An Analysis Of Service Operations

An Analysis Of Service Operations Over the last decade, we saw an exponential growth in Lean and Six Sigma approaches. Recently the combination of Lean with Six Sigma as an improvement approach has captured the attentions of academia and industry. Lean Six Sigma was widely used in manufacturing sectors but can also be used in administration and service areas (Snee and Hoerl, 2004). Companies adopting Lean or Six Sigma have reported an increase in financial performance within a short term (Thomas, Barton et al., 2009), cost reduction (Anchanga 2006), improvement in customer satisfaction and cost saving (Sharma 2003). On the other hand, not all the companies that implement a continuous Improvement programme have been able to capture its entire economic benefits (Cusumano 1994; Sharma 2003). The objective of this essay is to demonstrate the power of Lean Six Sigma in the manufacturing and service sectors of business. Two case studies relating to both the business areas are discussed along with the significant benefits a nd drawbacks to its use in such areas. Review of literature As the name suggests, lean Six Sigma is an integration of lean and Six Sigma philosophies, principles and tools (Sheridan, 2000). Lean Six Sigma makes use of the knowledge, methods and tools resulting from decades of operational improvement research and implementation. Goal of Lean Six Sigma is growth and effectiveness and not just cost-cutting efficiency. According to Bendell (2006), the adoption of lean Six Sigma as a process improvement is yet to be fully established in particular area of academic research. Full potential of lean Six Sigma have not been realised (Smith, 2003).This failure is due to the lack of commitment from management (Cusumano, 1994). Lean focuses on reducing cost through process optimization and also on waste elimination in existing processes. Six Sigma is all about stakeholder expectations and meeting customer requirements. It also improves quality by measuring and eliminating defects. Both these approaches are implemented in isolation (Smith, 2003),leading to conflict of interest and draining of resources due to the creation of lean and six sigma subcultures that is emerged within the organization (Bendell, 2006). According to George (2003), Lean and Six Sigma help companies to deliver products and services at a faster pace without defects at minimum cost. Lean manufacturing focus on process flow and waste while Six Sigma focuses on variation and design. The below figure shows the DMAIC framework on which the Six Sigma projects are built. The five phases of DMAIC are Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. To improve the process speed and efficiency within the project, Lean Methods are used within the DMAIC framework to augment Six Sigma tools. Source: IBM Global Business Services analysis. Six Sigma complements Lean in three different ways (George 2003) by Providing senior management commitment and cultural infrastructure that cannot be generated by Lean initiatives. Having customer at the center of its activity and this is not seen in Lean approach. Reduce variation that cannot be achieved by lean tools and techniques. Lean complements Six Sigma in Four different ways (George 2003) by Non-value added activities are identified. Eliminating the non-value added activities improves and benefits Six Sigma. Process responsiveness and speed is improved. Speed and rapid response is increased with lean tools. Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) outlines the benefits when lean and Six Sigma are integrated. Companies use a set of tools that are common to both approaches ie tools like 5 why, Scatter diagram, Histograms, Pareto, Cause and Effect and Poka Yoke (Kumar et al., 2006). Table I shows the key lean implementation steps with the Six Sigma tools that can be used to complete each task. Source: (Pepper and Spedding, 2009). In an organization Six Sigma is implemented only by few specific individuals, whereas lean is used by everyone to identify and eliminate non-value adding activities(Higgins, 2005). Employees have true ownership of the process even at higher-level process analysis stage due to the integration of lean Six Sigma. According to Harrison(2006),Neither lean nor Six Sigma is very effective when implemented in isolation because of their forced needs within the organization. Smith (2003) says that this will result in the creation of two subcultures competing for the same resources. End objective of both the approach is to achieve quality throughout the process. According to Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005), continuous improvement of process is difficult if the approach is implemented alone. Organizations find it effective if implemented alone but after the initial improvement there is no improvement in the process. In order to avoid this lean approach should combine the use of targeted data to ma ke decisions and also to approach quality in a more scientific way within the system. On the other hand, it is necessary that the Six Sigma adopts a wider system approach, by considering the effects of waste on the system as a whole. These approaches are considered to be ineffective by many people and they feel that the blending of these approaches leads to ineffectiveness and led to some criticism in the literature. Bendell (2006) who has vast experience as both practitioner and as an academician argues that lean Six Sigma for becoming ill-defined philosophies, thus becoming a less effective tool. Bendell feels that it would be beneficial if there is a single approach combining the effectiveness of both the lean and Six Sigma approaches. This emphasizes the fact that consultants have provided a number of consultancy models for lean Six Sigma which is available on the World Wide Web. Methodologies used by these consultants are without any logical explanation and theoretical support or explanation for choosing the techniques. Taking a practitioner view, Spector and West (2006) says that when practitioners adopt lean and Six Sigma involve in many projects that yields insufficient results due to the time required to complete them. According to Mika(2006) both the approaches are not compatible with one another because lean is open to workers and encourages teamwork whereas six sigma is not available to the average worker on the floor. The use of lean tools and techniques identifies important areas that can be leveraged by Six Sigma techniques and also to arrange the information flow to run the system by providing continuous feedback (Pepper and Spedding, 2009). In few literatures, the main concerns when building a new and a complete framework for lean six sigma is that it focuses on process and strategy and that it should strike a balance between complexity and sustainability and finally structured around the type of problem thats encountered and by recognizing the advantages of both these approaches. Findings Lean Six Sigma approach in Healthcare related to service operation and small engineering company of manufacturing sector case is discussed below. Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare(de Koning et al., 2006) Like any other service operation, Healthcare needs to remain cost efficient, competitive and up-to-date. This can be achieved by using Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare sectors. George (2003) describes innovative work on Lean Six Sigma at Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Let us take the case where lean Six Sigma is used by Red Cross Hospital in Netherlands. Worldwide the cost of medical care is increasing at an alarming speed. Unnecessary operational inefficiency leads to increase expenditure in healthcare. In order to improve quality wastefulness has to be measured. Medical service delivery process has led to operational inefficiency. First quality improvement techniques were initiated followed by six Sigma, lean and then lean Six Sigma. In 2002 the Hospital started using Six Sigma and found that this methodology provided solutions to many of the below mentioned problems identified by top management. At times absence of important business case. Absence of Project-tracking system. Failed method for project management and control. Many incomplete projects. Lean Six Sigma projects in healthcare include both the medical as well as the administrative problems. Quality improvement is not only to address defects like medication errors but can be widened to various fields of application. The kind of problems tackled in healthcare are shortening the length of stay in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients Errors related to invoices received from temporary agencies are reduced. Revision of payment terms. Number of patients needing intravenous antibiotics is reduced. Intravenous medications preparation time is shortened. The Red Cross Hospital involvement shows the vital elements of the Lean Six Sigma approach. These are: Organizational infrastructure of Six Sigma applied. Quality improvement deployment focused on each project. Training employees leading to evolving organizational ability for innovation . Selection of projects had a strategic focus. A serious budget cut was imposed on the Red Cross Hospital. This demanded a strict focus on cost reductions while keeping quality on focus. The clinic needs profitability to sustain its operations as the fixed costs cannot control the operations. Lean Six Sigma in a small engineering company (Thomas, 2009) To enhance manufacturing operations, companies use Lean Six Sigma. small engineering company (Thomas, Barton et al. 2009) is a leader in seating systems for automotive and aerospace industries. Manufactured products are supplied to worldwide markets increasing the competition from low cost countries and the need to be responsive to customers led the company to adopt lean. The company preferred to create in-house expertise to process systems development as consultants were ineffective. When the company moved into the high-value markets its profit increased by manufacturing less products, higher quality and the delivery requirements were tight. This lead to the need to use lean Six Sigma to respond effectively to the unpredictable customer demands. The company had the potential to innovate continuously along with the awareness in infrastructure quality and investment. This approach provided the company with a simple structure but an effective one which resulted in the manufacturing operations and product capabilities improvements. Discussion Based on the literature review, the advantages and disadvantages for the above mentioned case studies using Lean Six Sigma is discussed below. Advantages/benefits when introducing lean six sigma Improved Quality When concentrating on the product development and production, the number of defects in the manufactured products is reduced as the problems are identified in the manufacturing process. This results in waste elimination, improving efficiency and increased customer loyalty towards the product. Reduced waste Wastes are eliminated in order to protect the product and the reputation of the organization. Improvement of cash flow Products are made to order thus reducing the inventory and increasing the available cash. Safer working environment Workers and customer safety is considered when using lean Six Sigma within an organization, thus reducing accidents. Customer Expectations Organizations use lean Six Sigma in order to satisfy and to meet the customer demands. Changes a companys culture Manufacturing processes are viewed from different perspectives. Employees at various levels in the process make decisions by relying on data than giving importance to gut feelings. The implementation of lean Six Sigma can be done on a trial and error ie by introducing it within a department before implementing it across the whole organization. Having in-house expertise to process systems development saves cost. The company developed advanced maintenance techniques with fewer breakdowns by using TPM. Products are delivered at the right time. Cycle time is reduced. Complexity in hiring personnel resulting in reduced rework and major cost savings. Starting times of the operation theatre was reduced resulting in further improvement of the process. Maintenance resulted in fewer complained and increase in revenue. Disadvantages/drawbacks when introducing lean Six Sigma Lack of vision affects the LSS implementation. Implement the LSS tools and techniques solely depend on the experts having high skills. Only LSS tools and techniques are used to solve all the problems. Cannot be implemented when timeline expectation is short. Cannot be used when the business is beyond repair. Requires full commitment from top management. Minimum amount of resources is at least required. The effectiveness of few tools and techniques were limited due to the inadequate statistical data. Conclusion It is obvious that the lean thinking and scientific improvement standard of Six Sigma have led to success across industries. When fused together both the approaches become a powerful tool. Lean Six Sigma can be used in all sectors within any industry and does not only relate to manufacturing sector. In this essay we discussed the advantages and disadvantages in using Lean Six Sigma approach. Innovations are necessary in the service delivery process. We also discussed that operational improvement was the main motive for organizations using Lean Six Sigma leading to performance improvements, cost reduction and customer satisfaction. Literature review also highlighted the possible ways of using both the approach. For a company to have employees trained is an added benefit. Using Lean Six Sigma companies should focus on doing better things than just to do things better.

Oil Blends Against Aedes Aegypti (Linn.) and Anopheles Dirus

Oil Blends Against Aedes Aegypti (Linn.) and Anopheles Dirus An in vitro study of the bioefficacy of essential oil blends against Aedes aegypti (Linn.)  and Anopheles dirus (Peyton and Harrison) by using membrane feeding apparatus Nutthanun Auysawasdi1, Sawitri Chuntranuluck1, Vichien Keeratinijakal2,  Siriporn Phasomkusolsil3 and Silas A Davidson3 Abstract This study was performed to determine the bioefficacy of plant essential oils on Aedes aegypti and Anopheles dirus. Repellency was determined by measuring reduction in feeding and mortality. A novel in vitro bioassay apparatus was developed that had a sausage-casing membrane feeding system. Mixtures of three essential oils were evaluated: turmeric (Curcuma longa), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), and orange (Citrus aurantium). The oils were mixed in pairs or all together at equal volume for a total of 10% volume and then formulated with 90% virgin coconut oil. Complete formulations were evaluated with and without an additional 5% vanillin. The formulations were applied to the sausage casing membranes and female mosquitoes provided (expose) blood meals (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 h) to assess the percentage repellency over time. The results showed that the strongest repellency was at shorter exposure periods. For Ae. aegypti, the strongest feeding reduction was with the turmer ic and eucalyptus combination and with the addition of vanillin (97.6-99.6%). For An. dirus, the strongest repellency was when all three oils were combined (98.4-99.6%). Vanillin increased the effects of repellency and mortality for all formulations and demonstrated an increased potential to enhance the bioefficacy of essential oil repellents. This study also demonstrated an in vitro membrane feeding system that can be used to screen essential oils. Keywords: Aedes aegypti, Anopheles dirus, Essential oil, Repellent, Membrane feeding system Introduction Mosquito-borne infectious diseases, such as dengue fever and malaria, are increasing each year, which may be due to the effects of global warming and climate change (Aguiar 2011). Dengue virus is primarily transmitted by Aedes aegypti (L.) mosquitoes and is the primary vector throughout the global distribution of dengue (Guzman et al. 2010). Malaria is transmitted by anopheline mosquitoes and the primary vectors are unique to different geographical locations. Anopheles dirus (Peyton and Harrison) is considered one of the most important vectors in Thailand and Southeast Asia (Sinka et al. 2011). Both of these diseases are difficult to manage because there are no available vaccines, and in the case of dengue, there are no therapeutic drugs (Halstead 2014). Efforts to control these diseases often focus on vector control and preventive strategies to minimize mosquito bites. The use of topical insect repellents applied to the skin is a proven method to reduce mosquito bites. There is a long history of using plant derived extracts to reduce mosquito bites. However, since the development of modern synthetic repellents in the 1940s, natural repellents have been largely replaced by synthetic chemicals (Debboun et al. 2006). Currently there is a renewed interest in using plant-based insect repellents due to concerns about safety and the preference for products that are considered more natural (Gerberg et al. 2007). Several essential oils and volatile compounds from a multitude of plants have been found to possess repellent properties against arthropods (Curtis et al. 1990). These plant derived chemicals often repel mosquitoes, but there is a wide variability between mosquito species (Kumar et al. 2011). Compounds that repel mosquitoes have been found in the following plant families: Graminae (Pushpanathan et al. 2006), Labiateae (Odalo et al. 2005), Lamiaceae (Ansari et al. 2000), Myrtaceae (Phukerd Soonwera 2014), Poaceae and Rutaceae (Trongtokit et al. 2005), Umbelliferae (Erler et al. 2006), and Zingiberaceae (Tawatsin et al. 2001). This study evaluated essential oils from the plants turmeric (Curcuma longa L., Family:Zingiberaceae), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill, Family: Rutaceae) and orange (Citrus aurantium L. Family: Myrtaceae). It is known that turmeric contains the chemical ar-turmerone that is repellent to arthropods (Su et al. 1982). The eucalyptus plant contains important active ingredient such as 1-8, cineole, ÃŽÂ ±- and ÃŽÂ ²-pinene that can repel various mosquito species (Yang et al. 2004). Mosquito repellents are often tested by using the arm in cage technique (World Health Organization 2009). This method allows mosquitoes to feed directly on human volunteers and has several disadvantages, such as the pain and discomfort associated with mosquito feeding, the requirement for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, the limited number of candidate repellents that can be screened at one time (Deng et al. 2014). Even though the direct evaluation of repellents on human skin remains essential for evaluating repellents, artificial membrane feeding systems can serve as a useful alternative when pre-selecting candidate repellents (Luo 2014). The use of artificial membrane feeding systems is largely dependent on the types of membranes, including animal tissues, Parafilm-M ® films, and collagen membranes (Friend Smith 1987; Pothikasikorn et al. 2010). This paper evaluated the efficacy of essential oils from turmeric rhizomes (TU), eucalyptus leaves (EU) and orange peels (OR). These oils were evaluated individually in a previous study using the arm in cage method compared to the synthetic repellent DEET (N,N-diethyl 1-3 methylbenzamide 25% w/w; KOR YOR 15) (Auysawasdi et al. 2016). This study looked at the same three chemicals but combined them in mixtures to determine if there was a synergistic effect. Also each mixture was evaluated with or without 5% vanillin extract. Vanillin was added because other studies have found that it extends the amount of time that certain natural products are effective against mosquitoes (Tawatsin et al. 2001). Materials and Methods Mosquitoes rearing Ae. aegypti and An. dirus were reared in the insectary of the Entomology Department, Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS), Bangkok, Thailand. The photoperiod was maintained at 12 h light/12 h dark with a temperature of 25 ±2 °C and a relative humidity of 60-80%.Filter papers containing eggs of Ae. aegypti were placed in plastic trays (30ÃÆ'-35ÃÆ'-5 cm) with 2,500 ml of distilled water and larvae were provided fish food tablets (HIPPO ®). After one day, newly hatched larvae were diluted to about 500 larvae per tray for density and population. For An. dirus, approximately 150 eggs were added to a plastic tray and larvae provided fresh powdered fish food until pupation. The pupae of both species were collected and placed in holding cages until adult emergence. Freshly emerged adults were allowed to feed on soaked cotton pads containing a 5% multivitamin solution ad libitum. All testing was performed using five to seven day old post-emergent females that w ere denied sugar and only provided water for eight hours before testing. Preparation of plant essential oils Extracts from many of the plants are available commercially. Eucalyptus leaf oil (New Directions Aromatics Inc.,USA), Orange peel oil (New Directions Aromatics Inc., USA) and Vanillin (Borregaard Industries Ltd. Company, Norway) were purchased from Chanjao Longevity Co., Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand. Extracts from the turmeric plant were not available commercially. Therefore, turmeric rhizomes were collected from Suwan Farm, Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. Essential oils were extracted by water distillation (Charles Simon 1990). The different essential oils were blended at equal ratios for a total volume of 10% and then mixed with virgin coconut oil (Agrilife Co., Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand) using a vortex mixer (Vortex-Genie ®2, Scientific Industries, Inc., USA) (Table 1). The coconut oil was chosen because it created a formulation similar to what would be applied to human skin. All formulations were kept at room temperature before testing. Repellency assay by feeding membrane apparatus Repellency of essential oil blends was examined for Ae. aegypti and An. dirus under laboratory conditions using a membrane feeding system.Fifty 5-7 day old female mosquitoes were selected and placed in plastic cups (8 cm dia. ÃÆ'- 8 cm high) covered with netting. A membrane feeding system was used with a sausage membrane stretched over a standard membrane feeder with a surface area of 3.14 cm2 (r=1) and secured with a rubber band. Before feeding, either 10  µl of each mixture or 10  µl of coconut oil (negative control) was pipetted onto the sausage-casing membrane and spread evenly with the tip of the pipette. The treated membranes were allowed to dry and mosquitoes provided blood meals (exposed) at eight different time intervals (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 hours) after application. A water feeding jacket was used to maintain the temperature of the feeding system at 37 °C. Approximately 1.5 mL of refrigerated (25 °C) human blood (Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, Thail and) was added to the glass feeder and allowed to warm to 37 °C. Then screened plastic cups of 50 female mosquitoes were allowed to feed for five minutes undisturbed. After the 5-min interval the membrane feeder was removed and unengorged mosquitoes were removed. Fully engorged mosquitoes and provided a sugar source and maintained in their containers in the insectary at 25 ±2 °C for 24 hours and then the number of dead mosquitoes counted. Data analysis Each mixture of essential oils was replicated five times (n=5) andresults presented as the mean  ± standard deviation (SD). To assess the significance of differences among groups, data were analyzed as a complete randomized design (CRD) with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncans multiple range test (DMRT). A p-value of For comparison, percentage repellency was calculated for each test using the following formula: % Repellency = ÃÆ'- 100(1) Where A is the number of mosquitoes that did not feed on the treated membrane and B is the total number of mosquitoes exposed. Feeding was calculated as: % Feeding = ÃÆ'- 100 (2) Mortality was calculated as: % Mortality = ÃÆ'- 100(3) Mortality per hour = (4) Where D is the number of dead mosquitoes 24 hours after blood feeding, F is the total number of mosquitoes which fed on treated membranes, and h is the period of time that the extracts was left on the membrane. The number of mosquitoes which not feed on the membrane of each formulation was used to calculate the repellency per hour after application by the following formula: Repellency per hour = (5) Where A is the number of mosquitoes that did not feed on the membrane and h is the period of time that the extracts was on membrane. Results The efficacy of various formulations of selected essential oils (10% Total volume) with and without 5% vanillin, are presented in Figure 1. Shorter exposure times consistently resulted in lower feeding rates of both Ae. aegypti and An. dirus to all formulations. Feeding rates increased over time after application of formulations to the membranes. The addition of vanillin decreased feeding rates for all formulations. The greatest reduction in Ae. aegypti feeding was with the turmeric and eucalyptus mixture (TU:EU, Figure 1c). The greatest reduction in An. dirus feeding was with turmeric, eucalyptus, and orange mixed together (TU:EU:OR, Figure 1f). Mortality rates are also shown in Figure 1. Mortality rates were decreased based on time after application of formulations to the membranes. The greatest and most consistent mortalities for Ae. aegypti were the mixtures of TU:OR with and without vanillin (Figure 1a) and the mixture of EU:OR with vanillin (Figure 1d). The greatest mortality for An. dirus females was with the mixture of EU:OR with vanillin (Figure 1h). The percentage of repellency of all formulations against Ae. aegypti decreased with increasing exposure times (Table 2). The strongest percentage of repellency without vanillin was observed with the mixture of TU:EU (90.8-98.4%), followed by EU:OR (89.6-98.8%), and TU:OR (84.8-98.8%). The lowest percentage of repellency was observed for the mixture of all three plant extracts (TU:EU:OR, 81.2-94.8%). The percentage of repellency for all essential oil combinations with vanillin was not statistically different between any of the formulations without vanillin. The mixture of TU:EU provided the most repellency at 3.5 and 4 hours with and without vanillin. There were no statistical differences between the repellency of any formulations against An. dirus with or without vanillin, except for EU:OR+vanillin after 3 hours (Table 3). The highest percentage of overall repellency was observed for the combination of all three plant extracts (TU:EU:OR) and with the mixture of TU:OR. Overall, there were a positive correlation for formulations that produced the most repellency and increased mortality (Figure 2). For both Ae. aegypti (Figure 2a) and An. dirus (Figure 2b), the ratio of mortality per hour of formulations with vanillin was greater than without vanillin. Similarly, the repellency per hour of the four formulations with vanillin was stronger than without vanillin. Discussion Essential oils can have a significant effect on mosquito feeding rates (repellency) and mortality. For all formulations, exposure at 0.5 h after application of plant extracts to the artificial membrane resulted in greater repellency and higher mortality. Whereas, at 4 h after application there was increased feeding (decreased repellency) and lower mortality. These are consistent with many other studies demonstrating that plant extracts are volatile and lose their efficacy over time after application (Reifenrath Rutledge 1983; Rutledge Gupta 1999). The different mixtures led to different outcomes. The combination of TU:EU resulted in the highest repellency for Ae. aegypti, whilethe combination of all three essential oils (TU:EU:OR) gave the least repellency. Currently, the combination of all three extracts (TU:EU:OR) provided the greatest repellency against An. dirus. These results showed that the two mosquito species have different responses to the three plant-derived essential oils tested. It also demonstrated that the efficacy of each formulation is based on the compatibility of active ingredients and these compounds produce different effects when combined together. There are other reports showing that essential oils from plants are synergistic. Nerio et al. (2010) reported synergistic actions many plant essential oils used in this study that increased the repellency of formulations that would be expected from individual essential oils. Liu et al. (2006) found that the repellent activity of mixing essential oils from Japanes e mugwort (Artemisia princeps) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum camphora) was greateragainst Sitophillus oryzae and Bruchus rugimanus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) than that elicited by individual oils. The results also showed that the addition of 5% vanillin significantly decreased feeding rates and increased mortality. Studies have shown that vanillin reduces the evaporation rate of active ingredients and therefore extends the protection time (repellency) (Tawatsin et al. 2001). It is believed that vanillin changes the volatile composition of essential oils and also has an effect on the gustatory processes of mosquitoes (Lee et al. 2010; Ali et al. 2012). In this study the effect of vanillin was often more evident at increased time after application. It is recommended that vanillin be considered included as an ingredient for future natural product repellents. Finally this study presented a unique method to evaluate repellent formulations using a sausage membrane casing as part of a membrane feeding system. The arm in cage method has been used to evaluate many essential oil formulations (Choochote et al. 2007). While the arm in cage method is the gold standard for evaluating repellents, a membrane feeding system offers several advantages in that it can be quickly performed, standardly replicated, and does not require human volunteers. (Huang et al. 2015; Cockcroft et al. 1998). This method could be developed to rapidly screen, evaluate, and select the most promising formulations before they are tested on human volunteers. Acknowledgments This study is a research collaboration between the Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand and the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS), Bangkok, Thailand. The authors are deeply grateful to the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Science (AFRIMS) for facilitating and supporting the research. Finally, the authors thank the insectary staff; Kanchana Pantuwattana, Jaruwan Tawong, Nantaporn Monkanna, Yossasin Kertmanee, Weeraphan Khongtak and Sakon Khaosanorh for teaching and supporting this work. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. References   Aguiar M (2011) The effect of global warming on vector-borne diseases: Comment on Modeling the impact of global warming on vector-borne infections by E. Massad et al. Phys Life Rev, 8, 202-203. 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Corporate Governance and Ethics Essay -- Business Ethics

As a CEO of a corporation there is nothing more rewarding then maximizing the wealth of your shareholders, in addition, to increasing the value of the firm. However, it should not be done unethically and jeopardize the financial, social status as well as the reputation of the company, ultimately causing them to suffer in the end. There are systems put into place to avoid such acts that are generally overseen by the board of the directors of organization. In most companies the board of directors consists of shareholders or former employees of the company. Due to the recent scandals in corporate America many companies have acted quickly in actually implementing rules and regulations. They are sometimes referred to as the ethical codes. In this paper I will discuss the importance of corporate governance and ethical codes within a corporation. How has the recent crackdown changed corporate America? Has there been an improvement? Does the gender of top management have an impact on t he company’s performance? Are we able to determine if independent directors influence the social responsibility and corporate governance of the organization? I will attempt to address these issues throughout this paper. â€Æ' Analysis/Critical Evaluation Corporate Governance is defined as a system that has been established to direct and control companies and I controlled by, (QFinance – The Ultimate Resource, 2009, para. 1.), the board of directors, who must abide by rules and regulations, while implementing such a system. Their duties include, setting the strategic goals of the company, provide leadership and reporting to the companies stakeholders (QFinance - The Ultimate Resource, 2009, para 1). Socially responsible firms are defined as firms ... ...SIBILITY AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. Economic Affairs, 29(4), 5-10. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0270.2009.01940.x Llopis, J., Reyes Gonzalez, M. M., & Gasco, J. L. (2007). Corporate governance and organisational culture: The role of ethics officers. International Journal of Disclosure & Governance, 4(2), 96-105. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jdg.2050051 Kanji, G. K., & Chopra, P. K. (2010). Corporate social responsibility in a global economy. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 21(2), 119-143. doi:10.1080/14783360903549808 Holder-Webb, L., & Sharma, D. S. (2010). The Effect of Governance on Credit Decisions and Perceptions of Reporting Reliability. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 22(1), 1-20. doi:10.2308/bria.2010.22.1.1 QFINANCE – The Ultimate Resource,  © 2009 Bloomsbury Information Ltd. - http://www.qfinance.com/dictionary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_code

Bullet In Head Analysis Oral :: essays research papers

Bullet in the Head This time the bullet cold rocked ya A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika Nothin' proper about ya propaganda Fools follow rules when the set commands ya Said it was blue When ya blood was red That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head Blasted through ya head Blasted through ya head I give a shout out to the living dead Who stood and watched as the feds cold centralized So serene on the screen, You was mesmerized Cellular phones soundin' a death tone Corporations cold Turn ya to stone before ya realize They load the clip in omnicolour Said they pack the 9, they fire it at prime time The sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz And mutha fuckas lost their minds Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Yeah Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Run it! (Guitar solo) Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Check-a, check-a, check it out They load the clip in omnicolour Said they pack the 9, they fire it at prime time The sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz And mutha fuckas lost their minds No escape from the mass mind rape Play it again jack and then rewind the tape And then play it again and again and again Until ya mind is locked in Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya They say jump and ya say how high Ya brain-dead Ya gotta fuckin' bullet in ya head Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Yeah Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Uggh! Yeah! Yea! Ya standin' in line Believin' the lies Ya bowin' down to the flag Ya gotta bullet in ya head (Repeat x2) A bullet in ya head (8 times, building to a shout) A bullet in ya head (7 times, shouted/screamed) Ya gotta bullet in ya fuckin' head! Yeah! Yeah! (Sustained to end of drum roll) My talk 2 the class for RATM - â€Å"Bullet in the Head† Rage against the machine are a band that are completely influenced by recent happenings and political events and they band members portray this through their music and lyrics. The song I chose to do was bullet in the head. The song was written in 1992, which was a very political era. Here is the song I will be talking to you about in which I analyzed. (Play song) As you can see Rage against the machine do a very good job of getting their message across to the fans and everyone out there.

Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

CAPITAL PUNISMENT - IMMORAL OR NOT As a minority of US bishops once said, â€Å"We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing.† The Catholic Church has spoken out repeatedly and passionately about the need to protect human life of every stage of existence. All issues and matters relating to the dignity and worth of human life fall with the realm of the fifth commandment, â€Å"You shall not kill.† The Catholic Church consistently communicates the importance of human life. As the late pope John Paul II once stated, â€Å"May the death penalty, an unworthy punishment still used in some countries, be abolished throughout the world. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil.† Capital punishment is one of those moral issues that divide society. Most people in favour of the death penalty think that it should only be for those that have committed brutal premeditated crimes, mass murders and convicted multiple rapes. But Christians teaching, whatever the religion, believe that the criminal should be given the chance for rehabilitation. Early references to penalties for murder and capital punishment can be found in the bible. The first mention of appropriate punishment for murder is found in Genesis 4: 11 – 15 â€Å"Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer...

What Do You Expect? a Teacher’s High or Low Expectations Can Wield a Profound Influence on Students.

What do you expect? A teacher’s high or low expectations can wield a profound influence on students. What is the first thing that happens on the first day of school when your new students take their seats? Usually it’s the first impressions that come into your mind as you eye-up each student that walks into your classroom: â€Å"This girl looks happy to be in school, she must be really bright†. This boy is daydreaming already, he’s going to be difficult to deal with†. Or what about the teacher conversations that happen in the teachers’ lounge?For example, â€Å"her last year math teacher mentioned that she was a troublemaker†. It is in our human nature to make positive and negative judgements. Some factors that can influence how we see a child may include: A child’s appearance, socioeconomic status, language capacity, past performance, etc. What we as teachers don’t always realize, is that these early assumptions can often predict the future. Labeling our students is easy. The students we label â€Å"gifted† may succeed, while the students labeled â€Å"mischief† or â€Å"under-achiever† may not.Teacher Cadet EssayThe question is, how much influence do we as teachers have on these outcomes? Researchers Rosenthal and Jacobson wanted to answer this very question. In 1968 they launched a study known as, â€Å"Pygmalion in the Classroom†, that would have a huge impact in field of education. In the study, Rosenthal and Jacobson told teachers that they would be working with students targeted for their tremendous intellectual capacity. However, the reality was that these students were actually chosen randomly. The targeted students performed at a higher level than other students of equivalent ability.The study concluded that â€Å"the teachers’ high expectations significantly influenced student performance†. This further concluded that, setting high expectations for all students is a goal worth obtaining. The Pygmalion study helps us to understand, that by setting high expectations, teachers can play a huge role in determining student achievement. However, the study does not explain how these expectations, whether positive or negative, are expressed from one student to the next. A 1987 study conducted by Brophy and Good observed teacher-student interaction and concluded that teachers may unconsciously send messages to low achievers.Brophy and Good commented, â€Å"Low achievers often receive insincere praise, less feedback, and more criticism. In addition, these students tend to be called on less often and given less time to respond† (Gazin, 2004). So it seems that even the best-intentioned teachers may be sending subtle prompts with a message that says they don’t expect much from certain students. Students will easily pick up these cues, and respond accordingly. Instead of labeling our students, teachers can strive to build a cl assroom environment in which every child is important, challenged, and expected to succeed.Special education students are the primary victims of such labeling. We as teachers need to set high expectations from day one. Every student deserves to start the year with a clean slate. We need to send a message to each an every one of them that they are all important as individuals. Once students feel valued by simple things, such as eye contact, and perhaps a friendly greeting, they will be much more likely to live up to the high expectations set before them. We need to have a positive attitude about our students. Students can truly sense when a teacher believes in him or her.You can start the year by making it clear to them that, if they do the work that is required, they will certainly succeed. High expectations can be reinforced with rewards during the year. For example, a student who completes a consecutive number of homework assignments during the marking period may earn a free homew ork pass. There are numerous ways to reward our students for a job well done. We can use tangible along with non-tangible rewards, when needed. Just as adults need to be appreciated, so do children. Even the classroom setup can send positive messages to specific students.Instead of placing troubled students in the back of the room where they are often forgotten, we should put them right in the front row. This sets high expectations for all students in the classroom, and that they all must and can participate. As teachers, we have the ability to set the bar high and watch our students climb. If you believe that a child can’t learn, then maybe he won’t. But if you challenge them enough, encourage and tell them they can do it, you may be surprised to see that they will meet the high expectations you placed before them, and become very successful.

Legal, Safety, and Regulatory Requirements Essay

Abstract The workplace can be a very dynamic place; there are so many different people with all kinds of personalities. Because there are so many different personalities, there are different needs of safety which can create obstacles in the organization. This is where the Human Resource Department comes into play, they make sure that the needs of all employees are met and that they are working in a safe environment. Litigation has taken the place of common sense and compassion within organizations over the past years. Litigation has become a main priority and the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and also the Department of Homeland Security all have been regulating this. Although some may disagree that litigation has created a more structured work environment, there are a lot that would say it has. Litigation has balanced out the differences in the workplace. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission There once was a time when common sense and compassion were used to decide what to do with issues, but now that there are laws put in place to ensure that legal, safety, and regulatory requirements are obeyed there are less issues. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is one of those regulations. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces federal laws which make it illegal for any organization to discriminate against someone applying for the position or someone who is already an employee for reasons like their race, gender, color of skin, age, disability, or religion. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2011) This also ensures that a person who is claiming that they were discriminated against is not discriminated for that. These laws are applied to any type of work situations, like harassments, wages/benefits, hiring/firing, promotions, or any type of training. If a company discriminates based on any of these assumptions they will be investigated and possibly prosecuted if found guilty. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2011) Department of Labor Department of Labor is another one that focuses on employee-related regulations. The Department of Labor  enforces well over 180 laws; these laws regulate many activities that go on in the work environment. The Fair Labor Standards Act is one of these laws and it ensures that employees that are working overtime are paid fairly. (United States Department of Labor, 2011) Another federal law that the Department of Labor regulates is the Occupational Safety and Health Act which ensures that private industries are regulated on a regular basis and they must be approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Act state programs. This is only two acts that ensure litigation for the Department of Labor, but there are many more. (United States Department of Labor, 2011) American with Disabilities Act Another law that was passed to regulate legal and safety requirements was the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This law was passed by congress to ensure that nobody with a disability regardless of what kind of disability it may be cannot be discriminated against simply for that reason. The disability has to be further evaluated before any decisions are made. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2011) If the applicant has a disability such as abuse form a substance or their vision is impaired, but can be corrected with prescribed lenses than they cannot be discriminated against. In 2008 former President George W. Bush passed the American Disability Act of 2008 which made the protection of disabled workers a little broader. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2011) U.S. Department of Homeland Security The U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulates our nation and makes sure that all threats are taken seriously and handled properly. They have a goal which entails that the federal agency must make sure that environmental justice is a top priority. (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2011) Conclusion I personally feel that all of these laws are set in place to ensure that all work related issues are handled without any favor. Before any of these laws it was he said she said, there was a lot of discrimination against people, so most of the time decisions were not made fairly. Human Resources have to regulate all of these laws, they deal with all of the issues in an organization and they handle them all based on federal laws. All problems  are evaluated and decided based on litigation, not by common sense or compassion because one person’s view on common sense or compassion may not be fair or just. References: United States Department of Labor, (2011). Rulemaking and Regulations. Retrieved February 14, 2012 from http://www.dol.gov/asp/regs/rulemaking.htm U.S. Department of Homeland Security, (2011). About. Retrieved February 14, 2012 from http://www.dhs.gov/files/prepresprecovery.shtm U.S. Department of Justice, (2011). ADA Regulations and Technical Assistance Materials. Retrieved February 15, 2012 from http://www.ada.gov/publicat.htm#Anchor-14210 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (2011). Overview. Retrieved February 14, 2012 from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/index.cfm