Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Support for High-Definition IP Cameras Assignment

Support for High-Definition IP Cameras - Assignment Example Another core advantage of the camera is the fact that it uses the Ethernet cable as the core suppliers of power, thus fitting the university requirements (PoE). It is applicable both in the indoor and outdoor settings. It has a 360o span of view, equipped with the rotating camera, thus making it possible for strategic positioning within the school halls, cafeteria, pavements and other areas that require adequate surveillance. It has HDTV options, providing high quality full HD images and videos, which is excellent for adequate surveillance. The organization should purchase up to 200 cameras, the same as the one prescribed above, which will be linked to one network, but will be segmented into individual units, with each having its own identity, through the use of its IP address, though they will all be managed by one administrator, which will constitute of the organization’s server, and a minor technology department that will be developed by the institution specifically for surveillance. These cameras will be operated with their location. For instance, the engineering school section of camera will all be operated by one person, though anyone within the surveillance office, or registered in the security management website, which will also be developed alongside the department, can access them from home or anywhere using the internet. The network management will decide on where the views can be accessed by the students within the school network and premises or if they will not have any security clearance to access any of the cameras. The cameras will all be positioned in areas where they cannot offer conflicting views, through the use of different angles of view, to prevent redundancy and duplication of images, view or videos. This will also prevent blind spots within the view. With these cameras being connected to computers, the storage uplink is definitely certified. The cameras also have temporary storage more than 1 GB. With

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Psychopathy or Antisocial Personality Disorder in Adults

Psychopathy or Antisocial Personality Disorder in Adults Forensic Assessment of Adults II Psychopathy or Antisocial Personality Disorder Explain the relevance of assessing for psychopathy or antisocial personality disorder in an adult forensic population, as well as the reasons for assessing for psychopathy or antisocial personality disorder. According to the FBI, 1% of the general population in male prisons, 1/3% of male offenders are considered having an antisocial personality disorder, and 10-20% of male offenders are psychopaths (Hare, Ph.D. FBI, et al., 2012). It is believed that psychopathy may be the result of genetics and how the person was raised. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has no diagnosis for psychopathy, yet it is one of five items that define an antisocial personality disorder (Hare, Ph.D. FBI, et al., 2012). Dr. Robert Hare and the FBI believe that psychopathy is the â€Å"most dangerous of any personality disorder (Hare, Ph.D. FBI, et al., 2012)†. Not all psychopaths are criminals or commit criminal acts, and are not violent (Hare, Ph.D. FBI, et al., 2012). One of the reasons for the importance of assessing and diagnosing psychopathy are the symptoms. Psychopaths, also known as sociopaths, are charming, manipulative, have a lack of remorse and a lack of empathy towards others, and have no conscience. They are known to commit violent and serious crimes in a callous remorseless manner. They are selfish, self-centered, feel entitled, do not accept responsibility for the actions, and have an inflated sense of self-worth. They are conniving and won’t hesitate to lie for their own benefit, since they are pathological liars to begin with. They are predatory by nature, have an inflated ego and need to have power and control in all situations. Psychopaths that kill usually plan and calculate the crime in order to maintain their sense of power and control, and the killer usually feels no emotion or remorse. When caught, they blame the victim for the reason they were killed. Drs. Porter, ten Brinke, Wilson, and the FBI state that: â€Å"Psychopathic sex offenders are 2.43 times more likely to be released than their non-psychopathic counterparts, while psychopathic offenders charged with other crimes are 2.79 times more likely to be released.Their acting ability can enable them to frequently manipulate and persuade members of a parole board to release them approximately 2.5 times faster than other offenders up for parole, despite their longer list of offenses and elevated risk (Porter, ten Brinke, Wilson FBI)†. Yet the severity of a psychopath’s condition can vary from other psychopaths. Clinical psychologists have found that psychopathology ranges from those with a lot of psychopathic traits (a full cluster of traits) to those who have less psychopathic traits (milder cluster of traits). They base this by looking at the patients behavioral patterns within their lifetime. Another reason for the importance of assessing psychopathy is to gain a better understanding of psychopathy and in gaining that understanding, it allows forensic psychologists to create treatment strategies for psychopaths. Since psychopaths are skilled manipulators and pathological liars, getting true and accurate information from them can be difficult and frustrating, and by better understanding them, forensic psychologists can also create a specific questioning strategy for law enforcement when they are questioning a psychopath. Law enforcement and forensic psychologists must fully understand psychopaths, identify them, understand the harm and damage they do, and what can be done to treat them effectively. Describe when and where in the adjudicative process assessment for psychopathy or antisocial personality disorder may be used, using specific examples. As juveniles, psychopathic traits become visible, especially during an adjudicative assessment. These include poor control of behavior and early behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, committing a variety of different crimes, impulsive actions, irresponsibility, lack of guilt, no remorse, have no realistic goals to accomplish, and a need for more and more stimulating action within their lives. Assessments to diagnose psychopathy in juveniles are commonly used when the juvenile defendants have a history of mental illness. The sooner juveniles are assessed and diagnosed the better mental health services, community services, and long-term treatment programs they can receive. Even with adults, assessment and diagnosis of psychopathy can help to identify their needs and how to treat them, and can help with future screening and intake in prisons. Explain how assessing for psychopathy or antisocial personality disorder may influence a case outcome, using specific examples. Psychopathological patients with a fuller cluster of traits put society at risk due to their ability to skillfully manipulate others, including authorities. Many psychopaths have manipulated the court and have gotten reduced sentences, and if they were unsuccessful in that endeavor, they have skillfully manipulated to have their sentences appealed in high courts of law (Hà ¤kkà ¤nen-Nyholm, H., PhD. Hare, R.D., PhD, 2009). Some famous psychopathic killers are: Theodore â€Å"Ted† Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jr., Edward â€Å"Ed† Theodore Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, Albert Fish, Andrei Chikatilo, Richard Ramirez, Albert DeSalvo, Joel Rifkin, Edmund Kemper, Gary Ridgeway (Green River Killer), Arthur Shawcross, and Robert Pickton. Many of these men appeared normal, but had psychopathic traits that were diagnosed only after they had become killers. For Example, John Wayne Gacy, Jr., had been married and divorced twice, had two children (a boy a girl), had his own business, was a community leader and vice-president of the Springfield, Illinois Jaycees, and often performed as a clown for many community children functions—yet he killed 33 men and boys, burying many under the floors of his home he shared with his mother. Ted Bundy went to law school, studied Chinese, worked for the Republican National Convention, worked on GovernorDaniel J. Evanss reelection campaign, and volunteered on a suicide h otline in Seattle—yet he killed 26-38 (possibly more) women, and was convicted and sentenced to death in Florida for killing 5 women and 1 young girl. As Dr. Martha Stout, PhD., pointed out in her book â€Å"The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us (2005), Sociopaths look like everyone else—they can be your neighbor, family member, friend, or someone famous, and you would never even know it (Stout, 2005). The MacDonald Triad, also known as the Homicidal Triad or the Triad of Sociopathy, are three behavioral traits (arson, bedwetting and cruelty to animals) that together or two of the traits combined are believed to be indicators of potential future violence or a psychopathic personality/antisocial personality disorder. While the MacDonald Triad has not been subsequently validated by psychologists and researchers, it is often used by law enforcement and taught in schools, and remains an influential theory of crime. The Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R) was developed using a 20 item list, a 3 point scale and the results rate the full extent of a person’s psychopathic tendencies, and it helps to assess what the risks or harming other people are due to the patients psychopathic PCL-R results. It is often used in court cases to assess the defendants’ mental health. Yet despite everything, there has yet to be found a way to effectively treat those who are psychopaths.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Numbing of the American Mind: Culture as Anesthetic Essay -- Thoma

ENLIGHTENED SURRENDER How many essays have been written about American culture? How many books dedicated to the intense scrutiny of every aspect of our modern society? Countless thoughts, countless theories—many of them lost in the very chaos that the authors spent 300 pages explaining. There are always solutions, which their creators seem entirely convinced will solve this mess, but the truth is that these ideas are often impractical and unrealistic. But no one writes an entire book complaining without offering us something at the conclusion. Sociologists parade around with their own superfluous speculations, conflicting and contradictory, but this must be better than unresolved pessimism, right? Thomas de Zengotita doesn’t seem to think so. In his essay, â€Å"The Numbing of the American Mind: Culture as Anesthetic,† he discusses the perceptual overload of Americans and the differing and indistinguishable levels of reality in which we exist. He claims that most people don’t know and can’t recognize what is real what is not. There are so many different kinds of reality—he lists sixteen out of many—and they have all become so intertwined into our lives that they bleed together. As a result of these discrepancies, we can no longer appreciate the differences between what is important and what isn’t. Using modern examples like the events of September 11th and the media’s response to them, de Zengotita explains how we’ve become numb to things â€Å"so enormous, so horrific, so stark, that [we believe] the great blob of virtuality that is our public culture would be unable to absorb it† (342). It is a typical review of American society— pessimistic and daunting—though his sarcastic humor and nonchalant attitude are... ...ous diagnosis of a serious condition. Would we rather not know about it because it happens to be incurable? This goes much deeper than subject matter, or political bias, the usual folder. It determines the way we frame everything . . . the attitude we bring to living in this world of surfaces. (de Zengotita 350) No amount of truth can ever bring about change on the grand scale, but the way you chose to function within it will define the difference between prisoner and progressive. In expressing a helplessness to do nothing, de Zengotita has accomplished more than all the theories in the world. â€Å"It was to have been the end of irony, remember?† (de Zengotita 340) Works Cited Zengotita, Thomas de. â€Å"The Numbing of American Minds: Culture as Anesthetic.† 2002. The Text Wrestling Book. Eds. Donna LeCourt, et al. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt, 2005. 340-351.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Scm in Petroleum Industry

International Journal of Global Logistics & Supply Chain Management. Vol. 1, No. 2, 1 November 2006, 90 – 97. Supply Chain Management in the Petroleum Industry: Challenges and Opportunities RAED HUSSAIN Department of Quantitative Methods & Information Systems, Kuwait University, Kuwait TIRAVAT ASSAVAPOKEE Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Houston, Texas, U. S. A. BASHEER KHUMAWALA Department of Decision and Information Sciences, University of Houston, Texas, U.S. A. Supply chain management in the petroleum industry contains various challenges, specifically in the logistics area, that are not present in most other industries. These logistical challenges are a major influence on the cost of oil and its derivatives. However, opportunities for cost savings in logistics still do exist. Giant oil and petrochemical companies are undertaking a â€Å"swap† practice that saves companies millions of dollars.The objective of this paper is to shed some light on the supply chain challenges and opportunities in the petroleum industry and on swap practices that have long been employed by petroleum industry’s giants around the world, such as BP, BASF, Honeywell, Nova, and much more, yet have long been ignored in the operations management literature. Keywords: Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Petroleum Industry, The Swap Practice 1.Introduction The steadily increasing global demand for oil and its derivatives such as petrochemicals has enabled companies providing these products to reach more customers and increase their market share and profitability. This boom in global demand along with the ease of international trade and the inflexibility1 involved in the petroleum industry’s supply chain has made its management more complex and more challenging (Coia, 1999; Morton, 2003). Despite the importance of supply chain management and its growing complexity, the petroleum industry is still in the development stage of efficiently managin g their supply chains.In fact, according to Steve Welsh, a managing director of the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies at the University of Oxford, the oil and petrochemical industry’s insight into the supply chain is still in its infancy (Schwartz, 2000). However, even with the inflexibility and complexity involved in the industry’s supply chain, there is a lot of room for improvement and cost reduction, specifically in its logistics area. Werner Paratorius, president of BASF’s petrochemicals division said â€Å"Supply chain management is the backbone of a business where logistics costs can be greater than manufacturing costs† (Whitfield, 2004, p. R12).By the end of 2004, world-wide demand for oil reached 75 million barrels per day and has been projected to increase at a rate of 2 percent per year over the next ten years. For example, China’s demand for energy alone is expected to grow at a rate of 4. 5 percent per year for the next five year s and reach four million barrels by 2010. However, due to recent political unrest in the Middle East, which is the largest oil producing region, sustainable oil supply has become highly unpredictable. Oil and petrochemicals companies are forced to maintain higher safety stocks and search for alternative sources of supplies (Ikram, 2004).Inflexibility in the supply chain is the constraints involved along the chain, such as long lead-times, manufacturing capacity, and limited means of transportation, that are hard to change. 1 Commodities such as oil, gas, and petrochemicals require specific modes of transportation such as pipelines, vessels or tankers, and railroads. These commodities are produced in specific and limited regions of the world, yet they are demanded all over the globe since they represent an essential source of energy and raw material for a large number of other industries.Several weeks lead-time from the shipping point to the final customers’ location is very c ommon in this type of industry. For example, it takes five weeks for the Persian Gulf’s oil to make its way to the United States and up to another three weeks for it to be processed and delivered (Schwartz, 2000). Opening new production sites or distribution centers closer to dispersed customers is one way to reduce the lead time and transportation costs. However, the acquisition of such facilities in the oil and petrochemical industries, if feasible, is typically very costly and often results in higher inventory and operating costs (Hebert, 2004).Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said â€Å"Most companies are unlikely to undertake the significant investment needed to even begin the process† (Hebert, 2004) These factors are pushing oil and petrochemicals companies to either absorb the increase in costs or pass the costs on to customers who are already facing increasing prices. Companies therefore have recognized that improved supply chain effi ciencies represent a huge area for cost savings, specifically in the logistics area; they are estimated to be an average between 10 and 20 percent of revenues (Hamilton, 2003).Also, companies believe that the supply chain in which they participate as customers and suppliers is what creates competition rather than individual companies (Whitfield, 2004; Lange, 2004; Morton, 2003; Bianchi, 2003; Collins, 1999; Coia, 1999). Despite the importance of the petroleum industry in our daily life and the operational challenges it involves, unfortunately the topic has received very little attention in operations and supply chain management literature. The objective of this paper, therefore, is to shed some light on challenges and opportunities in the petroleum industry’s supply chain management.Our discussion will focus on a practice that has been saving companies millions of dollars but has long escaped the attention it deserves from academia. The practice is referred to as systematic c ooperative reciprocal barter (also called â€Å"swaps†) (Haberman, 2002). 2. Supply Chain Management in the Petroleum Industry Before getting into any further discussion of supply chain management in the petroleum industry, it is important to first clarify the industry background and its production process. A brief explanation is available in the appendix. The supply chain of the petroleum industry is extremely complex compared to other industries.It is divided into two different, yet closely related, major segments: the upstream and downstream supply chains. The upstream supply chain involves the acquisition of crude oil, which is the specialty of the oil companies. The upstream process includes the exploration, forecasting, production, and logistics management of delivering crude oil from remotely located oil wells to refineries. The downstream supply chain starts at the refinery, where the crude oil is manufactured into the consumable products that are the specialty of ref ineries and petrochemical companies.The downstream supply chain involves the process of forecasting, production, and the logistics management of delivering the crude oil derivatives to customers around the globe. Challenges and opportunities exist now in both the upstream and downstream supply chains. 3. Challenges in the Supply Chain 3. 1. Logistical Challenges The logistics network in the petroleum industry is highly inflexible, which arises from the production capabilities of crude oil suppliers, long transportation lead times, and the limitations of modes of transportation.Every point in the network, therefore, represents a major challenge (Jenkins and Wright. 1998). The oil and petrochemical industries are global in nature. As a result, these commodities and products are transferred between locations that are—in many cases—continents apart. The long distance between supply chain partners and slow modes of transportation induce not only high transportation costs an d in-transit inventory, but also high inventory carrying costs in terms of safety stocks at the final customer location.The great distances between supply chain partners present a high variability of transportation times that can hurt suppliers in terms of service levels and final customers in terms of safety stock costs. Moreover, the transportation process is carried out either by ships, trucks, pipelines, or railroads. In many instances, a shipment has to exploit multiple transportation modes before reaching the final customer’s location. â€Å"Very few industries 91 deal with that kind of complexity in shipping,† said Doug Houseman, a senior manager at the consulting firm Accenture (Morton, 2003, p. 1). Such constraints on transportation modes in this type of industry induce long lead times from the shipping point to the final customers’ location compared to other industries. Hence, considering the amount of inflexibility involved, meeting the broadening pro spect of oil demand and its derivates while maintaining high service-levels and efficiency is a major challenge in the petroleum industry. 3. 2. Other Challenges The logistics function is only one of many areas that affect supply chain performance in the petroleum industry.Integrated process management, information systems and information sharing, organizational restructuring, and cultural reorientation are as equally important (Ikram, 2004). The need for integrated processes all the way from procurement of raw materials to the delivery of the final product is crucial for a company’s success. â€Å"Manufacturing efficiency alone does not ensure a competitive advantage anymore,† said Paratorius, president of BASF’s petrochemicals division (Whitfield, 2004, p. R12). The industry lags behind in using integrated planning across the supply chain.This type of disintegration in the supply chain can increase the cost of acquiring crude oil, which will eventually affect gas prices for consumers (Coia, 1999). Also, due to the globalization of the petroleum industry supply chain, sophisticated information technology is essential for smooth information flow considering the complexity of the logistics network in such an industry. Companies’ relationships in supply chain networks are directly related to the effective use of information technology (Guimaraes, Cook, and Natarajan, 2002).A data flow diagram (DFD) was developed by Hull in 2001 to improve supply chain information flow reliability of the Alaskan North Slope Oil supply chain. The study showed that using the DFD helped to realize the importance of the relationship between scheduling and dispatching (synchronization). By using the DFD to examine the information flow, overall supply chain efficiency was improved and distortion,2 which is greatly related to supply chain structure, was greatly reduced.Moreover, the generic DFD developed offers a template for modeling any supply chain or logi stics activity, whether it is a push, pull, or a hybrid push/pull system (Hull, 2001). Sophisticated information technology is also essential for petroleum industries due to security needs. Petroleum companies ship a great deal of hazardous products, and supply chain partners (suppliers and customers) must be aware of the locations of each shipment at any point in time. According to Houseman at Accenture, chemical companies are considering wireless technology to track their shipments (Morton, 2003).Another challenge in the petroleum industry supply chain is the attitude and anxiety regarding collaboration and information sharing between supply chain partners. While collaboration and information sharing represent a crucial factor for supply chain efficiency, â€Å"companies in the petroleum industry are sometimes cautious when it comes to sharing their demand/costs information,† said Salah Al-Kharraz, a supply chain director at Equate Petrochemicals (Personal Communication, 23 December 2004). This type of parsimony regarding collaboration and sharing demand/costs information can waste opportunities for costs saving.Improved supply chain efficiency in the petroleum industry, therefore, needs a new philosophy in collaboration, even if this means working with competitors. â€Å"Collaboration, information sharing, and asset optimization require the greatest mind change because chemical producers and LSPs would have to work with their competitors, as well as with other operators in the supply chain,† said Phil Browitt, CEO of AGILITY, a logistics firm (Young, 2005, p. 10). The acquisition of sophisticated information technology, although necessary, can only do so much if it is not supported by a cultural change.The next section will discuss an opportunity, specifically a practice that has been saving companies millions of dollars in the petroleum industry’s supply chain, yet has not received the attention it deserves in academia. 4. Opportunitie s in the Supply Chain and Swap Practices In an effort to manage their supply chain and reduce costs, oil and petrochemical companies are outsourcing3 their logistics4 functions. As the trend in outsourcing has grown, these companies have become increasinglyDistortion in Hull’s paper is the â€Å"bullwhip effect† established by the well-known beer game developed by Sterman (1989) and Senge (1990). 3 Outsourcing takes place when an organization transfers the ownership of a business process to a supplier. 92 2 reliant on the services of third-party5 logistics companies for managing their supply chains (Collins, 1999). Companies in the petroleum industry, however, took the outsourcing idea one step further and found that one way of outsourcing their logistics functions is to ally and collaborate with competitors.This form of collaboration is referred to as a systematic cooperative reciprocal barter (also called â€Å"swaps† or â€Å"exchanges†) of supplies, a ssets, market share, or even the entire business among competitors (O’Dwyer, 1988; Robert, 1995; Gain, 1997; Alperowicz, 2001; Sim, 2002). However, despite the significant advantages this practice has generated for companies, a defined model for making such decisions does not exist. The subject has barely received any attention in the operations management literature.Currently, no specific method has been adopted to determine when companies should attempt to make swap decisions. An interview with supply chain directors in two international petrochemical companies that have been involved in swapping with their competitors for the past few years revealed that the only methods used are judgmental6 methods and spreadsheets. Although judgmental approaches may improve accuracy in many decision-making problems, they should not be the only methods employed. The use of only such approaches cannot guarantee an optimal solution. 4. 1.The Swap Practice In a commodity-type industry such a s oil and petrochemicals, the source of the commodity is often of no interest to the final customer as long as the commodity adheres to its required specifications and the delivery of that commodity is made by the promised due date. Therefore, competing oil and petrochemical companies form supply chain alliances when delivering commodities to customers in order to reduce transportation and inventory costs and improve customer service. In return, cost savings for transportation in the overall supply chain are shared among participating companies.This form of collaboration is referred to as shipment swapping. This kind of collaboration with competitors creates a shared solution to common supply chain obstacles and is predicted to be the â€Å"Next Big Thing† (Morton, 2003). The swapping technique is currently applied by oil and petrochemical companies around the world in all of its different forms: asset swapping, business swapping, and shipment swapping. However, because of th e absence of any general analytical discussion of swap practices in the literature, we first provide examples from the oil and petrochemicals industry for each form of swap practice being used.This is done to illustrate the advantages of collaboration among competitors. Due to brevity, only the more recent examples of such practices are discussed here. 4. 2. Asset Swapping In 2001, BP became the largest olefins producer in Germany after an asset swap with E. ON, a German utility company. Following the deal, BP took over Veba Oel, E. ON’s oil, refining, and petrochemicals business, and E. ON bought BP’s 25 percent stake in Ruhrgas, Germany’s largest gas distributor. The deal gave BP 2. 1 million tons of ethylene7 capacity in Germany, which is about 40 percent of the country’s total, and ave E. ON control of one of the largest gas distribution networks in Germany (Milmo, 2001). In 2003, BASF, a leading German chemical company, and Honeywell signed a long-te rm deal under which BASF will supply Honeywell with nylon chips and Honeywell will supply BASF with specialty nylon and nylon co-polymers8. Since Honeywell has a strong presence in electrical and tooling applications and BASF is strong in the automotive sector, the deal has benefited both companies in their business specialties. For example, in 2003 the deal raised BASF’s market share in nylon from 9 percent to 35 percent and gaveLogistics is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of raw material, in-process inventory, finished goods, and related information from point of origin to point of consumption to conform to customer requirements (Council of Logistics Management, 1998, p. 2). 5 Third-party logistics is the use of an outside company to perform all or part of the firm’s materials management and product distribution function. 6 A judgmental method is the use of people’s opinions when making deci sions. 7 Ethylene is a colorless gas at room temperature.At very low temperatures, it is a liquid. It is used as a refrigerant and in welding and cutting metals. It is also used to manufacture ethylene oxide, mustard gas, and other organics and to accelerate the ripening of fruits. 8 When a polymer chain-like molecule is made by linking only one type of small molecule together, it is called a homopolymer. When two different types of molecules are joined in the same polymer chain, it is called a co-polymer. 93 4 Honeywell the chance to concentrate on carpet, apparel, and fabrics for automotive upholstery. Honeywell plans to eventually sell the nylon business (Sim, 2003).More recently, the Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) and the Iraqi Oil Institute (SOMO) signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding related to exchanges of shipments of Kuwaiti benzene and diesel with Iraqi natural gas. The swap will be implemented in two phases. Thirty-five million cubic feet of Iraqi natural gas will be supplied daily to Kuwait for about one year at an estimated cost of U. S. $24 million during the first phase. Then, 165 million cubic feet of natural gas will be supplied daily to Kuwait for about two years at an estimated cost of U. S. 700 million dollars during the second phase. Meanwhile, Kuwait will supply Iraq with oil derivatives, benzene, and diesel, ranging from two to three million liters of benzene and 1. 3 to 1. 5 million liters of diesel daily (Alshalan, 2004). The outcome of this agreement is expected to significantly benefit both countries. Kuwait produces a relatively modest volume of natural gas (around 293 billion cubic feet––Bcf––in 2002), the vast majority of which is â€Å"associated gas. †9 Prior to the 1990-1991 Gulf War, Kuwait received significant volumes of natural gas from Iraq.The gas came from Iraq’s southern Rumaila field through a 40-inch, 100-mile, 300 Mmcf/d pipeline to Kuwait’s central manifol d at Ahmadi. The gas was used for the production of petrochemicals, electricity, and water through desalination processes. With such uses of natural gas, the Kuwaiti-Iraqi swapping deal could free up a substantial amount of oil to Kuwait, possibly 100,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) for export by 2006, which is presently used for similar purposes. For example, 65,000 bbl/d of fuel oil is currently used to generate electric power in Kuwait.Throughout most of the 1990s, Iraq generally did not have access to the latest state-of-the-art oil industry technology. Saybolt International reported that Iraq oil companies, NOC and SOC, were able to increase their oil production through the use of short-term techniques not generally considered acceptable in the oil industry (i. e. , â€Å"water flooding,† the injection of refined oil products into crude reservoirs). In addition, a U. N. report in June 2001 stated that Iraqi oil production capacity would fall sharply unless technical and infr astructure problems were addressed.Moreover, Iraq’s southern oil industry was decimated in the 1990-1991 Gulf War, with production capacity falling to 75,000 bbl/d in mid-1991. The Gulf War resulted in the destruction of (a) gathering centers and compression/degassing stations at Rumaila; (b) storage facilities, including the 1. 6 million bbl/d (nameplate capacity) Mina al-Bakr/Basra export terminal; and (c) pumping stations along the 1. 4 million bbl/d (pre-war capacity) Iraqi Strategic (North-South) Pipeline. Seven other sizable fields remain damaged or partially mothballed.These include Zubair, Luhais, Suba, Buzurgan, Abu Ghirab, and Fauqi. Generally speaking, oil field development plans were put on hold following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, with Iraqi efforts focused on maintaining production at existing fields. At the present time, problems with Iraq’s refineries––stemming largely from post-war looting and sabotage in addition to power outagesà ¢â‚¬â€œÃ¢â‚¬â€œcontinue to force the country to import gasoline, diesel, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), and other refined products from neighboring countries (Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey).As of October 2004, Oil Minister Ghadban said that Iraqi gasoline imports were running around 40,000 bbl/d (mainly by truck), costing the country U. S. $60 million per month in direct costs. This does not include the additional cost of steep government subsidies on the consumer price of gasoline, which runs around 10 cents per gallon. It is estimated that overall direct and indirect oil subsidies cost Iraq U. S. $8 billion per year, with no indication as to when this problem might be resolved (Country Analysis Brief, March 2004).As a result, both countries are expected to benefit from the swapping agreement; Iraq will secure current and future needs of oil, benzene, and diesel and Kuwait will use the natural gas for the production of petrochemicals, electricity, and water while freeing up a substantial amount of oil for exportation. 4. 3. Swapping Businesses In 1997, PPG Industries, a specialty chemical company, exchanged its surfactants10 business for BASF’s packaging coatings business. This swap resulted in the growth of PPG’s portfolio and led to the expansion of geographic opportunities for the coating business.Moreover, this swap enabled PPG to become one of the world’s largest suppliers of package coating for food, aerosols, and other container and packaging applications. On the other hand, this business swap made it possible for BASF to expand its surfactants offerings for the food, personal care, and coatings industries (Gain, 1997). 9 10 Associated gas is found and produced in conjunction with oil. Surfactants are also known as wetting agents and may be liquids or powders. Surfactants are used in aqueous cleaners to provide detergency, emulsification, and wetting action. 4 Similarly, BP swapped its polyethylene glycol11 (PEG) ether brake fluid business for the butyl glycol ether12 (BGE) solvents operation belonging to Clariant, a Swiss specialty chemical company. However, this swapping deal was restricted only to the exchange of customer lists and contracts. No manufacturing units, staff, or cash transfer between the two companies took place. Clariant discontinued production of BGE at Gendorf, Germany, and BP discontinued manufacturing brake fluids at Lavera.The deal broadened the range of products that Clariant supplied to the automotive industry and enabled BP to better utilize the Lavera BGE plant (Alperowicz, 2001). 4. 4. Swapping Shipments During 2000, a swapping arrangement of liquid natural gas took place among Spain, Algeria, and Trinidad. Spain’s Gas Natural became the first European LNG buyer to resell LNG to the U. S. market. This gas had been sold to Gas Natural by Atlantic LNG of Trinidad. At the same time, Algerian LNG dedicated to the United States was delivered to Spain, reducing shipping cha rges for all parties.In 2001, these swaps developed into a more permanent arrangement with the signing of a contract between Sonatrach of Algeria, Gas Natural of Spain, Tractebel LNG North America in the United States, and Distrigas of Belgium. Companies with interests on both sides of the Atlantic gained an advantage over others, enabling them to react faster to any market opportunity (Gandolphe, 2002). Moreover, Nova Chemicals, a Canadian chemical company, and BASF entered a swap deal for styrene13 in which Nova supplied BASF in North America and BASF supplied Nova in Europe.This agreement provided each company with a stable supply of styrene without committing either one to significant investments. The deal also gave each company a low-cost styrene position for their PS (Sim, 2002). Another swap example is between world-class Indian polymer manufacturers Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. (HPL) and GAIL Ltd. , India’s principal gas transmission and marketing company. The two compa nies entered into a product swapping and sharing arrangement that forced other polymer sellers in eastern and northern India to retreat from the market.Under this swapping agreement, both companies gained substantial savings on freight costs. Gail supplied HPL’s customers in northern India from its plant in Uttar Pradesh, and HPL served Gail’s customers in eastern and southeastern Asia by supplying them from the Haldia plant (Saha, 2003). 5. Conclusion More efficient and cost effective supply chain practices in the petroleum industry represent important factors for maintaining continuous supplies of crude oil, the reduction of lead times, and lowering of production and distribution costs.Due to the inflexibility involved in the petroleum industry’s supply chain network, logistics represent a great challenge. However, it is only one of several challenging factors. Integrated process management, information systems and information sharing, organizational restructu ring, and cultural reorientation are equally important. Despite the great challenges in the petroleum industry’s supply chain, opportunities for improvements and cost savings do exist along the supply chain. One major area for improvement and cost savings lies in the logistics function.Companies in the petroleum industry have become increasingly reliant on the services of third-party logistics companies to manage their supply chains. Companies in the petroleum industry took the outsourcing idea a step further to collaborate with competitors and found shared solutions to their supply chain challenges. This form of collaboration is referred to as a systematic cooperative reciprocal barter, or swaps. Collaboration among competing companies in the form of swaps is a practice that can offer companies huge savings and introduce new opportunities.However, despite its wide use and benefits, especially in the oil and petrochemical industries, the subject has not received the attention it deserves in the operations management literature. Currently, judgmental methods and the aid of spreadsheets are the only approaches utilized when attempting swap decisions. Although great savings are realized by companies using swap practices, the 11 Polyethylene glycol is a non-toxic chemical used in a variety of products such as skin creams, toothpaste, shampoos, etc. 12 Butyl glycol ether is a widely-used solvent for many applications. 3 Styrene is a chemical molecule used in polystyrene manufacturing, the rubber industry, and the reinforced plastic industry. 95 approaches used for making such decisions cannot guarantee an optimal solution, and hence, opportunities to utilize the full capability of swap practices are not fully exploited. Therefore, the next step would be the utilization of management science techniques, presumably mathematical/simulations models. These methods will significantly enhance the capability of such forms of collaboration and will represent valuable tools for practitioners to use. . Appendix: Production Process and Industry Background Crude oil and natural gas are the raw materials of the petroleum industry. They are used for the production of petrochemicals and other oil derivatives. After the production of crude oil is complete from oil reserves located deep underground or in sea beds, the crude oil undergoes a distillation14 process. As a result of the distillation process, various fractions of the crude oil are produced, such as fuel gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), kerosene, and naphtha. 5 The output of the distillation process is then provided to refineries as feedstocks. These feedstocks are first processed through cracking16 operations before they are supplied to petrochemical plants. Once the cracking process is complete, companies are able to obtain new products that serve as the building blocks of the petrochemical industry, such as olefins (i. e. , mainly ethylene, propylene, and the so-called Carbon (C) derivat ives, including butadiene) and aromatics, which include benzene, toluene, and the xylenes.After the cracking process, petrochemical products such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, and the xylenes are then used at petrochemical plants to produce even more specialized products, such as plastics, soaps and detergents, healthcare products (such as aspirin), synthetic fibers for clothes and furniture, rubbers, paints, and insulating materials. References Alperowicz, N. (2001, August 29 – September 5). BP swap business with Clariant. Chemical Week, 163, 33. Alshalan, M. (2004, December 15). Iraqi gas to Kuwait and Kuwaiti benzene to Iraq. Alwatan, 10368/4814 – Year 43.Bianchi, M. (2003). Getting to the route. ACN: Asian Chemical News, September, 19. BP, Conoco swap Gulf of Mexico, Alaskan assets. (1993, November 15). Oil & Gas Journal, 91, 46. Coia, A. (1999, July 12). Integrating oil’s supply chain. Traffic World, 259, 2. Collins, T. (1999, Septemb er 9). Striking it big together. Supply Management, 4, 18. Gain, B. (1997, August 27 – September 3). PPG, BASF swap businesses. Chemical Week, 159, 33. Gandolphe, S. (2002). Flexibility in natural gas supply and demand. International Energy Agency. Guimaraes, T. , Cook, D. , & Natarajan, N. (2002).Exploring the importance of business clockspeed as a moderator for determinants of supplier network performance. Decision Sciences. 33, 4, Fall, 629. Haberman, D. I. , (2002, April 19). Petroleum swapping between oil giants â€Å"exchanges†: An elephant in our living room, Statement submitted to the Federal Trade Commission Second Conference re: Factors that Affect Price of Refined Petroleum Products. Hamilton, S. (2003, August). Must chemical companies outsource logistics to save money? GL&SCS. Hebert, H. (2004, July 28th). Oil industry not building new plants. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. http://www. azstarnet. om/dailystar/starmedia/31783 Hull, B. (2001). A structu re for supply-chain information flows and its application to the Alaskan crude oil supply chain. Logistics Information Management, 15, 1/2, 8. Ikram, A. (2004, November). Supply chain management in the oil and gas sector. Supply Chain Update, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. Iraq Country Analysis Brief. (2004, March). Country Analysis Briefs, pp. 1-18. www. usiraqprocon. org/pdf/ eiacountryanalysis. pdf Japan marketers to Swap supplies. (1998, July 6). Oil & Gas Journal, 96, 27. Jenkins, G. , & Wright, D. (1998). Managing inflexible supply chains.International Journal of Logistics Management, 9, 2, 83. Lange, C. (2004, November). Extreme makeover: Supply chain edition. Chemical Market Report, 266, 16, 21. 14 15 Distillation is the separation of heavy crude oil into lighter groups (called fractions) of hydrocarbons. Naphtha is used in the production of gasoline and is the primary source from which petrochemicals are derived. 16 Cracking is the process of breaking d own heavy oil molecules into lighter, more valuable fractions. 96 Milmo, S. (2001, July 23). BP bags Veba Oel following asset swap with E. ON. Chemical Market Reporter, 260, 4. Morton, R. (2003, October).Good chemistry in the supply chain. Logistics Today, 44, 10, 30. O’Dwyer, G. (1988, March 30). DSM, Kermira will swap plants. Chemical Week, 142, 13. Robert, B. (1995, July). A new dimension to shipping. Distribution, 94, 7. Robert, M. (1995, March 29). Hoechest, BP chemicals in PE swap. Chemical Week. Saha, S. (2003, November). Haldia’s Comeback. rediff. com. http://www. rediff. com/money/2003/nov/ 15haldia. htm. Schwartz, B. (2000, August). The crude supply chain. Transportation & Distribution, 41, 8. Senge. (1990). The Fifth Discipline, the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Doubleday, New York, NY, Chapter 3.Sim, P. H. (2003, May 7). BASF Honeywell complete nylon swap. Chemical Week, 165, 17. Sim, P. H. (2002, August 14). Nova-BASF Styrene Swap â€Å"m akes sense. † Chemical Week, 164, 32. Sterman, J. D. (1989). Modeling managerial behavior: Misconceptions of feedback in dynamic decision making experiment, Management Sciences, 355. 3, 321 – 39. Westervelt. R. (2002). Seeking greater supply chain efficiency through Whitfield, M. (2004, Sep 20 – Sep 26). A stronger link. European Chemical News, 81, 2116, R12. Young, I. (2005). Industry eyes big savings from supply chain collaboration. Chemical Week. Nov 2, 167, 36, 10. 97

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Humour and Leadership

Leaders in today’s cut throat world of corporate industry face an enormous challenge. In the midst of achieving the organisation’s goals and pursuing profits, how do leaders build teamwork, motivate their subordinates, convey their sometimes demanding managerial concerns and reduce stress in a way that produces positivity and productivity? Is it possible to be serious at work without actually being serious at work? To answer this question, this essay will look at research surrounding leadership characteristics and investigate how humour can practically have an impact on leadership effectiveness. How do we define humour? Humour is a verbal or nonverbal activity eliciting a positive cognitive or affective response from listeners and must be connected to context in order to be truly funny. The definition includes puns, jokes, stories, anecdotes, physical actions etc (Meyer, 1990). According to Sarros and Barker (2003), humour is the ability to invoke laughter or see the funny side of a painful predicament. In their study of Australian managers, Sarros and Barker (2003) established that the character attribute of humour was rated the second highest behind integrity. Humour may seem an unlikely component for a leader, however Barker and Coy (2003) also recognised the importance of humour. They identified seven virtues by which Australian executives could be identified and humour was included. Eckert and Vehar (2000) state: â€Å"It’s possible to do serious work without being serious. In fact, it’s actually counterproductive to do it any other way. Research on environments that foster innovation shows that playfulness and humour are critically supportive elements. We can be serious about what we’re doing without taking ourselves seriously, and we must. With humour in the workplace being established as a component for effective leadership, the way in which it is used needs to be looked at. According to Anderson (2011), humour is best when it is used deliberately, and advises it to be planned but flow naturally according to one’s personality. There are many opportunities for humor to be used. While the telling of a joke is a good starting point, humour that uplifts is much more positive and this can occur during speeches, within memos or even at the conclusion of an email (Avolia et al 1999). There are many benefits as to why a leader would use humour in the workplace. According to Davis and Kleiner (1989), humour has the potential to achieve three outcomes, these are, 1. Stress Reduction in the workplace, 2. Conveying managerial concerns and 3. Motivating employees. Hughes and Avey (2009) add weight to this as their research suggests that when a leader uses humour, they elicit a greater commitment from their followers to the organisation and build a much deeper level of trust. Furthermore Holmes and Marra’s (2006) research on humour in the work place identified a wide range of functions including the use of humour as a solidarity strategy, establishing, maintaining and developing workplace relationships and contributing to the process of creating a sense of team through humour as a subversive strategy, contesting, challenging and undermining the achievement of workplace objectives. Humour in the workplace is incredibly profitable for some organisations. According to Stevenson (2004) organisations are starting to see the important role that humour plays towards leadership, motivation, innovation and creativity. Some of these initiatives have been stated by Morreall (1983) and include such organisations as Kodak and Price Waterhouse establishing humour rooms within their buildings. He goes on to add that because humour has such a profound affect on the body, even hospitals are using it to enhance the healing process. You could argue that God, through Solomon’s writings, has always been aware of the powerful impact humour can have; â€Å"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. † Proverbs 17 v 22 (TNIV 2005). I am currently working as a youth worker for a not for profit organisation. The nature of working in community welfare can be at times be extremely serious, so to counter the seriousness our team have written into our yearly plan to include times of spontaneous dancing in the office. Not that anyone can seem to dance with any real coordination or skill. However it’s exactly the opposite and it allows our team to laugh at and with each other as a way of building morale and combating stress relief. Not all leaders are funny and not all humour is effective. When a leader tries too hard to be funny, it has the potential to undermine their leadership. If the humour is seen as sarcastic or mean spirited, it will certainly alienate staff (Sala 2003). In a list of cautions given by Jonas (2004), who agrees with the idea that humour should be handled like hazardous material, the list of cautions include: Aggressive or put down humour which attacks people or humour based on topics which centre on sex or illegal activity. One would have to include humour which degrades gender and humour which slanders religious beliefs also. Avolio, Howell and Sosik (1999) found that some employee's view the use of humor to be inconsistent with the seriousness of the issues being examined and, depending upon the circumstances, the inappropriate use of humor may have detracted from, rather than contributing to, the eventual outcomes. In some instances, Avolio et al. also believe the use of humour leads employees to view their leaders as insensitive to their needs. When a leader uses humour, there is significant potential for good outcomes. Humour has the ability to go beneath the surface and affect the working environment to such an extent that organisations are seeing the benefit of including ‘humour rooms’ within their organisation. A simple joke about work which is shared among colleagues has the potential to build solidarity and form a bond between colleagues which in turn provides a more positive working environment and greater productivity. While there are some dangers in using humour, however a leader who uses humour wisely can most certainly have an effective and positive impact in their workplace.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Example Term Paper on Abortion

Example Term Paper on Abortion Abortion is knows as a disgusting but a very common term in the lives of people and youth.  Ã‚   Many students of colleges and universities also make use of this term in their educational and communal perspectives. All know about this universally acknowledged term and its influence over different societies. Students are puzzled in poles apart accreditation related with this word in different societies around the world. They face similar obstacle on their way when they need to write a research paper on abortion. Research paper on abortion is often a demand by their professors in college and university. While writing research papers on abortion, students may look around for abortion research paper help from different sources. Other than getting help from external sources, students can do an abortion research paper at their own. Abortion research papers can be finished only from side to side research and after consulting several books, websites and studying different researches conducted in this regard. For writing a research paper on abortion, students necessitate direction on different abortion research paper topics.   Abortion is forbidden strictly in all religions and is illegal in most of civilized societies. Even though it is never appreciated in any society, some groups argue to allow abortion as a legal right to individuals. This thought provokes hot debates in different countries. Students could do their work with some guidance for writing research paper on abortion. A research paper on abortion will consists on different parts like: Introduction to the concept Abortion Legality involved in abortion and its application Religious perspective of Abortion Need and requirement of abortion Societal perspective of Abortion and its impact Cultural influence for and against abortion View of Church and Mosque along with governmental perspective You can buy custom research paper on abortion from us anytime CustomWritings.com.   We have practiced writers who are trained in writing a research paper on abortion and its related issues.   We can do a research paper on abortion in the shortest time possible.   We have a huge support staff that remains online at all times when you are placing an order for research paper on abortion.   Abortion term paper help of all kinds is provided at CustomWritings.com, and you can post an order for any kind of research paper on abortion you want. A large percentage of customers at CustomWritings.com are students.   We promise our student patrons full marks or the best possible grades in their academic research paper on abortion. We provide full refund if it is found that our research paper writers did not fulfill the customer’s requirements. We have a number of customers who have always bought their research on abortion done through us, and still they buy from us. CustomWritings.com has always been a favorite among students and teachers alike.   We have thousands of customers who have their custom research paper on abortion  prepared by us.   We have never been blamed for providing clichà ©d material to our clientele, and that is why CustomWritings.com is one of the most favorite online companies to write on abortion writing scenario.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Oldowan Tradition - Humankinds First Stone Tools

Oldowan Tradition - Humankinds First Stone Tools The Oldowan Tradition (also called Oldowan Industrial Tradition or Mode 1 as described by Grahame Clarke) is the name given to a pattern of stone-tool making by our hominid ancestors, developed in Africa by about 2.6 million years ago (mya) by our hominin ancestor Homo habilis (probably), and used there until 1.5 mya (mya). First defined by Louis and Mary Leakey at Olduvai Gorge in the Great Rift Valley of Africa, the Oldowan tradition is to date the earliest manifestation of stone tool making on our planet. Further, it is global in scope, a toolkit thought to have been carried out of Africa by our hominin ancestors as they left to colonize the rest of the world. To date, the oldest known Oldowan tools were found at Gona (Ethiopia) at 2.6 ma; the latest in Africa is 1.5 mya at Konso and Kokiselei 5. The end of the Oldowan is defined as the appearance of Mode 2 tools or Acheulean handaxes. The earliest Oldowan sites in Eurasia are 2.0 mya at Renzidong (Anhui Province China), Longgupo (Sichuan Province) and Riwat (on the Potwar Plateau in Pakistan), and the latest so far is at Isampur, 1 mya in the Hungsi valley of India. Some discussion of the stone tools found at Liang Bua Cave in Indonesia suggests that they are Oldowan; which either lends support to the notion that the Flores hominin is a devolved Homo erectus or that the Oldowan tools were not specific to species. What Is an Oldowan Assemblage? The Leakeys described the stone tools at Olduvai as cores in the shapes of polyhedrons, discoids, and spheroids; as heavy and light duty scrapers (sometimes called nuclà ©us racloirs or rostro carà ©nà ©s in the scientific literature); and as choppers and retouched flakes. Selection for raw material sources  can be seen in Oldowan by about 2 mya, at sites like Lokalalei and Melka Kunture in Africa and Gran Dolina in Spain. Some of that is surely related to characteristics of the stone and what the hominid planned to use it for: if you have a choice between basalt and obsidian, youd select basalt as a percussion tool, but obsidian to break down into sharp-edged flakes. Why Did They Make Tools at All? The purpose of the tools is somewhat in controversy. Some scholars are inclined to think that most of the tools are simply steps in manufacturing sharp-edged flakes for cutting. The stone-tool making process  is known as chaà ®ne opà ©ratoire in archaeological circles. Others are less convinced. There is no evidence that our hominid ancestors were eating meat before about 2 mya, so these scholars suggest that the stone tools must have been for use with plants, and the percussion tools and scrapers may have been tools for plant processing. Admittedly, however, its hard to make assumptions on negative evidence: the oldest Homo remains we have only date to 2.33 mya in the Nachukui Formation of West Turkana in Kenya, and we dont know if there are earlier fossils we havent found yet that will be associated with Oldowan, and it may be that Oldowan tools were invented and used by another non-Homo species. History The Leakeys  work in Olduvai Gorge in the 1970s was quite revolutionary by any standards. They defined the original chronology of the Oldowan assemblage in the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa including the following periods; the stratigraphy within the region; and the material culture, the characteristics of the stone tools themselves. The Leakeys also focused on geological studies of the paleo-landscape of the Olduvai Gorge and its changes over time. In the 1980s, Glynn Isaac and his team worked at the more-or-less contemporaneous deposits at Koobi Fora, where they used experimental archaeology, ethnographic analogy, and primatology to explain the Oldowan archaeological record. They developed testable hypotheses about ecological and economic conditions that might have triggered stone tool making- hunting, food sharing, and occupying a home base, all of which is also done by primates, with the exception of the production of sharp-edged tools. Recent Investigations Recent expansions to the interpretations built by the Leakeys and Isaac have involved adjustments to the time span of use: discoveries at sites such as Gona have pushed the date of the first tools a half-million years earlier from what the Leakeys found at Olduvai. Also, scholars have recognized a considerable variability within the assemblages; and the extent of the Oldowan tool use throughout the globe has become recognized. Some scholars have looked at the variation in stone tools and argued that there must have been a Mode 0, that Oldowan is the result of a gradual evolution from a common tool-making ancestor of both humans and chimps, and that phase is missing in the archaeological record. That has some merit, because Mode 0 tools may have been made of bone or wood. Not everyone agrees with this, and, currently, it seems that the 2.6 mya assemblage at Gona still represents the earliest stages of lithic production. Sources I highly recommended Braun and Hovers 2009 (and the rest of the articles in their book Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Oldowan) for a good overview of current thinking about Oldowan. Barsky, Deborah. An Overview of Some African and Eurasian Oldowan Sites: Evaluation of Hominin Cognition Levels, Technological Advancement and Adaptive Skills. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Oldowan, SpringerLink, 2018. Braun, David R. Introduction: Current Issues in Oldowan Research. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Oldowan, Erella Hovers, SpringerLink, 2018. Braun DR, Tactikos JC, Ferraro JV, and Harris JWK. 2006. Archaeological inference and Oldowan behavior. Journal of Human Evolution 51:106-108. Carbonell, Eudald. From Homogeneity to Multiplicity: A New Approach to the Study of Archaic Stone Tools. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Oldowan, Robert SalaDeborah Barsky, et al., SpringerLink, 2018. Harmand, Sonia. Variability in Raw Material Selectivity at the Late Pliocene sites of Lokalalei, West Turkana, Kenya. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Oldowan, SpringerLink, 2018. Harmand S. 2009. Raw Materials and Techno-Economic Behaviors at Oldowan and Acheulean Sites in the West Turkana Region, Kenya. Lithic Materials and Paleolithic Societies: Wiley-Blackwell. p 1-14. McHenry LJ, Njau JK, de la Torre I, and Pante MC. 2016. Geochemical â€Å"fingerprints† for Olduvai Gorge Bed II tuffs and implications for the Oldowan–Acheulean transition. Quaternary Research 85(1):147-158. Petraglia MD, LaPorta P, and Paddayya K. 1999. The first Acheulian quarry in India: Stone tool manufacture, biface morphology, and behaviors. Journal of Anthropological Research 55:39-70. Semaw, Sileshi. The Oldowan-Acheulian Transition: Is there a Developed Oldowan Artifact Tradition? Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions, Michael RogersDietrich Stout,  SpringerLink,, June 16, 2009.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Presidential Pets of the Past

Presidential Pets of the Past Animal lovers savour that moment when a pet runs up to greet them at the end of the stressful day. Few jobs are probably more stressful than the U.S. presidents position. Thats why it is no surprising that presidents and their families have always been fond of animals. Dogs seem to be first in line, but creatures from mice to alligators have also been presidential pets in the White House. List of Presidential Pets George W. Bush President George W. Bush carries Barney to the South Portico of the White House Monday, Sept. 3, 2001, after disembarking Marine One. Photo by Tina Hager, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library â€Å"Barney was by my side during our eight years in the White House. He never discussed politics and was always a faithful friend.† President Bush remembered his little friend with these words when he died of lymphoma in 2013 at the age of 12. Barney, a Scottish terrier, was a gift to George W. Bush after the 2000 presidential election. He was always polite and liked to greet prime ministers, queens and heads of state in the White House. Barney was even a media star, he had his own website where his fans could watch videos from the dogs perspective about visiting celebrities and White House staff. â€Å"Barney and I enjoyed the outdoors,† Bush said. â€Å"His favourite activity was chasing golf balls.† However, Barney could also lose his temper. Once he bit the Reuters news reporter and the Bostons Celtics public relations director. Among other presidential pets were a Scottish terrier Miss Beazley, an English springler spaniel Spot, a cat India, and a longhorn cow Ofelia. Bill Clinton Socks, a black-and-white stray cat, became a presidential pet in 1991 when he jumped into the arms of Chelsea Clinton. Once the Clinton family took the cat, he took place in the Americas heart. He was a subject of a popular TV comedy, Murphy Brown, a cartoon book and a song, he appeared with the President on a series of stamps in the Central African Republic. Socks was so popular, that a Clinton family even asked the photographers to leave this poor cat. In 1997 a Labrador retriever Buddy joined the presidential family but Socks wasnt a fan of a new dog. Hillary Clinton said that Socks â€Å"despised Buddy from first sight, instantly and forever.† When Socks died in 2009, Bill Clinton admitted: â€Å"Socks brought much happiness to Chelsea and us over the years, and enjoyment to kids and cat lovers everywhere. We’re grateful for those memories† George H.W. Bush Millie is among the most notable pets in the White House. The English springer spaniel â€Å"wrote† Millies Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush that describes a day in her life at the White House. In 1992 it was at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Millie was depicted in several TV shows, including Whos the Boss and Murphy Brown. She even appeared in the episode of The Simpsons. The 15-acre Millie Bush Bark Park on the west side of Houston is named after her. Millie took active part in re-election. â€Å"My dog Millie knows more about foreign affairs than these two bozos,† Bush claimed, mentioning his opponents Al Gore and Bill Clinton. Millie was even a mother of two other presidential pets: Ranger and Spot. She died at the age 12 of pneumonia. Ronald Reagan    Lucky, a large black dog, was said to â€Å"to be a size of a pony. † And not for reason. His breed Bouvier des Flandres originated in Belgium for the purposes of pulling carts and herding kettle. Bouviers are known as fearless dogs useful as both family friends and guard dogs. They require a lot of room to exercise and wander about, and the Reagans soon found that out. Lucky was named in the honour of Mrs. Reagans mother, Edith Luckett (â€Å"Lucky†) Davis. A small â€Å"ball of fluff,† a nine-year-old puppy, turned into a large dog just in several months. Lucky enjoyed running in the halls of the White House. However, despite the efforts at training, she didnt really adjust to live there. Thats why the president and his family decided to send her to their ranch in California in 1985. She died at the age of 10 in January 5, 1995. Ronald Reagan had a few other dogs: Rex, Cavalier King Charles spaniel; Victory, golden retriever; Peggy, Irish setter; Taca, Siberian husky; and Fuzzy, Belgian sheepdog. Jimmy Carter When Jimmy Carter and his family moved into the White House, they didnt take no pets along. Grits arrived at the White House on June 8, 1977. The dog was named in honour of the Carters family Southern roots. A handsome border collie mix was a present to Carters daughter Amy from her school teacher, Verona Meeder. Visitors admitted that Amy â€Å"sure loves that dog.† She enjoyed petting Grits on the steps of the White House. However, the Carters decided to return the dog to the Amys teacher. Some sources report that one of the reasons was that a dog had behaviour problems. Moreover, Grits didnt get along with the Carters cat, Misty Malarky Ying Yang. But it also may be because Amys teacher lost her own dog, and the girl wanted to ease the sadness. Gerald Ford The Fords have always been fond of dogs. Long before they moved to White House, they had golden retrievers. Their daughter, Susan, asked their family friend – a photographer David Kennerly to help them get a new dog. Kennerly contacted a breeder about a puppy. Susan surprised her father with a cute dog she called Liberty. Liberty became famous when Gerald Ford and his wife decided to breed her with a golden retriever. The press became crazy when Liberty gave birth to nine cute puppies. Mrs. Ford didnt let them to be photographed before they were 2 months old. The photos were made by Kennerly and was in high demand as well as puppies themselves. Liberty died at the age 11 in 1986. The Fords also had a Siamese cat Shan and a dog Lucky.    Richard Nixon Checkers is probably the most famous candidate in the list of presidential pets. Nixons cocker spaniel never lived in the White House, but he became a celebrity when Sinator Nixon mentioned him in his speech in 1952. It became to be known as the Checkers speech when the politician for the first time used TV to appeal to the voters. Nixon loved Checkers a lot. He always had dogs biscuits in his desk and enjoyed watching him to play. The cocker spaniel lived with Nixon until he died in 1964 at the age of 13, four years before Nixon was elected a president. Three other dogs lived with Nixon in the White House: poodle Vicky, terrier Pasha and Irish setter King Timahoe.    Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson loved dogs and they loved him a lot. The presidents beagles, Him and Her, became celebrities when the Life magazine published a photo portraying how Johnson was peaking up the dogs ears. Hundreds of calls and letters came from the dog lovers. They wrote â€Å"If someone picked you up by the ears, you’d yelp, too.† However, dogs seemed to like that a lot. They were treated very well and enjoyed swimming in the White House pool and riding along in the presidents car. Sadly, both Him and Her died at a young age. Him was hit by a car when he was chasing the squirrels in 1966, and Her died after swallowing a stone in 1964. After Him and Her died, Lyndon B. Johnson had two other dogs – collie Blanco and a mixed-breed dog Yuki. John F. Kennedy Charlie was a Welsh terrier the Kennedy family brought with them when they moved into the White House. Kennedy loved animals despite his allergy to animal hair and wanted his children to have experience of taking care of them. Jackie Kennedy gave Charlie to her husband as a gift during Kennedys campaign for president and he became a part of their family. However, John F. Kennedy didnt like one Charlies habit: He loved nothing more than to fetch a stick. He always brought the stick and drop it on the lap. The First Couple enjoyed walking outside the gates of the White House and playing with Charlie. They resembled two students taking a dog for a walk. They looked so happy,† told their son Bryant. Among other Kennedys pets were ponnies, hamsters, a cat, a rabbit, a horse, a canary, and seven dogs of different breeds. Dwight D. Eisenhower Heidi is probably the only dog banned from the White House. A beautiful female Weimaraner was born on the 9th of May, 1955. She had an accident on the expensive rug in the diplomatic reception room. Its cost was about $20,000 at that time. Because of the Heidis weak bladder, the Eisenhowers decided to send her to their farm in Pennsylvania. Heidi was protective of her owners. She was wary of photographers and always tried to prevent the First Lady from having her picture taken. Heidi just jumped between the Mamie Eisenhower and the camera. Weimaraners are great family dogs, known for their hunting abilities and loyalty. Heidi liked to sleep in the basket on the third floor and run in the White House. During the day, she napped in the presidents private office where Eisenhower gave her head scratches. After she left Washington she had four puppies and enjoyed life on the farm.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Assignments - Essay Example ary sources are as well important because a reader is able to develop a clear understanding about the past events as far as German’s past events are concerned. Primary sources act as evidence of what happened in the past of Germany and they can be used as evidence for arguments concerning the history of Germany. Because of the originality of primary sources, they provide correct chronology of events, exact periods, and names of all people who participated in different historical events. At the end of 19th and beginning of 20th century, Germany had concerns about its environment in order to protect their surroundings. Its concerns were mostly based on industry, transport as well as other human activities that can have a negative impact on their environment. Their concerns became more serious at the beginning of 20th century due to rise in industrialization and technology. Some heavy weapons that were used during the World Wars led to massive destruction of German’s environment. They wanted to protect their environment from air, soil, and water pollutions. Released wastes from industries caused environmental pollution especially water and air pollution. Forest cover was also a major environmental issue in Germany during the mentioned period because they discouraged destruction of forests. Some environmental laws that were implemented during this period are still applicable to current days. The rise of Hitler to power was contributed by the weakness of the Weimar constitution. The constitution crippled the government and many people were willing to have a dictator as their leader. When a crisis erupted in 1919-1933, there was no one who could fight and stop Hitler. Article 48 of the Weimar constitution gave the president authority under certain situations, to take emergency measures in addition to proliferation of legislative verdicts without a prior approval from the parliament of Germany. This constitution also led to Hitler’s rise to power because the

Friday, October 18, 2019

End of Cold War and Collapse of Soviet Union Essay

End of Cold War and Collapse of Soviet Union - Essay Example e 1980s in order to determine why the Soviet Union left Eastern Europe and the extent to which Gorbachev can be held responsible for the subsequent collapse of communism. Though the reasons for the collapse of communism in the CEE countries are numerous, Gorbachev is at the heart of the said event. Historians have examined the dramatic end of the Cold War almost since the day the Berlin Wall came crashing down. Some, most notably Karen Dawisha, predicted the event earlier. She released her book Eastern Europe, Gorbachev, and Reform in 1988, and understood that Gorbachev knew the regimes in Eastern Europe were illegitimate, placed in power by the Soviet Union on the coattails of the Red Army's entrance into the area during the closing days of World War II.2 However, she argued that if Gorbachev was serious in his intentions concerning noninterference in the affairs of sovereign states, then Eastern Europe would likely soon break away from the Soviet grasp and attempt to move west.3 Charles Gati theorized in his important work The Bloc that Failed: Soviet-East European Relations in Transition, that the Soviet Union lost control of Eastern Europe due to an extraordinary domestic crisis which consumed their attention and resources.4 Moreover, The Warsaw Pact was an ineffective mec hanism for collective security, according to Gati, since its member states each had different perceived enemies, oftentimes another member of the Warsaw Pact.5 Joseph Rothschild stated that the stability of Eastern Europe depended directly on the economic performance of the country in question.6 By the time Gorbachev came to power, he realized that a serious overhaul of the system was necessary due to the flagging economies of the Eastern Europe satellite states, in crisis before but never this severely. Like Charles Gati, Rothschild stated that by the 1980s, Eastern Europe had broken out of the conformist mold placed on it after World War II by Joseph Stalin, and each country began to pursue its own different interests.7 Thus the "Soviet bloc" was a collection of different states each moving in its own direction; Gorbachev had very limited choices, and ultimately let them Return to Diversity. These views hold to the tenet that the breakup of the Soviet bloc was due to internal fact ors in the countries of Eastern Europe.8 Other authors have studied the internal demise of the Soviet Union, placing the emphasis on themes ranging from the nationalities problem to incorrect decisions by the General Secretary. Helene Carrere d' Encausse examined the former in her work The End of the Soviet Empire, in which she chronicled the difficulty of governing an empire

William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily - Essay Example Although the story begins with Emily's death, enough information is given to track the course of her life. As a young teenager, she lived with a very strict father, who chased away all her boyfriends. When he died, Emily was already past 30 and still single, meaning he was all she had. She didn't want to release his body for burial, but the town forced her to and she went into depression for a long time. What brought her out of the depression was meeting and dating a Northerner, Homer Barron, who was a manager of a work crew installing sidewalks. The town didn't approve of the match, because he was far below Miss Emily's social status, and they tried to break up the couple. Emily bought a large amount of arsenic this time and would not explain what she needed it for, but the town decided to believe it was for rats. Since they couldn't break up the couple, the town wrote to Miss Emily's cousins who came for a visit, effectively chasing Homer away. When the cousins left, Homer returned at least once, but the town thought he and Emily must have had a fight because they never saw Homer again. She refused to pay her property taxes and she ignored the town's complaints about a bad odor that was coming from the house for a while, but apart from town girls whom she taught china painting, no one was ever invited in. After Miss Emily died, the town discovered Homer's body in an upstairs bedroom, lying on a bed with one of Miss Emily's grey hairs on the pillow beside it. Part 2: Setting, Atmosphere, Pattern/Structure, Point of View The setting of the story is an old crumbling mansion in the South, making the story officially a Southern gothic. Miss Emily's house was once a very fine house in a very respectable part of town, but the neighborhood and the house have deteriorated over the years and the town around it has continued to grow and change. Because of the change between the vibrant town and the crumbling mansion, the atmosphere of the story becomes eerie. There is a strong sense of strangeness as the younger generation attempts to understand the factors that influenced Miss Emily's life and her passionate adherence to the past. This atmosphere is created through constant references to the strange, old, and deteriorating elements, and the puzzled reactions of townspeople as they attempt to deal with Miss Emily. Although there is a clear story told that traces Miss Emily's life, it is not told in chronological order or even reverse chronological order. Instead, the story jumps back and forth in time, starting with Emily's death, then scrolling back to a time about 10 years earlier when Miss Emily refused to pay her taxes. This leads to recollections among the town members of another time when Miss Emily confounded the town elders to do something about the terrible smell coming from her house, but the town pitied her because she had just been jilted by the only man she had ever dated. This causes reflection to move even further back to the reason why Emily is still single and further puzzlement as to why Emily wouldn't allow the town to take away his body after her father died. Another memory is triggered, jumping forward again, to a time when Miss Emily bought a large amount of arsenic, and then moves back to talk about Miss Emily's dating Homer Barron and his disappearance with the arrival of Miss Emily's cousins (after the townspeople wrote to them about the unsuitable match). Finally, it jumps back to Miss Emily's death and the discoveries that took place after her funeral. This structure is meaningful to the work, because it contributes to the sense of strangeness and it reflects the town's shock as they slowly begin to piece the evidence together of what must have happened. The narrator of the story is

The influence of China Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The influence of China - Assignment Example As a young boy growing up in China, I was not concerned with my identity and aspects of diversity. However, as I grew up through my teenage years, I started to become more aware of myself as a person and my surrounding environment and it is through this way that I realised diversity. However, there is one major way through which I became aware of the aspect of my identity that relates to my country of origin. This was when I left China for the first time to stay in a different country, and in this case the United States. Here, I met people from different walks of life even as the U.S. is a highly multicultural nation. What hit me most is that during introductions with the new people I met, everyone was interested in what Asian country I was from. Therefore, I found myself introducing myself to people and mentioning repeatedly that I was from China. Thus, I had to identify myself with my country of origin more. Back in China, I did not find myself in such a situation since I was home. Â  The fact that my country of origin is China has had different implications in my academic life. For instance, academically, my colleagues who were from other countries and not China, thought of me as a mathematics and science genius. Therefore, they expected me to excel in any test or problem involving mathematics or science. In addition, most of them that were faced with different challenges tackling a mathematics problem would rush to me for assistance. People have a notion that the Chinese people are good in math and science.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Characteristics of a Learning Organization Research Paper

Characteristics of a Learning Organization - Research Paper Example These organizations also end up repeating the same mistakes over and over again. The best example is situation whereby an organization spends a lot of time restructuring and repeating initiatives because the previous initiatives did not lead to the desired results (Boranmoon, 2005). My preferred learning organization is Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). In addition, the Social Care Institute for Excellence is able to promote learning and leadership in its operations at all levels. The type of leadership promoted by the Social Care Institute for Excellence is able to promote accountability in various levels of leadership. Leaders as well as individuals are made accountable for their actions whenever they engage in decisions that do not contribute to the success of the organization. Organizations that encourage responsibility and accountability often become clearer and stronger in their dealings. These organizations also realize that they are able to produce good leaders of tomorrow who can bring change in the society in which they live in. creating responsible individuals is also important because they help in achieving the common goal to the organization. The Social Care Institute for Excellence’s vision, mission and values can fit well into an overall strategic direction. Learning organizations can only ensure that there is responsibility among individuals if they work through strong network of relationships and helping one another in correcting their weaknesses, rather that creating a working environment in which individuals work under pressure to achieve their objective (Boranmoon, 2005). The Social Care Institute for Excellence also ensures that there is a conducive learning environment for all individuals. The organization should take advantage and use the available intelligent resource within the organization to improve in their service delivery. This can only be achieved if every individual is given a chance to develop their skills and talents. Further, social Care Institute for Excellence engages both internal and external stakeholders in the decision making process. They them respond with adequate measures towards the issues generated by stake holders. Stakeholders must always be included in the decision making process for any learning organization to achieve their objectives. Lack of concern towards the views of the stakeholders can only lead to more complications in the process of implementing certain projects. Success in the implementation of all projects and activities of a learning organization depends upon the cooperation among all stakeholders (Boranmoon, 2005). Social Care Institute for Excellence ensures that there is sustainability thinking within the organization’s culture. Each and every individual within the organization should be made to think that they are very important to the sustainability of the organization. When individuals within the learning organization feel that they are very insi gnificant in the progress, the productivity may be affected thus affecting the ability to meet the set objectives. Every individual within the learning organization must feel a sense of worth in the operations and management of the organization (Boranmoon, 2005). Social Care Institute for Excellence incorporates the efforts of several individuals. It is more that just one person and it arises from the collaboration of individuals in groups

The Value Proposition of the Volkswagen Company Essay - 1

The Value Proposition of the Volkswagen Company - Essay Example This is the strategic initiative taken by the company Volkswagen to target customers (Global Strategy for Volkswagen, 2010). The company has historically bathe sed the organization on the basis of differentiation as its strategy. They bought the same product in differentiated form for a niche audience. After the global economic crisis, the company has started focusing on cost leadership so that they can provide the customer with the same product at a better price. This is done keeping in mind the economic scenario across the globe. Analysts have considered this to be a move whereby the company will hamper its brand image which is the company’s biggest asset. The management of the company believes they are not playing with the brand image they are just focusing on streamlining some costs so that they can focus the saved money on enhancing brand image and various other promotional activities for the brand Volkswagen (Volkswagen Strategies, n.d.). Brand image is the biggest asset for the company and has created what Volkswagen is today. For any normal car buyer, Volkswagen is not into the consideration state. The company’s biggest strength is its brand image which has created by forming an emotional bonding with the youth of the world. Customers of Volkswagen are brand loyal because of the perceived image of the brand. It is the emotional bonding and association with the brand which results in repeat sales from the customers. This is why relationship marketing becomes so important for Volkswagen. The whole framework of the company is based on relationship marketing (Alkhafaji, 1995). Right Relationship with right Customers-Brand Image The objective at Volkswagen has always been on having the right relationship with the right customer segment.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Characteristics of a Learning Organization Research Paper

Characteristics of a Learning Organization - Research Paper Example These organizations also end up repeating the same mistakes over and over again. The best example is situation whereby an organization spends a lot of time restructuring and repeating initiatives because the previous initiatives did not lead to the desired results (Boranmoon, 2005). My preferred learning organization is Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). In addition, the Social Care Institute for Excellence is able to promote learning and leadership in its operations at all levels. The type of leadership promoted by the Social Care Institute for Excellence is able to promote accountability in various levels of leadership. Leaders as well as individuals are made accountable for their actions whenever they engage in decisions that do not contribute to the success of the organization. Organizations that encourage responsibility and accountability often become clearer and stronger in their dealings. These organizations also realize that they are able to produce good leaders of tomorrow who can bring change in the society in which they live in. creating responsible individuals is also important because they help in achieving the common goal to the organization. The Social Care Institute for Excellence’s vision, mission and values can fit well into an overall strategic direction. Learning organizations can only ensure that there is responsibility among individuals if they work through strong network of relationships and helping one another in correcting their weaknesses, rather that creating a working environment in which individuals work under pressure to achieve their objective (Boranmoon, 2005). The Social Care Institute for Excellence also ensures that there is a conducive learning environment for all individuals. The organization should take advantage and use the available intelligent resource within the organization to improve in their service delivery. This can only be achieved if every individual is given a chance to develop their skills and talents. Further, social Care Institute for Excellence engages both internal and external stakeholders in the decision making process. They them respond with adequate measures towards the issues generated by stake holders. Stakeholders must always be included in the decision making process for any learning organization to achieve their objectives. Lack of concern towards the views of the stakeholders can only lead to more complications in the process of implementing certain projects. Success in the implementation of all projects and activities of a learning organization depends upon the cooperation among all stakeholders (Boranmoon, 2005). Social Care Institute for Excellence ensures that there is sustainability thinking within the organization’s culture. Each and every individual within the organization should be made to think that they are very important to the sustainability of the organization. When individuals within the learning organization feel that they are very insi gnificant in the progress, the productivity may be affected thus affecting the ability to meet the set objectives. Every individual within the learning organization must feel a sense of worth in the operations and management of the organization (Boranmoon, 2005). Social Care Institute for Excellence incorporates the efforts of several individuals. It is more that just one person and it arises from the collaboration of individuals in groups

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Progress Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Progress Era - Essay Example The laborers were subjected to unfair payments, most of them were not able to own or even operate businesses, acquire material and properties or even upgrade to better housing standards. Due to the progressive movement ideologies, people were able to identify that the prevailing poor economic conditions of the country were motivated by the high levels of poverty in the country. (George Wanshington university 1999)Since the poverty had stricken various people, the progressives wanted to turnaround the poverty levels so that more people would be able to fend for themselves and that would lead to the progress of the country as a whole. The progressives also expressed issue to do with escalating cases of child labor in the country. The country experiences increased cases of child labor due to the increased industrialization. The poor conditions in the country also contributed in a big way to the increased child labor. (Putman 2000) Most people were not able to adequately fend for their families, thus, minor citizens would be employed in the manufacturing industries to help their parents provide for them. There were various issues concerning the child employment in the country, in a census conducted in 1890, close to one million children who were aged between ten and fifteen years worked in America. In the 1910 census, there were more than 2 million which indicated an increase from the previous census. (Davis 2003)During the time, it was even more serious since children as young as five and six were employed in companies to work for as long as eighteen hours every day. This was sore to the progressives who looked fo rward to a child labor reform which would eventually relieve the country of the high levels of child labor in the country. As seen from the above, it is clear that the progressive reformers were convicted that the

Monday, October 14, 2019

Minimize Counterproductive Or Deviant Behaviour Management Essay

Minimize Counterproductive Or Deviant Behaviour Management Essay Counterproductive and deviant behaviours can be found all around us, but matter largely in professional fields. When in an organisation, any deviant behaviour is detected; it is an indication toward a serious threat to organisation as well as the staff from different perspectives. In human resources, deviant behaviours of employees and managing them have gained increased attention due to a range of reasons. For the success of an organisation, management of deviant and counterproductive behaviours is very critical. In this essay, the causes behind deviant behaviours, their influence on the employees, the person and organisation as a whole and the ways to manage/ minimise these deviant behaviours will be addressed. Counterproductive behaviours have become a workplace norm and its popularity is rising gradually. It is very obvious that workplace situations vary and therefore, they leave an impact on employees as well. These deviant behaviours by the employees not just harm the organisation but also affect other organisational members (Spector Fox, 2002). Counterproductive Workplace Behaviours are the acts by the members of an organisation, which are against the organisational legitimate interest (Sackett, 2002). These are intentional as well as unintentional behaviours, resulting from different causes and motivations. It has been identified in journal of organisational behaviour (2008) that an estimated 75 per cent of the employees do engage in such deviant harmful behaviours like; unexcused absenteeism, sabotage, theft, and vandalism cooperate (McGurn, 1988; Harper, 1990). Other such behaviours that have been reportedly found are sexual abuse of women (Gruber, 1990), organisational cynicism (Wilkerson, 2002), withholding efforts (Kidwell Bennett, 1993), spreading rumours (Skarlicki and Folger, 1997), physical assault and verbal abuse (Spector and Fox, 2002), lying (Depaulo and Depaulo, 1989), and absenteeism (Johns, 1997). These behaviours violate organisational working standards and can be antisocial (Robinson Bennett, 1995). Also they may affect the overall performance, decision making and even the organisational financials which can be very costly and harmful for the organisations wellbeing. Many researchers have identified a direct link between the personality traits of the employees and the Counterproductive behaviour at workplace (Salgado, 2002; Colbert, Mount, Harter, Witt, and Barrick, 2004; Dalal, 2005; Blickle, Schlegel, Fassbender, and Klein, 2006; Berry, Ones, Sackett, 2007). However, it has also been viewed that many times, even intrinsically honest employees are forced to behave inaptly, if the work environment or management are unjust towards them; or if they have been treated poorly. Managers are also seen to be the ones creating such workplace environment unintentionally where they are basically contributing towards their employees deviant acts (Greenberg, 1997). Therefore only personality is not a sole predictor of deviant workplace behaviour (Robinson and Greenberg, 1998) and many other factors contribute in counterproductive workplace behaviour. The management in turn fires the honest and capable employees so as to diminish these deviant organisational behaviours, but counteractively they need to put in a lot of efforts towards identifying the real causes of these behaviours and should wisely minimise these acts. The focus of this essay throughout the rest of the paragraphs is to critically identify the causes behind counterproductive workplace behaviour, the extent to which these behaviours influence the workplace norm, its overall power and how these behaviours can be minimised. Therefore, in a sequential manner, all of these points will be analysed. Countless factors influence counterproductive behaviour which consists of acts that harm or are intend to harm the organisation or its stakeholders. A vital aspect is to identify the reasons behind that, why employees are involved in these deviant behaviours. There are certain factors that influence counterproductive behaviour, identified by Litzky, Eddleston Kidder (2006), which are under the direct control of manager that may unconsciously force the employees into engaging in deviant behaviours like; unsatisfactory compensation or rewarding structures, unfair employee treatment, negative attitudes, social pressures to conform, job performance ambiguity and violation of employees trust. Competing for financial rewards causes employees to think only for themselves with the belief that nonstandard behaviours are compulsory to get ahead in their career fight (Crossen, 1993; Peterson, 2002). Managers are identified to be often as the main cause behind workplace theft, because many of them ignore such issues in order to conform to the social pressures, and thus encourage other employees to engage in similar deviant behaviours (Greenberg, 1997). These research studies have found that financial rewards are one of the prime reasons behind the counterproductive behaviours of employees. Not only for competing and leaving the colleagues behind, but also in the run of gaining more financial rewards, these employees sometimes do not feel reluctant to take aggressive actions. Deviant behaviours is one such acts that these employees are found to be practicing. Another research study (Fodchuck, 2007) revealed that both the employee characteristics and the workplace environmental aspects are linked with counterproductive behaviour in an organisation. Organisational factors like job design, workplace injustice and perceived stress initiates these behaviours and individual characteristics that helps in triggering CWB consists of self-control, will power, sensation seeking (Marcus and Schuler, 2004), and motives (Rioux and Penner, 2001). All these researchers have argued that these environmental aspects are increasingly linked with the deviant behaviour in the organisation. A management journal, (Robinson OLeary-Kelly, 1998) termed Counterproductive workplace conducts as antisocial behaviour, because these acts are harmful for the organisation. As per this study, the antisocial behaviours of employees are influenced in work groups through social learning and social information processing method. The workgroup largely influence an individual employees antisocial behaviour, and CWB of a workgroup is a significant predictor of the individual employees CWB at work. A study conducted in 2008 (Skarlicki, Barclay Pugh) explain downsizings and layoffs as the major factor behind counterproductive behaviour by the employees because most victims, who lose their jobs, are loyal workers and consider this management decision as an unfair treatment towards them. These employees in turn engage in organisational retaliation as revenge to their wrongdoer. Their negative emotions emerge by bad mouthing about the organisation to the organisational members and others, conveying a strong negative impact of the company. This retaliation is very similar to previously defined antisocial behaviour (Giacalone and Greenberg, 1996), counterproductive behaviour (Fox and Spector, 2005) and organisational deviance (Robinson and Bennett, 1995) thus overlapping with the duskier side of the organisational behaviour theories with potentially negative consequences for the organisation and other individuals. Many times in such situations even the informational justice and supp orting information does not help to be effective in reducing this retaliating behaviour (Dalal, 2005). All of these research studies have discussed that these factors extremely play their role to generate deviant behaviour among employees. Another study by Smithikrai (2008) suggests that personality traits and Counterproductive workplace behaviour have a direct link with each other; however, situational moderators in which counterproductive workplace behaviour takes place can increase the cogency of personality measures in predicting deviant behaviours. Situational factors in relation with personality traits are strong stimulators of counterproductive workplace behaviours. Individual behaviour reflects relevant traits when the situation is week, whereas when the situations are strong then the behaviour of the employees are clear, and they meet the behavioural demand of the situation (Blickle et al, 2006; Robinson Greenberg, 1998; Marcus Schuler, 2004). Therefore situational strength is very much critical in identifying these deviating individual behaviours, and in strong situations the employee performance gets monitored where Counterproductive workplace behaviour is not tolerated (Berry et al, 2007; Greenberg, 1997) . Wilkerson, Evans Davis (2008) conducted a study testing evidence of the co-workers social influence on other employees bad mouthing, organisational cynicism and supervisor assessments of employees organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). The study suggests that the badmouthing behaviour of close co-workers largely impacts other co-workers, influencing their similar behaviours, due to the result of social information processing. Further the study advises that there also becomes a possibility of a chain reaction effect, where the organisational cynics are likely to engage other in their bad mouthing behaviour, creating other cynics within the organisation. This results in negative performance outcomes, reduction in management trust and further intentions of engaging in OCB (Litzky et al, 2006; Crossen, 1993). Bad mouthing has found to be one of the critical factors behind generating deviant behaviour. Yet another research by Tepper, Henle, Lambert, Giacalone and Duffy (2008) states that abusive supervision consequences in lower level of employee commitment with its employer, leading to little desire of working with the organisation, lower level of attachment with the organisation resulting to greater deviance against the organisation. This explains that effective employee commitment is estimated to facilitate the relationship between abusive management and organisational deviation. Abusive supervision is yet another costly workplace factor impacting negatively on employees, employer as well as organisational performance (Litzky et al, 2006; Crossen, 1993). Research study by jones (2009) have a different viewpoint, stating that there are different relations among different types of injustice, desire toward revenge and counterproductive work behaviours with ones supervisor and organisation separately. The results identified that counterproductive workplace behaviours related with organisation can be minimised through increase in procedural justice whereas behaviours related to supervisors can be minimised when the supervisor treat their employees fairly, with dignity, and respect as well as provide justifications for decisions that influences them (Litzky et al, 2006; Crossen, 1993). There are many factors identified that influence instigate deviant behaviours by the employees (Peterson, 2002). Of all these factors influencing Counterproductive behaviours every aspect has strong and weak impact over the behaviours, depending on the situation and the individual (Crossen, 1993). Age, cognitive ability, self-control, emotional intelligence and personality all correlates and create strong or weak affect over these behaviours by the employees (Fodchuk, 2007). Therefor situational moderator and personality mediator helps in increasing or decreasing the power of these behaviours by the employees (Rioux Penner, 2001). Reduction of these deviating behaviours in an organisation begins with recruitment and selection phase of hiring new employees through the use of personality testing, cognitive ability screening, and integrity screening (Marcus Schuler, 2004). But since situational factors emerge out of routinely day to day operations of the organisation including organisational constraints, illegitimate tasking, lack of compensation and rewards, interpersonal conflicts and lack of organisational/management justice thus organisation needs to involve much more into minimising these behaviours (Robinson et al, 1998). Mangers are equally liable and in a better position to control and minimise these behaviours within the organisation (Giacalone Greenberg, 1996). If the outcome is similar by different employees on a particular position, then this can be termed as a warning for the manager to identify his personal behaviour and management ability (Robinson Bennett, 1995). It is the job of manger to create an ethical working environment so that inherently honest employees do not turn their behaviours into negative and counterproductive ones (Skarlicki, et al, 2008). Apart from this building reliance relationships, creating ethical policies and procedures, setting achievable targets, creating effective supervision and monitoring performance ultimately helps in toning down the deviant behaviours of the employees in the organisation (Depaulo Depaulo, 1989; Smithikria, 2008). Similarly one step that the organisation can take into reducing these behaviours can be through enhancing organisational justice, allowing workplace participation of employees, maintaining communication, and paying close attention to identification of signs for interpersonal conflict (Tepper et al, 2008; David, 2008; Spector, 2005). Besides this lay off, employees needed to be financially supported and should be well informed in advance, or given a notice period so that they may not bad mouth the organisation and put its integrity at stake. Making other opportunities available to them after some time period also helps (Wilkerson et al, 2008; Jones, 2009) In the last, combating deviant and counterproductive workplace behaviours can be costly and very much time consuming but organisations are in a much predicted position of minimising these behaviours through identifying the main factors and taking actions in reducing it, which would thus increase the organisational performance, workplace environment and the overall success.