Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - Profile

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - Profile Why Bashar al-Assad Matters: Syrias Hafez al-Assad, in power since June 10, 2000, is one of the Middle Easts most ruthless, autocratic, minority rulers in one of the worlds most closed societies. Assad also maintains Syrias pivotal role on the Middle Easts strategic map: He is an ally of Irans Shiite theocracy, he supports and arms Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, thus maintaining a level of enmity toward Israel that so far has precluded peace: Israel has occupied Syrias Golan Heights since the 1967 war. Presumed a reformer when he took Power, Bashar al-Assad has proved no less repressive than his father. Bashar al-Assads Early Life: Bashar al-Assad was born on Sept. 11, 1965, in Damascus, the Syrian capital, the second son of Hafez al-Assad (1930-2000), who had tyrannically ruled Syria since 1971, and Anisa Makhlouf Bashar. He had three brothers and a sister. He spent years training as an eye doctor, first at a military hospital in Damascus then in London, at St. Marys Hospital. He was not being groomed for the presidency: his oldest brother Basil was. In January 1994, Basil, who led Syrias presidential guard, died in a car crash in Damascus. Bashar was immediately and unexpectedly thrust into the limelightand the succession line. Bashar al-Assads Personality: Bashar al-Assad was not groomed to be a leader. Where his brother Basil was gregarious, outgoing, charismatic, arrogant, Dr. Assad, as he was referred to for a while, was retiring, shy, and appearing to have few of his fathers wiles or will to poweror ruthlessness. Friends admit, The Economist wrote in June 2000, that he cuts a rather meek and awkward figure, unlikely to inspire the same terror and admiration as his handsome, athletic, outgoing and ruthless brother. Basil was the gangster type, says one Syrian. Bashar is much more quiet and thoughtful. Early Years of Power: Bashar al-Assad had been running a private medical practice. But when his brother died, his father summoned him from London, sent him to a military academy north of Damascus, and started preparing him for the reins of power- which he took when Hafez al-Assad died on June 10, 2000. Bashar has gradually turned into a younger version of his father. I have a lot of respect for experience, Bashar al-Assad said just as he was taking power, and I am going to try always to acquire it. Hes lived up to that pledge. He suggested that hd relax Syrias repressive police state, even explore political reforms. He barely did. Toying With the United States and Israel: Almost from the beginning of Bashar al-Assad reign, theres been a yo-yo effect in his relations with the United States and Israelimplying engagement during one phase only to retreat into intransigence and extremism the next. Whether its a strategy or a lack of self-confidence might seem unclear until the approach is seen in the context of how Bashars father maintained power: not by innovating, not by daring, but by keeping the opposition off balance, by undermining expectations rather than living up to them. Theres been a see-saw effect on two fronts since 2000, without as yet producing lasting results. Bashar al-Assads See-Saw: Cooperation With the U.S.: Shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Assad proved to be a relatively reliable ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, cooperating with U.S. intelligence and, in more sinister ways, lending his prisons to the Bush administrations rendition program. It was in Assads prisons that Canadian national Maher Arar was tortured, at the administrations behest, even after Mahar was found to be innocent of any ties to terrorism. Assads cooperation, like Muammar el-Qaddafis,was not out of appreciation for the west but out of fear that al-Qaeda would undermine his regime. Bashar al-Assads See-Saw: Talks With Israel: Assad has similarly see-sawed with Israel over peace talks and the resolution of the Golan Heights occupation. In late 2003, Assad, in an interview with The New York Times, appeared ready to negotiate: Some people say there are Syrian conditions, and my answer is no; we dont have Syrian conditions. What Syria says is this: negotiations should be resumed from the point at which they had stopped simply because we have achieved a great deal in these negotiations. If we dont say this, it means we want to go back to point zero in the peace process. But similar suggestions were made over subsequent years, to no end. Syrias Nuclear Reactor: In September 2007, Israel bombed a remote area of northeast Syria, along the Euphrates River, where, Israel and the United States alleged, North Korea was helping Syria build a plutonium-based nuclear plant that would have been capable of producing nuclear weapons. Syria denied the allegations. Writing in The New Yorker in February 2008, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the evidence was circumstantial but seemingly damning. But Hersh raised serious doubt about the certainty that it was a nuclear reactor, even though he conceded that Syria was cooperating with North Korea on something military. Bashar al-Assad and Reform: As with his stance toward Israel and the United States, Bashar al-Assads promises of reform have been many, but his retreats from those promises have been just as frequent. Theres been a few Syrian springs where dissenters and human rights advocates were given a longer leash. But those brief springs never lasted. Assads promises of local elections have not been followed through, though financial restrictions on the economy were lifted early in his reign and helped the Syrian economy grow faster. In 2007, Assad held a sham referendum extending his presidency seven years. Bashar al-Assad and Arab Revolutions: As of early 2011, Bashar al-Assad was firmly planted on Middle Eastern soil as one of the regions most ruthless tyrants. He brought Syrias 29-year occupation of Lebanon to an end in 2005, but only after the likely Syrian- and Hezbollah-backed assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri triggered the Cedar Revolution on Lebanons streets and drove the Syrian army out. Syria has since reasserted its power over Lebanon, re-infiltrating the countrys intelligence services and, ultimately, reasserting Syrian hegemony when Hezbollah brought the government down and brokered its re-institution, with Hezbollah at the helm. Assad is not merely a tyrant. Like Bahrains Al Khalifa ruling family, which is Sunni and ruling, illegitimately, over a majority of Shiites, Assad is an Alawite, a break-away Shiite sect. Barely 6 percent of Syrias population is Alawite. The majority is Sunni, with Kurds, Shiites and Christians forming minorities of their own. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in January 2011, Assad said downplayed the risks of revolution in his country: I am not talking here on behalf of the Tunisians or the Egyptians. I am talking on behalf of the Syrians, he said. It is something we always adopt. We have more difficult circumstances than most of the Arab countries but in spite of that Syria is stable. Why? Because you have to be very closely linked to the beliefs of the people. This is the core issue. When there is divergence between your policy and the peoples beliefs and interests, you will have this vacuum that creates disturbance. Assads certainties were soon proven wrong as disturbances erupted in various parts of the countryand Assad assaulted them with his police and military, murdering many protesters, arresting hundreds, and silencing Internet communications that have helped organize protests across the Middle East. In short, Assad is a flirt, not a statesman, a tease, not a visionary. Its worked so far. Its not likely to work for ever.

The Video of the USC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Video of the USC - Essay Example As seen in the video, the students are very responsive and assertive in contributing their knowledge and experiences to the aforementioned issues that have been the matter of a heated debate for several years. The teacher acts as a facilitator throughout the discussion. She also engages in the discussion to reiterate the need to understand these contexts. Her teaching style is relatively effective, as can be inferred from the video, since she welcomes all the points and contentions of the students. Ultimately, the issues of racism, gender and class stratification in society that affect the children are being dealt with in the video in a proper way; the teaching style can be deemed fit to address the issue and to provide an avenue for intellectual fermentation. 2. Analysis and Interpretation of the Video In its totality, the video evokes an inherent complexity about the issues of race, gender and class division in society. These issues affect the quality of education received by the s tudents. There is a structural problem in terms of implementing educational policies, since there is classification between the students and the selection of a manner of teaching can be problematic (McDermott et al 2008, p. 3). As there in attempt to make the kids realize the importance of engaging with these issues, there is a need to look at the relations of the social structures that affect the kids (McDermott et al 2008, p. 5). Is it important, and to what extent? For Rodgers, there is a need to analyze this matter, since it affects the intellectual condition and perception of the kids inside the classroom (2002, p. 231). The teacher-student relationship is considered to be very vital. This vitality is important; there is an intrinsic irony about American democracy where the person aspires to be accepted by others, yet there is dominance of racist practices despite of the attempts to eliminate them (McDermott et al 2008, p. 4). In relation to the video, the aforementioned ideas have been highlighted. The teacher tries to provide a very conducive learning environment that makes the children aware of racism, sexism and economic classification through a synthetic understanding of history and the political-economic structures that linger in society. As pointed out by McDermott et al, this manner implemented by the teacher to address the complexity of the matter shows that there is a need for reformulation of teaching methods. They must take into consideration the capacity of every student regardless of gender, race, and class (2008, p 13). This is considered a good step towards integration and understanding which will eventually abolish the racist and sexist practices that pose a detriment to the students’ learning capacity. Another positive aspect of the video is the very interactive approach that the teacher implements in making the subject matter interesting to the students. This shows a very reflective learning condition, wherein the understanding o f the students regarding the subject is based upon the input of the teacher and allows them to formulate their own approach which highlights independent thinking and critical reasoning (Rodgers 2002, p. 233). The verbal exchange between the stude

Puzzle 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Puzzle 1 - Assignment Example Viewers can decide whether they see art, which makes their makers, artists, although artists, particularly humans, can use their autonomy to say that they are artists, whether their viewers agree or not. These artists are making art because they have viewers who can accept their works as art, even if there may be differences amongst the latter’s views. I believe that these creators are all artists or painters because they have the skills to make art and viewers who can accept their works as art. What makes them artists or painters is that they can create works of art based on their own perceptions of the world and using their painting skills, and that they have audiences who can appreciate their art. Some people might say that chimpanzees or elephants cannot perceive the value and effects of art, but I believe that they have their own ways of expressing art, as these videos prove. In addition, I believe that they are â€Å"good† artists to those audiences who see their paintings as â€Å"good† works of art because they like the total effect of these works and they find meaning in these paintings. As for the question of determining if one better than the other, it is hard to answer that because â€Å"better† art is in the eye of the beholder. In other words, I do not think that any person, even those who are called art critics and art connoisseurs can absolutely say that one painting or painter is better than the other since, in the end, people, as art consumers have different tastes and preferences in art and they can still choose what they think are â€Å"better† art works. Furthermore, determining the â€Å"better† art depends on both or either viewer or creator. Some viewers immediately think that human arts are better than animal-made arts because of the preference for the creators. Other viewers, on the opposite, do not consider who/what the painter is and prefer to appreciate art depending

MRO Activities in Aviation Industry

MRO Activities in Aviation Industry Definitions: MRO: Maintenance, repair and overhaul organization. OEM: Aircraft original equipment manufacturers. Such as Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier Embraer and others. Airworthiness Authorities: Regulate all aspects of civil aviation. These include the construction and operation of airports, the management of air traffic, the certification of personnel and aircraft. There are two main organizations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States of America and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Airworthiness: FAA Part 3 defines Airworthy as, the aircraft conforms to its type design and is in a condition for safe flight. A more generic and non-process oriented definition is required. Airworthiness is defined in JSP553 Military Airworthiness Regulations (2006) Edition 1 Change 5 as: The ability of an aircraft or other airborne equipment or system to operate without significant hazard to aircrew, ground crew, passengers (where relevant) or to the general public over which such airborne systems are flown. Mother airline: In MRO aviation sector mother airline is the core airline from with the MRO unit segregates, for instance British Airways is the mother airline of British Airways Engineering. Virtual airline: Is an airline that has outsourced as many possible operational and business functions as it can, but still maintains effective control of its core business. Line Maintenance: Usually carried out at or near the aircraft dock or parking. The level of dis-assembly is usually limited to what can be reassembled and restored within a short period in order to allow the continuous aircraft operation. A limiting factor is usually the level of Ground Support Equipment and the scope of the revisions reaches to the A-Check. Heavy Maintenance: The mayor level of maintenance with capabilities of disassembling, inspecting, repairing, refurbishment, overhaul and restoration. It is usually carried out into specific installations called Hangars with and extensive source of facilities, tools and equipment. The scope of the revisions in this kind of maintenance is focus in C-Checks and in mayor structural repairs and inspections. Engine Overhaul: Comprises of the whole disassembly of an engine. The overhaul facility inspects the engine, repairs it as necessary, reassembles, tests, clean and approves it for return to service within the fits and limits specified by the manufacturers overhaul data (Lee et al, 2008). This kind of maintenance need to be done in a very specific installations approved by the engine manufacturer. Component Maintenance: Reparation of aircraft components is slightly different from a complete overhaul, as the workshop needs to determine the cause of a given defect, correct that defect, perform bench tests and release the component back to service. Very specific workshops needed for different components such as: Radio transceivers, Hydraulic valves, batteries, passengers seats, etc. Modifications: This kind of maintenance is performed in order a manufacturer option or an authority requirement. During the manufacturing process of an aircraft, improvements have been implemented over time, for early versions, these improvements can be made later in the form of modification, on the other hand civil aviation authorities generates Airworthiness Directives (AD) of mandatory compliance to the aircraft operators , that needs specific modifications. Introduction Maintenance, repair and overhaul in the aeronautical sector is a complicate procedure that has strict and particular requirements defined by airworthiness authorities to guarantee the safety of passengers and aircrew. MRO could be defined such all actions that have the objective of retaining or restoring an item in or to a state in which it can be perform its required function. (Vieira, Loures, 2016). The aviation MRO engineering could be defined such the arm of the aviation industry responsible for the retaining or restoring aircraft parts to a state in which they can perform the required design applications (Al-kaabi, Potter et al. 2007). Chang and Abdullah (2014) states that the business model of the MRO is a combination of technical capacity and logistic configuration counting the level of supply chain vertical integration and outsourcing practices. Chris Markou (2015) estimates the maintenance cost for an airline is 17% of the operational cost. MRO Activities and Models: Al-kaabi, Potter et al (2007) study assesses the decision-making process of an airline when deciding on the outsourcing of maintenance services, the study define three different phases: The first phase corresponds to the activities developed by the MRO, in this section the critical activities of the organization that are included (figure 1). The second phase deals with the study of demand based on a series of entries that will take into account the logistical complexity, the age of the fleet and its use, among others. The MRO have to focus on the actual market and need to develop a plan strategy for short, medium and long term. The third phase addresses the study of capacity and the true need to outsource taking into account the MRO cost, that include maintenance resources such hangar space, qualified equipment , qualified manpower and the dispatch reliability related with technical delays. During 2014 Global Market of MRO spends was value at %62.1 billion, excluding overheads, with a 3.8% increase per annum, the market size is estimated to reach $90 billion in 2024 (Chris MARKOU, 2015). The following graph represents the distribution of cost between MRO activities for the year 2014. Al-kaabi, Potter et al (2007) states that according with the critical activities of an MRO and the level of outsourcing developed, a MRO could be categorized in different models: Fully Integrated MRO: Where all MRO activities are generated and performed internally and in addition the MRO can support other airlines different to the mother airline generating external revenues. Partially Outsourced MRO: Where airlines try to maintains most of their MRO activities internally but some are externalised, for example the outsourcing of the Engine Maintenance. Mostly Outsourced MRO: Where only critical activities are performed internally for instance, generally airlines consider Line maintenance such a critical activity for the relation with the punctuality, for this reason is maintained such as in house activity. Wholly outsourced MRO: Where all activities are outsourced, it is similar to the Virtual airline model and it is highly extended across the new Low-Cost airlines that cannot afford the initial investment to create their own MRO. The following table represents an SWOT evaluation performed by Al-kaabi, Potter et al (2007) of the difference structure models. This variety of organizational models in which certain critical activities are externalized requires a maximum level of coordination between the actors involved, as well as within the organization itself. One of the leading issues in aviation industry today is how information is managed and retained in an organization (Flouris, Oswald 2006). Regarding to the operational aspect of the MRO activities Vieira and Loures (2016) states that the maintenance could be: Scheduled Maintenance: Defined as an anticipatory action to ensure that a product works properly at pre-defined intervals. The intervals can be defined in terms of hours of operation, number of flights or flight cycles. (Figure 5). Unscheduled Maintenance: Defined as not planned or programmed is performed when an unexpected component failure occurs. Actual MRO Scenario in aviation industry Aviation MRO activities cannot be precisely defined solely within manufacturing or service term alone, Given that it is a product of both (Ayeni, Ball et al. 2016). The process are very complex, each component needs to be certified by the competent airworthiness institution which define severe requirements to guarantee safety (Vieira, Loures ,2016). Due to the high quality requirements, there is a very small number of authorized companies to serve parts and services in the sector, this fact generates limitation in the options available when a MRO or manufacturer has to select the provider, creating a lack of influence to discuss commercial conditions. It can be highlighted four stakeholders in the service flow of an aviation MRO: Subtier/Supplier, Aircraft OEMs, Aircraft MRO and Customer. The flow model used by OEMs provides for key suppliers working as system integrator, this means in comparison with other sectors aircraft OEMs have very few suppliers approximately 50. The production parts is very standard and similar compared with other industrial sector, OEMs submit a purchasing order with the system supplier and making and respect a commercial agreement the part is delivered. The complexity increases with spare part due to the logistic and regulatory framework. Customers can purchase orders to the rest of the stakeholders always depending of the type of structure and also can request the MRO services. In order to obtain a complete an actual vision of the MRO sector, the following table shows the top 10 aviation MROs ordered by the number of airframe maintenance hours during 2014. (AWST, 2015) MRO Procedures: Lifecycles: Two main flows can be identified within an MRO Aviation (CHANG, Abdullah 2014): The Physical flow: Is the aircraft maintenance process which comprises: professional methodology, material, machine, manpower and environment. The information flow: Defined as the company management process which comprises the cycle of P-D-C-A (Plan-DO-Check-Action) that includes functions of demand integration and material logistic. These flows have to be analysed through the lifecycle of the different components of the Aviation MRO activity: The previous diagrams show a generic lifecycle for the different elements with which MROs work, they are valid regardless of the level of outsourcing that the organization has, because it is the complete cycle, which would vary the organization that would perform the task in case they were outsourced. Many common characteristics can be seen in the different cycles, such as logistics for the receipt and delivery of the product, personnel and tooling distributions, documentation and various final tests. During the development of the phases, the physical flow and the information flow must be taken care of equally. Is very important visualize the wide intricacy of the MRO organization management (Bierer, Gtze et al. 2016). The two types of flow mentioned above are then analyzed further in detail: Physical flow Regarding the physical flow, the maintenance process does not vary significantly with the product to be treated within the 3 life cycles previously exposed. Chang and Abdullah (2014) divides the aircraft maintenance process in 8 parts: Review Flight history: Make a review of previous maintenance actions and evaluate the current status. Determine Maintenance Items: Following manufacturer requirements and documentation, perform an engineering evaluation and determine the maintenance items. Receiving Process: Accept the aircraft from customer and perform the maintenance previous set-up. Disassembly: Gain access to the maintenance item. Inspection and testing: Perform the evaluations and approved test to ensure the state of the maintenance item. Assembly: Substitute and assembly the relative parts of the maintenance item, including de aces panel to the maintenance item area. Functional test: Perform a functional test of the maintenance item. Flight test: In some maintenance action could be necessary a flight test to ensure achieve the original performance requirement according to the regulatory framework. Figure 12: General Maintenance Process of Aircraft flow shop. Source: (CHANG, Abdullah 2014) It can be seen the easy allocation of the parts to the previous discussed lifecycle in Figure 8. The complexity and the resources used in the maintenance task may vary, however the process remains essentially unchanged. Information Flow The information flow is the company management process, Chang and Abdullah (2014) argues that is composed by two major functions: Demand integration: Divided in three stages: Delivery schedule: Where is necessary the management of customers orders taking into account the delivery date, aircraft model and requirements, this stage makes the link with the investment and business plan. Rough-cut capacity: Consider the information and the overall demand, during this stage the rough-cut capacity for midterm and long term is computed. Material requirement planning (MRP): In this stage inputs are receive from engineering evaluation (Bill of material), current inventory and current capacity, after the pertinent evaluation the detail production schedule is generated. Material Logistic: Divided in three stages: Detail production schedule: Generated in the MRP phase, it is based in the feasibility of the production schedule, taking into account the lead time of the details parts, outsourcing level, procurements and resources. Shop floor control: This phase monitor the progress and daily performance in order to achieve the targets of the detail production schedule. Delivery: After the maintenance task and checks, all the documentation and quality records should be prepared for reviewing and approval. In this section it is necessary to differentiate information from knowledge. The information is the raw content of the metric being used, Gunasekaran, Patel et al (2001) use some of the following metrics in the aircraft maintenance process: Documents rejected, Defects at final inspections, Rework, Tool bag audit among others. Knowledge however is formed through the analysis and study of information, and gives a real vision of the state of the process as well as the achievement of objectives. Significant knowledge construction and application involves information to be accessible and relevant moment and relevant situation (Iyengar, Dharwada et al.). One of the most important factors in the Aviation industry is how information is managed and retained in the organization. The concept of Knowledge Management in an organization is supply managers to with all the tools and knowledge necessary for decision making. Knowledge should be made available to the correct people at the correct time, and it must be sheltered so that this knowledge does not leave the organization. (Flouris, Oswald 2006). Bierer, Gtze et al (2016) indicates that the knowledge management is necessary to obtain a successful generation and correct handling of knowledge, they also emphasize the tendency of MROs to outsource services by aggravating the problem of making knowledge accessible within the company. Little literature exits on information management of the data obtained from various aircraft maintenance process which have direct consequence on the safety of the aircraft. (Iyengar, Dharwada et al. ). Nonetheless, in the publication the authors describe the hierarchy through different levels of the maintenance environment: Senior managers refers to the higher managers who reviews all the maintenance activities. Manager refers to the individual who reviews and report all the maintenance activities to the senior manager. Airline representative refers to the individual who performs day-to-day surveillance at the vendor location. Vendor refers to the independent maintenance operator who performs maintenance operations on the aircraft. Human resources: One of the most critical and most important components within the physical and information flows within an MRO is the human component, two main roles are mainly involved in the whole process (CHANG, Abdullah 2014). Engineer: The role is related with planning, certification liaison, and regulation, specifications to maintain the reliability, relations with financial departments and provide technical and analytical support. Technician: The qualified technician cover three main categories: structure repair, avionics and mechanical. The technicians are the main component of the manpower and they performed the designed maintenance task accourding to the valid regulation. . Mapping information flows is a process for analysing how information is transferred between two points inside an organization (Hibberd, Evatt 2004). There are two types of information flows: Direct information and indirect information, companies have for a long time tried to optimize and improve the physical material flow within the supply chain but is needed also improve the information which is connected to the physical flow (Chibba, Rundquist 2004). Figure 17: The physical material flow and the information flow showing two different Approaches (Indirect and direct information). Source: (Chibba, Rundquist 2004). Hibberd and Evatt (2004) indicates some benefits of mapping information: Enables the understanding of who is the user of information and how is used. It identifies the ultimate client or key stakeholder for various types of information services. Help to focus information services where more necessaries are. Steps: They also pinpoints a process of five steps to perform the information flow mapping: Describe current situation: They suggest a hierarchical chart showing the mission, goals and objectives of an organization, in addition it is also exposed the interaction with various business units and how these units support these goals. Describe potential clients: Identification of potential clients in other business units. Determining the organizational goals and objectives of each unit and identify what information may need. Map potential clients: Listing the units, needs and resources help to analyse the potential overlap areas, the current clients maps is completed with the potential clients information. The map should be completed with suggestions and reallocation of resources, products and services. Rank solutions for prioritization: Make a classification of the possible solutions: Low Risk: Organizations is not making a mission-critical decision. Moderate Risk: Organizational activity involves a complete department and its budget. High Risk: Organizations is making a mission-critical decision. Create an Information map: Mapping the final solution to show each department and the suggestions for their information, the information map will require updating to continue its function. Chibba and Rundquist (2004) argues that a data flow diagram (DFD) could be used to map typical supply chain information flows the article present difference commercial solutions for DFD creation and the characteristics for a process: Is necessary a supplier that contribute with some measurable entity into the process. The process comprises a number of activities that convert the object in a more valuable object. The process should have well defined start and concrete ending. The process should be regularly iterated. The process should use the organization resources. Is good for organization to work with a process model that all the member could understand, they should know how their process are connected, the hierarchy, hat resources are critical to the clients. References AL-KAABI, H., POTTER, A. and NAIM, M., 2007. Insights into the maintenance, repair and overhaul configurations of European airlines. Journal of Air Transportation, 12(2), pp. 27. AL-KAABI, H., POTTER, A. and NAIM, M (2007) An outsourcing decision model for airlines MRO activities, Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 13(3), pp. 217-227. AYENI, P., BALL, P. and BAINES, T., 2016. Towards the strategic adoption of Lean in Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry: An empirical study into the industrys status. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, , pp. 38-61. AWST. 2015. Aviation Week Announces Top 10 Airframe MRO Providers: Biennial survey examines MRO developments, 2014 airframe maintenance hours and revenue. Aviation Week and Space Technology, MRO Edition, Aviation Week Ranks. May 2015. BIERER, A., GTZE, U., KHLER, S. and LINDNER, R., 2016. Control and Evaluation Concept for Smart MRO Approaches. Procedia CIRP, 40, pp. 700-705. CHANG, H.M. and ABDULLAH, K., 2014. The Operation Management Model of Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Business. International Journal of Trends in Economics Management Technology (IJTEMT), 3(3), CHIBBA, A. and RUNDQUIST, J., 2004. Mapping flows-an analysis of the information flows within the integrated supply chain. Chris MARKOU Assistant Director, IATA Operations, MRO, December 2015 Airline maintenance cost executive commentary: public mctf An Exclusive Benchmark Analysis (FY2014 data) by IATAs Maintenance Cost Task Force. FLOURIS, T.G. and OSWALD, S.L., 2006. Designing and executing strategy in aviation management. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. HIBBERD, B.J. and EVATT, A., 2004. Mapping information flows: a practical guide. Information Management, 38(1), pp. 58. IYENGAR, N., DHARWADA, P., KAPOOR, K., GRAMOPADHYE, A. and GREENSTEIN, J., DEVELOPMENT OF A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO REDUCE ERRORS IN AVIATION MAINTENANCE. M. TAAFFE, K., WILLIAM ALLEN, R. and GRIGG, L., 2014. Performance metrics analysis for aircraft maintenance process control. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 20(2), pp. 122-134. SAHAY, A., 2012. Leveraging information technology for optimal aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Elsevier. VIEIRA, D.R. and LOURES, P.L., 2016, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Fundamentals and Strategies: An Aeronautical Industry Overview.

Patient-Centered Care and Comminication in Critical Care Essay

Introduction Communication is a key component in nursing care. As nurses we must communicate with our patient’s, patients’ families, and a wide variety of healthcare team members. Communication can be vital to patient’s lives, informative to physicians, and calming or educational to families. The communication method, or theme, that a nurse uses as part of her care can positively, or negatively, affect every aspect of patient care. Communication plays a huge role in the way I care for patients and their families. Without positive, supportive communication I would have a very difficult time building a trusting relationship with my patients. My nursing career goal is to one day become a critical care nurse. I chose this article to further educate myself about affective communication and how I can apply this knowledge in a critical care setting. As a nurse working in the Intensive Care Unit, communication has a critical role in patient-centered care. The objective of this study was to perform a qualitative analysis of nurses’ communication behaviors to develop interventions that will improve patient-centered communication in the critical care setting. The theoretical model of patient-centered care contains five domains. The five domains include: the biopsychosocial perspective; the patient-as-person; sharing power and responsibility; the therapeutic alliance; and the clinician-as-person domain. During the course of this study communication interactions between nurses’, patients, and patients families were analyzed and placed into one of the five domains. Interviews with the nursing staff were also analyzed to identify specific themes in nurses’ roles and their preferences for communicating with patients and families. The data collected for this study contained a combination of interviews, direct observations within the ICU, family conferences, and informal conversations that took place between a patient’s family member and healthcare providers. Summary Analysis of the collected data found that the majority of nurses’ involved in  the study communicated most often in the biopsychosocial, patient-as-person, and clinician-as-person domains. The biopsychosocial domain focuses mainly on information exchange. A majority of the nursing communication interactions observed were in this domain. Communication between the nurse, the patient, and the patients family were often related to life-sustaining interventions, however, the implications as to why these interventions were necessary was never directly addressed. Many communication behaviors also fell into the patient-as-person domain. Within this domain the nurse seeks to understand a patient’s personality outside of their illness. Non-verbal communication behaviors were frequently noted in this domain. The clinician-as-person domain involves interactions between the nurse and other clinicians, most often a physician, and recognizing one’s own emotional response to a particular patient and the situation. In the two remaining domains, it was noted that the participating nurses’ generally refrained from communication in these areas. Sharing power and responsibility includes the active involvement of a patient, or family member in treatment decisions and forming an agreement about the plan of care. The therapeutic alliance domain includes a clinician that is involved with learning the patient’s desires and then working together alongside the patient to agree on a plan of care. A majority of the nurses’ interviewed agreed upon the importance of these two domains, they felt that it was not a part of their nursing role. Instead they regarded that the shared power and therapeutic alliance domains should be fulfilled by a physician. Once the communication behaviors were analyzed and placed into one of the patient-centered care domains, further evaluations were done to understand any reasoning as to why nurses chose to communicate more in certain domains and less in others. During the evaluation of nurses’ roles in communication two themes were discovered. These themes tended to guide nursing communication behaviors based on their perspective of a nurse’s role within the patient-centered care domains. In the first theme nurses’ felt their role was to act as translator between the physicians, the patients, and the patients’ families. As a translator, nurses’ are able to clarify the overall plan of care for patients and the patient’s family members that may have been missed or misunderstood. It was also recognized that nurses’ sometimes acted as only one-way translators. This involved reporting patient information to the  physician only. The nurses’ felt it was not their role to translate any critical health changes, or any misunderstandings that a patient, or a patient’s family member may have about critical life procedures. Nurses’ felt that it was the physicians’ role to fulfill those duties. The second theme involved topics that nurses were willing to discuss wit h patients and the patient’s family, as well as topics they refused to discuss with them. The said verses not said theme tends to overlap with the translator theme. Once again, nurses’ did not feel that communicating bad news to a patient or the patient’s family was not their role but the physician’s role instead. Within this theme nurses’ often rarely shared their opinions to patients or the family when it differed from that of the physician. At other times nurses’ often conferred, or shared their opinions with other healthcare providers for any corroboration before they spoke with a patient or the patient’s family. During the nurses’ interviews, physicians were often referred to as the primary decision makers in patient care and that their role was to support and carry out the consequences of those decisions. Application As healthcare providers try to accomplish more in less time these days, the relationship between patients and patient’s families suffer. Miscommunication, false understandings and failed patient relationships can all lead to poor outcomes. Patient-centered care involves treating patients as partners, involving them in decision making, and helping them feel a sense of responsibility in managing their care all while respecting their individual values and concerns. Nurses are usually the first healthcare providers to develop a trusting relationship with a patient and a patient’s family. Nurses’ are quick to discover a patient’s personality, beliefs and values, as well as their family dynamics. Interdisciplinary communication between physicians and nurses needs to be improved. By emphasizing shared decision making and interpersonal communication between nurses and physicians patient outcomes will improve. Two ways that nurses’ can enhance interdisciplin ary communication is by maintaining the use of the SBAR communication tool. This ensures that messages are organized and clear for the physician. Secondly, the nurse and physician should discuss the plan of care together before speaking with the patient or the patient’s family. The  nurse may have more insight into the background, values, and wishes of the patient that may affect the plan of care. This intervention directly targets the said verses not said theme and involves the nurse in the shared decision domain. As a nurse on a critical care unit, it would be extremely beneficial to learn and explore what specifically the nurse role is in regards to communication and information that can be shared. Is the nurse able to participate in the shared power and responsibility or the therapeutic alliance domains, or is it truly defined as the role of a physician? As a nurse on the critical care unit, I would seek clarification as to what my role is in regards to communicating with the patient and the patient’s family. I would also maintain the use of SBAR as part of my communication techniques and work on developing a trusting relationship with a wide variety of physicians. Effective communication is an important aspect of all nurse-patient interactions. It wasn’t until recent that nursing communication and its effect on patient-centered care began to be studied. Nursing communication interactions between the patient and the patient’s family highly contributes to patient-centered care and outcomes. By continuing to study nursing communication behaviors and interactions, interventions to improve patient-centered care can further be determined and implemented into practice. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Slatore, C., Hansen, L., Ganzini, L., Press, N., Osborne, M., Chesnutt, M., & Mularski, R. (2012). COMMUNICATION BY NURSES IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF DOMAINS OF PATIENT-CENTERED CARE. American Journal Of Critical Care, 21(6), 410-418.

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Review

The Jungle Book is one of the works for which Rudyard Kipling is best remembered. The Jungle Book falls in line with works like Flatland and Alice in Wonderland (which offer satire and political commentary underneath the genre title of childrens literature). Likewise, the stories in The Jungle Book are written to be enjoyed by adults as well as children—with a depth of meaning and symbolism that delves far beyond the surface. Relationships and events related to The Jungle Book are important to any human being, including adult men and women, with or without families. While the tales can be read, or children may listen to them from an older reader, these stories need to be re-read later, in high school, and again in later adult life. They are enjoyable in every subsequent reading and the longer one lives, the broader is the frame of reference one has against which to draw the stories into perspective.The Kipling stories offer a marked perspective of a reminder of human origins and history as well as animal. As the Native American and other Indigenous Peoples often state: All are related under one sky. A reading of ​The Jungle Book at age 90 will reach several more levels of meaning than a childhood reading and both are just as brilliant an experience. The stories can be shared inter-generationally, with interpretations shared by all. The book is a group of stories that are actually quite good for â⠂¬Å"Grandparents in the School† types of family literacy programs of the current day. Importance of the Tales Kipling is still much quoted, via Gunga Din and his famous poem â€Å"IF,† but The Jungle Book  is also important. They are important because they address the prime relationships in one’s life—family, coworkers, bosses—and everyone’s relationship with Nature. For instance, if a boy is raised by wolves, then wolves are his family until the last one dies. The themes of The Jungle Book revolve around noble qualities such as loyalty, honor, courage, tradition, integrity, and persistence. These are good to discuss and ponder in any century, making the stories timeless.My favorite Jungle Book story is of a young mahout and his elephant and the legend of the elephant dance in the middle of the forest. This is Toomai of the Elephants. From wooly mammoths and mastodons to our zoological parks, to the Elephants Sanctuary in the American South to Disney’s Dumbo, and Seuss’s Horton, elephants are magical creatures. They know friendship and heart ache and can cry. Kipling may have been the first to show that they can also dance.br/>The young mahout, Toomai, believes the tale of the infrequent event of Elephant Dance, even when the seasoned elephant trainers try to dissuade him. He is rewarded for his belief by being taken to that very dance by his own elephant, spending time in another world that few can enter. Faith makes entrance possible, so Kipling tells us, and there is the possibility that childlike faith can be translated to any number of human events. â€Å"Tiger-Tiger† After Mowgli left his Wolf Pack, he visited a Human village and was adopted by Messua and her husband, who both believed him their own son, previously stolen by a tiger. They teach him Human customs and language and help him adjust to a new life. However, the wolf-boy Mowgli hears from Grey Brother (a wolf) that trouble is afoot against him. Mowgli does not succeed in the Human village but makes enemies of a hunter, a priest, and others, because he denounces their unrealistic comments about the jungle and its animals. For this, he is reduced to the status of the cowherd. This story suggests that perhaps the animals are more just than Humans.The tiger Sheer Khan enters the village, while Mowgli takes half his cattle to one side of a ravine, and his wolf brothers take the rest to on the other side. Mowgli lures the tiger into the middle of the ravine and the cattle trample him to death. The envious hunter broadcasts that the boy is a wizard or demon and Mowgli is exiled to wander the c ountryside. This certainly shows the dark side of human beings, again suggesting that animals are nobler creatures.​ Other Favorite Tales Other favorites from this collection are â€Å"The White Seal†, the tale of a Bering Sea’s seal pup that saves 1000s of his kindred from the fur trade, and â€Å"Her Majesty’s Servants†, a story of the conversations heard by a man among the camp animals of the Queen’s military. The entire collection observes mankind from a stance of needing improvement that is possible if they listen to animal wisdom.

The Cause And Effect Of Typhoons - 2046 Words

Background The controversy faced by the Philippines is Typhoons. On average, typhoons strike the Philippines at least 20 times and among them, five are regarded to be devastating. An example of such destructive typhoons is Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Super Typhoon Yolanda) that struck on November 2nd, 2013, and lasted till November 13th, 2013. This report is relevant because it’s stated, as above, by the Asian Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC) that a least 20 typhoons times a per year, five are devastating, which is a massive amount devastation done to a small country there needs to be a way in which everyone could be safe. There needs to be a way in which everyone could be safe and only need to invest a little to no amount. Purpose The purpose is to analyze the cause and effect of typhoons and find a strategic way we could do to save the people from all the damages done by this natural disaster. Moreover, this report will also focus specially on Typhoon Haiyan, as it’s the most devastating typhoon ever recorded in the Philippines or even in the world. This is because if we are looking for an effective way to save people, we should also keep in mind to prepare for typhoons which can be as powerful and destructive as Haiyan or even greater than that. What and Where The issue, as stated earlier, is typhoon, which are said to be prone to the Philippines. Typhoons are large storms system having a spiral or circular system of violent winds, which are hundreds of kilometersShow MoreRelatedCause and Effect of Earthquake, Typhoon and Tsunami2038 Words   |  9 PagesTyphoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean between 180 ° and 100 °E. 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