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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Strategic human resource management -2.2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic human resource management -2.2 - Essay Example This orientation is important as it may be reflected in the training, socialization and attitude of the new employee affecting the performance of the organisation. The goal of Natural Knibbles is to create a company that provides attractive place to work, helps employees to fully utilise their potential  and  offer  secure,  long-term  employment  (Stone,  2008,  p.375).  The orientation program helps in portraying this image of the company. First, the orientation program provides a complete description of the environment and culture at Natural Knibbles. Second, important information related to the job such as responsibilities and duties is explained providing on-the-job training to the new employees under a process called ‘buddy system with experienced employees. Thus, the orientation program allows the new employees to explore their skills and abilities in a new environment which adds to the value and growth of the employees. What forms of training and devel opment do you believe would have been beneficial to (a) Kane (b) Lisa following their initial experiences at Natural Knibbles? According to Nankervis et al. (2011), the aim of training is to provide or maintain effective job level performance to achieve goals of organisation as well as personal. Given that Lisa and Kane were new entrants in the organisation, on-the-job training was a good decision but the way it was carried out was not at all progressive to them or the organisation. Continuous changing the roles was not beneficial for them as they could not adjust and fully understand any role or position. Since Lisa had TAFE training, she had a better understanding of the organisation’s processes which allowed her to excel in on-the-job training making it the best training and development option for her. On-the-job training as argued by Nankervis et al. (2011) develops practical work experiences and helps in building relations with the peers if the employee is a new entrant. In case of Kane, he did not possess any TAFE qualifications and worked in large company did not have any experience in working with a small family oriented company. Off-the-job training would have been a better option for him, which could have consisted of e-learning, simulation training or conference or classroom training (Nankervis et al. 2011). On-the-job training created confusion for him causing the peers to provide negative comments on his performance. What are the advantages and disadvantages of peer evaluation, and why would Natural Knibbles choose this approach as part of its performance management process? The performance management process needs to begin by taking in to consideration the strategic plan of organisation and penetrate every level of organisation to reach every employee (Nankervis et al. 2011). One such performance management process is peer evaluation. Peer evaluation has many advantages foremost being that the peers can relate well with the employee who is being evaluated. Peers, because work together, have the ability to evaluate the person whether he/she is doing well in the activity as others. Peers reviews can improve the quality of the work and performance of the employees as they can learn from each other. Because of the peer evaluation, company can also improve the performance management process if it seems that this performance measure is not providing a complete evaluation of the employee’

Monday, October 28, 2019

Slavery and The Making Of America Essay Example for Free

Slavery and The Making Of America Essay Have you ever thought about the explicit details that went into the creation of America? Slavery and the Making of America, written by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton uses facts and stories to portray the life of slaves, and the evolution of slavery over several decades, and its effect on America today. The title of this book, Slavery and the Making of America is a great leeway into the authors’ main thesis of the book; â€Å"Slavery was, and continues to be, a critical factor in shaping the United States and all of its people. As Americans, we must understand slavery’s history if we are ever to be emancipated from its consequences,† (Horton). Throughout the six chapters in this book, the authors’ go into explicit details on what actions from both white Americans and African slaves led to the Civil War, the abolition of slavery and America as it is today. Slavery and the Making of America is a book split into 6 chapters. The book starts off by explaining history about African slaves, and their bringing to America. Africans’ were kept as slaves in the United States for at least twelve generations. Slavery was one of the main components that led to the building of America. Well-endowed white men would buy slaves to work on their plantations. Slaves eventually created a basis for America’s wealth as a nation, especially with their labor put towards farming cotton. This book not only goes into details about the labor that the slaves partook in on a daily basis that kept America up and running, but also about the cultural aspect of bring slaves into the country. Bringing African’s over to America brought a whole new culture to America. Although white men enslaved African’s they continued to embrace their culture. They brought a new religion, language, music, and several skills that have uniquely blended the American culture  that it is today. This book shares stories of African people slowly becoming African Americans, despite the conditions that they lived and worked in. It goes into detail about the contradiction of the American people. How could a country founded on the basis of freedom and equality for all believe in slavery and unequal treatment of persons due to race? This book shares details of white Americans, generation after generation, trying to reconcile this contradiction, yet being unsuccessful. Although black people were enslaved, they never lost hope or determination to live up to the principles stated in the founding documents of America. The African Roots of Colonial America, the first chapter in this book, reflects the authors’ main thesis by examining the beginning of the African slave trade in America. During this time millions of Americans were shipped across the Atlantic in the largest forced migration in human history. During this time hundred of thousands of slaves were sent, and arrived to the new land annually. These slaves were used to create a newer and stronger global economy, by farming cotton, tobacco, and sugar in the Americas. Chapter two, Slavery: From the Revolution to the Co tton Kingdom shows a different perspective of the authors’ thesis. This chapter goes into more depth about the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The authors’ explain that the white Americans’ had no intentions to include blacks in the Declaration of Independence despite the hostility from blacks, both those who were slaves and those who were free. The American Revolution was a turning point in slavery. Thousands of slaves escaped to the British, many settling in different countries. In the midst of the Revolutionary War, President Jackson sought out to black troops, granting them freedom from slavery if they survived the war. After the American Revolution, westward expansion was beginning to happen. With new technology of the cotton gin, more and more slaves were needed in the pursuit of expansion. Throughout this book the authors’ tie in specific persons and events that support their thesis. Several people who have shaped American history are mentioned in this book including Ellen Craft, Fr ederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Henry Box’ Brown. The middle of this book goes into explanation of fugitive slaves and Underground Railroad; â€Å"The terms associated with the new railroad became the code words used by these secret organizations. They called escape routes rails, safe houses stations, and the fugitives themselves  passengers or packages. Those who assisted fugitives called themselves conductors,† (Horton). Almost every important event in American history between 1650 and 1896 had some implication with racial inequality or slavery. The last two chapters of the book go into details about the ending of the Civil War and the final years of slavery in America. Chapter 5 looks into the actions of black Americans during the war that eventually led to freedom. Chapter 6 goes hand in hand with the main thesis of the book, describing the fight for equality of all races, specifically blacks in America. The authors’ talk about the Emancipation Proclamation, and the â€Å"passing of the thirteenth amendment, pro viding for total abolition of American Slavery,† (Horton). Although slavery had been abolished, there was still not equality in the United States, and there would not be for quite some time. Over time, racial inequality slowly diminished, through the passing of the fourteenth amendment (equal citizenship for blacks), the fifteenth amendment (right to vote), and the Civil Rights Act, which was eventually repealed in 1883. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that there is a companion video and website that compliment it very well. The website is very interactive and goes along right with the book. It shares personal stories of the slaves. It also has a very descriptive timeline of events that occurred over several centuries, which is also provided in the back of the book. I enjoyed that this book and the website not only focused on the labor that the slaves did but their culture. It showed what types of clothes they wore, what type of music they played and listened to. When Africans were first brought to America, they never stopped believing in their culture and where they came from. One of the founding principles of the United States is the ability for different races and ethnicities to come together and create one America, a melting pot. Although the predominant race was white Europeans and still is to this day, people of all races are free to their own culture. I believe that this book and all the content that goes along with it is very well written and accurate. I enjoyed that this book went to a more personal level and told stories of specific slaves, and their hardships. The authors’ thesis throughout this book is very vague but I think they still provide a substantial amount of information to back up their thesis, throughout the whole book. I agree fully that slavery was one of the most important  influential aspects of American History. Although I think that there was information that the authors’ left out. This book focuses predominantly on the slavery of Africans, even though many other races were also sold as slaves throughout many decades. Hundreds of thousands of Irish were sold to English settlers for hundreds of years, and often saw harsher punishment than their African counterparts. I feel like the credibility of the book would go up significantly if it focused on the broad spectrum of slavery, rather than only focusing on the history of slavery throughout African American history. I would put this book on a list of must reads, as it really shows you the smaller, more important details that built a foundation for this country. Overall I felt that this book was a great at going into more detail on slavery and how important it actually was in the creation of America. Although I knew that slavery was a main component in the United States history, this book was an eye opener, and reminded me that almost all of the most significant events that shape the history of this country were primarily based around slavery and the freedom and equality of all persons. Works Cited Horton, James Oliver, and Lois E. Horton. Slavery and the Making of America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print. Slavery and the Making of America. PBS. PBS, 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. .

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Character Kevin in Freak the Mighty :: Rodman Philbrick

Many people struggle to be accepted in our world because of disabilities. Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick, is a dramatic and inspiring novel about how two boys, who are â€Å"different†, become friends and unite towards a common cause. Kevin, an eighth grader who lives with his mother Gwen, is one of the two protagonists in this extraordinary novel. Kevin is a very knowledgeable young boy who doesn't let his disability limit his abilities. Kevin uses his imagination to minimize his disability in his every day life. In Preschool Kevin would march around the school with his leg braces and use his imagination to pretend that he was a robot. The fact that he uses his imagination to see his leg braces as â€Å"astounding† is a great example of Kevin using his imagination to minimize his disability. Kevin displays great determination in this novel. Near the beginning of this narrative, Kevin is playing with a mechanical bird and flies it up into a tree. He repeatedly tries to free it from the tree, even though he seems to be getting nowhere. He had his mind set on it, so he wouldn't stop until it was in his hands. This section of the story shows that if Kevin sets a goal for himself, he’ll do almost anything to achieve it. Another example is that when Kevin helps the cops look for Max when he’s reported missing Kevin never gives up looking for Max, even when the cops want to give up. This example is yet another form of great determination. All of these points help indicate that Kevin displays great determination through the novel by Rodman Philbrick. Kevin doesn’t let his disease put a negative effect on his learning.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Non-Proliferation Treaty: Its Establishment, Issues

The Non-Proliferation Treaty: Its establishment, Issues, and Current Status On March 21, 1963, President John Kennedy warned in a press conference, â€Å"I see the possibility in the 1970s of the president of the United States having to face a world in which 15 or 20 or 25 nations may have nuclear weapons. I regard that as the greatest possible danger and hazard. † Kennedy made this statement a month after a secret Department of Defense memorandum assessed that eight countries: Canada, China, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and West Germany would likely have the ability to produce nuclear weapons within the next 10 years after 1963.It was further assessed that beyond those 10 years, the future costs of nuclear weapons programs would decrease and provide way for several more states to pursue nuclear weapons, especially if unrestricted testing continued. Fear of the spread of nuclear weapons to vast nation states and superpowers including their military and ideological alli es is what urged the creation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Signed on July 1, 1968 and actually implemented on March 5, 1970, the NPT is a result of a compilation of efforts at enforcing international non-proliferation.With President Dwight D. Eisenhower calling for a new international agency to share nuclear materials and information for peaceful purposes with other countries in his â€Å"Atoms for Peace† address to the UN General Assembly on December 1953, the way was made for the Non-Proliferation Treaty to come into existence when the UN established The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on July 29, 1957 as result of negotiations sparked from Eisenhower’s proposal.President Dwight Eisenhower proposed to the UN General Assembly the negotiation of a treaty that would seek to control nuclear activities around the world and prevent, if possible, the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries. However, President Eisenhower’s speech to the U N General Assembly came after the failure of earlier U. S. nonproliferation efforts. When the United States stood as the only true nuclear power in the world at the end of World War II, President Harry Truman proposed to destroy the U. S. uclear arsenal if other countries would agree not to acquire nuclear weapons and would permit inspections to verify that agreement. This proposal was presented as the Baruch Plan in 1946 and implied that the United States turn over control of all its enriched uranium, including that in any nuclear weapons it had, to a new UN body over which the United States and the other permanent members of the Security Council would have a veto. In addition to already seeking its own nuclear weapons, the Soviets rejected this plan on the grounds that the United Nations was dominated by the United States and its allies in Western Europe.Therefore, the Soviets argued it could not be trusted to exercise authority over atomic weaponry in a fair manner. They proposed that America eliminate its nuclear weapons before considering proposals for a system of controls and inspections. On the other hand, the United States, would not surrender its weapons to the agency until inspectors were on duty in the Soviet Union and in other countries with nuclear potential (Bellany 1985). With the Baruch Plan not going as planned, the U. S.Congress enacted the 1946 Atomic Energy Act which encompassed provisions designed to keep nuclear technology secret from other countries but then was amended to authorize nuclear assistance to others alike the IAEA which was created to provide both assistance and inspectors for peaceful nuclear activities after Eisenhower proposed providing assistance to other countries in the peaceful uses of atomic energy. The United States, followed by the Soviet Union, France, and others began providing research reactors that used weapons-usable highly enriched uranium to non-nuclear-weapon states around the world.These transfers and the t raining that accompanied the reactors helped scientists in many countries learn about nuclear fission and its potential uses other than in good measure. As these scientists became more versed in the uses of nuclear energy through the resources being provided to them, global support increased for controlling the spread of the new technology in order to prevent its use for weapons. This led to Ireland proposing the first resolution at the United Nations on October 17, 1958 to prohibit the further dissemination of nuclear weapons.On March 21, 1963, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved Resolution 1665, based on the earlier Irish draft resolution, reads that countries already having nuclear weapons would undertake to refrain from relinquishing control of them to others and would refrain from transmitting information for their manufacture to states not possessing them. In addition, countries without nuclear weapons would agree not to receive or manufacture them. These ideas formed the basis of the NPT (Bunn 2008).The United States then took another step toward non-proliferation and submitted a simple draft treaty of the NPT based on the resolution to the Soviet Union when a new eighteen nation Disarmament Conference opened in Geneva in 1962. Adversely, the Soviet response insisted that the treaty prohibit the arrangements between the United States and NATO allies such as West Germany for deployment in their countries of U. S. nuclear weapons under the control of U. S. soldiers.The stated purposes of these weapons were to protect these countries if ever in the event of an attack on them by the Soviet Union and its allies. The U. S. also proposed for implementation of a multilateral force in which would be a fleet of submarines and warships each manned by international NATO crews and armed with multiple nuclear armed Polaris ballistic missiles. The proposal was inspired by the complaints of NATO countries which voiced that the nuclear defense of Europe was beh olden to the Americans, who held the bulk of nuclear capability.Instead of an array of different independent forces ultimately acting under their own domestic banners on the waters, the result would be a fleet of warships manned and operated by general NATO command in broader cooperative efforts but the Soviets opposed to this. Later, a compromise was reached where US eventually gave up on efforts toward the multilateral force and the Soviets gave up on a prohibition against U. S. deployment of nuclear weapons in West Germany and other allied countries under the condition the provided weapons remained under sole control of U.S. personnel (Bellany 1985). On June 12, 1968 The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2373 which endorsed the draft text of the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. The vote was 95 to 4 with 21 abstentions. The four no votes were Albania, Cuba, Tanzania, and Zambia. The treaty was signed by the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States. Article IX of t he treaty established that entry into force would require the treaty’s ratification by those three countries and 40 additional states.It was by this time, five nations had developed a nuclear weapons capability: the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and China. On February 13, 1960, France conducted its first nuclear test explosion, establishing it as the the world’s fourth nuclear armed state after the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. Then China conducted its first nuclear test explosion on October 16, 1964 placing it as the world’s fifth nuclear armed state and leading to the acceleration of India’s nuclear program ( Bunn 2008).China and France were recognized as nuclear-weapon states under the treaty but did not sign it. China argued the treaty was discriminatory and simply refused to adhere to it. On the other hand, France implied that it would not sign the treaty but would behave in the future in this field exac tly as the states adhering to the Treaty. The treaty distinguishes between obligations of two parties such as nuclear-weapon states who are defined as those states parties which exploded a nuclear device prior to January 1, 1967 and non-nuclear weapon states which are all other states.The treaty called prohibition on non-nuclear-weapon states from having nuclear weapons and called for the IAEA to be permitted to carry out inspections to guarantee that their nuclear programs were limited to peaceful uses. In particular, the resolution asked the countries possessing nuclear weapons to refrain from relinquishing control of nuclear weapons and from transmitting information necessary for their manufacture to nations not possessing nuclear weapons.Second, it recommended that states not possessing nuclear weapons, â€Å"undertake not to manufacture or otherwise acquire control of such weapons. † In addition, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States agreed to provi de assistance to non-nuclear weapon NPT members in their pursuit of peaceful uses of nuclear energy and agreed to conduct future negotiations to halt the nuclear arms buildup and reduce their nuclear weapons with a goal of achieving nuclear disarmament.Negotiations then raised aiming efforts towards gaining acceptance of these provisions by important non-nuclear weapon governments and their parliaments along for the allowance of the inspections that would be conducted by the IAEA in accordance to the NPT. India was one of these non-nuclear weapon governments of interest but despite much active participation in the NPT negotiation, it refused to join because it wanted to retain the option to produce its own nuclear weapon as its adversary then, China had. Also, Pakistan which was another adversary of India refused to join because India would not.Israel, which the United States had tried to restrain from acquiring nuclear weapons in separate negotiations during the 1960s, also refused to join. China and France didn’t participate much in the NPT negotiations but had acquired nuclear weapons before its negotiation was completed. The NPT draft permitted them to join the treaty with the same rights and duties as the other nuclear-weapon states when they eventually did accede to the treaty in 1992 (Bunn 2008). The practice of inspections for non-nuclear weapon parties weighed as a major concern in the egotiations at the IAEA for several years and many countries including West European allies of the United States did not ratify the treaty until these negotiations were completed to their satisfaction. Till this day, this concern is still a pressing matter at hand. In its establishment, Article X of the NPT called for a conference of its parties to be held 25 years after the treaty’s entry into force in 1970 to determine whether the treaty would remain in force indefinitely or for other additional periods of time.This conference was held on May 11, 1995 an d began with much uncertainty regarding the nature of any extension. Leading up to this, parties of the treaty enacted review conferences every five years to revise the treaty according to the current state of nuclear arms at the time. During the 1995 review conference, non-nuclear weapon states expressed disappointment with the lack of progress toward nuclear disarmament and feared that extending the treaty indefinitely would enable the nuclear-armed states to hold on to their nuclear arsenals and disregard any accountability in eliminating them.In a different light, Indonesia and South Africa proposed efforts to tying the treaty’s indefinite extension to a decision to strengthen the treaty review process such as establishing of a set of principles and objectives on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament to hold NPT states-parties, particularly the nuclear-weapon states, accountable to their commitments.Indonesia and South Africa’s proposal included completion of th e Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1996 which banned all nuclear explosions in all environments for military or civilian purposes along with negotiations on the cutoff of fissile material production for weapons purposes. The conference also adopted a resolution calling for establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East with the goal to win support for the indefinite NPT extension from Arab states which objected to Israel’s status outside the NPT and its assumed possession of nuclear weapons.During the 1955 revision conference of the NPT, the decision was made to extend the NPT indefinitely and with its last revision conference held in 2010, is still on its mission to global non-proliferation (Gunter 2010). The NPT consists of a preamble and eleven articles and is interpreted as a three part pillar system as non-proliferation being the first, disarmament the second, and the right to peacefully use nuclear technology as the third. Currently there are 189 countries as state parties under rovisions of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The major issues that the Treaty of Nuclear Non Proliferation is facing are loopholes in NPT withdrawal, non-compliance with state parties, particularly Iran, and in a safeguard system. Also, the future utility of the treaty will be dominated by its ability to attract the major non-parties into membership. Another flaw in the Treaty is that if diversion of fissile material is discovered, then no mechanism for sanctions exists other than taking the issue to the UN Security Council.The treaty is silent on how to deal with a situation where a non-nuclear weapon state acquires unsafeguarded weapon material for reasons not permitted under the Treaty (Kaplan 2005). Israel regarded NPT adherence and the IAEA safeguards system as an insufficient guarantee that Iraq would not use nuclear technology it was acquiring to make nuclear weapons and proceed to destroy that technology. This discouraged other Arab states from becoming NPT parties, as this appeared to offer no protection against unilateral Israeli action.With the notion that one state such as Israel could claim the NPT technically meaningless and allowed to act on that belief without sanction, the credibility of the Treaty in the eyes of many non-nuclear weapon states became undermined and brought up for much speculation. The NPT itself is silent on how to assess compliance, how to resolve compliance disputes, and what procedures to follow in the event of non-compliance. Specifically, there is no verification of the obligations in Articles I and II not to transfer or receive nuclear weapons.The treaty contains no language on verification other than to require states to accept nuclear safeguards in Article III. One precedent for handling non-compliance was in the case of North Korea. North Korea announced it would withdraw from the NPT on March 12, 1993 but suspended its withdrawal in June. Ten years later on February 12, 2003, the Board of Governors declared North Korea in non-compliance with its nuclear safeguards obligations, and referred the matter to the Security Council. The Board called upon North Korea to acknowledge its non-compliance, and fully cooperate with the Agency.North Korea stated it would withdraw from the NPT on January 11, 2003, and its official status is still uncertain. The legality of North Korea's withdrawal is debatable but as of 9 October 2006, North Korea clearly possesses the capability to make a nuclear explosive device. However, other states complain of U. S. noncompliance because the United States continues to conduct research and development new types of nuclear weapons and still has yet to accept much deeper reductions in its nuclear forces.Several additional measures have been adopted to strengthen the NPT with attempts to broader the nuclear nonproliferation regime and make it difficult for states to acquire the capability to produce nuclear weapons, including the export controls of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the enhanced verification measures of the IAEA Additional Protocol. However, critics argue that the NPT cannot stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons or the motivation to acquire them.They express disappointment with the limited progress on nuclear disarmament, where the five authorized nuclear weapons states still have 22,000 warheads in their combined stockpile and have shown a reluctance to disarm further. Several high-ranking officials within the United Nations have said that they can do little to stop states using nuclear reactors to produce nuclear weapons (Kaplan 2005). An issue that will require new and better strategic thinking is how best to proceed with efforts to make the Middle East a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) – free zone.This was a controversial issue on the table during the most recent 2010 NPT Review Conference. The final document produced from the conference addressing the matter calls on all state s in the region to participate in a conference in 2012 based on the terms of the 1995 resolution. The United States announced after the conference that it, Russia, and the United Kingdom, along with the UN secretary-general, will co-sponsor the meeting, determine a country to host it, and identify a person to organize it.The issue with this is that Egypt and other states may want to use a conference in part to criticize Israel’s nuclear weapons program. Also, the language of the document calls on all states in the Middle East to participate which includes a number of states that do not recognize Israel and in the past have not been willing to sit with Israeli officials in formal settings. To name a few, Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria are some of these states. Therefore, such a conference would pose challenges to Israel. Iran and major Arab states would all have to reach the same satisfying terms and recognize Israeli de facto.If the conference is viewed strategically and handled carefully, it could advance the cause of peace and security in the region. In summation, President Barack Obama in Prague called for the â€Å"peace and security of a world free of nuclear weapons† on April 2, 2009. A Year later on April 8, 2010, President Obama returned to Prague a year later with President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia to sign a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that committed both countries to reduce their deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery systems in accordance with agreed principles of verification.President Obama also convened a special session of the UN Security Council on September 24, 2009, which adopted Resolution 1887, which focuses on nuclear security and nonproliferation and seeking ways to enhance its means. Though the NPT has its weaknesses, it still has managed to link many countries together and has dodged the predicted amount â€Å"15 or 20 or 25 nations may have nuclear weapons† that President Kennedy warned i n his press conference in 1963.Today, we have nine counting North Korea but not Iran outside of the treaty. As we progress down the road to expanding non-proliferation, it is important for policy makers to keep in mind that for most states the demand for nuclear weapons is likely to derive from security considerations, and security consideration under conditions of uncertainty, especially if the states have lacking faith in the Treaty’s ability to make effective use of the safeguard system as we approach the 2015 NPT Review Conference.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Linear Programming to Solve Coal Blending Problem

17th International Mining Congress and Exhibition of Turkey- IMCET 2001,  © 2001, ISBN 975-395-417-4 Optimum Blending of Coal by Linear Programming for the Power Plant at Seyitomer Coal Mine K. Erarslan, H. Aykul, H. Akcakoca & N. Cetin Dumlup? nar University, Department of Mining Engineering, 43100, Kutahya, Turkey ABSTRACT: In this study, a linear programming model is developed to determine the optimum coal blend in terms of quality and quantity. Coal with various features is mined from different panels of Seyitomer Lignite Coal District and fed to a nearby power plant.The quality of the coal is extremely variable through the horizontal and vertical directions, which entails the precise planning of coal blending during the mining and stockpiling stages. Otherwise, a large penalty has to be paid to the power plant. In this study, the objective is to match the calorific values required by the power plant. The quality features and production capacities of coal from different panels are determined and are used in quality constraints. The power plant requires coal in two groups, which are of different qualities and quantities.Therefore, two linear programming models complementing each other are developed in order to determine the blending conditions that satisfy the needs of the plant. The models are introduced and solved m the LINDO package program. Reasonable solutions are obtained and optimal amounts of blending are handled. The model also allows the evaluation of coal panels of low quality. 1 INTRODUCTION' Linear Programming (LP) is one of the most widely used methods of operation research for decision problems.This method is a reasonable and reliable procedure for determining the optimum distribution of resources, optimal production, minimum cost, maximum profit, etc. , which comprise the objectives (Ozturk, 1997). In this method, decision parameters to make the objective optimal are linear or assumed to be linear (Taha, 1992, Hillier and Liebermann, 1995). The general form of the problem is formed by objective function and subjected constraints; (1) (2) where; Z= objective of the model Cj = coefficient of/* decision variable (1=1,2 Xj = / * decision variable N) oefficient of decision variable (i=l,2,.. ,m) b, = limited resource for iJ* constraint LP approximation is widely used in mining as well as in other industrial fields. Open pit limits, production scheduling, material flow in processing plants, blending, equipment selection, method selection, transportation, etc. , are its main applications (Chanda and Wilke, 1992, Dijilani and Dowd, 1994, Huang, 1993, Mann and Wilke, 1992, Meyer, 1969, Smith and You, 1995). However, investment, planning, or selection, in other words any actions requiring decision, can be optimized.Especially in open pit mines and underground mines feeding coal to power plants, the quality and quantity of coal is crucial because the burner blocks of power plants are designed according to specific features of co al. Inability to match coal quality and quantity to these specific features results in either penalty costs for the coal enterprise or a decrease in the power plant's efficiency. In addition, inconsistent coal features lead to wear in the power plant's burning units and all integrated components.In this respect, coal-producing enterprises try to match their coal features to power plants' specifications by blending and homogenizing coal extracted from different panels and levels. Satisfying the requirements of the plant is achieved by selective 719 = mining and/or blending. In this study, a relevant case is considered. Seyitomer coal enterprise in Kutahya, Turkey has problems of quality and quantity in supplying the nearby power plant. A well-planned and organized blending procedure and, accordingly, production plan is necessary.In this paper, the problem, is modeled in terms of linear programming and reasonable solutions are obtained. 2 SEYITOMER COAL ENTERPRISE AND ITS PROBLEM Seyi tomer Lignite Enterprise (SLE) is located 20 km. northwest of Kutahya city center. The basin is characterized as Late Miocene-early Pliocene. The lignite seams in Seyitomer basin consist of two horizontal levels (0-7 ° S), referred to as A and B seams, according to their depths. The seams are separated from each other by waste interbedded formations whose thickness vary from 10 to 50 m.These two seams may exhibit variation according to their occurrence in three sub-regions (Seyitomer, Aslanl? , Ayval? ), where the geological coal formation has been determined by drill holes. The thickness of the A seam, located at the top level of the basin, varies in the range of 5-25 m. {Sofrelec, 1967). The thickness of B seam varies in the range of 2-30 m. In the basin, these two seams are rarely observed together. The seam defined as A Is deposited only in the Seyitomer region and the coal occurrences in the Aslanl? nd Ayval? regions. The B seam consists of 3 different sublevels, referred to, from Uie top to the base of the seam, as B[, B2, Bj Their calorific values decrease towards to the seam base as the interbedded layers get thicker. The upper level coal seams B| and B2, which have a high calorific value and are produced in sorted size and quality (+100 mm), have supplied the market for public heating. The B3 coal, which is of low quality and contains fine coal (-100 mm) from the processing plant, is sold to the power plant.At the enterprise, production is performed by the open pit mining method. The overburden, whose thickness varies from 35 to 60 m. , is loosened by drilling and blasting. The stripping method is the excavator and truck and dragline method. The 1 electrical excavators have a 10-yd bucket volume and the dragline has a 70-yd bucket capacity. Production and transportation are also by excavatortruck and loader-truck meu? ods. It is impossible to process the coal with wet washing techniques.For this reason, only crushing, sieving and sorting can be appl ied to the coals of the region. There are three plants working for the power plant and three plants working for the market in the enterprise. The coal is dispatched to the market or the power plant according to its quality. 720 Recently, in terms of quality and quantity the demands of the plant have not been fulfilled and in order to overcome the problem selective mining has been used. Consequently, there is an increasing tendency to use ripping and bulldozers and loaders (Aykul, 2000). APPLICATION OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING IN SLE 3. 1 Definition of the Problem In Seyitomer Coal Mine, six different coal types produced from different panels and levels are treated. The terms for these coals, their average calorific values and annual quantity to be extracted according to Ideal planning are shown in Table 1. These coals need to be blended in accordance with the specifications required by the power plant's burning units. Seyitomer power plant has four burning units. The operating conditions of these units are shown in Table 2.The annual coal requirement of the power plant is 6,000,000 tons: the first three burning units (Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3), with the same requirements, need 4,500,000 tons, while the last burning unit (Unit 4) requires 1,500,000 tons. Table 1. Determined features of coal types according to ideal planning in SLE Coal Type Calorific Amount Value (ton/year) (kcal/kg) FineCoal(-lOO) (From Plants) 1675 2,000,000 Stock of Kizik 1750 800,000 Stock of Marl 1428 > 250,000 B| Level 2000 < 600,000 B; Level 1800 < 600,000 B, Level 1600 > 1,500,000 Table 2.Operating Conditions of Power Plant Power Plant Base Heat Content Grain Size (mm) Units (Kcal/kg) Unit 1 1750 ± 100 0-200 Unit2 1750+100 0-200 Umt3 1750 ± 100 0-200 Unit 4 1600  ± ! 00 0-200 The blending requirements of the coal are as follows: i. Coal coming from the processing plants (fine coal), and that produced from the stock of Kizik, stock of marl, the B3 level, B2 level and B| level can supply Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3. it. Coal produced from the stock of Kizik, stock of marl and B3 level can supply Unit 4.Two different linear models were developed since there are two design specifications in the power plant. Therefore, first, the amount of coal of the B3 level and stock of K? z? k are determined fo. ‘ Unit 4 with the help of the first linear program, and then the rest of the determined amounts are used in the second linear program developed for Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3. After determining these conditions, the main aim is to obtain coal blends that have the maximum heating calorific value in the range of specifications (Kaya, 2000). . 2 Constitution 0/the Model The objective function for Unit 4 maximizing the first blend's calorific value, which has a maximum limitation by the constraints, is shown in Equation 1 : (3) Subjected to Equations 4 to 11: (4) (5) The restrictions are shown in Equations 13 to 21. 4,500,000 (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) Here, X2 : Amount of coal from stock of K? z? k, t. Xj : Amount of coal from stock of marl, t. Xe : Amount of coal from B3 level, t.The objective function for Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3 maximizing the second blend's calorific value restricted by a subjected constraint is shown in Equation 12. (12) Amount of fine coal from processing plants, t. Amount of coal from stock of K? z? k, t. Amount of coal from B| level, t. Amount of coal from B2 level, t. Amount of coal from B3 level, t. 3. 3 Solutions of Models The LINDO package program is used to solve the models. The optimum quality and quantity results of the final tables for Unit 4 are shown In Table 3 (Kaya, 2000). Table 3 Final results of model for Urul 4 Coal Types Coal Amount Heal Content (ton/year) (kcal/kg) Stock of K? ? k 500. 000* 1750 (X2) Stock of marl (X,) 250,000* 1428 750. 000* 1600 B, Level (X,) 1,500. 000 Blend of Coals 1620 5* h *Optimam values ai 7†² iteration As it may be seen in Table 3, t he blend quality of the coal is found to be 1620 kcal/kg. This value is within the range of the specific design values of Unit 4. The final tables for Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3 are shown in Table 4. 721 Table 4. Final results of model for Unit 4 Coal Amount Heat Content Coal Types (ton/year) (kcal/kg) 2,000,000* 1675 Fine coal (Xi) Stock of K? z? k 300,000* 1750

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Marriage and Madness Professor Ramos Blog

Marriage and Madness The Yellow Wallpaper Marriage is often presented, to girls at an impressionable young age, as finding a prince charming and living happily ever after. Settling down and having a family may not be as splendid as some women fantasize. Marriages can be toxic and oppressive environments. This is true now as it was for women in the late 1800s.   In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the protagonist is dealing with postpartum depression, but her oppressive environment prevents her from recuperating. Women with mental illness often suffer in oppressive households. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† tells the story of a young woman suffering from a mental illness. The narrator first mentions her illness when she reflects, â€Å"I’m sure I never used to be sensitive, I think it is due to this nervous condition† (Gilman 487). She has no control of her emotions most likely due to her anxiety. Her illness is also troubling to as she laments, â€Å"[her] nervous are dreadfully depressing† (487). Her troubles stem from her separation of her child and her treatment which limits her physically and mentally. She mentions, â€Å"Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous† (488). It can be alluded that she suffers from postpartum depression and is not being adequately treated. As she is forced to remain isolated indoors, she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper in the nursery. The wallpaper as she describes began to, â€Å"look to [her] as if it knew what a vicious influence† (488). The wallpaper affects her, and her imagination runs wild as she sees a woman imprisoned within the yellow wallpaper. protagonist reaches her breaking point when she realizes that she is the woman trapped in the depths of the wallpaper. She describes how she pulled off most of the wallpaper by morning to free the young woman within the wallpaper (495). Unfortunately for the protagonist, having children left her in a state of depression and made her begin to resent her husband. The protagonist of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† entered a marriage and treatment became an oppressive environment. Her husband became her oppressor, as tried to suppress her thoughts, and imagination. The narrator reveals that â€Å"perhaps that [he] is the one reason [she] does not get well faster† (486). She is coming to the realization that her husband is not helping her get better. When she discloses her discontentment with the yellow wallpaper, he lets her know, â€Å"[there is] nothing worse for a nervous patient than to give way to their fancies† (488). He invalidates her opinions and suppresses her feelings. Gilman reveals the protagonist’s husband, â€Å"hates to have her write a word† (487). He stifles her from her expressing her thoughts orally as well as her thoughts that are written. She does not have a choice but to obey, because during this period women were not allowed to express their opinions in their marriages. Men held all the power and they determined whether or the role their wives played in their household. The protagonist’s husband threatens that if she does not get better, he would be send her to the physician Weir Mitchell who is much worse of a physician (488). Her husband can conclude that she is mentally unfit and send her away without her consent. He has already taken her away from her actual home in the hopes that she will get better. Gilman reveals the protagonist has been separated from her child, when she confesses, â€Å"there’s one comfort- the baby is well and happy and does not have to occupy this nursery with the horrid wallpaper† (489). The narrator is suffering from postpartum depression and she cannot recover from it, because her husband’s way of dealing with her illness it to avoid it altogether. Marriage is most often presented to women as a goal and they are expected to have a family to be happy. Unfortunately for the protagonist, having children left her in a state of depression and made her begin to resent her husband. Marriage for the Gilman’s protagonist did not end happily ever after. In the 19th century, women with mental illnesses suffered in their oppressive environments. The fate of a women depended on her husband, because historically Victorian Women were â€Å"increasingly ill-prepared for the trials of childbirth and childbearing† (Smith 658). Women would often bare children without contemplating the risks and suffered the consequences. As shown in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† women would suffer from postpartum depression and it would be dismissed as hysterics. Throughout history, hysteria has been seen as characteristically female† (Smith 653). While at this time science and medicine were advancing, the treatment women were receiving did not help them, and it often made their symptoms worsen. Women diagnosed with a mental illness were prescribed a rest-cure in which, â€Å"the patient was not permitted to leave bed or even move within without the doctor’s approval†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sigurà °ardà ³ttir 3). This confinement was not a reasonable treatment, and this cruel punishment was not uncommon in this century. Doctors â€Å"attempted to reinforce childlike dependency in women, defined women as inherently weak, and discouraged excessive mental or physical exertion† (Morantz). Men as well, would punish women for not being a dutiful wife in their eyes. Just like in Gilman’s story often â€Å"rest-cure could be used to discipline women whose illness became a means of avoiding household duties† (Sigurà °ardà ³ttir 4). Men believed women would fake their illnesses rather than believe they were suffering from depression, or anxiety. Unfortunately, women who had mental illnesses suffered greater than they should have. Gender roles play a part in oppressive environments. Men were often seen as the superior sex especially in the late 1800s. Men held power and authority over their wives. That left many women helpless to the wills of their husbands. Though those power dynamics have shift, gender roles are still present and leave women in helpless situations. While mental illness is still a taboo subject for some, more women are being informed about the possible side effects and outcomes of childbirth. Most women cannot be put away anymore because their husbands wish it. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a cautionary tale of how gender roles can lead to harmful relationships. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† The Norton Anthology of American Literature, edited by Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine, 8th ed., vol. 2, W.W. Norton Company, 2013, pp. 485-497. Morantz, Regina Markell, and Sue Zschoche. Professionalism, feminism, and gender roles: a comparative study of nineteenth-century medical therapeutics. The Journal of American History 67.3 (1980): 568-588. Sigurà °ardà ³ttir, Elà ­sabet Rakel. Women and Madness in the 19th Century. The effects of oppression on womens mental health. Diss. 2013. Smith-Rosenburg, Carroll. â€Å"The Hysterical Woman: Sex Roles and Role Conflict in 19th Century America.† Social Research, vol. 39, no. 4, 1972, pp. 652–678. JSTOR, JSTOR, jstor.org/stable/40970115.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Free Essays on Pollution Prevention, Management,

This presentation focuses on evaluation and implementation of pollution prevention during the process development phase for a new drug. Pollution prevention initiatives are best incorporated during the process development phase, in which a process is scaled form the laboratory to the pilot plant. Evaluation of pollution prevention initiatives is iterative, and part of the process evolution. Many process changes driven primarily by yield or productivity gains can also lead to reduced potential pollution (although such changers are not "pollution prevention initiatives", per se), which provides added incentive to successfully implement these process changes. For any drug process, pollution prevention initiatives should be evaluated during each development phase, and, if appropriate, incorporated into the process. The first phase involves analysis of the Biological and chemical pathways to the final drug. The original, demonstrated process and any alternative undemonstrated processes must be examined. The second phase involved many months of laboratory and pilot development of the processes. During this time, a number of process changes are typically made, most of which may improve the environmental profile of the process. These changes can result in a significantly decreased prospective waste solvent load. Finally, a computer-aided process simulation, used to generate overall process material balances is an invaluable tool in these efforts. As a case study, we will look at Eli Lilly, which is currently building an insulin manufacturing facility in Prince William County, Virginia. We will look at the corporate environmental policy of the company and the impact of this policy as it may be applied to the design and construction of the facility.... Free Essays on Pollution Prevention, Management, Free Essays on Pollution Prevention, Management, This presentation focuses on evaluation and implementation of pollution prevention during the process development phase for a new drug. Pollution prevention initiatives are best incorporated during the process development phase, in which a process is scaled form the laboratory to the pilot plant. Evaluation of pollution prevention initiatives is iterative, and part of the process evolution. Many process changes driven primarily by yield or productivity gains can also lead to reduced potential pollution (although such changers are not "pollution prevention initiatives", per se), which provides added incentive to successfully implement these process changes. For any drug process, pollution prevention initiatives should be evaluated during each development phase, and, if appropriate, incorporated into the process. The first phase involves analysis of the Biological and chemical pathways to the final drug. The original, demonstrated process and any alternative undemonstrated processes must be examined. The second phase involved many months of laboratory and pilot development of the processes. During this time, a number of process changes are typically made, most of which may improve the environmental profile of the process. These changes can result in a significantly decreased prospective waste solvent load. Finally, a computer-aided process simulation, used to generate overall process material balances is an invaluable tool in these efforts. As a case study, we will look at Eli Lilly, which is currently building an insulin manufacturing facility in Prince William County, Virginia. We will look at the corporate environmental policy of the company and the impact of this policy as it may be applied to the design and construction of the facility....