Friday, January 31, 2020

10 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty Essay Example for Free

10 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty Essay Innocence and the Death Penalty The wrongful execution of an innocent person is an injustice that can never be rectified. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty, 139 men and women have been released from death row nationally. The High Cost of the Death Penalty It costs far more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life. Death Penalty Can Prolong Suffering for Victims Families Many family members who have lost love ones to murder feel that the death penalty will not heal their wounds nor will it end their pain; the extended legal process prior to executions can prolong the agony experienced by the victims families. International Views on the Death Penalty The vast majority of countries in Western Europe, North America and South America more than 139 nations worldwide have abandoned capital punishment in law or in practice. Inadequate Legal Representation Perhaps the most important factor in determining whether a defendant will receive the death penalty is the quality of the representation he or she is provided. Deterrence Scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions deter people from committing crime anymore than long prison sentences. Arbitrariness in the Application of the Death Penalty Politics, quality of legal counsel and the jurisdiction where a crime is committed are more often the determining factors in a death penalty case than the facts of the crime itself. Religious Perspectives on the Death Penalty Although isolated passages of religious scripture have been quoted in support of the death penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral. Racial Disparities The race of the victim and the race of the defendant in capital cases are major factors in determining who is sentenced to die in this country. In 1990 a report from the General Accounting Office concluded that in 82 percent of the studies [reviewed], race of the victim was found to influence the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the death penalty, i.e. those who murdered whites were more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murdered blacks. Alternatives to the Death Penalty In every state that retains the death penalty, jurors have the option of sentencing convicted capital murderers to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentence is cheaper to tax-payers and keeps violent offenders off the streets for good.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Poetry paper :: essays research papers

Final Paper Assignment For the last paper, you should focus on a poem or poems. You have several options: Write about one (or two) or the poems we’ve discussed in class, with the aim of bringing some new perception to it. For example, we’ve discussed some poems in pairs because one refers to the other and helps us to understand it—we’ve discussed this in class, but you could take it further and deeper. Write about a theme that you find in more than one poem, particularly in which the positions taken are different. â€Å"Out, Out† by Frost and â€Å"How Annandale Went Out† both talk about when life becomes unlivable—how far do you go to save life? Why do the personae—the speakers within the poems—make the choices they do? How does the Macbeth speech add to the discussion—or does it? You could also take the Macbeth poem by itself for analysis of its various complexities. Write about two war poems that present similar arguments in different ways: the fact that war isn’t pretty, and people back home really don’t know what it is like—and maybe it is better that way. You can talk about the â€Å"human† behind the â€Å"soldier†Ã¢â‚¬â€as in â€Å"Vergissemeinnicht† or â€Å"The Death of a Soldier.† You may take a poem, as in the last paper, and relate it to you—starting with a thesis that connects the poem to your experience, develop a paper that sheds light on what the poem has to say because of something that happened in your life, and then come back full circle to connect to how the poem helped you understand better the experience you had. You may choose a poem we have not covered. IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO SO, YOU MUST GET THE POEM APPROVED BY ME: NOT ALL POEMS ARE CREATED EQUAL AND JUST BECAUSE IT IS IN POETIC FORM DOES NOT NECESSARILY MAKE IT â€Å"GOOD.† You should write a draft of this over the weekend—get a solid sense of your ideas and get them down on paper and bring that with you to your conference next week. If you don’t have a draft, there won’t be anything for us to talk about and your conference will be a waste of time. Conference time is not time to figure out what poem you want to write about; it is about improving on the ideas you already have developed. If you have a question about the topic you’ve chosen or the direction you’re going, send me an e-mail so that I can get back to you.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Longxi Machinery Works – Case Analysis

LongXi Machinery Works Problem Statement LongXi is geared to increase its market share for small multi-cylinder diesel engines but the growing quality concern over production of critical parts is jeopardizing LongXi’s growth in the agricultural sector market. Continued quality issues with our DGS, a critical part within LongXi’s Small Multi-Cylinder Diesel Engine has resulted in breakdown, engine failure and loss production at several customers. Customer complaints are increasing and we need to react to and eliminate our quality concerns. We must develop ways to improve quality in house. Our QC group is well established therefore we are recommending that we collect and analyze data relative to why the DGS is failing and from that data collection, make improvement to correct the recurring quality problems. Situation Analysis Customer Relationship Customer relations for LongXi Machinery Works are highlighted in the company’s background. We are one of several medium sized companies that share 55 per cent of the market share not occupied by larger single-cylinder engine manufacturers. Our primary market is the agricultural machinery sector of China. Since our inception, our competitive priority was in manufacturing various single and multi-cylinder diesel engines. These engines served four primary customers. Due to changes in China’s agricultural machinery sector that increased buying power, sales of diesel-powered agricultural machinery is seeing a ten percent continual growth over a five year period. Because of this growth, our sales estimate equate to 85 percent of the overall 10 percent growth over the same five year period. The attached table shows a comparison to one of our primary competitors – Changchou Diesel Engine Works (Changchai). As you can see from the comparison table, LongXi is a much smaller company to Changchai. Changchai is one of the four large manufacturers that account for 45 percent of the market and we are one of the several smaller companies that equate for the remaining 55 percent. Process Analysis Sawing Department The duo-gear shaft (DGS) is manufactured at LongXi using a batch manufacturing process in which small quantities of parts are process at a time. The process flow for the DGS starts in the warehouse where raw material is sawed to the desired length. Three of six machines are used to prepare the raw material for the DGS. Based on the initial step in the process flow, using the six available machines will allow more parts to flow through the process which would increase operating cost, but would significantly reduce process time. This process change could help in reducing the overall cost of the DGS unit. Machining Department The next operation in the manufacturing process is the machining process. This process consists of Grinding, Lathe and Drilling machines. Only the lathes and the drilling machines are used in this area of the machining department in the initial phase of the machining process. The lathe process is the first process in the machining department. After the lathe process, parts are stacked on each operator’s tool box until the material handler moves them to the drilling operation. After each machining process the parts are transported via carts by a material handler to the next process. Typically, in other machining operations, the lathe and drilling process could be combined into one operation where the parts would be cut to length and the holes would be drilled using the same machine. This would require significant capital investment by LongXi but it would reduce wait and transportation time between processes. This would also eliminate the need for operators to stack parts on their tool boxes. Thermal Treatment Department The thermal treatment process is the most important process in respect to the overall quality of the DGS part. As stated, thermal treatment is needed to develop the proper hardness of the DGS after the initial machining operations. With respect to the heat treatment process of the DGS, the DGS goes through a preheat process where the part is heated to approximately 200c – 300c for ten minutes. Workers were then expected to judge this process based on visual cues and overall time. Since this is the initial phase of the heat treatment process, it is important that the part is preheated to the correct temperature to maintain consistency throughout the remaining processes. Perhaps an automatic temperature sensor and timer can be added to the preheat furnace to indicate when the part is within the temperature range for the allotted time. This would eliminate the inconsistency of the workers judgment. Processing the DGS through the main furnace is set up to have the furnace monitor the heat cycle and times and then records them on a chart recorder. While this is good, the operator is once again asked to manually hold the parts until the cycle is complete. This again can introduce inconsistency into the process. The tempering process is a very important step in the overall heat treatment process. This step is automated and electrically controlled. There is a ten minute wait time for each basket of parts between the quenching process and the tempering process. The DGS is then returned to the machining department a second time for grinding. This operation is a two shift operation utilizing one operator per shift. The attached Fishbone chart outlines possible problems causes we are currently experiencing with the overall manufacturing process. In summary, the current process to manufacture the DGS is setup as a job shop where similar machines are grouped together. Although this process creates flexibility with the way product flow through each operation, the manufacturing process for the DGS at LongXi can be improved significantly. We need to create a separate process to manufacture the DGS. One way to do so is to start by combining processes to eliminate non-value-added activities such as part transfer between operations. The lathe and the drilling process can also be combined into one operation. Adding more automation for part transfer can also reduce NVA. As a result of combining processes, more floor space can be freed up for parts storage. Total Quality Management Quality Inspection Quality management is a major part of the DGS manufacturing process. Approximately 130 quality inspectors are responsible for quality throughout the organization. Three types of inspection are done throughout each operation. Initial Inspection, Patrol Inspection and Final Inspection. This is an area of quality that needs to be addressed. Typically in manufacturing operations this amount of inspection at each operation is excessive and can lead to problems instead of solutions. With the workers taking responsibility for quality and having a final inspection at the end of each process seem enough for the DGS process. Customer Satisfaction In terms of customer satisfaction most of our quality inspection is done to satisfy our internal customers or upstream processes. Quality is built into the product after each operation where the process is not complete until a final inspection. This done to ensure that the next process/customer receives a quality part with the belief that our external customer will ultimately receive a quality product. We are still working on satisfying our customer in the agricultural market sector in some areas. We are producing a product that meets our customer’s specification, our product has value and we provide adequate support when we have an engine failure. However, in the areas of consistent quality and on-time delivery, we are lacking and must improve. Employee Involvement Along with the other inspection processes within the departments, workers were also responsible for ensuring high quality production. A process called Self Inspection is used by workers to verify their own quality. Workers were also encouraged to use Mutual Inspection which meant that the quality of upstream operations was verified. Workers were also responsible for notifying quality inspectors to conduct other necessary inspections. Employee involvement is also active at LongXi through the formation of our QC Group. This group is made up of Line Workers, Managers, and Engineers. The main focus of the QC Group was to focus on the metallurgical issues that might be causing the quality problems with the DGS. The QC Group’s activities were guided by a manual called the â€Å"Method†. This manual gave direction on working routines, rules for quality improvement targets, and brainstorming techniques. Instructions for encouraging employee enthusiasm and customer suggestions were also included in the â€Å"Method†. We rely heavily on employee involvement as tools necessary to improve our overall product quality. We rely heavily on employee involvement in several ways. We have teams setup that establishes goals for marketing, production, profits and employee benefits. These goals are later translated into quotas which are distributed throughout the company and are analyzed monthly. To further implement and build upon the concept of employee involvement to improve overall product quality, each department within the company is viewed as a customer and efforts are being made to correct and eliminated product defects before it is passed on to the next customer. However, we must continue our efforts to improve overall quality. One immediate recommendation would be to continue the developing the Quality Group and the motivation/reward system that rewards employee involvement in quality improvements. There are significant gaps in training between the Quality Group members and the production line workers. Improving the reward system is also a significant improvement that needs to be addressed. Most of our re-accruing quality problems are being generated from lack of motivation of production and technical personnel. A better or improved reward/motivation system will help that problem. Continuous Improvement Most of LongXi’s continuous improvement efforts were driven by the overall goals of the SOE and the government of China, and demand for external customers. Most of the continuous improvement efforts were directed through the fulfillment of the â€Å"Market, Management, Quality, Profit† credo. The management team developed action plans in areas such as technological improvements, quality improvements, and new product introduction. The goals from the development of the action plans were then distributed throughout the company and each month, each department analyzed the actual versus what was planned. Continuous improvement is also being applied at LongXi such as: †¢ Adding new assembly lines. †¢ New group processing centers. †¢ Implementing action plans for technological improvements, quality improvements and new product introduction. In Summary, we have made significant steps to satisfy our customers, involve our employees and improve our product line but our overall product quality remains a major concern and the implementation of an overall quality system will be necessary to overcome this concern. Getting and keeping management involvement in the Quality Group is also a significant step forward in improving the current quality problem. Our management team will have to be more involved in driving and monitoring quality improvement goals especially at the production line worker level. This would ensure that overall production and quality issues are addressed and supported. Technical support continued to be inadequate at the production line worker level which is where the work is done to produce the DGS. Alternatives New Thermal Treatment Department |   |   | |Pro |   |Con | |Focus on efficiency to improve quality |   |Current production is hurting quality | |Capacity limited |   |May not have space needed unless major improvements are made | |Complete automated process |   |Significant investment | |New machines |   |Older equipment relied on human Judgment | | | | | |Outsource the production of the DGS |   |   | |Pro |   |Con | |Focus on efficiency to imp rove quality |   |Part is inexpensive | |   |   |Continued quality problems impacting future business | |   |   |Company location | | | | | |Eliminate Products Using the DGS |   |   | |Pro |   |Con |Focus on efficiency to improve quality |   |Product is key to future sales | | | | | |Develop New Quality Process |   |   | |Pro |   |Con | |Focus on efficiency to improve cost |   |Different way of operating business | |Focus on improving quality |   |Time | |Better customer satisfaction |   |Re-training all employees | Decision and Action Plan We do not recommend eliminating the production of the DGS. This part is a critical part used in all of the multi-cylinder engines that we produce. Eliminating this product would significantly hurt our overall business of producing and selling multi-cylinder engines. We do not recommend outsourcing production of the DGS. The part is relatively inexpensive and outsourcing the part would add significant cost the engine. Also, it is unclear that this would eliminate the quality problems. We recommend that we consider improvements to the Thermal Treatment department. The best solution would be to make the process 100% automated to eliminate any judgment or inconsistency on the part of the production workers. Although buying new machines would be an acceptable implementation for this decision, it would require less capital investment and provide consistency throughout the thermal treatment process. We recommend that improvements to the initial phase of the thermal treatment process be implemented first since that is the critical first step in establishing verall consistency throughout the process. Although we have made significant improvement and received several quality awards, we recommend that improvement be implemented to provide more technical support at the production line worker level. This would r equire more management involvement to make sure the right individuals were placed on teams and included in workshops that could train and take information back to the production line. As far as long-range quality management, we recommend that in order to maintain our quality improvement efforts that we become ISO 9000 certified. This certification will validate our efforts and move us closer toward becoming a world class company. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Appendices | | | | | |COMPETITOR COMPARISON | | |   | | | |Changchai | | | |LongXi | | | | | | | |Production Volume | | | |1. mil | | | |86,900 | | | | | | | |Revenues | | | |3 bil | | | |176 mil | | | | | | | |% of export sales | | | |8% | | | |   | | | | | | |% domestic sales | | | |92% | | | |85% | | | | | | | |profit | | | |208 mil | | | |6. 5 mil | | | | | | | |gross margin/unit | | | |2. 6 bil | | | |   | | | | | | | |verti cal integration | | | |   | | | |yes | | | | | | | |external partnership | | | |yes | | | |yes | | | | | | | |ISO 9000 | | |yes | | | |no | | | | | | | |Technology investment | | | |yes | | | |yes | | | | | | | |Better Quality | | | |yes | | | |no | | | | | | | [pic]

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Global Warming And Its Impact On The Environment - 2444 Words

Throughout time, Earth has had the tendency of evolving, changing its ecosystem in response to its environment. The organisms on Earth however, always seemed to show an uncanny resiliency in most environmentally changing circumstances and have learned to adapt to the ever changing environments the ecosystem thrusts upon them. Although living things on Earth have always found a way to persevere through natural catastrophes, there is a man-made global change in the works that this time, may not be able to overcome so easily and may even threaten the well-being of all living things. This drastic change that is upon us is global warming. Global warming also referred to as the greenhouse effect has been a topic of discussion for the past two decades; yet climate change isn’t something out of the ordinary but an external factor is. Year after year tons of carbon monoxide caused by human activity invades the Earth’s atmosphere. Global warming directly affects the Earth’ s upper atmosphere and it is the human industrial farming, pollution, deforestation, and burning of fossil fuels. Powerful natural disasters are something that we are no strangers to. For example, in January of 2010, Haiti was devastated by an earthquake that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Global warming will certainly cause natural disasters to be more frequent and harsher than they have ever been. Hurricanes could become sixty percent larger with tornadoes also increasing in frequency and powerShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Global Warming On The Environment1572 Words   |  7 Pagesconsidered to be main source of fuel of urban and rural population of India. Use of fossil fuels results in air pollution which is a major problem and directly resulting in smog and degradation of human health and plant growth. The impact of global warming on the environment extensive and affects many areas. Due to warmer temperatures are causing the ice to melt in Arctic and Antarct ica will increase sea level and change the composition of surrounding sea water. Biomass briquettes is a high density biomassRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Impact On The Environment Essay1672 Words   |  7 Pages The present state of the environment is being thwarted to the forefront as a matter of grave importance. Increased talk about Climate change, Global Warming and even the increase in presence and strength of hurricanes evident with the passing of Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Nicole, has shed light on the impending doom. While the world is becoming more and more aware of the environmental decay, they are torn as to the cause and the subsequent solution to the problem at hand. Litfin and WapnerRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Impact On The Environment952 Words   |  4 Pagesexpectancy becomes longer, the global environment is being negatively impacted by various human and natural activities that are detrimental to the environment. Unfortunately there are many global environmental issues that need the attention of world leaders today, and have beco me undisputed environmental issues in today’s society. However, the most important public health, environmental issue I would like to address in my discussion is global warming. Furthermore, global warming influences a great amountRead MoreEssay on Global Warming: Impact of Climate Change on the Environment2327 Words   |  10 Pages These causes have negative effect on the natural environment which leads to increasing of temperature, increasing in sea level, changing of precipitations, extremely weather, killing species of animals, birds, fish and plants. This essay will show that the causes of climate change have different effects on the environment. Atmospheric carbon dioxide variations, volcanic eruptionsRead MoreGlobal Warming Is A Big Problem1320 Words   |  6 PagesGallos English 3 Global Warming Global warming is a big problem and impacts our environment in a negative way because it is heating the Earth. Global warming impacts all of the life around us even though not many people recognize it. There are many problems that global warming will make to our environment and it has already impacted it over time. Although, there are many problems, there are also solutions to stop global warming. Climate change is most closely related to global warming and many scientistsRead MoreEssay about Causes and Effects of Global Warming on Our World1498 Words   |  6 PagesGlobal Warming is a universal concern that has gained worldwide attention. As members of Congress, we have heard and learned new and different facts about the process of Earth. Some causes and effects of global warming are easy to understand, with substantial evidence, yet there are still unanswered questions and reasoning as to why global warming is occurring. This essay is to outline the background of global warming an d to display opposing viewpoints. Since there is not enough evidential researchRead MoreGlobal Warming: Fiction or Truth? Essay example1369 Words   |  6 PagesTrue or false; global warming is a catastrophic event that is occurring by natural and human means that is causing global temperature to rise and that can lead to many disasters? This has been an issue that hundreds and maybe thousands of scientists and citizens have debated about back and forth. The thought of global warming existing is a strong claim that many and most people have been backing up. Reliable sources have claims and evidence that is sufficient to prove global warming but other reliableRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effect On The Global Environment1144 Words   |  5 PagesGlobal warming has emerged as one of the most serious concerns for scientists and environmentalists in the 21st century. This is based on the negative impact of global warming, which is not limited to deforestation, drastic variations in climate, decline in output of global agricultural industry, degradation of ice sheets in Antarctic, decrease in ocean productivity, rise in sea levels, and increase in tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. The primary reason for global warming has been identified asRead MoreClimate Change Essays1637 Words   |  7 Pagesthe notion of Global warming today is commonly heard but very misunderstood. One might ask, what exactly is global warming and should we care? According to What is Global Warming? in LiveScience, global warming is a gradual increase in the temperature of Earths surface and atmosphere, that has become a world-wide environmental issue.1(Lallanilla,2013) Similarly, this topic is one of great controversy because of widely differing opinions on current global warming rates and the impact by humans.ThisRead MorePros and Cons: Global Warming Essay917 Words   |  4 PagesAlleged Global Warming has been a hot topic and been widely reported in the American media since the 1970 s. In March 2014, TED, a nonprofit committed to expanding ideas with short talks, gave a powerful presentation of the alleged current consequences of Global Warming in Gavin Schmidt’s (2014) talk: The emergent patterns of climate change. His claims are stark and he implores his audience to take the grave predictions of Global Warming seriously and not just write it off as insignificant. While