Communication Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Communication Theory - Assignment Example And I find this approach professional and reasonable as well. Relational Dialectics Theory elaborates how personal and social relationships are maintained despite interpersonal and social differences (Harvey and Housel 56). For example, Mr. David is an introvert person wants to maintain his privacy whereas his friend Mr. Frank, who has an extrovert personality, prefers to openness about issues. In their relationship, this theory proposes that both should understand their internal conflicting views besides maintaining their relationship amicably. From another perspective, it is important to understand the word â€Å"dialectics.† According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, dialectics refers to a process through which two opponent forces attempt to resolve their conflict amicably. In a deeper analysis, it can also be argued that this theory maintains that it is difficult to understand openness without understanding closeness; the comprehension of openness relies on the inbuilt concept of closeness. And the same is applicable for comprehending the concept of closeness through understanding openness as well. In this regard, Sahlstein mentions that social relationships are important for people as they want to retain them but simultaneously they are also inclined to maintain their personal integrity, values inbuilt to their personality and that is obtained through defining oneself particularly in relation to others (p.693). This statement needs further elaboration. For example, if two friends have a divergent opinion about an issue. In that situation, both have two options either to reject each other’s opinion and break their social relationship or sit together, understand the issue and retain the relationship as well. If they opt for the second option, they will have an opportunity to understand the inbuilt differences in the issue and evaluate each other’s point of view. In that situation, it is not necessary

LAN Reliability and Availability Research Paper

LAN Reliability and Availability - Research Paper Example Organizations that have employed the use of Local Area Network, or LAN, can access information and resources of all persons and departments linked to the network. 1 It is important for the networked organizations to understand the various networking terms, conditions and systems operation in order to ensure that the system would not be compromised. In this manner, information would be available and reliable and serve the operational requirements of the organization. Since not all members of the organization would be able to understand the framework of the network, it is necessary to employ network administrators that would ensure the smooth operations and availability of the network. 2 With the network functioning properly, the organization can deliver their products and services to the consumer or end-user without restraint that can result from unpredictable network malfunctions. The network administrator should be the one with the appropriate training so that he/she could understan d the network architecture and impacts of specific system failures on the general network. 3 LAN refers to a â€Å"communication network, limited in geographic scope†. 4 The network’s hardware components are: a) transmission medium (e.g. twisted pair, fiber optics, coaxial cable), b) mechanism for control of transmission, and c) network interface (for host computers, devices or nodes of network). 5 To meet the requirements of availability and reliability, redundancy approach is usually applied in the system. 6 This approach uses a back up path for every connection so that recovery is possible when failure occurs. 7 Network Availability The ability of the organization to benefit from any network relies on the availability of the specified network. However, for a network to be available most of the time, it must be reliable in order to maximize its use within the infrastructure. Both reliability and availability of a network are interdependent. A network cannot be reliab le if the framework is not available to all the units or departments required to connect with it. Thus, both concepts must be handled together since one would affect the other and the organization in general. 8 Network availability refers to the fragment of time wherein the network is in service. 9 Availability of the network may fail if a disaster strikes, and in case of large-scale disaster, many link failures may occur. 10 Computer networks should establish the required infrastructure that would meet the needs of the applications that will be used. 11 Studies have indicated that one measure of the computer network performance is its availability. 12 The availability feature would be particularly important for applications used in banking transactions, e-commerce, and other online transactions. 13 The components of the network that may be prone to failure and affect availability are the a) hosts (e.g. clients, servers in different departments, middle level corporate servers, data tier corporate servers), b) interconnection equipment (including hubs, routers, switches), and c) individual links. 14 The availability concept has become more critical due to complex issues and interconnections distributed across numerous computers. 15 It is also dependent on the accessory devises included to make it functional. 16 Availability has always been an important characteristic of systems but becomes a more critical and complex issue

Legal Requirements for Employee Benefits Essay Example for Free

Legal Requirements for Employee Benefits Essay As we discussed earlier in this chapter, some benefits are required by law. This requirement adds to the cost of compensating employees. Organizations looking for ways to control staffing costs may look for ways to structure the workforce so as to minimize the expense of benefits. They may require overtime rather than adding new employee, hire part-time rather than full-time workers(because part-time employees generally receive much smaller benefits packages),and use independent contractors rather than hire employees. Some of these choices are limited by legal equirements, however. For example ,the Fair Labor Standards Act requires overtime pay for nonexempt workers, as discussed in chapter 11. Also,the Internal Revenue Service strictly limits the definition of independent contractors,â€Å" so that employees cannot avoid legal obligations by classifying workers as self-employed when the organization receives the benefits of a permanent employee . Other legal requirements involve tax treatment of benefits ,antidiscrimination laws, and accounting for benefits. Tax treatment of benefits A modern, flexible benefit plan provides a number of potential tax advantages to employees and employers. Employees A flexible benefit plan allows employees to choose to swap some of their existing benefits or purchase benefits from a menu of options. Payments in excess of the employees spending allowance are normally collected via a gross salary adjustment. If employees exchange salary for tax exempt benefits (pensions, life cover, childcare vouchers, mobile phones, etc. ), they do not pay tax or National Insurance on the amount exchanged. This gives a basic rate tax payer earning less than the National Insurance (NI) Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) a saving of 33% compared to receiving the money as salary. For example, an employee that exchanges ? 200 per month of their salary for childcare vouchers and additional pension payments will save ? 792 in tax and NI compared to taking the money as salary. Even if the benefits are not tax exempt, employees can still exchange salary for employer provided benefits and, whilst they will be charged income tax, they save NI as their salaries have been reduced by the value of the benefit. This gives employees earning under the UEL an 11% saving. Employers Employers participating in a flexible benefit plan do not pay employers NI on payments on payments to exempt benefits. If these payments have been exchanged from salary by employees then the employer will save 12. 8% employers NI on the amounts. For example, an employee that exchanges ? 200 per month of their salary for childcare vouchers and additional pension payments will deliver an annual NI saving to the employer of ? 307. Antidiscrimination Laws  Legal treatment of men and woman includes equal access to benefits, so the organization may not use the employee’s gender as the basic for providing more limited benefits. That is the rationale for the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which requires that employers treat pregnancy or childbirth, the employee needs time off for conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, the employee would receive whatever disability benefits the organization offers to employees who take disability leave for other reasons. Another area of concern in the treatment of male and female employees is pension benefits. On average, woman live longer than men, so on average, pension benefits for female employees are more expensive (because the organization pays the pension longer), other things being equal. Some organizations have used this difference as a basis for requiring that female employees contribute more than male employees as a basis for requiring that female employees contribute more than male employees to defined benefit plans. The Supreme Court in 1978 determined that such a requirement is illegal. According to the Supreme Court, the law is intended to protect individuals, and when women are considered on an individual basis ( not as averages ), not every woman outlives every man. Age discrimination is also relevant to benefits policies. Two major issues have received attention under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and amendments. First, employers must take care not to discriminate against workers over age 40 in providing pay or benefits. For example, employers may not set an age at which retirement benefits stop growing as a way to pressure older workers to retire. Also, early retirement incentive programs need to meet certain standards. The programs may not coerce employees to retire, they must provide accurate information about the options available, and they must give employees enough time to make a decision. In effect, employees must really have a choice about whether they retire. When employers offer early retirement, they often ask employees to sign waivers saying they will not pursue claims under the ADEA. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 set guidelines for using these waivers. The waivers must be voluntary and understandable to the employee and employer , and they must spell out the employees rights under the ADEA. Also , in exchange for signing the waiver, the employee must receive â€Å"compensation† that is , greater benefits than he or she would otherwise receive upon retirement. The employer inform employee that they may consult a lawyer before signing, and employee must have time to make a decision about signing-21 days before signing plus 7 days afterward in which they can revoke the agreement. The Americans with Disabilities Act imposes requirements related to health insurance. Under the ADA, employees with disabilities must have equal access to whatever health insurance coverage the employer provides other employees. Even so, the terms and conditions of health insurance may be based on risk factors -as long as the employer does not use this basis as a way to escape offering health insurance to someone with a disability. From the standpoint of avoiding legal challenges, an employer who has risk-based insurance and then hires an employee with a disability is in a stronger position than an employer who switches to a risk-based policy after hiring a disabled employee. Accounting Requirements Companies financial statement must meet the many requirements of the Financial Accounting standards Board ( FASB) . These accounting requirements are intended to ensure that financial statements are a true picture of the companys financial status and that outsiders, including potential lenders and investors , can understand and compare financial statements . Under FASB standards, employers must set aside the funds they expect to need for benefits to be paid after retirement, rather than funding those benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis. On financial statement, those funds must appear as future cost obligations. For companies with substantial retirement benefits, reporting those benefits as future cost obligations greatly lowers income each year. Along with rising benefits costs. This reporting requirement has encouraged many companies to scale benefits to retirees. Summarize the regulation affecting how employers design and administer benefits program. Employers must provide the benefits that are required by law, and they may not improperly classify employees as independent contractors to avoid paying benefits. Tax treatment of qualified plans is favorable, so organizations need to learn the requirements for setting up benefits as qualified plans-for example, ensuring that pension plans do not discriminate in favor of the organizations highly compensated employees. Employers may not use employees gender as the basis for discriminating against anyone, as in pension benefits on the basis that women as a group may live longer. Nor may employers discriminate against workers over age 40 in providing pay or benefits, such as pressuring older workers to retire by limiting retirement benefits When employers offer early retirement, they must meet the requirements of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must give disabled employees equal access to health insurance. To meet the requirements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, employers must set aside the funds they expect to need for retirement benefits ahead of time, rather than funding the benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis

Die Preforming Process: Long Last-stage Blade Nuclear Power

Die Preforming Process: Long Last-stage Blade Nuclear Power Design and Optimization of Die Preforming Process for Long Last-stage Blade of Nuclear Power He Xiaomao1,aà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Jiang Peng1, Lin Jingtang2à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Huang Jianning1 1 Beijing Mechanical and Electrical Institute of Technologyà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Beijingà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’China 2 Tian Qian Heavy Industry Company, Ltd, Mianzhu, SiChuan, China Abstract: The long last-stage blade is a key component of the steam turbine of nuclear conventional island. The die preforming process for a new technology that provides billets for near-net-shape roll-forging process was designed, the effects of the forging temperature, friction coefficient, flash lands height and dies outer fillet radius on the die forging force and forging energy were studied by using the orthogonal experiment method, the primary and secondary order of the four factors were analysed by using range analysis method, and the optimal combination of the factors was obtained. By means of numerical simulation and physical experiment, the die preforming process that can provide qualified billets for the subsequent roll-forging process was verified, and the PZS1120f electric screw press can meet the requirements of the die preforming process. 1 Preface The long last-stage blade is the key component of the steam turbine of the nuclear power conventional island. The larger the exhausting area of the last-stage blade of the LP cylinder is, the higher the efficiency of the nuclear power unit is and the better the economy is [1]. Harbin Steam Turbine Factory had successfully developed a 72-inch (1829mm) half-speed nuclear power turbine blade [2], Shanghai Electric had also developed a 67-inch (1710mm) nuclear power blade [3], the development of these long blades effectively improves the efficiency of nuclear power unit, but its also a challenge to manufacture these long last-stage blades. At present, the technology of preforming and overall forging was mainly adopted by the domestic and foreign blade manufacturers [4, 5]. The radial forging and the open-die forging was adopted respectively by the foreign and domestic blade manufacturers as blanking process, and then, the overall die forging process was adopted to form the blades. Due to the large area of these blades, the capability of the blade manufacturers forging equipment cannot meet to the required forging force of producing the blades and the forged blades had got some defects, such as underpressing, underfill and overweight. The die preforming process that provides billets for a new near-net forming process for nuclear last-stage blades was proposed, the new process, which uses the roll-forging process to form the blade body of the long blades, the die forging to form the blade root, crown and damper, can effectively reduce the required forging force. In this paper, the die preforming technology of long last-stage blade was designed, the process parameters were optimized by the orthogonal experiment method and numerical simulation, and the feasibility of the process was verified by physical experiments. 2Optimization of process parameters The die preforming process was carried out in the PZS1120f type of electric screw press, the nominal tonnage of the press is 250,000 kN. According to the nominal tonnage, the maximal projection area of the forging billet was calculated. The forging force is not only related to the material and forgings projection area, but also related to the strain rate, temperature, friction coefficient and die structure (height of the flash land and the outer fillet radius of dies). Because the strain rate is related to the forming speeding of the press, its value is determined when the forging press is chosen. The forging temperature, the friction coefficient, the height of the flash land and the outer fillet radius were chosen as the process parameters to be optimized and the forging force and forging energy were chosen as optimization objectives. 2.1 Die preformed forging and dies 3D model of a preformed forging was shown in Figure 1, the forging model was calculated based on the press nominal tonnage and the forging drawing of the 72-inch blade, the calculation process wasnt repeated here, it will be discussed in detail in the future article. The dies structure was shown in Figure 2, it didnt contain the groove of the flash, and the structure was quite simple, only the height of the flash land h and the outer fillet radius r were considered as parameters. Figure. 1 3D model of die preformed forging Figure. 2 Die Structures Figure. 3 Billet of the die preforming 2.2 Levels and factors table of orthogonal experiment Orthogonal experiment method can be used to study the impact of multiple factors on the optimization objective by less number of trials, to obtain the best combination of factors for the optimal objective value. The forging force and the forging energy of the die preforming are related to the forging temperature A (T), the friction coefficient B (ÃŽÂ ¼), the height of flash land C (h) and the outer fillet radius D (r). The four parameters were adopted as the orthogonal experiment factors, each factor took three levels, and the designed factors and levels table were shown in Table 1. Table 1. Factors and levels table of the orthogonal experiment. Factor Level A Forging temperature T/à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ B Friction coefficient ÃŽÂ ¼ C height of flash land h/mm D outer fillet radius r/mm 1 1180 0.2 6 2 2 1150 0.3 8 3 3 1120 0.4 10 4 2.3 Parameter settings of numerical simulation The billets used in the die preforming were produced in the semi-open heading process in ref. [6]. The shapes and dimensions were shown in Fig 3. The material is 1Cr12Ni3Mo2VN, and the constitutive relation of the material was from ref. [7], in the Arrhenius form and the hyperbolic sinusoidal was used. à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ 1à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° The die was modeled as a rigid model with a preheat temperature of 200  ° C and a forming speed of 400 mm / s. The forging temperatures and the friction coefficients were set according to Table 1. 2.4 Results oforthogonal experiment Orthogonal experiments were performed using the 3-level and 4-factor table L9 (34) [8], without considering the interaction between the factors, the orthogonal experiments of simulation arrangement and the results were shown in Table 2. Table.2 orthogonal experiments of simulation arrangement and the resultsà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ NO. Factor Result A B C D Forging Force F à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ kNà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Forging Energy E à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ kJà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Forging temperature Friction coefficient Flash land height Outer fillet radius 1 1 1 3 2 343000 5830 2 1 2 1 1 462000 6200 3 1 3 2 3 449000 6440 4 2 1 2 1 398000 6420 5 2 2 3 3 364000 6510 6 2 3 1 2 631000 7370 7 3 1 1 3 522000 7270 8 3 2 2 2 465000 7370 9 3 3 3 1 427000 7440 2.5 Range analysis The value of Kjm was the sum of the result of the m factor at j level, and the means were represented by kjm, the value of kjm can reflect the optimal level. Rm was the range of the mth factor, the value of Rm reflected the fluctuation range of the optimal objective when the m factor fluctuated, the bigger the Rm was, the greater the influence of the m factor on the objective was. The primary and secondary order of the factors can be judged according to the range. The results of the range analysis of the forging force F and the forging energy E were shown in Table 3. Table.3 Range analysis of the forging force F and the forging energy Eà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ Result Factor A B C D Forging Force F à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ kNà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° K1m 12540000 1263000 1615000 1287000 K2m 13930000 1291000 1312000 1439000 K3m 14140000 1507000 1134000 1335000 k1m 4180000 421000 538333.3 429000 k2m 464333.3 430333.3 437333.3 479666.7 k3m 471333.3 502333.3 378000 445000 Rm 53333.3 81333.3 160333.3 50666.7 Order C>B>A>D Forging Energy E à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ kJà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° K1m 18470 19520 20840 20060 K2m 20300 20080 20230 20570 K3m 22080 21250 19780 20220 k1m 6156.7 6506.7 6946.7 6686.7 k2m 6766.7 6693.3 6743.3 6856.7 k3m 7360 7083.3 6593.3 6740 Rm 1203.3 576.7 353.3 170 Order A>B>C>D According the range of forging force in Table 3, the order of importance that the factors influences the forging force were the height of flash land C, the coefficient of friction B, the forging temperature A, the outer fillet radius D. According to the range analysis, the optimal combination to obtain the minimum forging force was (C3B1A1D1). The relationships among the forging force and the factors were shown in Figure 4, forging force decreased with increasing temperature, with decreasing of friction coefficient, and with increasing of the flash lands height; the relationship between forging force and the outer fillet radius didnt show significant trend of increasing or decreasing, but the range was the smallest among the four factors. Figure. 4 Relationships among the forging force and factors According the range of forging force in Table 3, the order of importance that the factors influences the forging energy were forging temperature A, friction coefficient B, height of flash land C, outer fillet radius D. Except the forging temperature can cause some fluctuations of the range of forging energy, the effects of other factors on the forging energys fluctuation were quite small, because the heating temperature made the transition of crystal atoms more easily, macroscopically indicated that the metal was more easily deformed, and the temperature increasing weakened the third-phase particles on pinning the dislocation movement, the required deformation energy was smaller; And the rest factors didnt have effects on the atomic migration and dislocation movement, and the macro behavior was that the forging energy didnt fluctuate obviously. 3 Numerical simulation analyses According to the optimizing result of the orthogonal experiment, the parameters were: forging temperature was 1180 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, friction coefficient was 0.2, flash lands height was 10mm, and outer fillet radius was 3mm, and the other parameters were same as orthogonal experiment. The simulation results were shown as follows: Figure.5 Relationship between stroke and forging force and energy As shown in figure 5, the predicated forging force was 304000 kN and the forging energy was 5680 kJ by using the optimal scheme. Compared with the result of orthogonal experiment, it was found that the value simulated by the optimal factor and level combination was the smallest one. Even if the optimal scheme was utilized, the forging force of 304,000 kN was great than the nominal tonnage 250,000 kN of PZS1120f electric screw press. In the live production, there would be some issues, such as the upper and lower die cannot be clamped, the forging would be underpressing and underfill. However, in order to ensure that forged billet has enough width and a certain length, to minimize the deformation along the width direction during the roll forging step, a few underpressing in the height direction would be allowed. The situation of die cavity filling while the forging force was 207000kN was shown in Figure 6, except the crown part of the outlet side, the rest of the billet was almost filled, and the value of underpressing of the dies was 2.7mm, this underpressing value would not have too much impact on the roll-forging of the blade. Figure.6 Situation of die cavity filling while the forging force was 207000kN The reason that cause the outlet side of the crown was not filled was the billet deflected to the inlet side at the beginning of the forging (as shown in Fig. 7), resulting in a shortage of material on the outlet side and the flash at inlet side was too large (Figure 6). 4Die preforming experiment Figure 8a were the upper and lower die used for the die preforming experiment, and Figure 8b is the blank, which was the forging in the heading experiment. Heating temperature was 1180 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, die preheating temperature was 200 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, lubricated by graphite emulsion lubricant, and two blanks were forged in this experiment. The working force was set to the nominal tonnage of PZS1120f electric screw press, during the forging process, the first blow was to locate the blanks position and to remove the scale, and then, the blank was forged by the next two blows. The final forging forces of the two forged parts were measured to be 223460 kN and 213690 kN respectively. The die preforming forgings were shown in Figure 9, two forgings had varying degrees of underpressing and underfill, the underfill of the crown part at the outlet side was more serious, and the flash at the inlet side was much large. With numerical simulation results, it can be determined that the reason of these defects was the blanks deflection to the inlet side; some measures should be taken to prevent the blank deflection in the live production. The flash lands heights of the two forgings were measured to be 12.9mm and 12.8mm, the values of underpressing were 2.9mm and 2.8mm, because the forging force had reached the maximum tonnage of the press, its hard to clamping the upper and lower die by increasing the number of blows, and it would damage the press and dies. These defects can only be solved by the subsequent roll-forging process. a) Upper and lower dies b) heading billets Figure.8 Dies and billets of the die preforming experiment Figure.9 Die preforming forgings The feasibility of the die preforming process was verified by the experiment, and the PZS1120f electric screw press can basically meet the requirements of die preforming process, and the qualified billets can be provided for the subsequent near-net-shape roll-forging process. 5 Conclusions Through the orthogonal experiment optimization, numerical simulation and physical experiment, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) Among the four factors: Forging temperature A, friction coefficient B, flash lands height C and the outer fillet radius D, the principle factor that impacts on forging force was the flash lands height, and the forging temperature had some effects on the forging energy, the optimal factor and level combination was C3A1B1D1. 2) The qualified billets formed by die preforming process can be provided for the subsequent near-net-shape roll-forging process and the PZS1120f electric screw press basically meets the requirements of the process. 3) The billet was deflected during the forging process, resulting in the underfill of the crown part at the outlet side, some measurements should be taken to prevent the deflection in the live production. References T. Zhou, M. Zhang, L. Zhang, K. Ran, China Electric Power(Technology Edition), 2, 43, (2012) Q. H. Zhang, Y. F. LI, J. W. Guang, Symp. Turb. Prof. Comm. CSPE, 133, (2012) W. Lu, Z. Y. Peng , Y. Zhou, K. Cheng, East China Electric Power, 38, 1771, (2010) X. J. Li, Z. F. Huang, W. C. Chen, R. J. Qin, Power Equipment, 24, 150, (2010) J. Zhong, C. J. Hu, C. Guo, Forging Stamping Technology, 33, 1, (2008) X. M. He, P. Jiang, F. W. Li, J. N. Huang, Forging MetalForming, 13, 49, (2016) X. M. He, P. Jiang, J. T. Lin, Y. Yang, Journal of Plasticity engineering, 4, 96, (2016) Y. B. Qu. Experimental Design and Data Processing(China Univ. Sci. Tech. Press, 2008)

The Jewelry We Wear Essay -- Culture Fashion Papers

The Jewelry We Wear Our tastes in jewelry are often fostered by our heritage, cultural background and ethnicity. Many of the unique pieces we see people wearing today steam from old cultural and ethnic roots. African and Asian influences are two prominent styles that often float in and out of popular culture and fashion as trends and style change. Usually found in silver jewelry, Celtic design is beautiful for its simple elegance. Basic lines come together to form elaborate designs. Celtic designs are also found in a lot of modern jewelry. While much of the Celtic jewelry today is often found in catalogues and stores catering to fortune tellers, witches and fans of the fantasy and medieval lifestyles, many people of Irish decent are drawn to Celtic jewelry as a sign of their heritage and background. Personal expression, mood and fashion are not the only factors involved when choosing what jewelry we wear. Our geographic location also impacts our preferences. Spending most my life in South Florida I noticed a huge difference in peoples' lifestyles when I moved to Tallahassee. People dressed differently, wore their hair differently and even talked differently. Their jewelry was also different. South Florida style I very flamboyant and excessive. Many women wear extravagant diamond, platinum, gold and pearl jewelry. Tiffany & Co. is a very popular jewelry store among South Floridians and many people spend thousands of dollars buying jewelry from there. Because Miami is one of the great fashion meccas of the world South Florida sets many fashion trends and tends to be one step ahead of fashion elsewhere in the state and much of the country. Tallahassee, on the other hand, is much more conservative and relaxed in its approac... ...beautiful, spectacular, unusual or exquisitely made, and signed by a famous maker, it will have significant added value. While everyone's style and tastes might be different, as well as the outcome of the decision of which piece of jewelry to buy or wear, the same elements go into making that decision. Though our backgrounds, our family heritage, our life history, we chose the best way to represent ourselves through our appearance. Like our clothing, hair styles and other personal preferences, the jewelry we wear is an individual expression of our personality and character. Whether we choose to wear commercial designs or original pieces, our taste in jewelry tells others a little bit about ourselves. From the most beautiful diamonds at Tiffany & Co. to the macaroni necklaces we made in elementary school, our existence is often accessorized by the jewelry we wear.

Intertextuality Essay -- essays research papers fc

What is intertextuality? How does intertextuality challenge E.D. Hirsch’s idea that a text has a single meaning created by its author? Explain with reference to examples drawn from any media format. According to American literary critic, E.D. Hirsch, in order to interpret a body of text, one must ask one’s self the only question that can be answered objectively – â€Å"what, in all probability, did the author mean to convey?† He believed that the author’s intended meaning equates the meaning of a text and it is in fact, the reader’s duty to uncover the the author’s intentions. â€Å"The meaning of a text and its author’s intentions are one and the same.† Hirsch’s concept revolves around the assumption that a body of text is original, and is purely a body of the author’s sole â€Å"intentions†. The production of text, if one were to adhere to Hirsch’s theory, is therefore exclusive to the author’s own ideas and concepts and free of external influence. However, the notions of langue and parole disputes this idea. According to Barthes in 1984, â€Å"It [la langue] is the social part of language, the individual cannot himself either create or modify it†. Furthermore, Ferdinand de Saussure’s work on structuralism and semiotics demonstrates the subjectivity of language and can be said to have sewn the seeds for modern concepts of intertextuality (such as those developed by Roland Barthes and Julia Kristeva). Intertextuality challenges the idea of a text’s ability to be truly original and therefore disagrees with Hirsch’s theory. In this essay, I will focus on how conscious intertextuality as well as the semiotics involved in unconscious intertextuality both dispute the idea that the meaning of a text belongs exclusively to its author’s intentions. Julia Kristeva, who was the first to use the term â€Å"intertextuality†, proposed the idea that a text should not be interpreted merely by its words at face value, but also studied based on other works it has adapted and was influenced by. The concept can be further expanded upon by Gunther Kress’ notion of â€Å"ceaseless semiosis† which brings to light the social aspect of a text’s creation. â€Å"From the beginning, I use materials which I have encountered before, which bear the meanings of their social contexts, to weave a new text which, because it is woven from materials of other texts, everywhere and always connects with those other te... ...mpaigns, can now be seen as the qualities Bridget desires by smoking Silk Cut. Once again, Hirsch’s idea of a text bearing only one singular meaning can be easily disputed. The interpretation of the Silk Cut advertisement, as well as the use of Silk Cut cigarettes in Bridget Jones’s Diary, is highly subjective and dependent on the reader’s cultural literacy and existing knowledge. Intertextuality in the media, both print and otherwise, has become too powerful to ignore, especially in this day and age. The internet, satirical texts, advertisements and books are only some examples that demonstrate the effects other works and a reader’s prior knowledge have on any given text. Intertextuality in its various states, conscious and unconscious, is certainly a valid contention against the theory of E.D. Hirsch. Bibliography, References & Notes 1) Cultural Consumption and Everyday Life†, Reading As Production, John Storey, Pg 63, Arnold, London, 1999 2) Intertextuality, Allen.G, Pg 9, Routledge, London 2000 3) http://web.uvic.ca 4) http://www.theonion.com 5) http://www.geocities.com/howtodressemo 6) http://www.aber.ac.uk 7) Reading Ads Socially. Goldman. R, Routledge, London, 1992

Airbus Strategy of Assembling an Aircraft Essay

Airbus is a multinational company, with its headquarters in Toulouse, which coordinates all activities and controls the progress in all corporate functions. Its main actions are focused on four EU members: France, Germany, UK, Spain (Airbus online: 2012) France includes four manufacturing sites and three assembly lines. As one of the founder members France has the biggest number of employees. Germany has an important role in the development and engineering of all aircrafts. Hamburg is the Centre of Excellence for cabin and cargo customisation. (Airbusonline:2012) The main contribution of the United Kingdom is the expertise in the design and manufacturing of wings. The assembling of wings for all Airbus aircrafts takes place in the UK. Spain contributes the expertise in weight-saving, composite materials and in innovative manufacturing technologies. However, non EU members like China, Japan, USA or Russia have become more and more attractive in terms of working conditions and tax policy. (Airbusonline:2012) These international collaborations emphasize the multinational thinking of Airbus and indicate the EU as an important partner in terms of creating attractive general conditions. It has to be noticed that Airbus’s operations are one before and one after the implementation of the Sup@irWorld Program. In the next, are listed some of the advantages and disadvantages of the its implementation. Pros: * Improved productivity of its operations to effectively cater to the changing requirements of its customers. * Cycle time reduction of manufacturing aircrafts from 7.5 to 6 years * Smart buying- Reduced its supply cost base: The aim of this program was sharing risk with their suppliers and thus make them more responsible for the overall performance of Airbus. * Improvements in Supply Chain * Improved efficiency through new implemented technology in the supply chain * Quality standards * Economies of scales * Better scope for interoperability between its several entities * Fewer but dedicated suppliers and service providers * Introduction of the Supply Chain Quality Improvement Program (SQIP) to achieve the best performance in the industry such as supply chain efficiency, quality and on time delivery. Cons: * Job cuts -10,000 employees out of 87,000 across its plants were fired when implementing the power8 program * Lack of standardization before the introduction of sup@irWorld. This was leading to inefficiency in its operations with its different manufacturers, ordering the same spare fro different suppliers and using several logistic providers. Airbus recently introduced a ‘maintenance, repair and overhaul’ (MRO) strategy supporting RFID adoption for â€Å"value chain visibility,† by tracing both flyable and non-flyable components over their total lifecycle. According to Carlo K. Nizam, Airbus’s head of value chain visibility, the increasingly competitive global market, and the need to reduce costs and streamline business processes in order to remain competitive has driven the firm to adopt RFID. Airbus introduced the RFID-technology to increase their overall supply chain transparency and visibility to improve their general reactivity. Its goal is to â€Å"error-proof and automate† its supply chain and manufacturing operations to reduce aircraft production and maintenance costs. †¢ Minimize unplanned maintenance and detect malfunction early †¢ Manage and reduce airline parts inventories †¢ Establish audit trails for each uniquely identified object †¢ Ensure that the correct part is being used in the right place †¢ Mechanics can access document, task, and parts data, and locate and track approved spare parts in real time †¢ Identify and track tool location, usage history, and repair requirements †¢ Improve safety and security by authenticating components Benefits of utilizing RFID to Airbus: * Visibility: getting automatic updates of events in the value chain and an unprecedented high level of information * Process Benefits: the cycle times are shorter and less inventory is needed * Business Benefits: reduction in inventory, capital assets and stock reconciliations, and an increased labour productivity and supplier monitoring Drawbacks of utilizing RFID to Airbus: * High Costs * Standardization Issues: It can be very challenging to manage multiple readers and hardware, especially across many facilities * Potential Data Interference and Overload Issues: whether multiple passive RFID devices can cause interference to aircraft systems, whether a strong and undesired signal can activate all devices simultaneously, and the corresponding effects on aircraft systems * Environmental factors: emperature, presence of liquids or metals, such as foil packaging and liquid detergents, can affect the ability of readers to work reliably * Resistance to Change from Barcode System