Yersinia Pestis free essay sample

Yersinia pestis is a gram negative, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobic bacterium, known for causing the plague. The reason why Y. pestis is so successful is because of their elusiveness to the hosts immune system and their ability to suppress it. Traces of the plague go as far back as to ancient times and specifically 5th century BC Athens and Sparta. Pathophysiology mi. pestis produces two anti-phagocytic antigens, Fl antigen and antigen. These antigens are both required for virulence and are only produced when the rganism grows at 37 degrees C temperatures, which explains why fleas, whose body temperatures are lower than that, can act as a vector. Y. pestis can also resist phagocytosis by injecting macrophages and immune cells with YOPS (Yersinia Outer Proteins). The YOPS are able to create pours in the cell, allowing more YOPS to get into the cytoplasm and limit phagocytosis. (Dramcourt, M. , 2013) miersinia Pestis is primarily a rodent pathogen, with humans being an accidental host when bitten by an infected rat flea. We will write a custom essay sample on Yersinia Pestis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (Schoenstadt, A. , 2013) miersinia pestis infections occur more frequently during spring and summer onths, especially in males and people under the age of 20. There are two cycles to the plague: Sylvatic Cycle and Urban Cycle. The Sylvatic Cycle is pre-human infection. Y. pestis, during this cycle, starts out in wild rodents which are then bit by fleas. The fleas will transfer the plague between the wild rodents until that population is dead. This cycle continues on in this fashion until either all the rodents are dead, or the fleas find a new food source, usually domestic rats. Once a domestic rat gets bitten, or another domestic animal, the Urban Cycle starts. The tart of this cycle is similar to the Sylvatic cycle, where the fleas will bite one domestic animal and then spread it to the next. During this cycle is when humans get infected. (Dramcourt, M. , 2013) If a flea that carries Y. pestis happens to bite a human then that human is infected. While in the human, there are two different ways the plague can manitest itselt: the Bubonic Plague or Pneumonic Plague. (Schoenstadt, A. 2013) Manifestation The Bubonic Plague after about 2 to 7 days will cause a painful bubo, a swelling of the lymph nodes usually in the groin. A fever and gangrene in the extremities typically accompany the bubo. The appearance of gangrene is what gave the plague the nickname The Black Death. While in the nodes, Y. pestis avoids the immune system, and replicates, causing the lymph nodes to swell. The nodes will get hot, tender, and then they will start to bleed excessively. As the plague develops, the bacteria move into the blood stream. Without treatment, death by endotoxic shock will occur in about 50 to 75% of all patients. If the bacteria move into the lungs, Pneumonic Plague develops. (Houhamdi L , 2013) Unlike Bubonic Plague, Pneumonic Plague; however, does not require a vector, but can instead be transmitted from human to human. Pneumonic Plague has an incubation time of about 2 to 3 days, and starts with a fever, a general feeling of not being well, and tightness of the chest. If left untreated, the patient will develop a cough, produce high levels of sputum, their skin will turn blue, and then 99% of patients will die. (Schoenstadt, A. 2013) Medical Management The common treatment of the plague is Streptomycin which lowers the mortality ate to 10 to 20%, the first treatment needs to be initiated within 24 hours of the first signs of symptoms. The most common oral medications used for curing and preventing the disease are tetracycline, doxycycline, and a fluoroquinolone. For injection or intravenous use, str eptomycin or gentamycin antibodies are Raoult D. , 2013)

anne rice essays

anne rice essays Anne Rice: A Fascinating Story Because of her fascination with the supernatural, her life in New Orleans, and her daughter's death, Anne Rice exhibits powerful and dark Anne Rice's family life was not always a happy one. Her family was one of the lower middle class, struggling to make it. Katherine, her mother, became stressed over keeping a household and took to drinking. Anne's mom continued this habit throughout her life. I feel that this drinking had a major effect on Anne's writing style. Anne's books are full of vivid detail. They are written as if they were seen through the eyes of a drunk. Anne's mother continued drinking until the day of her death in 1956. Katherine's death hit her daughter very hard. Since her mother had died, Anne had to become a mother to her two younger sisters, Tamara and Karen. Anne hated to assume this role and looked for a way out. Her father gave this to her in the form of St. Joseph Academy, a boarding school. This was not a very good solution considering how much Anne hated the school. She cried every night for about a year, and would later write about her experiences an a novel, The Witching Hour. When Anne became sixteen her father remarried. Howard(Anne's father) and his new wife, Dorothy, decided to move to Texas to follow Howard's' work. This decision shocked Anne and she was very opposed; the move still took place. At her new school, Anne met a boy named Stan Rice. Stan was very involved with poetry and he and Anne instantly hit it off. Stan had an influence on Anne like no other person had. He was the first boy she kissed which was an experience she wrote about in her second novel, The Feast of All Saints- here is the excerpt. Richard had kissed Marie and she had never felt a sensation akin to what she'd experienced when he was holding her lightly, gently, as if he might break her, in his arms. His hands had spread out firmly ...

Causes and Effects of Government Shutdowns

Causes and Effects of Government Shutdowns Why would much of the U.S. federal government shut down and what happens when it does?   The Cause of Government Shutdowns The U.S. Constitution requires that all expenditures of federal funds be authorized by Congress with the approval of the President of the United States. The U.S. federal government and the federal budget process operate on a fiscal year cycle running from October 1 to midnight September 30. If Congress fails to pass all of the spending bills comprising the annual federal budget or continuing resolutions extending spending beyond the end of the fiscal year; or if the president fails to sign or vetoes any of the individual spending bills, certain non-essential functions of the government may be forced to cease due to a lack of congressionally-authorized funding. The result is a government shutdown. The Current Border Wall Shutdown of 2019 The most recent government shutdown, and the third of the Donald Trump presidency began on December 22, 2018, when Congress and the White House failed to agree on the inclusion in an annual spending bill of $5.7 billion requested by President Trump for the construction of an additional 234 miles of fencing to be added to the existing security barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico. On January 8, with no end to the impasse in sight, President Trump threatened to declare a national emergency empowering him to bypass to fund the border fencing. However, by January 12, what had become the longest lasting government shutdown in U.S. history had shuttered nine of the 15 federal executive branch agencies, and left over 800,000 federal workers- including Border Patrol officers, TSA agents, and air traffic controllers- either working without pay or sitting at home on furlough. Trash began piling up and visitor safety became an issue at national parks as park rangers had been sent home. Although Congress had passed a bill on January 11 providing eventual full back pay for the employees, the strain of missed paychecks became obvious.   In a televised address on January 19, President Trump offered a proposal he hoped would bring Democrats back to the bargaining table to negotiate on an immigration reform for border security deal that would end the then 29-day-long government shutdown. The president offered to back immigration policies Democrats and had long requested, including a three-year revival of the DACA- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals- program in return for approval of a permanent $7 billion border security package, including $5.7 billion for the border wall. DACA is a currently expired immigration policy enacted by President Obama allowing eligible individuals who were brought to the United States illegally as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and become eligible for a work permit in the U.S. Less than an hour after the president’s address, Democrats rejected the bargain because it failed to offer permanent protection for the DACA immigrants and because it still included money for the border wall. Democrats again demanded that President Trump end the shutdown before negotiations continued. On January 24, Government Executive magazine reported that based on salary data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the then 34-day-long partial government was costing U.S. taxpayers more than $86 million a day in back pay promised to more than 800,000 furloughed workers. A Temporary Agreement Reached On January 25, President Trump announced that an agreement had been reached between his office and Democratic leaders in Congress that would temporarily reopen the government until February 15 without the inclusion of any funding for construction of additional border fencing. The agreement also provided that all federal employees affected by the shutdown would receive full back pay. According to the President, the delay would allow for further negotiations on funding of the border wall, which he said remained a necessity to national security. Finally, the President stated that if funding for the border wall was not agreed to by February 15, he would either reinstate the government shutdown or declare a national emergency allowing him to reallocate existing fund for the purpose. However, on February 15, the president signed a compromise spending bill averting another shutdown. The same day, he issued a National Emergency Proclamation redirecting $3.5 billion from the Defense Department’s military construction budget to the construction of new border wall. Under the terms of the Antideficiency Act, the shutdown may not have been legal in the first place. Since the government had the $5.7 billion needed to build the border wall, the shutdown had been based on an issue of political ideology rather than an issue of economic necessity, as required by the law. The Ghosts of Shutdowns Past Between 1981 and 2019, there were five government shutdowns. While the first four went largely unnoticed by anybody but the federal employees affected, the American people shared the pain during the last one.   1981: President Reagan vetoed a continuing resolution, and 400,000 federal employees were sent home at lunch and told not to come back. A few hours later, President Reagan signed a new version of the continuing resolution and the workers were back at work the next morning. 1984: With no approved budget, 500,000 federal workers were sent home. An emergency spending bill had them all back at work the next day. 1990: With no budget or continuing resolution, the government shuts down during the entire three-day Columbus Day weekend. Most workers were off anyway and an emergency spending bill signed by President Bush over the weekend had them back at work Tuesday morning. 1995-1996: Two government shutdowns beginning on November 14, 1995, idled different functions of the federal government for various lengths of time until April of 1996. The most serious government shutdowns in the nations history resulted from a budget impasse between Democratic President Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress over funding for Medicare, education, the environment, and public health. 2013: For 17 tedious days, from October 1 through October 16, the perennial disagreement between Republicans and Democrats in Congress over spending forced a partial shutdown that saw more than 800,000 federal employees furloughed, U.S veterans locked out of their own war memorials, and millions of visitors forced to leave national parks. Unable to pass a conventional annual budget, Congress considered a continuing resolution (CR) that would have maintained funding at current levels for six months. In the House, Tea Party Republicans attached amendments to the CR that would have delayed implementation of President Obama’s healthcare reform law–Obamacare–for one year. This amended CR had no chance of passing in the Democrat-controlled Senate. The Senate sent the House a â€Å"clean† CR with no amendments, but Speaker of the House John Boehner refused to allow the clean CR to come to a vote of the House. As a result of the impasse over Obamacare, no funding CR was passed by October 1- the end of the government’s 2013 fiscal year- and the shutdown began. As the shutdown drug on, public opinion of Republicans, Democrats and President Obama began to plummet and, to make matters worse, the U.S. was set to reach its debt limit on October 17. Failing to pass legislation raising the debt limit by the deadline could have forced the government to default on its debt for the first time in history, placing the payment of federal benefits in danger of being delayed. On October 16, faced with the debt limit crisis and increasing public disgust with Congress, Republicans and Democrats finally agreed on and passed a bill temporarily reopening the government and increasing the debt limit. Ironically, the bill- driven by the government’s need to reduce spending- also spent billions of dollars, including a tax-free gift of $174,000 to the widow of a deceased senator. The Costs of Government Shutdowns The first of the two government shutdowns in 1995-1996 lasted only six days, from November 14 to November 20. Following the six-day shutdown, the Clinton administration released an estimate of what the six days of an idled federal government had cost. Lost Dollars: The six-day shutdown cost taxpayers about $800 million, including $400 million to furloughed federal employees who were paid, but did not report to work and another $400 million in lost revenue in the four days that the IRS enforcement divisions were closed.Medicare: Some 400,000 newly eligible Medicare recipients were delayed in applying for the program.Social Security: Claims from 112,000 new Social Security applicants were not processed. 212,000 new or replacement Social Security cards were not issued. 360,000 office visits were denied. 800,000 toll-free calls for information were not answered.Healthcare: New patients were not accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ceased disease surveillance and hotline calls to NIH concerning diseases were not answered.Environment: Toxic waste clean-up work at 609 sites stopped as 2,400 Superfund workers were sent home.Law Enforcemen t and Public Safety: Delays occurred in the processing of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives applications by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases reportedly was suspended; cancellation of the recruitment and testing of federal law enforcement officials reportedly occurred, including the hiring of 400 border patrol agents; and delinquent child-support cases were delayed. US Veterans: Multiple veterans services were curtailed, ranging from health and welfare to finance and travel.Travel: 80,000 passport applications were delayed. 80,000 visas were delayed. The resulting postponement or cancellation of travel cost U.S. tourist industries and airlines millions of dollars.National Parks: 2 million visitors were turned away from the nations national parks resulting in the loss of millions in revenue.Government-Backed Loans: FHA mortgage loans worth more than $800 million to more than 10,000 low-and-moderate-income working families were delayed. How a Government Shutdown Might Affect You As directed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the federal agencies now maintain contingency plans for dealing with government shutdowns. The emphasis of those plans is to determine which functions should continue. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security and its Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not exist in 1995 when the last long-term government shutdown took place. Due to the critical nature of their function, it is highly likely that the TSA would continue to function normally during a government shutdown.Based on history, here is how a long-term government shutdown might impact some government-provided public services. Social Security: Benefit checks would probably keep coming, but no new applications would be accepted or processed.Income Tax: The IRS will probably stop processing paper tax returns and refunds.Border Patrol: Customs and Border Patrol functions will probably continue.Welfare: Again, the checks would probably continue, but new applications for food stamps might not be processed.Mail: The U.S. Postal Service supports itself, so mail deliveries would continue as usual.National Defense: All active duty members of all branches of all armed services would continue duty as usual, but might not get paid on time. More than half of the Defense Departments 860,000 civilian employees would also work, the others sent home.Justice System: Federal courts should remain open. Criminals will still be chased, caught, prosecuted and thrown in federal prisons, which would still be operating.Farms/USDA: Food safety inspections will probably continue, but rural development, and farm credit and loan progra ms will probably close down. Transportation: Air traffic control, TSA security personnel, and the Coast Guard will remain on the job. Applications for passports and visas may not be processed.National Parks/Tourism: Parks and forests will probably close and visitors told to leave. Visitor and interpretive centers will be closed. Non-volunteer rescue and fire control services might be shut down. National monuments and most historic sites will probably be closed. Parks police will probably continue their patrols.

Breast cancer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Breast cancer - Assignment Example 1). It is the common cause of death from cancer for NSW women, 862 deaths in 2001 (ibid.). In Victoria, figures for 2007 showed an incidence of 3,188 new cases per 100,000 population with 708 deaths (www.cancervic.org.au, 2007, p. 12). One in eleven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 75 (www.cancerscreening.gov.au). It is a leading cause of death among women in 45-55 age bracket (www.imaginis.com, 2010, p. 1). The lifetime chance of ever developing breast cancer is 4.8% in developed Western countries (due to higher hormone use) but only 1.8% in poorer countries. By age groups, those below 20 years old have the lowest prevalence (1 in 1,985). Those in older age groups have higher prevalence rates of 1 in 37 by age 50; 1 in 26 by age 60 and 1 in 24 by age 70. The greatest risk factors for breast cancer are gender (being a woman) and age (by simply growing older) with about 90% of cases due to the ageing process and not due to heredity (www.breastcancer.org, 2010, p. 1). Some 14,000 women will be diagnosed with the disease this year; this makes it the most common cancer among Australian women (BCNA, 2010, p. 1). There is hope, however, as latest statistics indicated a 5-year survival rate of 88%. The average age of a first diagnosis is 60 years old but 75% of new cases develop in women who are 50 years old or older; while women with higher incomes have a higher incidence rate compared to lower-income women (134 vs. 110 but 21.1 overall deaths per 100,000 population). Over 70% of cases diagnosed occur in women aged 50 or older but those women aged 50-69 can reduce chances of dying by 30% if they opt to have a breast screen once every two years (www.bcig.org.au, 2009, p. 1). About 95% of all breast cancer cases occurred in women aged 40 or older but there is an observed decrease in women aged 80 and above

Hofstede Cultural Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hofstede Cultural Theory - Essay Example This is the way the top management treat their subordinates in the work place. The inequality treatment of the employees by the management creates a rift between the top management and low ranked employees. Employees are the source of ideas which might make the organization to be more competitive or avoid some risks and uncertainties that may face the organization. Power distance therefore, creates consultation barriers in case the employees have issues that they want to raise to the top management. The decisions are therefore, made by the top management without incorporating the decisions of the low ranked employees and this might bring about resistance in implementation of the proposal. Power distance can be overcome through open offices where employees are free to consult the top management on a certain issue that is of great concern to them. Team work can on the other hand, bring management closer to the employees as it is easier for employees to elect their leader who will take their grievances to the top management (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321) Collectivism is how people in a society or group in an organization feel as belonging to a group. On the other hand individualism is an aspect where each person acts as a single body without involving others. Top managements are prone to this culture where they exclude other people in the organization and act individually without the involvement of other members who also plays an important role in the success of the organization. This aspect demoralizes the other members of the society who feel left out in running the activities of the organization (Khastar et al, 2011). Masculinity versus feminity is a culture that treats different members depending on their sex. Top leaders create up gender disparities in awarding of chores in the organization. This aspect makes one gender to feel less respected an aspect that have an effect on their overall performance of the minority gender (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321). Lastly, uncertainty avoidance is how the organization is structured to deal with future risks. A culture of team work is one strategy that organization uses in order to come up with ways of fighting risks and uncertainties. Team work comes up with strategies and ideas which are important in shielding the organization from any risks that might occur in the future. Organization avoids uncertainty through insuring their employees and organizational structures against any risks. This gives the employees morale to work harder as they are certain about their future (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321) Hofstede theory has brought changes in the organization through bringing gender balance in the organization. Many organizations have eradicated any practices that could bring gender imbalance. Some of these practices start direct from advertising the vacancies in the organization. The organizations have also ensured that the advertisements are gender neutral so as to give all interested applicants an opport unity to try their luck. In the interview level, questions that are asked by the panel are neutral so as not to discourage the minority gender. Countries have also adapted to the cultural model through putting up strategies to ensure that all genders are well represented in the organizations and institutions (Khastar et al, 2

The Language Proficiency Assessment For Teachers

The Language Proficiency Assessment For Teachers Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority announced the result of Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (LPAT) in recently, the overall result in English Language has continuous decreased. LPAT consist of five papers in reading, writing, listening, speaking and classroom assessment. Except for the listening paper result is increase 2% passing rate in last year, all others paper has decreased. The Language Proficiency Assessment published by the government of Hong Kong SAR since 2000, after 10 years implementation, the teachers English language standard still cannot achieve public expectation, nearly half of the candidates are failed in assessment in every year. Some teachers said it make them feel humiliated dignity, because they still repeat the trial in many times. Research Question The candidate failure in Hong Kong Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (LPAT) in continuous few years, why are they failure in this test? Many candidates feels stress under the test, is it a real reason as behind of the failure? Purpose of the study The audience of this study is including decision-makers and candidates. The purpose of this study is discussing the reasons of the candidates failure in LPAT. Some teachers said that the questions are too difficult for them and they dont have this kind of study when they were a student, they feel stress between the test and their job. I will discuss the difficult and find out the problem when candidates are facing to LPAT. Histories of the LPAT Along with education reform, teachers are encouraged to strive for higher levels of language proficiency, and to enhance their professionalism in subject knowledge and pedagogy through training. According by the Education Bureau published in September of 2000, all new recruits teachers (include teaching in Primary and Secondary school teacher) in English level are required to pass the benchmark test (known as LPAT now), as is currently teaching in English teachers, they must be fulfill the standard before 2006 year, the teacher can be through the training or examination to achieve. Otherwise, they are not allowed to teaching the related language subject. The objective of government is to ensure that all language teachers possess at least basic language proficiency, so that they can promote effective teaching and enhance the quality of education, provide professional teaching. Teachers were taken in the streets to protest the policy announced in 2001 when government introduced the LPAT to testify the English teachers are really qualify to do that job. Some teachers association to be against the assessment as at today, they believed LPAT will increase the pressure on teachers. Bibliography review in study Many of teachers said that they feel stress in the LPAT test, some of these even quit their job as an English teacher, LPAT is the main reason for them to leave their industry, especially for someone has taken the LPAT test in a few times, they are no confidence in a teaching field. The below theories may help to explain their performance in the test and why they failure. Firstly, the cognitive theoretical approach (Lazarus 1999) suggested that the best way to view the stress process is as a transaction between the person and environment which means the stress may be come from the event itself, the persons age, culture and experience. The teachers stress is come form the test, the teacher entry in their field before the LPAT is implement, the education reform make a change in the educate cultural, they may afraid the change in their age because they will lost their job when failed in LPAT. Methodology using in study In LPAT is including in five papers, these are reading, writing, listening, speaking and classroom assessment. I will focus on writing part in this study because most of candidates are failed in this paper in the past ten years. In writing part, it also divided into 2 section, first part is detection and correction of errors/problems, but we will focus on the second part is explanation of errors/problem, because most of the candidates feels confuse in this part. They cant make accuracy answer in this section. I am going to find out the problem of the candidate when they are facing in writing paper. I will adopt 2 methods to collect the data and try to analysis the various possible reasons. Method 1: Interview Interview is one of the methods to reflect the actual situation in LPAT, interview to different role can be reflecting their opinions on LPAT test. a) The man of the street Respondents: Including student, business man, foreigner and who can speak English. Our interview should be including different segmentation of the people to make the result is more precise and objective. Different role can be reflecting different opinions of the LPAT, we need to consider on the role when doing an interview. Location: In Central, Sheung Wan or Wanchai. We need to choose an appropriate place to conduct the interview make it precise. These three places are including different kind of person, different segmentation of the person can be finding in these places. We are looking for someone who has basic language knowledge to conduct an interview, the English language level of these places is higher than other district, so that it is an appropriate place for interview. Process: We can choose two or three questions from the past paper, those are most common mistake in the previous LPAT test. Select a different degree of depth in the question. Starting with the easily question to interview an interviewee, according to interviewees respond to continuous the other questions. We request the interviewee point out the error from the question and ask them to correct it in the right answer. Compare the answer by the interviewee how to different with the candidate. b) Candidates Respondents: Who is planning to have an assessment in future and failed in assessment in pervious LPAT test. They are the most important interviewee because they lead the most important role in the assessment, when they are preparing for the assessment, they will clearly to know the difficult in between. Someone who failed in assessment, they may help to analysis the reasons of failed in the test. Location: Any place let the interviewee feels comfortable Process: It can be conducting in one by one interview or telephone interview. Using telephone interview because some of the candidate is existing teacher in the school, they are not willing to disclose the identity, they may afraid to affect the image of them or their school. So, these kinds of interview make them feels security and more objective. In one by one interview, it may give a mock paper for the interviewee who is planning to have assessment, all question will be find in past paper. After that, we can check the answer together, to discuss the real answer and ask the interviewee feels after they finished the mock paper. This mock paper helps us to analysis the real problem in LPAT test. Professional in language scope Respondents: They can be a school principal, English lecturer in University, representative of Education Bureau or who is involve in LPAT. Location: Any place let an interviewee feels convenience, may be in their office. Process: This group of interviewee can be share their experience in the test, help us to cognitive the question in the LPAT, they will know more about the meaning of the LPAT, help to find out the deep reason that are failed in the test. Method 2: Research in the past paper Some of the teachers said that the question of the writing part is too difficult for them, so they dont have a sense in the past in some question. We are trying to find out some questions in previous past paper, to compare the degree of the question in LPAT paper, go through the questions are belonging to which level student. We will obtain 5 previous LPAT in writing paper of explanation of errors/problem section, find out the pattern of the question in these 5 years, analysis which grammatical features is often occur in paper, find the possibility of the most common question in the paper. After research, we will know that the weakness of the candidate and analysis. Such as the most common question focus on tenses, infinitive and defining clause in the previous paper. According to these analyses, it can give us a reference to recognize the question is easier one or difficult one, to verify the teachers view is correct or not. Conclusion Measuring stress in humans: a practical guide for the field / edited by Gillian H. Ice and Gary D. James

Comparing Fordism and Scientific Management

Fordism and Scientific Management are terms used to describe management that had application to practical situations with extremely dramatic effects. Fordism takes its name from the mass production units of Henry Ford, and is identified by an involved technical division of labour within companies and their production units. Other characteristics of Fordism include strong hierarchical control, with workers in a production line often restricted to the one single task, usually specialised and unskilled. Scientific management, on the other hand, â€Å"originated† through Fredrick Winslow Taylor in 1911, and in very basic terms described the one best way work could be done and that the best way to improve output was to improve the techniques or methods used by the workers. (Robbins p. 38) Many comparisons can be made between the two theories, such as the mechanisation, fragmentation and specialisation of work and that a lack of intellectual or skilled content will speed up the work at hand. Fordism's mechanisation of mass production further emphasised many of Taylor†s popular beliefs about management being divorced from human affairs and emotions, using ‘humans as instruments or machines to be manipulated by their leaders† (Hersey p. 84). Fordism fused and emphasised the scientific methods to get things done by Ford†s successful mass-production processes. Contrasts also exist between the two theories. Fordism dehumanisied the worker whereas scientific management convinced the workers that their goals could be readily achieved along with their employers goals, therefore they should all work together in this direction. Fordism suited industrial companies participating in mass production, whereas Scientific Management could be used in many types of organisation. Large companies such as Ford Motors, The Reichskuratorium fur Wirtschaftkichkeit (RKW) in Germany examples these theories in practice. These theories of the past are lessons for the way modern organisations are run today. Managers now realise that they should treat their workers more democratically and since the mid-70†³s, sweeping changes in markets and technology have encouraged managers and manufacturers to use greater product diversity and more flexible methods of production. Movements towards a more flexible organisation have become apparent. Examples of orgainisations such as Nissan, NASA and Toyota serve as modern day examples of post-Fordism and depict movement towards a modified Scientific Management. Comparisons that can be made include Fordism's mechanisation of mass production and Taylor†s attempts at using employees as machines. Taylor designed this using his principles of management that included developing a science for each element of work and finding the quickest way the job could be done. Henry Ford†s ideal types of Fordist production system included using fixed and dedicated machines in individuals work, rather than turning the employee into a machine. (Hollinshead 1995) With Taylor attempting to prove to the world that there was a science to management and that the quickest way was the best way, he attacked the incompetence of managers for their inefficiencies in running the railroads and factories. Using time and motion studies, Taylor achieved productivity increases of up to 200 per cent. (Dunphy, 1998, p. 4). His thoughts were echoed by others: during a 1910 Interstate Commerce Commission hearing, Louis D. Brandeis argued that US railroads could save a million dollars a day if they introduced scientific management into their operations (Oakes, 1996). Taylor showed the world that the methodical and scientific study of work could lead to improved efficiency. He believed that by defining clear guidelines for workers many improvements could be made to the production of goods. Fordism like Scientific Management in the newly mechanised industries of the early 20th century emphasised that efficiency came from precision in job design, clear division of responsibilities and tight policing of implementation (Taylor, 1911). Taylorism and Fordism were consistent with notions of the organisation as † a ‘military machine† first developed by Frederick the Great of Prussia, and later refined by Henri Fayol†. (Taplin, 1995, p. 430) Scientific Management encouraged firms to improve efficiency by analysing individual processes of industrial production and then recreating them to produce maximum output from any given size labor force. (Hudson, 1997) Ford's production-line innovations compounded scientific management†s efficiencies into the economy. Taylor believed it would be best to scientifically select, train, teach and develop the workers. However, in contrast, Fordism was based on mass production using semi skilled workers who could be easily replaced. Fordism did not care for the workers to work as a team and to ‘Heartily co-operate †¦ to ensure that all work is done in accordance with the principles of science† like Taylor†s ideas of scientific management did (Robbins,1997, p. 40). Although Fordism borrowed many scientific management ideas, it then advanced upon them to produce a new form of management that included management having hierarchical authority and technical control. Fordism enabled managers to regulate production and safeguard their own position within firms as well as meeting the efficiency criteria set by owners. The obvious efficiencies of Fordism and features that were responsible for the economic successes of this system, also caused problems. Fordism proved particularly suitable to manufacturing in a mass consumption economy, required only occasional innovation of new products and used machines that only made specific goods. Often, these were of low-quality, low-value, high-volume nature, and competition was price based. Low quality could easily become poor quality; workers were poorly motivated with resulting high labor turnover and absenteeism; and coordinating the flow of materials through production processes was difficult (Wood, 1993). Fordism led to massive increases in productivity in certain industries, but the human cost was significant. At one point Henry Ford's assembly lines had an annual employee turnover of 380 per cent (Encarta, 1998). Fordism alienated workers and allowed no creativity. Where scientific management looked to divide work and responsibility almost equally between management and workers, Fordism was after minimum discretion between management and workers with fragmented work and minimal tasks for employees. Examining what happened at the Ford Motor Company supports these facts. In 1913 Ford began using monotonous assembly-line techniques in his plant. Although assembly-line techniques greatly increased productivity, many people soon left their line jobs, because of the unpleasant monotony of the work and the repeated increases in production quotas. This is something that contemporary management techniques have realised; it is beneficial for employees to become involved within their jobs and not expected to be machines. Ford partly overcame this problem by doubling the daily wage then standard in the industry with his famous offer of ‘$5 a day to workers who would put up with the alienated, regimented work conditions at Ford Motors† (Clark, 1997). One worker said, â€Å"You†ve got to work like hell at Ford†s†¦ You can†t let up. You†ve got to get out the production†¦ nd if you can†t get it out, you get out† (Rupert, 1997, p. 11) His results were increased stability in Fords labor force and a substantial reduction in operating costs. Then the Model T automobile was introduced in 1908. With the help of this model, Ford became America†s largest automobile producer and vendor. Nevertheless throughout the 1930s Ford began losing business to his competitors, mainly because they were slow introducing new models of automobiles every year. (Encarta, 1998) Scientific Management and Fordism created a new type of ‘revolution†. The promise of massive increases in productivity led to the following of Fords and Taylor†s models of management all over the world. Britain never had a scientific management movement like that in America, and the leading British engineering journals in the early 20th century revealed Taylorism receiving attention, much of it positive. Engineering became an unqualified supporter of scientific management, only The Engineer, a journal of engineering at the time, maintained sustained hostility to Taylorism declaring it was unfair and inhuman and not â€Å"sportsmanlike. The Engineer criticised the separation of workers thinking in their jobs from doing their jobs and described Taylorism as â€Å"scientific management gone mad. † (Whitson, 1997) Another organisation that followed both the American models of Taylor and Ford, was The Reichskuratorium fur Wirtschaftkichkeit (RKW) founded in 1921. This huge Berlin-based electro-technical and machine-constructing conglomerate strove to implement measures of industrial and organisational efficiency in Germany in the inter-war era. RKW†s aim was to â€Å"implement technical and organisational measures of industrial, and economic efficiency, an organization devoted to industry; efficiency, and production standardization. † (Shearer, 1997, p. 569) In modern times, firms have attempted to reconfigure work places and production systems using flat hierarchies and lean production systems in contrast to Scientific and Fordist management. Managers presume that these sorts of changes will enable firms to achieve flexibility, seen by many managers as essential to maintaining competitive advantage into and beyond the 21st Century. Flexible production systems opposing strict Fordist lines, made possible by these organisational changes and new technologies, permit shortened product development time. There is a new way of organising production and a departure from Fordism and all it contains. However, scientific management was used by Japanese automobile constructors in the 1970s when they began to compete using â€Å"fundamentally improved manufacturing processes that consistently produced vehicles of higher quality far faster than Detroit† (Oakes p. 569). Japan car manufacturers successfully decreased labour and production costs giving American Manufacturers a run for their money, Japans Toyota is an example that used Fordism as a base of new managerial processes. Another modern day example, which drew on these two management methods, was in space science. NASA developed a set of measures to assess if they were implementing their own strategies. NASA's strategy, defined by the motto ‘cheaper, faster, better,† was to reduce the size and cost of space probes without eliminating any important missions. Figures show that the two missions to Mars launched in late 1996 were each one-fifth the real cost of previous Mars missions (under $200 million in 1996 dollars, as opposed to an average of $1 billion each for the previous eleven U. S. spacecraft launched for Mars)†. (Oakes, 1996, p. 589) Post-Fordism has been described as a â€Å"shift to the new information technologies;[a] more flexible, decentralized form of labour process and of targeting consumers by lifestyle taste and culture rather than by categories of social class†¦ as well as] a rise of the service and white-collar classes and the feminization of the workforce:† These are lessons managers have learnt and result in less rigidity and mechanisation and a reduction in the blue-collar masculine workforce. The firms that face the most difficulties in the new globalised marketplace are often those with labor intensive, standardised manufacturing processes. Companies emphasise that these new forms of work provide better jobs. For instance, Nissan projects an image of work as taking place in an empowering environment built around the themes of flexibility, quality and teamwork. In conclusion, both Fordism and Scientific Management share common themes yet also display some significant differences. They both encourage looking at the fastest way work can be completed and impose strict guidelines upon employees and their job descriptions. This has led to a great deal of dissatisfaction among employees in production lines with alienation and monotony of workers that encouraged a high turnover of employees at organisations that imposed these techniques. Henry Ford developed much of his conceptions upon Taylor†s ideas of scientific management. These theories imply that contemporary organisations and their managers should take into consideration the ideas of employees to avoid division. Managers today often see workers as multi-skilled and more involved in the process of production via teamwork, the reintegration of manual and mental labour, and the empowerment of production workers. Today†s mass production has seen technology wiping out many of the jobs once held by these employees. There is a movement towards a more flexible workplace in the wave of this new technology away from strict guidelines imposed upon workers and their job descriptions, they are now encouraged to learn about other areas of the workplace. Fordism and scientific management have greatly influenced our workplace today and their theories will continue to be built upon for years to come.