Operations Management Training: Why Standardized Parts?
Professor Phil from http://operationsmanagementtraining.blogspot.com explains the need for standardized parts and why they are so different from independently produced parts. This is an operations management training lesson that is a you will love.
Duration : 4 min 4 sec
GLT Propaganda Video 2
Das Video ist eins meiner ersten. Daher ist die Qualität der heutigen nicht wirklich angemessen.
Duration : 3 min 28 sec
Executive NLP Coach Canberra Australia
http://www.michaeljemery.com Michael J. Emery, M.A., C.Ht., M.NLP is a Personal Development Coach & Trainer. Join his online Coaching Gym and begin to manage your thoughts, emotions, and actions! Use Skype video conferencing technology in the Coaching Gym. This is the perfect application of NLP to personal development for business executives, entrepreneurs, and salespeople.
Duration : 32 sec
Fear and Loathing of Our Waistlines, The Vicious Cycle of Weight Bias
Several years ago at a nutrition conference, I took a test designed by researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy at Yale that consisted of quickly circling a series of characteristics which may or may not describe an overweight person. Here we were, a roomful of dietitians whose professional lives are dedicated to helping those who struggle with weight and eating, and when the results came in, we were shown to be rife with our own weight bias. The speaker shared that her experience with health professionals across the country suggested that all of us “down to a person” carry deep bias against people of size. We are a nation terrified of gaining weight and intolerant of those who do. Social stigmatization of overweight people is at an all-time high. All the while we grow larger by the day.
This mass aversion to weight appears to be based less in science than fashion. Body weight, scientists are finding, does not predict health as well as healthy lifestyles and physical fitness do. More Americans are fit and fat, and thinness does not guarantee good health.
Obesity is being blamed for everything from higher gas prices to global warming. The latest round of zealous investigation of the costs of obesity is an article in the current issue of The Engineering Economist, which calculates how much more gasoline is used by overweight Americans. The findings are in the same vein as an article by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year, that calculated how much more fuel airlines use now that the American waistline has expanded.
“People are out scouring the landscape for things that make obese people look bad,” noted Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy at Yale in a recent New York Times article. Is that a bad thing? Opinions are decidedly mixed. Some educators feel that anything that can be done to motivate people to eat less and exercise more should be done, including social ridicule.
Does this public flogging work? Research suggests that for weight issues, it does not.
Unlike other public health issues – smoking, substance abuse, peer pressure around obesity seems to make the problem worse. Several recent studies reported in Obesity Research suggest that the stigma of overweight and its emotional fallout leads those who struggle with weight and eating to eat more, not less.
Why might this be so? For smoking, drinking and other unhealthy habits, abstinence is a viable and sometimes preferable choice. But we need to eat to live, so with food abstinence is not an option. To eat consciously we must learn to be moderate. And moderation is not a widely observed American trait.
Eating is a sensual experience, with its emotional roots deep in our earliest memories. From our first nursing at our mothers breast (or from the bottle offered by dad), eating is what humans do when we come together, be it family dinner or special celebrations. Food is not only the fuel that enables our survival; it represents connection, comfort, even love. No wonder, when our lives feel out of balance, our relationship with food also becomes unbalanced. Eating is comforting, at least in the short term. Over time, however, overeating as a coping mechanism never works, and becomes just another stress-producing part of life.
Our deep connection with food and eating is brilliantly exploited in advertising, with large portions of Haagen-Dazs and other snack foods offered up as a salve for what ails us. Studies have shown that food in advertising is also presented as means to relieve loneliness, replace relationships, reward ourselves, and manage stress. At the same time the media suggests we keep the medicinal chocolate cake handy, it also peddles images of beauty that are impossibly thin.
What can we do to escape the cycle of eating and intolerance?
- We can relax. By occasionally unplugging from the constant-contact, always available, 24/7 culture, we can begin to unwind. By slowing down we just say no to the media-driven messages of disordered eating and unhealthy body image. As we do that, a quiet whisper of truth can finally be heard, and more natural ways of being can emerge.
- We can learn to feel our emotions fully – without pacifying or burying how we feel with food or shopping. Just taking a brief walk can be a great way to manage stress, to think, to breath, and to elucidate and integrate how you feel about something.
- We can try this simple process when we feel the red flag of intolerance toward ourselves or others: Slow down. Breathe. Relax. Watch. Allow.
- We can practice compassionate self-observation without judgment. What are the parts of your body that you feel are most beautiful? Can you let those good feeling expand to your whole body?
- We can try less. Try less of anything we approach with a consuming mindset, be it food, busyness, money, or exercise. Don’t believe the lie that you have to do everything or be perfect.
Each of these simple (though no easy) practices cultivates conscious renunciation of the crazy culture we live in. They are a simple (but not easy) means of taking control of your own life experience.
We all need to live in the world. And our world is a bountiful place where anything is possible. Fashion, the media, and all the gizmos of modern life can be fun tools for creating a productive and meaningful existence. There is nothing inherently evil about our culture except that parts of it are designed to make us feel horrible about ourselves as a strategy to keep us shopping and eating.
The obesity epidemic is a global health crisis. And it may be that our growing waistlines contribute to global warming, high gas prices and other societal ills. Let’s forgive the researchers who spent their time, talent, and our money to make these calculations. And let’s not calculate how much they contributed to global warming through their stigmatizing efforts. Research suggests that they have only made the obesity epidemic worse.
Annie Kay
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/fear-and-loathing-of-our-waistlines-the-vicious-cycle-of-weight-bias-79708.html
Political Appointments: “politics of Recycling Hands” Will Lead Nigeria to Nowhere
There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian political system unlike most of us assume, have you bothered to cogitate on why many countries of the world do not bother to find out whether there is anything in the wrong with their constitutional provisions or not, yet these countries are doing buoyantly well economically and politically? I am not writing to justify the Nigerian constitution, but rather to glaringly state that there are in many ways, areas we have continued to consciously maintain that the country should remain in her present situation of underdevelopment. Nigeria’s problems are too numerous to account, but let us try to mention the ones which glaringly occur.
We are all aware of the country’s problems, even our governmental people cannot claim ignorance of this, and I also know that these problems are not insolvent as we can solve them but because we shy away from doing so for the fear of losing out in amassing a lot more wealth from the country’s economy. This urge amassing indefinable proportion of wealth from the country’s purse is the beginning of corruption which today is growing bigger than its perpetuators.
For the benefit of strangers to Nigeria’s problems, I shall possibly highlight the pressing problems confronting us today as a nation, as I do, bear in mind that Nigeria’s problems by far surpass those I shall highlight here because Nigeria is a country where nothing is just right from constant power failure to death traps called bad roads. The Nigerian people have never seen the good side of life and its beauties, we all are simply inured to sufferings crowned with smile. A friend, who traveled out of the country to Sweden, called back after precisely 2 weeks to scream to friends here that the country was like it was rugged.
Nigeria’s problems no matter how much of them I will highlight still find its grouping under bad leadership and corruption. Whereas these two vices exist side by side, bad leadership begat corruption and corruption begat underdevelopment, so obviously, underdevelopment is the grandchild of bad leadership, parented by the nation’s selfish political office holders and passed down to the generality of Nigerian children who think nothing but how to make money. Today, very many of Nigerians can resist reading Nigerian dailies because no good news ever emanates from the country, what you consider juicy is trade of blames among the big politicians in our land, accusations of corruption, electoral judgments, neglect of certain parts of the country, trials of ex-governors, predicaments of ex EFCC Boss, just mention them.
So we have bad leadership, corruption, denial of right to qualitative education through poorly organized admission processes, denial of right to qualitative health services and facilities through unattainable imposition of medical fees and expenses (Lagos State falls under this category), lack of infrastructures in the country, imposition of increasing of increasing taxes on traders especially Lagos State, which sends even ordinary “pure water sellers” back to far more worst situations. All of these problems have worsened the plight of the people of Nigeria and has grossly subjugated more than 82% of Nigerians to poverty.
One problem which by far I thought the Yar’ Adua administration could correct for good was governance with old and tired recycled hands which since independence has led the country to where. I feel disappointingly surprised that our government has failed to learn that this very tradition has ensured that the nation does not see improvement even when defined from any perspective of what “development” should mean. Why will a country with group of few people in the society that have run it since decades without improvement and fresh ideas record developments in any sphere of life. It is a sad situation for the country and her citizens, because we have lost any hope that improvement will come our way with same people who have ruled us since independence and lacking in potent ideas.
Nigeria with a population of 250 million people with more than 500 ethnic groups and hundreds of languages and dialects, it is the same old song and story for leadership hands. This is something most people do not talk about but it is like worms eating off our heads. In reference to Orji Kalu’s comment, while he was still a secondary school student, Olusegun Obasanjo as the then Head of State, paid his school an official visit, and in his speech pointed out that the they as the youth were the leaders of tomorrow, yet Orji Kalu would turn a full blown man decades later with Obasanjo’s return as the President of Nigeria, so what opportunity does Kalu have as the potential leader of tomorrow?
I do not know what qualifications it takes to win political appointments in Nigeria’s governmental system; qualifications do not exist in determining what political appointment anyone can get, except that it is an avenue of compensation, simply put. It is as a result of this that capable hands are never employed to work for the country’s good, and we the ordinary masses are at the losing end because when health facilities are lacking, like all al university teaching hospitals in Nigeria lack modern health facilities. Modern diagnostic equipment cannot be found in most parts of the country. I hope you still recall that no Nigerian university is ranked among the 500 universities in the world.
Obasanjo ruled Nigeria twice, but his return was disastrous to the African continent as a whole, unknown to Buhari and Atiku, talks in the Nigerian streets especially in the southern part of the nation negatively centres on what it would seem like returning Buhari or Atiku after the experiences drawn from Obasanjo’s return as the country’s president and his failed third term extension bid. Nigerians are obviously tired of hearing same names in the political arena of the country, appearing, disappearing and reappearing. The people would prefer to vote in an unknown character because we think that unknown individuals are preferable to tried hands. Return of past government officials when the country has not improved are like putting a new wine in an old bottle.
Once you find yourself in Nigeria’s corridor of power, you have probably won for yourself and family a lifetime contract, because it is only death that can do you apart with you newfound journey. Even death is incapable of separating your family from political appointment in Nigeria, because at your death, your children, children have inherited a gift of appointment. Two things are basically wrong with the assignment of political appointments in Nigeria. Firstly, as stated here once in power, one expectedly remains in power until he is no more courtesy of death, even he is considers to have failed by one administration, another administration that comes to power finds him useful again. His is one identifiable system of granting political appointments in Nigeria.
Today, Rilwan Lukeman, a man in his 70s has returned as the country’s Minster of finance, and the Nigerian people are wondering what again he owes us with the Minitry’s portfolio, are there no more capable hands that can deliver to the country? For Christ’s sake, Nigeria cannot be lacking of brains that can positively better the petroleum sector that can effectively run the industry. Will Rilwan Lukeman construct more refineries for the country? Will he even repair the non-functional ones, something he did not consider doing for ages as the Minister of that very sector? The moment I noticed the name of Lukeman on list of ministerial nominees as presented to the senate, I surmised he was to return to his former home which is the petroleum ministry. Was your guess as good as mine? Her perhaps needed to continue from he left-off several years ago.
We also have a system, which sees individuals winning political appointments in Nigeria where criteria are lacking. A man who read Arabic or Christian Religious Studies in our University system could head our “Science and Technology Ministry”. Is this not interesting? Dora Akunyili, a medical Doctor who contributed so much to the war against substandard drugs in the country lost her job in other to head Information Ministry. Imagine the relationship between these two Ministries? An anti fake drug crusader will now take up the responsibility of protecting the image of the Federal Government through publicities and unnecessary press conferences whenever the State appears challengers by a personality like Wole Soyinka whose views against the government cannot be ignored for any reason at all. Was Sam Egwu, an ex Governor of Ebonyi State compensated with the Education ministry?
Save your laughter for Abba Sayyadi Ruma, a PhD holder in International Relations, who now carries the portfolio of Agriculture Ministry, Was baba ever taught how hoes and cutlasses are held? Ironically Mustapha Shettima, a PhD holder in Agriculture, a very learned man, will be defending the territorial integrity of the nation as the nation’s Minister of Defence. Does this erudite agriculturalist know how a gun is held? The federal government of Nigeria at long last decided to replace is knowledge of growing and harvesting with attacking and defending diplomacies. A pharmacist, Alhaji Ibrahim Bio will head the transport Ministry. Dr. I. Y. Lame, an educationist and former principal in a secondary school will head Police Affairs Ministry, where he will be tackling insecurity. He has been promoted beyond his field of knowledge; he is obviously replacing his cane with a tear gas. Are these men who are accomplishments in their various field not square “giant” pegs in round holes? The world may be laughingly waiting on how this men will function will record successes in their assignments.
The situation as seen above is not strange to Nigerians, where a graduate in Yoruba Literature works as a cashier in a Nigerian Bank, and a graduate in Laboratory Technology works with Power Holding Company of Nigeria. But I choose to remind our politicians and political appointees that a Professor in Medicine could become an illiterate in History, and a graduate of Estate Management could become an illiterate in Electrical electronics, consequently, a Mathematics professor may just turn out to be an Illiterate where it concerns Igbo Language as a discipline. So they should not complain or pass the buck when they fail to succeed since the impression is that our politicians are more concerned about wealth than making societal achievements.
It is on this note that I leave you with the question of “can this country benefit from their services when politics is always triumphing over competence and experience? (Saturday Punch, December 20, 2008)
Emeka Esogbue
http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/political-appointments-politics-of-recycling-hands-will-lead-nigeria-to-nowhere-692645.html
Diseases of the Eye
There are many reasons why people need artificial eyes or ocular prosthesis. Thankfully, advancements in science now allow people that have lost an eye to often adapt to their limited vision. A skilled ocularist can now create artificial eyes that so closely match the natural eye, that they typically go unnoticed. The most common cause of eye loss is trauma or injury, but many chronic eye diseases can also lead to eye removal. Five common eye diseases that can ultimately result in the removal of an eye are Painful Blind Eye, Ocular Melanoma, Diabetic Retinopathy, Tumors and Cataracts.
Blindness is defined by the lack of light perception. If a person is completely blind, they suffer from “no light perception” or NLP. Often NLP is accompanied by pain which can be caused by a number of conditions, most commonly the pain associated with the increased eye pressure of glaucoma, a common cause of blindness. In these cases, since there is already no vision in the affected eye, the eye can be removed and replaced with an ocular prosthesis, allowing the sufferer to appear normal and to eliminate the pain.
Ocular melanoma is the most common type of eye cancer. Like other melanomas typically occurring on the skin, ocular melanoma is the result of cancer developing in I , which produce melanin, a pigment which colors the skin. In types of intraocular melanoma, meaning that the cancer occurs inside the eye rather than on the eyelid or other outer parts of the eye, the eye may be removed in order to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body, particularly the liver, where it can be fatal.
Diabetic Retinopathy, a diabetes related eye disease, results from the hemorrhaging of the small blood vessels in the eye which causes blood to leak into the eye blocking vision. The hemorrhaging is the result of poor blood glucose control, a challenge of all people with diabetes. When blood glucose levels become too high, the pressure inside the blood vessels of the body increases and the small blood vessels found in the eyes are particularly susceptible to hemorrhaging as a result of this increased pressure. Diabetic Retinopathy is reversible to a certain extent, but once extensive hemorrhaging has taken place, scarring can occur which may cause the retina to detach. This can sometimes be corrected with surgery, but if the surgery is not successful vision will be lost and the eye can be painful or unpleasing aesthetically. In these cases, removal of the eye may be a good option.
Besides Ocular Melanoma, there are other types of eye cancers that can result in the removal of an eye such as Retinoblastoma, which is most common in children. Retinoblastoma is a tumor that develops in the eye’s retina, or the light-sensing part of the eye. It grows rapidly and while preserving the sight of the child is a priority, the eye is sometimes removed if the life of the child is in danger.
Finally, the development of cataracts can also lead to eye removal. Cataracts are a clouding of the lens of the eye which in extreme cases can completely block the passage of light, resulting in blindness. Cataracts can develop for a variety of reasons including exposure of ultraviolet light, exposure to radiation and many other reasons, some of which are understood and some of which aren’t understood. However, the likelihood of developing cataracts increases with age. In addition to causing blindness, cataracts also given the eye a cloudy appearance and in advanced cases, the eye is sometimes removed for cosmetic reasons.
The removal of an eye is usually a last resort in the treatment of any of these conditions because it results in complete blindness in that eye and the preservation of vision is usually a goal in the treatment of eye diseases. However, when necessary, removal of a diseased eye often provides relief from pain, prevention of the spreading of a disease to other body parts, and in some cases, thanks to ocular prostheses, improved appearance.
Carolina Eye Prosthetics
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/diseases-of-the-eye-708000.html