Free Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Online Search

The Social Security Death Index, commonly referred to as the SSDI, is a database containing the names and dates of birth and death for over 77 million Americans. This massive database is a wonderful resource for genealogists, and is available in many online locations for free search. To learn more about about the Social Security Death Index, and what it can tell you about your ancestors, read How-to Guide to the SSDI. Note about free Social Security Death Index Access: In late 2011, a number of genealogy sites removed or restricted access to the free SSDI database, the public version of the SSA Death Master File. The following sites still provide free SSDI access as of December 2015: FamilySearch—SSDI Search Free online search of the SSDI, a name index to deaths recorded by the Social Security Administration beginning in 1962. Free, unrestricted search. This database was last updated on 28 February 2014, just prior to restrictions enacted in March 2014 which require that newly reported deaths will not be made available in the public version of the Social Security Death Index for three years after the individuals death. As such, new deaths reported after February 2014 will not be available in this database until 2017. Social Security Death Master File, Free Tom Alciere makes available this free version of the Social Security Death Master File, current as of November 2011, and searchable by name or social security number. This copy does not have available the death-residence location or death benefit payout ZIP Code. For additional search features for accessing these files, check out the SSDI search tool at DonsList.net. GenealogyBank—Free SSDI Search Advanced search features make this free version of the SSDI easy to use (with registration). However, it is only current through 2011, stating that due to  compliance with Section 203 (Restriction on Access to the Death Master File) of the Budget Act of 2013, they are no longer able to display SSDI records for individuals who have died within the previous 3 years. More importantly, GenealogyBank  does not  provide social security numbers for any individual in the database, whether or not the death was recent. Searching the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) in One Step Steve Morse has created a very handy search form which enhances the search abilities of many of the free SSDI search engines on the Web. You can choose from a variety of free SSDI databases to search through this flexible search interface. Ancestry.com also offers a searchable version of the SSDI, but it is available only to paying subscribers and not free. It is current through mid-March 2014, but does not include social security numbers for individuals who died within the past 10 years.  Going forward, new records will be available when they are older than 3 years (1095 days), to comply with U.S. law. More on the SSDI Tips for Searching the Social Security Death IndexHow to Request a Copy of a Social Security Application SS-5Social Security Numbering: How to Tell Where a Social Security Number Was Issued

The Effects Of Fossil Fuels And High Levels Of Greenhouse...

Introduction The phrase sustainable development is defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. To create an impact on lowering the usage of fossil fuels and high levels of greenhouse gases there are several different forms of renewable energy available for worldwide use today. This includes biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel), biomass, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power stations, solar powered cells, and wind turbines to name a handful of sources of energy. Solar energy from the sun can also be derived to produce photochemical, photoelectric, and photovoltaic energy to diversify its format. By increasing uses of fossil fuels we endanger ourselves with the†¦show more content†¦The protocol agreement suggested countries were required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 5% against levels produced in 1990. A further extension was agreed to depreciate the emissions by 18% below the levels in 1990 during an eight year time period from 2013 to 2020. The triple bottom line (TBL) effect is taken into consideration when used to describe the sustainability of an industry. This is an accounting framework measuring the economic, environmental, and social aspects over a specific period of time. With the diversity of renewable energy and its different formats, it is an effective method to impose and produce a TBL. These results in accelerating profits and decelerating emissions of greenhouse gases produced by fossil fuel combusting power stations and also nuclear power stations. Creating renewable energy projects result in more jobs for qualified people for installation and labour processes. Although the initial cost of installation for renewable sources of energy is high, the maintenance costs are low and are easily accessible, for example solar panels and wind turbine farms. The production of wind turbine farms has drawn eyebrows for many local communities complaining about them to be visually displeasing. However, many renewable energy projects increase domestic revenues on tourism. A prominent example being the Hoover Dam situated on the border of

Strategic Mangement(Krispy Kreme) Free Essays

P r o j e c t o f Strategic Management Case Study Krispy Kreme Doughnut HAILEY COLLEGE OF COMMERCE UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB We are thankful to ALLAH (all mighty) for guiding us and giving us power and courage. Project submitted: Sir Ishfaq Ahmed This project is based on our course of S. M. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Mangement(Krispy Kreme) or any similar topic only for you Order Now We have tried to utilize our knowledge about the subject which was taught by our professor. S. M is a vast field and it was a bit difficult for us to cover it all at our learning phase. We have applied many concepts of S. M to the case study We are very much thankful to our Sir Ishfaq Ahmedfor teaching us this important subject with all dedication and interest. It was very necessary for us to understand the real concepts of S. M. for our future practical working life. Project prepared by: Bilal Raja 792 Krispy Kreme Doughnut History and Growth The founder, Vernon Rudolph, worked for his uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, who purchased a secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts and a shop on Broad Street in Paducah, Kentucky, from Joseph LeBeouf of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Rudolph began selling the yeast doughnuts in Paducah and delivered them on his bicycle. The operation was moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and other family members joined to meet the customer demand. The first store in the nation with the Krispy-Kreme name opened on Charlotte Pike in 1933. Rudolph sold his interest in the Nashville store and in 1938 opened a doughnut shop in Winston-Salem, and began selling to groceries and then directly to individual customers. The first store in North Carolina was located in a rented building on South Main Street in Winston-Salem in what is now called historic Old Salem. The Krispy Kreme logo was designed by Benny Dinkins, a local architect. By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was known throughout the southeastern United States, and it began to expand into other areas. In 1976, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Beatrice Foods of Chicago, Illinois. The headquarters for Krispy Kreme remained in Winston-Salem. In 2003, a pilot project in Mountain View, California, to sell doughnuts through car windows and sunroofs at a busy intersection (with wireless payment) failed. On February 19, 2007, Krispy Kreme began selling the Whole Wheat Glazed doughnut in an attempt to appeal to the health conscious. The doughnut has twenty Calories fewer than the original glazed (180 vs. 200) and contains more fiber (2 grams vs. 0. 5 grams). As of January 2008, the trans-fat content of all Krispy Kreme doughnuts was reduced to 0. 5 of a gram or less. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration, in its guidelines, allow companies to round down to 0 g in its nutrition facts label even if the food contains as much as 0. 5 of a gram per serving. Krispy Kreme benefited from this regulatory loophole in its subsequent advertising campaign, touting its doughnuts as â€Å"trans- fat free† and having â€Å"0 grams trans-fat! Krispy Kreme began another phase of rapid expansion in the 1990s, opening stores outside the southeastern United States where most of their stores were located. Then, in December 2001, Krispy Kreme opened its first store outside the U. S. in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, just outside Toronto. Since 2004, Krispy Kreme has rapidly expanded its international operations. On April 5, 20 00, the corporation went public on the NASDAQ using the ticker symbol KREM. On May 17, 2001, Krispy Kreme switched to the New York Stock Exchange, with the ticker symbol KKD, which is its current symbol. On January 18, 2005, Krispy Kreme announced Stephen Cooper, chairman of financial consulting group Kroll Zolfo Cooper LLC, as interim CEO. Cooper replaces Scott Livengood, who the company said has retired as chairman, president, CEO and a director. The company also named Steven Panagos, a managing director of Kroll Zolfo, as president and COO. Although based on informal advertising such as word-of-mouth, in 2006, Krispy Kreme moved into television and radio advertisements, beginning with its â€Å"Share the Love† campaign with heart-shaped doughnuts. Vision and Values Our Vision †¢ To be the global leader in doughnuts and complementary products, while creating magic moments worldwide. Our Values (with acknowledgement to Founder, Vernon Rudolph) we believe†¦ †¢ Consumers are our lifeblood, the center of the doughnut †¢ There is no substitute for quality in our service to consumers †¢ Impeccable presentation is critical wherever Krispy Kreme is sold †¢ We must produce a collaborative team effort that is unexcelled †¢ We must cast the best possible image in all that we do †¢ We must never settle for â€Å"second best†; we deliver on our commitments We must coach our team to ever-better results Mission statement We create the tastes for good times and warm memories for everyone, everywhere. With our Original Glazed doughnut as our signature and standard, we will continually improve our customer’s experience through: †¢ Innovative ideas †¢ Highest quality, and †¢ Caring service Financial/ business performance Environmental analysis Internal factors Strong brand recognition and recall Wide appeal of signature glazed doughnuts Vertical integration Development in international markets Strong channel of distribution Quality of product Expanded assortment of offerings at KKD stores including beverages Doughnut machine technology. Perishability of product Limited product line (heavy reliance on doughnut sales) Overextended (i. e. , Montana Mills acquisition) Lack of locations in some areas Pricing in some locations External factors Increasing popularity of coffee shops and bakery cafes Popularity of American foods and fashion in overseas markets Growth in two-income households Americans continue to experience time-starvation Entertaining opportunities moving from home to work environment Technological advancements (i. e. paperless ordering, predictive modeling software, hand held computers for delivery drivers) Channel expansion possibilities (i. e. , Internet pre-ordering) Competitors like Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks Low-carb trend in eating preferences All-natural, organic, healthy eating trends Cultural differences in breakfast and snack foods Increase in eating at full-service restaurants combined with a decrease in the use of fast-food restaurants S. W. O. T analysis Strengths 1. Affordable, high-quality doughnuts with strong visual appeal and â€Å"one-of-a-kind† taste 2. Neon â€Å"Hot Doughnuts Now† sign encourages people outside the store to make an impulse purchase 3. Market research shows appeal extends to all major demographic groups including age and income 4. â€Å"Hot shop† stores save money while keeping KKD customer experience intact 5. Vertical integration helps ensure high quality product 6. Consistent expansion; now in 16 countries 7. Product sold at thousands of supermarkets, convenience stores, and retail outlets through U. S. Weaknesses 1. Return on equity, assets, and investments all negative in the trailing twelve months; skill of mgmt. s questionable 2. Shareholders have not received dividends recently, and are not expected to in near future; stock price in state of flux 3. Closing stores when stores should be opening globally at steady rate to keep up with competitors’ growth 4. Management states in recent 10-K that it is struggling with how to make stores profitable 5. Product line slow to expand with nothing Threats 1. Dunkin’ Donuts presently dominates the doughnut market, particularly in northeastern U. S. 2. People are becoming more healthconscious, which does not bode well for highsugar, high-fat treats 3. Starbucks has approximately 25 times the amount of stores worldwide that Krispy Kreme Donut has 4. Restricted cash flow from banks and massive layoffs have stifled the world economy, decreasing discretionary income 5. Europeans prefer their local brands of Opportunities 1. Families crave convenience because of busy lifestyles 2. Asians love sweets and are open to trying foreign foods 3. Starbucks lacks a diversified and distinctive pastry line 4. Dunkin’ Donuts does not have hot doughnuts to sell 5. Many children love sweet treats 6. Tim Horton has yet to expand beyond the U. S. nd Canada, and its product line does not appear to be competitive 7. South America, Africa, and Southern Asia are markets to conquer outside â€Å"sweet treats† to draw in healthconscious customers 6. Advertising not aggressive enough to appeal to areas outside southeast of U. S. where most stores are 7. Revenues down, net losses in each of past three years 8. Per 10-K, continued disputes with f ranchisees could hurt future business doughnuts 6. Britons tend not to have cars, which inhibits drive-thru customers, and their eating habits and office etiquette differ from Americans 7. Shareholders may sell KKD stock for lack of returns and dividends compared to other similar firms in the industry SO Strategies 1. TV, radio, and print ads demonstrating 27 varieties of doughnuts against non-descript pastry offerings by Starbucks (S3, O3) 2. All store signs in supermarkets and conveniences where product is sold have picture of young child eating a Krispy Kreme doughnut (S7, O5) 3. Continued grand openings of stores in highly-populated cities such as Sao Paulo, Brazil Johannesburg, South Africa (S6, O7) ST Strategies 1. Compare â€Å"hot† doughnut appeal of Krispy Kreme Donut to cold doughnuts of Dunkin’ Donuts in TV and Internet ads (S1,T1) 2. Do â€Å"roadshow† across Europe as means of advertising, driving truck and mobile â€Å"hot shop† to major European cities and filming their reactions for European ads (S2, S4, T5, T6) 3. Express strengths and outline concrete strategies in clear format within 10-K in order to restore shareholder confidence in future of Krispy Kreme Donut (S1-S7, T7) WT Strategies 1. Expand product line with low-calorie foods (W5, T7) 2. Recruit top executive talent from other WO Strategies 1. Make doughnuts filled with fruit, put fruit cups on menu, and develop wide variety of fresh fruit smoothies; offer ways to incorporate nuts and protein into foods (W5, O3) 2. Aggressive Internet ads demonstrating the appeal of Krispy Kreme Donut hot doughnuts (W6, O4) 3. Open small but profitable â€Å"hot shops† in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in order to expand globally (W3,O7) fast-food firms (W1, T7) 3. Survey franchisees to discover ways to repair business relationships and retain growth of franchise model; study McDonald’s model for tips (W8, T1, T3) I. F. E E. F. E C. P. M Space matrix Boston Consulting Group Matrix (BCG) Krispy Kreme Donuts has three business segments, and they are presented here along with their annual revenues per Form 10-K filed on April 17, 2009: Company Stores ($266M), Franchise ($26M) and Krispy Kreme Supply Chain ($93M), with approximately $384M in total revenues for the year ending February 1, 2009. This means that each business segment represented the following percentage in revenues: Company Stores (69. 2%), Franchise (6. 7%), and Krispy Kreme Supply Chain (24. 1%). Profits for each business segment are as follows: Company Stores ($-2M); Franchise ($18M); and KK Supply Chain ($25M), for a total of $41M in profits. Therefore, Company Stores has 0% of the profits; Franchise has about 41%; and Krispy Kreme Supply Chain has about 59%. We’ll assume that Company Stores has 3% of the market share and a -13% growth rate; Franchise has 3% of the market share and a 10% growth rate; and Krispy Kreme Supply Chain has 3% of the market share and -7% growth rate. Grand Strategy (GS) Matrix Recommendations 1- Reduce operating expenses (down-size individual stores) Lower Costs of Doing Business †¢ reduce operating costs per individual store by changing average size of stores from 2500-4500 sq. t. range to 15002000 sq ft. Potential for 30 – 50 % decrease in operating cost on a cost per square foot basis. I. Change entire manufacturing and distribution strategy – Implement par baked manufacturing operation †¢ to allow individual stores to decrease in size, thus lowering per store operating costs to a more appropriate level for sales volume †¢ Increased efficiency – smal ler workforce per store, par-bake allows for minimal waste – inventory as needed (important b/c fresh goods – low shelf life †¢ Par bake will allow for â€Å"hot doughnuts now† all of the time. Implications of transition to par bake operation †¢ New Plant Equipment – freezers, production equipment, freezer trucks for distribution/delivery. †¢ Store Equipment – freezers, oven for various par baked goods, fryers for doughnuts. †¢ RD for unique par bake operation, doughnuts still to be fried and glazed on site. II. Sale of Plant and Equipment -sell Effingham plant †¢ Potential buyers are large scale baked-goods manufacturers †¢ Sara Lee Corporation †¢ Entenmann’s (George Weston Bakeries Distribution) †¢ Harlan Bakeries, Inc. Estimated value of 10. 5 – 12 million. III. Remove â€Å"doughnut theater† from 95% of locations, doughnut theater can be part of a select few Flagship locations only. ( 3 – 5 Stores) 2- Develop stronger relations and control of franchisees I. Short-term period of one year – postpone new franchise agreements/new store openings II. Implement Franchise Support Systems †¢ Communication – between corporate and franchisees †¢ Support – training, advertising †¢ Utilize recommendation #1 in order to lower operating expenses for franchisees. – Implement Marketing Strategies I. Advertising – national television and radio advertising campaign based on â€Å"hot doughnuts now†. II. Marketing research – periodic research to stay abreast of trends. III. RD – product development 4- Strengthen Competitive Advantage †¢ Strengthen Competitive Advantage through differentiation in products and services. I. Continue to utilize â€Å"hot doughnuts now† II. Expand product line †¢ Account with AS â€Å"New York† Bagels (par-baked). Par baked will allow for â€Å"Hot Bage ls Now†. How to cite Strategic Mangement(Krispy Kreme), Essay examples

Brl Hardy free essay sample

How do you account for BRL Hardy’s remarkable post-merger success? Prior to the BRL and Hardy merger both companies were rivals with diverse views of the wine industry. Due to the varying views both companies had different organizational structures and approaches. Hardy was a family owned business focused on producing great wine. In 1853 Thomas Hardy acquired land near, Adelaide which is in South Australia. Thomas used the land to plant vines, by 1857 he produced his first vintage, and two hogsheads were exported to England.By 1882 hardy won his first international gold medal at Bordeaux. At the time of Thomas’ death in 1912, Hardy was the largest winemaker in Australia. Hardy became known for award-winning, quality wines, and the company focused on global external brand awareness. BRL on the other hand focused on commercial exporting, the cooperative was referred to as â€Å"the oil refinery of the wine industry†, and the company was more concerned with quantity rather than quality. BRL specialized in fortified, bulk, and value wines and it was the second largest crush in Australia.Both BRL and Hardy were respected in the wine market, unfortunately both companies were suffering financial losses and the merger of both companies was the best alternative. According to an ex-BRL manager, â€Å"we had access to fruit, funds, and disciplines management; Hardy brought marketing expertise, brands and winemaking know-how†. The above mentioned characteristics added to the success of the BRL Hardy merger. The newly formed company focused on client retention, branding and cost savings.Steve Miller, CEO of the newly merged company focused on his first task, the financial situation. Since both companies performed poorly the previous year, Miller wanted to protect its share of the bulk cask business and concentrate on branded bottle sales growth. Another aspect that added to the success of the merger was Miller’s awareness of the differences in culture and management style. Miller’s objective was to create a decentralized approach while keeping management accountable. With the delegation of small tasks, Miller wanted to create a â€Å"have a go† mentality.The objective was to have the company try 20 things and getting 80% right instead of doing two big things that needed to be 100% right. Determined to â€Å"earn his stripes† David Woods was able to integrate the two sales teams which resulted in impressive results. Both domestic bottle market share and profitability increased significantly in the first two years of BRLH’s operation. What is the source of the tension between Stephen Davies and Christopher Carson? How effectively has Steve Millar handled their differences?There are a few sources that contributed to the tension between Davies and Carson; there were conflicts in leadership, po wer struggles, and organizational dysfunctions. The BRL dominated headquarters management supported delegation, but only for those that â€Å"earned their stripes†, even though Carson had a good track record, his past performance he was treated as a new comer by the new management structure. Within the Hardy built European company there were questions about whether their bulk-wine-oriented BRL colleagues understood international marketing.Due to the differences in views there was a feeling of â€Å"Us vs. Them† (UK Subsidiary vs. Headquarters). Carson did not think Davies and the Headquarters were credible and legitimate when it came to marketing. The largest dispute came from marketing strategies, specifically branding and labeling issues. Carson felt that the image of the Hardy brands eroded in the United Kingdom and they needed to be relabeled, repositioned and re-launched. There was difficulty convincing the home office of his strategy, since Australia controlled all aspects of the brand Carson felt like he was on a tight leash.Initially Millar handled the tension between Carson and Davies effectively, Millar acknowledged the expertise and potential the two managers brought to the company; his intention was to get them to collaborate. Unfortunately I think Millar made some errors in how he handled the delicate situation. There was no clear reporting structure, Davies reported directly to Millar, on the other hand Carson reported to Millar regarding the U. K. Company’s profit performance, and reported to Davies for marketing and branding strategies. In essence, Carson had direct access to Davies boss.Millar’s approach was flawed because he did not want to be pulled into resolving disputes, but hoped for negotiation. Hoping for negotiation is not a solution, it’s like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, Millar was focused on growth and he did not encourage Carson and Davies to work things out. Should Millar approve Carson’s proposal to launch â€Å"D’Istinto†? Why or why not? Carson wanted to launch a new wine D’istinto because he felt it would have a unique image built around Mediterranean lifestyle; passionate, warm, romantic and relaxed.Carson wanted to target everyday wine consumers that enjoyed wine, but were not knowledgeable about it; he also knew that women represented 60% of the supermarket wine buyers. With D’istinto buyers would be encouraged to write to receive free recipes. Carson wanted to create a database of wine and food loving consumers that would receive futur e promotions through the mail. The D’istinto line would help build BRLH Europe in size, impact and reputation. In addition to the positive impact on BRLH’s financials, D’istinto would help Carson become more influential.Millar was not convinced that launching D’istinto was a good move for BRLH, there was too much risk involved with competing on the same market with Stamps and Nottage Hill. I think Millar should allow Carson to launch D’istinto since Stamps and Nottage Hill were not doing well in the markets. A new sophisticated Italian wine would be the key in elevating the BRLH brand. What recommendation would you make to the organization concerning the conflicting proposals for â€Å"Kelly’s Revenge† and â€Å"Banrock Station†? What would you decide to do as Carson?As Millar? After struggling to manage things on his own, Carson hired an Australian marketing manager, he needed someone to come into the organization and take charge and get things done. The ne w hire, Paul Browne was an eight year veteran eager to capitalize on an opportunity to create a Hardy brand at the ? 3. 99 price point, but be able to promote it at ? 3. 49. Browne felt the market was ready for a fun brand that would appeal to a younger market. He came up with Kelly’s Revenge, with the support of the U. K. ales management Browne pursued the new product, creating colorful labels and preparing a detailed marketing plan. During this time BRLH in Australia was also creating a new product targeted at a similar price point. The Banrock Station brand was launched in Australia in 1996, its motto was â€Å"Good Earth, Fine Wine†. Banrock Station became an immediate success in Australia and New Zealand. With this success it was difficult for Browne to find a place for Kelly’s Revenge since both wines had the same price point in the U.K. My recommendation would be to produce Banrock Station since it was doing well in the market and Kelly’s Revenge was not well received when surveyed by consumers. In business there are tough decisions that need to be made, but I think the wise choice is going with the product that shows better potential. I think Carson and Millar were back to the dilemma they had regarding D’istinto. How would you compare the management style of Millar to Shackleton and Schulman?Millar, Shackleton, and Schulman were able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals that worked for them. I think Schulman and Shackleton were similar in their leadership style because they were not selfish when it came to the success of their team. I think Shackleton was a bit stubborn and this caused him to get in his own way. Overall they possess great leadership skills which helped them to be successful in different ways. Even though Shackleton has passed, his legacy lives on because he did not allow rejection or an iceberg to stop him from his endeavor.The same goes for Schulman she could have played the victim, but she decided to have a voice and inspired others to be great. Millar on the other hand could have learned a few things from Schulman and Shackleton; I think he tried to separate himself from situations too much. He was focused on profits and he needed to put more emphasis on making sure teams meshed well. One example was the dissention between Carson and Davies. Millar could have been a better leader in handling the situation, putting each person in their respective â€Å"corner† does not solve the problem.

Safety Engineering

Introduction Some fundamentals of safety engineering When speaking about safety engineering, I would like to consider some fundamentals of the so-called requirements engineering. First of all, I would like to point out that RE is considered to be a collection of the tasks, which are to be done in an ongoing manner. It should be pointed out that because of poor requirements some problems appear.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Safety Engineering specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Generally, ambiguous requirements are related to safety issues. For instance, when speaking about safe systems, it is necessary to clarify how safe the system should be or in what way the system should be safe. When speaking about safety engineering, one is to keep in mind the definition of the term. Thus, safety engineering is considered to be â€Å"the engineering discipline within systems engineering that lowers the risk of accidental h arm to valuable assets to an acceptable level to legitimate stakeholders† (Firesmith 22). Basic safety concepts include safety mechanisms, certain goals and policies, safety risks, hazards, safety events, accidental harm, valuable assets, safety quality subfactors and safety as a quality factor. So, let’s consider the last safety concept in detail. First of all, one is to keep in mind that safety captures the degree to which safety risks can be lowered; hazards can be mitigated; accidents and incidents can be avoided (or at least when the consequences of hazardous events can be limited or mitigated). The corresponding safety subfactors include safety problem type and safety solution type. The fist category (safety problem type) consists of accidental harm, safety event, hazards, and safety risk. Safety solution type includes prevention, detection, reaction and adaptation. So, safety problem type and safety solution type form the so-called safety subfactors. When speakin g about certain negative consequences safety measures are related to, there is a need to highlight the meaning of harm. So, the harm is recognized as to be any major (important) negative result to a valuable asset. Accidental harm is â€Å"any unauthorized unintentional (i.e., non-malicious) harm (i.e., due to an accident)† (Firesmith 27). Harm severity allows us to understand the amount of harm. Such categorization can be clearly identified or, on the contrary, unambiguously. Harm severity categories may include catastrophic conditions, severe-major conditions, major conditions, minor conditions, and no-effect conditions.Advertising Looking for essay on engineering? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Safety-related events include an accident trigger, a harm event, and a hazardous event. Safety hazards include danger, hazard, and threat. Safety goals seem to be the desires concerning safety conditions. The following statem ents are related to safety desires: no serious accidents must occur; the system, the equipment, etc. is to be safe; however, the peculiarity of safety goals is that they are considered to be unrealistic. In other words, it is impossible to guarantee that no serious accidents can be. On the other hand, it is also necessary to understand that goals can’t be compared with the requirements. Generally, â€Å"a major problem is safety goals that are specified as if they were verifiable requirements† (Firesmith 46). Safety policy gives us an opportunity to achieve various safety goals. In most cases, safety policies are mostly associated with safety requirements; however, the difference between these two notions is substantial. Safety-related requirements include safety constraints, safety-significant requirements, safety subsystem requirements, and safety requirements. The importance of safety culture and management To achieve safety goals, any organization is to be familiar with safety culture. So, what is the safety culture? A culture is a shared set of norms and values, a way of looking at and interpreting the world and events around us (our mental model) and taking action in a social context. Safety culture is the subset of culture that reflects the general attitude and approaches to safety and risk management (Leveson 245). In Tulsa University, there is no lack of clear safety policies and programs for the students and the university in general. Of course, this situation doesn’t put the lives of students, staff, and the whole of the university community at considerable risk; however, there are no major subjects or courses, which discuss the aspects of safety engineering. Leveson states that safety culture seems to be the subset of â€Å"an organizational or industry culture that reflects the general attitude and approaches to safety and risk management. It is important to note that trying to change culture without changing the environment in which it is embedded is doomed to failure† (p. 2).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Safety Engineering specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since we already know the importance of safety engineering and that it shows up in every other field, for example, mechanical, chemical and electrical engineering, you still can not study safety engineering in Tulsa University, because it is not available, as a major subject to study, even with knowing how important and popular this major is becoming. Safety engineering is really the important science as it gives the students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of safety regulations. For instance, the students could learn the basic first-aid measures in a case of various accidents. While studying safety engineering, the students could become familiar with general safety regulations to ensure the safety of people. For instance, everybody knows that â€Å"Fire, open lights, and smoking are forbidden in specially posted areas. In addition, smoking is forbidden in all forest areas and in areas where unsealed radioactive substances are handled† (â€Å"General Safety Regulations,† 4). The students could study in details not only the basic regulations, but they could realize the importance of safety engineering when studying the major properly. Safety engineering gives the students an opportunity to enlarge their knowledge concerning safety. For instance, the students could learn that devices and equipment of IT â€Å"may be put into operation by authorized persons only. It is the responsibility of each organizational unit to specify regulations for admittance and for their use and to control the observance of the regulations† (â€Å"General Safety Regulations,† 4). Still, when speaking about a strong safety culture, there is a need to disclose the role of the organizational structure. So, some safety groups in Tulsa Univ ersity must be created. The formal safety roles are to be distributed among executives. On the other hand, organizational subsystems are also to be created. So, safety engineering must be based on â€Å"safety information systems to support planning, analysis and decision making; reward and reinforcement systems; selection and retention systems that promote safety knowledge, skills, and ability; learning and feedback systems from incidents, operational anomalies, and other aspects of operational experience† (Leveson 246). Certain procedures, which are related to the above-mentioned statement, are to be considered in detail. Of course, these procedures are significant, when discussing safety concerns. While speaking about the safety information system, I have to point out that communication channels are also extremely important. By the way, these channels can be formal or informal.Advertising Looking for essay on engineering? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The so-called reinforcement systems can help the executives to avoid conflicting incentives. â€Å"Selection and retention systems are relevant to safety with respect to the skill sets and mindsets that are emphasized in hiring† (Leveson 246). I suppose that safety engineering must also include social interaction processes. In other words, the students should study the basic principles of problem-solving and decision-making in respect of safety. They say that, â€Å"problem solving after incidents and operational anomalies is an important component of the safety culture, particularly as it relates to identifying and eliminating root causes rather than merely the symptoms of the deeper problems† (Leveson 246). Individual motivation seems to be an integral part of safety engineering, as it covers numerous factors including uncertainty in facing safety concerns. Of course, the most important points of safety engineering are considered to be safety rules. When speaking abo ut safety activities, one is to keep in mind their basic principles. Thus, system safety should influence decision making; direct communication channels are to be developed. The students must understand that â€Å"safety concerns span the life cycle and safety should be involved in just about every aspect of development and operations. Safety concerns are an integral part of most engineering activities† (Leveson 247). Thus, the importance of implementing the special courses and programs of safety engineering in Tulsa University also depends on the fact that the knowledge on the principles of safety engineering is required for providing the design and maintenance of the system engineering. Moreover, the students should know and understand all the basic principles of the operation and management of the systems and the necessary equipment. It is impossible to provide the effective practice as an engineer without deepening the knowledge on safety engineering. Furthermore, those s tudents who want to become specialists in this sphere should also have the opportunity to realize such intentions in Tulsa University. Safety engineering course or the major is necessary for the students to contribute to their future professional development, to their understanding the principles of the safety risk management and knowing the ways of solving its challenges with references to the knowledge on hazard identification, hazard assessment, and its further reduction. It is important to develop the course for the future engineering managers and practitioners where they could consult professionals in relation to the most significant questions and issues of this scientific field. It is necessary to have the opportunity not only to receive the basic knowledge on the principles of safety engineering but also focus on this problem in detail and to have a chance to get the specific qualification. According to these requirements, the course in safety engineering should be organized in such a way to provide the complex analysis of the issues of hazard identification, risk reduction, and safety management. It is possible to realize with references to definite case studies as the examples of the accidents and incidents. It is also important for students to discuss the peculiarities of the specific terminology, necessary standards, and paradigms in safety engineering in the context of the separate course or program the completion of which could give the students more opportunities. Conclusion Generally, safety engineering processes must be consistent, performed collaboratively and properly interwoven. On the other hand, safety engineering requires appropriate expertise, tools, special techniques, innovative methods, and concepts. In my opinion, the students in the universities should also study basic systems engineering activities, because â€Å"system safety should be treated as an integral component of systems engineering, as is common in the defense industryâ €  (Leveson 49). Works Cited Firesmith, Donald. Engineering Safety-Related Requirements for Software-Intensive Systems. 2005. Web. General Safety Regulations 2005. Web. http://www.knmf.kit.edu/img/KNMF_Safety_Regulations.pdf. Leveson, Nancy. System Safety Engineering: Back to The Future. 2002. Web. http://sunnyday.mit.edu/book2.pdf. This essay on Safety Engineering was written and submitted by user Jacoby Santos to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Bertrand Russells Classic Essay in Praise of Idleness

Bertrand Russell's Classic Essay in Praise of Idleness Noted mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell tried to apply the clarity he admired in mathematical reasoning to the solution of problems in other fields, in particular ethics and politics. In this essay, first published in 1932, Russell argues in favor of a four-hour working day. Consider whether his arguments for laziness deserve serious consideration today. In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying: Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do. Being a highly virtuous child, I believed all that I was told, and acquired a conscience which has kept me working hard down to the present moment. But although my conscience has controlled my actions, my opinions have undergone a revolution. I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached. Everyone knows the story of the traveler in Naples who saw twelve beggars lying in the sun (it was before the days of Mussolini), and offered a lira to the laziest of them. Eleven of them jumped up to claim it, so he gave it to the twelfth. this traveler was on the right lines. But in countries which do not enjoy Mediterranean sunshine idleness is more difficult, and a great public propaganda will b e required to inaugurate it. I hope that, after reading the following pages, the leaders of the YMCA will start a campaign to induce good young men to do nothing. If so, I shall not have lived in vain. Before advancing my own arguments for laziness, I must dispose of one which I cannot accept. Whenever a person who already has enough to live on proposes to engage in some everyday kind of job, such as school-teaching or typing, he or she is told that such conduct takes the bread out of other peoples mouths, and is therefore wicked. If this argument were valid, it would only be necessary for us all to be idle in order that we should all have our mouths full of bread. What people who say such things forget is that what a man earns he usually spends, and in spending he gives employment. As long as a man spends his income, he puts just as much bread into peoples mouths in spending as he takes out of other peoples mouths in earning. The real villain, from this point of view, is the man who saves. If he merely puts his savings in a stocking, like the proverbial French peasant, it is obvious that they do not give employment. If he invests his savings, the matter is less obvious, and differ ent cases arise. One of the commonest things to do with savings is to lend them to some Government. In view of the fact that the bulk of the public expenditure of most civilized Governments consists in payment for past wars or preparation for future wars, the man who lends his money to a Government is in the same position as the bad men in Shakespeare who hire murderers. The net result of the mans economical habits is to increase the armed forces of the State to which he lends his savings. Obviously it would be better if he spent the money, even if he spent it in drink or gambling. But, I shall be told, the case is quite different when savings are invested in industrial enterprises. When such enterprises succeed, and produce something useful, this may be conceded. In these days, however, no one will deny that most enterprises fail. That means that a large amount of human labor, which might have been devoted to producing something that could be enjoyed, was expended on producing machines which, when produced, lay idle and did no good to anyone. The man who invests his savings in a concern that goes bankrupt is therefore injuring others as well as himself. If he spent his money, say, in giving parties for his friends, they (we may hope) would get pleasure, and so would all those upon whom he spent money, such as the butcher, the baker, and the bootlegger. But if he spends it (let us say) upon laying down rails for surface card in some place where surface cars turn out not to be wanted, he has diverted a mass of labor into channels where it gives pleasure to no on e. Nevertheless, when he becomes poor through failure of his investment he will be regarded as a victim of undeserved misfortune, whereas the gay spendthrift, who has spent his money philanthropically, will be despised as a fool and a frivolous person. All this is only preliminary. I want to say, in all seriousness, that a great deal of harm is being done in the modern world by belief in the virtuousness of work, and that the road to happiness and prosperity lies in an organized diminution of work. First of all: what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earths surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid. The second kind is capable of indefinite extension: there are not only those who give orders, but those who give advice as to what orders should be given. Usually two opposite kinds of advice are given simultaneously by two organized bodies of men; this is called politics. The skill required for this kind of work is not knowledge of the subjects as to which advice is given, but knowledge of the art of persuasive speaking and writing, i.e. of advertising. Throughout Europe, though not in America, there is a third class of men, more respected than either of the classes of workers. There are men who, through ownership of land, are able to make others pay for the privilege of being allowed to exist and to work. These landowners are idle, and I might therefore be expected to praise them. Unfortunately, their idleness is only rendered possible by the industry of others; indeed their desire for comfortable idleness is historically the source of the whole gospel of work. The last thing they have ever wished is that others should follow their example. (Continued on page two) Continued from page oneFrom the beginning of civilization until the Industrial Revolution, a man could, as a rule, produce by hard work little more than was required for the subsistence of himself and his family, although his wife worked at least as hard as he did, and his children added their labor as soon as they were old enough to do so. The small surplus above bare necessaries was not left to those who produced it, but was appropriated by warriors and priests. In times of famine there was no surplus; the warriors and priests, however, still secured as much as at other times, with the result that many of the workers died of hunger. This system persisted in Russia until 1917 [1], and still persists in the East; in England, in spite of the Industrial Revolution, it remained in full force throughout the Napoleonic wars, and until a hundred years ago, when the new class of manufacturers acquired power. In America, the system came to an end with the Revolution, except in the South, whe re it persisted until the Civil War. A system which lasted so long and ended so recently has naturally left a profound impress upon mens thoughts and opinions. Much that we take for granted about the desirability of work is derived from this system, and, being pre-industrial, is not adapted to the modern world. Modern technique has made it possible for leisure, within limits, to be not the prerogative of small privileged classes, but a right evenly distributed throughout the community. The morality of work is the morality of slaves, and the modern world has no need of slavery. It is obvious that, in primitive communities, peasants, left to themselves, would not have parted with the slender surplus upon which the warriors and priests subsisted, but would have either produced less or consumed more. At first, sheer force compelled them to produce and part with the surplus. Gradually, however, it was found possible to induce many of them to accept an ethic according to which it was their duty to work hard, although part of their work went to support others in idleness. By this means the amount of compulsion required was lessened, and the expenses of government were diminished. To this day, 99 per cent of British wage-earners would be genuinely shocked if it were proposed that the King should not have a larger income than a working man. The conception of duty, speaking historically, has been a means used by the holders of power to induce others to live for the interests of their masters rather than for their own. Of course the holders of power conceal this fact from themselves by managing to believe that their interests are identical with the larger interests of humanity. Sometimes this is true; Athenian slave-owners, for instance, employed part of their leisure in making a permanent contribution to civilization which would have been impossible under a just economic system. Leisure is essential to civilization, and in former times leisure for the few was only rendered possible by the labors of the many. But their labors were valuable, not because work is good, but because leisure is good. And with modern technique it would be possible to distribute leisure justly without injury to civilization. Modern technique has made it possible to diminish enormously the amount of labor required to secure the necessaries of life for everyone. This was made obvious during the war. At that time all the men in the armed forces, and all the men and women engaged in the production of munitions, all the men and women engaged in spying, war propaganda, or Government offices connected with the war, were withdrawn from productive occupations. In spite of this, the general level of well-being among unskilled wage-earners on the side of the Allies was higher than before or since. The significance of this fact was concealed by finance: borrowing made it appear as if the future was nourishing the present. But that, of course, would have been impossible; a man cannot eat a loaf of bread that does not yet exist. The war showed conclusively that, by the scientific organization of production, it is possible to keep modern populations in fair comfort on a small part of the working capacity of the modern world. If, at the end of the war, the scientific organization, which had been created in order to liberate men for fighting and munition work, had been preserved, and the hours of the week had been cut down to four, all would have been well. Instead of that the old chaos was restored, those whose work was demanded were made to work long hours, and the rest were left to starve as unemployed. Why? Because work is a duty, and a man should not receive wages in proportion to what he has produced, but in proportion to his virtue as exemplified by his industry. This is the morality of the Slave State, applied in circumstances totally unlike those in which it arose. No wonder the result has been disastrous. Let us take an illustration. Suppose that, at a given moment, a certain number of people are engaged in the manufacture of pins. They make as many pins as the world needs, working (say) eight hours a day. Someone makes an invention by which the same number of men can make twice as many pins: pins are already so cheap that hardly any more will be bought at a lower price. In a sensible world, everybody concerned in the manufacturing of pins would take to working four hours instead of eight, and everything else would go on as before. But in the actual world this would be thought demoralizing. The men still work eight hours, there are too many pins, some employers go bankrupt, and half the men previously concerned in making pins are thrown out of work. There is, in the end, just as much leisure as on the other plan, but half the men are total ly idle while half are still overworked. In this way, it is insured that the unavoidable leisure shall cause misery all round instead of being a universal source of happiness. Can anything more insane be imagined? (Continued on page three) Continued from page twoThe idea that the poor should have leisure has always been shocking to the rich. In England, in the early nineteenth century, fifteen hours was the ordinary days work for a man; children sometimes did as much, and very commonly did twelve hours a day. When meddlesome busybodies suggested that perhaps these hours were rather long, they were told that work kept adults from drink and children from mischief. When I was a child, shortly after urban working men had acquired the vote, certain public holidays were established by law, to the great indignation of the upper classes. I remember hearing an old Duchess say: What do the poor want with holidays? They ought to work. People nowadays are less frank, but the sentiment persists, and is the source of much of our economic confusion. Let us, for a moment, consider the ethics of work frankly, without superstition. Every human being, of necessity, consumes, in the course of his life, a certain amount of the produce of human labor. Assuming, as we may, that labor is on the whole disagreeable, it is unjust that a man should consume more than he produces. Of course he may provide services rather than commodities, like a medical man, for example; but he should provide something in return for his board and lodging. to this extent, the duty of work must be admitted, but to this extent only. I shall not dwell upon the fact that, in all modern societies outside the USSR, many people escape even this minimum amount of work, namely all those who inherit money and all those who marry money. I do not think the fact that these people are allowed to be idle is nearly so harmful as the fact that wage-earners are expected to overwork or starve. If the ordinary wage-earner worked four hours a day, there would be enough for everybody and no unemployment- assuming a certain very moderate amount of sensible organization. This idea shocks the well-to-do, because they are convinced that the poor would not know how to use so much leisure. In America men often work long hours even when they are well off; such men, naturally, are indignant at the idea of leisure for wage-earners, except as the grim punishment of unemployment; in fact, they dislike leisure even for their sons. Oddly enough, while they wish their sons to work so hard as to have no time to be civilized, they do not mind their wives and daughters having no work at all. The snobbish admiration of uselessness, which, in an aristocratic society, extends to both sexes, is, under a plutocracy, confined to women; this, however, does not make it any more in agreement with common sense. The wise use of leisure, it must be conceded, is a product of civilization and education. A man who has worked long hours all his life will become bored if he becomes suddenly idle. But without a considerable amount of leisure a man is cut off from many of the best things. There is no longer any reason why the bulk of the population should suffer this deprivation; only a foolish asceticism, usually vicarious, makes us continue to insist on work in excessive quantities now that the need no longer exists. In the new creed which controls the government of Russia, while there is much that is very different from the traditional teaching of the West, there are some things that are quite unchanged. The attitude of the governing classes, and especially of those who conduct educational propaganda, on the subject of the dignity of labor, is almost exactly that which the governing classes of the world have always preached to what were called the honest poor. Industry, sobriety, willingness to work long hours for distant advantages, even submissiveness to authority, all these reappear; moreover authority still represents the will of the Ruler of the Universe, Who, however, is now called by a new name, Dialectical Materialism. The victory of the proletariat in Russia has some points in common with the victory of the feminists in some other countries. For ages, men had conceded the superior saintliness of women, and had consoled women for their inferiority by maintaining that saintliness is more desirable than power. At last the feminists decided that they would have both, since the pioneers among them believed all that the men had told them about the desirability of virtue, but not what they had told them about the worthlessness of political power. A similar thing has happened in Russia as regards manual work. For ages, the rich and their sycophants have written in praise of honest toil, have praised the simple life, have professed a religion which teaches that the poor are much more likely to go to heaven than the rich, and in general have tried to make manual workers believe that there is some special nobility about altering the position of matter in space, just as men tried to make women believe that th ey derived some special nobility from their sexual enslavement. In Russia, all this teaching about the excellence of manual work has been taken seriously, with the result that the manual worker is more honored than anyone else. What are, in essence, revivalist appeals are made, but not for the old purposes: they are made to secure shock workers for special tasks. Manual work is the ideal which is held before the young, and is the basis of all ethical teaching. (Continued on page four) Continued from page threeFor the present, possibly, this is all to the good. A large country, full of natural resources, awaits development, and has has to be developed with very little use of credit. In these circumstances, hard work is necessary, and is likely to bring a great reward. But what will happen when the point has been reached where everybody could be comfortable without working long hours? In the West, we have various ways of dealing with this problem. We have no attempt at economic justice, so that a large proportion of the total produce goes to a small minority of the population, many of whom do no work at all. Owing to the absence of any central control over production, we produce hosts of things that are not wanted. We keep a large percentage of the working population idle, because we can dispense with their labor by making the others overwork. When all these methods prove inadequate, we have a war: we cause a number of people to manufacture high explosives, and a number of others to explode them, as if we were children who had just discovered fireworks. By a combination of all these devices we manage, though with difficulty, to keep alive the notion that a great deal of severe manual work must be the lot of the average man. In Russia, owing to more economic justice and central control over production, the problem will have to be differently solved. The rational solution would be, as soon as the necessaries and elementary comforts can be provided for all, to reduce the hours of labor gradually, allowing a popular vote to decide, at each stage, whether more leisure or more goods were to be preferred. But, having taught the supreme virtue of hard work, it is difficult to see how the authorities can aim at a paradise in which there will be much leisure and little work. It seems more likely that they will find continually fresh schemes, by which present leisure is to be sacrificed to future productivity. I read recently of an ingenious plan put forward by Russian engineers, for making the White Sea and the northern coasts of Siberia warm, by putting a dam across the Kara Sea. An admirable project, but liable to postpone proletarian comfort for a generation, while the nobility of toil is being displayed amid the ice-fields and snowstorms of the Arctic Ocean. This sort of thing, if it happens, will be the result of regarding the virtue of hard work as an end in itself, rather than as a means to a state of affairs in which it is no longer needed. The fact is that moving matter about, while a certain amount of it is necessary to our existence, is emphatically not one of the ends of human life. If it were, we should have to consider every navvy superior to Shakespeare. We have been misled in this matter by two causes. One is the necessity of keeping the poor contented, which has led the rich, for thousands of years, to preach the dignity of labor, while taking care themselves to remain undignified in this respect. The other is the new pleasure in mechanism, which makes us delight in the astonishingly clever changes that we can produce on the earths surface. Neither of these motives makes any great appeal to the actual worker. If you ask him what he thinks the best part of his life, he is not likely to say: I enjoy manual work because it makes me feel that I am fulfilling mans noblest task, and because I like to think how much man can transform his planet. It is true that my body demands periods of rest, which I have to fill in as best I may, but I am never so happy as when the morning comes and I can return to the toil from which my contentment springs. I have never heard working men say this sort of thing. They consider work, as it should be considered, a necessary means to a livelihood, and it is from their leisure that they derive whatever happiness they may enjoy. It will be said that, while a little leisure is pleasant, men would not know how to fill their days if they had only four hours of work out of the twenty-four. In so far as this is true in the modern world, it is a condemnation of our civilization; it would not have been true at any earlier period. There was formerly a capacity for light-heartedness and play which has been to some extent inhibited by the cult of efficiency. The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake. Serious-minded persons, for example, are continually condemning the habit of going to the cinema, and telling us that it leads the young into crime. But all the work that goes to producing a cinema is respectable, because it is work, and because it brings a money profit. The notion that the desirable activities are those that bring a profit has made everything topsy-turvy. The butcher who provides you with meat and the baker who provides you with brea d are praiseworthy, because they are making money; but when you enjoy the food they have provided, you are merely frivolous, unless you eat only to get strength for your work. Broadly speaking, it is held that getting money is good and spending money is bad. Seeing that they are two sides of one transaction, this is absurd; one might as well maintain that keys are good, but keyholes are bad. Whatever merit there may be in the production of goods must be entirely derivative from the advantage to be obtained by consuming them. The individual, in our society, works for profit; but the social purpose of his work lies in the consumption of what he produces. It is this divorce between the individual and the social purpose of production that makes it so difficult for men to think clearly in a world in which profit-making is the incentive to industry. We think too much of production, and too little of consumption. One result is that we attach too little importance to enjoyment and simple happiness, and that we do not judge production by the pleasure that it gives to the consumer. Concluded on page five Continued from page fourWhen I suggest that working hours should be reduced to four, I am not meaning to imply that all the remaining time should necessarily be spent in pure frivolity. I mean that four hours work a day should entitle a man to the necessities and elementary comforts of life, and that the rest of his time should be his to use as he might see fit. It is an essential part of any such social system that education should be carried further than it usually is at present, and should aim, in part, at providing tastes which would enable a man to use leisure intelligently. I am not thinking mainly of the sort of things that would be considered highbrow. Peasant dances have died out except in remote rural areas, but the impulses which caused them to be cultivated must still exist in human nature. The pleasures of urban populations have become mainly passive: seeing cinemas, watching football matches, listening to the radio, and so on. This results from the fact that their activ e energies are fully taken up with work; if they had more leisure, they would again enjoy pleasures in which they took an active part. In the past, there was a small leisure class and a larger working class. The leisure class enjoyed advantages for which there was no basis in social justice; this necessarily made it oppressive, limited its sympathies, and caused it to invent theories by which to justify its privileges. These facts greatly diminished its excellence, but in spite of this drawback it contributed nearly the whole of what we call civilization. It cultivated the arts and discovered the sciences; it wrote the books, invented the philosophies, and refined social relations. Even the liberation of the oppressed has usually been inaugurated from above. Without the leisure class, mankind would never have emerged from barbarism. The method of a leisure class without duties was, however, extraordinarily wasteful. None of the members of the class had to be taught to be industrious, and the class as a whole was not exceptionally intelligent. The class might produce one Darwin, but against him had to be set tens of thousands of country gentlemen who never thought of anything more intelligent than fox-hunting and punishing poachers. At present, the universities are supposed to provide, in a more systematic way, what the leisure class provided accidentally and as a by-product. This is a great improvement, but it has certain drawbacks. University life is so different from life in the world at large that men who live in academic milieu tend to be unaware of the preoccupations and problems of ordinary men and women; moreover their ways of expressing themselves are usually such as to rob their opinions of the influence that they ought to have upon the general public. Another disadvantage is that in universities studie s are organized, and the man who thinks of some original line of research is likely to be discouraged. Academic institutions, therefore, useful as they are, are not adequate guardians of the interests of civilization in a world where everyone outside their walls is too busy for unutilitarian pursuits. In a world where no one is compelled to work more than four hours a day, every person possessed of scientific curiosity will be able to indulge it, and every painter will be able to paint without starving, however excellent his pictures may be. Young writers will not be obliged to draw attention to themselves by sensational pot-boilers, with a view to acquiring the economic independence needed for monumental works, for which, when the time at last comes, they will have lost the taste and capacity. Men who, in their professional work, have become interested in some phase of economics or government, will be able to develop their ideas without the academic detachment that makes the work of university economists often seem lacking in reality. Medical men will have the time to learn about the progress of medicine, teachers will not be exasperatedly struggling to teach by routine methods things which they learnt in their youth, which may, in the interval, have been proved to be untrue. Above all, there will be happiness and joy of life, instead of frayed nerves, weariness, and dyspepsia. The work exacted will be enough to make leisure delightful, but not enough to produce exhaustion. Since men will not be tired in their spare time, they will not demand only such amusements as are passive and vapid. At least one per cent will probably devote the time not spent in professional work to pursuits of some public importance, and, since they will not depend upon these pursuits for their livelihood, their originality will be unhampered, and there will be no need to conform to the standards set by elderly pundits. But it is not only in these exceptional cases that the advantages of leisure will appear. Ordinary men and women, having the opportunity of a happy life, will become more kindly and less persecuting and less inclined to view others with suspicion. The taste for war will die out, partly for this reason, and partly because it will involve long and severe work for all . Good nature is, of all moral qualities, the one that the world needs most, and good nature is the result of ease and security, not of a life of arduous struggle. Modern methods of production have given us the possibility of ease and security for all; we have chosen, instead, to have overwork for some and starvation for others. Hitherto we have continued to be as energetic as we were before there were machines; in this we have been foolish, but there is no reason to go on being foolish forever. (1932)

Helium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Helium - Essay Example Nobel Prize winners in Physics like R. Richardson with colleagues Osheroff and Lee, nevertheless, points out the essential features of ‘helium’ and the reasons which are worth startling the public to the extent of agreeing that expensive costs be imposed on helium for the sustenance of MRIs, fiber optics, rockets, and other machines that hold special vitality in supporting human lives and activities. Where does helium come from? (in geographical, political and economic terms, as much as the chemical origins). Basically, Sun is the primary source of helium, one of the most stable elements, which is yielded through hydrogen fusion reactions in the solar system whereas on Earth, the radioactive decay of massive elements which are chiefly thorium and uranium over billions of years is found to cause helium formation beneath the Earth’s surface. Along with natural gas, the helium produced exudes out of large rock cavities under low pressure into the atmosphere which has approximately five parts of helium per 100,000 parts of air (Lansing, 1995). In 1868, spectrometer was first used to examine the Sun’s chromospheres during a solar eclipse in India where the resulting spectrum confirmed quantities of hydrogen including yellow stripes which were alleged to characterize sodium element. Unconvinced by the initial hypothesis, French astronomer Janssen further investigated on the matter and was able to disclose the truth about the stripes as beyond the traits of sodium but were most likely part of an unknown element’s identity. On a separate intensive research conducted by Lockyer and  Frankland, Janssen’s results proved that due to its ‘bright yellow stripe’, the element could not have originated from the earth after which  Frankland proposed to call it â€Å"helium† coming from the Greek word â€Å"Helios† meaning Sun. Similar findings were revealed through a range of spectra of other stars that comp rised the yellow stripes whereas Palmieri observed them in gases erupting from Mt. Vesuvius back in 1882. It was not until 1895 that the studies of helium became more meaning when Sir  William Ramsay  treated a Norwegian ore (cleveite) with acids which yielded evolution of helium gas. Hence, the appearance of the yellowish streak in the experiment marked the certainty that on our planet, helium does exist. After nearly two decades, around the same time radium came to be known, scientists had undergone another batch of efforts that would lay foundations for an understanding of helium as a radioactive substance (Helium, History). Geographical findings indicate that the United States, specifically Texas, makes the world’s largest manufacturer of helium despite the valuable presence of helium extraction facilities in Algeria, Russia, and China. Being distilled from  the natural gas  that contains appreciable quantity of uranium and thorium to undergo radioactive decomposi tion, the helium formed is normally derived from rare circumstances of alpha-particle capture occurring underground at considerable depths (Deakin, 2010). Helium is opulently recovered from a region in Amarillo, Texas or the Texas panhandle within a perimeter of 400-km radius and this accounts for a major resource amount that sustains different parts of the world with their helium requirement (Edwards, 2004). Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma are also states of origin responsible for contributing small percentages of helium throughout all nations (ScienceDaily). What are the major uses of helium and why are existing reserves irreversibly declining? Several applications of Helium has have been made possible due to the element’s distinct chemical and physical properties such as low boiling point, low