Six Sigma for Pizza

Hong Kong Baptist University Professional Diploma in Quality Management Six Sigma and Quality Tools Group Assignment Report of Six Sigma Project For Yum Yum Pizza Group Group Members: CHIU Chi Cheong, Ricky CHOI Kam Tong, Danny CHUNG King, Carmen FONG Luk Chi, Brian LEE Lai Fun, Fanny Wong Ming Chung, Victor DQM03I2-004 DQM03I3-004 DQM03I3-021 DQM03I3-008 DQM03I3-022 DQM03I3-018 Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 1 of 23 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Define Phase 3. Measure Phase 4. Analysis Phase 5. Improve Phase 6. Control Phase 7. Conclusion Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 2 of 23 Introduction Yum Yum Pizza group comprises of 10 pizza shops scattering in different areas in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Territory as shown on the map below. Staff in each shop are basically organized with order receptionist, baker and delivery worker. On top of these 10 pizza shops, the leadership and management works are responsible by a management team. The core business is to produce pizza of various styles and deliver to their customers according to address of the order by phone. Of course, there are also self-pick up pizza available to the customers. However, this is merely involved about 10% of the overall business. Pizza Group Shops Location P P P P P P P P P P P : Shop Location Starting from early 2003, there were occasional customer feedbacks and complaints which were mainly involved unpunctual delivery of pizza. Since 90% of the business required our pizza delivery, the management began to pay attention on these feedbacks. During the half year review in June 2003, it was discovered about 3% loss of customers and about 5% drop in pizza sales in the same period. We immediately communicated the finding with the Management. Subsequently, a project team was set up to investigate the causes and seek for improvement on the situation. After the first Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 3 of 23 project team meeting, it was agreed that the team would adopt Six Sigma strategy to determine the cause of the problem and implement the solution. Purpose of this report is to present the results of the pizza group’s problem-solving process and explain the solution adopted. As Six Sigma problem-solving includes statistical and measurement methods, by using the stools , we focused the efforts on understanding the variations in the business process and the defects that results: Customer satisfaction Revenue Quality Impact to employees Growth of business Competitive advantages. This report also presents a detailed explanation of steps on how we used the six sigma problem-solving strategy ( i. e define, measure analysis, improve and control ) to determine the cause of losing customer , decreasing of pizza sales and to establish method in rectifying the faulty steps in our operation process. Lastly, with implementation of the fine-tuned process, reoccurrence of the defects can be minimized in order to maintain and enhance a sound pizza business operation. Define Phase To the current practice, the time required for delivery of a pizza to customer was one hour on average. With concern on the customer complaints on unpunctual delivery, sales decreasing and number of customers was found reducing in the 6-months financial review in June 2003, undoubtedly, the pizza group had to take action to rectify the situation. At the beginning, we did not know what particular problem being existed in the business. A project team was therefore set up, by using six sigma strategy to tackle and rectify the problem. After the first project team meeting, a project team charter was formulated based on the management concern and displayed as below: Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 4 of 23 Project Team Charter – Delivery performance of pizza Business Case Opportunity Statement Current average delivery time is one hour for each We currently have an average delivery of pizza / pizzas to customer. Management delivery cycle of one hour. requires the pizza to be delivered within one hours as declared by same scales competitors in this trade of Our customers expect the business. pizza can be delivered Yum Yum Pizza group have been losing 3% of punctually within +/- 5 min. customers base per month within the past 6 months variation review, the sales have dropped in 5% (HKD135K per month) for the same period. By improving the accurate delivery time we anticipate loss of customer would be merely 1% drop and the sale would also be return to about 2% drop. With continuous implementation, the pizza sales would have 3% to 5% further increase monthly (i. e. $81K/month – $135K/month increase ) in the coming one or two years. Goal Statement -To deliver pizza from order to customer within one hour punctually – To achieve pizza delivery time within +/- 5 min. – Since this is the first six sigma project in Yum Yum Pizza Group, the current sigma process level is unknown which have to be identified and improved as the target of the project team. Activity Define Measure Analyze Improve Control Track Benefit Project Plan Start End 6/1 6/14 6/10 6/30 7/4 8/1 9/12 10/13 10/13 11/13 11/14 12/15 Project Scope Main objective – to review and improve order processing – Start – Order received from customers – End – Pizza in customer’s hand Team Selection Bob Black Belt Charles Group Manager Apple Order Receptionist Donald Baker Edward Deliveryman The project team charter submitted to management and was approved in mid May 2003. Right immediately, a brainstorming session conducted to review the business Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 5 of 23 rocess on a high level steps. SIPOC diagram was also established with identification on Supplier, Inputs, Process, Outputs Customers for showing the current situation of the business process and is now as below : Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 6 of 23 SIPOC Diagram – Pizza Delivery Company Supplier Inputs Process Outputs Customers Requirements †¢ Ingredients for Pizza †¢ Packaging material supplier †¢ †¢ Supplier for motorcycle †¢ Printing Company Process †¢ Ingredients †¢ Packaging materials †¢ Staff †¢ Motor cycles †¢ Order form See below †¢ †¢ Pizza Office customers Household customers Delicious †¢ Good taste †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Punctual delivery Step 1 Receive Order (by phone) Step 2 Production & Packaging Step 3 Motorcycle Delivery Step 4 Park & arrive delivery point Step 5 Hand in pizza to Customer & receive money Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 7 of 23 Besides, customer surveys was also conducted to collect the impression and feedback from customers. With these â€Å"Voice Of Customers† (VOC ), we firstly developed a list of key customer issues. On the further steps, we also formulated a list of critical customer requirement as listed on the table: Voice of Customer to Critical Customer Requirement ( VOC to CCR ) Critical Customer Requirement maintain pizza at temperature 40 degree C when passing to customer inform arrival time and price in advance Key Customer Issue pizza delivered to customer should be at reasonable temperature on time delivery packing arrangement concern on price Voice of Customer Cool pizza, tasted no good Late delivery Long deliver lead time Poor packaging outlook Poor packaging spoil pizza unexpected high price impolite delivery manner ragged deliver worker – – – keep arrival time variation less than 5 min. tandard pizza package standard greeting and manner delivery worker in uniform need polite manner when passing pizza to customer reasonable worker outlook – Measure Phase To investigate and realize further improvement for fulfilling the most important requirement from customers, it was anticipated operational definition would be essential to clearly point out the criteria to our operational performance. Based on the current operation process and the established operational definition, we conducted surveys and interviews with our customer and staff to collect data on how we performed currently. Below is the table showing our data measurement plan which was designed to collect the feedbacks and opinions. As indicated, the data were collected from various sources, that included the direct feedback from customer, and we anticipated the right moment to collect these data should be right after the telephone order from customers, which was the most simple and direct method to collect the first hand information.. Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 9 of 23 Data Measurement Plan Performance Measure Operational Definition Data Source and Location -measure the failure rate in maintaining pizza temperature not less than 40 degree -maintain pizza in standard cartoon Sample Size Who will collect the Data When will data be collected? How will data be selected? Other data that should be collected at the same time? -feedback from customer,-feedback from delivery worker, 15% of delivered pizza 1June to 30 June Randomly Pizza quality,, Bob, Black Belt -telephone ,survey / questionnaire ox with thermal indicator and ensure the temperature is not less than 40 degree C on the indicator -estimate delivery time and price of pizza, then inform customer on the arrival time right after telephone order -ride motorcycle for pizza delivery and arrive on time -packaging pizza with standard cartoon box -greeting to customer with wording -delivery worker must be wearing clean and tidy uniform standard C when passing to customer -measure the failure rate in informing arrival time an d price in advance to customer -measure the failure rate in keeping arrival time variation less than 5 min. measure the failure rate in packaging pizza in standard package -measure the failure rate of delivery worker greeting to customer by saying standard greeting and manner -measure the failure rate of delivery worker wearing uniform selected Weather situation, Traffic situation Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 10 of 23 Pizza Ordering Sequence ( By Phone ) Customer Order Receptionist Baker Deliver Order by phone standard greeting, listen customer's order details produce and bake pizza as ordered confirm order details and customer address lan delivery route confirm delivery time, payment package pizza in delivery box collect packaged pizza, or other food items plan for production schedule put pizza and other items into delivery box of motorcycle drive to customer address get to the door of the address, ring the bell and say standard greeting check acceptance an d pay confirm delivery of pizza and other food items receive payment and customer signature on receipt, say standard goodbye and leave business case completed Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 11 of 23 According to the established operation definition and sequence above, survey forms and questionnaires were formulated. It was also decided to perform the 500 surveys to customers randomly starting from 1 June. 2003, that involved about 15% of the pizza business during the moment. In addition to the questions devised from operation definitions, some general questions liked â€Å"Do you think choice of the pizzas is sufficient to you â€Å" and â€Å"Can you find your favorite taste among the existing available choice of pizzas â€Å" were also included in the questionnaires and survey questions to customers. Below is the table summarizing the survey results: Summary of operation defects as identified in June 2003 survey Satisfactory Defect item Operation description level Frequency not acceptable 1 maintain pizza not less than 40 degree C not acceptable 2 advise pizza arrival time not acceptable 3 variation of pizza arrival time within 5 min. cceptable 4 acceptable pizza package acceptable 5 delivery worker wearing uniform 6 acceptable greeting words fromdelivery worker acceptable 7 Do you think choice of the pizzas is sufficient to yougood Can you find your favor us taste among the existing 8 available choice of pizzas very good good 9 waiting time during telephone order for pizza 10 clear telephone communication with order receptionivery good 11 overall impression during making telephone order good %in Overall Defect 21 21. 88 18 18. 75 45 46. 88 6 6. 25 3 3. 13 3 3. 13 N. A. N. A. N. A. N. A. N. A. ( Satisfactory Level : very good; good; acceptable; not acceptable; poor ) Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 12 of 23 Before tackling the results, we also formulated the data in Pareto Chart and calculated the process sigma for more understanding on the business situation of the pizza group. Operation Defect Rates in Pareto Chart O cc u ran n a ce F req u e n cy 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 P a re to C h a rt – O p e ra tio n D e fe c t a s id e n tifie d in J u n e 2 0 0 3 % in O v e ra ll D e fe c t 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% s a y i n g st a n d a r d g r e e ti n g k e e p a rri v al ti m e v a riati o n i n f o r m a rri v a l ti m e a n d sta n d ard p a c k a g e aintain te m p erature p a c kin g piz z a in w it h p o lit e m a n n e r p ric e in a d v a n c e w e arin g u nif o r m at 4 0 d e g re e C Calculated Sigma Value of the overall process ( as in June 2003 ) less th a n 5 m in. O p e r a tio nD e fe c ts 1 2 3 4 5 6 O v e ra ll Y e ild = 21 18 45 6 3 3 = U n its 500 500 500 500 500 500 DPU 0 . 0 4 2 0 . 0 3 6 0 . 0 9 0 . 0 1 2 0 . 0 0 6 0 . 0 0 6 T h r o u g h tp u C u m . Y ie ld t Y ie ld 0 . 9 5 9 0 . 9 5 9 0 . 9 6 5 0 . 9 2 5 0 . 9 1 4 0 . 8 4 5 0 . 9 8 8 0 . 8 3 5 0 . 9 9 4 0 . 8 3 0 0 . 9 9 4 0 . 8 2 5 ( Y (1 ) x Y (2 ) x Y (3 ) x Y (4 ) x Y (5 ) x Y (6 ) 0 . 8 2 5 a ro u n d 0 . 0 6 sig m a ) Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 13 of 23 Analysis Phase In analysis phase, we had studied why all the pizza delivery to customer could not be achieved steadily within one hour. The failure rates is the highest of 46. 88% among all defects identified and it happened 45 times during the survey period with sample size of 500 survey. With further investigation on the finding, we found the traffic condition, weather condition, and the familiarity of the delivery worker to the customer address would highly affected the overall delivery time and therefore giving an â€Å" Not Punctual Impression† to customer. In addition, such delay would also caused the pizza temperature dropped below the designed 40 degree C. As the result, the number of customer decreased and pizza sales dropped. Below was the Cause-and-Effect diagram utilized for analyzing causes leading to delayed delivery. Cause-and-effect Diagram – Pizza Delivery People poor communication Machines Telephone Traffic Condition Traffic Jam Pizza Oven deliver not familar with customer's address Road excavation Motorcycle Operation process Not Punctual Pizza Delivery Typhoon kill of baking by Pizza Oven Driving Skill on Motorcycle Raining delivery box on motorcycle Cartoon box for packing pizza Methods Weather Materials For the pizza temperature, we investigated the delivery box on motorcycles and cartoon boxes currently used in packaging pizzas for delivery. No major problem was found in keeping pizza exist oven temperature. Actually, the material for keeping warm, that included delivery boxes on motorcycles and cartoon boxes, all these equipment and facilities were at an acceptable quality standard and in a sound condition. Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 14 of 23 Cause-and-effect Diagram – Pizza Temperature People poor communication Machines Telephone Pizza Oven deliver not familar with customer's address Motorcycle kill of baking by Pizza Oven driving skill of Motorcycle delivery box on motorcycle Cartoon box for packing pizza Pizza Temperature below 40 degree C Methods Materials Analysis on other issues were also conducted, which mainly carried out with reference on the operation process, starting from customer order to the payment received from customer. Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 15 of 23 In addition to the analysis on the collected data, FMEA was also a tool to study on recommended improvement action. The project team had also formulated a FMEA table below for showing the analyzed risk priority and recommended action. Ite m a n d F u n c tio n p la n d e liv e ry ro u te P o te n ia l F a ilu re M ode p la n b a s e d w ro n g o r o n w ro n g d e la y in fo r m a tio n d e liv e ry P o te n ia l E ffe c t(s ) of F a ilu re F M E A P ro c e ss P o te n tia l C a u se(s) o f F a ilu re A c tio n re s u lts C u rre n t C o n tro ls R e c o m m e n d e d R e s p o n s ib ility A c tio a n d T a rg e t A c tio n n c o m p le tio n D a te Severity e Occurrenc Detection RPN Severity e Detection Occurrenc RPN T aken o lle c t a n d p u t p iz z a in d e liv e ry box of m o to rc y c le d riv e to th e c u s to m e r ad d ress g e t to th e ad d ress an d rin g d o o r b e ll p iz z a d ro p p e d d u rin g c o lle c tio n need re p la c e m e n t, lo s e o f p iz z a 7 w ro n g in fo rm a tio n fro m o rd e r re c e p tio n is t o r w ro n g p la n n in g o f 9 c a re le s s o f d e liv e r 2 p la n b a s e d 5 on m ap and e x p e rie n c e 3 1 ta k e c a re in p u ttin g th e p iz z a 7 0 a s th e re a re to ta lly 1 0 s h o p s , s u g g e s t to s e rv e th e c u s to m e rs based on s p e c ific a re a o f 2 7 ta k e c a re in d e liv e ry o n tin u . b y o rd e r re c e ip tio n is ts , N ov. 03 e ffe c tiv e b y d e liv e ry w o rk e rs, N o v . 0 3 e ffe c tiv e b y d e liv e ry w o rk e rs, N o v . 0 3 e ffe c tiv e b y d e liv e ry w o rk e rs, N o v . 0 3 e ffe c tiv e b y d e liv e ry w o rk e rs, N o v . 0 3 e ffe c tiv e c o n tin u . 4 2 3 24 9 1 3 27 f a ilu re o f d e la y in m o to rc y c le , d e liv e ry tra ffic ja m d e la y d e liv e ry d e liv e r n o t f a m ilia r w ith th e p la c e o f a d d re ss c o n f irm d ro p th e d e liv e ry p iz z a w h ile a n d re c e iv e p a s s in g to paym ent c u s to m e r u n p re d ic te d tra ffic o r w e a th e r s itu a tio n 6 n o t fa m ilia r w ith th e a r e a o f c u s to m e r ad d ress 8 c a re le s s o f b o th c u s to m e r a n d d e liv e r 4 n o s p e c ific c o n tro l 6 1 6 8 lis te n to ro a d re p o rt fro m ra d io 1 0 8 a rra n g e e x p e rie n c e d e liv e r fo r s e rv in g th e a re a 3 2 b e c a re fu ll in h a n d lin g p iz z a c o n tin u . 4 3 4 48 3 n e e d m o re 6 c o n tin u . 2 2 4 16 need re p la c e m e n t, lo s e o f p iz z a tim e to p re p a re d e liv e ry p la n 1 b e c a re fu ll in h a n d lin g p iz z a c o n tin u . 8 1 4 32 T o ta l R is k P rio rity N u m b e r R e s u ltin g R is k P rio rity N u m b e r Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 16 of 23 After analyzing the survey data and cause of operation defects, we had also analysed the relationship of the customer requirement against our group available technical and internal resources , that included analysis on communication tools, listening skill, baking skill, packaging devices, delivery equipment and even the manner of delivery workers etc. The purpose was to had a thorough understanding on the internal strength and weakness of Yum Yum Pizza Group. Below was the quality function deployment matrix utilized for the analysis. As indicated on the diagram, the highest score of 27 was found on â€Å" Keep arrival time variation less than 5 minutes â€Å". That meant it should be the first issue to be resolved for improving the pizza business Quality Function deployment Matrix VS : Very strong relationship w w Thermal sensing tape w w Good knowledge of road condition and driving skill S : Strong relationship W : Weak relationship VS Well equipped pizza bakery Communication tools Manner training Cartoon pizza box Good baking skill Technical requirement Good conditioned motorcycle Accurate watch Tidy uniform CCR Pizza at temperature 40 degree to customer Inform arrival time & price in advance Keep arrival time variation less than 5 minutes Standard pizza package Standard greeting and polite manner Proper dressed delivery worker Low pizza price Delicious Score 24 18 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 3 3 27 10 9 9 9 9 1 9 1 1 1 3 1 1 9 1 9 5 22 Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 18 of 23 Improve Phase Based on the analyzed information, the project team understood that the methodology, facilities and including the operation behavior of staff are at acceptable level. The most serious and uncontrollable factor is the traffic or road condition and weather situation, which was mostly serious item affecting the arrival time of pizza to customer. To minimize this factor, the Project Team recommended the entire services areas of the Pizza Group to be separated into 10 services zones. And each shop would response to serve the pizza customers’ within the defined zone. Should there was any order outside the their responsible zone, the order receptionist had to refer the orders to the responsible shop to produce and deliver the pizza by their own resources. However, whenever there was any order outside all the 10 service zone as shown on the map of responsible zone, the receptionist had to estimate the delivery time and immediately explain to the customer for the estimated time required. Even the delivery time would exceed the pre-designed one hour delivery period, with this clarification the customer would understand the situation without wrong expectation on the pizza delivery. As such, complaint on unpunctual pizza delivery should be kept to the minimal. Below were the modified operation process chart with the changes marked in brown and the map showing the responsible service zones of the 10 pizza shop for reference. Responsible Zones of Pizza Shops P Hou se Hou se P P Hou se P Hou se P Hou se P Hou se P Hou se P Hou se P Hou se P Hou se P Responsible Service Zone Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 19 of 23 Pizza Ordering Sequence, after process restructuring ( By Phone ) Customer Order Receptionist Order Receptionist of responsible area Baker Deliver Order by phone standard greeting, listen customer's order details confirm order details and customer address confirm delivery time, payment Plan for production schedule produce and bake pizza as ordered plan delivery route pack pizza in delivery box collect packed pizza, or other food items Review for production area put pizza and other items into delivery box of motorcycle continue pizza production locally drive to customer address get to the door of the address, ring the bell and say standard greeting check acceptance and pay confirm delivery of pizza and other food items receive payment and customer signature on receipt, say standard goodbye and leave business case completed Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 20 of 23 Control Phase For monitoring operation performance, control chart was utilized to collect operation data. The chart could distinguish the process variation resulting from common causes or special causes. It was aware that variation in the pizza operation was unavoidable. Number of factors including material, machines, methods, environment and operators were the major elements causing variation. For easily reflecting and controlling the overall performance of the pizza delivery, X-bar & R chart was selected for the monitoring and controlling purpose. Measures Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 No. ( min. ) ( min. ) ( min. ) ( min. ) ( min. ) ( min. ) ( min. ) ( min. ) ( min. ) ( min. 1 56 57 58 55 55 60 54 58 54 59 2 59 49 53 52 59 57 52 57 58 56 3 58 57 54 52 49 55 52 54 55 53 4 50 52 49 54 53 68 63 51 56 59 5 52 53 52 52 49 56 52 53 47 52 6 52 54 53 54 59 64 63 53 56 53 7 58 57 48 57 59 57 64 59 51 53 8 56 54 57 59 52 52 55 54 52 59 9 57 51 63 51 51 59 51 59 51 53 10 53 50 50 57 63 53 54 56 54 59 11 49 56 52 53 64 62 48 54 48 54 12 59 49 59 53 56 57 52 58 52 57 13 59 57 62 59 64 52 70 52 53 52 14 52 52 55 54 52 59 54 53 54 53 15 51 59 51 49 51 53 57 57 57 58 16 55 53 54 55 54 60 47 55 54 57 17 57 54 49 56 52 53 47 52 59 57 18 52 49 59 49 49 53 56 53 52 52 19 53 52 59 57 49 59 51 54 53 59 20 54 53 52 52 55 54 52 57 55 53 21 57 57 51 59 51 70 51 52 60 56 22 64 52 64 53 54 69 54 53 53 52 23 65 53 62 54 49 56 52 53 62 53 24 63 54 52 49 59 69 59 53 56 49 25 59 53 50 54 53 54 53 55 57 55 Average Range == X == R __ UCL X __ LCL X 56 16 53. 48 10 54. 72 16 53. 96 10 54. 44 15 58. 44 18 54. 52 23 54. 6 8 54. 36 15 54. 92 10 = 54. 944 ( min. ) = = = 14. 1 ( min. ) 57. 1013 ( min. ) 52. 7867 ( min. ) __ UCLR __ LCLR = = 21. 7281 6. 4719 Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 21 of 23 Average 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 1 2 3 4 5 Day 6 7 Performance Requirement Min. __ UCLX __ X __ LCLX 8 9 10 Range 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Day 6 7 8 __ R UCL __ R Min. __ LCLR 9 10 Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 22 of 23 The above data was collected within 10 operation days from mid Oct. o mid Nov. It was obvious that the operation on a heavy rainy, day 6 was the worst. There were totally 4 deliveries required more than 65 minutes to complete, which exceeded the operation definition. This was still out of our control. With comparison with the performance before the project improvement, it was found that the defect rate was great ly improved as summarized below : Summary of Operation Defects Comparsion between June 2003 / Dec. 2003 June 2003 Dec. 2003 Frequenc % in Overall Frequenc % in Overall y Defect y Defect 21 21. 88 7 20. 59 18 18. 75 5 14. 71 45 46. 88 10 29. 41 6 6. 25 6 17. 65 3 3. 13 3 8. 82 3 3. 13 3 8. 82 item 1 2 3 4 5 6 Operation description maintain pizza not less than 40 degree C advise pizza arrival time variation of pizza arrival time within 5 min. acceptable pizza package delivery worker wearing uniform acceptable greeting words from delivery worker Conclusion Even though it was not 100% rectified all the operation defects, with the great improvement on the pizza delivery, the defect rate on pizza temperature was also improved. The sigma value on the overall pizza delivery of the group was greatly improved to 1. 5 sigma and the pizza sales as reviewed in end Dec. 2003, 5% increased was identified in comparing with the sales figure six months before. Sigma level after implement of new operation process: OperationDefects Units DPU Throughtpu Cum. Yield t Yield 1 7 500 0. 014 0. 986 0. 986 2 5 500 0. 01 0. 990 0. 976 3 10 500 0. 02 0. 980 0. 957 4 6 500 0. 012 0. 988 0. 946 5 3 500 0. 006 0. 994 0. 940 6 3 500 0. 006 0. 994 0. 934 Overall Yeild = = Y(1) x Y(2) x Y(3) x Y(4) x Y(5) x Y(6) 0. 934 ( around 1. 502 sigma ) It was concluded, implementation of the improved operation process was essential to the business. With the continuation implementation of the improved process and current good taste of pizza with variety choice to customer, the pizza sales was expected gradually increased with number of customer increased as well. Report of SiX Sigma Project, Yum Yum Pizza Group Page 23 of 23

“Krista” by Pablo Baen Santos Critique Essay

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John D. Rockefeller, critical analysis. Did he make America better. NON-Biographical - Research Paper Example Whether his intention in giving back to the country that made him super wealthy was altruistic is debatable and shall be debatable. Saint or capitalist sinner, John D. Rockefeller undoubtedly changed the face of business in America as well as its attitude toward education. John D. Rockefeller, the storied industrial mogul and philanthropist â€Å"...appeared to the general public either as a demon of avarice and extortion...or as a high-minded philanthropist, bestowing his bounty with charitable devotion to good works† (Latham, Introduction v). It is undeniable, however, that perhaps one of the most important contributions by Rockefeller was in the area of education. Generally today we think of the State University of New York (SUNY) system as one of the finest in the country and we credit Rockefeller for its original and ongoing funding. Yet one wonders based on evidence presented whether his motives were as pure as most would like to think. Gatto’s quote of Benjamin Kidd, the British evolutionist, provides a chilling analysis of these intentions as a way for him and the â€Å"Education Trust† of the early twentieth century to â€Å"impose on the young the idea of subordination† (Chapter 2:2) – a subordination that would ultimately further the goals of capitalist endeavors by creating a malleable workforce. Rockefeller himself in the 1906 Occasional Letter Number One is quoted by Gatto: â€Å"...In our dreams...people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands† (Chapter 2: 2) Rockefeller goes on to admit his intention [and the intention of capitalist support of mass education] is not to educate great thinkers but to â€Å"organize children...and teach them to do in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way† (Gatto, Chapter 2:2). Intentions aside, and Rockefeller’s view of what he was actually promoting

Book and You Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Book and You - Essay Example With the vast information one can get through the internet, the sources are often questionable that readers cannot always be sure if they have the right information from authorities or if they only have a biased information from a supporter or a critic of a certain subject matter. Concerning health, reading the printed material has no side-effects as compared to reading a software with the use of a computer that is known to cause certain cancers through the radiation emitted by the machine. These are just among the many importance of reading books in a computer age. The books that have caught my interest are mostly novels. I used to read them for entertainment purposes but as I discovered the rich information contained in literary works, I became more observant about the places and people described in the stories I read. I often feel transported to another world where I seem to become a spectator of the events in the story that makes me see through a different angle of vision which is the author’s viewpoint. I came to understand other people and cultures as I read through the pages of the more informed authors. As a child, I have read story books with colorful illustrations. This started my interest in reading and as I grew older, I turned to more serious books like novels that help me become more critical of my environment. Sometimes, I borrowed books from my friends who often recommend good books to me and at other times, I trade some of my collections with their own. I bought some books that I really loved because whenever I have the time, I read them again. Some were also given to me as gifts. One of my favorite authors is Dan Brown and I like his novel â€Å"Angels and Demons† a lot. It is a story of a symbologist who solves a divisive plan of the murders of Catholic Church leaders using the Illuminati, a famous secret society, as a faà §ade in the execution of the plan. The novel seems to have been

Interview & Research Paper Christianity Assignment

Interview & Research Paper Christianity - Assignment Example The church is the Body of Christ that consists of Baptized whereas the local church is the place where a group of believers assemble each week for, worship, praise, fellowship and Christian Education. In general, by choosing to worship something or someone, it means that one has given himself completely and wants to be mastered by the said person or thing. Some people tend to think that one worships only in songs and prayers, but the truth is; worship is meant to be a lifestyle. As the pastor mentioned; worship is practiced both publicly and privately (Gordon). Public worship occurs each week, on Sunday’s and private worship occurs daily in our homes or other designated places. Everything that a Christian does should be a form of worship to his Creator, worship is at the very core of Christianity and all are called to worship God in spirit and in truth (â€Å"The Purpose of our Worship of God†). The Bible, which is the Christians holy book, instructs people to worship G od. In psalms 100, it states â€Å"Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations (Daniel). This verse in the Bible explains how one ought to praise God which is a fundamental part of worship; it shows submission and thanks giving to God. Through worship, a Christian acknowledges that God is the master and the Supreme Being and that he is willing to follow his commands and teachings. Christian worship came about as a result of Jewish worship, Jesus was a Jew and when He went to the synagogue together with His followers, they would sing and praise during the Jewish festivals. As a Christian, I belie ve that worship is important, the Bible has emphasized on this and therefore all Christians are obligated to be worshippers (White 2). The main message in Christianity is love; Christians are asked to love their neighbours as they love themselves. God is love and love is the greatest thing that you can offer another person, when a Christian worship’s God; he is professing his love to Him. Christians are taught that one cannot claim to love God yet he does not love the people around him. My interviewee pointed out that he believes God the Father, sent Jesus into the world to pay our sin-debt by dying on the cross and that man is saved because he believes and accepts him as his personal Saviour (Segler and Bradley 49. When one embraces the lifestyle of worship, it means that love is solidly embedded in all that he does, even to his enemies. The bible states that one has to be a worshipper, true worshipper to be precise. This means people who embrace worship in everything they d o not just when it is convenient or on Sundays. Failure to worship means that one does not acknowledge God in all he does and that he is not following the teachings of the holy book. Therefore one cannot claim to be a true Christian if he does not worship God and as a result he misses out on the blessings that are supposed to come his way and the gift of eternal life; which is life after death. A life free of pain, suffering and hardship as characterized by life in the world as we know it. But a person who worships as is required of him receives

Drug Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Drug Debate - Essay Example The divide came into sharpest focus in 1997 when Australian Federal Government decided to withdraw government support to methadone treatment in Australia as an antidote to heroin addiction (Bush and Neutze 2000). Prevailing moral attitudes towards drug use Moral positions vary widely from individual to individual. Those who have had no direct interactions with drug users and have no clear idea about the menace have developed some sort fear and abhorrence about it and hence consider drug abuse as something which is grossly immoral. As a corollary of this attitude, all drug addicts in their eyes are people devoid of either ethics or morality and all those who help these drug addicts in having their daily dose are equally immoral and corrupt. But those who have been in close contact with drug addicts have a much more sympathetic attitude about the issue of heroin maintenance (Dingelstad, et al. 1996). There are basically four different moral viewpoints about this issue: The first group believes that it should be permitted as long it does not inflict any harm on others. The second group believes that this is the only possible means to keep drug addicts alive and gradually improve their health and would in some distant future also help them to get rid of this habit completely. o The third group believes that this method would not help the drug addicts at all and therefore disapprove heroin maintenance claiming that there definitely should be some other option for improving the health of drug addicts and helping to get rid of the habit. o The fourth group believes that this is nothing but an excuse to continue with drug addiction and is therefore strongly opposed to it (Alcorn and Brady 1999). Thus, it seems the possibility of a rapprochement between these widely differing positions is rather remote. But all hope need not be lost as groups holding different attitudes can be questioned regarding the basis of their stands and we can reach a broad area of compromise. The first group, we may term them libertarians, might be questioned that though each individual should have freedom of choice but prolonged use of amphetamine might lead to sudden acts of intense aggression which could surely harm others. Thus, there should not be any blanket freedom in use of drugs. The fourth group consists of those that are strictly against use of any drugs. They are probably confused between use and abuse, since all drugs are used by medical practitioners in restricted doses to cure one ailment or the other. This brings us to the question how much use can be construed as abuse and this genuinely opens up the entire issue. The second and the third groups occupy a middle position as both these groups accept administration of drugs at permissible levels can be allowed provided it helps the drug users to finally overcome the habit and if that is the only way out. It is extremely necessary to bring the two extreme opinions closer to each other as public policy towards drug use must have the support of the majority for it to be a success. The middle ground should ideally be that drug use par se cannot be construed as immoral but if such use harms an individual or adversely affects community welfare, then such is to be restricted, if necessary by terming it as a criminal act (Martin 1999 ). This debate is further marked by what may be termed as

Mcdonalds Organizational Analysis Research Paper

Mcdonalds Organizational Analysis - Research Paper Example McDonald Company was created in 1937by Richard and Maurice McDonald, at a tiny drive-in restaurant east of Pasadena, California (Tassiopoulos, 2008). It’s a multinational company with head offices in 52 countries. Its first franchise was in 1954 by a man known as Roy Kroc, who was given an exclusive deal to franchise McDonald in America. There are over 11,000 restaurants in over 60 countries serving 22million customers. McDonald Company has expanded that it is not only a hamburger company, but it has also become a real estate company (Tassiopoulos, 2008). Since 1954 McDonald has gained 22427 franchised units.McDonalds expansion outside the United States began in 1967, and â€Å"by the early 1990’s, it had 3,600 operations in 58 countries†. The company began with French fries, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and soft drinks. Over the years, the company has also introduced other products, with some being successful in the market and others lacking customer approval. Amo ng the successful products are the Fish sandwich, ready to eat salads, Chicken McNuggets, McFlurry desserts, and McMuffin, while those that lacked approval include the pasta, pizza, fajitas, fried chicken, McLean Deluxe sandwich, and the Deluxe and Arch Deluxe burgers (Julian, 2006).Technology has always been at the focal point of the McDonald’s company making it top among competitors, and giving it the ability to always provide quality products. The company has also been very aggressive in engaging in promotional activities.... Over the years, the company has also introduced other products, with some being successful in the market and others lacking customer approval. Among the successful products are the Fish sandwich, ready to eat salads, Chicken McNuggets, McFlurry desserts, and McMuffin, while those that lacked approval include the pasta, pizza, fajitas, fried chicken, McLean Deluxe sandwich, and the Deluxe and Arch Deluxe burgers (Julian, 2006). Technology has always been at the focal point of the McDonald’s company making it top among competitors, and giving it the ability to always provide quality products. The company has also been very aggressive in engaging in promotional activities aimed at marketing the products and expanding the market share(Julian, 2006). The company has maintained good values since its establishment, especially in protecting the environment. Julian points out that â€Å"one notable effort: wrapping hamburgers in paper instead of plastic resulted in a 90 percent decrea se in waste† (2006, p. 645). The diversity in the workforce of McDonald’s has been a great base to gaining and maintaining a huge and diverse customer base. People with disabilities, as well as those of all races and ethnicities are represented in the company. Equal representation of both genders has also been key in the company through a plan that it launched centuries ago known as the diversity strategy. Career development workshops mainly focusing on women, and diversity training has always been offered ever since the introduction of the strategy. According to Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor, â€Å"McDonald’s encourages the hiring and training of employees with diverse ethnic backgrounds. Hiring a diverse mix of employees helps

Hybrid cars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Hybrid cars - Essay Example The design type of a hybrid car can either be parallel or series. In terms of classification, hybrid cars can be classified into full, mild, and plug-in hybrids. In people’s lives, hybrid cars mean fuel efficiency, reduced global warming as a result of reduced pollution, more power, reliable transportation and a lot more. They have advantages and disadvantages as discussed in this paper. In terms of whether they can replace other cars, hybrid cars can certainly replace other cars, especially due to the fact that the better ones are yet to be invented. Hybrid cars are cars that can use more than one power source. According to Hantula and Voege, â€Å"a hybrid car gets power from both a gasoline engine and an electric motor† (2010, p. 10). Callery explains that â€Å"hybrid cars use electricity to start up and power their engines, switching to gasoline at higher speeds when that fuel is more efficient† (2009, p. 5). It is possible for the gasoline engine and electric motor to work together, but this happens differently for each. Other times in some hybrid cars, only one of them works. When not needed, the engine of a hybrid car is set to shut off. This usually happens in stop-and-go traffic and where there are red lights. In fact this is among the reasons why hybrid cars are termed economical in terms of the amount of gasoline they use, which is far less compared to what traditional cars consume. The other reason is the fact that the gasoline engine of a hybrid car is smaller, since the electric motor also plays a par t in moving the car. Today’s hybrid cars are more advanced, hence do not require plugging in to power in order to recharge them. The large batteries installed in modern hybrid cars get charged as the moves. Hantula and Voege point out that, â€Å"the car may have a generator to make electricity† (2010, p. 11). The gasoline engine powers the generator. At times in some hybrid cars, the electric motor works as a generator. This paper discusses the

Comparison between Country Lovers and The Proposal Essay

Comparison between Country Lovers and The Proposal - Essay Example Then we will analyze the similarities and differences between a short story and play. Whether a literary piece is a short story or play, as long as they are categorized in the same theme there will always be similarities, with that being said regardless of similarities when comparing two literary works differences can always be found as well. The short story, Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer, is story about two children from different ethnicities who formed a relationship that later turned sexual. This story takes place on a South African farm, where ethnicity had a major influence on how people were classified. Being a person with white skin, one automatically had superiority over a person with black skin. The boy, Paulus Eysendyck, was fond of Thebedi, the daughter of the help. For years, Paulus went back and forth to school and every time he was home, he engaged in secret activities with Thebedi. As they grew older, their relationship turned sexual and eventually a child was crea ted. Paulus was unaware of the child until after birth. Thebedi had married Njabulo, even though Njabulo knew that the child was not his. When Paulus returned for the holidays from veterinary school, he was surprised to hear Thebedi had a child and rushed to her home to see the child. The next day he returned and poisoned the child. Paulus was charged with murder and a trial began. Thebedi appeared at the court date with a new child in hand by her husband Njabulo, only to find out that he was a free man. The evidence was circumstantial to the courts and another white man gets away with murder. The objective of this story was to express the issues racial relationships faced in the South Africa from 1949-1994 (Driver, 1994). The Proposal by Anton Chekhov is a play that displayed how one word or sentence can send an ordinary conversation down a path of no return. The play is a one act comic farce set during Chekhov’s Russia, a time when marriage was seen as a way of gaining econ omic wealth for a majority of the people. In this play, the marriage concept is satirized to show the real purpose of marriage, which is for materialistic gain as opposed to true love. Ivan VassilevitchLomov was the neighbor of Stephan StepanovitchChubukov, and his daughter Natalya Stephanovna. Ivan came to Stephan’s home one day to ask for Natalya’s hand in marriage. Stephan was overjoyed and agreed to the marriage. Stephan went and got Natalya so Ivan and her can talk. Before Ivan could ask the question they began to argue about a small area of land and who it belonged to. That went on for a little while, until Ivan left. Once Stephan found out Ivan left, he told Natalya why Ivan came. Natalya begged her father to return Ivan. Once he returned the father brought up marriage, Ivan and Natalya agreed and then they kissed. The content of both stories is similar but different. They both involve a male and female engaged in some sort of relationship. In the Country Lovers , the two grew up together and gradually built a relationship. Whereas in The Proposal, Ivan and Natalya were long time neighbors and Ivan felt he was getting old so he asked a woman who he knew for a long time hand in marriage. Paulus and Thebedi’s relationship was forbidden because of race, but Ivan and Natalya’

Choicepoint and Sony, an Ethical Analysis Essay Example for Free

Choicepoint and Sony, an Ethical Analysis Essay Ethics refers to what comes off as right or wrong to an individual’s conscience .The internet age has brought about new ethical issues, not only for an individual but for the society as well as it has eased anonymous manipulation and distribution of information, creating new and easier paths for committing crimes like piracy, identity theft, infringement of an individual’s privacy etc. In this paper we will be analyzing the Choice-point case and the ‘Sony data breach ‘case from an ethical point of view. (Laudon Laudon, 2010, p.128) Background: The ChoicePoint Data breach: On September 27 of 2004, ChoicePoint,a company that aggregates and stores personal information, suspected that some of its small business customers were involved in suspicious activities and informed the police. (Paine, Phillips, 2008)On February of 2005, ChoicePoint only notified those residents of California whose data had been leaked to the illegal customers, since a certain law in California requires it. A protest from the public, however, forced the company to notify the details of the breach to the other involved parties residing in the other states. The swindlers who scammed ChoicePoint had created over 50 accounts with previously stolen identities over the course of a year or even longer. (Pantesco, 2006) Look more:  the issues concerning identity theft essay Changes in business practices (Otto, Anton Baumer, 2007): ChoicePoint made numerous changes after the 2004-2005 data breach. The company closed the 50 fake accounts and made a policy to refuse any faxed business licenses in the future .The Company formed a new policy, that all nongovernmental organizations need to be re-credentialed in order to do business with it, and increased its procedures in verifying the identity of the company. More stringent and better business policies in ensuring the safety of their customer’s data, for e.g. partial masking of social security numbers were employed. The company continued its investigations of its databases for further indications of foul play and brought in outsiders to assess and rectify their practices. The Sony Data Breach: The Sony data breach was a result of an intrusion from an outsider party, causing an outage in the PlayStation Network and Qriocity’s services between 17th April 2011 and 19th April, 2011.A confirmation from Sony revealed that pieces of personal information had been stolen from each and every 77 million accounts. This breach resulted in Sony shutting off the PlayStation Network for 23 days. (Hirai, 2011) Sony stated that the chairman of the company had submitted explanations wanted by United States House subcommittee regarding the attack and that they were taking some measures to prevent further breaches. When questioned about the delay in making the breach public, Sony explained that they’d sought help from outside officials to conduct an investigation in order to comprehend the nature and magnitude of the incident; and hence forensic analysis and investigation had caused the delay since they wanted to have all the necessary details before making the breach public. On May 14, 2011, Sony released a security patch called PlayStation 3 firmware version 3.61 requiring users to change their password upon signing into their account in the PlayStation Network. (Seybold, 2011) Compensation: In compensation for this outage, Sony announced hosting of special events for their users. Sony wanted to appreciate the loyalty of the customers who stuck to using Play Station network and didn’t look for other alternatives. Hence Sony announced an extension of free 30 days of its various services for its existing users. Also, few of their games in the PlayStation network were made free, though these games are available only in some regions or countries. In addition to that Sony also offered one year’s worth of â€Å"free identity theft protection’ to all of its customers. (Wesley, 2011) Ethical Analysis According to Culnan and Williams (2009, p.679),the two aspects of morality that are principal to the relationship between information aggregators and information providers are vulnerability and avoiding harm. Aspect of Vulnerability Analysis: Since the customer gives away his data in exchange for something in return, he loses control on how that information would be used in the future.(Culnan Williams, 2009, p. 681) The firm that is aggregating the data has the duty to exercise caution in protecting the consumer’s vulnerability, not only for the sake of the customer but also to build its own reputation. However, in the cases of both ChoicePoint and Sony breach, the consumers were vulnerable. Individuals whose data ChoicePoint and Sony stored lacked knowledge about the risks posed by Choice Point’s credentialing procedures or the way personal information was stored by Sony. Aspect of â€Å"Do No Harm† Analysis: Most ethicists are of the opinion that data aggregators have the minimum duty of doing no harm whenever there is an issue concerning information privacy rights (DeGeorge 2006; Goodpaster 1987; Marcoux 2003; Valesquez 2003 as cited in Culnan Williams, 2009), even more so when their treatment of the consumer’s sensitive personal information makes the consumers unnecessarily vulnerable. (Culnan Williams, 2009, p. 682) In both the cases of ChoicePoint and Sony Data breach however, the ‘DO NO Harm’ principle was violated and moral responsibility was clearly absent in the behavior of the officials of these firms. (Culnan Williams, 2009, p. 682)ChoicePoint’s questionable intentions in delaying the notification of the breach to the public and the fact that ChoicePoint only bothered to search records that were leaked within 15 months to the date of the search ,until pressurized, were criticized heavily.( Evers, 2005)Further investigations revealed that ChoicePoint had been subjected to a similar scam in 2002.( Paine, Phillips, 2008) The fact that ChoicePoint could be duped so easily within two years proved that ChoicePoint hadn’t done anything to improve its practices since the last breach. Similarly, Sony also had a delay in notifying the users of PlayStation network about the breach. The public disputed Sony’s reason for its delay by speculating that, if Sony judged the situation to be so grave that it felt the need to shut down its PlayStation network, then they should have warned the public without any delay as well. Moreover, Sony failed to give any concrete reports regarding the breach and merely stated that they cannot rule out the possibility of a ‘username or password ‘leak. One more thing to be noted is that the fiends could have possibly gotten information like email addresses and first names of the customers who had consented to receiving information about new deals or products from Sony or its partners.Now, there is a pretty good chance that the fiends might send emails in the format of a Sony webpage template and extract valuable information from those customers. Hence this breach indirectly paved the way for more unintentional breaches in the future. (Eddy, 2011) According to, (Laudon Laudon, 2010,p.135),the basic Concepts of ethics are as follows: Responsibility: where the individual or the organization should accept the duties, costs and obligations for the decisions that it made. Accountability: where the organization should be aware of what decision is taken by whom. If it is impossible to find out who was responsible for what action then that organization is basically incapable of ethical analysis. Liability: this basically extends the concept of responsibility to legal actions where the affected individuals should be able to get compensation for their damages. Analysis : In my opinion, both ChoicePoint and Sony showed half-hearted ethics on these incidents as a whole. While Choicepoint did inform officials about the breach as soon as it found out, yet it only felt necessary to inform the public because of the California law. The people in the other states were notified because of public outcry. Also limiting the search results for leaked records to only 15 months prior to the date of the search just because it was necessary by the law was another mistake on ChoicePoint’s part. Thus ChoicePoint violated the ethical concepts of responsibility and accountability yet they seemed to have understood their mistake when they were making changes in their policies and practices after the 2004-2005 breach, and were willing to take corrective actions. But it is debatable whether ChoicePoint’s corrective measures were taken to save its own business or whether it genuinely cared for the affected individuals. Similarly, though Sony did do necessary investigations, it failed to concretely identify which parties had been affected or what kind of information have been stolen. Similar to ChoicePoint, there was a delay in notifying the public regarding the breach. Hence, there is a dearth of responsibility and accountability from Sony’s side as well .The compensations given can similarly be argued to be a ploy for keeping itself in the market. While, ChoicePoint and Sony offered free credit monitoring and free identity theft protection respectively for one year, they disregarded the possibility that the thieves might lie low and take advantage of the stolen information after the passage of a year. Hence these companies showed half-heartedness in being ethically liable as well.

Immigration Paper Essay Example for Free

Immigration Paper Essay From the 1840s to the 1880s and again from the 1890s to the 1920s, immigrants poured into the United States for many different reasons. Immigrants were faced with challenges such as saving and spending money, blending with others and the Potato Famine in Ireland. Immigrants were treated differently on their appearances, the way they speak and customs they had. The potato famine in Ireland drove the Irish from their homeland to America. Some immigrants, English was a primary language, for others learning a new language would be difficult. Immigrants moved to America came to become successful people. In the mid 1800s, people wanted to find the best deals that they could, without spending all of their money. Document 1, the advertisement for cheap land illustrates one of the reasons why immigrants came to the United States. The land advertisement sold for as little as $8 and up to $12 an acre. Many immigrants were farmers and felt they could eventually become wealthy farming in Illinois. All immigrants struggled with surviving in the United States because of many different things. Immigrants faced challenges such as blending in with others. Document 2 demonstrates how the American Federation of Labor (AFL) wanted a restriction on immigrants entering the country. They wanted to make immigrants take an illiteracy test to determine whether they have education and what skills they have. To become a citizen, there were many different obstacles. Although many immigrants came to America by choice, some were without a choice. The Potato Famine in Ireland forced many to immigrate to America. The Potato Famine was a disease that made potato plants to rot in the ground, destroying many crops. Since they lost their main food source, they spent thousands of euros on grain from America to plant, to live off of. After unemployment, loss of money and less food to survive on, many of the Irish immigrated to the United States for money and a new way of life. Between the 1840s up until the 1920s, immigrants were becoming a big percentage of the population. Immigrants had to save money for rent, food and the lives of their families. Blending in with Americans was hard with a different language, culture, customs and way of life. The Irish were driven out of their country because of a disease in their main food source. Immigrants came to America to start a new life for their family, for new economic opportunities and better conditions.

What Does it Mean to be Healthy? Reflective Essay

What Does it Mean to be Healthy? Reflective Essay Health, like beauty, lies in the eyes of the beholder and a single definition cannot capture its complexity. To this end, this essay aims to explore what health means to me and how it has been influenced by the experience of coping with my mothers chronic illness. To me, health transcends the absence of disease to include the physical, psychological and social well-being of a person; it means the empowerment of the individual, and is the foundation of a fulfilling life; it also means caring about the people who care about you and whom you care about. Describe For a period of time, my mother has been complaining of pain in her joints, hips and more recently, her back. I always had a bad feeling that there was something sinister about her pain even though our general practitioner could not pinpoint anything serious after several differential diagnoses. However, as she has a family history of joint pains, I chose to be in a state of denial to her pain and attributed it to a genetic condition she had that would go away with time. However, that was not the case. My family observed that my mother was getting more emotionally irritable as time went by, and the nagging pain meant that she often found reasons not to take part in social activities that we organized. It got to the extent that she was constantly lying in bed and could not do her favourite activities, such as going to the market, without considering the amount of movements she would have to go through. The radiating pain also gave her sleepless nights and all these were taking a toll on her quality of life, among many other factors. It was debilitating. And as her daughter, I felt helpless. More so because I was studying medicine, and was plagued with the guilt of not being able to relieve the suffering of the person I loved the most. The persistent pain worsened and my family decided to consult a specialist for a second opinion. A tumour was suspected. While the specialist made his diagnosis, I was very worried for my mother. I tried to prepare myself mentally to cope with the worst case scenarios, and this affected me emotionally and psychologically. I had no one to turn to as I did not want to worry others, and was at a loss of what to do. The results later revealed that my mother was diagnosed with a benign tumour (spine haemangioma). The specialist said that it was the lesser evil because it was not malignant, but that she would feel chronic pain throughout her life. What provided comfort to my family was the knowledge that there were treatments available to contain the tumour through methods such as radiotherapy and physiotherapy. Reflect It pains me to know that the person I love would be put through suffering both from the disease and its treatment, and I wished I could be the one going through it instead. Upon reflection, I realize that I had not been dealing with my emotions effectively. The fear of finding out more and my escapist mentality had prompted me to create an internal barrier, such that I could not provide the care and support for my mother as I would have liked her to have felt. Health means the holistic wellbeing of a person Witnessing her chronic suffering has made me realise that health does not merely mean the absence of disease but it requires a more holistic view which encompasses the physical, psychological and social well-being of a person. I used to think of health as merely the absence of physical pain that arose from diseases, and to this extent, the physicians task of relieving suffering was merely to alleviate the immediate physical pain and discomfort. However the literature I was exposed to on the nature of suffering in ill persons made me come to the realisation of my limited understanding of the term suffering. Through my research to understand the multi-faceted dimension of a person, and what suffering entails, I hope to be able to better understand what my mother is going through (albeit only the tip of the ice berg). Health means the empowerment of the individual, and is the foundation for a fulfilling life As the Catalan proverb goes, from the bitterness of disease, man learns the sweetness of health. I have too often taken for granted the gift of health that empowers a healthy individual to pursue things that matter in life not only ones aspirations or happiness, but down to the little things that affects our everyday living. For instance, I have seen how the chronic pain influenced my mothers daily routine, and brought much discomfort when travelling or doing household chores. I have come to appreciate that health enables individuals to use their body as a vessel to fulfil their dreams and satisfy their needs without being tied down or be restricted by suffering. Health is thus the basis which enables people to pursue happiness and wealth, aptly worded by Elbert Hubbard, who said, If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want. It takes a loss of health to appreciate these words o f wisdom. Health means caring about the people who care about you and whom you care about I always thought of Health as merely a personal responsibility and a duty that an individual owed only to himself. However, this experience has prompted me to comprehend how the absence of health in individuals will affect the mental, social and physical health of their loved ones as well. Research, analyse and connect The academic literature available allows me to gain a deeper insight on what health means to me and allows me to make sense of my experience in a broader context through considering the perspectives of others. Through examining the concept of human suffering brought about by the absence of good health, I learnt about the distinction between suffering and pain. A person who is in pain may not feel a proportional sense of suffering it is similarly possible for one to suffer even in the absence of pain. (Sanders 2009) In light of my mothers chronic illness, I was prompted to examine the literature on human suffering which made me realised that my understanding of the word suffering was limited at best. While I had always aspired to be a doctor to relieve the pain and suffering of people, I was of the view that human suffering was synonymous with physical pain brought upon an ill person due to diseases. However, literature has shown that suffering goes beyond the physical pain, and suffering defined merely as pain, disregards the broader significance of the suffering experienced by the ill. (Charmaz 2008) Suffering includes physical pain, but it is not limited to it. It can be understood by examining the many aspects of a holistic person and when any of these aspects is threatened, suffering ensues. These aspects may include a persons past, his or her role in society, relationships with others, day-to-day behaviour, and perception of the future. (Cassell 2004) The persistent pain my mother experienced affected her ability to do things that she had long associated herself with, such as playing tennis or climbing the stairs. In addition, my mother may have seen herself as being defined by several societal roles, such as being a wife, mother, caregiver to her parents, and a useful member of society. If the pain overwhelms her and restricts her from fulfilling these roles, she may see herself as being less than whole, and this may contribute to her perpetual suffering. In considering the holistic person and the suffering which impacts upon the many aspects of a person other than physical afflictions, it confirmed my understanding that health should also mean the physical, psychological and social well-being of a person. By understanding the multiple aspects of a personhood, I now better appreciate why medical education is shifting its emphasis from the traditional reductionist biomedical model of medicine to the biopsychosocial model of health. The limitations of the biomedical model is that it treats diseases in terms of abnormal physical mechanisms (Engel 2002) and this is inadequate in relieving sufferings in patients, as we now understand it to transcend the physical mechanisms to also encompass the holistic well-being of a person. The implications of the failure of physicians to understand the nature of sufferings can lead to medical interventions that (though technically adequate) not only fails to relieve suffering but becomes a source of su ffering itself. (Cassell 2004) This reflective practice also gives me a timely opportunity to evaluate my emotions and thoughts against that of the wider community. Relevant academic studies have shown that chronic illnesses also has an impact of the lives of caregivers. (Jung-Won Zebrack 2004) The emotions and thoughts that I felt were validated by researchers that show that receiving news of the chronic illness of a loved one can provoke emotions such as sadness, denial, grief and guilt. This may be due to guilty feelings of not giving adequate support to the ill person or it could be due to the emotional pain of feeling the loss of a loved ones health. (McIntyre 2005) It is important to attend to the impact of chronic illness on caregivers as research has shown that the holistic health of a caregiver has the potential to influence the health outcomes of persons with chronic illness. (WE 1999) Suggested methods of coping with these emotions include talking to someone; being informed about the disease as it give s the caregiver a sense of control; and accepting that there is a limit to the relief that a caregiver can provide. (familydoctor.org 2010) Decide, act and evaluate In light of the reflective writing and the academic literature reviewed, I hope that this will help me to come to terms and cope with the negative emotions I felt since receiving news of my mothers tumour. I can approach this by confiding in someone I am comfortable with, confronting my escapist mentality by finding out more about my mothers spinal haemangioma, and being aware of the treatments that she is going through. Her treatment is likely to expand over a long period of time, and she would need much emotional support and love from me. I have to be open to discussions about her illness and not evade any conversation on the topic as I did before. This reflective practice has also helped me to be more understanding and sensitive to the suffering of patients and their families. As a medical student, I have been made aware that the suffering of patients extends beyond physical pain, and that it is necessary for physicians to focus on patient-centred medicine and attend to the biopsychosocial model of health. It is also important to be aware of the impact that caring for a chronic ill patient has on the caregiver. To this end, I can be proactive as a future practitioner in asking caregivers how they are coping, and provide them with support services that they can turn to. I have also realised the important roles that practitioners play in preparing caregivers for the transition of roles to care for the ill, and in helping them anticipate changes that may occur in their lives. This gives caregivers a better sense of control over the situation, and increases their confidence in caring for the patient. A major takeaway from reflecting on what health means to me has been my understanding of the importance of medical practitioner to focus not only on curing diseases but also to relieve the sufferings of patients, understood holistically. To me, health transcends the absence of disease to include the physical, psychological and social well-being of a person; it means the empowerment of the individual, and is the foundation of a fulfilling life; it also means caring about the people who care about you and whom you care about. Study: Can Miniperc Replace standard PCNL? Study: Can Miniperc Replace standard PCNL? Can Miniperc replace standard PCNL? : Appraisal of analysis of consecutive 318 patients. Or What is the contempory role of miniperc?: Appraisal of analysis of consecutive 318 patients. Introduction: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) was introduced for treatment of renal stones in 1976 (1). Over the years PCNL has undergone many modifications and improvements. These were aimed at improving the clearance of the stone and towards achieving complete clearance and also at decreasing the complications associated with it. PCNL is the standard of care for renal stones with size > 20mm and a treatment option for stones

September 11 and the Death of Moral Judgment :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

September 11 and the Death of Moral Judgment The nation is in crisis: a national security crisis and a crisis of moral judgment. What is the right thing to do? People disagree. Then comes the big mistake: observing disagreement, people conclude that there is no right answer, no way to make a judgment. Worse, they conclude that to judge is arrogant and dangerous, so that in an odd twist, the only thing that appears to be morally irresponsible is the attempt to make a morally responsible judgment. On the contrary, abdicating judgment is the problem. Democracy itself is based on the notion that reasonable people will disagree and that it is possible to make judgments about our disagreements - not that there is necessarily one right answer; there may be several partially right answers. But there are certainly some wrong answers and better and worse judgments about them. So, how do we judge? First, we can think clearly about the words we use. Second, we can stop looking for pure good or pure evil; innocence and guilt are not found in pure forms in the real world. Third, we can learn to distinguish among kinds and degrees of evils (And there are plenty of kinds: cruelty, neglect, exploitation, etc.) To illustrate: "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Many people fighting for very different causes call themselves "freedom fighters." But they usually let us know what they mean. Osama bin Laden's statements tell us that his goal is to free the Muslim world of infidels and their influence. He seeks freedom to establish theocratic regimes that would suppress women, as well as religious and political dissidents. We can argue about whether or not this is "freedom" in any meaningful sense, but the important thing is to be clear about what he means. For the sake of argument, let us say that he is a freedom fighter. Martin Luther King was a freedom fighter. Mahatma Gandhi was a freedom fighter. Neither could be called "terrorist" by any stretch of the imagination. They renounced violence as a means. Osama Bin Laden, on the other hand, embraces a strategy of targeting civilians in order to terrify and intimidate the population, undermine opposing governments, and achieve his political aims. Whether he is a freedom fighter or not, he is a te rrorist. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" This is an important practical principle, but it is not a moral principle.

A Comparison of the Heat and Cold Imagery Used in Woman at Point Zero a

A Comparison of the Heat and Cold Imagery Used in Woman at Point Zero and Thousand Cranes In the books Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, and Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata, both authors use various forms of imagery that reoccur throughout the works. These images are used not to be taken for their literal meanings, but instead to portray a deeper sense or feeling that may occur several times in the book. One type of imagery that both Saadawi and Kawabata use in their works is heat and cold imagery. In the works, Woman at Point Zero and Thousand Cranes, Nawal El Saadawi and Yasunari Kawabata each use heat and cold imagery to portray the same feelings of love and fear and /or the lack thereof. In both works, the authors use heat and cold imagery in order to portray the presence and/or lack of love in three different forms. These three forms of love that are illustrated through the use of heat and cold imagery are protection, comfort, and intimacy. Heat and cold imagery is used repeatedly in both works to provide a feeling of love in the form of protection and security, usually having the presence of heat or warmth representing a feeling of protection and security, and the absence of heat representing a lack of security or protection. In the following lines from Kawabata’s Thousand Cranes, it is a memory of Mrs. Ota that provides Kikuji a sense of security during a conversation with Fumiko: â€Å"Mrs. Ota’s warmth came over him like warm water. She had gently surrendered everything he remembered, and he had felt secure† (Kawabata 36). In Woman at Point Zero, Saadawi uses the warmth of Firdaus’ uncle’s arms as an image for love in the form of protection in the following lines: â€Å"During the cold winter night, I curled up in my uncle’s arms like a baby in its womb. We drew warmth from our closeness† (Saadawi 21). This passage provides an even greater sense of protection through Saadawi’s use of the simile, â€Å"like a baby in its womb† (21). The second form of love expressed through the use of heat and cold imagery in both works is comfort. In Woman at Point Zero, heat is used in order to provide comfort to Firdaus who is â€Å"shivering with cold† and â€Å"soaked in rain† (63). The third and final form of love expressed through the use of heat and cold imagery in Thousand Cranes and Woman at Point Zero is that of intimate relations. It is f... ...ng used simultaneously with the cold imagery. Both in the beginning of the book when she first sits down to speak with Firdaus and when she is about to get up, Saadawi refers to there being a â€Å"coldness which did not reach my body†, and says, â€Å"It was the cold of the sea in a dream. I swam through its waters. I was naked and knew not how to swim. But I neither felt its cold, nor drowned in its waters† (107). Perhaps after analyzing these two matching passages, one could make a claim that we must first humble ourselves in order to become insensitive to the coldness of this world. In the end, whether it is protection, comfort, intimacy, uneasiness, or death that Nawal El Saadawi and Yasunari Kawabata are portraying through their usage of heat and cold imagery in Woman at Point Zero and Thousand Cranes, we can easily see that both authors use heat and cold imagery as the dominant reoccurring literary device to portray feelings of love and fear and/or the lack thereof. Bibliography Kawabata, Yasunari. Thousand Cranes. Trans. Edward G. Seidensticker. Vintage Books: New York, 1996. Saadawi, Nawal El. Woman at Point Zero. Trans. Sherif Hetata. Zed Books: London, 1983.

Weapons of the American Civil War Essays -- History Weapons Historical

Weapons of the American Civil War Amongst the most lasting of factors stemming from the Civil War are the weapons that were developed. Before the Civil War, the weapons used were highly unreliable, and were not advanced enough to provide the needed defense for a young nation such as our own. Innovative minds created many interesting ways to demolish their enemies without ever having to fire a shot or go into full combat through different types of bombs that were in disguise. Among the advancements in the Civil War were the torpedo, the carbine rifle, the minie` ball, several models of rifle-muskets, rocket launchers, rocket bombs, "Greek Fire," and a wide array of other secret weapons. Torpedoes were quite possibly the most destructive weapons created in the Civil War times. There is a great number of models of torpedoes that come from the Civil War; ranging all the way from models that were anchored to the ocean floor to drifting torpedoes that hung beneath driftwood and moved with the current. The first torpedoes from the south were simple powder filled tin cans with trigger attachments. The torpedoes were later developed to have a thin brass cap with a beeswax solution. If pressure was placed on the cap, then the torpedo would explode. The same structure was used in the development of landmines, the "sub-terra booby traps" as they were so affectionately named by the Union officers. Though in the early stages of development, these primitive looking war machines could destroy a fleet. The Carbine Rifle was a small, easy breechloading rifle. This abnormality made this rifle capable of firing much faster than its predecessors were able to. The Carbine was most effective when using the tactic of riding up, dismounting, and concentrating rapid carbine fire on the enemy. The Carbine rifles developed from single-shot "Burnside" models, named after Ambrose E. Burnside, into repeating rifles dubbed "Henry's". Three French army officers would share the credit for the bullet that caused nearly ninety percent of the soldier casualties in the Civil War. Captain Henri-Gustave Delvigne, Colonel Louis-Etienne de Thouvenin, and Captain Claude-Etienne Minie` were the men which developed this masterpiece. This bullet was designed after discovering that when a standard bullet was put down the barrel of a rifle and was pounded with the ramrod,... ... firing again. Since the gun could fire six hundred rounds of ammunition per minute, each barrel fired one hundred rounds per minute. Coehorn Mortars and Armstrong Rifles were used as projectile attack alternatives when a garrison needed a powerful blow to be delivered. The projectiles used in the Coehorn Mortars ranged form a weight of seventeen pounds, all the way up to 24 pounds. Named after Dutch engineer Baron van Coehorn, this mortar was a light seige weapon used mostly in trench warfare, and was carried by four men. The Armstrong Rifle, on the other hand was quite a large piece of equipment weighing over seven tons. The Civil War did very much for our nation, one key aspect of which was the development and advancement of our nation's defense mechanisms. The United States advanced leaps and bounds in the development of new weapons, and improvements on weapons that previously existed. This is merely a small display of all of the improvements the United States made during the Civil War; a war of bloody conflict and spite. Without these weapons, the war may not have ended just as it did, and we would also not have the advanced weapons systems that we have today.

Classic Post-Modernist Writers

Charles Dickens. Thomas Hardy. Joseph Conrad. During their time, they were considered to be realists because they shape their readers’ perceptions of the world. In doing so, their writings are described to be modern and post-realist. This paper will discuss their approaches and on how their works, which we discussed this semester, are classic masterpieces simply because these transcend over time. Post-realism in literature is done when subjects are depicted on the page as how they are in daily life. There is no interpretation and embellishment.They reveal the mundane truth. Most of the time, in post-realism, these truths are ugly and sordid. Therefore, during the 20th century, when these writers came up with their works, they were often criticized for discussing subjects at that time were deemed as taboo. Realism was the cultural movement that was quite popular in literature in the 1800s. It was the opposite of romanticism because it encouraged artists to present objects at th eir most real. The perceptions are undistorted by bias and it is said that realism is the objective reality.The trend reformed the cultural movements in literature and became modernized. Cultural, political and artistic movements headed this direction at the turn of the century. It confirmed the ability of human beings to improve, create, reshape and enhance their environment. The period of modernism was during 1884 to 1914. Through technology, practical knowledge and scientific experiments, individuals are able to improve their way of life. It was at its earliest stages but these three novelists were able to become masters of the technique way before their counterparts did.Modernism examined the aspect of existence. It ranged from philosophy to commerce. It allowed the readers to reflect without holding back and replaced the old methods with the new progressive techniques. It was the introduction on how the world must accept the changes that were already occurring. By embracing the se changes and retaining some traditions, the post-realist movement came into place. (Crook, 1991, p. 32) Charles Dickens is known for his storytelling and immortal characters. With this, his literary creations received worldwide popularity which readers often anticipated for as well.The demand for Dickens’ short stories and novels didn’t allow these to go out of print. He wrote serialized novels which the public eagerly waited and religiously read. Scholars who studied why Dickens’ stories could reach out to his readers discovered that the author’s childhood influenced his fiction. These innocent experiences assisted him in bringing these stories to life. His writing style is poetic because it combines fantasy and realism which allows readers to shift from one to the other. He was also inspired by the gothic romance theme that was made popular in the 18th century.The downside to this writing style is that some of his characters are grotesque that they of ten overpower the stories. (Glancy, 1999, p 45) â€Å"Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new. Dombey was about eight-and-forty years of age. Son about eight-and-forty minutes.Dombey was rather bald, rather red, and though a handsome well-made man, too stern and pompous in appearance, to be prepossessing. Son was very bald, and very red, and though (of course) an undeniably fine infant, somewhat crushed and spotty in his general effect, as yet. † The two paragraphs are from the first chapter of Dickens’ â€Å"Dombey and Son. † Dickens was an active participant in social concerns and such themes were rooted in this novel. Examples were marriages being arranged a s if it were financial partnerships. Other themes were familial relationships and child cruelty.A factor that made Dickens’ works post-modernist is his take on social commentaries. He often wrote about poverty, specifically the social stratification in the Victorian society. The approach Dickens often utilized is presenting the incidences through caricatures in order to present the readers the social truth. (Glancy, 1999, p. 53) Another post-modernist theme is that Dickens often highlighted his idealism through the poignant social commentaries of his novels. A number of his novels discussed social realism and concentrated on the mechanisms of the social control which directed the lives of the individuals.He used coincidences which only showed how idealistic his works were. Thomas Hardy is Dickens’ exact opposite. He is a realist in the sense that his novels often ends in a tragic note. Hardy was an English novelist, writer and poet. Unlike Dickens, Hardy’s child hood was privileged nor luxurious. His father was a stonemason and his mother provided him with his formal education. He was trained as an architect before he moved to London where he enrolled at King’s College. Because of his skills in designing, he won prizes from the Architectural Association and the Royal Institute of British architects.He discovered he also had the knack in writing, thus he began his career as a novelist. â€Å"Jude the Obscure† was Hardy’s most controversial work. It received negative reviews especially from the Victorian public because of the brutal and unsanitized depiction of sex. It was touted as â€Å"Jude the Obscene. † It also caused further strain on Hardy’s marriage to Emma Hardy because it was said that the novel was autobiographical. Scholars pointed out that Emma was Hardy’s first love, just as Sue was Jude’s. Another evidence was Emma’s obsession with religion toward the latter years of her m arriage to Hardy.Incidentally, this was Sue’s predicament on the novel as well. Inspite of the controversies, Hardy became one of the best English novelists by the 20th century. His other works â€Å"Tess of D’urbervilles† and â€Å"The Mayor of Casterbridge† were well-received by the public. His novels are set in Wessex, an imaginary world that covered the large area of the south-west and south England. (Harvey, 2003, p 23) He also wrote poetry and these were published after 1898 when Hardy took a break from writing novels to concentrate on his poems instead. Hardy was a hybrid of the rural and the architectural world.He understood the former because he knew this as a child and at the same time, he also adapted to the changes of the latter because of how he was trained as an architecture. The post-modernist approach that is apparent in Hardy’s works is his ability to capture the industrial revolution, particularly the ones that took place in the E nglish countryside. He also set this in the Victorian setting which makes his novels more real. (Harvey, 2003, p. 25) â€Å"It was as old fashioned as it was small, and it rested in the lap of an undulating upland adjoining the North Wessex downs.Old as it was, however, the well-shaft that was probably the only relic of the local history that remained absolutely unchanged. Many of the thatched and dormered dweeling-houses had been pulled down of late years, and many trees felled on the green. Above all, the original church, hump-backed, wood turreted-and quaintly-hipped, had been taken down, and either cracked up into heaps of road-metal in the lane, or utilized as pig-sty walls, garden seats, guard-stones to fences, and rockeries in the flower-beds of the neighbourhood.In place of it a tall new building of modern Gothic design, unfamiliar to English eyes, had been erected on a new piece of ground by a certain obliterator of historic records who had run down from London and back in a day. † That is an excerpt from â€Å"Jude the Obscure. † Another post-modernist theme that is common in Hardy’s works is his depiction of the rural life in the nineteenth century. He presents it as a fatalistic world that is filled with injustice and suffering. The lead characters in his stories are often alienated and ostracized for following their innermost desires that do not coincide with what society expects from them.He emphasizes on the power of fate, especially on the working class. He also shows the deep human instinct and will to struggle against elemental passion. Examples are Tess in â€Å"Tess of the D’urbervilles† and Jude and Sue in â€Å"Jude The Obscure. † (Morgan, 1992, p. 15) â€Å"Tess of the d’Urbervilles† was a censored novel that followed â€Å"Jude the Obscure. † It is a great classic but received mixed reviews when it was first published because like â€Å"Jude the Obscure,† it presented sex in a straightforward manner that was rarely done during that time by other writers.Hardy illustrated modernism and this was a common theme in â€Å"Tess of the d’Urbervilles. † He portrayed Tess as a woman who was able to strike the balance between the rural world and the architectural world, just as what Hardy was able to do. Hardy also discussed the separation of man from nature. In one part of the story, Angel was reduced to a skeleton when he got sick. This is an allusion to his creation of the destructive machinery. (Morgan, 1992, p. 18) There is also the double standard on sexuality which Tess had to go through.Hardy questioned and criticized the Victorian period’s perception of female purity. In the novel, Hardy made Tess suffer in order to repent for the scenes of her forefathers. This was a common belief during that time. He also presented her heroine as a sacrificial victim which symbolized her personification of mother nature. This is the similar ity Tess shares with Sue in â€Å"Jude the Obscure. † (Morgan, 1992, p. 20) â€Å"Jude the Obscure† tells the story of Jude Fawley who wishes to be a scholar. He fell in love with his cousin Sue, an intellectual who is training to become a teacher.The apparent themes in the book that are post-modernist concerns are class, religion, scholarship, marriage and the modernization of intellectual thought along with society. It also questions whether fate has an important role to a person’s life letting it lead him to where it will or the person can eventually take the reins and control his life on his own. The accidents and the details that are encountered in the stories eventually leads to the ruin of both Jude and Sue. The book also discussed loneliness and sexuality, in terms of incest. Sexuality also prevents individuals from following through with their dreams.The most controversial topic that was present in the novel is marriage and on how personal dreams could no longer be fulfilled because of that. There was also the satirical look on how living a life as sophists, intellectuals and libertines often result to the condemnation from traditional society. All these themes are post-modernist. Scholars who focused on Hardy concluded that the author loved leading his characters to their downfall as if he were a sadistic god. There are also strong autobiographical references to Hardy’s life in â€Å"Jude the Obscure.†Two important clues to this theory is that Hardy did not attend a university and the love of Jude’s life, Emma Gifford, became more and more religious. (Harvey, 2003, p. 83) Joseph Conrad is the combination of Charles Dickens’ idealism and Thomas Hardy’s realism. He was one of the best English novelists of his time. Despite being Polish born, he was recognized as a master prose because of his approach on modernist literature. His style is narrative and his characters are often anti-heroic. He has b een said to influence the lieks of Graham Greene, DH Lawrence and even Ernest Hemingway.(Orr, 1999, p 46)Conrad reflected on his experiences in the navy in his works. He wrote short stories and novels that showed areas of an empire and how it affected the human soul. Closely looking into Conrad’s life and how this affected his work, other autobiographical accounts are the clear depictions of certain parts of the world such as South American, Malay states, Borneo and Australia in some of his novels. This was because Conrad quickly became first mate and was already the master of his own ship by 1886. By the age of 36, he settled down and started writing.(Orr, 1999, p 62) â€Å"Heart of Darkness† is a novella filled with symbolisms. It is a story in a story or what the post-modernist theme describes as â€Å"frame narrative. † It is the story of Charles Marlow and his recollection of his advenutre in the Congo with a group of men. He was employed by the Belgian tra ding company to transport ivory. During this task, he then developed an interest in checking out the Kurtz. Conrad’s inspiration in writing the novel was his real-life experience in the Congo. He was there for eight and a half years before he sat down to write â€Å"Heart of Darkness.†As a matter of fact, he was captain of the Congo steamer. Therefore, there details in the novel are quite accurate because Conrad was actually there in the Congo. â€Å"I looked at him, lost in astonishment. There he was before me, in motley, as though he had absconded from a troupe of mimes, enthusiastic, fabulous. His very existence was improbable, inexplicable, and altogether bewildering. He was an insoluble problem. It was inconceivable how he had existed, how he had succeeded in getting so far, how he had managed to remain– why he did not instantly disappear.`I went a little farther,' he said, `then still a little farther–till I had gone so far that I don't know how I' ll ever get back. Never mind. Plenty time. I can manage. You take Kurtz away quick–quick–I tell you. ‘ The glamour of youth enveloped his parti-coloured rags, his destitution, his loneliness, the essential desolation of his futile wanderings. For months–for years–his life hadn't been worth a day's purchase; and there he was gallantly, thoughtlessly alive, to all appearances indestructible solely by the virtue of his few years and of his unreflecting audacity. I was seduced into something like admiration– like envy.†The previous paragraph is an excerpt of the novel which elaborates the post-modernist theme that is apparent in â€Å"Heart of Darkness. † This is the ambiguity between civilization and the barbarians. A number of characters in the novel had spiritual darkness and were looking for their morals. Those who were deemed to be barbaric turned out to be the civilized characters in the end. All throughout the novel, there is the tension between civilization and barbarism. Kurtz represented the darkness which only served as the foundation to the moral structures that are often connotated to civilization.Marlow confronted Kurtz and asked him to commit to the savagery of human instincts or to veneer in the civilization setting. Marlow was torn but between the two, it was the lastter that he couldn’t absolutely do. He was then horrified by what was in his heart. Conrad used the darkness in order to represent the unknown. Mr. Kurtz was the anti-hero of â€Å"Heart of Darkness. † Mallow’s recounts on the whole experience was also explored through the character build-up of Kurtz as well as Mallow’s interaction with the Africans.Another post-modernist theme is the novel’s regard on women’s naivety. There is also the struggle between the good and the evil in the characters. (Orr, 1999, p. 36) Conrad was an emotional man who was depressed and pessimistic. He doubted his s elf and his capabilities. He was able to discipline his craft by resorting to romantic temperament. As an artist, he focused on what could be seen and made the written word powerful by it. (Orr, 1999, p. 28) That was a post-modernist theme that was made popular by Conrad, Hardy and Dickens.Their ability to write in a style that is similar to visual arts single the three of them out as the best in prose. They create the settings of their story, be it real like that of Conrad’s Congo or fictional like that of Hardy’s Wessex. Whether they choose to have their characters be confined and isolated or out there socializing, Conrad, Hardy and Dickens could do so. Literary critics comment on the works of these three novelists and recommend them for their complex narration, pessimistic ideas, profound themes and exotic styles. However, these do not put the readers off.The ideas which Conrad, Hardy and Dickens presented way back in the 20th century are still interesting for 21st century readers. It only comes to prove that their approaches and their writing style are very modern and post-modernist. (Crook, 1991, p. 26) Modernists believed that rejecting tradition from the roots of romanticism and realism, they could make art that organized and guided individuals through the fast pace of the new century. Modernists take their cue from the Impressionists and they all believe that by redefining their art, they are able to arrange these in a modern way which anybody could relate with.Post-realist in literature emerged from the historical backdrop that was presented by the romantic period. By responding to the architectural changes going on around them, post-realist writers in the previous centuries unconsciously became modern-writers because they replaced the themes that were dominant during the period of enlightenment by listening to their emotions and by combating the widespread conventions with taboo subjects presented in a new, truthful and sordid manner.In fluenced by the constant evolution of society, modernists such as Dickens, Hardy and Conrad present their literature in a society that embraces the social truth they are in. Most of the characters in literary creations with post-modern themese are often dissatisfied but they embarked on a journey which allows them to revive the traditional elements or way of life and at the same time discover the other world out there and the new life that opens its doors for them.