Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Language Processing and Production Essay Example for Free

Language Processing and Production Essay This experiment investigated hemispheric specialisation and dominance with regards to language functions. It used a computer program to measure the amount of key presses achieved by participants in a given time across four different trials (1 with the left hand, no talking, 2 with the left hand whilst being asked questions, and the same two trials again with the right hand). The participants were 2nd year psychology students from which a cohort of 20 was selected for data analysis. A significant difference was found for the effect of hemisphere and language processing task present or absent. However, the means for each trial did not support left hemispheric dominance for language functions: more key presses were recorded when talking and using the right hand than when talking and using the left. Handedness and some involvement of the right hemisphere in language processing and production were also shown as appearing to influence the results obtained. The main conclusion to be drawn is that hemispheric specialisation and language dominance is a subject that needs further investigation in order to clarify the generalisability of conclusions made about left hemisphere language specialisations. Our brain consists of two halves; the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere receives information from and controls muscles in the right side of the body, whilst the right hemisphere receives information from and controls muscles in the left side of the body. Research using brain imagery and studies of brain damaged and split brain patients, to name just a few examples, has shown that some of our functions are controlled more by one hemisphere than the other, i.e. are more specialised for that particular function. This experiment aims to investigate these differing specialisations of the hemispheres more deeply and with particular regard to language. Research into language differences between the two hemispheres is widespread and supports the view that the left hemisphere is the more dominant. Marc Dax was the first to notice hemispheric differences in his brain damaged patients, after having seen many patients suffering from loss of speech. Dax found what appeared to be an association between the loss of speech and the side of the brain where the damage occurred. In more than 40 patients with aphasia, Dax noticed damage to the left hemisphere; he was unable to find a case that involved damage to the right hemisphere alone (Springer and Deutsch, 1998, p. 1-2). By 1870 further evidence also began to surface, when other investigators began to realise that many types of language disorders could result from damage to the left hemisphere (Springer Deutsch, 1998, p. 1). For example, Brocas and Wernickes aphasia: Brocas aphasia causes speech problems associated with comprehension, resulting from damage to Brocas area (situated in the left frontal cortex), whilst Wernickes aphasia causes word salad (hard to understand, jumbled speech), resulting from damage to Wernickes area (situated in the left temporal lobe). Later research has also supported Daxs original findings, one example of such research concluded that the left hemisphere is responsible for language in almost all right-handed individuals (Butler, S. R. 1997, p. 187). This research also links the additional factor of handedness to investigations of hemispheric lateralisation, an idea which has been supported by others in the field. For example: In right handers , it is almost always the case that the hemisphere that controls the dominant hand is also the hemisphere that controls speech (Springer and Deutsch, 1998, p. 2), therefore it is possible that for left handers, as their dominant hand is being controlled by the right hemisphere, the right hemisphere may be responsible for speech control and other language functions instead of the left hemisphere. Additional research looking at right hemisphere lesions has demonstrated that the right hemisphere is responsible for some linguistical functions: finding that patients with such lesions may be impaired relative to normal controls on certain tests of language (Corballis, C. M. 1983, p. 33). One study by Lesser (1974) reported such an impairment on a semantic test involving comprehension of spoken words but not on a phonological or syntactic test (Corballis, C. M. 1983, p. 33), suggesting a small role for the right hemisphere in language processing. Kinsbourne and McMurray carried out valuable research using healthy participants, using a procedure similar to the current study (cited in Kalat, 2004, pg. 427). They asked participants to tap with a pencil on a piece of paper as many times as they could in one minute, first with their right hand then with their left, then asked them to do the same again whilst talking, they found that for most right-handers, talking decreases the tapping rate with the right hand more than with the left hand. This further supports left hemispheric dominance for language, as well as supporting the current studys methodology and informing its hypothesis. As has been demonstrated most research supports left hemispheric dominance of language functions, but also links hemispheric specialisation with other factors and accepts that the right hemisphere holds some language comprehension control. This experiment looks for further supportive evidence and also briefly looks at handedness as a possible affecting factor. The study uses a finger tapping and language processing task, with the notion that the speed at which keys are pressed will be relatively similar with both hands. If however, if it is the case that language is more associated with the left hemisphere, then on average when processing language, the speed of the right hand will be slower than the left hand, presumably because the left hemisphere then has to do two tasks at once (right hand finger tapping and language processing). This is only the case however if all participants in the experiment have left hemisphere dominance for language, and is thus the reason we have recorded the handedness of our participants. As a result of previous studies and research the hypothesis for this experiment is: there will be differences in the number of taps made from each of the two hands when language is or isnt being processed. Method Design The experiment used a fully repeated measures within-subjects design: all participants took part in all conditions. There was one independent variable, consisting of four different levels: left hand, talking, no talking and right hand talking, no talking. The dependent variable was the number of key presses made within the time limit of 30 seconds per trial.

Monday, January 20, 2020

The Vietnam War Essay -- essays research papers

This essay is about talking and analysing the Vietnam War. This civil war was between the Communist North and the Democratic South because of the fear of communism spreading to the South. Other Western countries also helped in this war because they too were afraid of communism spreading, and so they sent money and troops to aid South Vietnam. Some of these countries included America, Australia, and New Zealand. This war was one of the most divisive events in history and I am going to talk about why this is so. For most of Vietnam?s history the country has been under foreign rule, primarily by the Chinese. Domination of the region by the French began in 1860, and by the late 19th century they had colonised a number of places around the Gulf of Tonkin. In World War II, however, the Japanese government took control of much of the area, and set up a puppet regime that was eventually forced out by the Vietnamese at the end of the war in 1945. After the war, France fought hard to regain their former territories in the region, but because they had a poorly organized army and little determination amongst its troops, their plans soon collapsed. The North Vietnamese tried to take over the government in South Vietnam between 1955 and 1960, and in 1964, with the help of China and Russia, North Vietnam began a large scale drive to conquer the whole country. This is when the Vietnam War really began. The Vietnam War started around the 1950?s, a time when communism was gradually spreading across the world. By 1954, Vietnam was separated into two parts, the democratic South Vietnam and the communist North Vietnam. Soon violence began to break out and tensions began to rise even more between the two. This was because the South was scared ... ...help for the stress they felt. It was only on the 3rd of October 1987, fifteen years after the veterans had returned from the war, that a ?Welcome Home? parade was finally held for them. This was when attitudes towards the people who had participated in the unpopular war began to change. Today Vietnam veterans can enjoy respect coming from their community but many still feel the bitterness over the impact the war had had on their lives. In conclusion, we can say that the Vietnam War was one of the most violent and divisive wars of all times. This battle of ideology and false fear of being dominated by principles dissimilar to the Western capitalist value system, led to the death of many innocent people and destruction of property that could have been spared otherwise, with a bit of benevolence in the heart of the politicians who were responsible for the war.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Tastee Snax Cookies

Managerial Decision Making Led by Professor: Ocampo y Vilas Business Report Business Report MacPherson Refrigeration Tastee Snax Cookie Company By Stefanie By Stefanie Adriaenssens, Astrid de P Astrid de Paep, Soundharya Jayaraman Jayaraman, Evie Tanghe & Yudistira Sa Yudistira Sanggramawi jaya 10th Octob 17th October 2012 Antwerp M Antwerp Management School 1 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. .. 3 1PROBLEM STATEMENT †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 2 ASSUMPTIONS & APPROXIMATIONS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 3 SOLUTION APPROACH †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 4 RESULTS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 WHAT-IF ANALYSIS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 6 OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 7 APPENDIX †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 7. 1 TABLE 1: ACTIVITIES WITH CRASHED TIME AND ADDITIONAL COSTS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7. 2 TABLE 2: CPM DEADLINE INPUT 46,47 & 48 WEEKS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 7. 3 TABLE 3: CPM DEADLINE OUTPUT 48 WEEKS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 7. 4 TABLE 4: CPM DEADLINE OUTPUT 47 WEEKS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 7. 5 TABLE 5: CPM DEADLINE INPUT 46 WEEKS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 7. 6TABLE 6: RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING CRASH TIME †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 13 7. 7 FIGURE 1: NETWORK OF ACTIVITIES †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14 2 Introduction Tastee Snax Cookie Company is a producer of baked-goods snacks in the southeastern United States. Due to negative press reports about fat consumption and introduction of heavy advertisements of no-fat baked goods by other manufacturers, Tastee Snax Cookie Company lost a big share of the ma rket the past year.And thus, the company had to develop and manufacture no-fat cookies soon in order to secure its share in the no-fat baked goods market. The vice president of the company was made to understand by an expert that Critical Path Methodology (CPM), a project-planning scheduling technique, could be used to introduce new products in the market. He put a dynamic project manager in charge to overlook the coordination efforts of different departments in the organization to ensure that the respective assigned tasks were completed on time. In this case study, we start by addressing the problem statement of introducing a new no-fat cookie to the market.Secondly the objective is identified. Thirdly we discuss the assumptions and approximations that need to be considered before determining the solution approach. Keeping in mind the objective of the case, we then analyzed the results. Finally we present our recommendations to Tastee Snax Cookie Company. 3 1. Problem Statement The problem we address in this report is to provide an overall project plan for Tastee Snax Cookie Company to help launch their new product soon enough to gain a share in the no-fat baked goods market. This means certain ecisions will have to be made regarding the time taken to finish all activitivities while keeping the objective in mind. The objective is to determine the most cost effective method to decrease the project’s deadline. The project plan discussed below has been generated through the use of a projectplanning scheduling technique, Critical Path Methodology, to secure the scientific approach. The program schedule provides a quantitative basis to make managerial decisions to shorten the implementation time of the overall project. 2. Assumptions and ApproximationsThe mathematical model created to schedule all the projects is based upon a number of simplifying assumptions and approximations. These need to be taken into account in order to make an independent judgment ab out the model’s usefulness. The assumptions and approximations of this model are: ? The product introduction program has been broken down into three groups of activities: Research & Development, Marketing & Advertising, and Promotion; ? The description of each activity and the indicated time required for its completion in weeks was taken at face value from the case; The tasks to be performed by each department and the estimated durations and deadlines were also considered as given; ? The preceding activities for each activity are considered as such; ? The tasks that could potentially be â€Å"crashed† by increasing resources were decisions based on the information available in the case. 4 3. Solution Approach The problem has been modeled into Critical Path Methodology (CPM). The CPM approach is based on a network representation that reflects activity precedence relations.As shown in Figure 1, the nodes designate activities and their time duration, and the arcs define t he precedence relations between the activities. The Earliest Start (ES) and Earliest Finish time (EF) for each activity is calculated as shown below. ES = Maximum EF of all its immediate predecessors EF = ES + (Activity completion time) ES and EF are represented on the CPM network by a pair of numbers, in black, above the node representing the activity. Subsequently, the Latest start time (LS) and Latest finish time (LF) was determined for each activity which allows the project to be completed by its minimal completion date.LS and LF was calculated as shown below. LS and LF are represented as a pair of numbers, in red, in CPM network. LF = Minimum LS of all immediate successor activities LS = LF – (Activity Completion Time) Based on the information available in the case on slack time in weeks for each activity, the critical path of the model was deduced. A critical path has activities with zero slack and is the longest path in the network. A delay in one of the activities of the critical path results in a delay of the overall project. As can be seen in figure 1, the earliest and latest times are the same in the activities of the critical path. 4. ResultsBased on the CPM network drawn we have deduced the following for each activity: Earliest Start (ES), Earliest Finish Time (EF), Latest Start time (LS) and Latest Finish time (LF) (see Figure 1). The maximum of EF times, 52 weeks, is the estimated completion of the entire project. By taking into consideration the slack times in weeks provided in the case, we then arrived at the critical path. The critical path contained the critical activities with zero slack time. Critical Path: B1-A2-B5-B6-A4-A5-B9-B11-A6-A7-A8 5 5. What-if Analyses The following paragraph discusses additional economical and operational information as provided in the case.The earlier a product would enter the market the quicker it would be able to gain market share. This motivated the Project Manager to develop a list of tasks that coul d be potentially â€Å"crashed† by increasing resources allocated to them (see Table 1). In Table 1, you will find this list of activities that could be performed faster by increasing the cost of operations. According to the crashing analysis, the cheapest way to shorten the project duration by four weeks is to crash three activities. As seen in Table 3 activity A4 should be crashed three weeks and activities B2 and B5 one week.The additional cost to reduce the project duration from 52 weeks to 48 weeks is $7,200. The cheapest way to shorten the project duration by five weeks is to crash four activities. As seen in Table 4 activity A4 should be crashed three weeks and activities A7, B2 and B5 one week. The reduction of the project duration by five weeks costs an additional $ 10,700. The CPM analysis shows that the cheapest way to shorten the project duration by six weeks is to crash four activities. As seen in Table 5, activity A4 should be crashed by three weeks, activity A7 by two weeks and activities B2 and B5 by 1 week.To reduce the project duration by six weeks, the additional cost adds up to $ 14,200. 6 6. Overall Recommendations The objective of the model was to find a solution to shorten the implementation. That is, to determine the most cost effective way to decrease the project’s timeline, which would help Tastee Snax Cookie Company to launch their new product and thereby capturing a market share in the no fat baked foods market. Based on our results, we would state that the maximum number of weeks by which the project can be shortened is 6 weeks.To calculate this, the activities A4, A7, B2 and B5 are crashed resulting the Earliest Finish time (EF) of 46 weeks for the project (See Table 6). Activities A4, A7 and B5 are crashed to their maximum crashed time. The additional cost for crashing the project to 46 weeks can be determined with solver, as already explained in the report, which is $14,200. Hence we recommend that the optimal solu tion would be to reduce the project duration by 6 weeks at an additional cost of $14,200. 7 7. Appendix 7. 1 Table 1: activities with crashed time and additional cost Activity Develop special Crashed Time Additional Cost Weeks) A3 Original Time (Weeks) ($) 5 3 2200 6 3 3900 6 4 7000 10 8 3200 4 3 1700 4 3 3000 equipment list A4 Prepare manufacturing specifications A7 Receive and install equipment B2 Develop and test packaging and product names B5 Perform taste test B6 Review results and choose products 8 7. 2 Table 2: CPM Deadline Input 46, 47 & 48 weeks 46/47 48 PROJECT DEADLINE = IMMEDIATE PREDECESSORS ACTIVITY A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 NODE NORMAL TIME A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y 2 5 5 6 4 1 6 6 3 10 10 3 4 4 7 4 8 4 5 8 5 4 1 5 6 NORMAL COST CRASHTIME 2 5 3 3 4 1 4 6 3 8 10 3 3 3 7 4 8 4 5 8 5 4 1 5 6 CRASH COST 2200 3900 7000 3200 1700 3000 NODE PREDECESS OR B B C D D E F F G H J K L M M N P P P Q Q Q R S T T U V A I B C N D D S F G I J I B L M O X Y E K P Q Q R S I U W X X Y Y U J W J V 9 7. 3 Table 3: CPM Deadline Output 48 weeks CRASHING ANALYSIS 7200 TOTAL PROJECT COST 48 COMPLETION TIME ACTIVITY A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 PROJECT NORMAL COST 0 PROJECT CRASH COST 21000 NODE Completion Time Start Time Finish Time Amount Crashed Cost of Crashing Total Cost A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V WX Y 2 5 5 3 4 1 6 6 3 9 10 3 3 4 7 4 8 4 5 8 5 4 1 5 6 1 3 10 15 18 35 36 42 0 3 12 5 8 11 11 18 22 31 30 35 3 8 12 13 12 3 8 15 18 22 36 42 48 3 12 22 8 11 15 18 22 30 35 35 43 8 12 13 18 18 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3900 0 0 0 0 0 1600 0 0 1700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3900 0 0 0 0 0 1600 0 0 1700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 7. 4 Table 4: CPM Deadline Output 47 weeks CRASHING ANALYSIS 10700 TOTAL PROJECT COST 47 COMPLETION TIME ACTIVITY A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 PROJECT NORMAL COST 0 PROJECT CRASH COST 21000 NODE CompletionTime Start Time Finish Time Amount Crashed Cost of Crashing Total Cost A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y 2 5 5 3 4 1 5 6 3 9 10 3 3 4 7 4 8 4 5 8 5 4 1 5 6 1 3 10 15 18 35 36 41 0 3 12 5 8 11 11 18 22 31 30 35 3 8 12 13 12 3 8 15 18 22 36 41 47 3 12 22 8 11 15 18 22 30 35 35 43 8 12 13 18 18 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3900 0 0 3500 0 0 1600 0 0 1700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3900 0 0 3500 0 0 1600 0 0 1700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 7. 5 Table 5: CPM Deadline Output 46 weeks CRASHING ANALYSIS 14200 TOTAL PROJECT COST COMPLETION TIME ACTIVITY A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6A7 A8 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y 21000 Start Time Finish Time Amount Crashed Cost of Crashing Total Cost 1 3 10 15 18 35 36 40 0 3 12 5 8 11 11 18 22 31 30 35 3 8 12 13 12 3 8 15 18 22 36 40 46 3 12 22 8 11 15 18 22 30 35 35 43 8 12 13 18 18 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3900 0 0 7000 0 0 1600 0 0 1700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3900 0 0 7000 0 0 1600 0 0 1700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 NODE Completion Time 2 5 5 3 4 1 4 6 3 9 10 3 3 4 7 4 8 4 5 8 5 4 1 5 6 0 PROJECT NORMAL COST PROJECT CRASH COST 12 7. Table 6: Recommendations regarding crash time Activity Required Time Crashed Time ES EF A1 2 – 0 2 A2 5 – 3 8 A3 5 3 8 11 A4 6 3 15 18 A5 4 – 18 22 A6 1 – 35 36 A7 6 4 36 40 A8 6 – 40 46 B1 3 – 0 3 B2 10 8 3 11 B3 10 – 11 21 B4 3 – 3 6 B5 4 3 8 11 B6 4 3 11 15 B7 7 – 0 7 B8 4 – 17 21 B9 8 – 22 30 B10 4 – 30 34 B11 5 – 30 35 B12 8 – 35 43 C1 5 – 3 8 C2 4 – 8 12 C3 1 – 8 9 C4 5 – 11 16 C5 6 – 11 17 13 7. 7 Figure 1: The network of activities It visualises the predecessor relationships, the early start and finish times (black) and the latest start and finish time (red). Nodes and bars in green visualize the critical path.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Snow Goose Overpopulation - 1901 Words

The Overpopulation of the Snow Goose in North America Abstract The purpose of this paper is to explore available research on the overpopulation of the Snow Goose on the North American continent. The snow goose has been rising in population since the middle of the century and has been escalating so much it is destroying their natural habitat. Wildlife managers have just recently begun to implement strategies to combat this problem. Mainly through the use of hunters the managers are trying to curb the population growth. Introduction There are three main species of Snow Goose of primary concern. The Lesser Snow Goose (LSGO) is the must abundant and at the same time most troublesome. Ross Goose (ROGO) is very similar to the Lesser†¦show more content†¦Hunting of the Greater Snow Goose was banned in the us from 1931-75 (Abraham and Jeffries 1998). Hunting was not allowed to promote population numbers, and once started in 1975 did not have a high harvest. The LSGO and ROGO starting in the middle of the 60s and continually have extended their nesting range south into less extreme climate (Abraham and Jeffries 1998). It has also been suggested that since birds are now living longer the older adults are now leading the less wary young to safer sites and out of hunters range (Ingstrup 1998). Ingstrup also suggests that the artic may be warming and as Abraham and Jeffries cited there has been shown a correlation between the snow melt and survival of nesting birds and their young. According to Hodge the annual kill by hunters in 1970 neared 40% but in 1994 the rate had dropped to less than 8%. Thus allowing a great deal of the adult population to return to nesting sites in the spring. Impact on habitat The snow geese still nest in a primarily salt marsh environment. The geese have a detrimental feeding behavior in which they pull up the marsh grass by the roots. This behavior is know as grubbing and when done in mass quantities can destroy whole marshes for decades. A project known as the Hudson Bay Project: Ecosystem Studies and Conservation of Coastal Arctic Tundra has done extensive research ontoShow MoreRelated Snow Goose Overpopulation Essay1882 Words   |  8 Pages The Overpopulation of the Snow Goose in North America Abstract nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The purpose of this paper is to explore available research on the overpopulation of the Snow Goose on the North American continent. The snow goose has been rising in population since the middle of the century and has been escalating so much it is destroying their natural habitat. Wildlife managers have just recently begun to implement strategies to combat this problem. Mainly through the use of hunters the