The Problem with Polygamy in Indonesia Essay Example for Free

The Problem with Polygamy in Indonesia Essay Introduction Polygamy in Indonesia is legal. A man is permitted to have as many as four wives under the Muslim law. But Despite the low incident of polygamy in Indonesia, it has been a central issue in relations between the Indonesia women, and the state in the twentieth century. Indonesia women’s organizations have long wanted the state to legislate on this matter, yet it was most reluctant to do so until the passage of the marriage Law in 1974. After that the fire went out of the issue as far as women’s organizations were concerned, although â€Å"in very recent years† there has been a revival of interest. With respect to marital status, the census report stated that â€Å"among Indonesians† 75% of the adults’ males, and 68% of the adults’ females were married. However the number of married females was higher than the number of married adult males. The difference, amounting to 424,588 persons was in part due to the existence of polygamy. For Indonesia, approximately 25 % of the men had more than one wife (Salim 9). Why Polygamy Is Considered Wrong In Indonesia Indonesia women’s concern about polygamy are a complex mixture, touching on economic, emotional, social, sexual, moral, legal and religious aspect of marriage. The core of women’s concern was the threat of polygamy to a wife’s love and self esteem. Men have been given power to do what they want yet women are the ones suffering. When a husband took what is almost a younger girl as a new wife, repugnance at having to share a husbands sexual life with another women, and the threat to the economic basis of marriage when resources had to be spread amongst more wives and children. Women in a polygamous marriage always feel inferior towards other women in the same marriage and it often lead to jealousy, frustration and at times death (Day 28-29). Why Some Women Still Prefer Polygamy Relationships Some women still prefer polygamous relationship, if the man they are involved is a person of high position in a society. Sometimes you will hear women saying that it’s better to be married as a third wife to a rich man than a first wife to a poor man. That’s why at times you find women getting into these unions, maybe because of money, or a high position that a man holds. Women have been known to be associated in this form of relationship without caring. We can conclude that this mostly happens due to marriage security purposes (Survival). Better incomes would mean that these women could get married according to their choice and reduce the economic pressure experienced by women and children in polygamous marriages. Is Polygamy Related To Gender Discrimination In Indonesia? Ant-polygamist in Indonesia view polygamy as fundamentally undemocratic institution that perpetuates the subordination of women to men, and violates women’s basic rights. Unlike other issues, polygamy touches on a range of issues relating to gender difference, most particularly that of power within marriage. The practice of multiple marriages occurs only in families where the husband holds tremendous power, while the wife and children are in a powerless position. In other words, it is seen as a form of violence against women and children, and that Indonesia law continues to discriminate against women in allowing polygamy to exist in any form. Why should a man be privileged to have more than one legal sexual partner while women were prevented to have more than one legal sexual partner? Women in these relationships are also prevented from getting out of this relationship in case of violence, due to lack of immediate access to divorce (Susan 110-113). Conclusion Throughout the years, education and legal reforms have been regarded by most interested parties as the best ways of dealing with the problems associated with polygamy. They are viewed as the best in addressing the social causes and consequences. Since the state is heavily involved in education and legislation, it clearly has a role to play in dealing with the polygamy menace. Work Cited Day, Tony. Identifying with Freedom: Indonesia after Suharto. New York: Berghahn Books, 2007. Print. Susan Blackburn. Women and the State in Modern Indonesia. UK: Cambridge University Press 2004 .print Salim, Arskal. Sharia and Politics in Modern Indonesia. Singapore: Inst. of Southeast Asian Studies, 2003. Print.

McDonalds Operation Management

McDonalds Operation Management In todays business environment, operations management is used by companies not only to be competitive, but also to ensure that their objectives are met at a cheapest cost. This will consist of a set of planned activities that would convert various inputs into goods and services. This report provides an analysis of McDonalds and organisations Operations Management, Operational Strategy, process and product design, Supply Chain Management, inventory control, JIT and Total Quality Management which include all the different processes and techniques to enhance the value of products and services that McDonalds provide to its customers at the acceptable cost. McDonalds is the global fast-food service retailer. The company have more than 32,000 restaurants and serve more than 60 million people in more than 100 countries every day. More than 80% of McDonalds restaurants worldwide are franchised and operated by local people. When Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant they developed the idea of an assembly line where a reduced menu could be cooked cheaper and quicker, which would lead to a higher turnover of customers. The history of McDonalds began with founder, Ray Kroc. He managed the franchising of the McDonalds restaurant concept. By 1961 Ray Kroc was running the whole plan. The only thing the McDonald brothers did was run their one restaurant, and receive 0.5% from the larger company. The expansion of the McDonalds brand was not something they were really interested in. Ray Kroc, on the other hand, was. He wanted to put a McDonalds restaurant in every state in America which he eventually did. Kroc took over McDonalds company, at a cost of 2.7 million dollars. Anyone who wanted to open a McDonalds restaurant had to pay Kroc around a thousand dollars and then 1.9% from the annual takings of the restaurant. He then passed 0.5% of the takings onto the McDonald brothers and kept the other 1.4%. It is estimated that if the McDonalds had continued to receive their 0.5% it would have been worth around two hundred million dollars by the year 2000. The McDonalds chain has not been without its problems. There was the famous McLibel case the longest running libel case in British legal history. Also the discovery that some beef products were used in the preparation of their french fries, which resulted in the company paying compensation of 10 million dollars to Hindus, Sikhs, and vegetarians. There have been various criticisms of the McDonalds Corporation, ranging from the source of their meat, to the treatment of workers in the restaurants (BBC, 2005). McDonalds Restaurants UK Limited is owned subsidiary of the U.S. parent company and opened its first UK restaurant in Woolwich in 1974. There are now 1,200 restaurants operating in the UK which, despite representing only 4% of the total number of McDonalds restaurants worldwide, contribute 7% of global profits, making the UK a very important financial market for McDonalds shareholders. (McDonalds Corporation, 2008) This report will present the operational strategy of McDonalds and also how the processes and products are designed in the company. Furthermore the report explains the flow of materials and information between the operations within the McDonalds supply chain and also what type of inventory management is used in the Company, moreover report underlines importance of lean management, just-in-time and other systems that are incorporated in the Company. In addition report introduces Total Quality Management and its importance within McDonalds operational process. 3. Operational Strategy Operations strategy concerns the pattern of strategic decisions and actions which set the role, objectives and activities of the operation. (Slack et al, 2004. p.67) The main objective of company in the operational area is that the production process was as effective as possible. In other words, when using the same assets the company produce the maximum amount of high quality product which satisfies customers. Companies can achieve these results through the use of tools such as: reducing costs, improving product quality, punctual delivery, speed of response, product flexibility in adapting to individual customer requirements, resistance to fluctuations in demand, advanced technology and excellent customer service. The listed tools relate to the operational strategies, which by focusing on the production process on certain key elements can give a measurable competitive advantage. To achieve these objectives McDonalds create a balance between customers needs and minimising waste. Demand is forecasted and stock is controlled so that products do not have to be thrown repeatedly. McDonalds is a global company, but they operate locally. Currently, McDonalds wants to be perceived as a modern company that cares about customers and ecology. They offer fast-serve meals, such as: breakfast, salads, vegetables and dairy products. In their restaurants people can buy regional products, including Rice burgers served in Taiwan, Japan shrimp, coconut milk in Brazil. 3a.Three dimensions of operational strategy process Value: McDonalds sells nearly millions of burgers every day. Jobs are systematic and repetitive in everyday processes. In order to produce so many burgers every employee have assigned particular job in which they have to ensure that the quality and taste of the products is the same all the time. Varieties: McDonalds offer a wide choice of menu items such as: breakfasts, salads, fruits and vegetables and also kids meals to satisfy customers demands. McDonalds menu concentrates on five main ingredients: beef, chicken, bread, potatoes and milk. The main menu items are: the Big Mac and French fries which is one of the main sellers along with local offers and new products that consumers want. Whether its McWraps in Europe, Angus Burgers in Australia, or McCafà © specialty coffees and smoothies in the U.S., company is strategically enhancing menu to attract new customers. Variations McDonalds process is so well organized that it can meet the changing capacity, anticipation for what the customer might demand, ensuring flexibility. Demand for products are calculated using store-specific historic product mix data from the last two years, store-specific and national causal factors for example dates of events such as national promotions and school holidays, information from store managers about factors that might affect demand, e.g. road closures or local events and promotions. 3b. Performance objectives Performance objectives are related to operational processes and their basic function of fulfilling customers needs. There are five performance objectives: Quality Most customers are looking for high quality. Every organisation wants to provide error free products for their customers and gain competitive advantage. Quality objective leads to certain actions and policies in operations to provide a service that the customer wants. McDonalds serves a variety of nutritious, high-quality food products including salads, fruits, and vegetables. At McDonalds the employees are trained to prepare and present meals according to very specific procedures that are strictly enforced, especially in the preparation and handling of raw and cooked products. For example, the ten-minute holding time for sandwiches ensures maximum quality and freshness to each customer. This means that if the products are not sold within ten minutes from the time of their preparation, they are discarded. McDonalds meets all the hygiene specifications, including hand-washing procedures. McDonalds succeed on the feedback from the customers to continuously improve the quality service. Speed: Speed is all about how long customers wait before receiving their service organisation increasing the availability of their products or services if the waiting time is minimised. The Operations process is so well designed at McDonalds that every customer who comes is served quickly. The company have preparation time set for burger and other menu items so that the order is delivered within 3-4 minutes. Even during the busy hours the staff members ensure that the order is delivered on time to the customer. Dependability: An organisations processes have to consistently meet a promised delivery time for a product or service. McDonalds has a more dependable process for the customers by offering the meals on time. They have qualified workers to deliver products on time every one of them have assigned particular job. McDonalds has predictable opening hours during the weekdays and weekends, the products on the menu are available constantly during any time of the day. Flexibility: Refers to elasticity of the processes and change in the variety of products or services making operations more flexible to changes in customer requirements. As customer tastes change, McDonalds needs to increase the range of new products it offers. McDonalds offers a lot of flexibility to meet customer preferences. It offers a balanced collection of culturally relevant menu items in the markets, for both adults and kids and is maximizing the choices. McDonalds has a multiple trained staff in order to be flexible. It maintains shift based system of work among the crew members allowing them to be flexible enough in the work they do. Cost: Refers to minimizing the cost of the process, leading to a cheaper service. The best way of lowering cost is to focus on the customer requirements i.e. fulfilling the quality objective in both product design and operation, as a way of eliminating rework and waste. Operations should focus on getting the supplied service right. It should be also co-ordinated with processes like information systems which help reduce errors. McDonalds have a well planned cost control strategy. The restaurant has a well established low cost supply chain. They adopted Just-In-time strategy that reduces the cost of unnecessary storage and waste. Food can be sold at a lower price because the price does not absorb the costs of unsold food. Ultimately this means lower costs for McDonalds. They ensure efficiency and speed in distribution and very good food processing technology system. McDonalds has employed the value meal strategy which allows customers to buy a sandwich, French fries, and drink at a discount when purchased together. Thus, it is observed that all operations objectives are connected. If quality is improved, cost is also reduced, thus time is also improved and which in turn leads to more flexibility. Thus by starting with quality, along with time reduction the other objectives are directly attacked by taking unique actions for that objective, as needed. Hence, a series of such actions will then result in continuous improvement of all four operations objectives at the same time. (Schroder, 2007 p. 24-25) 3c. PEST Analysis: The success of any organisation depends upon the various external and internal factors which are beyond the control of an organisation. These factors are called Environmental factors. These environmental factors basically include four areas namely Political, Economical, Social and Technological and the analysis of these factors is called PEST analysis. To overcome the problems created by these factors the businesses come up with various strategies. Political Factors: Politics play very important roles in the functioning of the business. It is very important for a firm to know the existing political factor within it is operating. What sort of laws and legislation exist in the country and what are the future prospects. This is quite important to know because these factors will determine the strategy required to sustain and work without problems. Government policy can have a major impact on the operation of a business. The political and public debate on obesity and other health issues negatively affected fast food sales. In recent years, McDonalds has been facing legal trials of possibility in breaking the health legislation by providing unhealthy foods to customers. This had made some damage to McDonalds image. However, McDonalds has already been trying to introduce healthier foods on its menu such as salads, fruits and milk for the kids. Economic Factors: Similarly it is important for a firm to know the economy of the country it is operating within. The factors like unemployment, minimum wages, exchange rate, interest rate, economic growth inflation rate etc are quite important for a firm to know. Economic factors might affect it. If the economy of the country is not good then the number of McDonalds customers can decrease. Economic factor can influence the potential profit of a business. One of the economical forces which may influence McDonalds is the change in interest rate. Most of McDonalds restaurants are franchises, therefore, franchisees would suffer on their borrowing if interest rate increases. Social Factors: Social factors include the demographic and cultural aspects of the environment. Social factors play important role in a business. The business has got to respect the culture it is operating in. For example it cannot sell beef products in a hindu community and pork products in a Muslim community. Apart from that the business has got to know the taste and preference of its customers. The fast food industry has been hit by negative publicity in recent years due to the increasing amount of diabetes, unhealthy food and childhood obesity. In order to overcome the problems, McDonalds has been introducing healthier foods and educational programmes to bring a healthier environment. McDonalds also has been heavily contributed in the charity events in order to make contribution to the society. Technological Every organisation must monitor developments in technology. These can affect the production methods employed by the organisation. Due to the increasing importance of internet, regional planners work with restaurants and by communicating with them on a regular basis via email and telephone. McDonalds also have a friendly use website with more details and information available 4. Process design Process design is the process by which some functional requirements of people are satisfied through the shaping or configuration of the resources and/or activities that comprise a product, or a service, or the transformation process that produces them (Slack et al 2004, p.94). The process should be designed to deliver the products in the best possible way. Before design the process every manager should ask some questions, e.g. what process should give to customers? How much flexibility do customers want? How much will they pay for the products? (Waters 1999, p. 65). Each restaurant is headed by a Restaurant manager who is responsible for the daily operation and customer interaction. The crew members carry out the basic operation at the restaurant and ensure the customer satisfaction. The Process at McDonalds starts with the customer order and then after receiving the order, the design must be completed and delivered. With this operations process, McDonalds aims to be able to deliver a reasonable product within reasonable time. The nature of the work is to provide customers ordered products within few minutes. The order placed by the customer is taken by one of the crew members operating at the tills, as the order is entered into till, a message is passed on to the appropriate crew member in the kitchen for the preparation of the order. In food preparation McDonalds have their own strategy and standards; the Crew members cook burgers on a grill that heat both sides of the burger in a little less than four minute where the Patties are batch cooked in advance. The hamburger buns toaster time is slightly less than one minute to give it a brown texture and slightly crusty, the assembling of hamburger is done by laying out the toasted bottom, spread mayonnaise, add grilled beef, on top lettuce and onions close it with the toasted top and is wrapped and placed into the Universal cabinet ready to be sold to customers. Finally the customer is asked for the mode of payment to complete the transaction. The process flow in McDonalds: Customer order Toast bread product Cook frozen products Place product in packaging Add ingredients Holding Cabinet (Wrapped burgers are kept max 10min) Delivery to the Customer Having a well planned process design, McDonalds is able to produce and service including customers specification maintaining their quality, reduce the customer waiting time at the counters. They have dependable crew members and resource for on-time delivery of products and service. The flexibility is achieved by processing a wide variety of products and changing the cost of the items and lowers their processing costs by eliminating waste in terms of preparing the burgers in bulk. 5. Product design The objective of designing products and services is to satisfy customers by meeting their needs and expectations. This enhances the competitive advantage of company (Slack et al, 2004 p.129) McDonalds product design concentrates on maintaining consistency in how products are prepared as well as what raw-food components are used. They serve a variety of products, sandwiches with beef, fish, and chicken products, menu also include salads, fruits and dairy products. The quality is ensured through standardized and careful employee training efforts. The Company frequently introduce new products and a reason for this is that customers are demanding more choice. McDonalds menu concentrates on five main ingredients: beef, chicken, bread, potatoes and milk. The companys main menu lists is offering: the Big Mac and French fries, which still exists as a major seller. A Big Mac consists of a bun, two beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, sauce and a small amount of seasoning. The restaurant will only combine these items just before the customer orders. Other standard product names come from the McDonalds convention of adding a Mc to a particular item. Although McDonalds is a global company, they operate locally. In restaurants people may buy regional products, including Rice burgers served in Taiwan, Japan shrimp and coconut milk in Brazil. Ethical considerations about product design could be that in order to minimise the negative comments about unhealthy food, increased amount of diabetes and obesity among children the Company introduced healthier foods in their menu. They purchase from suppliers that ensure the health and safety of their employees and the humane treatment of animals. The company is also trying to minimise the impact on environment. 6. Supply chain management Supply chain management is the management of the interconnection of organisations that relate to each other through upstream and downstream linkages between the different processes that produce value in the form of products and services to the final consumer (Slack et al, 2004, p. 445). SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING AND CONTROL Coordinated delivery of products and services from the supply chain Demand The market Customer requirements Supply The operation Operations resources Required time, quantity and quality of products an services Figure 1. Supply Chain planning and control Supply chain management is concerned with managing the flow of materials and information between the operations, which form the strands chains of a supply network. (Slack et al,2004, p. 444). McDonalds ensures its suppliers follow the exact standards of quality, value and cleanliness set by them. When it comes to tracing the products ingredients, great emphasis is placed, so McDonalds are able to control every link in the supply chain. Wherever possible, McDonalds tries to use suppliers who are based in the UK, as they prefer them, but saying this, they still have to meet McDonalds exact product and hygiene standards. All of their European sold beef is supplied from Europe and the great majority of their British sold beef is sourced from Britain. McDonalds has developed a supplier quality index (SQI) by which all suppliers are measured. It allows the company to monitor performance of suppliers across the many agricultural and non-agricultural products and services purchased (Food Chain Centre, 2003). In 2004, McDonalds introduced a specialist central stock management function known as the Restaurant Supply Planning Department. This team communicates with restaurant managers on a regular basis to find out about local events. The team builds these factors into the new planning and forecasting system called Manugistics to forecast likely demand of finished menu items, for example Big Macs. Raw materials include the buns, beef patties, paper cups, salad ingredients and packaging are delivered to the restaurants between 3 and 5 times a week. At any time, a restaurant will have a range of products ready for sale, for example Big Macs, fish and side salads. At McDonalds, all raw materials, work-in-progress and finished products are handled on a First In, First Out (FIFO) basis. This means raw materials are used in the order they are received. Therefore stock is always fresh because products are sold in the order they are made. Ongoing communication between the central Restaurant Supply Planning team and individual restaurants helps to manage the stock more effectively. This team of regional planners works with around 80 restaurants each and communicates with them on a regular basis via email and telephone. Any factors that could affect the number of customers visiting an individual restaurant need to be logged with the team. These are taken into account in calculating the forecasts. Supply Planners work with the stock control system, to ensure enough raw materials leave the McDonalds distribution centres. This ensures that restaurants can produce the meals required for the level of demand forecasted. Supply Planners working for McDonalds include range of causal factors in the calculation of their forecasts, so that based on past performance they can predict future demand for each restaurant. McDonalds Restaurant Managers need to ensure that the data they enter into the system is as accurate as possible. For example, each day Restaurant Managers record opening and closing stocks of key food items. They record all other items weekly (McDonalds Corporation, 2008). Vertical integration the degree to which an operation chooses to own the network of processes that produce a product or service. The strategy of expanding on the supply side of the network is called backward (upstream) vertical integration, and expanding on the demand side is called forward (downstream) vertical integration (Slack et al, 2004 p. 169, 779). McDonalds has practiced a backward (upstream) vertical integration, by replacing most of its suppliers. It has done so for two reasons, 1) To reduce costs, and 2) To ensure that they make top quality products. One of the coffee suppliers of the Company is Distant Lands which have its own coffee farm. In this example vertical integration reduces the risk of delayed delivery (dependability). 7. Inventory management Controls Inventory planning and control compensates for the differences in timing between the supply of an operations products and services and the demand for them (Slack et al 2004, p. 405). There are 5 types of inventory: BUFFER INVENTORY compensates rapid variations in supply and demand. ANTICIPATION INVENTORY is used when changes in demand are big but relatively predictable. It is also used when supply changes are large. DE-COUPLING INVENTORY creates the chance for independent scheduling and processing speeds between process stages. PIPE LINE INVENTORY exists because material cannot be transported right away between the point of supply and the point of demand. CYCLE INVENTORY occurs when one or more stages in the process cannot supply all the items it produces at the same time (Slack et al 2004 p.411-412). McDonalds method of keeping burger lanes full during peak periods is a recognizable example of a pull system in a service application. McDonalds has made billions of hamburgers using elements of just-in-time, from the time of order from the customers to the payment from them; the burgers or the meals are ready to be consumed. If they are later than the time ordered, customers will be dissatisfied. So it is important for McDonalds to use the JIT process in order to keep quality and satisfied customers. Just-in-time means producing goods and services exactly when they are needed. Lean production system is the western term for Toyota Production System. Lean operations and just-in-time planning and control aim to meet demand right away, with perfect quality and no waste. Lean operation means waste elimination in order to create operation that is faster, more dependable and that produces high quality products and also operates at low costs (Slack et al 2004 p. 518, 519). There are two major pillars of lean production system. One is Just-in-Time system and other is Kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese term for continuous improvement involving everyone managers and workers alike. Kanban is a Japanese term for card or signal, it controls the transfer of materials between the stages of operation. (Slack et al, 2004 p. 533, 653) McDonalds use lean production system and minimise waste by accurate stock management and by developing correct demand forecasts so that products do not have to be discarded. McDonalds is an example of a JIT system, they doesnt begin to cook its orders until a customer has placed an order. McDonalds is able to make their products fast enough thanks to technology they use, eg. bun toaster. The Company provide fast service and at the same time the finished products are not placed in inventory for long time. The major benefit of using just-in-time system for McDonalds are good quality food at a lower cost and also better quality customer service. This higher quality customer service is the ability to actually produce faster. Without this ability, McDonalds ordering costs would be higher because the costs associated with ordering would be the loss of customers tired of ordering fast food that really isnt fast (Atkinson 2005). 8. Total Quality Management (TQM): Total Quality Management is a philosophy of how to approach the organization of quality improvement. This approach puts quality at the heart of everything that is done by an operation and including all the activities within the operation (Slack et al, 2004, p. 722). Feigenbaum defined TQM as; An effective system for integrating the quality development, quality maintenance and quality improvement efforts of the various groups in an organisation, so as to enable production and service at the most economical levels which allow for full customer satisfaction(Cited in Slack et al, 2004, p.720). McDonalds goal is simple: to give customers high quality products anywhere in the world and maintain high standards of service. Every member of the organisation must be involved from the highest executive to the crewmembers of McDonalds. The commitment to quality must be instilled into everyone from the moment they join McDonalds in every dimension of the organisation, e.g. Operation, Finance, Marketing, Human Resources, Health and Safety and Food Safety The basic principles of McDonalds are: 1. Putting the customer first by making sure all customers are fully satisfied with McDonalds, predicting and fulfilling their needs, exceeding their expectations, by using market research to find out what they want, they aim to surprise you with their quality, choice and service and making sure that all service standards are met. 2. Making continuous improvements by reducing costs, maintain good ordering procedures in all restaurants. 3. Aim for zero defects do it right first time, it can be very expensive putting it right afterwards. Prevention is better than cure. This requires rigorous quality testing and control so that defective products are spotted immediately. The advantages of using TQM: Every individual in McDonalds is responsible for quality Quality becomes the focus for all activities Everything McDonalds does is designed to satisfy their customers. This can lead to a greater market share and also increased profit The disadvantages for using this system are: Requires well-trained, responsible staff, this could cost more money for training each employee. Some of the employees can be resistant to change Gives visible effects in the long run 9. Conclusion. Operation management function exists in every organisation. It is concentrating on achieving the processes of transformation of raw materials into a finished product. Moreover effective operation management enhances performance in the process. McDonalds Corporation is one of the most known companies in the world. In their operational strategy company decided to reduce costs, improve product quality, punctual delivery of their product to customers and continuous performance of all operational aspects of company. All departments of organisation and every employee have to work together to ensure that the strategy reaches its objectives. All the processes in McDonalds reflect the needs of the customers and products are designed taking into account high quality, speed of service and cost. McDonalds working together with suppliers that fulfil all the standards of quality set by the company. To satisfy customers needs of fast served quality products their strategy incorporated just-in-time system. As a result the restaurant is serving fresh food in a short time.

Introduction to Atmospheric Modelling

Introduction to Atmospheric Modelling Yazdan M.Attaei ABSTRACT An atmospheric model is a computer program that produces meteorological information for future times at given locations and altitudes. Within any modern model is a set of equations, known as the primitive equations, used to predict the future state of the atmosphere [2]. These equations (along with the ideal gas law) are used to evolve the density, pressure, and potential temperature scalar fields and the air velocity (wind) vector field of the atmosphere through time. The equations used are nonlinear partial differential equations which are impossible to solve exactly through analytical methods, with the exception of a few idealized cases [3]. Therefore, numerical methods are used to obtain approximate solutions. In this work, we study the Heat and Wave equations as two important aspects when studying meteorology and atmospheric modeling. We assume an idealized domain with certain boundary conditions and initial values in order to predict the evolution of temperature and track the wave propagation in the atmosphere. Keywords: Atmospheric model, Finite difference method, Heat equation, Wave equation. Introduction: An atmospheric model is a mathematical model constructed around the full set of primitive dynamical equations (equations for conservation of momentum, thermal energy and mass) which govern atmospheric motions. In general, nearly all forms of the primitive equations relate the five variables n, u, T, P, Q, and their evolution over space and time. The atmosphere is a fluid. Therefore, modelling the atmosphere in fact means the numerical weather prediction which samples the state of the fluid at a given time and uses the equations of fluid dynamics and thermodynamics to estimate the state of the fluid at some time in the future. The model can supplement these equations with parameterizations for diffusion, radiation, heat exchange and convection. The primitive equations are nonlinear and are impossible to solve for exact solutions and numerical methods obtain approximate solutions. Therefore, most atmospheric models are numerical meaning they discretize primitive equations. The horizontal domain of a model is either global, covering the entire Earth, or regional (limited-area), covering only part of the Earth [4]. Some of the model types make assumptions about the atmosphere which lengthens the time steps used and increases computational speed. Global models often use spectral methods for the horizontal dimensions and finite-difference methods for the vertical dimension, while regional models usually use finite-difference methods in all three dimensions. Since the equations used are nonlinear partial differential equations, in order to solve them, boundary conditions and initial values are required. Boundary conditions are specified by the assumptions related to horizontal and vertical domain of study. The equations are initialized from the analysis data and rates of change are determined. These rates of change predict the state of the atmosphere a short time into the future; the time increment for this prediction is called a time step. The equations are then applied to this new atmospheric state to find new rates of change, and these new rates of change predict the atmosphere at a yet further time step into the future. This time stepping is repeated until the solution reaches the desired forecast time. The length of the time step chosen within the model is related to the distance between the points on the computational grid, and is chosen to maintain numerical stability. Time steps for global models are on the order of tens of minutes, while time steps for regional models are between one and four minutes. The global models are run at varying times into the future. Approximating the solution to the partial differential equations for atmospheric flows using numerical algorithms implemented on a computer has been intensively researched since the pioneering work of Prof. John von Neuman in the late 1940s and 1950s. Since Von-Neuman’s numerical experimentation on the first general purpose computer, the processing power of computers has increased at a breath-taking pace. While global models used for climate modeling a decade ago used horizontal grid spacing of order hundreds of kilometers, computing power now permits horizontal resolutions near the kilometer scale. Hence, the range of the scales of motion that next-generation global models will resolve spans from thousands of kilometers (planetary and synoptic scale) to the kilometer scale (meso-scale). Hence, the distinction between global climate models and global weather forecast models is starting to disappear due to the closing of the resolution gap that has historically existed between the two [1]. In this work first we solve two-dimensional heat equation numerically in order to study temperature rate of change which is a part of the equation for the conservation of energy in atmosphere. Two different types of sources (steady state and periodic pulse) are applied to simulate the heat sources for a local (small-scale) domain and the results are illustrated in order to investigate results for the applied boundary and initial value conditions. In the second part of this study, two-dimensional wave equation is solved numerically using finite difference technique and certain boundary and initial value conditions are applied for the small-scale idealized domain. The aim is to study the wave propagation and dissipation along the domain from the results which are illustrated for different types of excitations (standing wave and travelling wave). Overall, the aim of this paper is to show the efficiency of numerical solutions particularly finite difference method for solving primitive equations in atmospheric model. Heat Equation: To study the distribution of heat in the domain, we consider following parabolic partial differential heat equation with thermal diffusivity a; Domain: The idealized 2D domain is a plane of the size unity on each side with the following initial values and boundary conditions; Boundary Conditions (BCs): Dirichlet boundary condition is assumed for all the boundaries except at the regions where the source with T=Ts is taking place; T (0,y)=0 , T(x,0)=0 (except at source) T(1,y)=0 , T(x,1)=0 Initial Values: At time zero, we assume temperature to be zero everywhere except at the region where the source is applied to; Finite Difference Scheme: Heat equation can be discretized using forward Euler in time and 2nd order central difference in space using Taylor series expansions and spatial 5-point stencil illustrated below; Figure 1: Five points stencil finite difference scheme which after simplifying it takes the form; If we apply equal segmentation in both directions so that and rewriting the equation in the explicit form we have; where . For stability of our scheme we need hence; Excitation: In order to observe the heat transportation in all directions, we assumed two different types of the source. First, we use a steady state source placed at the corner next to the origin with dimension of 5 grid cells with temperature amplitude Ts=10o . The second source will be the following pulse source applied for 5 time steps and removed for the next 15 time steps (period of pulse function = 20). This will help to visualize the ability of the scheme to evaluate the temperature at the source region when the source is removed (back-transport of the heat). Results: The following figures illustrate the results observed by applying the scheme, the sources described previously and thermal diffusivity of a=2 with grid cells of size (Ni=Nj=50 number of grid points in x and y directions); (a) (b) Figure 2: Distribution of temperature (a) t=0 sec, b) t=20 msec, steady state source of size 5 grid cells in each direction. It is observed that for t>0 while we have a constant temperature at the source, temperature is diffused along the domain in both directions and it will not diverge at any point when time increases since the stability criterion was already applied for the duration of time steps . Also, in the vicinity of the source temperature is remained almost constant or with small variations after a sudden large increase due to the adjacent source cells with Ts=10o and the nature of the scheme in which back grid points are included for approximation. When the steady state source is replaced by a pulse source with certain On and Off duration (period) as it is seen in Figure 3, diffusion continues even in the absence of the source at the whole domain including the source region as in Figures 3(b),(d). This is more visible in Figure 3(c) in the vicinity of the source but compared to the steady state excitation, there is a significant temperature drop due to the fact that the source has been Off for several time steps and temperature drops gradually with its maximum drop just before the source is applied again as illustrated in Figure 3(d). (a) (b) (c) (d) Figure 3: Distribution of temperature when Pulse source is applied (period=20 time steps). (a)Initial time, (b)At first Off state, c)Right after second On state, d)Before 24th On state The last parameter to study for the heat equation is the diffusion coefficient. It is the coefficient which affects the rate of diffusion. Figure 4 shows that during equal time period, by larger coefficient heat will diffuse in larger area (dotted circles) of domain compared to when the coefficient is small. (a) (b) Figure 4: The effect of thermal diffusivity on temperature distribution.(a) a=2, (b) a=0.25 Wave Equation: Similar to the heat equation, hyperbolic partial differential wave equation can be discretized by using Taylor series expansion. In this equation, c is the wave constant which identifies the propagation speed of the wave. Our goal is to study the reflection of the wave at the boundaries and the dissipation of the wave due to the numerical solution of the wave equation. Domain: We use the same idealized domain in studying heat equation but in addition to Dirichlet, we also consider Von-Neumann boundary condition in order to study the reflection of the wave at the boundaries. A proper set of initial values will be chosen since this differential equation is of second order with respect to time. Von-Neuman Boundary Conditions: At the boundaries we will assume the following conditions; Source region Initial Conditions: The following initial conditions are assumed since we will use central difference in time and two time steps (current and previous) are used to evaluate the value at the future time; ) Finite Difference Scheme: For the above parabolic differential wave equation, 2nd order central difference scheme in both time and space is used for discretization as follows; and with à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  x=à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  y=h and rewriting the equation explicitly; with , the CFL number which must be less than or equal to since the coefficient of should be a positive (or zero) for stability of the scheme. Hence; Now, back to the boundary condition, by using forward Euler difference for the left and bottom boundaries (i=1,j=1) we can write; and similarly using backward difference at right and top boundaries (i=Ni,j=Nj) ; As we numerically solve for the derived general finite difference equation and illustrate it, we will see that the above boundary conditions are the mathematical representation of full wave reflection at the boundaries. For the second initial value condition we use central difference at t=0 (n=1) and it is derived; Substituting in general difference equation we get; Now, we can apply second order central difference for both temporal and spatial variations for Von-Neumann boundary conditions. Excitation: In this work, in order to study propagation and reflection of the wave using numerical solution of the wave equation, two different sources are applied at the origin with the dimension of 5Ãâ€"5 grid cells for both Dirichlet and Von-Neumann domain boundary conditions; Travelling Wave: Stationary Wave: where and wave numbers . The wave constant c assumed to be c=1 for simplicity, therefore = 0.01 in both x and y direction. Results: For Dirichlet boundary conditions the following figures are obtained for Stationary and Travelling wave sources; (b) Figure 5: Dispersion of Stationary wave in domain with Dirichlet BCs (a) before reflection (b) after partial reflection In Figure 5(a) the wave which is scattered from a stationary source is dissipated through the domain since the source is stationary. In Figure 5(b) the reflections at the boundaries are seen to be weak because of the Dirichlet BCs. Infact, these ripples are mostly due to the nature of finite differencing. However, it is clearly observed in Figure 6(a),(b) that the magnitude of the wave at the boundary is kept zero by Dirichlet BCs. (b) Figure 6: Dispersion of Stationary wave in domain with Dirichlet BCs (a) before reflection (b) after partial reflection, 3D view Figure 7 illustrates the travelling wave propagating in the domain. The ripples have larger magnitudes since the wave itself is travelling and this reduces the amount of attenuation because of the scheme specially after the reflection at the boundaries the weakend ripples are magnified by continuously incoming waves. (b) Figure 7: Travelling wave propagates in domain with Dirichlet BCs (a) before reflection (b) after partial reflection For Von-Neumann BCs, it is expected that for both standing wave and propagating wave we observe full reflection by the boundaries as described during the discretization of these BCs. Figures 8 and 9 illustrate the application of such boundary conditions for standing wave source and travelling wave source respectively. (b) Figure 8: Dispersion of Stationary wave in domain with Von-Neumann BCs (a) before reflection (b) after partial reflection (b) Figure 9: Wave propagation in the domain with Von-Neumann BCs (a) before reflection (b) after partial reflection In the above figures, it is seen that at the boundaries the ripples are fully reflected back to the domain as well as the time when the wave is propagating forward from the source and is reflected at bottom and left boundaries. These would be more visible when showing the figures in three dimensions (Figure 10); (b) (c) (d) Figure 10: Wave propagation (a),(b)standing wave, before and after reflection (c),(d)travelling wave, before and after reflection To sum up, finite difference scheme which is used in this work provides numerical solution of the wave equation well and the results are close to what are expected for the wave propagation in such idealized domain with different boundary conditions. Conclusion: In atmospheric science, heat flow is related to temperature rate of change and the evolution of momentum and energy in atmospheric models are related the gravity waves as they transport energy. In the Earths atmosphere, gravity waves are a mechanism for the transfer of momentum from the troposphere to the stratosphere. Gravity waves are generated in the troposphere, propagate through the atmosphere without appreciable change in mean velocity. But as the waves reach more diluted air at higher altitudes, their amplitude increases, and nonlinear effects cause the waves to break, transferring their momentum to the mean flow. Therefore, numerical solutions of atmosphere primitive equations play an important role for studying the evolution of fundamental variables in atmospheric science especially since these equations are partial differential equations which cannot be solved analytically. In this paper, a brief study over the numerical solution of heat and wave equations was conducted as a basis for a bigger scale atmospheric modelling. The results demonstrate the efficiency of finite difference method to solve these equations (in small-scale domain) when they are compared to the theoretical expectations, therefore, solving primitive equations in atmospheric models by numerical techniques can be a following work to this paper. REFERENCES

Student Preparedness :: essays research papers

The article titled 'Teaching Responsibility'; deals with the issue of student preparedness after high school. The article brings up the recent case of Jonathan Govias who is suing his private high school stating that the school did not prepare him for university. The article goes on to give two examples, one in Virginia and one in Ontario of how these types of problems are being dealt with. The editor agrees s that the school system should be held more responsible for its graduates, but makes it clear that lawyers only complicate matters. I believe that Jonathan Govias' case should be heard in a court of law due to the fact that schools have a certain responsibility and if it is not met then something needs to be done about it. I am in total disagreement with the Ontario's school plan to get rid of this problem and am a total fan of the Virginia pilot project, because unlike the Ontario plan they are actually looking to help the students and not their own pockets. After dropping out of his first year engineering program at the university of Alberta, Jonathan Govias decided to sue his alma mater for a total of $140,000 claiming that the school failed to fully prepare him for what university had in store for him. Jonathan attended a private school, and as we all know private schools charge a large amount of money in order to provide a better education for its students. That is why parents enroll their children in private schools. Jonathan after graduating got accepted in the engineering program, which is a hard program to get into since a high average is necessary. Private education costs money, therefore making it a business that provides services and like any other business should be held responsible if their services fail, or does not meet the standard that the school promises to meet. I believe that the school is very much responsible for Jonathan's post secondary education. Private schools take pride in the fact that they can provide a bett er education than public schools and that they prepare their students with the tools they need to survive in the university world. It is also important to note that this case has not yet been decided in favor of Jonathan and that Jonathan should be given a chance to prove himself. The fact that this action against the private school is taking place shows that Jonathan has just cause for his decision to take his case before the judge.

Slaughterhouse Industry Essay -- essays research papers

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Industry Study Project Description A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Basic Project Information B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Project Location C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Project Rationale D.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alternative E.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Description of Project Phases F.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Baseline Environment Condition G.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Impact Assessment and Mitigation H.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Environment Management Plan I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Proposal for an Environmental Monitoring and Guarantee Fund Attachment of Annexes A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Photos or Plates of Proposed Project B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Impact Areas, Affected and Communities C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maps of the following Scale D.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Permit to Operate Certificate E.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  E. Result of Physical and Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastewater PROJECT DESCRIPTION Davao City slaughterhouse is located at Ma-a, Davao City. The operations are limited to the night shift. The delivery of animals will start at 1:00 to 4:30 in the afternoon. The whole morning will be utilized for cleaning the area. The 2nd shift will start at 9:00 in the evening up to 5:30 in the morning. It employs 48 workers of which 25 are regulars and 23 are contractual. This contractual will do the maintenance and the manual slaughtering of animals. Currently the number of hogs, cattles and other animals slaughtered are as follows Hogs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   200 to 250 heads Cattle  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   30 to 40 heads Chicken  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   none ( chicken slaughterhouse is out of order) Goat  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   20 to 25 heads The number of heads slaughtered everyday does not level of with the number of kilos meat sold in the public market. In short there are hogs and cattle slaughtered privately. The following are the charges per head for the service rendered: Hogs  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  P91.11 per head Cattle&nbs... ...ication Plan †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Organize and conduct information, education and communication ( IEC ) activities on integrated Solid Waste Management Program such as recycling, Re-use, composting, sanitation, proper collection and disposal of solid. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Properly brief or orient the Project Administrator and beneficiaries about the EEC conditions, commitment and agreements made about the project. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Support continuing government efforts to promote environmental sound Slaughter House project. I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Proposal for an Environmental Monitoring and Guarantee Fund A slaughterhouse of this size requires regular environmental monitoring. To do this, it has to undergo environmental impact assessment to determine whether there is violation of the mitigating measures. To achieve this, a respectable budget should be included in the maintenance and operating cost to answer for many defects that may result to environmental disaster, this budget should be on regular basis to include hiring in contractual basis environmental engineer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Adding International Perspectives to Vocational Education Essay

Adding International Perspectives to Vocational Education International work opportunities are increasing as the borders of the U.S. economy expand to embrace international markets. Future workers will need to develop global awareness and an understanding of competitive, cultural, and economic factors that influence ways of doing business in order to work in the international arena. This Digest examines the instructional approaches and strategies used in vocational education to prepare students to work in a global environment. The Industrial Age expanded the vision of U.S. workers beyond their local communities to the country's national borders. The current Information Age moves the focus to global boundaries. To meet the competitive challenges of a global economy, businesses are looking for workers who have cross-cultural knowledge; intercultural communication skills, and an awareness of the political, geographical, and technological conditions that influence work in other countries (Hart et al. 1994; Philpott 1994). In a survey to elicit chief executive officers' expectations of collegiate international business preparation, "84% of the chief executive officers indicated that 'global awareness' is a key ingredient of international business expertise" (Hart et al. 1994, p. 104). The preparation of individuals for work in a global economy is a challenge to educational institutions. Considering the limited international experience of most students, the challenge is formidable. Smith and Steward (1995) contrast the cross-cultural education experiences of U.S. students to those of students from other countries. They note that "currently there are 240,000 Asians studying in the U.S. and less than 5,000 U. S. students stud... ...chool, and Community." Business Education Forum 49, no. 3 (February 1995): 44-47. Pachnowski, L. "The Internet: A Powerful Resource for Educators." Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association, Boston, MA, February 1996. (ED 393 447) Philpott, M. "Business Beyond Our Borders: An Integrated Approach." Business Education Forum 48, no. 3 (February 1994): 21-25. Smith, M. O., and Steward, J. F. "Communication for a Global Economy." Business Education Forum 49, no. 4 (April 1995): 25-28. Sutliff, L. "The English Translation." Vocational Education Journal 71, no. 4 (April 1996): 38-39, 57. Wismer, J. N. "Training for Trade: Role of American Community Colleges." Paper presented at a conference of the American Council on International and Intercultural Education, Colorado Springs, CO, April 21, 1994. (ED 371 789)

Effects of Bulliying

Effects of Bullying Have you ever heard about bullying? Do you know people can die because of that? Every year sad stories about people and kids affected by bullying is more common that people think. Statistics show that about two in four kids in the U. S. are bullied on a regular basis. Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior manifested by the use of force to affect others particularly when the behavior is habitual and involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can affect everyone, those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness bullying.Nowadays this event is more common in schools. Effects when kids; students, bully others can lead to serious, even deadly, consequences. These effects are withdrawn from society, lose of self-esteem, and try to escape from the situation. Students who are bullied tend to withdraw from society since they start feeling rejected from people. Also, they often stop communicating with parents and friends because they think that no one can hel p them. They normally want to hide this embarrassing situation, which can lead to lying; it’s a way to ignore the problem and try not to think about it.As a result, most of the times they want to be alone. Students can start to feel insecure about themselves. They start losing self-esteem and begin questioning their own personalities. Students start thinking that maybe they deserve this bad treatment. Therefore, they begin to do badly in schools and lower their grades because they may start focusing only in the bully and avoid all around them, like hide and don’t attend to class. Also, their outlook of life may become darker and darker as the bullying continues.As a result, their expectations for life become very poorly. If teens have become damaged by bullying, they may do almost anything to get out of the situation. They may try to escape from their painful reality by engaging in dangerous activities. In that way, they try to feel that they have the control of their pain or they are trying to learn how to control it and start feeling that the bully can’t hurt them again. They also might think about a plan of revenge because they want to transmit the angry and pain that they feel to the bully.But, in the worse cases, students can’t find a way out of their problems and they might start hurting themselves, even committing suicide. When students are victims of bullying there is a strong chance that they will suffer many negative consequences. They start to not communicate with anyone, they always want to be alone, even don’t go to school, and their grades become affected. Consequently, in the worse cases, they commit suicide because of their frustration. They don’t see a way to escape of the bullying.In my opinion, in order to ensure a stable, mature and healthy society, parents need to take a harder look at this negative behavior that hurts not only the bullied student and the bully, but also the family and the society as a whole. References: Bullying. â€Å"Wikipedia†. The free encyclopedia. 08 April 2012. Web. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Bullying Bullying Statistic. â€Å"Wikipedia†. The free encyclopedia. 06 April 2012. Web. http://www. bullyingstatistics. org/content/school-bullying-statistics. html