Demography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Demography - Essay Example As people live longer there is bound to be a shift in the structure of the household. For example: working population is the biggest contributor to nation's development and family's economy. The longer the old population lives, the longer the working population will have to support them. When the working population gets older and cannot work anymore, their children, who are now in labor force, will have to support their parents and grand parents by working very hard. The existing Social Security and Medicare benefits may not prove to be sufficient for the older ones because in all likelihood the medical services become more costly for the older people as their requirements of medical attention become more. Well, to a great extent the improved medical services are one good reason for an increase in the average age of an individual. As a result, many households now a day consist of four generations. In many such cases the number of financially dependent family members far exceeds the w orking members. Out of these four generations, the third generation, who are the only ones in labor force, will have to support their parents, grand parents and their children. This phenomenon is certainly the result of increasing aging population with high life expectancy. In order to aid the increasing older

Nature and Nature in Cognitive Development Essay Example for Free

Nature and Nature in Cognitive Development Essay Why are both nature and nurture important in perceptual development? How do both help a baby’s brain and sensory organs to develop? The question of whether nature or nurture is more important in terms of perceptual development has bee long debated. In general, there are two theories that explain how humans develop these perceptions. The Nativists claim that our brains are built or hardwired to recognize certain stimuli by both design and construction. In contrast, an Empiricist would say that we learn through experience how to perceive things. There was an experiment done by Nativist researchers that sought to determine how very young mammals are able to perceive. The data concluded that early infants were able to perceive quite a lot before they really had a chance to learn anything. Gibson and Walk’s the â€Å"visual cliff† experiment was one such experiment, in this test both young animals and 6 month old human infants were taken to a side of a visual cliff, the test subjects would avoid the clearly deep drop. This indicated that children can perceive visual depth and that visual depth dominates even touch information. Additionally, studies have been done that show babies can recognize faces and that they often prefer the visual stimulation of carton faces as opposed to the same features arranged at random. In other tests it was shown that babies can also recognize whether or not and object is coming directly at their face or not. These experiments show that even the undeveloped infant brain has considerable capacity for perceptual capabilities. In contrast, several Empiricists experiments have been done as well. In one such study, scientists sought to determine the effects of depriving developing animals from perceptual stimulations. These tests have consistently shown that the longer the subject is deprived, the more severe the consequences. For example, humans are sometimes born without sight, due to a clouded cornea. Later in life some elect to have surgery to repair this clouded cornea. The result is sight, these people can see but they cannot perceive what it is that they see. As time goes on they slowly learn to distinguish one object from another, but this is however quite easily interrupted. Often changing an objects position or context is quite enough to slow down or prevent recognition. To conclude, although some argue that perception is due to nature, while others argue for nurture, it may in fact be that the two factors are interdependent and rely on each other. Support for this idea comes from an experiment that studied rats and found that those raised in a perceptually restricted environment had smaller brain development than those raised in an enriched environment, suggesting that while we are born with innate capabilities we need the environment to ensure we develop our abilities to perceive well. The perceptual capabilities we have at birth must be strengthened continuously through perceptual stimulation, furthermore, it would seem that perception in general follows the use it or lose it principle. Just as unused muscles become week, so to do our senses if left unused. Nature and nurture are both essential to health y perceptual development; stimulation begins in the womb and quickly follows all the way through adulthood. Sources. Nature and Nurture in Perceptual Development. . www. indiana. edu. Web. 11 Feb 2013. http://www. indiana. edu/~p1013447/dictionary/natnurt. htm. . Experiencing Sensation and Perception. . physch. hanover. edu. Web. 11 Feb 2013. http://psych. hanover. edu/classes/sensation/chapters/Chapter 15. pdf. Arterberry, M. Perceptual Development. . Colby College. Web. 11 Feb 2013. http://www. elsevierdirect. com/brochures/Infant/PDFs/Perceptual development. pdf.

Postponement in Manufacturing and Supply Chain

Postponement in Manufacturing and Supply Chain In general production process, many of the end products shares some common process and some of them in the initial stages. At some specific point in the process, specialized processes or components are used to customize the work-in-process, which was a common (generic) product up to that point in the process, into the different end-products. This point is referred as point of product differentiation. Postponement refers to redesigning the process to delay the point of differentiation. The point of differentiation may occur in two stages of supply chain, first it may occur in early stage which is referred as early level of postponement and in the other case it may occur in the late in the supply chain which is referred as late level of postponement. This concept had actually been mostly used in the logistics business (Shapiro and Haskett, 1985). Even consumer products industries started using this type of concepts in their process to improve their service for customers orders. In every scenario we need to follow a special strategy for effective results. In Manufacturing and distribution of products, we need to use the following structure, which describes the process in which product variety is proliferated. Lets go through the five important steps of a product in its supply chain: Manufacturing (2) Integration (3) Customization (4) Localization (5) Packaging Here these sequence of steps matches to most of the process flow in the industries. Manufacturing: This is the initial step where the core of the product is made. Usually small numbers of products or a single generic product are made at this stage. Integration: This is the step where all the main core products are assembled with the sub assemblies. For example in the case of computers, the body will be made in the manufacturing stage and it will be assembled with the Mother board and circuits in this integration stage. Customization: This stage refers to the further assembly of the product with different accessories to form distinct product choices. For example in the case of computers, this is the stage where they insert all the necessary I/O cards, install all necessary softwares and accessory boards constitute different end product options. Localization: Here all the products are localized to suit the local requirements of different regions or countries. For example different countries may have different power supply requirements and different languages for their manuals. We can imagine that each of the product options gets raised into more different end products for different places. Packaging: This step sounds meaningful only for the few products, those requires some special kind of packing. For example in the case of Computers, monitors need to be packed properly so that they dont damage when they are in transit. Here the below figure shows the product variety proliferation tree that branches out at various stages: Diag from pg 6 http://e3associates.com/files/Article%2520-%2520Designing%2520Products%2520and%2520Processes%2520for%2520Postponement.pdf In this context of product variety structure, postponement as a strategy to defer, it can be of two types: Time Postponement and Form Postponement. Time Postponement: This refers to delaying the various product differentiation tasks as late as possible. It is something like switching from Build-to-Stock to a Build-to- order mode (Zinn 1990).One more great advantage of this time postponement implementation is related to the geographical location in which the differentiating tasks are performed. Usually these tasks will be performed at manufacturing factory, Distribution centers or distribution channels and customer sites. Here the earliest level of postponement refers to the case, when all the tasks are performed at the manufacturing factory. And the latest level of postponement refers to those, where the tasks are performed at the customer sites. This strategy is usually helpful in the case where delivery or distribution of a product is delayed until customer demand is known. This allows inventory to be reduced as it reduces the necessity to maintain inventories or stocks at distribution centers. Lets go through some case, which can give a clear idea of this strategy being used. Whirlpool, washing machine manufacturer has implemented this strategy very effectively in their US operations (Waller, et al, 2000).By one of their market research, they have found that most of the consumers dont expect their order to be delivered immediately, as most of them will be ordering for their new houses, into which they cannot move immediately. So they redesigned their supply chain in such a way that the inventories in the department stores are kept to minimum and this delayed delivery until the orders have been received. This reduces the need for cross docking to a great extent and reduces inventory and transportation costs dramatically. In overall it improves customer service and decreases stock outs. Form Postponement: This strategy delays certain stages in manufacturing process of a product until a customers order has been received (Zinn and Bowersox, 1988). This mainly aims at standardizing the upstream stages to the maximum extent. Here they follow a different kind of manufacturing strategy. At first, parts or components that are common to more than a model are used to build a generic platform. Now these semi finished items will be shipped to separate markets and specific countries or items are added when a customer order is received. Most of the computer manufacturers use this strategy in their operations. Most of the components of a computer are relatively generic and common to many markets (e.g. casing, mouse, board), while other components restricted to certain markets (e.g. power supply, differs from one country to the other) (Aviv and Federgruen, 1999).Usually demand in few places may be stable, demand in specific places may be difficult to predict. Thus using Form postponement strategy, all the basic components of a computer are assembled at a central location. As these components have longer life cycle, compared to other components, the inventory risk is reduced at this stage. Then modules are sent to different markets and country specific or high value components are inserted, once the customer orders are received. Markets leader Dell is a classic example of this. By taking up a build to order (BTO) approach, the company started maintaining very low levels of inventory (Radstaak, 1998). This strategy allowed the company to improve their customer service, as their products can be customized on demand. Place Postponement: This strategy is used to redesign the location of process, in order to postpone the product differentiation. HP had used this strategy in their operations; in this case they put off their final assembling activities and made the final product at the distribution centre. This reduces the Inventory costs and response time to the customer. This strategy can be implemented in seven different ways. The first one focuses on delaying the differentiation tasks to downstream in the final processing and manufacturing.Zinn and Bowserox 1988(manufacturing, labeling, assembly, packaging) postponement, Lee and Billingtons(1994) time postponement, Lee and Tangs (1997) operations postponement, Lees (1998) Logistics postponement and van hoeks (1999) Place postponement all deals with the same strategy. Here are some places, where these strategies are implemented successfully. European computer manufacturer implemented this strategy; they started assembling all their personal computers in their local distribution centre to the response of customers order, instead of completing in the factory. Then their focus turned in delaying the downstream movement of goods which is discussed by time and place postponement. Logistics postponement discusses about the movement of goods, which is a delay in deployment of inventory. Rover car manufacturer had implemented this strategy, which centralized the inventory from all his dealers, so that he can respond to customers quickly. If a company does not start manufacturing or assembly before customers order is received then it is existed the highest possible level of postponement. On the other hand if company is able to meet customer requirement as close as end user then it is the lowest possible level of postponement where maximum flexibility is existed. Decoupling Point http://www3.unicatt.it/unicattolica/centriricerca/cersi/allegati/wp12009.pdf Applications of Postponement Inventory reduction Better forecast accuracy Logistics Cost reduction Improved Customer service levels Inventory Cost reduction More Variety Risk minimization Procurement cost reduction Transportation cost reduction Manufacturing and procurement cost reduction Challenges in Postponement Product Modularity Ability to quantify benefits Misperception with risks, costs, benefits and general lack of understanding Competing Interest Visibility into Supply Chain Change Management Which signifies Top-down support Ability to recognize Postponement Opportunity Fundamental changes to manufacturing and logistics processes Too costly to implement Complex to implement Consumes too much of management time Too difficult to align organizationally Critical Success Factors Business process reengineering Product design standardization Enabling supply chain technology Collaboration with Customers / Suppliers Organizational design and accountability Enabling collaborative internet technology Internal cross-functional collaboration Issues relating to Postponement Conclusion Case study: When we think of postponement and their advantages, Auto industry is the one which strikes the mind first for many reasons. Firstly a car can be described as a modular system of components. This shows that there is an opportunity for commonality by producing a platform and adding modular subassemblies customized according to the customers demand. Then secondly, individually customized vehicles have higher forecast variability. Since this case shows that there are too many varieties to be forecasted accurately of each combination, there is typically disagreement on the forecast within the different divisions of a company. Finally is high inventory holding costs. It is much riskier to hold a finished vehicle in the showroom floor than to hold a partly finished one waiting for final customization because of high forecast variability for end products and high obsolescence. General Motors (GM) offers over 600 million combinations, when different combinations are considered. Because of these many options, forecasting becomes very difficult. Excess inventory on the field is evidence of this. So they started to search for a way to create variety and mass customize beyond the idea of the platforms, GM looked at software configuration as a different way to use postponement. From software view, each of the systems in a vehicle can be considered as central processing unit (CPU) made up of several electronic control units (ECUs).At present they are using 30-35 ECUs per vehicle because software is becoming essential in automobiles for many reasons. Before postponement, GM faced many problems regarding product variety proliferation and higher inventory costs of storing ECUs for individual models. Usually these ECUs come to GM in finished form with all the softwares pre-loaded. And each of this is assigned to a specific vehicle but they all looked same from outsid e. Suppliers charged GM for custom software installation which not only raised the price but also resulted in problems with repair and maintenance. Then GM decided to assume the responsibility for software configurations and postpone the installations till the latest possible point in the assembly process. Foe this to be executed, GM had to redesign both assembly process and the ECU hardware. Then in mid 1990s they achieved to install the custom softwares for individual orders at the end of the assembly process. Now the ECUs come from suppliers to GM in a generic form. After realizing that even software can be postponed, they started looking for other systems that could be delayed until purchase. Now GM offers 99 % guarantee to deliver the vehicle within one day of the projected delivery day to a dealer closer to the customer. In a study done by GM to measure the benefits of postponement, they have projected inventory cost savings to be 10-15 percent and even maintenance cost saving s. . . Here GM has taken benefits of both outsourcing and postponement. All the subassemblies are outsourced to suppliers with the comparative advantage of expertise and quality. As auto industries go with predominately build-to-order manufacturing system, their suppliers need to commit to the increase demand for customized features instead of aggregate orders.

Resistance as the Byproduct of Separate Spheres :: Essays Papers

Resistance as the Byproduct of Separate Spheres The history of women in the United States is primarily a study of gender, the social construction of sexual difference, through time. The nineteenth century stands out as the period when the code of separate gender spheres emerged and yet, already, began to come into question. Social forces of economic and religious change sculpted gender into a dichotomy differentiated along roughly the same lines as (what we can now consider problematic) divisions between the private/public, emotional/rational, and consuming/producing. Men occupied the privileged side of each binary, relegating women, as a sex, to a gender built of a series of traits defined in opposition to masculine privilege. During this same century, the ideology of separate spheres was increasingly challenged at many levels by critiques and movements for equal rights, substantive justice, and particular ‘women’s issues’. Note first, that as gender is an issue of social construction, this construct can only be shared by particular groups who share social constructs and even then gender is understood in certain limited ways. To accommodate for this and avoid footnoting what may well be entirely distinct histories, I will only discuss the gender through time of Northern white women. For this constructed gender, the changes that brought the code of separate spheres, by changing the relationships of the domestic sphere, also brought the most fundamental challenges to the code, much more so than equal rights in the public sphere could or would accomplish. In order to determine what a fundamental challenge to the code of separate spheres would sound like, it is necessary to determine the nature of the code’s existence. Obviously, this code of spheres did not exist somewhere crawling about a forest floor, rather it was an ideological tenet of a particular society. This does not mean, however, that it was then understood as simply a belief of one group of people in one time and place. Instead it was seen as natural and permanent. As Justice Bradwell explained in a late nineteenth century case, â€Å"the civil law, as well as nature herself, has always recognized a wide difference in the respective spheres and destinies of man and woman† (Bradwell v. Illinois, 83 U.S. (16 Wallace) 141 (1872)). Outside of the courtroom, Lydia Sigourney echoed this sentiment in a book targeted for women, exhorting them: â€Å"[c]onsider the sphere in which thou art placed, as the one in which God willeth thee to be† (Sigourney 109) .

Measurement of Time Spent Communicating Essay

The amount of time we spend communicating is outstanding. There have been multiple studies to find the actual amount of our waking lives spent communicating, and the percentage of time we spend in each division of communication. The article, â€Å"Measurement of Time Spent Communicating,† is the result of a communication study of employees of a research and development laboratory. The study was based on two techniques: direct observation, and questionnaires. How much time do people spend communicating at work? How much time do people spend using machines at work? This useful information can help to improve the amount of work done in a certain amount of time. If people spend more time communicating to get a job done, then our communication skills possibly need improvement. The talking people do is related with their work output. The same goes for machinery; if we spend more time in person-machine interaction, improving machinery would be the main advance to improving jobs. People were observed at one instance in time in offices of one person to five people, some at supervisory levels, laboratories, hallways, and conference rooms. The observation data was divided into to groups’ time spent communicating, and time spent working with equipment. These categories were subdivided in different types of communication activities, including face-to-face communication, telephone communication, reading, and writing, and different types of equipment uses, including lab equipment, office machinery, and an other category. Pre-tests showed the three trained clerks could classify the behavior of the employees reliably. Sampling moments were random and unbiased, only avoiding break times and everyone’s lunch, and are correspondent to the entire working day. The questionnaires were placed at the desks of all the people in the sampling areas, offices, and laboratories. The questionnaires were pre-tested to make sure the wording was understood, and the ordering of questions didn’t change the results. The employees were to answer seven questions all percentages that should add up to 100% of the working week. The questionnaires that were returned and did not add up to between 90% and 110% were disregarded. 4,000 questionnaires were distributed, and 2626, or 66%, were returned and usable. Overall, the common results of the observations and questionnaires were recognizable. The observation method is more accurate, and unbiased, so the main differences in the two sets of data are explained by people underestimating the time they spend communicating face-to-face, and overestimating the time they spend reading and writing. The questionnaire and observed data representing how much time is spent speaking on the telephone, working with lab equipment and office machinery, and other were relatively the same. Another observation is that the amount of time spent communicating depends on how many people are in the office. The fewer people, the more communication went on. This could be due to the fact that many one or two person offices were supervisory level, and therefore had to communicate to employees more often. All offices engaged in face-to-face communication more than in laboratories. Although, time spent working with equipment is only 13%, even though the research study population is a research and development laboratory. This leads us to the conclusion that communication with people, not equipment, is the center of activity for most professionals, administrators, clerks, secretaries and technicians.

Cystic Fibrosis and CFTR

Organelles can contribute or cause a disease like Cystic Fibrosis. First the organelle itself may be defective because its molecules do not function well or because there has been damage to it by exposure to some harmful substance such as a chemical. Within the endoplasmic reticulum or ER where the synthesis of this protein occurs there may be a disturbance in the functions. Normally the proteins are coded within the ER for normal production and functioning of CFTR. It he protein is misfolded during the processing a disease like Cystic Fibrosis may occur.The belief is that the PH of the CFTR protein is altered and because of this PH changes the surface tension of the CFTR changes. That change in surface tension changes the trafficking of the protein and mucus causing thicker mucus to get trapped in several organs but mostly in the lungs and pancreas. Because the surface tension is changed it becomes nearly impossible for the patient to move the mucus there for it accumulates in the l ungs and is very sticky. Bacteria more easily bind to the sticky protein causing consistent infections in the lungs.The missing or defective membrane proteins that are causing the CF become the reason why there are so many increased secretions but the worst of the problem is that with the change in the PH, the consistency of the secretions have changed and the person with the CF can just not handle them. That with the increased infections and the fact that this continues to happen throughout the other organs causes the patient to be extremely debilitated with the chance of early loss of life.