Production Warehouse Move Program Status Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Production Warehouse Move Program Status - Essay Example The company’s top management designs annual goals and establishes appropriate measures aimed at attaining these goals. This is by primarily focusing on the most pressing matters before delving into aspects having lower importance. Such prioritization of goals allows for efficacy in utilization of company resources and wastage reduction in terms of labor resources required to effect different projects (Berkun, 2005). In order to maximize its profit and revenue potential, TAC has undertaken a robust project plan, which is aimed at streamlining its operations and enhancing its effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of TAC’s operations by looking at its organizational structure, level of performance and overall management strategies employed in the company. In addition, the company is venturing into various strategic moves, one of which will primarily affect the District 4 warehouses’ operations as they have to be moved to a new location. This paper provides an assessment of this project’s management, risks involved and systems employed to ensure project success. The project has been brought about by District 4’s rapid expansion over a few years, which has necessitated movement and expansion of the division to a new site about 10 miles away from the old site. According to the company’s VP of operations, the move is bound to provide additional room needed to generate an additional $ one million in revenues, which will boost company’s overall financial performance. Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary. .†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 2.0 Project Performance †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 3.0 Organizational Structure †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 4.0 Project and Administrative Teams †¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...7 5.0 Project Risk Management †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 6.0 Project Management Techniques Employed †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦10 7.0 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 8.0 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..12 2.0 Project Performance For any company undertaking a business project, it invests time, money and other resources so its primary concern is always what it will get in return for its investments. A project manager should be employed, either from within TAC or from outside the co mpany. This manager ensures the project stays on schedule and survives on its approved budget without requiring additional funding. A project manager uses project performance measurement to ensure the project team is operating within approved cost and time constraints, and the project is performed according to preset plans. Assessing project performance also alerts company management if or when the project starts lagging behind with regard to time constraints or if it runs over the approved budget. This is done to enable management to take proper treatment modules and return the project back on track. The project head outlines work packages involved in carrying out the project. Here, the project head establishes concise definitions of size and work packages through a work breakdown structure (WBS). There are two probable WBS standards to choose from in terms of performance. First, there is the 4 to 40 hours, which

Critique of the Ethical Issue Essay Example for Free

Critique of the Ethical Issue Essay Every profession is subject to different ethical considerations. In response, professions present code of conduct to their employees to guide their behavior in the organization. Formal ethical training is also held to make the employees aware of different ethical issues. Ethical decision making process enable the workforce to handle every ethical issue and prevents them from making any ethical lapses whatsoever. US healthcare system comprises many branches that offer unique health related services to clients. Furthermore the healthcare is split into a hierarchical setup which starts from nursing to the top physicians. Each individual related to the US health care has to undergo a lot of training and education before he/she is authorized to discharge any duty. A fundamental part of this coaching involves ethical training which guides the employees ways and means of dealing with different ethical problems. Conflicts faced by the healthcare are of many types. To start with, physicians fail to work as a team with nurses. Sometimes nurses do not understand their roles and discharge their duties improperly. Other kinds of conflicts involve patients. These conflicts can usually become very serious and can even become unlawful in nature. Articulating the Problem The ethical conflict that arose in my studies involved a doctor and his patient. Jimmy suffered from high fever and he decided to go to a new doctor, Dr. Bill, as his general physician was out of town on vacation. Jimmy reported all his conditions to Dr. Bill. Dr. Bill made some notes and then warned him that he might be in fear of suffering from typhoid (a severe form of fever). Jimmy was very shocked to hear this. The doctor further added that it would be better for Jimmy to remain in hospital care for at least two days before his condition improved. He also asked him to run some tests which would be needed to clearly diagnose his sickness. When Jimmy heard of the high amount they were charging him, he was highly shocked and left the clinic. Jimmy called his physician up and informed him of the entire issue. Dr. Andrew told him to get a check-up from another doctor who was his friend. Jimmy went there and after the checkup, he received another surprise upon hearing that the fever was not serious and he’d be perfect in two days. He was given some prescription which he was to take. In two days time, Jimmy perfectly recovered from his fever and, by then, realized how Dr. Bill had tried to deceive him into getting the tests and hospital care in order to make more money. The event is, by all means, shocking and unethical. Dr. Bill and those of his like are ruining the sanctity of the medical profession by converting it into any other business profession. It is certainly not unethical to offer your services and expertise to others in return for money. However, intimidating patients by telling them of symptoms which, in fact, they do not possess is certainly very unethical. This trend is quickly spreading everywhere, especially online. After doing some research, the author found that there are many health care services which are presently being offered online. Though some of these setups are highly professional in nature and offer very effective services online, the rest are merely scammers. What’s more problematic is that individuals do not know how expert the physician is in his/her respective field. Looked at it this way, we’re all in a big risk whenever we decide to get ourselves checked up from a new doctor. As far as the scammers are concerned, their deceptive marketing campaigns allure the sick and the injured into asking for help. They make false claims that their products will change their lives or make them better. By the time the poor people find out that they’ve been deceived, it is too late to do anything because such institutions and individuals protect themselves through different legislations of the law. Gathering Data After thorough research and data collection, the author has come up with following important ways of checking the credentials as well as ratings of a physician along with ways of preventing health care frauds. 1. Information about doctor’s experience and training is obtained from his office or local medical society in which the doctor is a member. 2. There are some state licensing boards that also issue information about disciplinary actions taken against a particular physician. However, it is not very easy to get information from there. 3. American Medical Association’s AMA Physicians Select offers information on training and certification of all the medical and osteopathic physicians who are currently holding a license in the US. However, disciplinary actions are not included with them. 4. American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Certified Doctor Verification Service can also be utilized to check whether the physician is certified by one or the 24 recognized specialty boards. The service is free of charge. 5. Googling out for more info is also not a bad idea. You will find several options wherein to check the report/credibility of a physician. 6. There are several government sources which may be used to obtain information relating to disciplinary action. Of these, the two most important sources are the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank. 7. Many clinics and hospitals also offer options to check their doctors’ credentials. However, this is not a good idea because hospitals would never reveal that any one of their doctors is of low quality. Exploring Strategies It is, indeed, very difficult to carve a strategy that would clearly identify and tackle the above situation. Practical issues of these kinds are indeed very different from theoretical knowledge that is offered in books. However, following procedures may help prevent such situations in future. From Profession’s perspective 1. Establishing a federal committee on healthcare fraud prevention, and having it carry out a detailed wipe-out of all such fraudulent institutions and individuals 2. Exercise rigorous ethical training program, stressing the consequences of deceiving and holding the truth in the medical profession 3. Conducting regular external audits on different health care facilities, with an aim to identify the scammers 4. Publicizing and penalizing doctors who conduct such activities From Patient’s Perspective 1. Organizing a wide marketing campaign instructing the individuals to be wary of such scammers 2. Avoiding new doctors 3. Fixing the medical charges offered at various institutions, so the competition is not price-based but quality based. 4. Having another review with another physician if instructed to undergo very expensive treatment. Implementing the Strategy In order to implement the above discussed strategy, the following needs to be done: 1. Give the event a wide coverage on popular media 2. Create mass-awareness through the media 3. Instruct masses to avoid online health care facilities as much as possible unless they know the physician personally. 4. Write to the American Medical Association and other medical authorities, asking them to address the issue on federal level. 5. Increasing word-of-mouth, and making all such frauds public 6. Conducting nation-wide survey of physicians’ credentials Evaluating the Outcomes Implementing the above strategy would have the following pros and cons: Pros 1. Efficient and appropriate health care only by physicians who have sound credentials and ratings 2. Lesser frauds and scams in the health care 3. Better opportunities for physicians who’ve worked their way up 4. An overall better impact on the health of US nationals 5. Better medical infrastructure Cons 1. High investment is required to create the mass-awareness 2. It is not possible to identify every physician who is conducting fraud 3. It is difficult to decide whether a physician is diagnosing a patient sincerely or not as different physicians come up with different diagnosis measures REFERENCES Percival, Thomas. Medical ethics. (pp. 49–57) from http://books. google. com/books? id=yVUEAAAAQAAJprintsec=frontcoverdq=medical+ethicsas_brr=1ie=ISO-8859-1#PPA52,M1. Walter, Klein (ed). The Story of Bioethics: From seminal works to contemporary explorations Jordan, M. C. (1998). Ethics manual. Fourth edition. American College of Physicians (pp. 23-30) Beauchamp, Tom L. , Childress, James F. (2001). Principles of Biomedical Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press. Margaret A. Burkhardt, Alvita Nathaniel (2007) Ethics and Issues in Contemporary Nursing

Marks and Spencer: Human Resource Management

Marks and Spencer: Human Resource Management In 1998 it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over  £1  billion, though a few years later it plunged into a crisis which lasted for several years. In November 2009, it was announced that Marc Bolland, formerly of Morrisons, will take over as chief executive from Stuart Rose in early 2010; Rose will continue as chairman until mid-2011. MSs Present situation of Recruitment, selection and training: As MS persist to grow the business and invest for the future, it is more essential than ever to keep amplification the team of employees at every level, from the shop-floor through to management. To attract and retain the best talent in the industry, HRM has to exhibit each day that MS is a good employer, dedicated to creating all the people feel respected and providing them with career opportunities and quality training. Recruitment and retention: The company employs around 71,000 people in the UK, 75,000 worldwide. MS has one of the lowest employee turnover rates in UK retail, at 27% for customer assistants and 12% for management. Around 40% of the people have been with it for over 5 years and 22% for more than ten years. MS can offer graduates a fast track into management and last year HRM received a record 8,500 applications in just over two months. Each year the company employ between 150 and 200 graduates and business placement programmed undergraduates for positions in retail, food technology, design, HR, buying, IT and other specialist roles. MS won four major graduate recruitment awards, including the 2008 Times Graduate Employer of Choice for retail. Training and development: The company needs to train people comprehensively to do their jobs, but also want to keep their skills and experience by giving them real opportunities to plan and build a career with Marks Spencer. MS has defined career paths in place for many of its people, including Customer Assistants and store management. During the year it introduced new career paths for store Section Managers and HR and marketing teams. Everyone joining in the stores completes a thorough induction and up to 26 weeks ongoing training the longest on the high street. MS has over 7,500 people in stores who act as coaches to train and support their less experienced colleagues. This year the company has also run specialist training for people moving into senior management roles or taking up international assignments. Additionally, more than 4,000 people completed Buying Academy and Food Academy courses. MS now testing similar types of academies for womenswear and merchandisers. MSs Ethics and Code is communicated across the company and senior management is asked to confirm acceptance annually with breaches reported to the Audit Committee. The recruitment and selection process of human resource in the company go through in two parts, Store and Head Office. Store Retail Sales MS has two schemes available in the stores: Selling and HR. Selling is where most of the graduates join, and offers the chance to be fast-tracked into senior level retail management. HR is where personnel train to be an HR manager, gaining experience into everything from managing recruitment to carrying out disciplinary procedures. Figure 4 Store Roles Store management Managing HR in store Store stock management Head office In a head office role, the personnel get the opportunity to develop professional skills and capabilities, and then use that acquaintance to influence strategies and confine growth across the rest of the business. MS provides opportunities in  IT, design, merchandising, garment, buying and food technology and product development. Figure 5 Designing Store development Accounts and finance Head office Roles Procurement Product development Information technology UK and International marketing Information technology Human resource management Recruitment and Selection Procedure of MS Job centre Recruitment Agencies Recruitment Sources Advertisements On-line application Schools, colleges, universities Friends and relatives of existing employees Executive search agencies Interviews Work-based tests Selection Procedures Bio-data analysis Psychological analysis References Analytical ability test Training and development process: MS wants its people to enjoy their work and feel they have all the skills they need to do their job to the best of their ability. Therefore, the company offers in-depth training and performance coaching, and regularly assess the peoples development needs to ensure everyone has the support to achieve their potential. For once in my life I can truly say that I enjoy going to work every day and I really like the buzz you feel all around the store. Brian MS Staff It does not a matter in which area of the business someone joins, he/she will receive an induction that will help to settle into the team, giving a feel for what role will involve and leave to feel passionate, inspired and excited about the career with Marks Spencer. The following provides the nature of training one can expect in MSs stores and at head office, and how the company looks at developing future leaders of the business. Marks Spencer offers the majority of the training for store teams is on-the-job. It helps them learn in  real life situations. The section managers also receive specific training on stock management, driving sales and motivating their teams, while the store managers are regularly assessed to address any senior level development needs they may have. Finally, the retail business transforms fast and making sure each of the employees has a flexible and diverse range of skills is as significant to the future of MSs business as it is to the people who work in it. That is true whether an employee joins the company for a short period of time or to pursue a long-term career. The training MS offer is designed to help individuals build up their talents and capabilities, develop their experience and fulfill their career ambitions. MS aim is to ensure that the employees have the skills they need to deliver the kind of service that customers expect from MS. Evaluation of the Human Relations School of management in relation to Motivation of staff: In 1920 an experiment conducted by the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric (in Cicero, IL) known as the Hawthorne Experiments from which the human relations management evolved. This human relations management approach includes different models, ways and ideas. Through this experiment an important observation was noted. As the employees were divided in to two groups for the purpose of experiment groups got varied attention from the management. And it was found that the group which got majority of attention got highly motivated and seemed their work as significant one and turn out to be more productive. Because of this particular work people understood that workers also need special attention as they were treated as some force which will do the job otherwise would be terminated at that era. And this observation helped to introduce a new horizon in the outlook of managers and help come into view human relations management. This school of management is now there for quite a long time and withstands the test of time. This view is sometimes regarded as theory of motivation and the treat people working in the organization quite differently than other theories such as autocratic. Among different theories McGregors X and Y Theories presume workers can act in both ways that is some workers may be unmotivated and reluctant about the work imposed on them (Theory-X) and some may seem motivated and treat the work as trust vested upon them (Theory-Y). So management needs to be pretty much careful in handling workers. Management should design its different program by keeping human relations management. In this modern world workers are not only used like machines to make the job done rather they will have to nourish which will in turn provide nourishment to the organization. To motivate employees to the work this approach recommends some steps that management can follow: To treat employees as if work is as common as doing daily activities in normal mode. The target of the employees work is aimed share those objectives to make the work more acquainted with the employees. Make sure employees can take major decision on their own and can prove their own potential. Provide proper training and increase work load as they become more capable. Appreciate and motivate employees on doing successful projects and set standards which are achievable. This approach tells us that employees are not motivated only by monetary benefit but also by different fringe benefits such as appreciation, sense of togetherness etc. Program of Motivational Factors for a Small to Medium Sized Business:. Motivational program is set to achieve the following objectives: To Perform jobs as efficiently and timely as possible and Be ready to take latest challenges as they are presented to them and stood confident to cope with those challenges. So to design a program for a small to medium business the following factors or observations need to be addressed: Ability and motivation: The program designed must be able to locate the areas which will motivate employees and the purpose of the program will be to motivate employees. The program should include something that increases employees eagerness to do the job willingly. Reinforce employees positively and train them as it becomes necessary. Always maintain and ensure fairness, respect, and honesty in treating employees. It is one of essentials of the program. Identify, understand and talk to employees about their miseries, provide assistance if needed. Job rotation, job redesign, restructuring or reorganizing job descriptions when necessary will make the employees more capable of doing different jobs and will reduce dependency on some key employees. Based on the performance establish reward system which may range from providing monetary to non monetary benefits. After the inclusion of all these factors or observations there will be a turnaround in the way of doing things in a small or medium sized business. Classical and Scientific School of Management: To manage work and train the workers to reduce dissatisfaction of the workers Classical management theory evolved during the Industrial Revolution. It mainly find the best way to perform the job assigned. There are two branches of Classical School of Management: classical scientific and classical administrative. Classical scientific school: The  classical scientific branch  deals with the process of work and the skills of the workers and to increase productivity. Taylor, Henry Gantt, and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were the main contributors of this school. Taylor believed that organizations should study tasks and develop precise procedures. Henry Gantt is the creator of the Gantt chart, a bar graph that measures planned and completed work along each stage of production. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth,  studied job motions. Frank was an apprentice bricklayer, he was interested in standardization and method study. He studied about the workers slowness and inefficiency. The scientific management was developed to divide work between employees, methods of doing jobs, the teamwork building and training and developing workers. Classical administrative school: The classical administrative School deals on the total organization such as the development of managerial principles rather than work methods. Max Weber, Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett, and Chester I. Barnard were the main contributors.   Max Weber  believed that the organization should be run by structured rules and it should not be run as family-like basis. He didnt think that authority should be based on a persons personality. He thought authority should be something that was part of a persons job and passed from individual to individual as one person left and another took over. This nonpersonal, objective form of organization was called a  bureaucracy. All bureaucracies have the characteristics as Division of work, A good hierarchy and Rule and regulations, competence and the relationships between managers and employees. Henri Fayols 14 principles of management gives clear idea how a manager manage his department and staff. The 14 principles are: Division of work, Authority and responsibility, Discipline, Unity of command, Unity of direction, Subordination of individual interest to general interest, Remuneration of personnel, Centralization, Scalar chain, Order, Equity, Stability of tenure of personnel, Initiative, Esprit de corps. Mary Parker Follett   encouraged managers to share their power with the employees. She began to talk about such things as ethics, power, and leadership. She stressed the importance of people rather than techniques a concept very much before her time. As a result, she was a pioneer and often not taken seriously by management scholars of her time. But times change, and innovative ideas from the past suddenly take on new meanings. Much of what managers do today is based on the fundamentals that Follett established more than 80 years ago. Relevance of Maslows Theory in Todays Workforce: The dynamic world of business needs to motivate employees which contradict the past dictatorship by the top management. Through this process of development different perspectives arise and made their mark in motivating employees. Maslows hierarchy of needs alternatively known as the theory Z is one such remarkable innovation that never lost its eminent prospect in motivating employees and still followed all around the world. The Maslows hierarchy calls for the meet up of employees physiological needs on the first hand. In todays world firms focus on issues such as food, housing etc which falls in the physiological category to motivate employees. In USA Toyota has a village for its employees that provide housing facilities for its employees. The second parameter is safety. Employees need job security, health support for them and for their families so if this can be ensured employees will surely be motivated. The example of Toyota village can be mentioned once again here. People are by nature hungry for love and as human beings employees also need love and affection. So the insurance of appreciation, sense of belongingness will motivate them and theory Z is very much appropriate in identifying it. In self esteem case employees act as confident contenders in performing a job. They will want achieve something for them and to obtain respect from others. Maslow rightly identified this need as low and mid level managers always try to be achievers. And they want top management to believe in them to take some decisions for which they will be responsible. Employees at certain time become more creative in what they usually do. In this process of self actualization employees will need to be handled carefully as they can take the business to a whole new level. So Maslows theory is very much in line with the todays workforce. Evaluation of the autocratic and democratic ways of implementing changes within the organization: Every company always tries to manage the changes by using democratic or participatory managerial style. Change management is a personal journey along with the organization changes. So each stakeholders views, complaints and concerns needed to be heard and this input needs to be incorporated into the change management process. If the organizational changes are imposed on the individuals without showing much respect towards the individual employees the firm should at the same time be prepared for a lot resistance. Change management is difficult as there are negative reaction from the employees. The managers should be very much intelligent and competent to change and they must manage employees that they will not be affected badly. People should be given information be open and honest about the facts, but dont give overoptimistic speculation. The information should be given everyone in the organization. People should be given time, to express their views, and support their decision making, providing coaching, counseling or information as appropriate. Where the change involves a loss, identifies what will or might replace that loss loss is easier to cope with if there is something to replace it. This will help assuage potential fears. Where it is possible to do so, give individuals opportunity to express their concerns and provide reassurances also to help assuage potential fears. Linkage between management style and motivational programs: Generally with the democratic style of management, employees are highly motivated and inverse is the case with the autocratic style of leadership. But this simple statement needs better modification. While answering this question I will try to focus on the different motivational practice backed by the motivational theory and its linkage with the management style. According to the Maslows hierarchy of need theory people at a specific point of time has a specific level of need. After the fulfillment of that need a second stage need occurs. Employee who currently has safety and psychological needs will not care about the style of management for getting motivated. But in case of employees, who have love, esteem or self- actualization needs cares about the motivational level at the workforce and they will be much motivated with the scientific style of management. According to Douglas McGregor of MIT Sloan School of Management Employees can be narrowly divided into two generic classes- one set of people who are innovative and love to work as to them working is equivalent to play. For motivating them he proposed democratic leadership, flatten hierarchy and team work (components of modem management technique). According to McGregor, another set of employee do not work hard since they find no real interest in the job and like to follow the command instead of thinking creatively. For motivating those types of employees he proposed autocratic leadership, strong chain of command (components of classical management technique). Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist, has segregated different factors at the workplace that affect the productivity motivators and hygiene factors. If there are no motivators like challenging work, responsibility, good management although he doesnt leave the job but still he is not motivated. Firms which are more concerned about the efficiency not retention should incorporate scientific management to motivate the people. Should Higher Education be free to students? Should Higher Education be free to students? Introduction By the end of this essay I will be explain how the system work I will be talking about how education can effect people i will also carry out a research on the background history of how the higher education system and its funding in UK over past years and I will analyse some off the point which I have researched over the internet and analysed .I will show the advantages and disadvantages if higher education should be free Higher Education University is an important right of passage an opportunity to establish independence, to study on areas of interest and hopefully to do so in, stimulating environment meeting new people, and considering new ideas and .I think it is important that everyone should attend this stage Higher education is provided for free in by most off the countries, or maybe at a a considerate price , but not in the UK, The UK has presumably more money at the institutions disposal. However, it also means that higher education may be not that unaffordable to many people at a lower circumstances. Scholarships and loans As we how that there is scholarships and loans available now but scholarships are obviously not going to be available to everyone and the loans are the loan is a big debt after graduating so as you can see the student dont have a chance in either however to soclize the higher education in the U.K we will need a big overhaul system that will handled with care. The Government has said half of young people are getting into higher education is failing. Far from rising by around 4 per cent a year. maybe this is why higher education is not free the government cant afford to invest money on student education and student are failing . Well we should consider education to be an investment. Statistics suggest that, on average, these with a higher education earn higher incomes. THE Background When the New Labour took power in 1997, students had means-tested maintenance grants and no fees. After a year they took off the grant was gone and a means-tested fee regime of up to  £1,000 a year after 2004 the higher education pushed it up to  £3,000 and this will increase very academic year. As you see that huge increase from 1997 to 2009 the normal fees was 1,000 than was increased to  £3250 The means testing will allow poor people and people with low income to go university .Those how are from low income families should still be able to attend university however the middle classes benefits the most from university education At the moment there has been a very high drop out rate from university and the reason is because students have to drop out because they cant afford the fee Funding Must universities in Britain are state financed, with only one private university à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“University of Buckinghamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  where the government does not support the tuition fees. Undergraduate and posgradute Undergraduate students and the students from EU countries have to pay university fees up to a maximum of  £3,225 09/10. Loans are available to students depending on there income assist. This may only be used for tuition fee costs. However in Scotland it different they have their fees paid by the students awards agency for Scotland rather than student Finance.. However postgraduate students are responsible for all there fees but however postgraduate have a variety of scholarship and assistantship schemes they might chooses from that may provide support e.g Economic and social research council and many more .The main sources of funding for postgraduate students are through research councils Advantages of making Higher Education Free Here are some off the advantages points * Higher Education leads to situations this is when students graduating end up having extremely high debt on them this was lead to the student loan . Also if higher education was free student will take extra courses which is more effectively * It will decrease the students from drop out ,and push up the passing rate This will than boost the economy with the amount off student graduating from there universities with a degree * There will be equal opportunity to everyone to attend higher education this means the poor people and the low-income families will have the right to apply .As you can see that the middle class people are using this opportunity using the money and leaving the poor and low incomes missing the opportunity Disadvantages of making Higher Education Free * There will be less jobs available for everyone the reason because the people who didnt attend university was a high number and by making the higher education free it will increases the graduates and will than decreases the amount of jobs available * The disadvantage about free higher education is that the government will be paying it but however the stistics shows that half off the higher education student fail there course every year this will than show an down decrease in the economic structure Supply and demand The Supply and demand is an economic of price in a market. It explains that in a market, price will function to equal the quantity demanded by consumers, and the quantity supplied by producers, resulting in economic equilibrium of price and quantity. The demand schedule, shows a graphically as the demand curves , represents the amount of goods that buyers who wants to purchase at different prices. The price of goods remain the same however Following the law demand the demand curve is almost always represented as downward line this means that if the price decreases the consumers will buy more of the good. This means that if higher education was to be free the demand on the education will increase .The reason because the people who didnt mange to go for reasons like the fees for the courses they will have an opportunity to apply however there will be a very high demand as because the students use to pay for it now it free. As you can see on the graph Excess Supply If the price is set too high, excess supply will be created within the economy and there will be allocative inefficiency. , but those consuming the goods will find the product less attractive andpurchase less because the price is too high This is how it looks like when higher education is not free ,the fees are too high and student will not be able to attend just how it shown on the graph Shifts A shift in a demand or supply curve occurs when a goods quantity demanded or supplied changes even though price remains the same. For example if the fees for the university was FREE and the quantity of off student applying shows the demanded However this shows that if higher education was free there will be an increase in demand Conclusion In conclusion I have identified how higher education should be free to students managed to find out what the student thought about free education I also showed what the advantages was for the free education and the disadvantages I managed to get some ideas however I also used the supply and demand and excess supply I managed to compare them and analysed them .I researched the background of the higher education and got some important information which I also analysed . http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26storycode=403698c=2 http://ingrimayne.com/econ/Introduction/ScarcityNChoice.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/mar/04/highereducation.tuitionfees http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universities_in_the_United_Kingdom http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2337183.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universities_in_the_United_Kingdom http://www.economicshelp.org/2007/10/why-top-up-fees-are-good-idea.html

The United States’ International Policies Focused in Iran and Iraq Essa

The United States’ International Policies Focused in Iran and Iraq After World War II the United States promised to not return to its isolationist attitude, which allowed Hitler to gain so much power. They instead decided to take a very active role in the world’s politics. From Korea to Vietnam, the U.S. proved that it would go to extreme lengths to police the world. The past two decades have seen the U.S. deeply involved in the Middle East as they try to stabilize a region ravaged by ethnic battles and power struggles for the world’s oil supply. America has played integral roles in the skirmishes by either trying to organize a peace process or supporting one or both sides. These actions will have consequences. Just as the British world empire crumbled in the early 1900s, the U.S. has chosen a path of expansionism that if not altered will lead to the disintegration of its world dominance in political and economic power. As we all know history has been known to repeat itself. Thus to justify my hypothesis, we must look at the last country to try to control the Middle East, specifically Great Britain. In 1917 the British began their occupation of Baghdad in order to protect the Arabs from the Turks from the Ottoman Empire. By 1920 the British had not fulfilled their promise to leave the area and the people of southern Iraq responded with military action. The British returned with their own aggression, but soon realized that they could not maintain control over the area. In 1921, a popular election was held and Prince Faisal of Hijaz won with 96% of the ballots. Unfortunately the new king of Iraq inherited a kingdom torn by civil war. To understand this internal struggle, look at how the Kurds make ... ...rman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff because he has been through the Persian Gulf, has learned from the mistakes of the United States and will use his knowledge to prevent another debacle from beginning. Bibliography Atkeson, Maj. Gen. Edward B., â€Å"The Persian Gulf: Still a Vital Interest?† Armed Forces Journal International, Vol. 124, No. 9, April 1987 Brown, Harold, â€Å"Thinking About National Security†, Boulder: Westview, 1983, p. 157 Stocking, George W., â€Å"Middle East Oil: A Study in Political and Economic Controversy†, Nashville: Vanderbilt U.P., 1970 p. 103-106 Stork, Joe, â€Å"Middle East Oil and the Energy Crisis†, New York: Monthly Review Press, 1975 http://i-cias.com/e.o/iraq_4.htm http://www.oppression.org/middleeast/kurdish_history.html http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0859147.html http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/war/iran-iraq.htm

Life in Mars Essay

For centuries people have speculated about the possibility of life on Mars owing to the planet’s proximity and similarity to Earth. Serious searches for evidence of life began in the 19th century, and continue via telescopic investigations and landed missions. While early work focused on phenomenology and bordered on fantasy, modern scientific inquiry has emphasized the search for chemical biosignatures of life in the soil and rocks at the planet’s surface, and the search for biomarker gases in the atmosphere. Fictional Martians have been a recurring feature of popular entertainment of the 20th and 21st centuries, and it remains an open question whether life currently exists on Mars, or has existed there in the past. Early speculation Mars’ polar ice caps were observed as early as the mid-17th century, and they were first proven to grow and shrink alternately, in the summer and winter of each hemisphere, by William Herschel in the latter part of the 18th century. By the mid-19th century, astronomers knew that Mars had certain other similarities to Earth, for example that the length of a day on Mars was almost the same as a day on Earth. They also knew that its axial tilt was similar to Earth’s, which meant it experienced seasons just as Earth does — but of nearly double the length owing to its much longer year. These observations led to the increase in speculation that the darker albedo features were water, and brighter ones were land. It was therefore natural to suppose that Mars may be inhabited by some form of life. In 1854, William Whewell, a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, who popularized the word scientist, theorized that Mars had seas, land and possibly life forms. Speculation about life on Mars exploded in the late 19th century, following telescopic observation by some observers of apparent Martian canals — which were however soon found to be optical illusions. Despite this, in 1895, American astronomer Percival Lowell published his book Mars, followed by Mars and its Canals in 1906, proposing that the canals were the work of a long-gone civilization. [2] This idea led British writer H. G. Wells to write The War of the Worlds in 1897, telling of an invasion by aliens from Mars who were fleeing the planet’s desiccation. Spectroscopic analysis of Mars’ atmosphere began in earnest in 1894, when U. S. astronomer William Wallace Campbell showed that neither water nor oxygen were present in the Martian atmosphere. [3] By 1909 better telescopes and the best perihelic opposition of Mars since 1877 conclusively put an end to the canal theory. Missions Mariner 4 Mariner 4 probe performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface in 1965. The photographs showed an arid Mars without rivers, oceans, or any signs of life. Further, it revealed that the surface (at least the parts that it photographed) was covered in craters, indicating a lack of plate tectonics and weathering of any kind for the last 4 billion years. The probe also found that Mars has no global magnetic field that would protect the planet from potentially life-threatening cosmic rays. The probe was able to calculate the atmospheric pressure on the planet to be about 0. 6 kPa (compared to Earth’s 101. 3 kPa), meaning that liquid water could not exist on the planet’s surface. 3] After Mariner 4, the search for life on Mars changed to a search for bacteria-like living organisms rather than for multicellular organisms, as the environment was clearly too harsh for these. Viking orbiters Liquid water is necessary for known life and metabolism, so if water was present on Mars, the chances of it having supported life may have been determinant. The Viking orbiters found evidence of possible river valleys in many areas, erosion and , in the southern hemisphere, branched streams. Viking experiments The primary mission of the Viking probes of the mid-1970s was to carry out experiments designed to detect microorganisms in Martian soil because the favorable conditions for the evolution of multicellular organisms ceased some four billion years ago on Mars. The tests were formulated to look for microbial life similar to that found on Earth. Of the four experiments, only the Labeled Release (LR) experiment returned a positive result, showing increased 14CO2 production on first exposure of soil to water and nutrients. All scientists agree on two points from the Viking missions: that radiolabeled 14CO2 was evolved in the Labeled Release experiment, and that the GC-MS detected no organic molecules. However, there are vastly different interpretations of what those results imply. The image taken by Viking probes resembling a human face caused many to speculate that it was the work of an extraterrestrial civilization. One of the designers of the Labeled Release experiment, Gilbert Levin, believes his results are a definitive diagnostic for life on Mars. However, this result is disputed by many scientists, who argue that superoxidant chemicals in the soil could have produced this effect without life being present. An almost general consensus discarded the Labeled Release data as evidence of life, because the gas chromatograph & mass spectrometer, designed to identify natural organic matter, did not detect organic molecules. The results of the Viking mission concerning life are considered by the general expert community, at best, as inconclusive. In 2007, during a Seminar of the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution (Washington, D. C. , USA), Gilbert Levin’s investigation was assessed once more. Levin still maintains that his original data were correct, as the positive and negative control experiments were in order. Moreover, Levin’s team, on 12 April 2012, reported a statistical speculation, based on old data —reinterpreted mathematically through complexity analysis— of the Labeled Release experiments, that may suggest evidence of â€Å"extant microbial life on Mars. Critics counter that the method has not yet been proven effective for differentiating between biological and non-biological processes on Earth so it is premature to draw any conclusions. Ronald Paepe, an edaphologist (soil scientist), communicated to the European Geosciences Union Congress that the discovery of the recent detection of silicate minerals on Mars may indicate pedogenesis, or soil development processes, extended over the entire surface of Mars. Paepe’s interpretation views most of Mars surface as active soil, colored red by eons of widespread wearing by water, vegetation and microbial activity. A research team from the National Autonomous University of Mexico headed by Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez, concluded that the equipment (TV-GC-MS) used by the Viking program to search for organic molecules, may not be sensitive enough to detect low levels of organics. Because of the simplicity of sample handling, TV–GC–MS is still considered the standard method for organic detection on future Mars missions, so Navarro-Gonzalez suggests that the design of future organic instruments for Mars should include other methods of detection. Gillevinia straata The claim for life on Mars, in the form of Gillevinia straata, is based on old data reinterpreted as sufficient evidence of life, mainly by professors Gilbert Levin, Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez and Ronalds Paepe. The evidence supporting the existence of Gillevinia straata microorganisms relies on the data collected by the two Mars Viking landers that searched for biosignatures of life, but the analytical results were, officially, inconclusive. In 2006, Mario Crocco, a neurobiologist at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Borda in Buenos Aires, Argentina, proposed the creation of a new nomenclatural rank that classified the Viking landers’ results as ‘metabolic’ and therefore belonging to a form of life. Crocco proposed to create new biological ranking categories (taxa), in the new kingdom system of life, in order to be able to accommodate the genus of Martian microorganisms. Crocco proposed the following taxonomical entry: * Organic life system: Solaria * Biosphere: Marciana Kingdom: Jakobia (named after neurobiologist Christfried Jakob) * Genus et species: Gillevinia straata As a result, the hypothetical Gillevinia straata would not be a bacterium (which rather is a terrestrial taxon), but a member of the kingdom ‘Jakobia’ in the biosphere ‘Marciana’ of the ‘Solaria’ system. The intended effect of the new nomenclature was to reverse the burden of proof concerning the life issue, but the taxonomy proposed by Crocco has not been accepted by the scientific community and is considered a single nomen nudum. Further, no Mars mission has found traces of biomolecules. Phoenix lander, 2008 The Phoenix mission landed a robotic spacecraft in the polar region of Mars on May 25, 2008 and it operated until November 10, 2008. One of the mission’s two primary objectives was to search for a â€Å"habitable zone† in the Martian regolith where microbial life could exist, the other main goal being to study the geological history of water on Mars. The lander has a 2. 5 meter robotic arm that was capable of digging shallow trenches in the regolith. There was an electrochemistry experiment which analysed the ions in the regolith and the amount and type of antioxidants on Mars. The Viking program data indicate that oxidants on Mars may vary with latitude, noting that Viking 2 saw fewer oxidants than Viking 1 in its more northerly position. Phoenix landed further north still. Phoenix’s preliminary data revealed that Mars soil contains perchlorate, and thus may not be as life-friendly as thought earlier. The pH and salinity level were viewed as benign from the standpoint of biology. The analysers also indicated the presence of bound water and CO2. Mars Science Laboratory Main articles: Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity rover The Mars Science Laboratory mission is a NASA spacecraft launched on November 26, 2011 that deployed the Curiosity rover, a nuclear-powered robot bearing instruments designed to look for past or present conditions relevant to biological activity (planetary habitability). The Curiosity rover landed on Mars on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater, near Aeolis Mons (a. k. a. Mount Sharp), on August 6, 2012. Future missions * ExoMars is a European-led multi-spacecraft programme currently under development by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA for launch in 2016 and 2018. Its primary scientific mission will be to search for possible biosignatures on Mars, past or present. Two rovers with a 2 m core drill each will be used to sample various depths beneath the surface where liquid water may be found and where microorganisms might survive cosmic radiation. * Mars Sample Return Mission — The best life detection experiment proposed is the examination on Earth of a soil sample from Mars. However, the difficulty of providing and maintaining life support over the months of transit from Mars to Earth remains to be solved. Providing for still unknown environmental and nutritional requirements is daunting. Should dead organisms be found in a sample, it would be difficult to conclude that those organisms were alive when obtained. Meteorites NASA maintains a catalog of 34 Mars meteorites. These assets are highly valuable since they are the only physical samples available of Mars. Studies conducted by NASA’s Johnson Space Center show that at least three of the meteorites contain potential evidence of past life on Mars, in the form of microscopic structures resembling fossilized bacteria (so-called biomorphs). Although the scientific evidence collected is reliable, its interpretation varies. To date, none of the original lines of scientific evidence for the hypothesis that the biomorphs are of exobiological origin (the so-called biogenic hypothesis) have been either discredited or positively ascribed to non-biological explanations. Over the past few decades, seven criteria have been established for the recognition of past life within terrestrial geologic samples. Those criteria are: 1. Is the geologic context of the sample compatible with past life? 2. Is the age of the sample and its stratigraphic location compatible with possible life? 3. Does the sample contain evidence of cellular morphology and colonies? 4.  Is there any evidence of biominerals showing chemical or mineral disequilibria? 5. Is there any evidence of stable isotope patterns unique to biology? 6. Are there any organic biomarkers present? 7. Are the features indigenous to the sample? For general acceptance of past life in a geologic sample, essentially most or all of these criteria must be met. All seven criteria have not yet been met for any of the Martian samples, but continued investigations are in progress. As of 2010, reexaminations of the biomorphs found in the three Martian meteorites are underway with more advanced analytical instruments than previously available. The scientists conducting the study at Johnson Space Center believed that before the end of the year they would find in the meteorites definitive evidence for past life on Mars. ALH84001 meteorite The ALH84001 meteorite was found in December 1984 in Antarctica, by members of the ANSMET project; the meteorite weighs 1. 93 kilograms (4. 3 lb). The sample was ejected from Mars about 17 million years ago and spent 11,000 years in or on the Antarctic ice sheets. Composition analysis by NASA revealed a kind of magnetite that on Earth, is only found in association with certain microorganisms. Then, in August 2002, another NASA team led by Thomas-Keptra published a study indicating that 25% of the magnetite in ALH 84001 occurs as small, uniform-sized crystals that, on Earth, is associated only with biologic activity, and that the remainder of the material appears to be normal inorganic magnetite. The extraction technique did not permit determination as to whether the possibly biological magnetite was organized into chains as would be expected. The meteorite displays indication of relatively low temperature secondary mineralization by water and shows evidence of preterrestrial aqueous alteration. Evidence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been identified with the levels increasing away from the surface. Some structures resembling the mineralized casts of terrestrial bacteria and their appendages (fibrils) or by-products (extracellular polymeric substances) occur in the rims of carbonate globules and preterrestrial aqueous alteration regions. The size and shape of the objects is consistent with Earthly fossilized nanobacteria, but the existence of nanobacteria itself is controversial. In November 2009, NASA scientists said that a recent, more detailed analysis showed that the meteorite â€Å"contains strong evidence that life may have existed on ancient Mars†. Nakhla Meteorite The Nakhla meteorite fell on Earth on June 28, 1911 on the locality of Nakhla, Alexandria, Egypt. In 1998, a team from NASA’s Johnson Space Center obtained a small sample for analysis. Researchers found preterrestrial aqueous alteration phases and objects of the size and shape consistent with Earthly fossilized nanobacteria, but the existence of nanobacteria itself is controversial. Analysis with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) studied its high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 2000, and NASA scientists concluded that as much as 75% of the organic matter in Nakhla â€Å"may not be recent terrestrial contamination†. This caused additional interest in this meteorite, so in 2006, NASA managed to obtain an additional and larger sample from the London Natural History Museum. On this second sample, a large dendritic carbon content was observed. When the results and evidence were published on 2006, some independent researchers claimed that the carbon deposits are of biologic origin. However, it was remarked that since carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the Universe, finding it in curious patterns is not indicative or suggestive of biological origin. Shergotty meteorite The Shergotty meteorite, a 4 kg Martian meteorite, fell on Earth on Shergotty, India on August 25, 1865 and was retrieved by witnesses almost immediately. [45] This meteorite is relatively young, calculated to have been formed on Mars only 165 million years ago from volcanic origin. It is composed mostly of pyroxene and thought to have undergone preterrestrial aqueous alteration for several centuries. Certain features in its interior suggest to be remnants of biofilm and their associated microbial communities. [33] Work is in progress on searching for magnetites within alteration phases. Liquid water No Mars probe since Viking has tested the Martian regolith specifically for metabolism which is the ultimate sign of current life. NASA’s recent missions have focused on another question: whether Mars held lakes or oceans of liquid water on its surface in the ancient past. Scientists have found hematite, a mineral that forms in the presence of water. Thus, the mission of the Mars Exploration Rovers of 2004 was not to look for present or past life, but for evidence of liquid water on the surface of Mars in the planet’s ancient past. Liquid water, necessary for Earth life and for metabolism as generally conducted by species on Earth, cannot exist on the surface of Mars under its present low atmospheric pressure and temperature, except at the lowest shaded elevations for short periods and liquid water does not appear at the surface itself. In June 2000, evidence for water currently under the surface of Mars was discovered in the form of flood-like gullies. Deep subsurface water deposits near the planet’s liquid core might form a present-day habitat for life. However, in March 2006, astronomers announced the discovery of similar gullies on the Moon, which is believed never to have had liquid water on its surface. The astronomers suggest that the gullies could be the result of micrometeorite impacts. In March 2004, NASA announced that its rover Opportunity had discovered evidence that Mars was, in the ancient past, a wet planet. This had raised hopes that evidence of past life might be found on the planet today. ESA confirmed that the Mars Express orbiter had directly detected huge reserves of water ice at Mars’ south pole in January 2004. On July 28, 2005, ESA announced that they had recorded photographic evidence of surface water ice near Mars’ North pole. In December 2006, NASA showed images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor that suggested that water occasionally flows on the surface of Mars. The images did not actually show flowing water. Rather, they showed changes in craters and sediment deposits, providing the strongest evidence yet that water oursed through them as recently as several years ago, and is perhaps doing so even now. Some researchers were skeptical that liquid water was responsible for the surface feature changes seen by the spacecraft. They said other materials such as sand or dust can flow like a liquid and produce similar results. Recent analysis of Martian sandstones, using data obtained from orbital spectrometry, suggests that the waters that previously existed on the surface of Mars would have had too high a salinity to support most Earth-like life. Tosca et al. found that the Martian water in the locations they studied all had water activity, aw ? . 78 to 0. 86—a level fatal to most Terrestrial life. Haloarchaea, however, are able to live in hypersaline solutions, up to the saturation point. The Phoenix Mars lander from NASA, which landed in the Mars Arctic plain in May 2008, confirmed the presence of frozen water near the surface. This was confirmed when bright material, exposed by the digging arm of the lander, was found to have vaporized and disappeared in 3 to 4 days. This has been attributed to sub-surface ice, exposed by the digging and sublimated on exposure to the atmosphere. Methane Trace amounts of methane in the atmosphere of Mars were discovered in 2003 and verified in 2004. As methane is an unstable gas, its presence indicates that there must be an active source on the planet in order to keep such levels in the atmosphere. It is estimated that Mars must produce 270 ton/year of methane, but asteroid impacts account for only 0. 8% of the total methane production. Although geologic sources of methane such as serpentinization are possible, the lack of current volcanism, hydrothermal activity or hotspots are not favorable for geologic methane. It has been suggested that the methane was produced by chemical reactions in meteorites, driven by the intense heat during entry through the atmosphere. Although research published in December 2009 ruled out this possibility, research published in 2012 suggest that a source may be organic compounds on meteorites that are converted to methane by ultraviolet radiation. The existence of life in the form of microorganisms such as methanogens is among possible, but as yet unproven sources. If microscopic Martian life is producing the methane, it likely resides far below the surface, where it is still warm enough for liquid water to exist. Since the 2003 discovery of methane in the atmosphere, some scientists have been designing models and in vitro experiments testing growth of methanogenic bacteria on simulated Martian soil, where all four methanogen strains tested produced substantial levels of methane, even in the presence of 1. 0wt% perchlorate salt. The results reported indicate that the perchlorates discovered by the Phoenix Lander would not rule out the possible presence of methanogens on Mars. A team led by Levin suggested that both phenomena—methane production and degradation—could be accounted for by an ecology of methane-producing and methane-consuming microorganisms. In June 2012, scientists reported that measuring the ratio of hydrogen and methane levels on Mars may help determine the likelihood of life on Mars. According to the scientists, â€Å"†¦ low H2/CH4 ratios (less than approximately 40) indicate that life is likely present and active. † Other scientists have recently reported methods of detecting hydrogen and methane in extraterrestrial atmospheres. Formaldehyde In February 2005, it was announced that the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Orbiter, detected traces of formaldehyde in the atmosphere of Mars. Vittorio Formisano, the director of the PFS, has speculated that the formaldehyde could be the byproduct of the oxidation of methane, and according to him, would provide evidence that Mars is either extremely geologically active, or harbouring colonies of microbial life. NASA scientists consider the preliminary findings are well worth a follow-up, but have also rejected the claims of life. Silica In May 2007, the Spirit rover disturbed a patch of ground with its inoperative wheel, uncovering an area extremely rich in silica (90%). The feature is reminiscent of the effect of hot spring water or steam coming into contact with volcanic rocks. Scientists consider this as evidence of a past environment that may have been favorable for microbial life, and theorize that one possible origin for the silica may have been produced by the interaction of soil with acid vapors produced by volcanic activity in the presence of water. Another possible origin could have been from water in a hot spring environment. Based on Earth analogs, hydrothermal systems on Mars would be highly attractive for their potential for preserving organic and inorganic biosignatures. For example, iron oxidizing bacteria are abundant in marine and terrestrial hydrothermal systems, where they often display distinctive cell morphologies and are commonly encrusted by minerals, especially bacteriogenic iron oxides and silica. Microfossils of iron oxidizing bacteria have been found in ancient Si-Fe deposits and iron oxidation may be an ancient and widespread metabolic pathway. 83] If possible, future rover missions will target extinct hydrothermal vent systems on Mars. Geysers on Mars The seasonal frosting and defrosting of the southern ice cap results in the formation of spider-like radial channels carved on 1 meter thick ice by sunlight. Then, sublimed CO2 – and probably water –increase pressure in their interior producing geyser-like eruptions of cold fluids often mixed with dark basaltic sand or mud. This process is rapid, observed happening in the space of a few days, weeks or months, a growth rate rather unusual in geology – especially for Mars. A team of Hungarian scientists proposes that the geysers’ most visible features, dark dune spots and spider channels, may be colonies of photosynthetic Martian microorganisms, which over-winter beneath the ice cap, and as the sunlight returns to the pole during early spring, light penetrates the ice, the microorganisms photosynthesize and heat their immediate surroundings. A pocket of liquid water, which would normally evaporate instantly in the thin Martian atmosphere, is trapped around them by the overlying ice. As this ice layer thins, the microorganisms show through grey. When the layer has completely melted, the microorganisms rapidly desiccate and turn black, surrounded by a grey aureole. The Hungarian scientists believe that even a complex sublimation process is insufficient to explain the formation and evolution of the dark dune spots in space and time. Since their discovery, fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke promoted these formations as deserving of study from an astrobiological perspective. A multinational European team suggests that if liquid water is present in the spiders’ channels during their annual defrost cycle, they might provide a niche where certain microscopic life forms could have retreated and adapted while sheltered from solar radiation. A British team also considers the possibility that organic matter, microbes, or even simple plants might co-exist with these inorganic formations, especially if the mechanism includes liquid water and a geothermal energy source. However, they also remark that the majority of geological structures may be accounted for without invoking any organic â€Å"life on Mars† hypothesis. It has been proposed to develop the Mars Geyser Hopper lander to study the geysers up close. Cosmic radiation In 1965, the Mariner 4 probe discovered that Mars had no global magnetic field that would protect the planet from potentially life-threatening cosmic radiation and solar radiation; observations made in the late 1990s by the Mars Global Surveyor confirmed this discovery. Scientists speculate that the lack of magnetic shielding helped the solar wind blow away much of Mars’s atmosphere over the course of several billion years. After mapping cosmic radiation levels at various depths on Mars, researchers have concluded that any life within the first several meters of the planet’s surface would be killed by lethal doses of cosmic radiation. In 2007, it was calculated that DNA and RNA damage by cosmic radiation would limit life on Mars to depths greater than 7. 5 metres below the planet’s surface. Therefore, the best potential locations for discovering life on Mars may be at subsurface environments that have not been studied yet.

How you spend your leisure time versus how your parentsspend their leisure time Essays

How you spend your leisure time versus how your parentsspend their leisure time Essays How you spend your leisure time versus how your parentsspend their leisure time Essay How you spend your leisure time versus how your parentsspend their leisure time Essay Essay Topic: Rear Window My parents are in their late middle age. My mom is in her late forties and my dad is in his late fifties and retired. Meanwhile I am nineteen, pretty much healthy and energetic. As with all people, the older we grow the slower we are and are more pone to illnesses. With this in mind, we go into the point that I am trying to make, the huge gap in the way I spend my leisure time compared to my parents. As with any normal teenage, what I consider leisure would include a lot of loud noises, bright lights and friends gossiping about anything except schoolwork and world news (proven fact that modern day teenagers arent the brightest people in the world). If I had a day off from the hustle and bustle of life, it would basically begin with a shopping excursion with friends to the nearest shopping mall. I would start with a movie then move on to window shopping, more often than not look out for sales and try to grab a few good deals. After all, it is a girls nature to shop. After that, my friends and I would adjourn to the nearest coffee shop; not your normal mamak stall but rather places like CoffeeBean or San Franciso Coffee House, places where they specialize in coffee and definitely in high prices as well. There we spend out time lepaking and basically hanging out. Teenagers are actually nocturnal animals. We are more active at night. This fact applies more heavily to college goers actually. A night out in town wont be complete without a visit to a disco. There we dance our hearts out or maybe drown out sorrows in alcohol. It may seem to be a bad habit but as long as we learn to stay away from bad habits like smoking and taking drugs it can be a way of releasing stress as is the most important element in having leisure time. When you take the leisure activities I do and compare it with my parents, anyone can see the difference. My parents would take gardening over a day in a crowded shopping mall. In fact my parents dislike huge crowds and avoid them unless really necessary. They enjoy taking walks in parks and their main interest is in nature. On rainy days when they would rather curl up with a good book or maybe a magazine with the radio in the background playing soothing music. Most of the days the just enjoy each other company. Individually my parents have different hobbies, my fathers lie in his fish pond where he rears koi fish and various carp. He claims that they create a certain ying-yang balance in our house. Meanwhile my moms hobby lay more in her vegetable garden. She grows various types of chilies, fruit trees and vegetables. Even though I and my parents have different leisure activities, we do share one thing in common; the love for books. There are definitely days where we spend out leisure time with a good book. No matter how you spend your leisure time, the main point is that you are able to relax and reduce stress while enjoying your favorite activity before going back into the real world again.