Ethnography-Mock at KFC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethnography-Mock at KFC - Essay Example I studied my ethnography research at KFC in a local mall. It was Sunday and I was at the Dolmen Mall around 1 pm. Dolmen Mall is one of the biggest malls down here in New York. KFC was located in the food court on the first fourth floor of the mall. There were a lot of stalls that had covered the entire fourth floor. The stalls were juxtaposed with each other. In front of the stalls, there were tables and chairs and a comfortable seating area arranged for visiting family. The total number of stalls in the area was 25. The stalls belonged to various genres from coffee to desserts to donuts to fast food to continental to oriental food. KFC was stationed right in the center of the food court. On the left side, it had Mr. Burger and on the right side, it had McDonald's. The staff at KFC was mostly young. I felt that the primary reason behind the young staff at KFC was the less pay per hour. The stall was crowded as it was a weekend afternoon. People from different ethnic and religious ba ckgrounds were frequenting to the stalls. I noticed a gang of friends seated comfortably in a stall in front of KFC. They were happily laughing and chatting away. This group of friends was between 15-16 years. It comprised of 4 boys and three girls. They were cracking jokes, and playing with cell phones. One of the girls was meddling with her clutch to take out a mobile phone. I have noticed that men usually carry cell phones in their pants while women carry it in their handbags. I also observed their table manners and concluded that females were better behaved compared to their male counterparts. The conversations that flowed were very colorful. They ranged from cars to food to college gossip to relation statuses. I noticed men were the ones with the greater sense of humor as they would be the one cracking most of the jokes. Girls, however, were more prompt with their insight into the latest gossip and happenings in college.   1) Frame the study as a larger theoretical, policy, o r practical problem. The study will help frame marketing plans at the mall according to the type of gentry that visits it. 2) Pose initial ethnographic research questions. (aside from essential question) Where is it located? What kind of interiors are there? What kind of people is visiting? What kind of conversations is following? How are they behaving? What is the general mood like? What are the differences between the ways in which the guy is interacting and the way in which the guys are interacting?

Binge Eating Disorder Essay Example for Free

Binge Eating Disorder Essay For centuries, many psychological disorders had plagued mankind. Humanity has suffered from many psychological disorders such as anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and many more. One kind of disorder that rose in numbers in the twenty-first century are eating disorders. Eating disorders can be categorized into three types. Theses are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Of the three types of eating disorder, binge eating disorder is more complex when it comes to its symptoms and manifestations. To further understand binge eating disorder, we must first understand what are eating disorders and what factors can affect people who manifest these kinds of disorder. Eating disorders are disorders of eating habits of individuals. According to social-cultural theorist, most eating disorders usually are common in cultures where the thinness of the body is considered attractive and more acceptable (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). The factors that affect eating disorders can range from a person’s culture, environment, his/her family background, genealogy and biological factors. In the three kinds of eating disorder, anorexia nervosa is a disorder where one refuses to eat to become fat. A common practice of anorexic patients is to purge their food when they felt that they had taken a lot of it (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). The disorder is deadly and can kill almost 15 percent of its victims (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). If anorexia nervosa is self-starvation, bulimia nervosa is binging or eating excessively then purging it through various methods. Now, we focus on binge eating disorder. If the two other eating disorder’s goal is to keep their body thin and slim. Binge eating disorder is making the body fatter and overweight. The common practice of people with binge eating disorder is eating excessively when they feel anxious about something. They will eat out and eat as much food as they can even if they are not hungry. It sort of becoming their initial reaction to a stressor and becomes a habit (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). The big difference in binge eating disorder than bulimia is that binge eating disorder victims don’t purge (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). They don’t engage in behaviors that will cause them to vomit. Binge sessions of victims are usually habitual and episodic. This means they engage in binging in a particular time. Studies have shown that people who are obese and over weight are common people with binge eating disorder (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006).. A study showed that 30 percent of people who undergo weight loss programs are actually having binge eating disorder. The peculiarity of this disorder is that even though this disorder is making the people unhealthy and obese, psychologist and health professionals think that having a binge eating disorder is better than having anorexia or bulimia. Usually African Americans are more affected by this disorder than European Americans (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). Similar to anorexia and bulimia, binge eating disorder is more common to females (Bierma, 1999). The disorder is associated with many disorders namely depression and anxiety (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). People who have binge eating disorder have low self-esteem and want to eliminate their binging. They feel sickened by the thought of being fat and usually tries to undergo weight-loss programs and frequent tries in dieting. The problem is they can’t stop binging until they sought help from the professional. Binge eating disorder as of today is still not counted as a formal eating disorder in DSM-IV by psychologists (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). This is due to the fact that psychologists think more studies should be done to support and sanction the diagnostic of this disorder. The binge eating disorder can be found on the appendix of the DSM-IV for further study (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). There are many causes why people get binge eating disorder. Many psychologists can attribute that the rise in eating disorders in our time is mainly due to our social norms (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). To further explain binge eating disorder, the factors that triggers this kind of behavior is needed to be understood. The most important fact we must know is that our society today has social pressures and norms. Many cultures put pressure to women to be slim and thin. There are cultural differences throughout the world. In places and time where wealthy people value heavier weight as more beautiful, eating disorder become less likely in the population. People in less developed countries view people with heaviness as beautiful because it shows that the person can afford to buy food and is wealthy (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). In America, the rise of fashion magazines that embraces beauty as something slim and skinny in the 90’s made many American teens more prone to become anorexic. The icons of beauty in a specific era also can predict the trends in eating behaviors in women. The cultural norms of attractiveness also affect people who can get eating disorder like binge eating (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). If a person sees that becoming fat and gaining weight can help him achieve his desired level of attractiveness, he will try to eat more in order to gain weight. Another deadly cause of binge eating disorder is that people who suffer from it view food as a way of coping to their negative emotions. In some cases, sexual abuse in the past can also trigger binge eating disorder because it raises the anxiety level of the person (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). The cognitive reasoning of an individual also affects the development of binge eating disorder. As we discussed, binge eating disorder is an impulsive behavior. The victims usally act before thinking. This kind of impulse is hard to control and is hard to regulate on its own. Biologically, people who suffer from binge eating disorder might have predisposition to depression (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). Depression usually triggers the binge eating session and makes victims more susceptible to binge just to feel good again. Findings also show that irregularity in the hypothalamus in the brain could be a cause of binge eating disorder and other types of eating disorder (Lyness, 2006). Hypothalamus regulates our eating habit and feeling of hunger (Lyness, 2006). This part of the brain is where our body sends a signal if a certain nutrient is insufficient or excessive. Another part of the brain which acts as relay centers of the message our body gives to the brain are neurotransmitters. Serotonin which is an important in cases of depression and anxiety plays a big role in eating disorders. Patterns of binging behaviors can stem from irregularities in serotonin (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). Lastly, obesity which is found in most binge eaters is found in the genes (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). This means that people are sometimes predisposed to be obese thus making them eat more. Binge eating disorder has many health consequences like gallbladder disorder, high blood pressure, diabetes etc (Unknown, 2005).

Reinhold Niebuhr :: essays research papers

Niebuhr, Reinhold (1892-1971), American Protestant theologian, whose social doctrines profoundly influenced American theological and political thought. Born in Wright City, Missouri, June 21, 1892, he was educated at Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois; Eden Theological Seminary, Webster Groves, Missouri; and Yale Divinity School. In 1915 he was ordained in the ministry of the Evangelical Synod of North America and made pastor of the Bethel Evangelical Church of Detroit. He held that post until 1928, at which time he joined the faculty of the Union Theological Seminary, New York City, where he taught for 30 years. At the time of his retirement (1960) he held a chair of ethics and theology; he also served as dean (1950-55) and vice president (1955-60). After retiring he continued at Union as a lecturer. An outstanding, although not a systematic, theologian, Niebuhr was notable primarily for his examination of the interrelationships between religion, individuals, and modern society. Outside the field of theology, he took a keen interest in trade union and political affairs. He was an active member of the Socialist Party in the 1930s, waged a vigorous fight against isolationism and pacifism before and during World War II, and in 1944 helped to found the Liberal Party in New York State. He received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 and was made a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He died on June 1, 1971. Niebuhr indicated his overriding interest in what has been called theological anthropology, a concern with the nature of man as a contact point for religion and society, in such major works as Moral Man and Immoral Society (1932), Interpretation of

Scheduling Manufacturing Operations

ABSTRACT Without true finite capacity scheduling, any implementation for manufacturing execution, whether it is ERP, SCM, or MES, cannot realize the goal of enterprise efficiency and agility. All aspects of OM for manufacturing execution fall behind the lead of FCS, which is the bridge between planning and execution. Real tangible return on assets rests with FCS. INTRODUCTION Integrating a diverse collection of resources to accomplish a goal is an issue that has faced humankind since the first city arose and food and services needed to be provided to the populace.The modern challenge for operations management (OM) is the speed and volume that data is presented to OM systems. This explosion of data holds the promise of efficiency and agility unrealized in the past, but it forces the attention of analysts and engineers to convert the flood of data into a useable form to move from planning to action. All the systems such as MES, SCM, and ERP are information hungry beasts that must be fe d with the right information at the right time to direct enterprise resources. OM requires a well-coordinated dispatch of its resources to realize efficiency and agility.This paper addresses the need to look at OM from an information-centric perspective as a necessary complement to emerging process-centric views. This discussion moves to the execution systems, also treated from an information-centric perspective, and concludes with a discussion as to why finite capacity scheduling (FCS) is the key to OM for manufacturing execution. WHEN DATA BECOMES INFORMATION Despite the advances in information technology, notably object-oriented software, systems continue to be defined by functional decomposition.Functional decomposition creates complex definitions with fragile coupling and cohesion that are on one side of a great chasm from the reality of the methods that are used to build modern information systems. Information itself is an under designed component of modern systems. Informatio n is a series of objects made from atoms of data. Data becomes information only through context and inferences derived from context. A good example is the use of spreadsheets to attempt to understand data rather than the use of application software designed to with the operational context in mind. Figure 1: Hierarchy of Data Fusion InferencesFigure 1 shows the hierarchy of inferences through a process called data fusion. Data fusion simulates the cognitive processes used by humans to continuously integrate data from their senses to make inferences about the external world. Information systems collect data though sensors and other assets, and in the hierarchy of data processing, multiple data sources are combined to approximate or estimate the condition of some aspect of the enterprise operation. This is the first translation of data to a level of inference. Parametric data is processed to begin specific identification of a situation.As more parametric data are collected, different a spects of the situation come together to allow a contextual analysis of an increasingly complex set of conditions. Once integrated, the situation can be compared to the goals or desired state of the system. Parallel to the types of data processing are the types of inference. With raw data an inference can be made of the general condition. While this level of inference rarely points to a specific correction action, it does begin to isolate what subsystems require attention. The next level of inference will reveal a specific characteristic behavior of the system.With more integrated data, the identity of an operational system or process is revealed. The next inference is the behavior of a process, which then leads to an assessment of a situation. At the highest levels of inference, the performance is assessed to determine the deviation from the performance goals, acceptable risks, or desired state. Data fusion is not a new concept, having its origins in simple scouting, but has come i nto its own since WWII. The use of data fusion systems as an information springboard for systems design places execution aspects of OM firmly into a modern framework of information systems engineering.WHAT WAS OLD IS NEW AGAIN As mentioned in the introduction, operations management has been, and remains, one of the greatest organizational challenges throughout history. OM arises from the need to coordinate diverse resources to meet the needs of a complex system. The concept of the plan-execute-control model, a â€Å"discovery† made by analysts in the late 1990’s, appears in the historical records of systems management, one of the earliest mentions circa 4th century BC in China. One of the more versatile models in modern systems management appeared in 1977 as a result of a joint effort between Dr J.S. Lawson of the Naval Electronic Systems Command and Dr. Paul Moore of the Naval Postgraduate School. Figure 2 shows the Lawson-Moore model, adapted by the author for genera l resource management. SENSE is the collection of raw data or other collateral information about the observed environment. PROCESS takes the data through the inference hierarchy, integrating data within the context of the tasks required of the managed resources. The situation as best can be determined with the resources is then compared to the DESIRED STATE.The DESIRED STATE is the result of planning, which drives the allocation of resources to tasks. The plan exists in generalities, except for enterprises where goals are achieved with simple tasks assigned to few or uncomplicated resources. DECIDE is the point where the comparison of the situation to the goals will dictate what corrective actions are needed to bring the performance of the enterprise in line with the plan. ACT is the direct management of resources to alter enterprise performance to close the gap between the current state and the DESIRED STATE.The Lawson-Moore model is a closed-loop execution model, continuously inte grating data, making inferences about the environment, and managing resources to meet goals of the plan. The Lawson-Moore model does not address planning, but it does unite planning and execution. To develop an execution system, it is important to understand the distinction between planning and execution. Figure 2: Lawson-Moore Model (aka Lawson Model) PLANNING AND EXECUTION Planning and execution are related, but not one and the same.Planning does not occur during execution; the plan should be formulated to allow for variations and alternate execution strategies. Business (or manufacturing or service) processes are set in place, serving as doctrine that unites actions within the enterprise. Processes should be compiled for all resource management, and serve as a set of procedures designed to achieve the best results from a united enterprise, while allowing for inspired actions and initiatives. The enterprise doctrine exists so that laborious planning for each individual operation n eed not repeated with every new plan.The more complex or unstable composition of enterprise resource, the greater the need for standardized procedures. This becomes the foundation of repeatable performance, reducing human variations to the least contributor of performance variations. Planning cannot deviate greatly from doctrine, and execution will fail without doctrine. It is possible that execution will look so different from the plan that the uninitiated will see no similarity, but if the goals of the plan are achieved, then the execution is successful.The next section will unite the inference model with the Lawson-Moore model to develop an information-centric execution model. DATA FUSION AS OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Figure 3 shows the execution system that arises from merging inference and the Lawson-Moore model. For main components exist in this system: information collection, execution environment, human-machine interface (HMI), and evaluation. Information collection includ es sensors and all other information gathering, and is a critical component to the resources managed by the OM system.The HMI is the primary means by which operators interact with the OM system. Evaluation is the component that applies performance measurements and other measures of effectiveness to determine the degree to which the execution system is meeting the goals of the plan. The execution system performs the data fusion, situation definition, and resource management. Figure 3: Data Fusion as Execution Environment Data flows from sensors contained in resources through data filtering to begin building inferences. Filtered data enters three levels of information processing.Level 1 processing aligns data in time, insures consistent units of measure, and accounts for any other physical aspects of the data. Data from different sources are aligned or correlated in order to develop meaningful inferences (e. g the color of the box has little to do with its volume, but its height, leng th, and width has a direct bearing on computing volume). The final function of Level 1 is identifying the situation for further processing in Levels 2 and 3. Level 2 assesses the situation within the context of the fusion process in use and available information from Level 1.Level 2 may require algorithms to augment sparse or missing data. Level 3 evaluates the situation and may direct actions to modify the use of resources to minimize deviations from plan goals. The communications between the three processing levels is continuous, forming an information loop within the execution environment to adapt to changes in the external environment. Short term and long term (historical) databases form the decision support system for the OM system. Corrective action can be automatic or require operator intervention as dictated by operation procedures.THE COMMON DENOMINATOR The integrated systems view for the enterprise is emerging as analysts focus on process-centric models and away from produ ct- and information-centric models. Evidence is the REPAC model from AMR, shown in Figure 4. Recognizing the shortcomings of the functions intense MES and SCOR models, AMR developed a model that is focused on the business processes while supporting component assembly. Comparing that process-centric model with the information-centric model, common elements emerge.The main theme in REPAC COORDINATE is the need to schedule detailed activities from PLAN, utilizing feedbacks from EXECUTE and ANALYZE. These are the same themes addressed by the Lawson-Moore model. In both models, the key element is the ability to manage resources at the individual operations to achieve the goals set by the plan. This level of resource management is achieved by dynamic capacitated scheduling, supported by the real-time data from the environment and comparisons to the desired state established by the plan. Figure 4: AMR REPAC Model FCS: THE KEY TO OPERATIONS MANAGEMENTWhether OM is approached from a process- or information-centric model, finite capacity scheduling drives how resources are deployed to perform the tasks required to achieve the goals of the plan. The sequence of operations, the materials and labor required for operations, and the output of the operations all require supporting resources to act in sync with the business of implementing the plan. Finite capacity scheduling with the ability to account for multiple resource constraints and complex scheduling goals will be scalable to schedule both the lowest level of operation and the supporting resources.Planning is at best an approximation of the resource needs because planning cannot develop a precise quantification of labor, material, or time to meet the goals. Execution cannot begin until the set of actions, well matched to the available resources, is developed to load the operations and develop a timeline for the actions. Execution cannot continue unless the scheduling component can receive the feedback from the resourc es and develop alternative sets of actions that will best meet the goals of the plan.Only true finite capacity scheduling, design for real-time use, can integrate the planning and execution together to meet the enterprise objectives. CONCLUSION For manufacturing OM to achieve the goals of efficiency and agility, all aspect of planning, execution, and control are necessary to create an effective system. The bridge from the plan to the actions of the organization is dynamic resource management. For an organization with any degree of complexity, procedures need to be in place to establish the general guidelines of operations. In this imperfect world, the plan and procedures must be flexible enough to adapt.The control side provides data and accepts corrective action, but a dynamic element must exist in the OM system that allows for accepting a situation assessment and rapid response to degrading performance. The planning side requires feedback from the OM layer to create future plans. The baseline provided by planning drives the selection of enterprise operations, but the synchronization of these operations, and the alternative actions needed when the exceptions arise, comes from the power of true finite capacity scheduling. FCS is the means by which OM for manufacturing execution becomes a reality.

Drinking Age Essay

The drinking age was moved from 18 to 21 for a reason. The higher drinking age of 21 has saved many lives, helped reduce the amount of underage drinking, and therefore should not be lowered. Many studies from a large variety of sources have proven higher drinking ages have a positive effect on society. Alcohol is harmful to the development of younger people. Research has shown that an adult is less likely to binge drink (have five or more drinks in a row). According to statistics from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, teens become intoxicated twice as fast as adults. Because the teens get drunk faster they are less likely to know when to stop and to go past their limit, causing harm to themselves and others. The Human brain continues to develop after adolescence and into our 20’s. According to a study on the neurocognitive effects of alcohol on adolescents and college students, drinking is harmful to the brain. Since the brains of all people under 21 are still developing, and most are in college, alcohol can prove very detrimental to the development of their brain and can harm their studies, and thus their futures. Underage drinking also largely contributes to many social problems include those such as: impaired driving, fighting, sexual activity, and smoking (Pediatrics 2006; 119:76-85). People have proposed that a 40 hour educational course should entitle people under 21 to drink. Research shows that educating youth drivers does not prevent youth crashes, however restrictions such as a limitation on the amount of passengers a youth driver can have, and curfews do help restrict the amount of youth crashes. The same philosophy applies to drinking. Educating young people about drinking responsibly, and the damage that drinking can do will not prevent alcohol related incidents, or underage â€Å"binge† drinking, but restrictions like the current laws will help prevent these (National Institutes of Health , â€Å"Fact Sheet: Underage Drinking†). Alcohol has a direct effect on the amount of car crashes and crime levels around the world. Studies show that since the legal age was change from 18 to 21 the number of vehicle related accidents has  dropped 16 percent (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Other studies have shown that since the legal drinking age was raised over 25,000 live were saved (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs). Many European countries have lower drinking ages, and many people say that their system is better. Since alcohol is more readily available in these nations there are more underage drinkers than other countries where alcohol is more limited. Studies have also shown that alcohol cause more problems in Europe than America (DiClemente, Ralph J.:Pediatrics 107). These issues include underage drunkenness, injury, rape, and school problems. â€Å"The concept that a person becomes a full adult at age 21 dates back centuries in English common law; 21 was the age at which a person could, among other things, vote and become a knight. Since a person was an official adult at age 21, it seemed to make sense that they could drink then, too† (Ethan Trex: http://www.mentalfloss.com /article/19437/why-drinking-age-21). Certain European nations and states allow drinking with a parent’s consent or drinking in the privacy of the home. Many people claim that this helps reduce underage binge drinking by introducing youths to alcohol at an earlier age in a controlled environment. Research has shown that this is not true (Fell, James: Debating Reform), because the youths feel they have their parent’s permission to drink they are more likely to believe it is okay for them to drink in situations outside the home, which can lead to intoxicated driving, and other harmful acts. Some argument for lowering the drinking age claim that alcohol is more enticing to youths when they can’t have it, and if the legal age was lowered there would be less underage drinking problems. Studies and history have proven this wrong (Fell, James: Debating Reform). Before the drinking age was raised in the U.S. there was a larger underage drinking problem, and over twice as many fatal alcohol related accidents as today. Sources: European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. DiClemente, Ralph J. et al â€Å"Parental Monitoring: Association With Adolescents’ Risk Behaviors† Pediatrics 107: 6 June 2001, 1363-1368 Fell, James. From â€Å"Chapter 2: Federalism: Resolved, the Federal Government should restore each State’s freedom to set its drinking age.† in Ellis, Richard and Nelson, Michael (eds.) Debating Reform. CQPress Publishers, Fall 2009. Fell, J.; â€Å"Minimum Legal Drinking Age Policy Knowledge Asset,† website created by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Substance Abuse Policy Research Program; March 2009. Fell, James C. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Oct. 2008 â€Å"An Examination of the Criticisms of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 Laws in the United States from a Traffic-Safety Perspective† National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis â€Å"Lives Saved in 2007 by Restraint Use and Minimum Drinking Age Laws† DOT HS 811 049 A Brief Statistical Summary November 2008. National Institutes of Health , â€Å"Fact Sheet: Underage Drinking† National Institutes of Health, â€Å"Fact Sheet: Alcohol-related Traffic Deaths† National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Statistics on Underage Drinking National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, â€Å"Research Findings on Underage Drinking and the Minimum Legal Drinking Age† National Institutes of Health, Alcohol Policy Information System â€Å"The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act† Shults, Ruth A., Elder, Randy W., Sleet, David A., Nichols, James L., Alao, Mary O. Carande-Kulis, Vilma G., Zaza, Stephanie, Sosin, Daniel M., Thompson, Robert S., and the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. â€Å"Reviews of Evidence Regarding Interventions to Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving.† Am J Prev Med 2001;21(4S). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Unde rage Drinking 2007. Zeigler DW, Wang CC, Yoast RA, Dickinson BD, Mccaffree MA, Robinowitz CB, et al. The Neurocognitive Effects of Alcohol on Adolescents and College Students. Prev Med 2005 Jan;40(1):23-32. http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/articles/cqoped.html