The Best and the Worst Invention Opinion free essay sample

The Best and The Worst Since the birth of the first humanbeing, humanity always invented new things to feed their needs. Some inventions were really filling a blank and made people take one more step further to new questions and needs but some inventions seemed so innocent and useful till humanity become captives of them and forgot about living. In the first ages of human life, people were collecting; fruits and seeds to feed themselves, rocks to create places tol ive, leaves to cover their sexual parts. They were also hunting to get food and proper clothes. They were always have to carry things in long distance because the things they needed to survive were not always close to them. It was hard to carry that lot of things by hand, besides they would need so many people to have enough space for everything. They needed something that can carry multiple things at once, so they invented something from leather. We will write a custom essay sample on The Best and the Worst Invention Opinion or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It had a long cord that allowed them to carry it on their shoulders and did not hamper them from what they had to do. It had a large part like a big pocket which they put everything in it. It is what we call â€Å"bag†. Contemporarly bags are more fashion related but stil filling a gap of need besides the bag sector opened the doors of so many sub-sectors of supplies. I can’t imagine how world would be without bags. Bags filled a huge and basic need of humanity. Ofcourse there are a lot of things that we can find like bags however there is a thing that I think it brought humanity to a whole new level. It is obviously â€Å"shoes† I am talking about. Shoes made people travel more, see more, discover more and it protected their feet. Before the invention of shoes, there was the danger of getting bit by a poisonous insect, lizard or snake, or stepping on something really dangerous that could kill you. Because of this, people were afraid of walking in the nature they live in so they invented shoes to protect their feet. With shoes people broke their walls and got on their way to different lands. As they walked, they got more and more curious about the place they are in, they discovered the beauty and the mistery. Shoes are almost the most important invention which opened humanity’s mind to the world. There are two inventions that people believed them to be the best but I think they are the worst. I am talking about Money and internet. Even before the internet Lydians invented †money† to make life more miserable. I am sorry people but Money is the worst invention ever. Maybe it is because people never knew how to use it properly. Take a step back and look at the situation in the world, look to the system. It is all about the Money. Everything means Money in some point. It gets worse and worse everyday. The wars came in and then hunger then DEATH! Consuming human life didn’t satisfy us and we even consumed animals and plants and every living creature in the world. What can be more precious than life? Let me answer this question: MONEY! Money is just a curse. Let’s take a closer look to internet. At the first look it it the greatest invention of the century. It makes knowledge easier to reach, connects people from all around the world, it is fast, it has the knowledge of many libraries of the world, so on and so on. We can’t count all the pros of internet because there is so many but when we think about the cons I think pros are just a tiny dust in the universe. Before internet was invented people spent so many time to reach the knowledge, they put effort to have a relationship, they needed actual conversations, they knew how tol ive the life, they had a life, they had to work fort he things they needed and the most improtant is they had the ability to think. Then computer, then internet came. People became addicted to theese to things. Then people lost their lives and started to become plants. They believed the life they created in internet. People fortog the importance of the knowledge because they reached it so easy. People forgot the joy of relationns because they put no effort. People forgot how tol ive because they had internet. Internet ruined our lives. As we went through centuries inventions got more complicated and had different social plans underneath. This was only a general review of what I see of these four inventions. I tried to keep it as simple as possible so that everyone can see from my point of view. I hope the reader can realize the everyday we use inventions that seem so innocent but it is only the visible part of the iceberg however there are the inventions that we dont care much but have a great effect on the evolution of humanity.

Complete List of FREE SAT Math Practice Problems

Complete List of FREE SAT Math Practice Problems SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Need to study for the SAT Math section but don’t know where to start? On a budget, too? Not to worry! In this article,we've put together a comprehensive list of all the best (and free!) SAT Math study materials and guides currently available online. Note: For info on the best SAT study materials you have to pay for, check out our picks for top SAT prep books. Feature Image: Alan O'Rourke/Flickr The Importance of Using High-Quality SAT Math Materials It is incredibly important to get your study materials from the right places. The SAT is a very specific kind of test, and there are many (many!) websites and programs out there that, sadly, offer only poor-quality SAT resources. If you study using mainly inferior SAT materials, you won't get a clear sense as to how you’ll do on test day. Test prep is about assessing and improving upon your current level, but you won’t be able to do this if you get a false sense of your skills based on poor study materials. Ultimately, products and test questions that don’t accurately reflect the SAT are a waste of time. Therefore, it's best to prioritize official SAT materials. The SAT is designed by the College Board, and their free materials are by far the best place to start studying. From here, you can branch off into programs and materials that use (or closely resemble) official SAT material. Now, let's look at the best resources you can use for free official SAT Math practice questions. Ready, set, go! Top 5 Free Resources for Quality SAT Math Practice In this section, we go over the top five free resources you can use for quality SAT Math prep. #1: The College Board As the creator and issuer of the SAT, the College Board is the best place to begin for collecting your free SAT Math study materials. The official website offers full-length SAT practice tests and practice questions for all sections. Free Official Full-Length SAT Practice Tests 10 official practice tests are currently available online. Each test comes with an answer key and in-depth answer explanations to help you understand why you got questions wrong. Practice Test 1: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 2: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 3: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 4: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 5: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 6: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 7: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 8: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 9: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 10: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Free Official SAT Math Practice In addition to full-length tests, the College Board offers several SAT Math practice questions (as well as sample questions for all other sections of the test). For SAT Math, there are 30 calculator-permitted questions and 18 no-calculator questions. Though it's not quite a full SAT Math section, it gives you an opportunity to get more exposure to the kind of math you'll see on test day. As you answer each question, try not to look at the correct answers right away. Instead, write your answers on a piece of paper as you take the "test." When finished, refer to the official answer explanations; this will help you understand what your strengths and weaknesses are. Old Official Full-Length SAT Practice Tests While the newest practice tests will be most useful for your prep, you can also use any of these four old (pre-2016) SAT practice tests. Most math questions on these should be helpful- just note that these days geometry is less important and data interpretation is more important. SAT Practice Test 2013-14: Questions | Answers SAT Practice Test 2012-13: Questions | Answers SAT Practice Test 2007-08: Questions | Answers SAT Practice Test 2004-05: Questions | Answers You might notice that there are some missing years (e.g,. 2005-06, 2006-07, etc.). This is because the tests for these years are repeats of the ones above. In other words, the four tests linked above are the only free SAT tests available from the past 10 years (excluding the newest ones). No need to weigh the pros and cons here- all of the resources we recommend are guaranteed to help you get a great SAT Math score! #2: Khan Academy Khan Academy is a nonprofit and partner of the College Board that offers a free online SAT prep program and practice questions. While most of the questions come from official SAT practice materials (such as those linked above), others have been created or adapted with approval from or in tandem with the College Board itself. Sign up for a free Khan Academy account to get access to SAT study questions and materials, complete with guides and explanation videos to aid your studying. #3: PrepScholar SAT Blog Here at PrepScholar, we offer tons of free resources, including detailed guides on every SAT math topic and a complete collection of our best SAT Math articles. All our guides include definitions and explanations, examples of how you’ll see the topic on the test, and real SAT practice questions with detailed answer explanations. Browse our SAT Math guides below to get started! All guides are arranged by topic. Numbers Integers (Basic) Integers (Advanced) Fractions, Ratios, and Proportions Statistics (Mean, Median, Mode) Probability Sequences // Algebra Single Variable Equations Systems of Equations Functions Coordinate Geometry Points Lines and Slopes Reflections, Translations, and Rotations Plane and Solid Geometry Lines and Angles Circles Triangles Polygons Solid Geometry Trigonometry Trigonometry Formulas The 28 Critical SAT Math Formulas You MUST Know In addition, we have strategy guides that will help you solve numerous SAT Math problems across the board: Plugging in Answers Plugging in Numbers If you find our guides and quizzes helpful, you can also sign up for a free five-day trial to our test prep program. Our program assesses your current strengths and weaknesses and adapts based on your progress. It gives you practice questions tailored to your areas of needed improvement and provides answer explanations for all questions. All our questions are based off real SAT test questions and, though the full program is not free, we guarantee your money back if you do not improve by 160 points. #4: CrackSAT.net CrackSAT is a free, unofficial SAT website offering PDFs of official SAT practice tests and an array of both official and unofficial SAT Math questions. Many of the questions on CrackSAT come from SAT prep books by well-known test-prep companies including The Princeton Review and Kaplan. Though generally solid, unofficial SAT questions can vary wildly in quality, so don't rely on only these to give you a sense of your math abilities. Rather, it's best to use this website after you've exhausted all the official SAT resources above. What's especially nice about this website is its organization: math questions are available in both multiple-choice and grid-in categories to give you the full range of math practice. You can also browse problems by concept (e.g., linear functions, exponents and radicals, etc.). #5: Ivy Global SAT Practice Tests Finally, if you want to practice math in the context of more full-length SAT practice tests, use Ivy Global's two unofficial practice test PDFs (SAT Online Practice Test 1 and Practice Test 2). These resources closely follow the format of the SAT and are both highly realistic. However, they're not perfect. Some of the questions on the Math sections are a little too easy and not as similar to those on the SAT as they could be. There are also no answer explanations, making it difficult to determine how to find the right answers for math questions you get wrong. // You've gathered all your study material ... so now what? Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! How to Use SAT Math Study Materials Effectively: 6 Tips It's just as important to know how to best utilize your SAT study materials as it is to know how to access them. These six tips will help you achieve your highest SAT Math score on test day. #1: Take a Full Practice Test in One Sitting You're probably most concerned about your SAT Math score, but it's still important to take a full SAT practice test so you can see how you'll fare on test day. Although answering one or two Math questions might not be too much of a challenge for you, in truth the SAT is a marathon- and if you aren't prepared, you'll likely be exhausted by the end of it. And exhaustion can lead anyone to make mistakes! So before you dedicate your focus to the SAT Math section, take an official SAT practice test to see how your Math score fits into the larger test-taking picture. Make sure to take the whole test in one sitting; this will help you build endurance for test day. #2: Use Proper Timing and Pace Yourself As you take SAT practice tests and any Math-specific sections, be sure to use the same time limits you'll have on test day. The chart below shows how much time you'll have on each SAT section as well as how much time you should (approximately) spend per question: SAT Section Total Time # of Questions Time per Question Reading 65 minutes 52 75 seconds Writing and Language 35 minutes 44 48 seconds Math No Calculator 25 minutes 20 75 seconds Math Calculator 55 minutes 38 87 seconds Essay (Optional) 50 minutes 1 50 minutes You'll have about 75 seconds per question on No Calculator Math section, and 87 seconds per question on the Calculator Math section. Some questions might take you less or more time, but keep practicing so that you're not consistently spending too long on a single math question. Remember that accuracy is only half the battle- you have to actually finish the questions within the time limits if you want to get a high Math score! That said, don’t worry if you run out of time while taking your first SAT practice test. This is completely normal and gives you a starting point from which you can later improve. #3: Review Your Mistakes It's one thing to take an SAT Math test, but you also need to look over your results and identify any patterns in your correct and incorrect answers. Do you tend to get the last few questions wrong on each Math section? Do function questions just seem to throw you for a loop? First, figure out what went wrong. Then, see how you can pick up some easy points and diligently target those areas in your prep. (Remember that each Math question, no matter its difficulty, is worth the same number of points!) #4: Target Your Biggest Weaknesses Once you've pinpointed patterns in the errors you make, it's time to dig deeper and examine your biggest weaknesses. Your ultimate goal will be to tailor your studying so that you can focus on improving the areas you struggle with the most. Since your overall objective is to answer as many questions as accurately as possible, you'll want to dedicate the majority of your study time to improving your weaknesses, rather than to reviewing material you already know well. Refreshing your known material again and again might make you feel productive and confident, but it doesn't do a whole lot to improve your score. Your best bet is to focus on your problem areas by practicing and expanding your knowledge base. #5: Set a Study Schedule Don’t be tempted to cram right before the test. You might have a busy schedule and feel as if your only option is to cram for the SAT, but improvement really happens over time. We generally advise giving yourself at least three to six months to study for the SAT. If you don't have a lot of time left before test day, however, don't give up! No matter how much time you've got for studying, it is possible to come up with a balanced SAT study plan. First, calculate the amount of time you have before your test date. (For example, say you've got a month before your test.) Next, assign yourself at least three full practice tests (in addition to your normal study materials) and spread them out over the course of your study schedule. If you only have a week or so before test day, this probably won’t be possible. In this case, try to fit in at least one or two practice tests wherever you can. Nothing else replicates the SAT experience like a full practice test does, so don't underestimate its importance in your prep! #6: Not Seeing Any Improvement? Get Additional Prep Help Some students prefer to do all of their SAT studying by themselves, but others work better with a little guidance. If the SAT subject matter just isn't making sense to you or you need help prioritizing your time, an SAT tutor or prep program (or both!) are excellent options to try. Both can give you that final push you need to stay focused and maximize your SAT Math score. At PrepScholar, we offer expert SAT tutoring services in addition to a fully customizable SAT prep program. For more info, read our guides on how to find the best SAT tutor for youand how much you should spend on tutoring. Targeted and careful practice, rest, and confidence: the perfect recipe for SAT success. What’s Next? Don't know where to start? Take a look at our list of all math topics on the SAT Math section, and target your weaknesses with our individual SAT Math guides. Want to know what the hardest SAT Math questions are? We've compiled a list of the 13 most challenging SAT Math questions, along with answer explanations for each. Bitten by the procrastination bug? Time running out until test day? Check out how to beat the urge to procrastinate, and learn how to balance time for your studies. Looking to get a perfect SAT Math score? Dig into our guide to getting a perfect 800 on SAT Math, written by a perfect scorer! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Math strategy guide, you'll love our program. Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: //

Bottlenecks in a Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Bottlenecks in a Process - Essay Example The main bottleneck in the case of operation of the vehicle speed sensor is the limitations which crop up due to a shift in the methods of manufacturing from service oriented manufacturing to luxury and leisure manufacturing. Vehicles built on different technological designs with very complicated parts are difficult to operate. The problem cannot be easily solved automatically and a lot of time is required to manually understand the actual problems and solve them appropriately. Another bottleneck is failure of a vehicle to restart for extreme cases. The technique would not appropriate due to lack of low or high levels of fuel to the engine. The theory of constraints can be applies to overcome these bottlenecks. Goldratt’s theory of constraints is a significant instrument for improving process flows. The consequences of this theory are extensive in terms of comprehending bottlenecks to a process and efficiently taking care of these bottlenecks to develop a competent process flow. The theory of constraints in a critical technique that operations managers employ to deal with bottlenecks and make process flows more efficient. The theory states that, â€Å"the throughput of a system depends on one constrain (bottleneck).† (Heizer & Render ,2001) Therefore to increase the throughput, the bottleneck or constraint must be identified and improved. This theory comprises five steps. The initial step is the identification of the constraint to be improved. Applying Goldratt’s theory to the vehicle speed sensor flow chart, one major constraint is the shifting trend in the methods of manufacturing vehicles and failure of a vehicle to ignite. The constraint has been identified therefo re we need to make an improvement. The subsequent step is to align every part of the system to support the constraint regardless of whether it lowers the efficiency of the other free resources or not. This is done by ensuring vehicle

Market plan task 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Market plan task 2 - Essay Example Based on the company and the current position, it is clear that Starbucks has a strong product profile and the company is very ethical and has also developed products to meet the needs of the children as well. Keeping in mind the current interest in healthier lifestyles, the following recommendations can be made to the company for their marketing. Also a detailed explanation of the marketing mix has also been provided below. The recommended strategy for the company is to develop product extension. Here the company can effectively introduce new products to the current menu. The main aim and target audiences here are the younger customers. Hence the company can introduce the products to meet the needs of these individuals. The following details in the marketing mix helps provide a better understanding on the inclusions that the company can make to their menus as a product expansion. Product: In terms of the products, the company needs to focus on introducing new kid size drinks. These drinks need to be less caffeinated, less sweetened and also need to met the health norms. The products should be available in low calories for young adults below (Hakansson and Waluszewski). Since it is clear that healthier options like fresh fruit juices or other nutritional choices will not help the customers stay away from the high calories (Rudelius). Hence here the company can take an initiative by introducing the same products however with low fat and calories for the children. Place: In terms of place, the company can continue to use the current place for the children as well. Here they can however also include a more appropriate setting and environment for the younger audiences (Jobber). This will help keep up the current environment of the adult audiences and will also provide the younger customers with a more appropriate place (Hakansson and

How do the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan affect the U.S. economy, Essay

How do the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan affect the U.S. economy, politics and way of thinking - Essay Example According to many estimates, the cost of the Iraq War has been to the tune of $845 Billion to the US alone. The famous Nobel laureate, Joseph Stiglitz has estimated that the total cost to the economy has been to the tune of $3 Trillion. And he says that this can surpass even the cost of World War II that was around $5 Trillion to the US Economy (Stiglitz 125). It is estimated that the US spends a few billions in dollars everyday in Iraq. Apart from these direct costs, there are indirect costs to the economy that include interest raised on the debt to service the war, the cost of veterans coming home and getting treated for their injuries and the like (Reuters, 2008). There are also other costs that include the replacement of damaged hardware and other machinery. The costs of the Iraq war have exceeded a lot more than what were originally estimated. And if we add the cost of reconstruction and rebuilding the economy, it becomes apparent that the Iraq war has been a nightmare in terms of the financial aspect. This has had severe repercussions on the American economy as we shall see in the next section. The US government resorted to a variety of methods to finance the Iraq War. Primarily, the government encouraged profligate borrowing and reckless lending practices in order to raise the money required for the war. Since the war costs had to be finances, the US government turned to the sovereign wealth funds of the Middle Eastern countries to finance the war. This led to over-reliance on borrowed money and the US has been running huge trade deficits that can only be sustained by the infusion of more and more liquidity into the system. Towards this end, the lending practices became lax and not subjected to oversight and this has led to the sub-prime meltdown in the US (Kevin Philips 75-79). As it is, the dollar is the fiat currency

Methodology Philosophy Epistemology

Methodology Philosophy Epistemology Chapter 3 Research Methodology 3.0 Introduction: This chapter on research methodology will focus on the research question that was presented in Chapter 2, and discuss how it is embraced into the research philosophy, design, methodology and methods used in this research project. 3.1 Research Philosophy: Research philosophy relates to the development of knowledge in a specific area and nature of that knowledge as applicable to the research project. In short, research philosophy could be assumed to embrace the personal beliefs and the way in which the researcher views the world. The importance of research philosophy within a research project has been highlighted by many researchers. Easterby smith et al. (2003), argues that it is unwise to conduct research without an awareness of the philosophical issues that lie in the background. According to Denzin and Lincoln (2000), the combination of personal belief, researchers experience and understanding of philosophy will underpin the formulation of strategy and selection of methods for the research project. Similarly Saunders et.al (2006) argues that research philosophy influences the researcher about the research process. Easterby-Smith et al (2003), Saunders et.al (2006) considers Ontology, Epistemology and Axiology as the three major par adigms of research philosophy applied in business and management research. Discussions will primarily focus on the ontological and epistemological perspectives of the research project. Whilst Ontology, is linked to the assumptions that a researcher makes on the nature of reality, Epistemology on the other hand is more concerned about the â€Å"general set of assumptions about the best ways of inquiring into the nature of the world (Easterby-Smith et al, 2003). According to Easterby-smith et al, (2003), ontology can be further classified into three perspectives: representationalism, relativism and nominalism. The table shows the details about different ontological perspectives. Epistemology can be further classified into two perspectives namely positivism and relativism. These two perspectives unite on a common assumption that the job of the researcher is the identification of â€Å"pre existing reality† (Easterby-smith et al, 2003). Whilst the positivists researcher approaches the task of understanding reality through design of experiments, on the other hand the relativist achieves it through combination of â€Å"triangulation† of methods and through surveying large samples (Easterby-smith et al, 2003). The two main approaches in management research namely deductive and inductive indicates the nature of the data to be collected and the direction of shift between data and theory during analysis (Yin, 2003). Marrying these research approaches to the research philosophies, Robson (2002), points out that representational ontology and positivist epistemology adopt inductive approach, whereas relativist ontology and epistemological approaches adopt deductive approach. To understand the philosophical approaches used in this research project, it becomes necessary to revisit and analyse the main research question presented in chapter 2: â€Å"Is the Toyota Production System (TPS) transferable to other automotive manufacturers?† Based on the literature presented in Chapter 2, this research begins with the basic ontological assumption that in reality TPS is transferable to other manufacturers given the fact that complete transferability is difficult to a greater extent. This is a relativist view since to establish the truth ‘consensus between different viewpoints must be established (Easterby-Smith et al, 2003). Furthermore, the facts are dependent on the position and viewpoint of the researcher. Therefore, as a result of the research question, a relativist ontological and epistemological approach has been adopted in this study. 3.2 Research Design 3.2.1 Selection of research design Research design is ‘the logic that links the data to be collected and the conclusions to be drawn to the initial questions of study (Yin, 2003). The possible research designs available to the researchers include case research, survey research, action research, experimental design, participant observation and ethnography (Easterby-Smith et al, 2003). According to Meredith (2002) the selection of appropriate research design should be followed after careful consideration of the nature of the research and the research questions that needs to be addressed. According to Meredith (2002), the key advantages of using a case study research are relevance and exploratory depth it offers to the area of study. On the other hand, the main critics of case research are that it is time consuming, needs skilled interviewers, needs more triangulation, its limitations to draw generalizable conclusions from limited cases and lack of familiarity of its procedures and rigor (Meredith (1998); Stuart et al (2002); Voss et al (2002); Yin (2003)). According to Voss et al (2002), case research despite its critics can help not only the theory but also to the researchers by developing new ideas and insights. According to Yin (2003) case study design can be classified into two main categories: ‘single case study and ‘multiple case study based on the number of cases researched to answer the research questions. These are further classified into ‘holistic and ‘embedded case studies based on the unit of analysis within the single or multiple case studies. For instance multiple case study (embedded) research represents study from a multiple cases with a more than a single unit of analysis. For the purpose of this research project, a single case study design was employed. To understand the interrelationship amongst the factors within the single case study, multiple component analysis ‘embedded (Yin, 2003) was done within this research design. Through the single case study, the production system in specific automotive firm was identified and thoroughly analysed for comparison with TPS to answer the research questions. The entire production system was subdivided into: Management, People, Production and Automation, Suppliers and Customers perspectives and each of these were considered as separate units of analysis in relation to answering the research question of transferability of TPS. 3.2.2 Possible Research Designs Although the case study approach is selected for this study, there are other possible approaches to research design and these include: Action research Surveys. It is quite important to understand the suitability of the individual approaches to address specific research questions before making a selection (Easterby smith et al, 2003). Table 1 explains the possible research designs for this research and justifies the selection for the most appropriate approach. Research Design Objective of design approach Status of Selection Justification Case Study Focus of case study is on a ‘contemporary phenomenon with in real life context. Covers research types such as exploratory, explanatory and descriptive. (Yin, 2003). Selected The research question is more exploratory in nature as it tries to identify the critical success factor in implementation of TPS in a specific firm i.e. attempting to understand a ‘live phenomenon. Usage of interviews and observations for data collection together with understanding of a ‘live phenomenon justifies the selection of case study approach as the most appropriate research design for this research. Action Research Implement change as a part of research process in the subject of study. (Easterby-Smith et al, 2003). Not selected This research aims to identify the critical success factor for implementation of TPS From the research questions it is quite clear that there are no intentions to implement any sort of change in the organisation of study. Hence Action research is not a suitable approach to be used for this research. Survey Research Attempts to collect large samples across large or small number of organizations over a period of time. (Easterby-Smith et al, 2003). Not selected Since in this research only one specific organisation will be analysed, response from survey questions could become inappropriate for analysis and answering the research questions. In addition, there is limitation of time in this research for administration of surveys and analysis. Hence survey research is not the most appropriate approach to be adopted. 3.2.4 Potential weakness: In selection of the case research design for the project, it was important to understand and mitigate the potential weakness within this method. The potential weaknesses of case study are: time, access and generalizability of the research findings (Meredith (1998); Stuart et al (2002); Voss et al (2002); Yin (2003)). The following discussions highlight how the potential weaknesses were addressed in this research project. Access: To address the issue of access to the case company, information about the key personnel was obtained and application for permission was sent out at early stage of project. The written consent was obtained from the case company for conducting the data collection through interviews, direct observations and archival documents in addition to the access of key personnel of various disciplines in the organisation. Time: To address the issue of time constraints in the case study research, the researcher had narrowed down the boundaries for the research. From the outset, the scope of project has been narrowed down from holistic approach of TPS towards its transferability perspective taking into consideration the available time for the project. Also time limitations were one of the main reasons for focusing on a single case organisation with embedded unit of analysis to provide an in depth analysis on topic of study. Generalizability of the research findings: Generalizability also known as ‘external validity is defined as the â€Å"extent to which it is possible to generalize from the data and context of the research study to broader populations and settings (Hedrick et al., 1993). Meredith (2002) points out that the opponents of case research argue that its â€Å"theoretic generalizability† is less because the results hold good only for particular situation, whereas the proponents of case research claim that theory developed from such studies becomes applicable to similar and non similar situations. Through the study of a single case organisation, the aim of this research project is to extend and generalize theories on transferability of TPS i.e. ‘analytic generalization, rather than a ‘statistical generalization (Meredith, 2002; Yin, 2003) since the single case organisation studied here does not represent a sample or population. From the above discussions, it is evident that single case study is realistic in terms of the nature of the study (exploratory), time limitations, gaining access and resource constraints. The arguments presented above justify the selection of case study design for this research project and supports both the research question and the research philosophy adopted in this research project. 3.3 Research Methodology Qualitative Case study design would be best suited to understand, the prevalence of a phenomenon in a real life context and implications of the data rather than just the measurement (Yin, 2003). Revisiting the research question mentioned in the earlier section, it is quite clear that the research objective is to map a production system of a specific firm with TPS i.e. understanding a phenomenon in real context. Furthermore, a greater degree of interpretive approach needs to be followed in order to identify the degree of closeness for implementation of TPS and sort out the transferability issues faced by manufacturing firms while emulating TPS. Thus the qualitative methodology for data collection and analysis for this research is justified. 3.4 Research Methods Data Collection Analysis 3.4.1 Source of Data: Data for case studies can be collected through six sources: documents, archival records, interviews, direct observation, participant observation and physical artifacts (Yin, 2003). According to Yin (2003), these individual techniques are complementary to a greater extent and in order to develop a good case study design, researcher should aim at including as much techniques to the extent possible. Similarly Voss et al. (2002), states that multiple source of evidence (‘triangulation) is the important principle for data collection in case research. Based on the above arguments the primary data collection for this research was carried out by semi structured interviews, direct observation, archival records and company documentation. According to Yin (2003), the validity and reliability of the evidence collected can be maximized by three principles: Triangulation, Creating a data base and maintaining a chain of evidence. Amongst these three principles, Triangulation has the most significant impact on the validity and reliability (Stuart et al, 2002) and hence discussions presented below will focus on the elements of triangulation adopted for this research project. 3.4.1.1 Triangulation: Yin (2003) defines ‘Triangulation as the use of multiple sources of evidence and points out that the any conclusion based on multiple source of evidence is likely to be more accurate, reliable and valid. According to Collis and Hussey (2003) and Yin (2003), triangulation can be classified into methodological triangulation (different methods), data triangulation (data sources) and investigator triangulation (different evaluators). In addition to the collection of qualitative data, Voss et al. (2002) argues that case research provides better opportunity to collect quantitative data with greater accuracy and reliability than survey research. The data collected through interviews were verified through direct observations to increase the validity and reliability. Hence by combined use of methods together with collection of qualitative and quantitative data ‘methodological triangulation was achieved in this research project. ‘Data triangulation refers to the collection of data from different sources to increase the reliability of results (Easterby-Smith et al, 2003; Yin, 2003). Based on these arguments, qualitative data collection for this research was primarily carried out by interviews, direct observation, archival records and company documentation. Finally ‘investigator triangulation refers to collection of data by different investigators so as to identify similarities and differences in the data collected (Yin, 2003). Since this research was carried out by a single researcher, investigator triangulation as suggested by Yin (2003) was not possible. 3.4.2 Data gathering: The data gathering in case based research are usually achieved through the written and taped records of the interviews, company information and researchers observation (Stuart et al, 2002; Yin, 2003). It is pertinent to mention here that only hand written notes were employed for this research project since permission for audio tapes were not granted by the case organisation. The answers to the questions in the form of hand written notes were detailed immediately after each interview so as to ensure that data collection was complete. Yin (2003) points out that researchers bias directly affects the data collection process and findings of the research. To protect against error and researchers bias, the key data gathered were double checked with participants themselves and through direct observations. 3.4.3 Data Analysis: According to Miles and Huberman (1994), the three main approaches to qualitative data analysis are interpretivism, social anthropology and collaborative social research. Social anthropology is associated with ethnographic studies whereas collaborative social research is more oriented towards action research. Since the research study was based on case research, interpretivism was the most appropriate approach to be used since it emphasizes on understanding the subject of study through social interactions (interviews and observations) and phenomenologies. â€Å"The most serious and central difficulty in the use of qualitative data is that methods of analysis are not well formulated† (Miles and Huberman, 1994) The above quote acknowledges the importance of data analysis process related to research as this project mainly focuses on the collection of qualitative data. According to Collis and Hussey (2003); Miles Huberman (1994), qualitative data for case study research design can be analysed either by ‘within case analysis (single case study) or ‘cross case analysis'(multiple case studies). Qualitative analysis for this research would be carried out by means of ‘within case analysis since this research would look for data collection from a single case study. By using multiple units of analysis (embedded) ‘within the same case study, the researcher was able to identify the production system in the case organisation and map it with TPS to identify and bring out the transferability of TPS. 3.5 Summary To conclude the section on research methodology, figure 3.2 presented below summarizes the main research approach used within this research project.

John Brown The Sword and the Word Essays -- essays papers

John Brown The Sword and the Word â€Å"I act from a principle,† and â€Å"I say, break the law† are not only the names of two out of the five parts in this book, but the words by which John Brown lived so passionately everyday. At earlier times in his life he lived by his sword as well. The Sword and the Word illustrates John Brown’s own ideas and intentions and how he lived by them. A main issue of this book is that truly a man of his word who believed that morals should outweigh the law of the land, John Brown lived and died for the abolition of slavery and did as much if not more for that cause than many other slaves or free men. You could say this book is a biography but it really focuses on certain aspects and parts of John Brown’s life. It uses a kind of story-telling format, but many of the information and facts of the stories are given to the reader in the form of notes that are to and from many people including John Brown. Stavis’s major thesis is Brown believing â€Å"that a man has a perfect right to interfere by force with the slaveholder, in order to rescue the slave,† and that Brown fought for the freedom of the slaves and believed it was better he break inhumane rules and obey and follow God than to obey the law and sin. He followed his own set of principles and morals. He believed that a man should be honest, God-fearing, and loyal. If a man commits a crime he must be punished. Once he had a man re-arrested for the crime of theft where the man pleaded poverty. The man was thrown in jail but John Brown believed that the man’s family should not suffer for his wrongdoing while he was in jail so John Brown regularly supplied his family with an abundance of provisions. Not only was John Brown honest and fair, but also he was courteous and generous towards others even outside his well-taken care of family. To prove his points, the author includes several stories of things John Brown did in his life that exemplify his unselfishness. Upon hearing that a family miles away was starving and living in poverty one winter John Brown went to the man with a business offer to help the man because he wouldn’t accept just donations. The offer gave the man food and clothing in exchange for his labor the next summer. When the summer time came around, John Brown didn’t even let the man work for him. This is showing the good nature of John Brown’s pers... ...thor also composed the plays, ‘Lamp at Midnight,’ ‘The Man Who Never Died,’ ‘Harpers Ferry,’ ‘Coat of Many Colors,’ and ‘Refuge,’ and wrote Home, Sweet Home! and The Chain of Command. The Sword and the Word is actually a companion volume to Stavis’s ‘Harpers Ferry’ play. Publisher Thomas Yoseloff believes that the book is useful for anyone preparing a production of this story and thinks that it is well put-together with primary sources from history in conjunction with Stavis’s own views and ideas. I agree. We have not yet covered this time period yet, but soon enough we will discuss those crucial years before the civil war in class. However this has still aided and enlightened my studies in American History. It gave me a more in-depth and closer look at the slavery issue and how absurd it was. It gave me a sense of the feelings of the people of the time that John Brown was alive. Enough was learned from this book that the time spent reading it can be justified. I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to some one who enjoys learning about that time period in history and the exciting actions and events of a good-hearted man devoting his life for a good cause. John Brown The Sword and the Word Essays -- essays papers John Brown The Sword and the Word â€Å"I act from a principle,† and â€Å"I say, break the law† are not only the names of two out of the five parts in this book, but the words by which John Brown lived so passionately everyday. At earlier times in his life he lived by his sword as well. The Sword and the Word illustrates John Brown’s own ideas and intentions and how he lived by them. A main issue of this book is that truly a man of his word who believed that morals should outweigh the law of the land, John Brown lived and died for the abolition of slavery and did as much if not more for that cause than many other slaves or free men. You could say this book is a biography but it really focuses on certain aspects and parts of John Brown’s life. It uses a kind of story-telling format, but many of the information and facts of the stories are given to the reader in the form of notes that are to and from many people including John Brown. Stavis’s major thesis is Brown believing â€Å"that a man has a perfect right to interfere by force with the slaveholder, in order to rescue the slave,† and that Brown fought for the freedom of the slaves and believed it was better he break inhumane rules and obey and follow God than to obey the law and sin. He followed his own set of principles and morals. He believed that a man should be honest, God-fearing, and loyal. If a man commits a crime he must be punished. Once he had a man re-arrested for the crime of theft where the man pleaded poverty. The man was thrown in jail but John Brown believed that the man’s family should not suffer for his wrongdoing while he was in jail so John Brown regularly supplied his family with an abundance of provisions. Not only was John Brown honest and fair, but also he was courteous and generous towards others even outside his well-taken care of family. To prove his points, the author includes several stories of things John Brown did in his life that exemplify his unselfishness. Upon hearing that a family miles away was starving and living in poverty one winter John Brown went to the man with a business offer to help the man because he wouldn’t accept just donations. The offer gave the man food and clothing in exchange for his labor the next summer. When the summer time came around, John Brown didn’t even let the man work for him. This is showing the good nature of John Brown’s pers... ...thor also composed the plays, ‘Lamp at Midnight,’ ‘The Man Who Never Died,’ ‘Harpers Ferry,’ ‘Coat of Many Colors,’ and ‘Refuge,’ and wrote Home, Sweet Home! and The Chain of Command. The Sword and the Word is actually a companion volume to Stavis’s ‘Harpers Ferry’ play. Publisher Thomas Yoseloff believes that the book is useful for anyone preparing a production of this story and thinks that it is well put-together with primary sources from history in conjunction with Stavis’s own views and ideas. I agree. We have not yet covered this time period yet, but soon enough we will discuss those crucial years before the civil war in class. However this has still aided and enlightened my studies in American History. It gave me a more in-depth and closer look at the slavery issue and how absurd it was. It gave me a sense of the feelings of the people of the time that John Brown was alive. Enough was learned from this book that the time spent reading it can be justified. I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to some one who enjoys learning about that time period in history and the exciting actions and events of a good-hearted man devoting his life for a good cause.