounds of age, gender, race, sexuality or ability can damage persons self esteem and reduce their ability to develop and maintain a sense of identity. When people are affected by discrimination they experience anger, humiliation, frustration and a feeling of hopelessness. They are made to feel worthless and at less value than others. Examples When weekly menus are being planned at a day centre, if no account is taken of the religious and cultural needs of people, you should challenge this and suggest changes.When individuals are affected by discrimination, they experience anger, humiliation, frustration and a feeling of hopelessness. They are made to feel worthless and of less value than others. Their families could feel the impact experienced by the individuals. Families could feel that they are treated in the same way as others and would f eel that they do not live in a equal society. Wider society the discomfort, awkwardness, lost opportunities. This feeling could be reflected in various unhappy events in a society. It can include certain revolts and non participation in public responsibilities.Those who discriminate will have the side effects of false superiority, and may be ashamed if challenged. Promoting active participation- Active participation allows individual to realize their value and reduce isolation in such a way that an individual can gain self esteem which helps to reduce any form of abuse and discrimination. Quick and effective complaint procedure-Quick, serious, and effective complaint procedure helps to let individual to know that how seriously the act has taken and the consequences of discrimination and it restrains people to engage.Meetings and discussion: It helps to increase awareness and carefulness to discriminatory acts. Discussion and exercising this issue in day to day talks will help indivi dual to challenge discrimination. Task B A social care worker must follow the legislation and cod of practice. There are so many Acts for the diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination. They are: Equal pay Act 1970 Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Race relation Act 1976 Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 Employment Equality Regulation 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 Equality Act 2006Every social care worker must have a right to follow the legislation and code of practice. If we do not comply with any of the above laws, we can be answerable ICQ and it can lead to eventual disciplinary action and suspension from the place of work. C Inclusive practice means supporting diversity by accepting to welcome people's differences and promote equality by ensuring equal opportunities for all. In health care sector we demonstrate inclusive practice by recognizing respect, value and make most of all, aspects of diversity.Through share decision making, effective immunization and promoting dignity and respect, giving choices and rights are the ways of promoting equality. It is important to be aware about diversity, equality and inclusion. We can raise awareness by advertising in notice board. Another way to raise awareness is to attend courses to increase the knowledge and awareness. Task C Each and every person has different personal preferences, attitudes, heritage and beliefs. It may vary from person to person and depends upon the culture of the people.The fact that I am an Indian my personal beliefs about food, culture, marriage ND religion will be different compared with a person brought up in I-J. I think that it is difficult to compare someone brought up in India with someone brought up in I-J. Still I am looking after the people in I-J and I am working in a care sector. I have to recognize and respect people's beliefs and preferences. My work setting should be a place in which diversity and differences are acknowledged and respected. One of the h ardest things is to acknowledge our own prejudices and how they affect what we do at work.Prejudices are a result of our own beliefs and values and may often come into conflict with work situations. There is nothing wrong with having our beliefs and values. Everyone has beliefs and values and they play a vital role in what I am. I must be aware of them and how they may affect what I do at work. Exploring our own behavior is never easy and you need good support from either you supervisor or close friends to do it. You may be upset by what you find out about someone of our attitudes but knowing about them and acknowledging them is the first step of doing something about them.As a care worker it will be easier to make ere that you are practicing effectively with regular reviews. The confidence at work can be explicit in your own practices and attitudes. Once we are aware of our own beliefs and values and have recognized how important they are, we must be ready to accept the beliefs and values of others. The people we work with are different and so it is important to recognize and accept the diversity. We have to make sure that we always respond to people in a respectful way which ensures that they are valued. We need to understand what happens when people are not valued or respected.It is also important that we recognize the ways in which good practice helps to protect people from discrimination and exclusion. People should make choices about how they want to live their lives. Promoting equality and right is supported by the practical steps that we can take in day to day working activities to give people more choices and opportunities to take decisions about their own lives. Respecting people and valuing them as individuals is always going to be an important factor in promoting self esteem and well being. We have to make sure that our practice is inclusive and follow the policies and procedures of a care home.The national occupational standards define active supp ort as working in a way that recognizes people have the right to take part in the activities and relationships of every day life as independently as they can. It supports them by helping with what they really manage to do themselves. We have to remember that we get regular feed back from people we support, colleagues as well as from our supervisor. Inclusive practices are varied, but broadly it is about ensuring that there are no arises that would exclude people or make it difficult for them to fully participate in society.People must be included in all aspects of life not excluded from some of them because of an illness or disability. Inclusive practice is about providing the support that people want in order to live their lives as fully as possible. Examples of inclusive practices Providing a ramp to give wheelchair access to a building. Providing information in a range of languages and in audio format. Overall practicing in an inclusive way means constantly asking what changes ne ed to e done so that a particular person can participate and then doing whatever is within our areas of responsibility to make those changes happen.When we follow inclusive practice we have to follow the laws, national standards and code of practice, guidelines and polices. Now we have to understand that control to take decision is in the hands of people who are using the support services and they must be able to make choices about how, when and what level they want to be active participants in society. My nursing home arranged a day trip to Kendal for shopping and we could not take students who were using wheel chair because our trip was in a mini bus which cannot access wheelchair users.So it was a discrimination of wheelchair users. Actually we had to plan early for the trip and arrange facility to wheel chair access. We had planned a trip to visit a museum and we could not take a category of people with disabilities (dementia) due to the fact that it was situated where we could not take them. We had promised that we would take them for the trip. I think that it was a discriminatory practice. We could have found a place where everyone would have Discrimination It is about difference, and its value is the richness and variety that different people bring to society. There are so many ways in which people differ from each other. Examples are: Appearance-ability Gender-Talent Race-Beliefs Culture Equality: -Promotion of individual rights. It is about treating people fairly, regardless of their differences by ensuring that they have access to the same life opportunities as everyone else. People have equal opportunities as everyone else.People have equal opportunities for everything. Examples: -Equal wages for the employees with same qualification, experience doing the same job. Bonus is fixed according to proper performance based measurements. Inclusion: It is about ensuring that there are no barriers that would exclude people or make it difficult for them to fully participate in society. People must be included in all aspects of life, not excluded from some of them because of an illness or disability. Example: – Providing a ramp to give wheelchair access too building. -Providing information in a range of languages and in audio format.Discrimination: Discriminate people on the grounds of age, gender, race, sexuality or ability can damage persons self esteem and reduce their ability to develop and maintain a sense of identity. When people are affected by discrimination they experience anger, humiliation, frustration and a feeling of hopelessness. They are made to feel worthless and at less value than others. Examples When weekly menus are being planned at a day centre, if no account is taken of the religious and cultural needs of people, you should challenge this and suggest changes.When individuals are affected by discrimination, they experience anger, humiliation, frustration and a feeling of hopelessness. They are made to feel worthless and of less value than others. Their families could feel the impact experienced by the individuals. Families could feel that they are treated in the same way as others and would f eel that they do not live in a equal society. Wider society the discomfort, awkwardness, lost opportunities. This feeling could be reflected in various unhappy events in a society. It can include certain revolts and non participation in public responsibilities.Those who discriminate will have the side effects of false superiority, and may be ashamed if challenged. Promoting active participation- Active participation allows individual to realize their value and reduce isolation in such a way that an individual can gain self esteem which helps to reduce any form of abuse and discrimination. Quick and effective complaint procedure-Quick, serious, and effective complaint procedure helps to let individual to know that how seriously the act has taken and the consequences of discrimination and it restrains people to engage.Meetings and discussion: It helps to increase awareness and carefulness to discriminatory acts. Discussion and exercising this issue in day to day talks will help indivi dual to challenge discrimination. Task B A social care worker must follow the legislation and cod of practice. There are so many Acts for the diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination. They are: Equal pay Act 1970 Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Race relation Act 1976 Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 Employment Equality Regulation 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 Equality Act 2006Every social care worker must have a right to follow the legislation and code of practice. If we do not comply with any of the above laws, we can be answerable ICQ and it can lead to eventual disciplinary action and suspension from the place of work. C Inclusive practice means supporting diversity by accepting to welcome people's differences and promote equality by ensuring equal opportunities for all. In health care sector we demonstrate inclusive practice by recognizing respect, value and make most of all, aspects of diversity.Through share decision making, effective immunization and promoting dignity and respect, giving choices and rights are the ways of promoting equality. It is important to be aware about diversity, equality and inclusion. We can raise awareness by advertising in notice board. Another way to raise awareness is to attend courses to increase the knowledge and awareness. Task C Each and every person has different personal preferences, attitudes, heritage and beliefs. It may vary from person to person and depends upon the culture of the people.The fact that I am an Indian my personal beliefs about food, culture, marriage ND religion will be different compared with a person brought up in I-J. I think that it is difficult to compare someone brought up in India with someone brought up in I-J. Still I am looking after the people in I-J and I am working in a care sector. I have to recognize and respect people's beliefs and preferences. My work setting should be a place in which diversity and differences are acknowledged and respected. One of the h ardest things is to acknowledge our own prejudices and how they affect what we do at work.Prejudices are a result of our own beliefs and values and may often come into conflict with work situations. There is nothing wrong with having our beliefs and values. Everyone has beliefs and values and they play a vital role in what I am. I must be aware of them and how they may affect what I do at work. Exploring our own behavior is never easy and you need good support from either you supervisor or close friends to do it. You may be upset by what you find out about someone of our attitudes but knowing about them and acknowledging them is the first step of doing something about them.As a care worker it will be easier to make ere that you are practicing effectively with regular reviews. The confidence at work can be explicit in your own practices and attitudes. Once we are aware of our own beliefs and values and have recognized how important they are, we must be ready to accept the beliefs and values of others. The people we work with are different and so it is important to recognize and accept the diversity. We have to make sure that we always respond to people in a respectful way which ensures that they are valued. We need to understand what happens when people are not valued or respected.It is also important that we recognize the ways in which good practice helps to protect people from discrimination and exclusion. People should make choices about how they want to live their lives. Promoting equality and right is supported by the practical steps that we can take in day to day working activities to give people more choices and opportunities to take decisions about their own lives. Respecting people and valuing them as individuals is always going to be an important factor in promoting self esteem and well being. We have to make sure that our practice is inclusive and follow the policies and procedures of a care home.The national occupational standards define active supp ort as working in a way that recognizes people have the right to take part in the activities and relationships of every day life as independently as they can. It supports them by helping with what they really manage to do themselves. We have to remember that we get regular feed back from people we support, colleagues as well as from our supervisor. Inclusive practices are varied, but broadly it is about ensuring that there are no arises that would exclude people or make it difficult for them to fully participate in society.People must be included in all aspects of life not excluded from some of them because of an illness or disability. Inclusive practice is about providing the support that people want in order to live their lives as fully as possible. Examples of inclusive practices Providing a ramp to give wheelchair access to a building. Providing information in a range of languages and in audio format. Overall practicing in an inclusive way means constantly asking what changes ne ed to e done so that a particular person can participate and then doing whatever is within our areas of responsibility to make those changes happen.When we follow inclusive practice we have to follow the laws, national standards and code of practice, guidelines and polices. Now we have to understand that control to take decision is in the hands of people who are using the support services and they must be able to make choices about how, when and what level they want to be active participants in society. My nursing home arranged a day trip to Kendal for shopping and we could not take students who were using wheel chair because our trip was in a mini bus which cannot access wheelchair users.So it was a discrimination of wheelchair users. Actually we had to plan early for the trip and arrange facility to wheel chair access. We had planned a trip to visit a museum and we could not take a category of people with disabilities (dementia) due to the fact that it was situated where we could not take them. We had promised that we would take them for the trip. I think that it was a discriminatory practice. We could have found a place where everyone would have

How Can Kelloggs Make Improvement both for its Business and Case Study

How Can Kelloggs Make Improvement both for its Business and Environment - Case Study Example This system prevents the company from the needless expenses and this system helps a lot to Kellogg’s business because by using that system they contain less amount of stock and help in minimizing expenses. Because of using stockholding system, they do not have a need for stock products. Stocking products are the extra work for any company so the company only has to focus its main work that is to make products reliable and efficient. TDG uses specialist transportation system because of the system, warehouse expenses remain low. The system is so efficient that minimizes the transport expenditures and carbon footprints. Because of the system, Kellogg’s do not have to give needless expenses and this is one of biggest benefit for Kellogg’s. After the partnership with TDG, big retailers such as ASDA and Tesco keep the products without taking storage expenses. Another benefit is that TDG has a waste identifying system through which during completing the task, the system recognized the waste as the lean production and remove the waste immediately. The system enhanced the efficiency in manufacturing of products. After the production of products, company checks the product’s reliability twice and then supplies them. Company’s motive is that to attain the maximum profit in a minimum expenditure. Kellogg’s get many advantages with the partnership with the TDG for its business and environment. Now Kellogg’s utilizes the TDG’s efficient system that has made the company reach the highest position. Now Kellogg’s have all efficient systems that any prosperous company has such as they have their own transportation system, they have control over their retailers. The company has stockholding system that informs when the bare house is emptied.  

Visual Art Research Assignment and research essay

Visual Art Research Assignment and research - Essay Example 2). However, these art forms possess notable differences because their purposes and intentions lack the modernist expectations in terms of characteristics and traits that guide their architectural make. Despite the current similarities and differences, Villa Savoye and teapot have played a significant role in defining visual practice especially when finding an attachment with modernist concepts such as functionalism and formalism. Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye and Marianne Brandt’s Teapot have significant influence in the domain of visual art particularly in the promotion of the modernist concept. This is through following the procedural expectations of form follows function essential in exposing the indicative characteristics and traits symbolic with modernism in art. For instance, Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye is attached to the modernist concept in terms of form follows function through its magnificent five-point architecture that represents the overall impression of architecture in the context of meeting global standards (Butterworth 2013, p. 2). Additionally, the cost and concern associated with Le Corbusier’s Savoye is associated with the architectural changes found in the shape of the building in regards to the form follows function principle. In other words, the Villa, according to Savoye, had to attain certain goals and objectives in his immediate society such as accommodating the Jews and acting as a historical French monument in the specifically in 1965. However, Marianne Brandt’s Teapot has interesting traits that differ with those of Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye. Functionalism, for example, is infused into the German’s art with concentration of modernist concepts in the overall display of the teapot such as Bauhaus style and integration of the tea infuser to meet the form follows function principle. Consequently, in the

The Important of the Immigrants in the USA Essay

The Important of the Immigrants in the USA - Essay Example The actions of immigrants to reach United States in the modern world have come to be derided and admired in equal measure but this has not deterred immigrants from putting in the effort to get to this country because they believe that they can have better lives within it (Foner & Fredrickson 2005, p.46). Those who deride immigration, whether legal or illegal, often do not take into account that it is immigrants who help in the development of a large chunk of the economy as well as its society and political scene so that America has become a unique and diverse society. Most of the immigrants to United States in the eighteenth century tended to come from northern Europe specifically Germany, Britain, Netherlands, and Scandinavian countries. These immigrants often came to this US to take advantage of the opportunities available and start their life afresh. The immigration that took place between the mid eighteenth century and the first half of nineteenth century was as a result of the agrarian revolution in Europe which forced many peasants out of their land, which they had worked for generations (Evans, 2001). As a result, many of them came to United States because it held the promise of significant land holdings, as well as work in its growing and developing cities. Those immigrants who came to United States after 1850 were predominantly of eastern European origin as well as of Irish descent. While the former often came to United States to escape the almost unceasing state of conflict and poverty that affected their homelands, the Irish immigrated mainly because of the potato famine that hit Ireland during this period. Most of these immigrants to United States from Eastern Europe were illiterate and often ended up working menial jobs in cities as New York and Chicago in order to make ends meet. From mid-20th century, immigrants ceased being predominantly from Europe and instead from across the world, as many individuals wanted to come to

Introduction to Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Introduction to Business - Essay Example Firstly it is the case that there is a strong public debt burden in the United States which can be attributed to the inability of the government to reign in its spending. Building on this point it is the case that according to the U.S. Treasury department approximately 23% and 21% of U.S. treasury securities are held by the central banks of China and Japan respectively. The solution to this problem would be for American voters to press their politicians to practice fiscal discipline. A second major problem facing the American economy which has negatively affects the economy recently is the American trade deficit which according to the CIA World Factbook (2010) reached a record $840 billion in 2008, in simple terms more is coming in than is going out. While many people would take a mercantilist viewpoint and argue that people should â€Å"Buy American† a simple solution would be for American manufacturers to simply look at what foreign products are filling this consumer gap domestically and look to find new ways to better serve their domestic customers. As a last major problem affecting the Ameican economy would be the sub prime mortgage market and credit default swaps that have helped fuel the economic downturn from 2007-2010. In terms of how credit default swaps work, they act as a type of insurance policy that backs investments and the way that they have arguable exacerbated the financial crisis is that the instruments help encourage investment in riskier investments. As far as sub prime mortgages are concerned it is the case that house prices growing every year it made sense for lenders to support buyers whose credit history was questionable (Owing to the fact that the buyers would see favorable returns in their housing prices). However when the bubble burst and the lenders sought their compensation from buyers it was the case that many people defaulted. The obvious solution for this circumstance would be for stricter regulation on

Case And Statute Law. Robert and the Wooly Traders Essay

Case And Statute Law. Robert and the Wooly Traders - Essay Example In the case involving Robert and the Wooly Traders clothing wholesalers, this paper intends to analyze the position of Robert with regard to the contract for purchase of the coats. In the contract, Robert who is a clothing retailer places an order with WT, the clothing wholesaler to have fourteen superior all-weather coats supplied to his premises. The sheepskin coats order was placed in September which upon delivery, the whole bunch sold within a week. Nevertheless, the case states that a fortnight later after the entire sale, customers started returning the coats after a rain which made the coats to have a foul smell due to wetting. It was argued that the sheepskin used in the manufacture of the coats had not been well treated and that resulted to the fouls smell after the coats became wet. This made Robert to ask for a full refund over the business transaction with the Wooly Traders. However, clause 11 of the WT has a different opinion which is the stand of the wholesale traders. It states that unsatisfactory transaction with regard to unsatisfactory goods should be reported promptly within a limit of three days after the delivery, thus stating that the pass of three days without raising the complaint automatically stands as a binding proof of satisfaction. The company therefore refused to consent to the demand of Robert of full refund as a compensation for the faulty coats sold to him. Time inconsistency would be cited as the dominant feature within this case (Anderlini and Felli, 2008, p. 1-34). General reasoning compels Robert to demand for the refund because his merchandise was returned after the sale by the customers as a result of the defects seen. The returned coats would have implied that Robert assumed the responsibility to refund fully the customers over the returned coats. Therefore, Robert was equally entitled to full compensation by the wholesale traders. However, as a contract, the placed order between the WT traders and Robert had binding fram eworks and clauses among which the clause 11 had a time structure in determining the quality of the sold goods. Three days are what the contract is based on and thus any complaint rose after the three days after delivery would not be binding from the side of the wholesaler. Robert stands to lose on the case if the court would rule based on the eleventh clause. This is because as a contract, the two parties involved are entitled to abide with the consented to rules and guidelines. Robert has no defense because it would be assumed that he read and understood to the later the provisions of the clauses binding the contract. The guiding questions of fact to be relied upon by the court would be: Had WT made the contract clauses available to Robert before the consented to the contract and place the order? Had Robert read and comprehended the clauses of the contract before placing the order? After how many days did the complainant report the complaints? What is the proof of the complaints t hat the ship-skin coats were stinky when wet? Under the consideration of these questions, the court would be in a

Letter for the editor of Wall Street Journal Essay

Letter for the editor of Wall Street Journal - Essay Example economy did not fall, but reflected 0.0 percent in growth in the first quarter. Other firms, especially JP Morgan agree that the economy fell by a minor 0.2 percent rate, raising questions concerning the validity of quarterly estimates (Mitchell). As it is the case with all reports about the economy, the government announces employment, retail sales, and GDP estimates early, whose data is incomplete. When other data is introduced, the government should adopt the revised values. For GDP, the government should present first estimates then make two revisions for every quarter. The first GDP reading presented for the first three months of 2015 indicated a growth of 0.2 percent. The second reading indicated -0.7 percent growth. This is because it emphasized on data that incorporated a rise in trade deficit, which prevailed at the end of first quarter (Mitchell). Thus, based on these projections, I propose that the first quarter is not horrifying as economists anticipated. This is because the economy is showing signs of growth, particularly because of the growing income, which is fostering consumer spending in diverse industries across the country. Mitchell, Josh. Reports of the U.S. Economy’s Contraction Have Been Greatly Exaggerated. Wall Street Journal. 11 Jun. 2015, web. 12 Jun. 2015.

The Relative Roles of the Individuals Freewill Essay

The Relative Roles of the Individuals Freewill - Essay Example These texts highlight different societies, all of which have come under control of the government, whether by peaceful or violent means. They also shed light on what happens to the freewill of individuals within each scenario. The relative roles of the individual's freewill within society begins with making it appear as if the individual is acting of their own freewill, while displaying socially appropriate and societal programmed responses. An individual's freewill could not exist without society's carefully orchestrated ministrations in allowing it to seem as if the individual is indeed making their own choices. Choices and actions made by said individual have to be engineered to look as if they were made by the individual. Through careful programming, society and government can achieve a desired result from the individuals. There are numerous ways of programming an individual within the society. These include but are not limited to: happiness, hate, brutality, genetics, drugs, love, fear, careful monitoring of said individuals to disallow privacy of any kind, and sex/eroticism. Through use of the aforementioned subjects, society and governments can exert control over the freewill of the individual, while maintaining the premise that they are not using these to manipulate individual actions and thought. Instead, those in control must convince the populace that what they do is for the good of all.All authors appear to agree that there are basic tenets for societal control. The individual must understand his/her status within the community. The underlying motif corresponds in all texts: an individual should be able to make their own choices without society or governmental intervention. If said person poses a danger or threat to others, then an authority must step in. If an individual is unable to make cor rect choices, i.e. the very young or aged, then it is also expected that someone will intervene on their behalf. Mills makes a point in stating that actions, though, should not be as free as opinions. He sets forth guidelines in lengthy detail discussing how each part of society is to function in harmony. All authors agree that the government is to become involved only when necessary, and to leave individuals alone to self-govern.If government decided to tamper with society and the individuals within it, a likely start would be where society and individuals begin: DNA and genetics. This is a horror that Mills in 1859 could hardly conceive of ever becoming a reality, due to minor knowledge of these subjects during his life. Huxley, however, provides in inside look at universal happiness via genetic engineering of society, at the moment of artificial conception. Through use of genetic methods, a form of super humans could evolve, eradicate disease, and achieve universal happiness thro ugh a caste system. Through happiness, a government could achieve control in influencing an individual's freewill through pleasantry. Physical pleasure via games or sexual gratification, the idea that "every

Angie's list company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Angie's list company - Research Paper Example For instance, it uses an F-grading-system that is monitored through improved technology (â€Å"Angies List Unveils Naughty & Nice List – Newsroom† pr.10). Human review is used to certify clarity and genuineness of the reviews posted by the consumers. Utmost local companies rely on the company’s excellent review service. Angie’s List, Inc offers services in approximately 200 cities in the United States. The company offers satisfactory services to numerous small businesses. This implies that most companies and consumers appreciate the competence in service and technological reliability of Angie’s List Company ("Angies List Reports First Quarter 2014 Results (:ANGI)." Pr.6). It has a culture of inaugurating locally based affiliations. Local respondents insist that the company has assumed and partaken as one among the most reliable legal advisors. Most importantly, the founders and employees believe in sustained innovation with an objective of ascertaining better services. Success and failure are feasible experiences that any business can undergo. Angie’s List Company may have suffered from insignificant losses when it commenced operations. However, the company has gathered an admirable pace in development over the past few years. First, it intends to invest more on infrastructure and technology ("Angies List Loss Widens - Newsroom" pr.4). The company has a tendency of improving the quality of services through the adoption of new and reliable technology. In addition, increased infrastructural units will effectively harbor the 500 employees that the company intends to hire. Ideally, the company’s reputable status in customer review service is deemed to remain sustained in the

How Literature Displays Positive Character Trait Through Characters Essay Example for Free

How Literature Displays Positive Character Trait Through Characters Essay Traits Through Its Characters It is known that a piece of writing can do more than tell a story, but can also portray indirect ideas to the reader. A narrative piece is able to show positive traits, presented through its characters. Literature can display a variety of positive attributes, through different characters, and situations. This is demonstrated in the story, â€Å"The Blue Bead,† through Sibia’s acts of selflessness, and again in the text â€Å"Long, Long, After School,† through Miss Tretheway’s acts of kind-heartedness. In the story â€Å"The Blue Bead,† an example of how literature shows positive raits through its characters, is composed by Sibia’s displays of selflessness when saving a woman from an attacking crocodile. In the text, the narrator states, â€Å"Sometimes it had seemed difficult to cross these stones, especially with the big gap†¦ But now she came on wings†¦ and in a moment, she was beside the shrieking woman (pg. 61). † This shows selflessness because Sibia, usually hesitant on the slippery stones, flies across them making rapid footing decisions, throwing herself towards to woman being attacked, aware of the fact that if she falls, she could harm herself severely. Another piece of evidence is shown when the narrator states, â€Å"Its eyes rolled on to Sibia. One slap of the tail could kill her. (pg. 61). † This shows selflessness because the young girl willingly put her life at risk, to save one that was not her own. Through the young girl’s displays of selflessness, one can see how the text, â€Å"The Blue Bead† portrays a positive trait through Sibia. Throughout the text, â€Å"Long, Long After School,† Miss Tretheway shows kind- heartedness through acts presented in the story. An illustration of this is when a flashback occurs, back to when Miss Tretheway states, â€Å"Why, Marilyn, Wes’s hands re much cleaner than yours. Maybe Wes doesn’t like to get his hands dirty†¦ (pg. 114). † This shows kind-heartedness because though Miss Tretheway is Wes’ teacher, she stood up for him when his classmate insulted him in front of his peers. Another illustration of how Miss Tretheway shows ki nd-heartedness is when a character states, â€Å"She gave me a whole quart, just as soon as she found out that hers would match. † This shows kind-heartedness because one was willing to give up blood, an element that signifies life, almost immediately to save someone who with the woman shared a student-teacher relationship. Through the acts of kind- heartedness displayed through the story, â€Å"Long, Long, After School† shows that literature shows positive attributes through its characters. A piece of writing can portray positive traits through its developed characters. Sibia shows selflessness through her acts of saving the woman being attacked by the crocodile, putting one’s own life at risk. Miss Tretheway displays kind-heartedness by standing up for a student, and giving the aforementioned student a much needed blood transfusion. These examples show that positive traits can be demonstrated through characters presented in literature.

A Study On The Social Policy Social Policy Essay

A Study On The Social Policy Social Policy Essay One definition of social policy is the legal framework from within which society, or in our sphere, medical professionals operate. In the UK social policy mainly consists of Acts of Parliament, although there is also an element of Common Law (laws that are made by the courts) and Ministerial Instruments (Instructions from Ministers that instruct). It is worth noting that all social policy that is passed is within the context of the UK being a western democracy and as part of the EU. The notion of western democracy is important. Parliament does not just pass legislation, it attempts to pass legislation that is either in the short term or long term interests of the electorate, us! We elect and lobby MPs, governments are formed and Bills are introduced and discussed in both Houses. In addition we join pressure groups and professional associations that attempt to exert influence on the legislative process. One of consequences of legislation is that society begins to work on behalf of individuals. John Locke introduced the idea of a Social Contract the relationship between the state and the individual; the idea that the state should provide a minimum standard of living for the individual. Poor Laws were introduced as far Back as 1536 an attempt by the state to provide work for the individual. Laissez Faire the idea that market forces should prevail was being questioned, Charities, the church and philanthropists began to provide for people. Samuel Greg, for example, founded Styal Mill in Cheshire, an industrial work place, but he also took in children and trained them to work in the mill as well as providing quality housing and health care provision for his workers. This approach took a while to bed in bed other captains of industry began to see the advantages of treating their employees with compassion and soon began to lobby government to organise this new interventionist approach t o society. In 1870 the Forster Act was passed, this was the turning point the state took responsibility for education for children between the ages of 5 and 12. Further changes to the education, pensions and benefits systems were introduced over the next 80 years but the main raft of social policies were introduced after WWII. During WWII William Beveridge conducted an audit into the state of the nation. He toured the country and was astonished with what he found. Britain was not a country fit for heroes. Change was needed. He identified 5 great evils: Want, Ignorance, Squalor, Disease and Idleness. Together these evils prevented Britain realising its potential, they were a cancer evident in the fabric of society. Together they negated any notions of meritocracy. With the end of WWII came great optimism, a new post modern society was the vision. Politicians saw their roles as architects of such a society. In July 1947 The Welfare State was officially launched. It aimed to provide a safety net for the population, to intervene in peoples lives and to provide where and when needed. The days of Laissez Faire were over the state would provide. The Welfare State also aimed to eradicate the 5 great evils in the following ways Want: A universal benefits system was introduced. No longer were those in poverty forced to go cap in hand to the church, family members or charities. Many benefits were not means tested they were universal, e.g. Child benefit is paid to all mothers irrespective of income. Ignorance: The Tri-partite system was introduced as a result of the Bulter Education Act 1944. All students sat the 11+ and the result of this exam determined what school they then attended; Grammar School, Secondary Modern Schools, or Secondary Technical Schools. All students attended school until the age of 15 and it was free. Squalor: Squalor means absolute and systemic poverty that is exacerbated by appalling living conditions, e.g. the Gorbals Tenements in Glasgow or the Victorian slums in many industrial cities e.g. Burnley, which were described as, crowded, one of the most filthy and one of the most unhealthy villages P144 Briggs. In addition there was the opportunity that was created by the bombings of the major cities during WWII. People needed housing and needed it fast. The result was The New Towns Act that were passed by Parliament in 1946. It enabled local authorities to build completely new towns in the following areas: England; Basildon, Bracknell, Corby, Harlow, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keyes, Newton Aycliffe, Peterlee, Redditch, Runcorn, Skelmersdale, Stevenage, Telford, Washington, and Welwyn Garden City. Idleness: People faced crippling unemployment. The Great Depression started in 1929 in the US but continued well into the 1930s and 1940, real economic activity only came as a result of WWII. People needed jobs and the government proposed a policy called Jobs For All. Everyone who needed / wanted a job would be given a job by the government. This was relatively easy to achieve as the welfare state saw a massive building programme and subsequent job in health, education, benefits, etc. The following graph show unemployment rates since WWII: Disease: The government introduced the national Health System in 1947, for the 1st time ever all people had access to free GPs, Hospital care, midwives, Dentists, Opticians etc. Prescriptions were free, inoculations were given, the old killers; TB, Polio, etc were virtually eradicated. Infant mortality rates dropped, life expectance rose and it appeared that the initial spending by the state could be reduced as people were becoming dramatically healthier. All of the above was free at the point of access. The Welfare State was paid for initially by government borrowing and National Insurance contributions. One of the remarkable things about the Welfare State is that is saw the origins of Consensus Politics. Consensus Politics can be defined as the phrase used to describe the practice of government in Britain between 1945 and 1979. The phenomenon was observed by political scientists and media commentators; Britains two major political parties, the Conservative Party and Labour Party, were in agreement, or consensus, over certain basic government policies in the decades after World War II. The introduction of fundamental changes in government responsibility, such as the welfare state, the national health service (NHS), and widespread nationalization of industry, were effectively unchallenged by either party. Essentially this means that regardless of who was in power from 1945 to the mid 1970s both parties agreed to the broad principles of the Welfare State, Interventionism and State Control of Industry. Governments strived to be philanthropic in their nature, to support people, to enable people to realise their potential. Britain strived to become more meritocratic in nature. No longer would it be the case that people were given jobs due to their family, with a free education system according to, age, aptitude and ability theoretically anyone could rise from the lowest social class to the top jobs in society, John Prescott being a relatively good example of where this has been the case. What led to the end of consensus politics is a matter of debate. James Callaghans Great Debate Speech at Ruskin College Oxford is cited as a turning point. Essentially he asked the questions: what has the Welfare state achieved thus far and, more importantly, what is the future? Here both main parties went their separate ways. Thatcher was elected in 1979 and with her came politics of the market and the New Right. During the 1980 Labour wet left on the political spectrum Thatcher sold off the Industrialised industries, she also introduced the broad principles of the market into the various parts of the Welfare State. This policy is know as markedization. Essentially the five major components of the Welfare State were re-orientated in way to create a more flexible workforce, and a way where the principles of the market were the most important. The important policies that were introduced during this time were: Education: The Educational Reform Act 1988 introduced OFSTED, League tables, GM schools, competition between schools. Passing exams became more important that gaining an education. Health: Ken Clarkes mainly effective reforms. Health authorities were now purchasers buying broad block contracts from hospitals. Regional authorities took strategic decisions. Costs became more transparent; the one error was allowing competition on price. To ginger up the market, keen GPs held their own budgets to buy faster services for their patients, creating an unfair two-tier system. But this was a purely internal market with no private involvement and all cash staying in the NHS. The Guardian 7th October 2005 Housing: Council homes were sold off by Thatcher at greatly reduced rates, thus creating a need for more social housing and also a raft of new middle class propertied people who now may well vote Conservative. At its simplest, if the Welfare State were a safety net suspended beneath society to help people bounce back into work, affluence etc, the safety net was lowered, people would have to look after themselves again. The days of Big Interventionist Government were over as epitomised by Thatchers quote in 1987: I think weve been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, its the governments job to cope with it. I have a problem, Ill get a grant. Im homeless, the government must house me. Theyre casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. Its our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. Theres no such thing as entitlement, unless some one has first met an obligation. The New right dominated through to 1997. Blaire was elected on May 2nd 1997, at the celebration party they played d-ream things can only get better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHXA5GykEbw it appeared to be the start of a brave new era, underpinned by Giddens Third Way, neither left wing or right wing politics but a realistic and pragmatic combination of both and a smattering of blue skies thinking the challenging of paradigms. Thirteen years later, subsequent elections, wars in Iraq, sleaze and MPs and it would appear that there was very little difference between Thatcher, Major, Blaire or Brown. All we have seen is the consensus politics after WWII replaced with neo-consensus politics that is to the right of the political spectrum. At the very least politicians campaign in poetry and govern in prose, to be frank they are at least disingenuous, at worse they are mere puppets. The Marxist model of power advocates that power resides in the hands of the bourgeoisie, Britain is not a meritocracy of a democracy, and such notions are illusions perpetuated by the bourgeoisie to perpetuate false class consciousness. All the welfare state actually achieves is a proletariat who are educated, housed and healthy enough to be exploited by the bourgeoisie in the capitalist means of production. Politicians merely manage the affairs of the bourgeoisie. All legislation that has ever been passes is initially in the interests of the bourgeoisie. The welfare state for example is not some altruistic gift from government it is actually paid for by the proletariat. If one were to consider the works of Althusser, Illich, Bowles and Gintis etc, then one might actually conclude that the welfare state is actually against the interests of the Proletariat. To conclude one could look at Britain PLC. Postmodernism would argue that NGOs and TNCs are far more influential that nations particularly small nations like the UK. What politicians do needs to be as a consequence of global factors. Young people today are competing for jobs with people in their own town as well as those from India and China and the skills that they need must reflect this fact. Future social policy will be very similar to legislation passed in other countries. This can be seen with the Health care reforms advocated by Obahma, or the educational policies in operation in Australia, we are becoming similar, globalization is happening, IT is creating a homogenous mass. Biography http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/history/victorian/quarrybankmill.html Sociology in Focus. Haralambos. 7th Edition. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_Education_Act_1870 Social Insurance and Allied Services. Sir William Beveridge. 1942. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Act_1944 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorbals Victorian Cities by Asia Briggs 1993. http://www.budget.gov.au/2004-05/bp1/image/bst4-1.gif http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/oct/07/publicservices.health Giddens: The Third Way. The Renewal of Social Democracy. 1998

Diet and Nutrition Case Study

Diet and Nutrition Case Study Warda Abdulkadir Ahmed Diet and Digestion TAQ 1) 3 day meal plan for pregnant mother This meal plan for an expectant mother was designed as firstly the calorie intake required daily is increased to supply the placenta and growing baby the required energy to grow healthily. An estimated 300 more calories in the second and third trimesters. I have chosen foods high in iron and folic acid as these are needed in abundance by both mother and baby. A pregnant woman needs 60mg of protein and 1200mg of calcium I have sought to incorporate this through lean servings of meat and fish daily as well as porridge oats with milk. Three day meal plan for elderly male patient Nutrition is an important determinant of health in an elderly person. I chose this meal plan as the meals are low in fat, refined sugar and sodium, and high in essential nutrients such as fibre, vitamins and minerals. Following this meal plan helps the individual avoid gout, stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease arthritis, cancer, respiratory disorders, and difficulty in passing stools, obesity and type 2 diabetes. One major concern in an elderly person is obtaining sufficient fluid intake. 3 day meal plan for Teenage Athlete Case in point average height and weight of 17 year old male to be 5’10 and 10 stones/63 kg – This body mass index falls in the 50th percentile of the mean average Taking into account average male calorific requirement (2500 calories), this is to be exceeded by around 35 – 65 % based on exceeded average energy expenditure for athletic performance/training as well as a general faster metabolic rate for a teenage male opposed to a mature male. The meal plan incorporates 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day and a higher than average protein content mostly made up of chicken and fish and only one portion of red meat as to reach the protein threshold from a higher proportion of red meat is deemed generally as unhealthy, causing over a long period higher blood pressure and increased risk of stomach and bowel cancer. Due to the athletic activities to be undertaken there is an emphasis on consuming fluids and an excess and varied selection of carbohydrates is consumed daily. The diet is low in saturated fat and sugar TAQ 2) Type 2 diabetes can result from an inadequate diet, an inadequate diet can be defined as a deficiency, and a deficiency can be too great or too little of one specific food group in a healthy diet. Too much sugar in a person’s diet is a major factor in contributing to the development of type 2 diabetes. Specifically sucrose, sucrose and sugar are not actually required by the body so their consumption can be deemed as a deficiency in itself. Furthermore the excess consumption of sugar can lead to an increase in weight and obesity which in turn increases the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. Higher than normal blood glucose levels cumulatively over a long period leads to insulin resistance. Atherosclerosis, the clogging of the arteries can be a secondary effect of having type 2 diabetes but in most cases is caused by too high a fat content in one’s diet, more specifically consuming too much saturated fat often found in processed foods and a lack of unsaturated fats with high density lipids and beneficial cholesterol lowering effect on the body. A diet with a frequency of fruit and vegetables has a negating effect as well as oily fish, nuts and seeds, sunflower and seed oils. Rickets is usually caused by a lack of vitamin D and/or calcium. Physiologically most of our vitamin D comes from sunlight not our food and the process of calcium absorption is very dependent on vitamin D levels in the body. However we do garner some vitamin D from food. Eggs, oily fish and cereals are all good sources of vitamin D and deficiencies in these food types regardless of UV exposure could contribute to the onset of rickets. Milk and other dairy products have the highest calcium content and a lack of dairy as well as green vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage can have a detrimental effect on calcium uptake in the body. TAQ 3) Digestion is necessary as it breaks down the size of food to make digestion a more efficient process food is broken down into smaller constituent parts so the surface area for the active sites for enzymes to occur increases. Proteins are broken down into peptides, which are then broken down into single amino acids that allow absorption into the bloodstream through the small intestine. Absorption occurs when the food enters the body as the food molecules pass through a layer of cells and into the bodies’ tissues. This occurs in the small intestine which has many villi that are specialised for absorption. Assimilation occurs when the food molecules becomes part of the bodies tissue. b) TAQ 5) The digestive tract, consisting of the stomach, small and large intestines. The stomach is made of three layers of smooth muscle fibres, an outer layer of longitudinal fibres middle layer of circular fibres and an inner layer of oblique muscle fibres. This arrangement allows for the churning effect of gastric activity. When the stomach is empty the mucous membrane lining is thrown into folds or rugae when the stomach has contents these folds are ironed out.Numerous gastric glands are situated below the surface in the mucuous membrane. The small intestine also has layers,the peritoneum is a double layer and connects the jejunum and ileum to the abdominal wall.The attatchment is short and fan shaped,large blood vessels and nerves pass between the two layers.Their is also a mucousa present here it contains villi and microvill it has a large surface area and many folds.Their are circular folds which act to mix chyme,the villi in this mucousal layer contibute to final stages of digestion.There are also lymph nodes within the mucousa which release defense cells against ingested antigens. The large intestine also has a mucosa ; made of simple columnar epithelial tissue. The mucosa is smooth, unlike the small intestine lacks villi however it does have a large number of mucous glands secreting mucus into the hollow lumen as to lubricate the surface of the large intestine and protect it from rough food particles. Surrounding the mucosa is a layer of blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue, the submucosa, which is there to support the other layers of the large intestine. The muscularis layer surrounds the submucosa and contains many layers of visceral muscle cells that contract and move the large intestine. Finally, the serosa forms the outermost layer. The serosa is a thin layer of simple squamous epithelial tissue that secretes watery serous fluid to lubricate the surface of the large intestine. protecting it from friction between abdominal organs and the surrounding muscles and bones of the lower torso. References Gerard J. Tortola, Mark Nielsen Principles of Human Anatomy, 13th Edition December 2013 2014 http://www.valuepenguin.com/nutrition. Last accessed 10/03/2015 John Evans, Alison Lansley and Michael J. Sanderson, (2006), Biology A level Richard Parsons (2010) AS/A2 Level Biology AQA Complete Revision Practice Smith, A. (2012). Get instant biology help. Available: http://www.tutorvista.com/biology/ Last accessed 05/03/2015 Waugh, Anne and Grant, Allison (2006) Ross and Wilson: Anatomy and physiology in health and illness. (10th edition). Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh.

Technology Changing the Workforce Essay -- essays research papers

Technology and social change go hand-in-hand with the advancement of the workforce society within the last decade. Thanks to new technological breakthroughs emerging on a regular basis, the way we view employment has changed drastically compared to those of years before us. Dating back to the 1400’s, Johan Gutenberg revolutionized the world as we know it today by developing the printing press. Today, we take such things for granted but it is writing that makes it possible to spread knowledge, communication, and ideas over such a wide body of population.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the amazing developing of print, other inventions began emerging. Thanks to some amazing innovatists, the radio, television, telephone, and now today, the Internet, have all been established. Not only have these inventions altered our personal lives, but have changed the way the job industry has been run for years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, probably the biggest change these inventions have had in our society ability to earn an education. A college degree is almost a necessity in today’s workforce. Today’s technologically advanced economy desperately needs those who are trained in specialized areas; ranging from analyzing molecular genetic information to programming a database for a large company. Once there was a time when steel mills and assembly lines ruled the economy. Poor, uneducated men with amazing work ethics ruled the workforce. These men, and women, worked 60 hour wor...

Alligators Essay -- Animals, Environment, Hunters

The American alligator scientific name is Alligator mississippiensis. The Chinese alligator is the only other alligator in the alligator family and its scientific name is alligator sinensis. The American alligator is in the kingdom Animalia because it is an animal. The phylum is chordate because it has vertebrae. The American alligator is in the class reptilia because it is cold blooded, lays shelled eggs, scaly skin and breaths air. Alligators are in the order crocodilian because it is a large animal that appeared during the Cambrian stage. The American alligator is in the family alligator idea because it has larger, broader snouts, and can withstand colder temperatures. The genus is alligator and the species is Mississippiensis (Florida nature,2006). The American alligators have many physical characteristics. Their size ranges from six to twelve feet. A full grown male can weigh up to one thousand and two hundred pounds. The American alligator has a long round snout with nostrils at the end. An alligator has two eyes towards the top of its head. Also alligators have a long thin body that has four legs and a long tail (EDIS, 2009) The American alligator lives in wetlands in southeastern United States from North Carolina to Texas. Wetlands are areas of standing water such as bogs, swamps, ponds, and marshes. Alligators mostly live in fresh water wetlands, but sometimes alligators live in brackish water. Brackish water is water that has more saline or salt water than fresh water. Alligators can’t live in salt water because they do not have an effective salt gland. American alligators live in temperate climate with cold winters and warm summers. The average temperature is 50 degree Fahrenheit a year and 40 to 60 inches of rainfall... ...and food. Their skin is used to make high quality leather. In 1950, American alligators were seriously endangered because humans were over hunting alligators. Then in 1967, the endangered species preservation act stopped the hunting of alligators and the number of alligators quickly rose. Now there are millions of alligators and people are allowed to hunt alligators again. Alligators are losing their habitat because wetlands are being filled to create land for houses, farms, and industries. Alligators are very dangerous animals to humans. Alligator attacks occur around seven times a year, but few are lethal. When people feed them, alligators learn not to be afraid of humans. This causes more alligator attacks and alligators to become more aggressive with humans. Ninety percent of all alligator attacks are caused from people feeding alligators. (langly,2005)

The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia Essay -- Biology Essays Resea

The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a disease that has plagued societies around the world for centuries, although it was not given its formal name until 1911. It is characterized by the presence of positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are so named because of the presence of altered behaviors, such as delusions, hallucinations (usually auditory), extreme emotions, excited motor activity, and incoherent thoughts and speech. (1,2) In contrast, negative symptoms are described as a lack of behaviors, such as emotion, speech, social interaction, and action. (1,2) These symptoms are by no means concrete. Not all schizophrenic patients will exhibit all or even a majority of these symptoms, and there is some disagreement in the psychiatric community as to the exact diagnostic criteria. In addition, there is a great deal of debate as to the causes of the disease. While some proposed causes have been proven false, such as bad parenting and poor will power (2), there are many theories that remain. One of the most famous and most debatable is the dopamine hypothesis. The proposed hypothesis states that the brain of schizophrenic patients produces more dopamine than normal brains. It is this increased dopamine that is believed to be responsible for the symptoms of the disease. However, the is much debate in the scientific community as to the exact mechanism by which altered dopamine levels, especially in the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and limbic system, produce schizophrenia. There is much clinical evidense that provides support for the dopamine hypothesis. The first evidense that dopamine may be involved in schizophrenia came from amphetamine users. Amphetamines work by causing the brain to produce mo... ...ital Cortex: Focal Abnormalities in Orbitofrontal Cortex in Schizophrenia" From Meador-Woodruff Laboratory Homepage (University of Michigan) http://www-personal.umich.edu/~himmw/pubs/index.html (5) "Detailed Description of Our Studies" From Meador-Woodruff Laboratory http://www.umich.edu/~jmwlab/ (6) "Dopamine, Glutamate, and the Neurochemical Circuitry of Schizophrenia" From Department of Psychiatry Homepage (University of Michigan) http://www.med.umich.edu/mhri/res/95/meadorwoodruff/meadorwoodruff.html (7) "Schizophrenia 'Trigger' Described" From NARSAD Homepage http://www.mhsource.com/advocacy/narsad/trigger/html/?_requestid=1006565 (8) "Altered Neural Circuits in Schizophrenia" http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/fr51.html (9)Rosenzweig, M.R., Leiman, A.L., & Breedlove, A.M. Biological Psychology. Sinaur Associates Inc: Massachusetts, 1996

Chameleon Chips

INTRODUCTION Today's microprocessors sport a general-purpose design which has its own advantages and disadvantages. ? Adv: One chip can run a range of programs. That's why you don't need separate computers for different jobs, such as crunching spreadsheets or editing digital photos ? Disadv: For any one application, much of the chip's circuitry isn't needed, and the presence of those â€Å"wasted† circuits slows things down. Suppose, instead, that the chip's circuits could be tailored specifically for the problem at hand–say, computer-aided design–and then rewired, on the fly, when you loaded a tax-preparation program. One set of chips, little bigger than a credit card, could do almost anything, even changing into a wireless phone. The market for such versatile marvels would be huge, and would translate into lower costs for users. So computer scientists are hatching a novel concept that could increase number-crunching power–and trim costs as well. Call it the chameleon chip. Chameleon chips would be an extension of what can already be done with field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAS). An FPGA is covered with a grid of wires. At each crossover, there's a switch that can be semipermanently opened or closed by sending it a special signal. Usually the chip must first be inserted in a little box that sends the programming signals. But now, labs in Europe, Japan, and the U. S. are developing techniques to rewire FPGA-like chips anytime–and even software that can map out circuitry that's optimized for specific problems. The chips still won't change colors. But they may well color the way we use computers in years to come. it is a fusion between custom integrated circuits and programmable logic. in the case when we are doing highly performance oriented tasks custom chips that do one or two things spectacularly rather than lot of things averagely is used. Now using field programmed chips we have chips that can be rewired in an instant. Thus the benefits of customization can be brought to the mass market. [pic]A reconfigurable processor is a microprocessor with erasable hardware that can rewire itself dynamically. This allows the chip to adapt effectively to the programming tasks demanded by the particular software they are interfacing with at any given time. Ideally, the reconfigurable processor can transform itself from a video chip to a central processing unit (cpu) to a graphics chip, for example, all optimized to allow applications to run at the highest possible speed. The new chips can be called a â€Å"chip on demand. † In practical terms, this ability can translate to immense flexibility in terms of device functions. For example, a single device could serve as both a camera and a tape recorder (among numerous other possibilities): you would simply download the desired software and the processor would reconfigure itself to optimize performance for that function. Reconfigurable processors, competing in the market with traditional hard-wired chips and several types of programmable microprocessors. Programmable chips have been in existence for over ten years. Digital signal processors (DSPs), for example, are high-performance programmable chips used in cell phones, automobiles, and various types of music players. Another version, programmable logic chips are equipped with arrays of memory cells that can be programmed to perform hardware functions using software tools. These are more flexible than the specialized DSP chips but also slower and more expensive. Hard-wired chips are the oldest, cheapest, and fastest – but also the least flexible – of all the options. Chameleon chips Highly flexible processors that can be reconfigured remotely in the field, Chameleon's chips are designed to simplify communication system design while delivering increased price/performance numbers. The chameleon chip is a high bandwidth reconfigurable communications processor (RCP). it aims at changing a system's design from a remote location. This will mean more versatile handhelds. Processors operate at 24,000 16-bit million operations per second (MOPS), 3,000 16-bit million multiply-accumulates per second (MMACS), and provide 50 channels of CDMA2000 chip-rate processing. The 0. 25-micron chip, the CS2112 is an example. These new chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create the exact hardware needed to run a piece of software at the utmost speed. an example of such kind of a chip is a chameleon chip. this can also be called a â€Å"chip on demand† â€Å"Reconfigurable computing goes a step beyond programmable chips in the matter of flexibility. It is not only possible but relatively commonplace to â€Å"rewrite† the silicon so that it can perform new functions in a split second. Reconfigurable chips are simply the extreme end of programmability. † The overall performance of the ACM can surpass the DSP because the ACM only constructs the actual hardware needed to execute the software, whereas DSPs and microprocessors force the software to fit its given architecture. One reason that this type of versatility is not possible today is that handheld gadgets are typically built around highly optimized specialty chips that do one thing really well. These chips are fast and relatively cheap, but their circuits are literally written in stone — or at least in silicon. A multipurpose gadget would have to have many specialized chips — a costly and clumsy solution. Alternately, you could use a general-purpose microprocessor, like the one in your PC, but that would be slow as well as expensive. For these reasons, chip designers are turning increasingly to reconfigurable hardware—integrated circuits where the architecture of the internal logic elements can be arranged and rearranged on the fly to fit particular applications. Designers of multimedia systems face three significant challenges in today's ultra-competitive marketplace: Our products must do more, cost less, and be brought to the market quicker than ever. Though each of these goals is individually attainable, the hat trick is generally unachievable with traditional design and implementation techniques. Fortunately, some new techniques are emerging from the study of reconfigurable computing that make it possible to design systems that satisfy all three requirements simultaneously. Although originally proposed in the late 1960s by a researcher at UCLA, reconfigurable computing is a relatively new field of study. The decades-long delay had mostly to do with a lack of acceptable reconfigurable hardware. Reprogrammable logic chips like field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have been around for many years, but these chips have only recently reached gate densities making them suitable for high-end applications. (The densest of the current FPGAs have approximately 100,000 reprogrammable logic gates. ) With an anticipated doubling of gate densities every 18 months, the situation will only become more favorable from this point forward. The primary product is a groundstation equipment for satellite communications. This application involves high-rate communications, signal processing, and a variety of network protocols and data formats. ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATIONS Its applications are in, ? data-intensive Internet ? DSP ? wireless basestations ? voice compression ? software-defined radio ? high-performance embedded telecom and datacom applications ? xDSL concentrators ? fixed wireless local loop ? multichannel voice compression ? multiprotocol packet and cell processing protocols Its advantages are ? can create customized communications signal processors ? increased erformance and channel count ? can more quickly adapt to new requirements and standards ? lower development costs and reduce risk. FPGA One of the most promising approaches in the realm of reconfigurable architecture is a technology called â€Å"field-programmable gate arrays. † The strategy is to build uniform arrays of thousands of logic elements, each of which can take on the personality of different, fundamental component s of digital circuitry; the switches and wires can be reprogrammed to operate in any desired pattern, effectively rewiring a chip's circuitry on demand. A designer can download a new wiring pattern and store it in the chip's memory, where it can be easily accessed when needed. Not so hard after all Reconfigurable hardware first became practical with the introduction a few years ago of a device called a â€Å"field-programmable gate array† (FPGA) by Xilinx, an electronics company that is now based in San Jose, California. An FPGA is a chip consisting of a large number of â€Å"logic cells†. These cells, in turn, are sets of transistors wired together to perform simple logical operations. Evolving FPGAs FPGAs are arrays of logic blocks that are strung together through software commands to implement higher-order logic functions. Logic blocks are similar to switches with multiple inputs and a single output, and are used in digital circuits to perform binary operations. Unlike with other integrated circuits, developers can alter both the logic functions performed within the blocks and the connections between the blocks of FPGAs by sending signals that have been programmed in software to the chip. FPGA blocks can perform the same high-speed hardware functions as fixed-function ASICs, and—to distinguish them from ASICs—they can be rewired and reprogrammed at any time from a remote location through software. Although it took several seconds or more to change connections in the earliest FPGAs, FPGAs today can be configured in milliseconds. Field-programmable gate arrays have historically been applied as what is called glue logic in embedded systems, connecting devices with dissimilar bus architectures. They have often been used to link digital signal processors—cpus used for digital signal processing—to general-purpose cpus. The growth in FPGA technology has lifted the arrays beyond the simple role of providing glue logic. With their current capabilities, they clearly now can be classed as system-level components just like cpus and DSPs. The largest of the FPGA devices made by the company with which one of the authors of this article is affiliated, for example, has more than 150 billion transistors, seven times more than a Pentium-class microprocessor. Given today's time-to-market pressures, it is increasingly critical that all system-level components be easy to integrate, especially since the phase involving the integration of multiple technologies has become the most time-consuming part of a product's development cycle. To Integrating Hardware and Software systems designers producing mixed cpu and FPGA designs can take advantage of deterministic real-time operating systems (RTOSs). Deterministic software is suited for controlling hardware. As such, it can be used to efficiently manage the content of system data and the flow of such data from a cpu to an FPGA. FPGA developers can work with RTOS suppliers to facilitate the design and deployment of systems using combinations of the two technologies. FPGAs operating in conjunction with embedded design tools provide an ideal platform for developing high-performance reconfigurable computing solutions for medical instrument applications. The platform supports the design, development, and testing of embedded systems based on the C language. Integration of FPGA technology into systems using a deterministic RTOS can be streamlined by means of an enhanced application programming interface (API). The blending of hardware, firmware, application software, and an RTOS into a platform-based approach removes many of the development barriers that still limit the functionality of embedded applications. Development, profiling, and analysis tools are available that can be used to analyze computational hot spots in code and to perform low-level timing analysis in multitasking environments. One way developers can use these analytical tools is to determine when to design a function in hardware or software. Profiling enables them to quickly identify functionality that is frequently used or computationally intensive. Such functions may be prime candidates for moving from software to FPGA hardware. An integrated suite of run-time analysis tools with a run-time error checker and visual interactive profiler can help developers create higher-quality, higher-performance code in little time. An FPGA consists of an array of configurable logic blocks that implement the logical functions. In FPGA's, the logic functions performed within the logic blocks, and sending signals to the chip can alter the connections between the blocks. These blocks are similar in structure to the gate arrays used in some ASIC's, but whereas standard gate arrays are configured and fixed during manufacture, the configurable logic blocks in new FPGA's can be rewired and reprogrammed repeatedly in around a microsecond. One advantages of FPGA is that it needs small time to market Flexibility and Upgrade advantages Cheap to make . We can configure an FPGA using Very High Density Language [VHDL] Handel C Java . FPGA’s are used presently in Encryption Image Processing Mobile Communications . FPGA’s can be used in 4G mobile communication The advantages of FPGAs are that Field programmable gate arrays offer companies the possibility of develloping a chip very quickly, since a chip can be configured by software. A chip can also be reconfigured, either during execution time, or as part of an upgrade to allow new applications, simply by loading new configuration into the chip. The advantages can be seen in terms of cost, speed and power consumption. The added functionality of multi-parallelism allows one FPGA to replace multiple ASIC’s. The applications of FPGA’s are in ? image processing ? encryption ? mobile communication memory management and digital signal processing ? telephone units ? mobile base stations. Although it is very hard to predict the direction this technology will take, it seems more than likely that future silicon chips will be a combination of programmable logic, memory blocks and specific function blocks, such as floating point units. It is hard to predict at this early stage, but it lo oks likely that the technology will have to change over the coming years, and the rate of change for major players in todays marketplace such as Intel, Microsoft and AMD will be crucial to their survival. The precise behaviour of each cell is determined by loading a string of numbers into a memory underneath it. The way in which the cells are interconnected is specified by loading another set of numbers into the chip. Change the first set of numbers and you change what the cells do. Change the second set and you change the way they are linked up. Since even the most complex chip is, at its heart, nothing more than a bunch of interlinked logic circuits, an FPGA can be programmed to do almost anything that a conventional fixed piece of logic circuitry can do, just by loading the right numbers into its memory. And by loading in a different set of numbers, it can be reconfigured in the twinkling of an eye. Basic reconfigurable circuits already play a huge role in telecommunications. For instance, relatively simple versions made by companies such as Xilinx and Altera are widely used for network routers and switches, enabling circuit designs to be easily updated electronically without replacing chips. In these early applications, however, the speed at which the chips reconfigure themselves is not critical. To be quick enough for personal information devices, the chips will need to completely reconfigure themselves in a millisecond or less. â€Å"That kind of chameleon device would be the killer app of reconfigurable computing† These experts predict that in the next couple of years reconfigurable systems will be used in cell phones to handle things like changes in telecommunications systems or standards as users travel between calling regions — or between countries. As it is getting more expensive and difficult to pattern, or etch, the elaborate circuitry used in microprocessors; many experts have predicted that maintaining the current rate of putting more circuits into ever smaller spaces will, sometime in the next 10 to 15 years, result in features on microchips no bigger than a few atoms, which would demand a nearly impossible level of precision in fabricating circuitry But reconfigurable chips don't need that type of precision and we can make computers that function at the nanoscale level. CS2112 (a reconfigurable processor developed by chameleon systems) RCP architecture is designed to be as flexible as an FPGA, and as easy to program as a digital signal processor (DSP), with real-time, visual debugging capability. The development environment, comprising Chameleon's C-SIDE software tool suite and CT2112SDM development kit, enables customers to develop and debug communication and signal processing systems running on the RCP. The RCP's development environment helps overcome a fundamental design and debug challenge facing communication system designers. In order to build sufficient performance, channel capacity, and flexibility into their systems, today's designers have been forced to employ an amalgamation of DSPs, FPGAs and ASICs, each of which requires a unique design and debug environment. The RCP platform was designed from the ground up to alleviate this problem: first by significantly exceeding the performance and channel capacity of the fastest DSPs; second by integrating a complete SoC subsystem, including an embedded microprocessor, PCI core, DMA function, and high-speed bus; and third by consolidating the design and debug environment into a single platform-based design system that affords the designer comprehensive visibility and control. The C-SIDE software suite includes tools used to compile C and assembly code for execution on the CS2112's embedded microprocessor, and Verilog simulation and synthesis tools used to create parallel datapath kernels which run on the CS2112's reconfigurable processing fabric. In addition to code generation tools, the package contains source-level debugging tools that support simulation and real-time debugging. Chameleon's design approach leverages the methods employed by most of today's communications system designers. The designer starts with a C program that models signal processing functions of the baseband system. Having identified the dataflow intensive functional blocks, the designer implements them in the RCP to accelerate them by 10- to 100-fold. The designer creates equivalent functions for those blocks, called kernels, in Chameleon's reconfigurable assembly language-like design entry language. The assembler then automatically generates standard Verilog for these kernels that the designer can verify with commercial Verilog simulators. Using these tools, the designer can compare testbench results for the original C functions with similar results for the Verilog kernels. In the next phase, the designer synthesises the Verilog kernels using Chameleon's synthesis tools targeting Chameleon technology. At the end, the tools output a bit file that is used to configure the RCP. The designer then integrates the application level C code with Verilog kernels and the rest of the standard C function. Chameleon's C-SIDE compiler and linker technology makes this integration step transparent to the designer. The CS2112 development environment makes all chip registers and memory locations accessible through a development console that enables full processor-like debugging, including features like single-stepping and setting breakpoints. Before actually productising the system, the designer must often perform a system-level simulation of the data flow within the context of the overall system. Chameleon's development board enables the designer to connect multiple RCPs to other devices in the system using the PCI bus and/or programmable I/O pins. This helps prove the design concept, and enables the designer to profile the performance of the whole basestation system in a real-world environment. With telecommunications OEMs facing shrinking product life cycles and increasing market pressures, not to mention the constant flux of protocols and standards, it's more necessary than ever to have a platform that's reconfigurable. This is where the chameleon chips are going to make its effect felt. The Chameleon CS2112 Package is a high-bandwidth, reconfigurable communications processor aimed at ? second- and third-generation wireless base stations fixed point wireless local loop (WLL) ? voice over IP ? DSL(digital subscriber line) ? High end dsp operations ? 2G-3G wireless base stations ? software defined radio ? security processing â€Å"Traditional solutions such as FPGAs and DSPs lack the performance for high-bandwidth applications, and fixed function solutions like ASICs incur unacceptable limits Each product in the CS2000 family has the same fundamental functional blocks: a 32-bit RISC processor, a full-featured memory controller, a PCI controller, and a reconfigurable processing fabric, all of which are interconnected by a high-speed system bus. The above mentioned fabric comprises an array of reconfigurable tiles used to implement the desired algorithms. Each tile contains seven 32-bit reconfigurable datapath units, four blocks of local store memory, two 16Ãâ€"24-bit multipliers, and a control logic unit. Basic Architecture [pic] Components: ? 32-bit Risc ARC processor @125MHz ? 64 bit memory controller ? 32 bit PCI controller ? reconfigurable processing fabric (RPF) ? high speed system bus ? programmable I/O (160 pins) ? DMA Subsystem ? Configuration Subsystem More on the architecture of RPF 4 Slices with 3 Tiles in each. Each tile can be reconfigured at runtime Tiles contain : †¢ Datapath Units †¢ Local Store Memories †¢ 16Ãâ€"24 multipliers †¢ Control Logic Unit The C-SIDE design system is a fully integrated tool suite, with C compiler, Verilog synthesizer, full-chip simulator, as well as a debug and verification environment — an element not readily found in ASIC and FPGA design flows, according to Chameleon. Still, reconfigurable chips represent an attempt to combine the best features of hard-wired custom chips, which are fast and cheap, and programmable logic device (PLD) chips, which are flexible and easily brought to market. Unlike PLDs, QuickSilver's reconfigurable chips can be reprogrammed every few nanoseconds, rewiring circuits so they are processing global positioning satellite signals one moment or CDMA cellular signals the next, Think of the chips as consisting of libraries with preset hardware designs and chalkboards. Upon receiving instructions from software, the chip takes a hardware component from the library (which is stored as software in memory) and puts it on the chalkboard (the chip). The chip wires itself instantly to run the software and dispatches it. The hardware can then be erased for the next cycle. With this style of computing, its chips can operate 80 times as fast as a custom chip but still consume less power and board space, which translates into lower costs. The company believes that â€Å"soft silicon,† or chips that can be reconfigured on the fly, can be the heart of multifunction camcorders or digital television sets. With programmable logic devices, designers use inexpensive software tools to quickly develop, simulate, and test their designs. Then, a design can be quickly programmed into a device, and immediately tested in a live circuit. The PLD that is used for this prototyping is the exact same PLD that will be used in the final production of a piece of end equipment, such as a network router, a DSL modem, a DVD player, or an automotive navigation system. The two major types of programmable logic devices are field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs). Of the two, FPGAs offer the highest amount of logic density, the most features, and the highest performance FPGAs are used in a wide variety of applications ranging from data processing and storage, to instrumentation, telecommunications, and digital signal processing. To overcome these limitations and offer a flexible, cost-effective solution, many new entrants to the DSP market are extolling the virtues of configurable and reconfigurable DSP designs. This latest breed of DSP architectures promises greater flexibility to quickly adapt to numerous and fast-changing standards. Plus, they claim to achieve higher performance without adding silicon area, cost, design time, or power consumption. In essence, because the architecture isn't rigid, the reconfigurable DSP lets the developer tailor the hardware for a specific task, achieving the right size and cost for the target application. Moreover, the same platform can be reused for other applications. Because development tools are a critical part of this solution—in fact, they're true enablers—the newcomers also ensure that the tools are robust and tightly linked to the devices' flexible architectures. While providing an intuitive, integrated development environment for the designers, the manufacturers ensure affordability as well. RECONFIGURING THE ARCHITECTURE Some of the new configurable DSP architectures are reconfigurable too—that is, developers can modify their landscape on the fly, depending on the incoming data stream. This capability permits dynamic reconfigurability of the architecture as demanded by the application. Proponents of such chips are proclaiming an era of â€Å"chip-on-demand,† wherein new algorithms can be accommodated on-chip in real time via software. This eliminates the cumbersome job of fitting the latest algorithms and protocols into existing rigid hardware. A reconfigurable communications processor (RCP) can reconfigured for different processing algorithms in one clock cycle. Chameleon designers are revising the architecture to create a chip that can address a much broader range of applications. Plus, the supplier is preparing a new, more user-friendly suite of tools for traditional DSP designers. Thus, the company is dropping the term reconfigurability for the new architecture and going with a more traditional name, the streaming data processor (SDP). Though the SDP will include a reconfigurable processing fabric, it will be substantially altered, the company says. Unlike the older RCP, the new chip won't have the ARM RISC core, and it will support a much higher clock rate. Additionally, it will be implemented in a 0. 13- µm CMOS process to meet the signal processing needs of a much broader market. Further details await the release of SDP sometime in the first quarter of 2003. While Chameleon is in the redesign mode, QuickSilver Technologies is in the test mode. This reconfigurable proponent, which prefers to call its architecture an adaptive computing machine or ACM, has realized its first silicon test chip. In fact, the tests indicate that it outperforms a hardwired, fixed-function ASIC in processing compute-intensive cdma2000 algorithms, like system acquisition, rake finger, and set maintenance. For example, the ASIC's nominal speed for searching 215 phase offsets in a basic multipath search algorithm is 3. seconds. The ACM test chip took just one second at a 25-MHz clock speed to perform the same number of searches in a cdma2000 handset. Likewise, the device accomplishes over 57,000 adaptations per second in rake-finger operation to cycle through all operations in this application every 52  µs (Fig. 1). In the set-maintenance application, the chip is almost three times fa ster than an ASIC, claims QuickSilver. THE power of a computer stems from the fact that its behaviour can be changed with little more than a dose of new software. A desktop PC might, for example, be browsing the Internet one minute, and running a spreadsheet or entering the virtual world of a computer game the next. But the ability of a microprocessor (the chip that is at the heart of any PC) to handle such a variety of tasks is both a strength and a weakness—because hardware dedicated to a particular job can do things so much faster. Recognising this, the designers of modern PCs often hand over such tasks as processing 3-D graphics, decoding and playing movies, and processing sound—things that could, in theory, be done by the basic microprocessor—to specialist chips. These chips are designed to do their particular jobs extremely fast, but they are inflexible in comparison with a microprocessor, which does its best to be a jack-of-all-trades. So the hardware approach is faster, but using software is more flexible. At the moment, such reconfigurable chips are used mainly as a way of conjuring up specialist hardware in a hurry. Rather than designing and building an entirely new chip to carry out a particular function, a circuit designer can use an FPGA instead. This speeds up the design process enormously, because making changes becomes as simple as downloading a new configuration into the chip. Chameleon Systems also develops reconfigurable chips for the high-end telecom-switching market. RECONFIGURABLE PROCESSORS A reconfigurable processor is a microprocessor with erasable hardware that can rewire itself dynamically. This allows the chip to adapt effectively to the programming tasks demanded by the particular software they are interfacing with at any given time. Ideally, the reconfigurable processor can transform itself from a video chip to a central processing unit (cpu) to a graphics chip, for example, all optimized to allow applications to run at the highest possible speed. The new chips can be called a â€Å"chip on demand. † In practical terms, this ability can translate to immense flexibility in terms of device functions. For example, a single device could serve as both a camera and a tape recorder (among numerous other possibilities): you would simply download the desired software and the processor would reconfigure itself to optimize performance for that function. Reconfigurable processors, competing in the market with traditional hard-wired chips and several types of programmable microprocessors. Programmable chips have been in existence for over ten years. Digital signal processors (DSPs), for example, are high-performance programmable chips used in cell phones, automobiles, and various types of music players. While microprocessors have been the dominant devices in use for general-purpose computing for the last decade, there is still a large gap between the computational efficiency of microprocessors and custom silicon. Reconfigurable devices, such as FPGAs, have come closer to closing that gap, offering a 10x benefit in computational density over microprocessors, and often offering another potential 10x improvement in yielded functional density on low granularity operations. On highly regular computations, reconfigurable architectures have a clear superiority to traditional processor architectures. On tasks with high functional diversity, microprocessors use silicon more efficiently than reconfigurable devices. The BRASS project is developing a coupled architecture which allow a reconfigurable array and processor core to cooperate efficiently on computational tasks, exploiting the strengths of both architectures. We are developing an architecture and a prototype component that will combine a processor and a high performance reconfigurable array on a single chip. The reconfigurable array extends the usefulness and efficiency of the processor by providing the means to tailor its circuits for special tasks. The processor improves the efficiency of the reconfigurable array for irregular, general-purpose computation. We anticipate that a processor combined with reconfigurable resources can achieve a significant performance improvement over either a separate processor or a separate reconfigurable device on an interesting range of problems drawn from embedded computing applications. As such, we hope to demonstrate that this composite device is an ideal system element for embedded processing. Reconfigurable devices have proven extremely efficient for certain types of processing tasks. The key to their cost/performance advantage is that conventional processors are often limited by instruction bandwidth and execution restrictions or by an insufficient number or type of functional units. Reconfigurable logic exploits more program parallelism. By dedicating significantly less instruction memory per active computing element, reconfigurable devices achieve a 10x improvement in functional density over microprocessors. At the same time this lower memory ratio allows reconfigurable devices to deploy active capacity at a finer grained level, allowing them to realize a higher yield of their raw capacity, sometimes as much as 10x, than conventional processors. The high functional density characteristic of reconfigurable devices comes at the expense of the high functional diversity characteristic of microprocessors. Microprocessors have evolved to a highly optimized configuration with clear cost/performance advantages over reconfigurable arrays for a large set of tasks with high functional diversity. By combining a reconfigurable array with a processing core we hope to achieve the best of both worlds. While it is possible to combine a conventional processor with commercial reconfigurable devices at the circuit board level, integration radically changes the i/o costs and design point for both devices, resulting in a qualitatively different system. Notably, the lower on-chip communication costs allow efficient cooperation between the processor and array at a finer grain than is sensible with discrete designs. RECONFIGURABLE COMPUTING When we talk about reconfigurable computing we’re usually talking about FPGA-based system designs. Unfortunately, that doesn’t qualify the term precisely enough. System designers use FPGAs in many different ways. The most common use of an FPGA is for prototyping the design of an ASIC. In this scenario, the FPGA is present only on the prototype hardware and is replaced by the corresponding ASIC in the final production system. This use of FPGAs has nothing to do with reconfigurable computing. However, many system designers are choosing to leave the FPGAs as part of the production hardware. Lower FPGA prices and higher gate counts have helped drive this change. Such systems retain the execution speed of dedicated hardware but also have a great deal of functional flexibility. The logic within the FPGA can be changed if or when it is necessary, which has many advantages. For example, hardware bug fixes and upgrades can be administered as easily as their software counterparts. In order to support a new version of a network protocol, you can redesign the internal logic of the FPGA and send the enhancement to the affected customers by email. Once they’ve downloaded the new logic design to the system and restarted it, they’ll be able to use the new version of the protocol. This is configurable computing; reconfigurable computing goes one step further. Reconfigurable computing involves manipulation of the logic within the FPGA at run-time. In other words, the design of the hardware may change in response to the demands placed upon the system while it is running. Here, the FPGA acts as an execution engine for a variety of different hardware functions — some executing in parallel, others in serial — much as a CPU acts as an execution engine for a variety of software threads. We might even go so far as to call the FPGA a reconfigurable processing unit (RPU). Reconfigurable computing allows system designers to execute more hardware than they have gates to fit, which works especially well when there are parts of the hardware that are occasionally idle. One theoretical application is a smart cellular phone that supports multiple communication and data protocols, though just one a time. When the phone passes from a geographic region that is served by one protocol into a region that is served by another, the hardware is automatically reconfigured. This is reconfigurable computing at its best, and using this approach it is possible to design systems that do more, cost less, and have shorter design and implementation cycles. Reconfigurable computing has several advantages. ? First, it is possible to achieve greater functionality with a simpler hardware design. Because not all of the logic must be present in the FPGA at all times, the cost of supporting additional features is reduced to the cost of the memory required to store the logic design. Consider again the multiprotocol cellular phone. It would be possible to support as many protocols as could be fit into the available on-board ROM. It is even conceivable that new protocols could be uploaded from a base station to the handheld phone on an as-needed basis, thus requiring no additional memory. ? The second advantage is lower system cost, which does not manifest itself exactly as you might expect. On a low-volume product, there will be some production cost savings, which result from the elimination of the expense of ASIC design and fabrication. However, for higher-volume products, the production cost of fixed hardware may actually be lower. We have to think in terms of lifetime system costs to see the savings. Systems based on reconfigurable computing are upgradable in the field. Such changes extend the useful life of the system, thus reducing lifetime costs. ? The final advantage of reconfigurable computing is reduced time-to-market. The fact that you’re no longer using an ASIC is a big help in this respect. There are no chip design and prototyping cycles, which eliminates a large amount of development effort. In addition, the logic design remains flexible right up until (and even after) the product ships. This allows an incremental design flow, a luxury not typically available to hardware designers. You can even ship a product that meets the minimum requirements and add features after deployment. In the case of a networked product like a set-top box or cellular telephone, it may even be possible to make such enhancements without customer involvement. RECONFIGURABLE HARDWARE Traditional FPGAs are configurable, but not run-time reconfigurable. Many of the older FPGAs expect to read their configuration out of a serial EEPROM, one bit at a time. And they can only be made to do so by asserting a chip reset signal. This means that the FPGA must be reprogrammed in its entirety and that its previous internal state cannot be captured beforehand. Though these features are compatible with configurable computing applications, they are not sufficient for reconfigurable computing. In order to benefit from run-time reconfiguration, it is necessary that the FPGAs involved have some or all of the following features. The more of these features they have, the more flexible can be the system design. Deciding which hardware objects to execute and when Swapping hardware objects into and out of the reconfigurable logic Performing routing between hardware objects or between hardware objects and the hardware object framework. Of course, having software manage the reconfigurable hardware usually means having an embedded processor or microcontroller on-board. (We expect several vendors to introduce single-chip solutions that combine a CPU core and a block of reconfigurable logic by year’s end. The embedded software that runs there is called the run-time environment and is analogous to the operating system that manages the execution of multiple software threads. Like threads, hardware objects may have priorities, deadlines, and contexts, etc. It is the job of the run-time environment to organize this information and make decisions based upon it. The reason we need a run-time environment at all is th at there are decisions to be made while the system is running. And as human designers, we are not available to make these decisions. So we impart these responsibilities to a piece of software. This allows us to write our application software at a very high level of abstraction. To do this, the run-time environment must first locate space within the RPU that is large enough to execute the given hardware object. It must then perform the necessary routing between the hardware object’s inputs and outputs and the blocks of memory reserved for each data stream. Next, it must stop the appropriate clock, reprogram the internal logic, and restart the RPU. Once the object starts to execute, the run-time environment must continuously monitor the hardware object’s status flags to determine when it is done executing. Once it is done, the caller can be notified and given the results. The run-time environment is then free to reclaim the reconfigurable logic gates that were taken up by that hardware object and to wait for additional requests to arrive from the application software. The principal benefits of reconfigurable computing are the ability to execute larger hardware designs with fewer gates and to realize the flexibility of a software-based solution while retaining the execution speed of a more traditional, hardware-based approach. This makes doing more with less a reality. In our own business we have seen tremendous cost savings, simply because our systems do not become obsolete as quickly as our competitors because reconfigurable computing enables the addition of new features in the field, allows rapid implementation of new standards and protocols on an as-needed basis, and protects their investment in computing hardware. Whether you do it for your customers or for yourselves, you should at least consider using reconfigurable computing in your next design. You may find, as we have, that the benefits far exceed the initial learning curve. And as reconfigurable computing becomes more popular, these benefits will only increase. ADVANTAGES OF RECONFIGURABILITY The term reconfigurable computing has come to refer to a loose class of embedded systems. Many system-on-a-chip (SoC) computer designs provide reconfigurability options that provide the high performance of hardware with the flexibility of software. To most designers, SoC means encapsulating one or more processing elements—that is, general-purpose embedded processors and/or digital signal processor (DSP) cores—along with memory, input/output devices, and other hardware into a single chip. These versatile chips can erform many different functions. However, while SoCs offer choices, the user can choose only among functions that already reside inside the device. Developers also create ASICs—chips that handle a limited set of tasks but do them very quickly. The limitation of most types of complex hardware devices—SoCs, ASICs, and general-purp ose cpus—is that the logical hardware functions cannot be modified once the silicon design is complete and fabricated. Consequently, developers are typically forced to amortize the cost of SoCs and ASICs over a product lifetime that may be extremely short in today's volatile technology environment. Solutions involving combinations of cpus and FPGAs allow hardware functionality to be reprogrammed, even in deployed systems, and enable medical instrument OEMs to develop new platforms for applications that require rapid adaptation to input. The technologies combined provide the best of both worlds for system-level design. Careful analysis of computational requirements reveals that many algorithms are well suited to high-speed sequential processing, many can benefit from parallel processing capabilities, and many can be broken down into components that are split between the two. With this in mind, it makes sense to always use the best technology for the job at hand. Processors are best suited to general-purpose processing and high-speed sequential processing (as are DSPs), while FPGAs excel at high-speed parallel processing. The general-purpose capability of the cpu enables it to perform system management very well, and allows it to be used to control the content of the FPGAs contained in the system. This symbiotic relationship between cpus and FPGAs also means that the FPGA can off-load computationally intensive algorithms from the cpu, allowing the processor to spend more time working on general-purpose tasks such as data analysis, and more time communicating with a printer or other equipment. Conclusion These new chips called chameleon chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create the exact hardware needed to run a piece of software at the utmost speed. an example of such kind of a chip is a chameleon chip. his can also be called a â€Å"chip on demand† Reconfigurable computing goes a step beyond programmable chips in the matter of flexibility. It is not only possible but relatively commonplace to â€Å"rewrite† the silicon so that it can perform new functions in a split second. Reconfigurable chips are simply the extreme end of programmability. † Highly flexible processors that can be reconfigured remotely in the field, Chameleon's chips are des igned to simplify communication system design while delivering increased price/performance numbers. The chameleon chip is a high bandwidth reconfigurable communications processor (RCP). it aims at changing a system's design from a remote location. this will mean more versatile handhelds. Its applications are in, data-intensive Internet,DSP,wireless basestations, voice compression, software-defined radio, high-performance embedded telecom and datacom applications, xDSL concentrators,fixed wireless local loop, multichannel voice compression, multiprotocol packet and cell processing protocols. Its advantages are that it can create customized communications signal processors ,it has increased performance and channel count, and it can more quickly adapt to new requirements and standards and it has lower development costs and reduce risk. A FUTURISTIC DREAM One day, someone will make a chip that does everything for the ultimate consumer device. The chip will be smart enough to be the brains of a cell phone that can transmit or receive calls anywhere in the world. If the reception is poor, the phone will automatically adjust so that the quality improves. At the same time, the device will also serve as a handheld organizer and a player for music, videos, or games. Unfortunately, that chip doesn't exist today. It would require †¢ flexibility †¢ high performance †¢ low power †¢ and low cost But we might be getting closer. Now a new kind of chip may reshape the semiconductor landscape. The chip adapts to any programming task by effectively erasing its hardware design and regenerating new hardware that is perfectly suited to run the software at hand. These chips, referred to as reconfigurable processors, could tilt the balance of power that has preserved a decade-long standoff between programmable chips and hard-wired custom chips. These new chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create the exact hardware needed to run a piece of software at the utmost speed. an example of such kind of a chip is a chameleon chip. this can also be called a â€Å"chip on demand† â€Å"Reconfigurable computing goes a step beyond programmable chips in the matter of flexibility. It is not only possible but relatively commonplace to â€Å"rewrite† the silicon so that it can perform new functions in a split second. Reconfigurable chips are simply the extreme end of programmability. † If these adaptable chips can reach a cost-performance parity with hard-wired chips, customers will chuck the static hard-wired solutions. And if silicon can indeed become dynamic, then so will the gadgets of the information age. No longer will you have to buy a camera and a tape recorder. You could just buy one gadget, and then download a new function for it when you want to take some pictures or make a recording. Just think of the possibilities for the fickle consumer. Programmable logic chips, which are arrays of memory cells that can be programmed to perform hardware functions using software tools, are more flexible than DSP chips but slower and more expensive For consumers, this means that the day isn't far away when a cell phone can be used to talk, transmit video images, connect to the Internet, maintain a calendar, and serve as entertainment during travel delays — without the need to plug in adapter hardware REFERENCES BOOKS Wei Qin Presentation , Oct 2000 (The part of the presentation regarding CS2000 is covered in this page) †¢ IEEE conference on Tele-communication, 2001. WEBSITES †¢ www. chameleon systems. com †¢ www. thinkdigit. com †¢ www. ieee. org †¢ www. entecollege. com †¢ www. iec. org †¢ www. quicksilver technologies. com †¢ www. xilinx. com ABSTRACT Chameleon chips are chips whose circuitry can be tailored specifically for the p roblem at hand. Chameleon chips would be an extension of what can already be done with field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAS). An FPGA is covered with a grid of wires. At each crossover, there's a switch that can be semipermanently opened or closed by sending it a special signal. Usually the chip must first be inserted in a little box that sends the programming signals. But now, labs in Europe, Japan, and the U. S. are developing techniques to rewire FPGA-like chips anytime–and even software that can map out circuitry that's optimized for specific problems. The chips still won't change colors. But they may well color the way we use computers in years to come. It is a fusion between custom integrated circuits and programmable logic. n the case when we are doing highly performance oriented tasks custom chips that do one or two things spectacularly rather than lot of things averagely is used. Now using field programmed chips we have chips that can be rewired in an instant. Thus the benefits of customization can be brought to the mass market. CONTENTS ? INTRODUCTION ? CHAMELEON CHIPS ? ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATION ? FPGA ? CS2112 ? RECONFIGURING T HE ARCHITECTURE ? RECONFIGURABLE PROCESSORS ? RECONFIGURABLE COMPUTING ? RECONFIGURABLE HARDWARE ? ADVANTAGES OF RECONFIGURABILITY ? CONCLUSION [pic]