Managing the difference between individuals is more relevant to Essay

Managing the difference between individuals is more relevant to today's organisations than ever before - Essay Example This essay analyses the necessity of managing the differences between individuals in the current scenario to meet the targets of the organisation, by aligning individuals to organisation goals and effectively making them work as a team and meeting increasing productivity and efficiency goals. A growing economy challenges everyone with problems of finding and retaining the best in the industry. When the multi faceted team comes together, harmonizing the work place and managing the differences between individuals becomes necessary to attain organisational goals. A motivated and contented individual performs better and contributes towards reaching organisational goals. Today, the customer is given a lot of priority and the emphasis is on customer service. It order to meet these expectations, dependence on the human workforce has increased tremendously. In the past organisations often had the upper hand. The organisation culture was more conservative and traditional. The hierarchy was adhered to and the lower attrition rates often contributed to a sense of complacency on the part of the management in making efforts to retain the workforce. Today's organisations boast of "shorter chains of command." Unnecessary levels of management have been done away with. Organisations in the past operated on the basis of "Unity in command " principle. It meant that one employee only reported to one supervisor. This was supposed to avoid the potential confusion when an employee gets directions from more than one source. Today, organisations are using more cross-functional teams, task forces and horizontal structures that cater to customers more than before. Employees often find themselves working for more than one" boss". Past organisations had a narrower span of control meaning lower number of people reporting to one single person. Smaller spans of control require more managers and are more costly, while larger spans are less expensive due to the requirement of a reduced number of managers and also are more efficient because of the reduced levels in the management. Organisations today opt for a wider span of control as chains of command are shortened and there is more trust in "empowerment", individual managers are taking on a larger number of subordinates who act with lesser direct supervision. Organisations today have understood the need to delegate more and empower the employees by giving them sufficient authority to make relevant decisions when required. Unlike in the past, this saves the managers from micro managing and also helps the employee own the responsibility for his own decisions. This has also led to the decentralisation of authority to a certain extent, while centralising the information with the help of the technological advances. Reducing the number of staff by using specialised staff increases the operating efficiency of the organisations today. Also, in the past subtly manipulating the workforce was slightly easier due to lack of myriad opportunities. Today, employees know they have many options. They have the upper hand. If the company needs them, it has to work hard to keep them. They need to have a unique

Life of Pi Essay Example for Free

Life of Pi Essay Here in Life of Pi the protagonists struggle for survival in the middle of an unheedful ocean is done in a tone that echoes the sound of a well-written work of fiction being read out aloud. Life of Pi is a story about struggling to survive through seemingly insurmountable odds. The shipwrecked inhabitants of the little lifeboat don’t simply concede to their fate: they actively fight against it. The human mind is an amazing instrument. In the face of the horrors of life, it creates a magical story that allows it to continue living with truths otherwise might not be able to accept. The struggle for existence, the struggle for survival, and the inner strength we have to find and tame before we can become master of our existence, are all realities which we have difficulty admitting. The struggle is with a young male that is vegetarian and Richard Parker is the capitalist within himself that he must struggle to overcome so he can be free to live the way he wants to, as a totally tolerant of all things vegetarian in Canada. While Pi has been starving, and the fish offer a sudden abundance of food, Pibeing a vegetarianwont eat the fish because it violates his beliefs, but his struggle to dominate Richard Parker is the dominating of his appetites. The food Pi has been eating from the lifeboat supply is destroyed by the tail of the whale, demonstrating the importance of food in the film, and how Pi learns he cant survive on just earthly food, or just heavenly food, but that he needs both, Pi abandons his lifelong vegetarianism and eats the fish to sustain himself. Summing up the emotion behind the struggle Pi encountered, while he was on the boat, Pi states, My face set to a grim and determined expression. I speak in all modesty as I say this, but I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to live. Its not something evident, in my experience. Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still othersand I am one of thosenever give up. We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take the improbability of success. We fight to the very end. Its not a question of courage. Its something constitutional, an inability to let go. (Martel 164) This quote is inspirational and relates to Pis personality. Despite the fact that he faced many struggles throughout the novel (majorly part 2), he managed to remain optimistic and determined to find a way to escape. In most cases, a person would have just given up under the circumstances he fell under, but Pi had faith in getting off the ship and finding land. He never gave up despite the fact that he knew that hed never see his family again, and he had to survive for 227 days with a ferocious tiger, and little food. The odds against his survival were prominently against his favor, but that didnt stop him. He had to overcome his fear of killing animals in his struggle for survival. Pi went from hesitating to kill a fish, to becoming comparable to a professional fisherman. Although there were many thoughts going through his head to just jump off the boat and put an end to everything, his perseverance overcame his doubt and he did anything possible to survive. Personally I can see myself saying what Pi stated. Im a determined individual, and if I really want something, I will go to great lengths to get what I want.

Aviation and the environment: Virgin Atlantic

Aviation and the environment: Virgin Atlantic Introduction As the years go by and as technology advances the environment is becoming fragile. This is because of the continual pressure on the natural resources available to man. The adverse effects of human activities on the environment have become evident as there has been an increase in earthquakes, floods, landslides, melting of polar ice caps and the rise in sea level towards the end of the 21st century and start of the 22nd. It is due to this fact that the concept of responsible human activities was brought up by environmental conservationists. This concept proposes that the reduction of greenhouse gases can be achieved through the use of cleaner energy and/or through efficient use of energy. The transport industry produces a significant amount of greenhouse gases on a yearly basis; estimated at 15% of the total greenhouse production in the world. Data collected shows that 23% of all carbon dioxide released into the environment is from the transport industry (See, 2009). Carbon dioxide emissions have been seen to grow by half in a period of seventeen years between 1990 and 2007. Studies show that global greenhouse gas emissions are directly proportional to economic growth. The global financial crisis of 2007 resulted in a drop in greenhouse gas emissions as people were seen to travel less. This shows that the transport industry indeed has a significant effect on global greenhouse gas emissions and therefore measures are needed so as to reduce these emissions in an attempt to reduce the yearly global emissions (Banhart and Odoni, 2009). Air transport pollutes the environment by emitting harmful gases such as COx, NOx, SOx and particulate matter into the air. This mode of transport has also been criticized for noise pollution with the concord being an example of a noise pollutant. Pollution from air travel is a major concern for environmentalists as the yearly emissions from the industry are expected to increase in the future. This is due to the fact that air travel is still in its growth stages and as the world becomes a global village more air traffic will result. On the contrary, greenhouse gas emissions from road transport are expected to reduce in the future due to the advancement in technology and the use of more efficient engines i.e. turbocharged engines, computer controlled combustion sequences etc. Gasoline engines have evolved in the last twenty years from carburetor engines, to EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) to VVT-i (Valve Variable Timing with Intelligence). This evolution is expected to continue until emissions from road transport are reduced to the least possible (Balmer, 2010). There are different proposals on the measures that could be taken so as regulate air travel and reduce greenhouse emissions from the industry. These include increased taxation of the aviation industry, abolishment of incentives for air travel passengers and emissions trading schemes. Other factors such as a responsible corporate culture and have also been mentioned as possible ways through which emissions from air travel can be reduced. The harmful effects of aviation on the environment have often brought to question the morality of air travel with some critics claiming that air travel is not only immoral and unethical as it causes damage to the habitats of people without properly compensating them. Africa in particular is the greatest victim of global warming with the continent bearing the brunt of the commercial activities of the modern world. Global warming has been found to result in reduction in food production in Africa by 10%; 2 million people die in a year due to malnourishme nt (Cline, 2007). Some aircraft engineers think that the development of more efficient combustion engines and air frame designs have the potential of reducing the yearly greenhouse gas emissions from the industry. This comes at a time when airplane manufacturers are committed to increasing the fuel efficiency of commercial jets by making better designs. The use of alternative fuels for airplanes is also seen by some aviation engineers as a possible solution to the emissions problem. However, critics claim that as aircraft engines become more efficient there is a proportional increase in aircraft traffic thus offsetting the benefits of the new technology. They further claim that the useful life of an aircraft spans between 12 and 8 years and thus it would take long to replace old technology with new technology thus resulting in extensive damage to the environment. The Virgin Atlantic Airline is at the forefront of the fight against air pollution. This is evident by the numerous programs and ventures started by the company so as to reduce its annual greenhouse emissions. It is also the first aircraft company in the United States that reports its emissions to the climate registry. This study will focus on the Virgin Atlantic Airline company and will attempt to assess the impacts that the airline has to the environment and the measures that have been taken so as to reduce the annual emissions of the company. The study will also focus on the technical aspects of aircraft manufacture and operation that have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions (Virgin Atlantic, 2010). Data will be collected from a study carried out in the Virgin Atlantic airline. The data will be collected from technical personnel, engineers, directors, environmentalists and flight personnel so as to gain an understanding of the firms practices and how they affect the environment. The data will then be analysed and from the analysis discussions and suitable recommendations will be made. Research questions What impacts do airline operations have on the environment? What is the Virgin Airline companys policy towards the environment? Has a pro-environment policy in the company resulted in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty? What technical aspects of airplane design and construction have been changed so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Which operational measures have been taken so as to reduce green house gas emissions? Are the measures taken by the company practical and realistic? Should other airline companies follow the Virgin Atlantic example? Literature review Exemplary leadership and sound company policies are seen to be the key ingredients in minimizing the effects of the transport industry to the environment. A vibrant leadership that is able to formulate sound policies and that can be able to put these practices into effect is desperately needed if the aviation industry is to go ‘green. The Virgin Atlantic chairman Sir Richard Branson is an example of effective leader who has seen sound company policies being transformed into practical solutions for his organisation. Many companies are yet to adopt similar policies even in an age when there is widespread information on the need to conserve the environment. Sir Branson has welcomed other major airlines and aircraft operators to form a common initiative that will work towards finding solutions for the industry. It is evident that a clear vision at top level management is the driver behind the implementation of environmentally friendly aviation practices (Virgin Atlantic, 2010). Another contributing factor that has enabled the Virgin Airline to reduce its annual carbon emissions is the fact that there exists a flexible and innovative culture within the organisation. According to the company, sustainability must be accompanied by change; staff have to be trained on how to cope with the challenges of the modern world. The companys staff have been educated on the effects of carbon emissions and have been encouraged to find ways in which they could reduce these emissions in their respective areas of work. Such a culture lacks in many aviation companies and is the reason why the Virgin Atlantic is a leader in sustainable aviation. (Virgin Atlantic, 2010). Virgin Atlantic has invested into a fleet of more efficient aircraft that are able to cut the greenhouse gas emissions by 27%. The company has liaised with its manufacture Boeing Commercial Airplanes who have been able to design a more efficient aircraft for the company; Dreamliner 787-9. This is in line with companys goals to have reduced its carbon emissions by 30% before the year 2020. This plane is built from composite materials that are lighter compared to the conventional aluminum alloys. The airplane also has an increased carrying capacity of 290 passengers. Due to modifications in its engines and aerodynamics the aircraft produces 60 percent less noise compared to the A series Boeing already in service. The company also intends to benefits the customer with this new technology through the reduction in air travel fares and the design of improved cabin environments. The company has established a fuel panel that has the responsibility of ensuring that the company saves up to 7000 tonnes of jet fuel in a year. This panel is made up of technical personnel, engineers and pilots who meet periodically and formulate ways of reducing fuel consumption. It is from these meetings that pilots are taught how to minimize fuel consumption when in cruise mode during takeoff and landing. An innovative piloting technique devised by Virgin Atlantic pilots is the continuous descent technique that involves a gradual descent by the pilot from much higher altitudes and thus resulting in reduced fuel burnt and consequently CO2 emissions. The company is also working on the concept of starting grids where the aircraft will be stored in bays close to the runways and then towed to the runways ten minutes before departure. This is expected to cut the amount pre take off fuel consumption by half (Virgin Atlantic, 2010). In a quest to reduce its emissions the company has been able to reduce the weight of its A series aircraft. This involves the substitution of materials inside the aircraft for lighter materials i.e. interior fittings, catering equipment. The company has substituted its metal oxygen tanks with carbon fibre ones, uses lighter paints for aircraft surfaces, replaced metal cargo bins with carbon fibre ones. Other measures such as the removal of used bottles and containers before the next flight have been taken so as to reduce the total takeoff weight of the aircraft. The company has also taken measures towards the implementation of sound air traffic management practices. The chairman Sir Branson is found to say that the efficiency of European airlines could be improved if a single airline management authority was put in place so as to replace the 35 that exist. He further notes that with better air traffic management this could result in better aircraft routes and therefore reduced emissions. The company has proposed the formation of a single sky; a single authority to man and regulate flight routes. This would however require the cooperation of local authorities and government; the company is working towards the achievement of this goal in the future (Virgin Atlantic, 2010). Other measures taken by the company include the reduction in energy used by its ground based sites. This is done through proper employee education, investment in cost effective electrical appliances, installation and the generation of electricity from solar panels. The company has also put measures in place so as to save water in all its processes and operations; cleaning operations, catering, clubhouses to aircraft maintenance. The company has also launched a waste management program that plans to recycle 50% of all the waste generated during active flight and from ground operations. This is aimed at reducing the burden on the environment due to the services and utilities offered to passengers by the airline. The company has even a gone a step further by providing mass transport services for its employees so as to reduce single occupant journeys. The reason for this is to reduce the carbon footprints resulting from services that support the airline but not directly related to it. The Virgin Atlantic airline has shown extraordinary commitment to the conservation of the environment. Not only has the company focused on air pollution but on other forms such as land and water pollution. The chairman of the company has pledged to reinvest the companys profits for the next ten years into the conservation of the environment. This commitment is unmatched by any other airline company and analysts claim that it could be a strategic move to align itself with a rapidly changing world that is becoming increasingly conscious of the threats posed to the environment by human activities (Virgin Atlantic, 2010). Methodology Participants The respondents for the study were selected from employees of the Virgin Atlantic airline in London. This was done so as to gain an understanding of the specific measures that the company has taken with respect to the environment. Respondents from the general public were also selected for the study so as to collect the opinions and feelings of the general public with respect to the aviation industry. These respondents were chosen from people living around airports. Top level management officials were also selected for the study; airline directors and chief officers. Structured and formal interviews Structured and formal interviews will be used in the data collection process. This method has been favoured as it offers several advantages; the researcher will have control of the process, allows the researcher to prioritize questions, prevents the researcher from deviating off the key aspects of the study and saves time by allowing the researcher to ask as many questions in the shortest time possible. The researcher recorded the responses received and then transcribed these responses so as to facilitate analysis of the data. A copy of the questions sheet has been attached at the appendices section (Appendix 1) Emails It was noted during the study that some respondents were not available for face to face interviews. This was mainly due to distance barriers and lack of convenience. Secondary sources Secondary sources such as journals, books, and news prints were compared with the primary data. These were accessed through physical libraries, online libraries and databases. Data analysis The audio records were transcribed to written data. The data was then coded so as to allow for qualitative analysis of the data using statistical software. The IBM V 18 spss statistical package was used to analyse the coded data and from these codes develop visual representations of the data. Benefits of this software include its ability to analyse and develop relationships between various sets of data thus proving useful for the study. Results The answers for each research question were assessed and then coded. These codes were then analyzed statistically and the results displayed visually using pie charts and bar graphs. What do you think is the most notable environmental impact of the aviation industry? Due to the recent increase in aviation related accidents do you think that the aviation industry is still as safe mode of transport? Does the aviation industry need to take necessary measures so as to make it environmentally friendly? Most airline companies are committed to conserving the environment and implementing sustainable practices in their operations. Does company policy have an effect on the approach of an airline company towards air and noise pollution? Do customers tend to prefer airlines that are environmentally conscious? Do you think that the Virgin Atlantic airline has taken genuine steps towards the conservation of the environment? Can changes in the design and engineering of aircraft reduce the impact that they have on the environment? Which aspects of aircraft design do you think are the most critical in the attempt to reduce the environmental impact of aviation? Do you believe that it is possible and practical for airline companies to be sustainiable in nature? Do you support the proposed emissions trading scheme that will have airlines pay for any excessive emissions that they produce? Do you think that the Virgin Atlantic airline provides a good example of environmental conscious business for other airline companies? Discussion Impacts of the aviation industry to the environment The respondents interviewed in the study were found to be well knowledgeable about the aviation industry and its potential impacts to environment. The first question that the researcher asked the respondents was aimed at gaining some insight on the opinions of different people on the effects aircraft operations to the environment. Most respondents claimed that aviation as an industry resulted in pollution to the environment. The three main types of pollution noted in the study include gaseous emissions, release of particles into the air and noise pollution. It was however noted that majority of the respondents claimed that gaseous emissions were the most serious type of pollution that airline companies need to control. It was also found that there is generally minimal knowledge on the existence of particle emissions from aircraft among residents who lived near airports Mainstream media has been found to have a great impact on the opinions of the general public towards pollution and the environment. Coincidentally gaseous emissions which include C0x, N0x and S0x compounds have been extensively covered by media and thus the increased interest/awareness in these issues. Particulate matter release on the other hand has not been well addressed by mainstream media and thus less concern for this type of pollution. In a paper by Person (2005) he claims that particulate matter though ignored by most engineers and environmentalists leads to the damage of the environment, deterioration of human health and has harmful impacts on the engine of the aircraft. In the paper he further addresses the need for engineers and designers to maintain low levels of particulate matter from aircraft engines in an attempt to increase engine lifetime and improve on combustion efficiency. The Transportation Research Board (2005) further explorers the need for a regulatory body t o ensure that all aircraft produce a certain amount of particulate matter so as to reduce environmental pollution. He further states that biofuels though are perceived to be beneficial to the environment could result in higher amounts of particulate matter release into the environment. This study was able to show that there is significant knowledge on the adverse effects of uncontrolled aviation. All respondents acknowledged the fact that the aviation industry places some unseen burden onto the natural environment. However, it was also found that there lacks an alternative source for cleaner, cheaper and readily available fuels. Safety of airline industry The second question was aimed at investigating on the level of trust and confidence of the respondents on the safety of aircrafts. It was found that 63% of all respondents interviewed had confidence in the aviation industry. These respondents claimed that they felt safe and at ease when using this means of transport or operating in the industry. Further probing shows that most respondents thought that aircraft accidents are inevitable and must occur at some point. It was also common belief among respondents that every type of transport has a certain level of risk with most respondents claiming that aviation has the lowest risk factor. Airline directors and airline employees were found to be more aware of the potent risks that exist in the aviation industry compared to environmentalists and residents. This is because these people through their experiences in the industry had come to realize that it is through the continuous checks and quality control processes that airline companies carry out that the accident rates are kept low. Engineers and technical staff were particularly found to be most aware of this fact as they were actively involved in the day to day maintenance of aircraft. One engineer was noted to say he tries his best to ensure that aircraft are 100% accurate but sometimes some things go unchecked and these could result in fatalities. He further claims that no human can ever be perfect including engineers and technical staff and therefore there is always some element of risk that exists when flying a plane. Twenty seven percent of the respondents claimed that the aviation industry was unsafe with most quoting aircraft accidents such as the Flight 93 of United Airlines and the 1977 Tenerife accident. It was also noted that some respondents chose this answer due to lack of sufficient knowledge on the aviation. This was evident among respondents chosen from people living in the vicinity of airports and who had minimal background knowledge on the aviation industry. However, this element of ignorance did not have an effect on the study as only a small proportion of respondents thought that aircrafts were unsafe; 23%. Need for change in aviation industry The third question was geared towards gaining an understanding on the general opinion of industry experts and the public on the need for change by the aviation industry. It was noted that 92% of all respondents acknowledged that there was an urgent need for change in the industry. It was found that almost all of the respondents were aware of the adverse effects that the industry had to the environment and to human life. These include the depletion of natural resources, air pollution, noise, and human health complications such as asthma and allergies. Despite the fact there is sufficient knowledge on the adverse effects of aviation, it was found that little change had been done by most airline companies. After being interviewed most engineers, technical and support staff were found to say that the decision for change had to be made at top levels of the organisation. These respondents claimed that despite the fact that most employees were aware of the need for change they did not have the ability to effect change. The airline directors claimed that most leaders were afraid of change as there was lack of an alternative technology that could be more efficient and cheaper. It was also evident that commitment towards change in the airline industry was lacking as most directors had the ‘impossible or ‘too difficult attitude. A director from the Virgin Atlantic was also found to say that share holders are more interested in profits and less in environmental conservation; thus profits had to be key priority and not environment alism. The year 2007 financial crisis and fuel energy crises were also quoted as factors that tend to slow down the change of aviation into ‘green aviation. Level of commitment in airline companies A survey was also carried out so as to investigate the level of commitment that aviation companies had to the conservation of the environment. The respondents were required to either give a positive or negative response to this question. In an attempt to avoid biases the respondents were divided into categories; establish any differences in opinion by virtue of category. All the environmentalists thought that airline companies lacked the required commitment towards the conservation of the environment and the development of alternative technology. Studies show that environmentalists are often unable to see the economic perspective of any situation and are often biased in their opinions. Goodstein (2010, pp. 9-12) is quoted to says that economists and environmental experts tend to have different opinions as each party is determined to achieve its goals at the expense of the other. From an economic perspective conservation must also have a price tag as the key goal of any business is to make profits. He further outlines the need for economists and environmentalists to agree and make compromises as each cannot exist without the other. Eighty three percent of residents who lived near airports thought that airline companies were not committed to the conservation of the environment. This together with responses from other questions shows that there is a poor opinion of airline companies especially among residents who lived in the proximity. This shows that there is need for public education and community projects so as to improve the relationships between airline and airport authorities with local residents. Most Virgin Atlantic airline employees and support staff claimed that airlines were committed to the conservation of the environment. This is due to the fact that these people have been are exposed to the numerous environmentalist programs within the Virgin Atlantic. However this cannot be meant to reflect all the opinions of employees from all airline companies. This commitment was felt more strongly among top level employees in the Virgin Atlantic; people at these levels have the most responsibility of implementing sustainable practices and due to the perceived burden that they have they tend to overestimate the level of commitment of their organisation. A smaller percentage, 50% of support staff, thought that their airline company was committed to conserving the environment and to sustainable practice. This exposes a trend whereby the further you move from the decision making organs of an organisation the lesser you see this commitment. It was therefore deduced that there is significant commitment among airline companies but not at the desired levels. It was also deduced that an insignificant level of bias exists among some of the respondents; cannot challenge the validity of the data collected. Environmental conservation and customer loyalty Results of data analysis show that there is a relationship between sustainable practices of an airline and customer loyalty/satisfaction. This is because of the environmental awareness that exists among consumers of goods and service. People want to support companies that give back to the society and to the environment within which they operate in. Most customers think that it is the moral responsibility of airlines to employ sustainable practices so as to not to damage the environment in exchange for profits. Customers now relate the neglect of the environment to corporate greed and moral decay. 64% of the respondents interviewed agreed that environmental conservation had an impact on customer preferences and loyalty. These included managers engineers and support staff in the Virgin Atlantic. Maignan and Ferrell (2004, pp. 3-7) expound on the ability of corporate social responsibility to result in an increase in customer loyalty and satisfaction. In the studies the authors were able to establish that these two factors were directly proportional to each other. In fact the authors state that sustainable practices can be used as a marketing strategy by companies and thus offer dual benefits for organisations. The Virgin Atlantic has gained much recognition in the main stream media for its conservational efforts which include sustainability projects, the Gold Standard scheme and the carbon footprint project. This is also the only company that submits data on its periodical emissions. Studies show that public opinion of the company has substantially improved due to this fact and this has brought with it increased customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The Virgin Atlantic airline intends to be the most sustainable airline by the year 2020 and its strategy is to be able to gain control and influence over competitors in the industry by acquiring moral and ethical justification from sustainable practices. Engineering changes and environmental impact All the engineers and airline directors interviewed were confident that engineering practices and changes on aircraft would be able to reduce the impact of the industry to the environment. This is a positive aspect as it shows that commitment and a sense of belief in the part of top level management and of technical staff. A Virgin Atlantic director interviewed said that his company was committed towards the generation of engineering solution suited to the problems of the 22nd century and to the unique needs of this time. He also quoted the energy crisis that has been spurred by international conflicts with Middle East as the hot spot of the crises. This coupled with the fact that oil reserves are slowly being exhausted there is a need for the generation of alternative fuel sources. He however states that the development of an alternative fuel source that could replace jet fuel and that could also make economical sense would take a very long period of time. He therefore said that it would be prudent if the efficiency of aircraft engines could be improved before such a technology could be made possible. 100% of the engineers interviewed also claimed that they could improve the efficiency of aircraft so as to reduce the impacts that these aircraft had on the environment. The researcher asked some engineers to quantify the amount of time and resources that they would need to cut aircraft emissions by half. The engineers claimed that it would be impossible to quantify such factors as such a move would have to be preceded by intensive research and testing. Once these results are positive this would then give a go ahead for the engineers to put these measures into practice. The engineers further stated that some measures such as efficient engines and revolutionary airframe designs could not be implemented by the airline company itself but this had to be in liaison with the aircraft manufacture. An airline engineer was noted to say that â€Å"we as engineers at the Virgin Atlantic can only carry out basic changes on the aircraft. When want major changes to be made on the aircraft we have to relay this information to Boeing so that they could probably effect these changes in the next aircraft that they roll out.† An airline director was quoted to say that it takes a very long time to change aircraft technology. This is due to the fact that it takes long time to design, test, implement new designs and technology. The useful economic life of an airplane is around 10 years and thus it does not make economical sense to retire a plane that has not fully paid back its on its capital investment. This is a challenge that directors and engineers face when trying to reduce aircraft emissions as they are forced to work with outdated and comparatively inefficient aircraft as these aircraft have not yet reached their full work life. Riodan (1985, pp. 1461-1463) looks at the moral obligation of engineers and technical staff to conserve the environment. The author says that engineers have destructive and constructive abilities and further states that lack of regard for the environment leads to destructive engineering. The author also states that the environment provides a platform for all of us to stand

what if china discovered america? :: essays research papers fc

During the 15th century, the Chinese had one of the most advanced naval fleets known to man. As a result, China was able to establish many trade routes to places such as Africa, India, Singapore, etc†¦ If the Chinese wanted to, they could have sailed all the way to Europe and even as far as North America. However, the Chinese ran into some political problems that prevented explorations in the future. If they had continued their voyages, it would have been possible for them to have discovered the New World before Columbus. Had China discovered America before Columbus, our world would be different from what it is today. During the mid 1400’s, China was plagued with many political problems. Therefore, if China was to discover the New World, it would have been during the late 1300’s under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. As stated in Latourette’s book, â€Å"From the military standpoint the Ming was stronger than any native Chinese ruling house† (225). Basically in this quote Latourette is saying that during the Ming Dynasty China was at a high point in power. Because of the Ming Dynasty, China was strong and able again. If China were looking to expand, the best time would be during the Ming Dynasty because the Chinese empire was at a peak. However, the Chinese didn’t take advantage of their strong naval fleets and therefore they weren’t able to reach North America before Columbus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although it was Columbus who discovered the New World in 1492, China could have easily discovered it decades earlier. If China had discovered the New World, the culture of the west would be very similar to that of the east. Chinese culture would probably be the most dominant culture in the world, since China would have control of the east and west. â€Å"After freeing itself from it’s conquest by the Mongols, China was seeking to restore and preserve its cultural independence† (Latourette 238). The best way to preserve the fading culture of Buddhism and Taoism would be to spread it throughout the west. If the Chinese had spread their culture throughout the west, we might be speaking Chinese, not have freedom of religion, and we might be limited to Chinese beliefs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Chinese navy in the early 1400’s was very powerful but unfortunately it grew weaker and weaker over time. The cause of this was that China ran into political problems which prevented future voyages.

The Science of Religion :: Spiritual History Bible Papers

The Science of Religion The cover of the latest Newsweek caught my eye as I was running out the door to class: a vaguely futuristic, androgynous ascetic was basking in the glow of an ethereal ray of light, face calm, hands uplifted to receive inspiration. In the center of this enlightening beam, the title professed, "God and the Brain: How We're Wired for Spirituality." Who could resist such an evocative article? I flipped through it - it started with some stuff about how to achieve a spiritual state (by turning off environmental fear and orientation sensors in the brain), proudly confirmed that scientists can now track brain activity of Tibetan Buddhist meditation and Catholic prayers?I was starting to grow bored and skim faster; then my eye caught, "Neurotheology is stalking bigger game than simply affirming that spiritual feelings leave neural footprints?By pinpointing the brain areas involved in spiritual experiences and tracing how such experiences arise, the scientists hope to learn whether anyone can have such experiences, and why spiritual experiences have the qualities they do" (54). The article went on to discuss how certain key religious figures from history are hypothesized to have had temporal-lobe epilepsy, a condition that yields "focused bursts of electrical activity called 'temporal-lobe transients' [which] may yield mystical experiences" (55). In order to test this, neuroscientist Michael Persinger built an electromagnetic helmet to directly stimulate the temporal lobes of the brain. The helmet produced the intended results, encouraging "out-of-body experience" and "a sense of the divine" in its users; thus Persinger concluded that "religious experiences are evoked by mini electrical storms in the temporal lobes, and that such storms can be triggered by anxiety, personal crisis, lack of oxygen, low blood sugar and simple fatigue - suggesting a reason that some people 'find God' in such moments" (55). The article moves on to suggest that people capable of "dissociation" - identified by their creativity, innovative tendencies, open-mindedness, and close in teraction of the conscious and subconscious mind - "may be genetically or temperamentally predisposed to mystical ability" (56). Finally, after boasting that scientists can both monitor and produce "spiritual" experiences in the laboratory, after defining the physical causes of out-of-body experiences and divine inspiration as malfunctions or misinterpretations of the brain, and after claiming a sort of personality-based predestination, the article concedes that "it is likely that [scientists] will never resolve the greatest question of all - namely, whether our brain wiring creates God, or whether God created our brain wiring. The Science of Religion :: Spiritual History Bible Papers The Science of Religion The cover of the latest Newsweek caught my eye as I was running out the door to class: a vaguely futuristic, androgynous ascetic was basking in the glow of an ethereal ray of light, face calm, hands uplifted to receive inspiration. In the center of this enlightening beam, the title professed, "God and the Brain: How We're Wired for Spirituality." Who could resist such an evocative article? I flipped through it - it started with some stuff about how to achieve a spiritual state (by turning off environmental fear and orientation sensors in the brain), proudly confirmed that scientists can now track brain activity of Tibetan Buddhist meditation and Catholic prayers?I was starting to grow bored and skim faster; then my eye caught, "Neurotheology is stalking bigger game than simply affirming that spiritual feelings leave neural footprints?By pinpointing the brain areas involved in spiritual experiences and tracing how such experiences arise, the scientists hope to learn whether anyone can have such experiences, and why spiritual experiences have the qualities they do" (54). The article went on to discuss how certain key religious figures from history are hypothesized to have had temporal-lobe epilepsy, a condition that yields "focused bursts of electrical activity called 'temporal-lobe transients' [which] may yield mystical experiences" (55). In order to test this, neuroscientist Michael Persinger built an electromagnetic helmet to directly stimulate the temporal lobes of the brain. The helmet produced the intended results, encouraging "out-of-body experience" and "a sense of the divine" in its users; thus Persinger concluded that "religious experiences are evoked by mini electrical storms in the temporal lobes, and that such storms can be triggered by anxiety, personal crisis, lack of oxygen, low blood sugar and simple fatigue - suggesting a reason that some people 'find God' in such moments" (55). The article moves on to suggest that people capable of "dissociation" - identified by their creativity, innovative tendencies, open-mindedness, and close in teraction of the conscious and subconscious mind - "may be genetically or temperamentally predisposed to mystical ability" (56). Finally, after boasting that scientists can both monitor and produce "spiritual" experiences in the laboratory, after defining the physical causes of out-of-body experiences and divine inspiration as malfunctions or misinterpretations of the brain, and after claiming a sort of personality-based predestination, the article concedes that "it is likely that [scientists] will never resolve the greatest question of all - namely, whether our brain wiring creates God, or whether God created our brain wiring.

Circadian Rhythms: Experiment :: essays research papers

Circadian Rhythms: Experiment Circadian Rhythms are the times of day that you get either hungry, tired, or energetic. This paper is to describe an experiment that I have thought up that will test to see if circadian rhythms differ from people who perceive themselves as night-time people and people who perceive themselves as morning people. What is your hypothesis?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My hypothesis is that night-time people's circadian rhythms are extremely different than morning people's circadian rhythms. What population are you going to study? How will you sample this population?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Participants for my experiment will be ninety-nine undergraduate female students from Iowa State University. Prior to the experiment all participants will have to fill out a questionnaire. This questionnaire will primarily determine if they feel themselves as being either morning or night types of people. Subjects for my experiment will be randomly chosen from these questionnaires. I will select three night-time people and three morning-time people. I will then give each of them a journal. In this journal each subject will write in it the time that they become hungry, or the time that they became tired. They will do this for three days. At the end of the three days they will come back to my laboratory. They will then be put in an isolation booths. In one of the booths there will be a clock that doesn't have the right time on it. In another one there will be a window so that they can see where the sun is. In the third one there will be no windows and no clocks. All they would have is a light bulb in the ceiling. All the booths will have a bed and a bright red button on the far wall. The button will be for ringing. They will ring when they are tired, hungry, or need to use the facilities. My assistants and I will record when they become hungry and when they become tired. They will be in this room for three days. At the end of the three days my assistants and I will make sure that they are all right and can return to the world unharmed. What is your independent variable(s)? What is your dependent variable? How will you measure the dependent variable?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My independent variable will be one of the three that I give a clock and another one that I give a view of where the sun is. The dependent variable will be the one that will be completely isolated. Without sunlight they will not know what time it is and therefore not know when to become tired or hungry.

Liberal Arts Essay

An education conducted in a spirit of free inquiry undertaken without concern for topical relevance or vocational utility. This kind of learning is not only one of the enrichments of existence; it is one of the achievements of civilization. It heightens students’ awareness of the human and natural worlds they inhabit. It makes them more reflective about their beliefs and choices, more self-conscious and criticising, speaking, critical and logical thinking. Law schools report that by the yardsticks of law review and grades, their top students come from math, classics, and literature, with political science, economics, â€Å"pre-law â€Å"and† legal studies† ranking lower. In today’s fast evolving world, leaders across the spectrum of vocations and professions need a broad imaginative and critical capacity, not a prematurely narrow point of view. In terms of the actual world, a solid liberal arts and sciences education will generally prove the most practical preparation for many demanding, high-level careers, or for the several careers that an increasing number of adults will eventually pursue. No particular concentration or area of study is inherently a better ticket to security, leadership, or personal satisfaction than another. Students should be encouraged to follow their passions and interests, not what they guess (or what others tell them) will lead to a supposedly more marketable set of skills. Of course, higher education has a utilitarian function. In that regard, as Robert Bellah states, it possesses â€Å"its own legitimacy.† Yet, it is crucial to combine and integrate that function with other aims and ends, with what Bellah calls â€Å"education for the development of character, citizenship, and culture.† A healthy system of higher education offers many rewards: scientific discoveries, eventual and even unforeseen applications, thoughtful political leadership, intelligent public discourse, cultural vitality, and an educated workforce. Higher learning serves several goals in coordination, goals that are mutually reinforcing. The aims are at once personal and social, private and public, economic, ethical, and intellectual. Harvard College exists to serve all these goals and offers a broad array of concentrations and courses for the purpose of educating the whole individual. Why? Because that kind of education, and not one aimed at certain occupational targets, is, in the long run, the best preparation for advanced achievement. The very broad, capacious form of education that we call the liberal arts is rooted in a specific curriculum in classical and medieval times. But it would be wrong to assume that because it has such ancient roots, this kind of education is outdated, stale, fusty, or irrelevant. In fact, quite the contrary. A liberal-arts education, which Louis Menand defined in The Marketplace of Ideas as â€Å"a background mentality, a way of thinking, a kind of intellectual DNA that informs work in every specialized area of inquiry,† lends itself particularly well to contemporary high-tech methods of imparting knowledge. We all wrestle with the challenges of educating students who are used to multitasking, doing their homework while listening to music and texting on their iPhones. For such students, the Web-based facilities of exciting liberal-arts courses are particularly salient. What would Aristotle or Erasmus or Robert Maynard Hutchins not have given for a technique that allows one to tour the world’s greatest museums, looking closely at the details of countless masterpieces; explore the ruins of ancient castles and pyramids and forums; join archaeological digs at your desk, turning objects around to see all sides of them; visualize problems in geometry or astronomy or mathematics in several dimensions and work out their solutions. An excellent example of the power of multimedia coupled with the liberal arts is â€Å"Imaginary Journeys,† a general-education course sometimes taught at Harvard University by Stephen Greenblatt. The course is described as being â€Å"about global mobility, encounter, and exchange at the time that Harvard College was founded in 1636. Using the interactive resources of computer technology, we follow imaginary voyages of three ships that leave England in 1633. Sites include London’s Globe Theatre, Benin, Barbados, Brazil, Mexico.† With this kind of course in mind, it seems that the liberal arts could almost have been designed for sophisticated online learning, so far from being stale or fusty are these ways of knowing. This kind of education has become more and more appealing to students and teachers at universities around the world. Donald Markwell, the warden of Oxford’s Rhodes House, recently gave a series of lectures in Canada entitled â€Å"The Need for Breadth.† He referred to a â€Å"surge of interest† in liberal education in â€Å"many other countries.† He cites a major address in London by Yale’s Richard Levin in which Levin noted that â€Å"Asian leaders are increasingly attracted to the American model of undergraduate curriculum,† specifically because of the two years of breadth and depth in different disciplines provided before a student chooses an area of concentration or embarks on professional training. Levin described liberal-arts honors programs at Peking University, South Korea’s Yonsei University, and the National University of Singapore; he also referred to liberal-arts curricula at Fudan University, Nanjing University, and the University of Hong Kong. Yet, as we know, the trends in the United States are in the opposite direction, and this is not just a recent problem. Menand cites evidence that in the United States, â€Å"the proportion of undergraduate degrees awarded annually in the liberal arts and sciences has been declining for a hundred years, apart from a brief rise between 1955 and 1970, which was a period of rapidly increasing enrollments and national economic growth.† Thus, paradoxically, as a liberal-arts education becomes more appealing to leaders and families in Asia and elsewhere in the world, it is losing ground in our own country. At least three factors are at work in this decline: a) the creation of increasingly specialized disciplines, and the rewards for faculty members for advancing knowledge in those areas; b) the economic premium that is thought to reside in a highly technical form of preparation for careers; and c) a growing focus on graduate education from the early 20th century to the present day. T hese developments have clearly not been beneficial for American undergraduate education. â€Å"Liberal education in crisis† is a tiresomely familiar theme, and countless commissions, reports, and study groups have attempted to address it. I am under no illusions that I have the magic key to resolve a problem that has stumped so many brilliant educators. But these are not just theoretical quandaries, they are the issues we confront almost every day: How do we defend liberal education against the skeptics—parents, potential students, the media, the marketplace, even some trustees and students? The first, most practical defense is that the liberal arts (and sciences) are the best possible preparation for success in the learned professions—law, medicine, teaching—as well as in the less traditionally learned but increasingly arcane professions of business, finance, and high-tech innovation. So my first defense of liberal learning is what you are taught and the way you learn it: the materials a doctor or financial analyst or physicist or humanist ne eds to know, but taught in a liberally construed fashion, so that you look at the subject from many different dimensions and incorporate the material into your own thinking in ways that will be much more likely to stay with you, and help you later on. This way of learning has several distinct advantages: It’s insurance against obsolescence; in any rapidly changing field (and every field is changing rapidly these days), if you only focus on learning specific materials that are pertinent in 2012, rather than learning about them in a broader context, you will soon find that your training will have become valueless. Most important, with a liberal education you will have learned how to learn, so that you will be able to do research to answer questions in your field that will come up years from now, questions that nobody could even have envisioned in 2012, much less taught you how to answer. The second, slightly less utilitarian defence of a liberal-arts education is that it hones the mind, teaching focus, critical thinking, and the ability to express oneself clearly both in writing and speaking—skills that are of great value no matter what profession you may choose. It’s not just that you are taught specific materi als in a liberally designed context, but more generally, the way your mind is shaped, the habits of thought that you develop. These skills were well described by a former dean of the Harvard Law School, Erwin Griswold, cited in a recent speech by the current dean, Martha Minow. Griswold was discussing an ideal vision of the law school, but his arguments fit a liberal education wherever it is provided: â€Å"You go to a great school not so much for knowledge as for arts or habits; for the art of expression, for the art of entering quickly into another person’s thoughts, for the art of assuming at a moment’s notice a new intellectual position, for the habit of submitting to censure and refutation, for the art of indicating assent or dissent in graduated terms, for the habit of regarding minute points of accuracy, for the art of working out what is possible in a given time; for taste, for discrimination, for mental courage, and mental soberness.† My third argument is that a liberal-arts education is the best education for citizenship in a democracy like ours. In her book, Not for Profit, M artha Nussbaum points out that from the early years of our republic educators and leaders have â€Å"connected the liberal arts to the preparation of informed, independent, and sympathetic †¦ citizens.† Nussbaum argues that democracies need â€Å"complete citizens who can think for themselves, criticize tradition, and understand the significance of another person’s sufferings and achievements.† Among the skills a liberal-arts education fosters, she notes, are the ability â€Å"to think about the good of the nation as a whole, not just that of one’s local group,† and â€Å"to see one’s own nation, in turn, as part of a complicated world order.† At a time when democracy is struggling to be born in countries around the world, and countries that have long enjoyed democracy are struggling to sustain it against pressures of multiple varieties, this may be the best of all the arguments for a liberal-arts education. My fourth argument I borrow from Michel de Montaigne, who thought of his own mind as a kind of tower library to which he could retreat even when he was far from home, filled with quotations from wise people and experimental thoughts and jokes and anecdotes, where he could keep company with himself. In his essay â€Å"Of Solitude,† he suggested that we all have such back rooms in our minds. The most valuable and attractive people we know are those who have rich and fascinating intellectual furniture in those spaces rather than a void between their ears. Virginia Woolf used a different spatial image to make a similar point in her book Three Guineas, when she talked about the importance of cultivating taste and the knowledge of the arts and literature and music. She argues that people who are so caught up in their professions or business that they never have time to listen to music or look at pictures lose the sense of sight, the sense of sound, the sense of proportion. And she concludes: â€Å"What then remains of a human being who has lost sight, and sound, and a sense of proportion? Only a cripple in a cave.† So my fourth argument for a liberal-arts education is that it allows you to furnish the back room of your mind, preparing you for both society and solitude. My final argument is that the liberal arts admit you to a community of scholars, both professional a nd amateur, spanning the ages. Here I would quote one of my predecessors at Wellesley, Alice Freeman (later Alice Freeman Palmer). When she presided over Wellesley in the last part of the 19th century, it was quite unusual for girls to go to college (as indeed it still is today in some parts of the world). In a speech she gave to answer the repeated question she got from girls and their families, â€Å"Why Go to College?† she said: â€Å"We go to college to know, assured that knowledge is sweet and powerful, that a good education emancipates the mind and makes us citizens of the world.† The sweet and powerful knowledge imparted by a liberal-arts education is specifically designed to fulfill this promise. But how can college presidents today best go about making the case for the liberal arts? First and most obvious, they should use the bully pulpit of the college presidency deliberately and effectively—at convocations, commencements, groundbreakings for new buildings, in speeches to the local Rotary Club or the state 4-H club convention, and addresses to alumni clubs. This is a truly precious opportunity that few other leaders have, to address the community in situations where there is likely to be respectful attention to their message, at least for a while! They should use the opportunity with zest! The second way is by using their fund-raising skills and obligations to raise money for exciting programs like Greenblatt’s â€Å"Imaginary Journeys.† They can make this case effectively to foundations and generous alumni who remember their own liberal-arts education fondly, and thus enhance the resources available for this purpose. Presidents can demonstrate their support of the liberal arts in how they honor faculty members. With the teaching awards and other distinctions their colleges offer, they should single out for praise and support those who have been most effective in advancing the liberal-arts mission. And then they can ensure that these awards and recognitions are appropriately highlighted in college publications and in messages to parents and prospective students. And perhaps the most effective way presidents can use their leadership to offer support is to speak from a liberal-arts perspective in their own discourse, both formal and informal, by citing examples of fine literature, drawing on instances from history, referring to the arts, and describing learning in the sciences in liberal terms. Rhetoric was one of the original artes liberales, and it can still be one of the most transformative. Taking my own advice about larding language with liberal learning, I will conclude with a poem by Imam Al-Shafi’i, which I discovered in a brochure on a recent visit to the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, in Doha, Qatar: According to the measure of hardship are heights achieved, And he who seeks loftiness must keep vigil by night; As for he who wants heights without toil, He wastes his life seeking the impossible— So seek nobility now, then sleep once more (finally), He who seeks pearls must dive into the sea. As this poem reminds us, a liberal-arts education is not always easy; it involves paying close attention, taking risks, exploring uncharted territory, diving into the sea. But despite these challenges, the deep rewards of a liberal education are surely worth our best efforts on its behalf.