Why Kids Join Neo-Nazi Essays - Racism, Antisemitism, Punk Rock

Why Kids Join Neo-Nazi WHY KIDS JOIN NEO-NAZI GANGS In most cases the reason why kids join any gang is the result of trouble at home. If you interview a child from a skinhead gang they came from a family with one or more of the following factors: divorce, separation, physical and or sexual abuse and disfunctional parents. These conditions are further compounded by joblessness, poverty, lack of education, bandage barriers, academic deficiencies and distinctive element from pop culture, such as violent themes in music, television and films. Many people believe that skinhead come from poor families only bid when kids were interviewed in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland and us confirm that skinhead activity in most cities is now more common in middle and upper middle class neighborhoods than it is in lower income areas. The focus in a gang of the middle and upper middle class neighborhoods is usually the promise of power over family problems, protection from other gang and problems with a boyfriend or power over insecurities. HOW HATE GROWS When a nazi member wants to recruit new teen age en-Nazis they would stand near a school yard. with their shaved scab and bomber jacket evoking images of a powerful and forbidden gang, this would quickly draw a crowd. Following a carefully drafted plan, he and his comrades burred those coons pnespects deeper into the en-Nazi scene. This group drank, Siam, hunted and shoplifted. For contact sport, they would attack leftists Jewish memorials or the foreigners, depending on personal taste. the leader of the group has prowled police and journalists with unique insights into Germany's ultra night. His comrades are one of the decade's most chilling manifestation of European tribalism, a growing nation that blood and ethnicity can serue as a heaven against economic and political uncertainty. They committed 14,768 assaults between 1991 and 1993 and killed at least 15 people. They tried to kill at least 47 more . The leader and his comrades would tell them things the can do when they are in the gang. When they hear these things they would be eager to join. The new recruits might be invited to go hunting which is something a 14 year old enjoyed. They would also promise candidates to go to a gun club. Those chosen for the violent route would be taken to practice combat techniques at former East Germany Army shooting grounds. They would also learn the art of bomb making. SHORTAGES OF JOB AND HOUSING CREATE FERTILE GROUNG ROR YOUNG NEO-NAZIS The skinheads have shown terrifying power to unleash violence against foreigners, especially in what was know as East Germany. There the populace went from Nazi to communist totalitarianism without any democratic interual. Since the umfication there has been economic instability rather than prosperity and has urped out the state subsidizedclubs that used to keep the young off the streets. Since they have nothing to do they turned to random and racially motivated violence. The national government counted 2,074 crimes maturated by hatred of foreigners in 1991 u.s only 246 in 1990. A Mozambican immigrant was thrown out of a car to his death in Dresden, a Vietnamese was stabbed nearly to death in Teipzig. Some Soviet children who suruiued the Chernobyl nuclear accident and were in a special children's home in zittau, 150 miles south of Berlin, were assailed by a gang of stone-throwing drunks who shouted, Jews, die. A gang of young NEO-Nazis firebomb a hotel for foreign refugees seeking asylum in Germany Rostock has fallen on hard times. A high unemployment, a deuastatedlocal economy, unresponsive government agencies and a social structure stnigging through the transition from communism to capitalism turned thecity into a powder keg long before the first firebomb smaded into the drab 10 story hotel in the Sichtenhagen neighborhood lastmouth. The presence of asylim seekers only increased the volatilitythe tension, frustration and fears Social Issues

Jit Benifits and Limitations Essays

Jit Benifits and Limitations Essays Jit Benifits and Limitations Paper Jit Benifits and Limitations Paper Just-In-Time Inventory Management Strategy Lean Manufacturing Overview of Just-in-Time Inventory Management Just-in-time is a movement and idea that has gained wide acceptance in the business community over the past decade. As companies became more and more competitive and the pressures from Japans continuous improvement culture, other firms were forced to find innovative ways to cut costs and compete. The idea behind JIT, or lean manufacturing, is to have the supplies a firm needs at the exact moment that they are needed. In order to accomplish this goal a firm must constantly be seeking ways to reduce waste and enhance value. A recent survey of senior manufacturing executives showed that 71% used some form of JIT in their processes (Pragman). This simple statistic illustrates that JIT is here to stay and also that firms must constantly be searching for ways to cut costs and achieve an advantage. JIT is one way to achieve that end result. In order to understand how JIT works a common vocabulary needs to be established from which to further discuss the topic and gain insight into why so many firms have adopted it. As previously stated, one of the key components of JIT is to reduce waste and add value. There are several activities that a company must monitor as targets for reducing waste. Among these are, excessive waste times, inflated inventories, unneeded people or material movement, unnecessary processing steps, numerous variabilities throughout a firms activities and any other non-value adding activity. A key example of this is a new plant that Caterpillar is bringing on-line in the near future. By reducing the number of times a bucket had to be repositioned while it was being welded, Caterpillar was able to reduce the amount of time the bucket spent in the welding line, reduce labor costs by limiting idle time at the welding station and increase the efficiency of the entire manufacturing process. The layout and inventories that are part of a JIT strategy may seem the most logical steps to reduce waste and increase value. By simply redeveloping the layout of certain facilities a firm can reduce the time it takes for supplies to get to the next step in process and cut costs associated with hat movement. One way to do this is to have work-in-progress close to the next station in the manufacturing chain. Couple this with lowering inventories and a powerful combination is formed to reduce costs. In lowering inventories a firm can reap numerous benefits; batch sizes, set-up times and safety stock are all reduced, ergo costs are trimmed and value is added. But in order to achieve these things a firm must be willing to accept the problems that these actions can either uncover or create. Dell Computers participates in both of these activities and they are now the industry leader. Dell has warehouse space at their manufacturing facilities in which suppliers keep parts directly on-site which is the quintessential JIT layout. In addition, Dell is constantly working to achieve JIT inventories of only four days and in doing so are constantly uncovering and solving supply chain problems. Going hand-in-hand with maintaining Just In Time inventory levels is JIT scheduling. By working to reduce inventory to the lowest possible working levels, a firm must constantly be adjusting its schedule of ordering and delivering. In doing so, communication both up and down the supply chain is critical. Frequent orders are placed for supplies and small production runs are constantly being initiated. In order to achieve this breakneck pace of order/production schedule, a firm must constantly be making small changes to orders/production and recognize that kanbans are of incredible importance. Possibly the single piece of JIT that has the most relevance to a study of supply chain management is the partnerships that are essential to making JIT truly work. A firm cannot implement a JIT system by itself; it must have the complete cooperation of its entire supply chain. The sheer amount of information that is needed for a JIT system to operate well demands partnerships to be formed and nurtured, almost to the point at which an entire supply chain operates as one firm. Examples of these kinds of partnerships are everywhere in todays business world. XYZ-Company allows its key suppliers to work directly at their manufacturing sites and place orders as needed for the parts that that supplier supplies. By example Dell has its suppliers store raw materials directly at the manufacturing plants. Other concepts of Just In Time also need to be introduced in order to have a discussion about what truly makes Just In Time a worthy endeavor. By the 1980s the Japanese had achieved manufacturing greatness by practicing continuous improvement, in that a firm is constantly working to improve in every facet of its business functions. To do this a firm must always increase quality, look for innovative ways to solve problems and increase focus on the quality of its suppliers. All of these are cornerstones of a modern JIT system. Lastly, getting the workforce to buy into a JIT lean manufacturing system is important because without the dedication of the workforce, any endeavor is sure to fail. There are several ways to achieve workforce commitment. A simple way is to cross train the workforce members outside of their normal business function and help increase an employees problem solving ability. In doing so a firm is empowering its workforce to think about their function in a new way while looking for ways to improve and giving them an overall view of the entire firm, not just their single job. When this is coupled with the support of management, an increase in resources to solve problems, and an increase in employee roles and responsibility, a workforce will feel empowered and work to make Just In Time a success for the business. Strengths of JIT There is a lot of strength in incorporating JIT lean manufacturing in a company. JIT makes production operations more efficient, cost effective and customer responsive. JIT allows manufacturers to purchase and receive components just before theyre needed on the assembly line, thus relieving manufacturers of the cost and burden of housing and managing idle parts. In that respect, company spokesman for Dell Venancio Figueroa, says With our pull-to-order system, weve been able to eliminate warehouses in our factories and have improved factory output by double by adding production lines where warehouses used to be (Songini, 2000). The benefit of carrying smaller amounts of inbound, in-process, and finished goods inventory exists regardless of the firms operating context (size, production technology, etc. ). Just In Time appeals to many companies because it helps prevent manufacturers from being stuck with inventory that may become obsolete. JIT was initially developed and justified based on cost reduction and quality improvement dimensions. Now, companies view JIT as providing an approach to achieving excellence in the elimination of waste (thought of as all things that do not add value to the product), as well as making the company more responsive to short-term customer demand patterns. JIT manufacturing can be a real money-saver for a company. Companies are not only more responsive to their customers, but they also have less capital tied up in raw materials and finished goods inventory, allowing companies to optimize their transportation and logistics operations (UPS, 2003). Overall, JIT manufacturing results in lower total system costs and improved product quality. With JIT, some plants have reduced inventory more than fifty-percent and lead time more than eighty-percent (Droge, 1998). JIT is lowering costs and inventory, reducing waste, and raising the quality of products. Weaknesses of JIT Just as JIT has many strong points, there are weaknesses as well. In just-in-time, everything is very interdependent. Everyone relies on everybody else (Greenberg, 2002). Because of this strong interdependence with JIT, a weakness in the supply chain caused by a JIT weakness can be very costly to all linked in the chain. JIT processes can be risky to certain businesses and vulnerable to the supply chain in situations such as labor strikes, interrupted supply lines, market demand fluctuations, stock outs, lack of communication upstream and downstream in the supply chain and unforeseen production interruptions. Labor strikes, stock outs, and port lockouts can quickly disrupt an entire supply chain while JIT processes are in place. Adhering to the just-in-time concept can be expensive in times of emergency such as at ports (Greenburg, 2002). When a ship arriving from Asia full of supplies cannot make it to shore, the company using JIT generally has very little inventory to compensate for the emergency. This lack of inventory is exactly what makes JIT so great to companies in reducing costs, yet making it risky as well by in some cases not having enough b uffer inventories to react and keep the supply chain moving. Every year markets experience seasonal demand fluctuations as well as fluctuations due to demand from disasters or other unforeseen events. Just-in-time delivery leaves retailers and manufacturers with little inventory as the holiday season approaches (Greenberg, 2002). Relying solely on JIT systems would leave supply chains in shock due to the overwhelming seasonal market demand at different times of the year for seasonal products. Not all products should be produced with JIT systems in place. Custom made items will not work well with JIT as JIT systems respond best to mass produced and highly automated production items. Communication is king in a JIT rich supply chain. There is a risk involved with JIT when there is a communication breakdown and the company cannot get the right amount of supplies needed to keep the just-in-time system running smoothly. Technology is playing a big role in JIT number, however, the reliance on technology can lead to breakdowns in the IT systems that can be costly to work around and go back to the pencil and paper methods of doing supply/inventory demand calculations. Companies should always have backup systems in place to help thwart the possibility of technology or communication breakdown. Weaknesses in JIT systems are very important to recognize. From Cisco routers to Dell computers to the Gaps leather pants, companies have found their just-in-time manufacturing systems have let them down (Johnson, 2001). Companies must strongly evaluate the pros and cons of implementing JIT systems. The effects and risk to their supply chain must also be heavily considered. Although JIT has its weaknesses, in most cases, the benefits outweigh the risks to the JIT enabled company. Planning for and recognizing when things may go wrong with the JIT system are vital for the success of JIT implementation across all areas of supply chains. JIT in Practice Just in time has an overall strategic focus to provide companies with an exceptional amount of savings. There is a large variety of companies and industries that have experienced these cost savings. For our research we will feature Dell and Toyota as two examples to illuminate the cost saving effects that just in time offers. To begin our discussion, Dell, which participates in the computer technology industry, is the only company within its industry that effectively utilizes just in time. They have revolutionized the selling of personal computers, using a direct-business model whose fundamental tenets include taking custom orders directly from customers, thereby reducing inventory and streamlining distribution (DI D RECT, 2001). After Dell has received a customer order, they then begin production of the product that the customer desires. This exemplifies a pull system within the supply chain. A pull system is reactive whereby production is executed in response to a customer order. This unique supply chain provides Dell with a competitive advantage within its industry allowing them to become the market leader over Compaq in 2001 (DI D RECT, 2001). Dells position within its industry is a result of their strategic focus to reduce inventory and streamline distribution. This strategy has allowed them to keep only five days of inventory on hand (DI D RECT, 2001). This is the smallest amount of inventory of any company within this industry, according to Mike Gray, Supply Chain Evangelist for Dell. He stated that most companies within the computer industry currently hold between 20 and 30 days worth of inventory (Personal Communication March 10, 2005). The limited amount of inventory held by Dell has created value for their customers. The value created for their customers is a function of integrating the entire value chain: invention, development, design, manufacturing, logistics, service, delivery and sales (DI D RECT, 2001). Integrating the entire value chain creates visibility and provides stronger relationships between Dell and their customers and suppliers. This visibility allows them to only invest in what their customers want, rather than trying to guess what they might want (DI D RECT, 2001). In addition Dell has a philosophy to only manufacture what their customers ask them to make, when they ask them (DI D RECT, 2001). This strategy provides Dell with a time-to-market advantage. They can get their customers the freshest, latest, greatest Pentium 4 and all associated operating systems 85 days faster than HP. This is true in regards to research that shows Hewlett Packard has 63 days of inventory and a distribution channel with 25 to 30 days of inventory as well. Collectively, HP has about 90 days of inventory compared to Dells five. The minimal amount of inventory held by Dell provides them with an economic advantage, because the value of components and manufacturing materials declines about one per cent per week. The five day inventory also minimizes a customers ability to change their wants before they receive their computer. For example, if an individual tells a manufacturer what they want today but they do not hear the request for 90 days, chances are by this time the customer wants something else (DI D RECT, 2001). Dells use of just in time results in cost savings, superior customer satisfaction, limited waste, and the ability to provide their suppliers with more information. In the end these benefits all result in a cost savings for Dell and higher revenue. Since Dell holds minimal inventory, they do not have to fund raw materials, work in process or finished goods inventory. Toyota Motor Corporation is another company that effectively uses just in time. They are known as the master and pioneer of just in time and are currently entering the market to provide customized vehicles to customers with a minimal wait. Toyota has spent the last six years revamping its ordering, manufacturing and distribution to make it easier for dealers and customers to make changes right before production (Fahey, 2004). Their goal is to reduce the average time between dealer order and delivery from Toyotas North American factories from 70 days to 14 (Fahey, 2004). This goal accomplishment would not only make customers happier but also cut dealer inventory costs and the need for Toyota to spend on rebates for slow-selling vehicles (Fahey, 2004). In order to seek the benefits of providing customized orders and reducing the average delivery time, Toyota has developed its own software that connects dealers to factories and factories to suppliers. The integration of the value chain creates visibility for all members of Toyotas supply chain. When a request from a dealer is received by Toyota their software is able to figure out the availability of parts nearby, the time to resequence the assembly line and whether the change would unbalance the line by scheduling, for example, too many models loaded with time-consuming options one right after the other (Fahey, 2004). Toyota has also adjusted their distribution process to effectively provide customized vehicles in a just in time process. Toyota now sends finished vehicles to sorting docks where they can be grouped by region. This new process cuts delivery by two days. And in assembling cars, Toyota now considers destination, so that it may, for instance, make vehicles headed to Seattle at the same time (Fahey, 2004). This process adjustment has provided Toyota with a cost savings in result. Dell and Toyota are two model companies of just in time. They effectively get the right products to their customers when they need it. Both companies have achieved a competitive advantage within their industries due to utilizing the just in time process and allowing visibility between them and other members of the value chain. JIT and Beyond Just-In-Time inventory systems have come a long way through out the years improving the efficiency of purchasing in many companies. But as with most things there is always room for improvement and growth. JIT inventory systems have evolved over the years with many new and exciting twists. Competition in the business world is shifting from being between company and company to supply chain and supply chain. This is why JIT is evolving in many different ways. JIT II is one such evolution of the efficiency of JIT. JIT II is a way to improve the customer-supplier relationship. JIT II uses systems integration which allows, sharing of information so that the relationship is more like a partnership (Pragman). Essentially this equals more and more visibility throughout the supply chain, which equals better responsiveness and lower costs, the two main goals of supply chain management. JIT II, a customer-supplier partnership concept pioneered at Bose Corporation and now practiced by major companies and their suppliers, can aid in cutting both design and response lead time (Pragman). This is accomplished through systems integration, which seeks ways to improve coordination between different functional areas, as well as bridges the gap between customer and supplier. With JIT II the suppliers have a person within the customers organization full time acting as a purchasing department employee for the customer firm. JIT II has really impacted the following areas: the administration of the purchasing function, logistics, concurrent engineering and value analysis and material stores and support services. In each of these areas the lead time reductions are greater with JIT II than with conventional JIT (Pragman). The administrative benefits of JIT II are due to the fact that the supplier is constantly available in-house. JIT II reduces administrative costs for both the customer and supplier because the purchasing costs are not all on the customer and the supplier gets all the business from that specific customer as it wants as long as things go well. Because the supplier is always present JIT II permits concurrent engineering and value analysis to take place on an ongoing basis, not just during sporadic sales calls (Pragman). JIT II is not the end of the evolution of just in time systems it is actually just the beginning. ERP is another result that spawns from the premise behind JIT II. The main difference between the two is that JIT II is not computer system based and ERP is based on a computer system that helps ensure the visibility of all functional areas within a company as well as within its supply chain. ERP helps organizations reduce supply chain inventories due to the added visibility throughout the entire supply chain (Wisner, Leong, Tan). A major advantage of an ERP system is that it allows managers to make better more informed decisions that effect the entire supply chain. As ecommerce and global operations continue to grow a need for visibility and data exchange between suppliers, customers and foreign offices has emerged. Thus driving ERP more to the forefront with ERP comes decreased inventories as well as responsiveness which is the major idea of JIT systems. Advantages of JIT * Continuous improvement  in quality * Cost  is  reduced * Elimination  of waste * Manufacturing time  is  cut down * Better productivity * Lower Work in progress * Better  supplier relationships * Cost efficient  production * Defect free  output Disadvantages of JIT JIT system may not be able to manage  sudden  variations in  demand * Implementing thorough JIT procedures can involve a major overhaul of business systems -it may be difficult and expensive to introduce. * JIT manufacturing also opens businesses to a number of risks, notably those associated with the supply chain. With no stocks to fall back on, a minor disruption in supplies to the busin ess from just one supplier could force production to cease at very short notice. How JIT helps to increase competitive advantage of one firm over the other Costs It helps to significantly reduce cost. There are  Seven Wastes  in Just in Time or JIT: Waste of overproduction,  Waste of  waiting, Waste of transportation, Waste of  processing, Waste of  stocks, Waste of  motion, Waste of  defectives. It tries to reduce cost by eliminating all these kind of wastes. Willingness to Pay The concept of  quality at source  is adopted. This means that the workers take responsibility for the quality of what they are producing. Hence JIT tries to achieve zero defect production. Increase in quality increases the WTP to some extent.

Why Google is the Workplace Everyone Wants to Join (and you should too)

Why Google is the Workplace Everyone Wants to Join (and you should too) Google isn’t just a tech company anymore, it’s an aspirational lifestyle. Once employees secure a coveted spot, they’re almost cult-like in their reverence for their workplace. Not that getting hired is an easy feat- Google currently gets more than two million job applications each year. (Imagine the HR department!) If you still aren’t sure what all the hype is about, then read on. Here are 10 of the many reasons why so many people are trying to get their foot in the Google door.1. SalaryThere may still be a really terrible gender gap at Google, but overall the company pays its engineers better than anybody else. Base salaries start over $128k per year, and the highest earners make more than $600k, plus bonuses. The company can be very tight-lipped about specific numbers, but know that employees are very well compensated.2. Competitive  benefitsThe trick to quality employee retention these days is stellar benefits. Google knows that happy employees who f eel safe and looked-after work harder and stay longer. Some examples of their offerings include a long (for the United States) maternity leave of 18 weeks, several months of parental leave for other primary caregivers, and excellent health care, investment plans, and survivor benefits.3. Smart and motivated  coworkersGoogle makes a big song and dance about recruiting top talent. When you’re a huge fish in a massive pond of other big fish, it can really push you to be more inspired and do even better work. Google wants to change the world, and its employees are all grateful and jazzed up to be along for the ride. The company also encourages its employees to spend up to 20% of their time on their own personal passion projects. This kind of daily inspiration really makes for happy workers.4. Free grubThe food is plentiful and flowing, and we’re not talking cafeteria food here. We’re talking healthy, varied, gourmet breakfast, lunch, and snacks (even dinner for th e midnight oil-burners). Plus, during the day employees have access to coffee bars and juice bars galore. This saves employees time and money (and often makes them eat better), plus has the added benefit of increasing socialization among colleagues during breaks.5. Pets welcomeNo, seriously. At some campuses, you can bring your dog to work. You can even take your pup out for a walk during your breaks.6. Gadgets galoreGoogle workers get to live in the future. They used Chrome before it hit the market. They have all the latest tablets and phones. This little sneak peak at the trends of the future makes workers feel like they are in the know and shaping everybody else’s tomorrow.7. 24/7 tech supportNo matter how late you’re working, you’ve got the best IT peeps in the country to help you out when you need it- whether your issues are with hardware or software.8. Massage creditsIn some campuses, if you do good work you can earn credits (via recommendations from other employees- not just your boss) that can be redeemed for one-hour massages on the Google campus. Shoulders hurt from all that hunching to get the big project done? No problem.9. On-campus fitness optionsImagine a world of free fitness classes, a free gym, and organized inter-campus intramural sports. This is great for social interaction, as well as for keeping all those bodies as sharp as the minds they’re carrying around.10. Learning opportunitiesGoogle is notable for the amount of time and energy they put into developing their employee’s careers and seeing to it that their best and brightest continue to rise. This includes making sure everyone stays sharp and keeps learning, whether though regular tech talks or guest speakers from every industry imaginable.

Ipad Troubles In China Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Ipad Troubles In China - Article Example This paper will respond to issues raised against the operation of the company in China. Issues raised against the Apple Company include the following: excessive work by employees sometimes seven days in a week, long hours of standing without break, living in crowded dorm, improper disposal of the hazardous waste, disregard to employees’ health, hiring under age employees among other violations (Duhigg & Barboza 1). From the journal report, it is evident that the effort employed by Apple in changing the above conditions has failed to yield any formidable fruits. The journal indicates that despite the audits and recommendations by the Apple top executives supplies of the Apple products have been adamant in adhering to the recommendations or the provisions in the code of conduct. The persistence of the cases reported is an indication that the company does not have the goodwill to transform the working conditions. In my opinion, the provision in the code of conduct acts as a guide or a gauge, which measures the challenges in the factory outlets. However, failure to demonstrate appreciation after auditing recommendation is a show that the management of the Apple Company is responsible for the gross violation of the employees’ rights. Ideally, the management should monitor and control conditions within which its employees carry out their activities. Apple Company has responded to the problems reported by taking the following measures. First, the company has engaged in conducting audits in its factory outlets. These audits are very critical in assessing the conditions within these factories. However, it has emerged from the audits that the company has not been able to respond swiftly in line with the provisions in bits code of conduct. For instance, the company insists that when one of its factory outlets violates the code especially gross violations, it would terminate its operation. Ironically, the

Pl see in details section Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pl see in details section - Essay Example Mental health is â€Å"a state of well being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community† (World Health Organization 2004, citing its earlier work in 2001). Despite the importance of mental health and a claim by Chantrill (2013) that the UK health budget has increased, Healthcare Today (2012) reported that UK government spending for mental health dropped by 1% in 2011-2012. According to Healthcare Today (2012, 2nd paragraph), â€Å"expenditure on mental health for the elderly was particularly affected, decreasing by 3.1% to ?2.83 billion.† II. External Policy Environment and Mental Health in the UK Given an external policy environment of austerity and yet providing the mental health services at high quality, several policy thrusts have been articulated. One of the policy thrust is indicated in the document, Working ou r way to better mental health: A framework for action, produced in 2007. The document recognizes that â€Å"poor mental health is very common† in the United Kingdom (Burnham & Cooper 2007, p. 7). In the estimate of the Secretaries of the Department for Work Pensions and the Department of Health, â€Å"at any one time, one in three of our working-age population may be experiencing some kind of distress or mental health condition such as depression† (Burnham & Cooper 2007, p. 8). This is significantly large and is basically saying that mental health problems are highly prevalent in the working age population. Worst, the document pointed out that â€Å"mental ill-health is now the most common reason for claiming health-related benefits and 86 percent remain on the benefits for more than three months† (Burnham & Cooper 2007, p. 8). Burnham & Cooper (2007) that evidence show that the longer people are out of work because of mental ill-health, the less likely they hav e a chance of returning back to work. This indicates that policy must be designed to allow people with ill mental health to return to work as soon as possible, provided that support mechanisms are in created such that therapy continues while a person is at work. Related to this, the National Mental Health Development Unit (2009a) emphasized that work is good for people with mental problems. It also pointed out that â€Å"people with mental health conditions can and do work, with many thousands of people with mental health conditions working in a broad range of roles† (National Mental Health Development Unit 2009a, p. 4). Thus, the key message of the National Mental Health Development Unit (2009a) material is that â€Å"work is good for mental health and is central to recovery for people with mental health conditions† (p. 4). Meanwhile, McDaid (2008) pointed out that although death rate from suicide in the United Kingdom went down by at least 20% in 2010, the problem is still bad because â€Å"1 in 10 children and young people aged 5-16 had a clinically recognizable mental disorder† (p. 1). Further, 14% of the population of the United Kingdom â€Å"have or had chronic anxiety or depression, and 12% say that they are undergoing medical treatment for this reason.†

Brain Mechanism And Artificial Intelligence Psychology Essay

Brain Mechanism And Artificial Intelligence Psychology Essay Artificial Intelligence is the art of programming computers in order to produce intelligent behavior, whereas brain theory is the study of the brains function, to understand how the brain functions, the stimulations that go within and how outputs are produced via mathematical modeling and computer stimulation. It can be argued that both contain similar characteristics for functionality, both works together, this can be seen through artificial intelligence used to understand the roles of brain mechanisms. Furthermore both are involved in high cognitive task, such as reasoning, problem solving and decision making. Although some philosophers have accepted that machines can do everything that humans can do, some disagree with this view arguing that such high sophisticated behavior such as love, emotions discovery and moral decisions can only be carried out by humans. AI for many years has been pursuing the study of intelligent behaviour, but using artificial methodology. Intelligence can be defined as the ability to learn and understand, to solve problems and make decisions, both AI and the human brain share this characteristic. In order to study human intelligence some use artificial intelligence to understand human processes. One of the most significant papers on machine intelligence has been explored by Alan Turning; however his theories still remain universal. Turning (1950) predicted that by 2000, a computer could be programmed to have a conversation with a human interrogator for five minutes and that it would be able to deceive the interrogator that it is human, this suggest a link between AI and brain mechanisms. Both the human brain and machines are able to solve complex mathematical calculations; a machine may be designed to solve these calculations faster than the human brain. Although evidence suggests that our brain stores the equival ent of about of over 1018 bits and can process information at the equivalent of about 1015 bits per second. Therefore both AI and brain mechanisms can work together to produce efficient results, as it is evident that both accept input and generate the correct output. It is required that an intelligent machine should help human make decisions, to search for information, to control complex objects, and finally to understand the meaning of words. One of the possible definitions of AI refers to cognitive processes and especially to reasoning. Before making any decisions, people also reason, it is therefore natural to explore the links between both. Since the early 1950s, there has been a vast development of AI where it has become a valuable tool to support humans making decisions, similarly specific brain mechanisms are involved in decision making in the brain, one can argue that both working together will lead to more valid and faster decisions. To support this, research shows that more sophisticated and user-friendly forms of computer-assisted decision aiding technologies are being developed, examples include decision support systems and external information retrieval system, this then can work alongside brain mechanisms. AI has largely been used for problem solving; such machines have been created than can go beyond the human brain ability to solve problems. These include solving mathematical problems of high complexity; these are programmed to do exactly what we want them to do. AI is now involved in solving real life issues, which are usually dealt by human brain mechanisms, some may suggest that it may reach to such an extent that it outperforms the best traders and investors. Evidence suggest that they are already involved in to forecast the economy and analyze credit risk, these just being to examples. This is a rapid growing field which needs to be given attention. More money is being spent on this as the developments in this field have been immense. Neural networks, is one specific type of AI that mimics many characteristics of the human brain. Research suggests that neural networks are able to draw conclusions of data that is incomplete and may learn from previous mistakes, thus imitating per formance outputs by brain mechanisms. AI systems are increasingly being developed and increasing rapidly, this is because of the variety of applications it includes, such as symbolic reasoning, flexibility and explanation capabilities, thus both AI and brain mechanisms can work together and produce efficient results that would make every day life seem less effortless and produce faster results. The goal of building AI agents was that it provides efficiency and most importantly works parallel to brain mechanisms, such as contains features such as cognitive abilities which will play a role in decision making and help in difficult and complex human situations. Furthermore cognitive abilities such as perception, reasoning, learning and planning turn technical systems into systems that know what they are doing; therefore they may function in parallel to the ways brain mechanisms do. Through the years there has been vast developments and more work is being put into these systems in order to it contains certain amount of repres ented knowledge , learn from previous experiences in order to prevent mistakes previously made and so that it makes further improvement and changes. Furthermore developers have aimed to develop AI even further, such as justify the actions and decisions made, be aware of the capabilities it contains and be able to reflect on its behaviour, these are the same roles that brain mechanisms play, thus they aim to create a parallel model. Although such developments have been made through many years, it may be argued that AI may still not be able to compete with the advanced functionality of brain mechanisms. Despite the speed and memory capacity, AI struggles to contend. The human brain contains around 20 billion neurons, each neuron being connected through synapses of approximately 10,000 other neurons, which AI cannot possibly mimic. However there has been continuous progress and advances of AI, an example might be face recognition software, which detects photos; the brain does this automatically, and relies on memory similar to AI where it uses its stored memory for collection. In AI this has been used for security purposes, which have demonstrated to be very successful. Previous advances include voice recognition, which both AI and brain mechanisms share. For AI this has not only be used in terms of security reasons but also in order to function the device and making it more easier and convenient for use, this has been done through using different applications, where it involves programming, the same way the brain mechanisms programme in order to carry out specified roles. In addition although AI applications use many techniques, the fundamental building block is called the neural network, likewise brain mechanisms functions the same way. Things that were difficult to reason earlier on have become easier to understand through advances in technology. As the human brain being such a complex mechanism it has been difficult to observe human brain activity. New advances have been made in recent years, FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) being one of these discoveries which has helped immensely to capture brain activity, this has been significant help for AI as it enables to have an insight on brain activity, which may help advance and help imitate brain mechanisms. Furthermore, this then shifts the balance between building artificial intelligent systems and studying natural intelligence. It should be expected that in the future, there should be numerous studies on relating artificial intelligence to natural intelligence. Current evidence suggests that both can work together to demonstrate different cognitive states in humans, here artificial intelligence has been used for learning algorithms to distinguish between various cognitive states observed through FMRI. Looking at this area further, natural and artificial intelligence are both said to be closely related in most objects and in everyday life generally. Both get impacted if are hit physically. Human behavior is said to be artificial at times, both function through language and communication. Communication is essential for both AI and brain mechanisms in order to function. Through communication they are able to send out essential messages, which helps to maintain these systems and allows them to function effectively and plays a key role in all aspects. AI shares many characteristics with brain mechanisms; one may argue that an essential feature which only human mechanisms can produce is emotions. Emotion is defined as a persons feelings and behavior which has a direct affect on the performance, emotions may act as an obstacle to produce intelligent outcome, thus it can be argued that because AI lacks to produce emotions this may not have an impact, therefore not having an influence on the outcomes it produces. However it is essential, that in order to emulate human behavior and to work alongside humans that AI should have emotions, it is required that not only should it think and reason but also be able to show emotions. Overall evidence suggests that both artificial intelligence and brain mechanisms are closely related, both work together in order to produce efficient outcomes. AI and brain mechanisms share many key characteristics such as reasoning, problem solving and decision making and intelligence. Recent evidence suggest that AI has allowed us to understand complex brain processes, this then enables to understand human actions and decisions in more depth. However many researchers still argue that the high level cognition can only be produced by brain mechanisms, such as emotions and feelings that AI fails to produce.

What will the situation for renewable energy in Europe be in 2030?

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century and even a bit before that, great technological advances have been made which are allowing more and more to extract energy out of naturally occuring phenomenons. These include for example sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. The use of non-renewable energies such as fossil fuels is politically and economically defined just as the use of renewable energies are. Even though some more environmentally-friendly option might be available to us through renewable energies, our government might still choose to keep using non-renewable energies that are threatening to the environment such as fossil fuels, for political or economical reasons (the two being usually co-dependent). As citizens, it is out of our power which of those two energies our leaders decide to consume first. The fact that renewable energies might be readily available does not necessarily mean that they will be used. However, the political and economical reasons that can be behind the reason of a choice like this are out of the scope of this essay. The way Europe will use renewable energies in the future and in 2030 will depend on many factors. First of all, technology plays a vital role in this, as without it, renewable energies could not be extracted from the energy sources, or they could but with very little efficiency. The more advanced the technology the more likely we are to turn to renewable energies for our energy needs. In order for this to be worthwhile, the production cost of the used technologies must be much lower than the value of energy that will be extracted with them. Some of the currently used equipment used to extract energy from the environment are very expensive and must assure an interesting return on investment before anyone will consider using them. Let's take the example of wind turbines. The usual 2 megawatt commercial turbine costs around 3 million euros per piece, even though they get cheaper all the time. Considering an annual mean speed of wind of 5 meters per second (pretty low), the traditional 2MW wind turbine will give a return on investment of 3. 8% after a year. This means that there is gonna be profit already less than a year after installation. The average lifespan of wind turbines being around twenty years, the return on investment at the end of that period is very profitable. We can understand why Europe has more than one hundred thousand wind turbines in 2013. In 2013 wind turbine generated electricity is providing more than 8% of the European electricity consumption. A European Environment Agency report shows that wind turbine generated electricity could exceed by three times Europe's expected demand of electricity in 2020. This shows that the capacity of electricity production with the use of renewable energies is practically illimited, and that by using only wind turbines (provided more are installed) we can easily provide enough electricity to all of earth's inhabitants. And this is only through one source of renewable energy (wind). It is important to remember, though obvious, that the amount of wind plays an important role in wind turbine electricity production. That means that windy places with less potential capacity in terms of watts (usually holding less turbines) can produce more electricity than places that hold more turbines but on which there is little wind. Indeed, in 2011, Spain had more electricity production through wind turbines than Germany. This shows that with renewable energies, there is more than the machine we are using. The environmental condition has to be there as well, and so in the case of an unprobable geological event, some of our means of gathering renewable energies might be rendered inefficient and costly. When it comes to sun and wind, there is little to worry about though. On another aspect, the way humans will relate to nature in the future is also a very big factor of our future use or lack of use of renewable energies. Are we going to constantly grow more respectful of nature of less respectful of nature? In 2030, what will be more important for us, preserving a clean earth for our future generations or being willing to trade hurting the planet for cash? As mentioned earlier, there may be dozens of political considerations that get in the way of those decisions, and that us as citizens, are not even aware of. However, considering that our technology becomes constantly more efficient and cheaper, the most logical course of action would be that we begin to use it more and more in every area of our life, including in the extraction of renewable energies. To conclude, there is very little doubt that the situation in Europe concerning renewable energies will have improved much from today. The rate at which technology has evolved in the past years, the rate at which wind turbines and other ecological equipments have been implanted, can only promise a greener future. The numbers are also very encouraging and reassuring, as they seem to show that with the right technology we can almost unlimitedly extract renewable energies. As the amount of non-renewable and polluting energies will be scarce by 2030, we will be forced to put to use the solutions that we have already found. On top of this, as the people who used to have all of the non-renewable ressources do not have it anymore, they no longer either have the money that went along with it. And without the money, their influence on politicians and governments will be gone as well. Instead, it is likely that the wind turbines, the solar cells, the hydroelectric turbines, and the other devices will be paid and installed by all of us, and then the profit will equally get back to all of us.