Nuclear Tragedy on Three Mile Island :: History Nuclear Essays

Nuclear Tragedy on Three Mile Island The Three Mile Island accident can be attributed to both human error and mechanical failure. This story begins on March 28, 1979 at about four o'clock in the morning. Every thing seemed to be running efficiently down at the nuclear power plant in Three Mile Island. Little did anyone know the catastrophe that was about to occur. The problem started in the secondary loop. There was a slight malfunction, which caused the pumps to shut down automatically. The alarms sounded immediately within the control room. Water pressure and water temperature began to build in the primary loop, because the heat could no longer be transferred to the secondary loop. However, this seemed normal and was no cause for immediate concern. At this point, the pressure relief valve (PORV) had opened automatically and released the steam into a holding tank. The backup pumps, which are located in the secondary loop, automatically turned on. Then, the cut-off valves disconnected the pumps from the system. The operators in the control room still felt that everything was running normal and there was nothing to worry about. Then, the PORV light went out indicating that the valves were then closed; however they were not. The steam and water continued to be released causing a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). The emergency injection water (EIW) was set in motion in the primary loop. The EIW is activated in the case of a LOCA. This did not concern the operators because it had happened before during numerous false alarms. However, they kept their eye on it, and noticed that the water in the primary loop was rising, while the pressure was decreasing. They turned off the EIW, but the water still appeared to be rising. However, that was not the case at all. The water along with the steam was being released through the PORV, without the operators knowing. By this time, over three thousand gallons had escaped from the primary loop. The instrument that checks the level of radioactivity levels was not functioning, so the operators had no reason to suspect a LOCA. The gauges in the control room continued to falsely state that the water levels were up. At this time, two of the four pumps were turned off in the primary loop caused by the amount of pressure from the steam traveling through them. Then, the last two pumps in the primary loop shut off.

Acid Rain :: essays research papers

ACID RAIN When fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, and fuel oils are burned, they emit oxides of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen into the air. These oxides combine with moisture in the air to form sulfuric acid, carbonic acid, and nitric acid. When it rains or snows, these acids are brought to Earth in what is called acid rain. During the course of the 20th century, the acidity of the air and acid rain have come to be recognized as a leading threat to the stability and quality of the Earth's environment. Most of this acidity is produced in the industrialized nations of the Northern Hemisphere--the United States, Canada, Japan, and most of the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. The effects of acid rain can be devastating to many forms of life, including human life. Its effects can be most vividly seen, however, in lakes, rivers, and streams and on vegetation. Acidity in water kills virtually all life forms. By the early 1990s tens of thousands of lakes had been destroyed by acid rain. The problem has been most severe in Norway, Sweden, and Canada. The threat posed by acid rain is not limited by geographic boundaries, for prevailing winds carry the pollutants around the globe. For example, much research supports the conclusion that pollution from coal-powered electric generating stations in the midwestern United States is the ultimate cause of the severe acid-rain problem in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Nor are the destructive effects of acid rain limited to the natural environment. Structures made of stone, metal, and cement have also been damaged or destroyed. Some of the world's great monuments, including the cathedrals of Europe and the Colosseum in Rome, have shown signs of deterioration caused by acid rain. Scientists use what is called the pH factor to measure the acidity or alkalinity of liquid solutions. On a scale from 0 to 14, the number 0 represents the highest level of acid and 14 the most basic or alkaline. A solution of distilled water containing neither acids nor alkalies, or bases, is designated 7, or neutral. If the pH level of rain falls below 5.5, the rain is considered acidic. Rainfalls in the eastern United States and in Western Europe often range

Acs Assignment 2, University of Winnipeg

ACS 1803 – ASSIGNMENT 2 Due: February 11, 2013 To be done individually. 1) a) 8 A hospital ward wants to computerize its data about patients and medications / dosages prescribed for the patients. {In your mind, compare this situation with the in-class example about students, courses and grades: student is like patient, course is like medication and grade is dosage}. Then, use the following fields of hospital data that are put into one file (table): patient No. , patient name, patient address, patient birth date; medication name, medication dosage (this means how many tablets or teaspoons of that medication the patient must take each day).Use the following data: ? John Smith Date of Birth: Oct. 10. 1969 Address:123 Dialysis Way. Prescription: Prilosec. Three tablets daily Adavart . Three tablets daily Patient ID: 1849 ? Marla Johnson Date of Birth: Jan. 31. 1955 Address:842 Blossom St. Prescription: Oxycontin Two teaspoons daily Neulasta. Four tablets daily Lamictal Two tablets daily Patient ID: 1850 ? Jane Doe Date of Birth: Aug. 01. 1949 Address:725 Olive Ave. Prescription: Remicade. Three tablets daily Diovan. Four tablets daily Gardasil. One teaspoon daily Patient ID: 1851 Show this in one table with all your data records.Then explain fully why this would not be a good way of organizing data on disk. b) 10 Convert the one table in the previous question to a relational database design. Fill each table in your design with data from the previous question such that no information is lost. Show how your design satisfies the criteria for being a relational database, and why it is better to store data on disk in this way rather than all in one table. c) 7 What is database management system? What steps would the hospital ward need to take to prepare its data to be ready for producing meaningful output from the DBMS? ) 5 What are two main forms of output from a DBMS? Provide one example of each form of output using hospital data from your database in b). Hint: Utilize the â€Å"Input-Processing-Output† Model and focus on the ways data can be produced i. e. Report versus Query. See Data Modeling Explanation from Lecture 4. 2 Notes for additional information. 2) 10 If a business organization has its data stored on disk as a relational database which is managed by a database management system such as Access, why might it want to go further and have a management information system constructed, that would use this relational database as input?Why would just using Access directly not be enough for the organization? Explain fully with examples. ACS-1803-053 Assignment 2 1. a. ) Patient NO. | Patient Name| Patient Address| Patient Birth Day| Medication Name| MedicationDosage| 1849| John Smith| 123 Dialysis Way| Oct. 10. 1969| Prilosec| Three tablets daily| 1849| John Smith| 123 Dialysis Way| Oct. 10. 1969| Adavart| Three tablets daily| 1850| Marla Johbson| 842 Blossom St. | Jan. 31. 1955| Oxycontin| Two teaspoons daily| 1850| Marla Johbso n| 842 Blossom St. | Jan. 31. 1955| Neulasta| Four tablets daily| 1850| Marla Johbson| 842 Blossom St. Jan. 31. 1955| Lamictal| Two tablets daily| 1851| Jane Doe| 725 Olive Ave. | Aug. 01. 1949| Remicade| Three tablets daily| 1851| Jane Doe| 725 Olive Ave. | Aug. 01. 1949| Diovan| Four tablets daily| 1851| Jane Doe| 725 Olive Ave. | Aug. 01. 1949| Gardasil| One teaspoon daily| Using one table to record all the data would be an unefficient way. As the table above, the same information such as: No. , patient name, address, birth day, has been record more than once, which causes the waste of store space and costs more labour time.However, with the increase in data, it might make some mistakes by multiple-display the some information. For instance, we have five patients named Jane Doe, and each of them has three kinds of medications. When we search the key words â€Å"Jane Doe†, we will get 15 results with the same patient name, Jane Doe. It makes mistakes easy and takes more tim e when we have to find the only one information we need among such a bunch of results. b. ) Patient Personal Information: Patient Patient NO. | Patient Name| Patient Address| Patient Birth Day| 1849| John Smith| 123 Dialysis Way| Oct. 10. 1969| 850| Marla Johbson| 842 Blossom St. | Jan. 31. 1955| 1851| Jane Doe| 725 Olive Ave. | Aug. 01. 1949| Patient Medication Information: Medication Patient NO. | Medication Name| Medication Dosage| 1849| Prilosec| Three tablets daily| 1849| Adavart| Three tablets daily| 1850| Oxycontin| Two teaspoons daily| 1850| Neulasta| Four tablets daily| 1850| Lamictal| Two tablets daily| 1851| Remicade| Three tablets daily| 1851| Diovan| Four tablets daily| 1851| Gardasil| One teaspoon daily| The tables in relational databases organize data in rows and columns, simplifying data access and manipulation.It is easier for manager to understand the relational model than put all data in one table. Besides, a relational database allows tables to be linked. And the linkage reduces data redundancy and allows data to be organized more logically. In a word, relational database is easier to control, more flexible, and more intuitive than approaches. c. ) The database management system (DBMS) a group of programs used as interface between a database and application programs, or a database and the user. It is used to create and implement the right database system ensures that the database will support both business activities and goals.For the hospital ward, there are four basic steps need to take to prepare its data to be ready for producing meaningful output from a DBMS: 1. Setting schemas. Installing and using a large database involves â€Å"telling† the DBMS the logical and physical structure of the data and the relationships among the data for each user. 2. Establishing a data dictionary. In this case, the data dictionary should contain the following information: patient No. , patient name, patient address, patient birth date; medication name, medication dosage. . Storing and retrieving data. Establishing tables and input all the information, like â€Å"1849, John Smith, 123 Dialysis Way, Oct. 10. 1969†, into them according to the data dictionary. 4. Manipulating data and generating reports. After a DBMS has been installed, users can use it to review reports and obtain important information. d. ) There are two main forms of output from a DBMS, which are query and report. The query is a database function that extracts and displays information from a database given selection parameters.Database users use Structured Query Language (SQL) to select and extract data from a database, and the SQL is the industry standard language for relational databases. The report is a compilation of data from the database that is organized and produced in printed format or presented on screen. The report generator is a specialized program that uses SQL to retrieve and manipulate data (aggregate, transform, or group), and the repo rts are designed using standard templates or can be custom generated to meet informational needs. Query Example:Select â€Å"patient ID†, â€Å"Medication Name† from Medications Where Medications Name = â€Å"Adavart† Order By â€Å"Patient ID†; 1849| Adavart| Three tablets daily| Report Example: show a report of patients live on Olive Avenue. Patient No| First Name| Last Name| Street| Patient Birth date| 1851| Jane| Doe| 725 OliveAve. | 1949-08-01| 2. The Access is a database management system (DBMS), organizations use Access to implement database, after database designed. There are two main steps to use Access: step one is setting up the database, the DBA needs to create the database, figure out tables and link them together.The second step is using the database through the DBMS, where we have to know the features to design and create queries and reports. We can also use Access as an information system developer, and use a customized information system for specific purposes and needs. That is the reason why it might want to go further and have a customized information system constructed, which would use this relational database as input. Using Access directly just only open a computer files in order to get or add information, it might not be enough for an organization.The customized information system is created according to processes and specific needs in order to improve the operational efficiency. The customized information system consists two parts: up-front and controls. Up-front refers to its own menus, input screens, output (query) screens, and reports and, in the background, it will have a database with related tables, and programs that take the raw data from the database and convert it to the required queries and reports; the system will also have controls, that is, mechanisms that try to ensure that the output is correct and that the data is safe from accidental or deliberate destruction.

Make and Recieve Telephone Calls

The telephone that I use for work is a complicated phone and I don’t use all of its features, the basic features it has are the function to answer the phone and transfer calls to another person, it also allows me to answer a call from some else’s phone that is in my group. To transfer calls to another colleague I have to press R on the phone and then enter my colleague extension number for the call to be transferred. If I wanted to answer another colleagues phone I simple have to press *84 on the keypad and pick up the phone to receive their call.I am able to adjust the volume of the ring and I am able to place the call on loud speaker. I am also able to turn on or off the microphone in the handset as well as view the list of the numbers that I called last. I am also able to create a directory of number on the phone to be able to make calls quickly, on top of this there are 12 preset phone numbers with quick dial buttons on the phone however the previous owner had set t hese up and I am unable to change them.The phone is also capable of diverting the call to another phone and send messages between phones although I haven’t used this yet. Before making a phone call it’s a good idea to identify the purpose of the call as it would make me the caller sound more professional as I know exactly what I want and would waste no time with anything else, it would also allow me to have information that I can then use to prepare questions to ask and get the necessary details which I may require.An example of this is when a colleague requested that I acquire some information regarding the prospectus of the local colleges I had to identify whom I was going to make the call to and what the call would be regarding, after speaking to my colleague more and gaining the knowledge of exactly what they wanted me to get I was able to identify that the purpose of this call was to contact the college and ask what lessons they would be providing that relate to t he request made by my colleague.There are multiple ways to acquire the telephone number of people in my organisation as I can use the local address book to get there details, for example if I only knew there phone number which within the organisation would only be their extension number, I could use that to acquire their name and location as well as the department they work in, and I could do the same with only their name. Another method of gathering the contact details of someone is either using the internet to look up their business and get the information from their or ask a colleague if these have access or know the individuals name or number.I was request to book a venue for a stakeholder workshop for a colleague and they provided me with the specifics of the workshop but not where the workshop would be, they left that up to me to decide, therefore I had to determine which venue would best suit the requirements made. I spoke to another colleague that recommended Dillington Hous e, however they were unable to provide any contact details for me. Due to Dillington House not being within the organisation I was unable to use the local address book so I had to use the internet to acquire their contact numbers.After locating their website via a Google search I found the contact details for a Robin Kyd who arranged bookings. To finally make the call to the individual within the organisation I would simple enter their extension number on my phone and the call would be put through. On the other hand if I need the contact details of someone outside the organisation I would either have to research their details on the internet, this would include looking up their business, and getting their number from their website.However this number may only be a general enquiry number and I would then contact them and ask for the relevant details I need. However to make the phone call to someone outside the organisation I simply have to enter the number 9 before entering their ful l phone number to make the call. An example of me doing this is when I had to make a phone call to Dennis Quick who works for Taunton Deane, I was given his contact details from a colleague when they passed a message along to me.When I first made the call the line was engaged and I couldn’t get through, but when I rang again later that day I reached Dennis’s secretary who said he was available and transferred my call along to him, it was confirmed that I was speaking to the correct person when he introduced himself as Dennis Quick. The purpose of giving a positive image of myself and my organisation is to give me a polite, efficient and professional image otherwise people will not respect or take you seriously and if you have a professional image then this reflects well on the organisation.If you have a positive image then communication between people both within and outside the organisation would be better and more efficient possibly allowing for the transfer of infor mation quicker and efficiently. Summarising a telephone conversation before the call ends can be beneficial to both parties as it allows everyone to agree on what has been said and ensure there are no confusions this is especially useful when the telephone conversation has been going on for a long period of time and various things have been discussed, its easy to lose focus on what has previously been said and summarising overcomes this.It also allows objectives to be clear and information fresh in the mind for both parties to write down or relay to another person or persons. An example of this is when I had to make alterations to a booking that I had made with a business called Monks Yard in Ilminster. After discussing with the person that was arranging the meeting on their end, I ended the telephone conversation by asking the person to repeat the amendments that I wanted them to make and once I was happy that he had everything correct by checking with the list that I had in front of me at the time, I thanked them and ended the call.When a call comes into the office I’ll always take a name (full if possible and preferably) and the company they are calling from, I’ll try and obtain from the caller either what the problem is exactly or from which department the problem arisen from and if they know who within the department they spoke to. I’ll pass messages along to departments or relevant staff members and see what information can be found to resolve the problem.If this is not possible try and locate a member of staff who can help from the information obtained from the caller e. g. A company was expecting a Goods Receipt Note via SAP a week ago, I logged into SAP and saw that I needed to send the Goods Receipt Note but as I didn’t have an training and didn’t know what to do, I located a staff member who I knew had training on this and could help me, I contacted her department and was put through to her and she talked me throug h the problem, however I hadn’t been set up correctly and couldn’tsend out a Good Receipt Note and had to contact IT and get it fixed, during this entire period of getting it fixed and finally sending out the GRN I kept the company informed on what happened and gave them an estimated time that they would receive the GRN. The organisational structure of County Hall is that of a hierarchical structure which uses clear reporting lines and it is easy to see what each team is called and how many people are in that team and how they relate to other people in the system.The communication channels for us are different per team or department for me my phone is linked with everyone else’s in my team and I am able to answer their phone by entering *84 however I am not able to answer any other phone on the floor this way. I can contact anyone internally as long as I know their extension number as this is the main method of contacting anyone internally and I can call anyone externally by simply entering the number 9 before entering their phone number.When I make a external call I introduce myself by saying my name and company that I’m calling from, if I know prior to the phone call which member of staff or department that I want to call I would request to speak to them. If I don’t know who I’m reaching I would explain why I’m calling and request help on locating the member of staff that can help me. When I’m connected to this person, I ideally should have some questions ready or know exactly what information I require.At the end of the call I should summarise the call and recap information to make sure that it is accurate. If a fault was to occur with my telephone I would simply call the IT department and inform them when the problem occurred and how frequent it is happening, they would resolve the issue by either providing a replacement handset until it is fixed or locating the fault and fixing it at their earliest c onvenience.When I received a call I should identify who the caller is and their needs to do this I should follow my phone call procedures and gather the callers name and who they calling from, with this done I have now identified my caller and go about identifying their needs. Sometimes the caller will not provide you with their name at the start of the call as for example in a telephone conversation I had with a man asking for a colleague who was away from the desk, after following call procedures I asked to take a message, once the caller had given me his message, I asked who the call was from and he provided me with his name.Following procedures I will then ask the caller what I can help them with and they should briefly explain why they are calling, depending on why they have called and what my job entails I will either transfer them to another member of my team who can deal with their call, check the availability of a team member and inform the caller that they will call them b ack at a certain time or providing the information that they require to the best of my ability, although I will inform them that I am new and may not be able to answer all their questions.An example of this is when I received a phone call from a lady who wanted to submit a complaint to our department, after taking her name and contact details, she proceeded to tell me why she was complaining and what she would like done about it.During this telephone call I was taking notes so I could pass along her message when the call had ended, at the end of the call when she had finished explaining the problem, I repeated to her the points that I had taken and asked if these were correct, after making some small arrangements I summarised the information that she had given me and once she confirmed it was all correct, I informed her that I was going to pass this along to the relevant person and he would respond as soon as he can, I also informed her that I would call her when I had done this so she would know that action had been taken and it would also create a positive image of myself and my team. Giving accurate information to callers means when someone calls they have done so with the anticipation of getting their question or query answered promptly and professionally. Having up to date information available in a clear and concise manner will confirm in the callers mind that they question has been answered properly. For example if someone rang up asking for details on the most recent consultation regarding one of the teams projects and I gave them a out of date or incorrect document details then it would make a bad impression for the team and could affect their reputation as they may be deemed unreliable.From a callers point of view they want their personal details kept secure and confidential by showing this when dealing with a caller I am showing them that I can be trusted with their personal information and from my point of view, I need to keep the information priva te and respect their privacy otherwise I could become liable for prosecution under the Data Protection Act and with the information that my team handles a lot of it is private and confidential so this is a daily thing. If any confidential or information to do with security is given out, then it is causing a threat to others. Types of information that could affect confidentiality and security are people’s personal details so in my case it would be personal phone numbers and addresses. Therefore to reduce the risk of breaking confidentiality the information should only be handled by those that absolutely need access to it and if anyone requests the information then I should ask the persons whose information it is if they can have it or inform the person asking that someone will contact them.The Data Protection Act was setup to prevent confidential and security information from being given out and it is breaking the law if I was to do so. All these sorts of information should be handled by a maximum of 2 people and seen by no one else; this way no information will be revealed. After answering the call following the team’s procedure, I’d ask the caller if they know the name of the person they wish to speak to, if they don’t ask regarding which department. If they caller doesn’t know who to speak to then I would find out briefly, as they call may be regarding a private matter, what the call in about. Using the information I had gathered it would make it easier to transfer the call to the right person or department.If the person the caller is trying to reach is unavailable either because they are out of the office or away for the moment, then I would try to located someone else that may be able to take the call and explain to them the name of the caller, and what they are calling about as this would save time for the caller as they wouldn’t have to relay the information again. A lot of the time the case with transferring a c all is that the caller would either leave a message or inform me that they would call later, however with some calls that I receive the person they are trying to reach have left the desk momentarily and return while I’m still talking to the caller allowing me to transfer the caller to the person they were trying to reach. I would then inform the caller that I am transferring them to that particular person and explain why they would be more useful and helpful to deal with their request.Another option would be to leave a message I would either leave a message on their answering machine or a note on their computer, I would leave the following details; who the caller was, full name, where they were calling from, the time that they rang and the details of the call and any specific details or requests the caller wanted the intended receiver to know. A problem that could occur and has occurred it when transferring a call to a colleague the connection to the caller has become lost du ring the transfer, To amend this I would simply call them back apologising for the inconvenience, also ringing them back would show that I am keen to help them and am trying my best to provide good customer service. I would then log the problem as a technical fault, however if the problem kept occurring then I would report the problem with the IT department.Another problem that could occur is that I may transfer the caller to the wrong person this may have happened due to a system fault or a technical fault, though in my case it could be due to the fact that I’m new and could have made a mistake. If the caller went to the wrong number then the call would circulate around back to me and I would deal with the call accordingly. However if a call had been transferred to me by mistake then I would explain to the caller that unfortunately they had been transferred to the wrong person, though not necessarily the wrong department. I would apologise to the caller and ask for them to e xplain the problem and then transfer them to the correct person.I would then take a note of the problem and if the problem continued I would contact the transferee informing them that they have transferred the call to the wrong person and if it persists then I would inform IT about the problem. When receiving a phone call from an individual I would follow my teams phone call procedures this would involve doing the following things. If it was my phone that was ringing I was answer it as promptly as possible with the greeting, â€Å"Isaac Young, Major Programmes†, If it was another member of my teams phone that was ringing and due to the layout of the office it is hard to tell which phone is ringing, It is procedure to wait for the phone to ring three times and if it hasn’t been answered by then, I would enter *84 on the phone to take the call and answer with the previous greeting.Once I am connected to the caller I would obtain who the caller is and where they are from, by now the caller has usually mentioned the person they wish to speak to, if the caller mentions why they are calling this is noted when transferring the call and it is not company procedure although it is recommended that you ask what the call is in reference to. When reporting a fault to the IT department I have to be as exact as possible as this will help the issue to be resolved as fast as possible. Having an accurate account of when the problem first started and the frequency the fault occurred, what is actually happening, which can be obtained by the fault log that I have written down. I would request IT to provide a replacement phone while the problem is amended.

Challenges Facing the Youth

Bill Henry ENC 1101 4th period Would you agree that in society today, there are several challenges facing the youth? Due to the economy and state standards, it has become harder for the youth to not only set goals but to accomplish the task which they have set for themselves. Graduation rates are lower, college enrollment is declining, and unemployment rates are increasing. One challenge facing today’s youth is that graduation rates are gradually decreasing yearly because school is becoming harder due to new state standards. As of the year 2012-2013, eleventh grade students have been required to take a test called the PERT.The PERT test assesses students on the three basic subjects: math, reading, and writing skills. To display college readiness it is required that a student at least makes a 113 in math, 104 in reading, and a 99 in writing. If you fail to obtain the recommended score in these subject areas and your ACT scores are lower than average, you will be placed in remed ial courses your senior year. Not all students are great test takers; therefore, for most students this may be a challenge. Yet another challenge is declining college enrollment. Many young adults feel as though college is not for them due to the hard time they may have had in high school.Not only that, the cost of tuition is extremely high. Between 2000–01 and 2010–11, prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions rose 42 percent. Most young adults cannot afford it, especially those who are forced to be on their own after high school. Another challenge that is facing the youth is increasing unemployment rates. In a 2011 news story, BusinessWeek reported, â€Å"More than 200 million people globally are out of work, a record high, as almost two-thirds of advanced economies and half of developing countries are experiencing a slowdown in employment growth†.Nowadays, most jobs require that you have a high school diploma to work. Not everyo ne finishes high school! Many students in previous years are satisfied with a GED. These young adults with GED’s have now encountered a problem with job finding. Due to the economy and state standards, graduation rates are lower, college enrollment is declining, and unemployment rates are increasing. Yes, I definitely agree that in society today, there are several challenges facing the youth.

Individual, State and Society

This essay shall critically comment on two quotations. The first quote is by Margaret Thatcher who said: â€Å"There is no such thing as society, only individuals and their families† and the second quote is by David Cameron who said: â€Å"There is such thing as society: it’s just not the same as the state† To critically comment on these quotes that were stated in a political setting, references shall be made to the political ideologies the subjects held and the context they appeared in will be analyzed.Additionally different political basic ideologies will be named and outlined to give a broader understanding and contrast in the analysis. Furthermore, Plato’s The Republic (360BC) and existentialist Jose Ortega’s Man and People, (1957), shall attempt to lend their wisdom from their philosophical works, to shed some light and give meaning on the complexity of these two quotes. For clarity British conservatism’s history will be looked at closel y. Terms Individual, Society and State are briefly defined now. An individual is generally speaking a person separate from others, with his/her own needs, values and desires.The word originates from Latin in-dividuus, meaning indivisible, referring to a single human being, separate from a group. A society is made up by a collection of individuals. The etymology of the word originates in Latin societas, derived from socius which translates as comrade, friend or ally, indicating relations. It can for instance be such as a group of people, subject to law and political authority, or a group of like-minded people, sharing the same norms and values. Often, therefore, societies are formed, such as medical-, esoteric- or literary- for example.The word society always refers to relations between people – they may share a certain culture, territory, economic, political or social structure. The state can be called an organized, a political community under government: a sovereign state is a public, political entity, recognized in national law. Other words associated with state are machinery, a system, imposition/obligation and polity. Named and outlined below are various different political and social philosophies and ideologies: Communism Is a Latin word derived from communis and means -shared or -belonging to all.The terms communism and socialism are somewhat inter-changeable. These political ideologies followed communist philosopher Karl Marx’s 10-point communist Manifesto from 1845, he was quoted in saying; â€Å"Workers of the world, unite, you have nothing to loose, but your chains. † Marx was interested in building a free society without division or alienation. He believed this could only be achieved by a revolution seeking to overthrow capitalism and to have state ownership by the means of production –this in short meant the dictatorship of the proletariat.The aim in mind was for the working class to replace the exploiter class and to cr eate equality, a no-class system, abolishing privatization, with re-distribution of land and production. A good example of the workings of Communism, as efforts in co-operation, would be a Kibbutz, mirroring a microcosm of this ideology. Well known communist leaders and dictators of a serious nature and totalitarians, were Mao Zedong and Stalin for instance. Socialism Latin in origin, sociare translates as -to share.The older view of communism and socialism was built on 5 tenets: Stress on community, cooperation, equality, social class and common ownership. Marx had ideas about balancing the material and the moral and also said: â€Å"From each according to his ability to each according to his need. † Socialists are reformers and believe if the structure of society changes, things will change, similar to the beliefs held by Marxist Terry Eaglton. Socialism is about the group, having a collective, a solidarity and brotherhood, with no individual advantage.An evil in society to a socialist goes back to the structure of the society, rather than an individual. Socialists’ ideologies are concerned with outcome and what we can become, a somewhat utopian idea. Socialism and communism collapsed between 1989 and 1991. Nowadays socialism is democratic labourism; often associated with trade unions – seen defending workers’ rights. Liberalism Etymologically speaking the term derives from Latin liber- translating as -free. Liberals, next to favoring free market trade, also believe in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all.As an enlightenment movement it started in Europe with Gladstone in 1868 (first lib. PM) leading the revolution, seeking to reform and change, arguing we can all get to the top, by basing your conviction on your own reason. Liberals challenged the Monarchy holding all powers and money and this time became known as the age of reason, associated with the slogan â€Å" Don’t behold to class. â €  On the political ideology’s spectrum liberalism is somewhere in the middle between left, communism, and right, fascism.This ideology grew out of the collapse of communism and socialism, belonging to the post-modern (industrialist) era and is also known as Anarcho–Capitalism, marking middle ground between authority and liberty. Thereafter the middle-class was born. Democratic liberals stand for government action to achieve equal opportunity and support democracy. They maintain it is the government’s duty to alleviate social dysfunction and to protect civil liberties including individual and human rights.The liberal government’s policy should ideally ensure that no individual is in need and also if problems arise theirs is the duty to solve problems. Somewhat opposing this concept is their own policy that the state should not interfere in personal lives, as it needs to be a policy of individualism. Justice for a liberal means equal opportunity, like h ealth-care for instance. Additionally liberals are also committed to pluralism and multi-culturalism. Ideally tolerant, a liberal’s motto is; â€Å" I detest what you’re saying, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. Liberals prime motivator is the pleasure of profit and the gathering of one’s own self-interest. Unlike Socialist, liberals see themselves separate from the state and are not primarily concerned with the common good or society. F. F. Y. said: â€Å"You can’t be a liberalist without being a capitalist. † John Locke defined 3 fundamental rights of Liberalism which are: Life, liberty and property and Stuart Mill remarked that this idea can become a license and that it can only be restrained if someone’s liberty is threatened.Hence Liberalism can easily dissolve into Egoism and severe greed, on a positive note, it may encourage the flourishing of an individual, though. Negative liberty, as reflected in European auster ity measures presently or Ireland’s Budget 2012 for example, would be freedom from the constraints of freedom. Here a list close to the values of a liberalism’s vision: Capitalism, no intervention/regulation in economy, anti-racism, anti-capital punishment, anti-weapon bearing, pro-environment, pro-euthanasia, pro- abortion, pro-immigration, pro U.N. , pro-War on Terror, pro-welfare. Fascism (is here listed before Conservatism, but follows Conservatism on the political spectrum from extreme left to extreme right) facses derives from Latin and means -bundle of rods, and symbolically speaking it depicts strengths of unity. Fascism is an anti-democratic, political system with a supreme leader exercising dictatorship. Hitler and Mussolini are examples of fascist leadership. Their ideologies are radical, authoritarian and nationalist in nature.The community is viewed as an organic entity and bonded by nationality, ancestry, culture and blood. As a state it is totalitarian, with only one party ruling. The leader holds sole power and oversees the fascist movement, government and other state institutions. Opposition is not tolerated and always suppressed. Fascists, in order to keep their ideologies running, anything out of their norm, such as ideas, people and systems undermining the norm or become, as they view it, the cause of decadence or degeneration, are purged and gotten rid off.Fascism promotes violence and war to overthrow other political systems, thus is militarism in nature. It’s almost anti everything, it opposes class based identity and society, is anti-bourgeois, anti-proletarian and anti- individualist based identity and society. In Nazi Germany, for instance, this system became known as â€Å"The Third Way†. Economically speaking, it therefore contests capitalism and socialism and is in policy a state directed-regulated economy against the power of money. Social welfare is not tolerated, as it would support â€Å" the weakâ € , as Hitler believed.Generally fascism holds dark, radical ideas on culture, sex and sexuality, also concerning abortion, eugenics and euthanasia. Virtues valued by fascists are action, discipline, hierarchy, spirit and will. It claims to seek positive transformation in society believes in education, spiritual renovation (anti-clerical) and fosters the will to dominate in a united national identity. (*Although a general outline of fascism was given, fascism’s ideology can be hard to define, as it mixes doctrines of left and right) Conservatism The term originates from the Latin word conservare, meaning -to preserve.Conservatism is a political and social philosophy with a belief that it is generally considered best practice in keeping traditional institutions and advocates changes in society in a gradual and slow manner. As Conservatives value stability and continuity by preserving things as they are, they tend to oppose modernism. Conservatism, though, can differ in poli cies depending which country or continent it is practiced in or on. Largely speaking, Conservatives support personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, and empowerment of the individual to solve problems to pursue their own goals.A list of their general policies looks like this: Anti-abortion, education according to ability, anti-racism, pro capital punishment, free market economy, privatization, school vouchers, support nuclear power and oil-drilling, prohibit euthanasia, non-belief in climate changes, pro-arm bearers, private healthcare, pro-homeland security screening, anti-immigration (only legal), pro-private property rights, oppose long-term welfare. For simplicity and relevance this essay shall stick with, and outline British Conservatism, as our quoted subjects in this essay, Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron, both belong to this party.Development of British Conservatism was as follows: Irishman Edmund Burke, a Wig at source (opposed to Monarchism) became kn own as the father of Conservatism (Tory Party – a hierarchal society/ ruling by divine right). The British Conservatives of the early 19th century were rural landowners of Anglican confession; they were royals by association, possessed property and adhered to their beliefs that were to follow an established social order and the existing conventions.However, a little time later the aristocracy’s belief-system was challenged, as the industrial elite, consisting of rich businessmen, called for revolution, sought power and thereby threatened the established social order. Negotiations followed and Robert Peel reconciled the two opposing parties in 1846 with the â€Å"Corn-law† repeal. The aristocrats, longing to return to their medieval ideas and the business class, favoring laissez-faire capitalism, managed to form a coalition, meaning the prior kept their status quo and the latter got their free trade policies.Now the Conservative party was made up of Royals, tradi tional landowners and industrialists. Prime, Benjamin Disraeli, a medieval romantic at heart, foresaw an alienated industrial proletariat with this new coalition and formed a new political ideology in form of the â€Å"One Nation† policy, which is still in practice today and supported numerous social reforms since. The idea behind the new policy was to return to an organic society whereby each and everyone should have duties towards other people or groups.Remarkably, Disraeli, who was a conservative, not a Marxist, aimed to unite the aristocracy, the middle and the working class, the latter he tried to shield from being exploited. The 1920’s saw the liberal movement collapse, as labour ascended. During WW2 the conservatives aligned with labour, however, it was more a pragmatic move to fight the war, than a love affair. From the 1950s to the mid 1970s in usage were progressive broadly pro-labour and semi- socialistic policies by successive British governments, including conservative ones.Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the Conservative Party in 1979 and remained in office until 1990. With her leading the party, a dramatic shift occurred in British conservatism with a big movement towards free market economic policies. Privatization of state owned industries became commonplace during her time. She was described as a classical- radical- liberalist, inconsistent with the concept of conservatism in the U. K. – it is often believed her policies challenged and confronted traditional institutions and rocked philosophies of the elite and the old British, established social order in general.Her politics became known as Thatcherism, termed by Stuart Mill. Thatcher’s policies largely remained as they are until today and anti-trade union legalization is still in place. After various Prime Minister’s in the U. K. , David Cameron, known to be a neo-liberalist, heading the Conservative Party, is now Prime Minister and his party is in coalition with liberal-democrat’s Nick Clegg. Looking back, in terms of supply-side economics and many countries copying Thatcher’s then successful model of free market policies, Margaret Thatcher’s Thatcherism has its critics.On another note, some disagree strongly with the idea that she was a radical neo-liberalist, opposing the established, for they argued that she didn’t challenge the monarchy, but only recent additions to British politics instead, which were the trade unions. The mentioning of her name nowadays still remains in people’s minds with strong associations of this bit, â€Å"standing up to the trade unions. † Her opponents would comment she was a monetarist, controlling inflation, not unemployment – the latter doubled during her first 2 years in office.A possibly strong argument, as, during her term as prime minister, she ran a stern government/state, restraining labour movement, local authorities and trade unions. Thatcher also joined the House of Lords and was rather conservative regarding morality, as an anti-gay supporter, she was also known to have defended capitalism and free market policies by saying that we all had a choice and was once heard to have given a rather unsympathetic theological address at a religious ceremony where she cited St Paul by saying, ‘if a man will not work, he shall not eat’.At the end of her term, 30% of children were regarded as living below the poverty line. As prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher received many labels during her time but of all, she was never labeled something as sweet as â€Å"Queen of Hearts†, the title people loving, tragic Diana received for instance, and this following quote may explain why, as Mrs. Thatcher said: â€Å"There is no such thing as society, only individuals and their families† Unemployment in the U. K. post Thatcher had minimized for a while and more han 20 years later with David Cameron leading the conservatives as their Prime Minister nothing much has changed in political ideologies of the conservative party. While it was trade-union issues then, it’s become the middle-class issues now. Britain presently faces various issues it tries to tackle, such as stronger tax increases on the middle-class, over-dependency on the public sector, mass-unemployment and welfare concerns, budget deficits and the European crisis.However their likeable, observant new leader David Cameron, a Tory, is reputed to be much more of a people’s person than Thatcher was, delivering rhetorically fine and caring speeches for all. During the recent riots in London, Mr. Cameron commented in a news report that society was in trouble, by saying there were pockets of society not only broken, but sick and he further elaborated and explained that causes for the riots, as he saw it, were a complete lack of responsibility in our society and that he felt, people felt they are owed somethin g.Some are impressed by and praise Mr. Cameron’s passionate and determined involvement, despite being a Tory leader, on social issues, such as his recent project Big Society bank and others feel his recent proposal to privatize and save the NHS, by opening it up for private scientific investors to carry out patient research within, doesn’t add up, regarding his general display of sensitivity, warmth and care for pressing societal issues.This apparent division in policy and inconsistency in his actions, is also reflected in his speech when he said: â€Å"There is such thing as society: it’s just not the same as the state. † 20th century liberalist, existentialist philosopher and journalist Ortega might have had a minute of sympathy for Margaret Thatcher’s somewhat heartless, â€Å"-individuals-† remark and also for receiving such public criticism regarding the trade union issues, as he said in his Man and People, (1957): ‘There is striv e and struggle at the heart of all social relationships. Aristotle would have argued this and would have accused Mrs. Thatcher of acting unjust and unfairly regarding her single-minded political ideology, by trying to reason and appeal to her higher, contemplative nature, he might have attempted to convince her that man is a social animal and needs others. Ortega partly agreeing on contemplation, would have possibly come to Mrs. Thatcher’s defense by saying: â€Å"Man is naturally unsociable, man wants to leave, flee from it. † Plato would have grilled Mr. Cameron on the danger of having charitable Big Society ideas.Plato might have attempted to curb big-hearted, spirited Mr. Cameron a little, by indicating that heroism and self-sacrifice are dual and could lead to tyranny and anger at the sight of injustice. Ortega, regarding the incident with the rioters, which had upset Mr. Cameron in terms of lack of responsibility people nowadays have, would have maybe offered ano ther existentialist interpretation concerning irresponsible rioters, by suggesting that we all lived in our own world and wanted freedom from responsibility.Plato, the philosopher king and Socrates’s friend and pupil, wrote his own intellectual autobiography The Republic 2025 years ago. The booklet, written by Plato in disillusionment, after Athenian democracy failed, was to be the ideal blueprint for society, in the text Plato holds dialogues in form of Socrates with the sophists. The aim of Plato’s dialogues was to harmonize individual and city. The main themes occupying the dialogues are the questions: What is justice and how can we achieve happiness (eudaimonia) in the city.Plato was the first person in history to set up an academy in 386BC, as he was passionate teaching philosophy to statesmen, educating them. Surely Plato would not have been happy with Mrs. Thatcher’s and Mr. Cameron’s quotes. Had he been around, he might have helped them descend fr om their Toryian thrones and lead them down, down, down to the the low, low, low and mean streets of East London, to face their own daemons, in order to order their souls!As Plato in his dialogues argued that in order to give a transcendent vision, and he gave an analogy for this in The Republic symbolically speaking -from the Acropolis (heaven) to Piraeus (seedy harbor district of Athens’s), one needs to go down and descend into their dark, murky waters of the psyche to face and confront their own inner hell first and remove shackles of the past, as it is only then that one can ascend with a transcended vision to lead a polis (society). According to Plato, and psychoanalyst Freud (descend) and Franklin (ascend) would have agreed with him, only souls (individuals) that had gone through this particular ransformation process first, would make up a well functioning society – based on good mental health, consisting of truth, goodness and beauty. Regarding Mr. Cameron and M rs. Thatcher’s quotes then, instead of rhetoric (sophistry) Plato would have expected wisdom (sophia) and an ability to articulate a transcendent vision from the rulers of Britain’s Conservative party, as he may have otherwise suspected their political system to fail, just like the sophists Athenian democracy did, 2025 years ago.In The Republic, which he wrote in homage to Socrates, who died for truth and justice, Plato maintained that there is no justice to be expected, unless rulers become philosophers and philosophers become statesman. This essay attempted to critically comment on two quotes made by two of Britain’s Prime Ministers. An analysis of British conservatism’s ideology and their party’s history was drawn up and explained, and possible views to the meaning and interpretations of these two quotes, in the light of philosophy and politics, were offered. Terms and different political ideologies in general were also outlined. .

Synopsis of a Contemporary Strategic Issue Essay

Synopsis of a Contemporary Strategic Issue - Essay Example innacle of Japanese innovation, very recently, Toyota has had to recall 8m vehicles due to â€Å"unintended acceleration† (The Economist, Feb 11, 2010). Toyota Prius (the hybrid vehicle) has developed problem with brake pedals that refuse to open (The Economist, Feb 9, 2010) and 440,000 vehicles would have to be called back. The firm’s reputation for quality on which the organization was built has been shattered. Toyota is busy chasing volumes at almost any price. Its global market share has fallen to 11.8% from 13.1% (Appendix A). The business environment is currently turbulent and according to Ansoff, to survive and succeed in an industry the firm must be able to match the aggressiveness of its operating and strategic behaviours (Thompson & Martin, 2005). The business environment is characterized by several factors and the resources of the organization and the values must be congruent to the needs of the environment. Changeability of the market environment- the current market is turbulent due to global economic downturn. Besides, due to the large amount of vehicle recall, Toyota’s market capitalization has dropped. The cost of recall is $2bn dollars (The Economist, Feb 9, 2010). Globalization, individualizations, digitalization and increasing competition have increased the speed at which change is taking place in the industry (Jain & Garg, 2010). The car makers can now expand to new markets a fast pace. Fertility of technology: The firm has always prided itself in being leaders in innovation but the cars rolled out recently have problems with brakes. The floor mats are badly fitted. All these suggest that the organization has to rethink its outsourcing policies. Toyota has depended on several layers of suppliers which has helped them to reduce the costs (SD, 2006) but they need to take note that most of the accelerator pedals were supplied by American parts-maker (The Economist, Feb 11, 2010). However, many automakers use the same suppliers and a domino