High Speed 2 (HS2) (London Birmingham Phase) Assignment

High Speed 2 (HS2) (London Birmingham Phase) - Assignment Example High-speed rail is a type of transport mode, which uses electric rails to offer transport at a faster speed than the current carriage railway. It may have a speed ranging from 200km/h to 350km/h. The European Union considers high-speed railway to be equivalent to 200-300km/h, while in India and Australia they consider it 250-500km/h. In Japan, they have the 300km/h rails in operation. This type of train operates specifically on areas where there are minimum closings. Mostly high-speed trains are meant for human transport (Zhou and Shen, 2011). High-speed railway is an invention of the Japanese as Japan was the first country to design and use to help this form of transport to reduce congestion in their cities. They develop an electric rail, which was travelling at a speed of 145km/h. At that time, the Japanese engineers wanted to develop a form of train that was faster and reliable mode of transport to ease the congestion in cities of Tokyo and Osaka. In 1963, they were able to produce an electrical rail that operates at a speed of 256km/h, which was used including the time of Olympics in 1964. This train eased transport in Japan. In 1965, the Japanese and the French introduced a similar rail but United Kingdom became the first European country to have a regular service of rail, which travels at 200km/h in 1976.Since, then there has been a construction in various parts of Europe. There is also a construction of high-speed rail services between countries such as, Belgium, Britain, and France. There is a high-speed rail betw een London and Paris as well as Brussels –London (Zhou and Shen, 2011). Currently Japan and France are operating high-speed rails. France has a conventional rail, which operates at a speed of 575km/h. while France operates unconventional rail, which operates at a speed of 581km/h. China, which has the world largest population, has a rail that operates at a speed of 500km/h, and it became the

Characteristics of Interviewing Essay Example for Free

Characteristics of Interviewing Essay When Susan conversed with Leslie and Scott, she was talking with an eye contact and moving her hands and other body parts. She moved her head whenever she wanted to express that she was able to understand. Susan succeeded while maintaining her eye contact and stopping at interval whenever she felt was the right time to allow the thinking procedure. She demonstrated the pair that she was paying attention to what they were saying by using small phrases like I see, and oh hmm. Her hand movements also helped. Open ended question Susan asked Leslie many open ended questions such as, Assist me, how was it helpful? How do you feel about that? She intended to know about Leslies sentiments and thoughts. She wished to view things from Leslies prospective. Susan succeeded while asking such questions. Leslie gave answers openly and gives details about her feeling under given circumstances. It helped in creating fruitful discussion. Closed ended question There are few queries which have restricted replies like Susan asking sealed ended queries to Scot, Can you show me the evidence? This resulted in a yes or no conversation with Scott. There are not proper details or sentiments required to reply such queries. It finishes that particular section of discussion. Reflection of content or paraphrase Susan applied the instance of extraction of text and interpretation in the film by stating, In my opinion, I am listening to and she moves on with  Leslies statement by briefing the details. Leslie then let Susan know if she is right. Reflection of feeling A sample of reflection of feeling is when Susan asks Scott, and thats difficult for you Scott? She also states, I couldnt hear when your wife said that, are you stressed about what she thinks of you? Susan succeeded with the consideration of Scotts sentiments and what he feels about Leslie. Reference: Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, in Couples Therapy with the Experts 7, Governors State University. Communications Services. (Psychotherapy.net, 2009), 115:26 min.

The Psychological Journey of the Narrator in Atwood’s Surfacing Essay

The Psychological Journey of the Narrator in Atwood’s Surfacing  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   In Surfacing, a novel by Margaret Atwood, the narrator undertakes three basic journeys: a physical quest to search for her lost father, a biographical journey into her past, and most importantly a psychological journey. The psychological journey allows the narrator to reconcile her past and ultimately leads to the conclusion of the physical journey. In this psychological voyage into her innerself, the narrator, while travelling from cognizant rational reasoning to subconscious dissociated reality progresses through three stages. In the first stage, the narrator is in touch with reality; she lives and exists in a state of mind known in Freudian psychology as the Ego. The Ego is defined as "the element of being that consciously and continuously enables an individual to think, feel and act." (Barnhardt, 667). The ego is based on a reality principle, in which, a person reacts in "realistic ways that will bring long term pleasure rather than pain or destruction" (Meyers, 414). The narrator's inability to cope with disagreeable thoughts such as her father's possible death is evidenced early in the novel. The narrator states: "nothing is the same, I don't know the way anymore. I slide my tongue around the ice cream, trying to concentrate on it, they put seaweed in it now, but I'm starting to shake, why is the road different, he shouldn't have allowed them to do it, I want to turn around and go back to the city and never find out what happened to him. I'll start crying, that would be horrible, none of them would kno w what to do and neither would I. I bite down into the cone and I can't feel anything for a minute but the knife-hard pain up the side of my face... ...to reality: "The lake is quiet, the trees surround me, asking and giving nothing" (Atwood, 224). Thus, the narrator has completed a psychological journey from snaeness to madness and then again in a fullcircle, travelling through three distinct stages: the Ego, the Superego, and the Id. The narrator by completing the psychological journey into the subconscious is able to resolve the biographical and physical journeys. Therefore, with the past and present conflicts resolved, it can be most likely assumed that the narrator will assimilate herself back into reality. She may have a chance to become human again. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. Surfacing. Simon and Schuster: New york, 1972 Barnhardt, Clarence L. Ed. The World Book Dictionary, Field Enterprises Publishing Co: Chicago, 1975. Meyers, David. Psychology. Worth Publishing:U.S.A., 1992   

Pizza USA Term Paper Essay

This case involves Pizza USA, a small independent chain restaurant operation that offers both dine-in and carry-out services for customers that has received feedback for a potential change that will require the implementation of design process to add services. Currently, customers have indicated that they are pleased with the food offered by the restaurant but they would increase pizza purchases if a delivery service was available. This dilemma ties into two separate issues. First, in order to remain competitive within the industry, customer wants and preferences need to be heard. After all, if you cannot please your customer base, you will lose them. Secondly, the changes required must be done in a manner that combines data gathering and analysis and implementation of a plan that best suites this particular type of business in order to maximize success. Customer service has been a recurring theme in many discussions regarding business operations and management in recent weeks. The prevailing thought is that in order for your business to grow and be successful, you must identify what your customers want and find a way to deliver it. This paper will analyze and discuss how process design can be implemented to assist this business to achieve its goals. Within the process design analysis and discussion, several factors will be reviewed to include: identification of what customer satisfaction means to the business and how we can identify the things that are most valuable to customers, the potential net yield of achieving a high level of customer satisfaction and efficiency, and the characteristic of developing an efficient pizza delivery (from stove to door) system. The paper will also assess creation of market â€Å"advantages† to not only maintain but grow the customer base. Pizza USA: An Exercise in Translating Customer Requirements into Process Design In the last five years leading up to 2012, the Pizza Restaurants industry has experienced the results of a downturn in economy. Restaurants have been directly affected by changing market conditions such as changes in intense competition, decreasing consumer spending and an increase in overall health consciousness (Kalnins, A., & Mayer, K., 2004). However, despite such overwhelming odds and challenges, businesses were able to overcome economic hard times by reinventing themselves through creative marketing and adjusting their menu’s to adapt to customers preferences (Kelso, 2012). This allowed the industry to recover effectively and consumer spending and market growth returned in 2010. As more consumers returned to the restaurants, overall demand increased. The U.S. Pizza industry averages about 410 million pizzas per year (Kelso, 2012). In 2012 alone, pizza sales are expected to reach an incredible $36.1 billion in revenue which is a 3.8 percent increase from the previous year (Kelso, 2012). This growth is expected to continue at a rate of 2.9 percent per year through 2017. Based on gathered data, 97 percent of U.S. consumers have ordered food from a pizza restaurant or establishment within the past 12 months (Kelso, 2012). No matter how you look at it, pizza consumption is on the rise and creates an exceptional opportunity for success in this industry. According to Gregory Badishkanian, a CITI Analyst, the big three of the pizza industry: Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns are currently in position to increase market share. (Bloomberg, 2012). Although the big three comprise of 30% of the total pizza market, the remaining 70% comprise largely of other large chains with less market coverage and of course the smaller independent chains (Kelso, 2012). While the larger chains are improving profits independent chains are struggling to stay afloat amidst the fierce competition among the larger more established companies such as the big three (Kelso, 2012). Understanding this dilemma, it would be most prudent for any independent restaurant operator to maximize operations by insuring that internal process design enables not only efficient productivity but generates a process that is customer friendly and focused on customer’s needs and preferences (Kalnins, A., & Mayer, K., 2004). This would be critical in the business’ ability to survive in such a monopolistic type market. Successful operation within a smaller independent chain restaurant faces challenges that may not be as apparent to a larger and more established national chains. Pizza USA is a small chain operation that currently provides two services: dine-in and carry-out options. Customers have commented that if delivery services were added to the restaurant offerings, they would potentially buy more pizzas (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Based on this information, it is apparent that the owner needs to assess his business operations and consider a process design that would include adding this service to current operations. The addition of delivery services would potentially require additional capital to finance changes and may involve the hiring of additional staff. However, revenue increases as a result of the added service would off-set the costs associated with these additions. Near and long-term implications would include survivability within such a competitive market. As a customer, the primary focus of my satisfaction with this type of business relates primarily to efficiency and the level of customer service provided. If delivery service was provided, the two areas that would be most prevalent in my mind would be the delivery time and the state of the pizza once received. Far too often, I’ve received delivered food that was warm and in some cases cold. Needless to say, I never contacted that restaurant again. The thing that would create a unique experience would be the restaurant’s ability to not only deliver within an exceptional time period but also to provide a pizza that is piping hot as it would be while dining in. Another aspect would be an incentive to order delivery by way of discounting or some type of rewards service. These are experiences that have not been typical in my experience with pizza deliveries. Method The perceived situational analysis are as follows: Strengths-Due to the smaller nature of the business, It could potentially create a more personal experience for the customers thus increasing customer satisfaction; Weaknesses-As a smaller business entity, they have less resources and limited options in implementing changes to meet customer demands. Also, the business would be less tolerant of negative impacts that may result from changes compared to larger established chains with additional resources available; Opportunities-A stronger customer relationship tends to allow more flexibility due to stronger loyalty among satisfied customers. Loyal customers are willing to wait changes out rather than making an initial determination and moving on to another business; Threats-The primary threats are of course the larger and more established chains such as the big three. Again, due to resourcing issues, these smaller and independent operations have less flexibility and opportunity if changes become less than desirable. The primary causes and effects are business survivability and customer satisfaction. Although these two areas are mentioned separately, they are in fact one. If changes are not made to meet customer needs and preferences, the business risks losing clientele and eventual closure. The term customer loyalty has been described as a process of capturing how well an organization is performing in three critical market measures: customer retention, share of wallet, and price sensitivity relative to competitors (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Studies have shown that customer loyalty relates directly to business success and survivability. There exists a major distinction between product design from the user’s standpoint from what may have been intended by the manufacturer (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). The main difference deals primarily with the intended versus perceived usefulness of a given product. In short, if the customer’s input is not considered, product or process design could potentially be a major waste of time on the from end of the planning cycle with even a worse outcome once in the market. Table-1 below indicates quick-serve satisfaction rates among the top companies in the market to include the big three (Verma, R., & Thompson, G., 1999). As you can see, each of the larger chains has high overall scores in customer satisfaction. Albeit, this is only one of many areas that could potentially be assessed. The independent chains can learn something from this data. The large chains didn’t survive the market and become who they are today without success in this particular area (Verma, R., & Thompson, G., 1999). Table-1 Although the case situation described is consistent with most other business operations, â€Å"what can be done to be more profitable?† it is unique in itself due the detail andlevel of changes discussed. There are probably 100 areas that could be looked at that deals with efficiency and customer satisfaction. However, for the purpose of this paper we will only analyze the above mentioned areas. If assessing profitability and customer satisfaction is an everyday occurrence, which is the case in most businesses, then this case could most certainly be considered as a preexisting situation. However, this paper has little to do with assessing a documented loss in profits or revenue streams so the evolution is unknown at best. There are many course concepts that can be applied to understand this situation. However the two most prevalent areas of operations philosophy that comes to mind are: Chapter 3-Product and Service Design and Chapter 5-Process Analysis. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in chapter 3 discusses the process of getting the customer’s â€Å"voice† involved in design specifications (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). This concept and application relates to any and all industries and organizations. It is directly related a process of studying and listening to customers to improve upon a product or service (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Measuring Process Performance in Chapter 5 primarily deals with how well a particular process is performing. This is accomplished by assessing many different types of metrics such as: productivity, efficiency, flow time, throughput, and value added time to name a few (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In order to adequately analyze whether your operation is running efficiently, a system of measurement is required to assess the performance. Results/Discussion The problem of addressing the customers’ needs and preferences are easily solved. Immediately implement planning to accommodate your customers’ request for the added feature of delivery service. Consider the most efficient manner of transition to minimize disruption to current business operations while planning the change. Insure that additional feedback is solicited and gathered from customers to re-validate the need to add the additional service and proceed with design process reviews and analysis to achieve goals. This satisfies the earlier discussion regarding identification of what the customer really wants and prefers. The task of developing and implementing the plan is what is the most difficult. Recommend that the owner begins with data gathering methods such as GAP Analysis. This method is used to assess the business’ performance relative to the expectations of its customers (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). An additional form of Gap Analysis includes the benchmarking of certain industry standards and measures the business ‘performance against established standards within the industry (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Questions to be asked would be: What are other smaller independent chains offering? Is delivery service a value added service or just a waste of money? What are the industry standards in regards to delivery times and what is considered acceptable to customers? Do have the resources to provide that type of service or will it require additional equipment, supplies, vehicles and staff? This will allow the owner to see where his restaurant is versus where he wants to be. Moreover, this would be an ideal tool to gather additional information from Customers to obtain additional feedback. It can be accomplished in many ways such as through paper or email mailers and in store surveys. The method selected would primarily depend on the owner’s available resources and preferences and of course size of targeted population The follow-on recommendation is to conduct a cost impact and payoff analysis using a decision tree or what some would call a consequence diagram. This process allows the planner to map out several alternatives with different end results to assess risk (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In essence it is a risk matrix. When planning or considering restaurant equipment purchases or even additional staff hires, this process could be beneficial in assessing the risks involved with each decision (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). Table-2 is a representation of a typical decision tree used to make informed decisions. As you can see, it is a process of identifying the problem (or situation) and working through several COA’s to determine what works best for you. Table-2 Implementation is the next step. I would recommend the utilization of responsibility charts to organize and manage tasks. Again, this particular tool is a type of matrix that lists all the projects and tasks to be completed while identifying certain responsible parties or stakeholders (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). In such a small business environment, it would probably be most beneficial for the owner to get all staff involved with the design process to obtain full buy-in. this can be accomplished through the use of this tool. Of all the steps involved with planning and execution, this is probably the most labor intensive due to the potential resourcing required. After plans are implemented, the owner needs to assess the customer reactions to the added service. Anticipating a given response and getting the actual response are sometimes two different things. Again, the same process used during the Gap Analysis can be used to capture post-implementation feedback from customers (Jacobs & Chase, 2011). The bottom line is that as a small business, you more reliant on customer loyalty than larger chains and operations. As a result, you must pay attention to any feedback received regarding your products and services, In this case we’re talking about pizzas but it applies in many other situations and industries as well. Once the feedback id obtained develop a smart and affordable plan and implement the plan. Once you have transitioned fully into your new plan, solicit additional feedback from customers to see how things are going. You may find other areas of your business operations that require attention. Customer feedback has to be a part of your daily operations. Without it, your business is at serious risk. References Kalnins, A., & Mayer, K., (Dec 2004), Franchising, ownership, and experience: A study of pizza restaurant survival. Management Science Journal, Vol. 50 Issue 12, p1716-1728, 13p, 3 Charts. doi: 10.1287/mnsc.1040.0220 Kohli, A., & Gupta, M., (Apr 2010), Improving operations strategy: Application of TOC principles in a small business. Journal of Business & Economics Research, Vol. 8 Issue 4, p37-45, 9p Verma, R., & Thompson, G., (1999), Managing service operations based on customer preferences. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. Vol. 19 Issue 9/10, p891-908, 18p, 6 Charts Jacobs, F. R., & Chase, R. B. (2011), Operations and   upply chain management. (13th ed.), New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Kelso, A., (Sep 2012), Survey: U.S. pizza market tops $40 billion, pizzamarketplace.com, Retrieved: 1 Mar 2013 http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/article/200667/Survey-U-S-pizza-market-tops-40-billion AP News, (Sep 2012), Analyst: Big pizza chains could take bigger slice, Bloomberg Business Week News, Retrieved: 1 Mar 2013 http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-18/analyst-big-pizza-chains-could-take-bigger-slice

How Television Media Violence Influences Deviant Behavior, Specifically Criminal Behavior Essay

People watch television as way of relaxing. While there are many educational and entertaining programs on television, there is a lot of negativity in the form of sex and violence. Television programs are not without some king of violence. Since most people spend the bulk of their inactive time relaxing in front of the television, the following hypothesis may be formulated. If people spend most of their time watching television, which is full of subtle and obvious violence, is it then not possible that the programming will influence deviant criminal behavior in them? Accordingly, it is important to analyze the ways in which media violence may influence deviant criminal behavior. In this case, the two variables in this study are television media violence and deviant criminal behavior. Thus, deviant criminal behavior is the dependent (result) variable and television media violence as the independent (causal) variable. Deviant behavior According to Bryant, deviant behavior is easily explained in the context of an individual violating social norms (rules) just because they wish to fulfill/attain some personal goal. Hence, deviant behavior may include violence, aggression and hostility. For instance, a child may eat the last piece of cake that was reserved for later because he wants to eat the cake. Therefore, a superseding self-gratifying consideration would seem to be implicated in deviant behavior (1989). However, as Bryant goes on to point out, deviancy is by no means a simple issue. This is because, most if not all people are at some point in life faced with the opportunity to perform acts of deviancy. The question then is why is that some people are lured to contravening social norms more than others (1989)? Media violence. According to the Center for Media Literacy, there is no one clear and concise definition of media violence. This is because the individuals who are considered experts in the media violence realm measure television violence very differently (2007). Nevertheless, media violence may be defined as the various types of violence shown/displayed in such media as television. Accordingly, when individuals watch television they are exposed to the violence. Watching violence on television increases antisocial (deviant) behavior such as aggressiveness, hostility and even violence towards others. Sometimes these behaviors take on a criminal nature. Various studies have been conducted. In one study, the researchers set up an investigation involving college student with different personality and behavior types. The students had to watch both non violent and what was termed as gratuitously violent programs/films over a period of four days. The aim of the researchers was to find out if regular, consistent exposure to violence would result in violence in the individuals. After the study, the students were placed in stressful situation where they responded in a hostile manner. Continued exposure to the violence may lead the individuals to become more hostile and aggressive and even to engage in such criminal behaviors as robbery with violence, a criminal behavior with serious consequences. In the event of disagreements, they may also act aggressively towards others causing harm to them. Thus, the study helped to show that television media violence does indeed influence deviant behavior. Media violence especially when prolonged and consistent resulted in hostility and aggression in the students of both sexes even when there was no provocation. It also led to involvement and participation in other behaviors that are also criminal (Harris, N. d. ). In the second study, using the same test subjects, researchers analyzed how media violence affected their reaction to things that did not concern them personally. Again, the students were exposed to program content with various degrees of violence over a period of four days. Afterwards, the students were presented with conflict scenarios and asked how they would respond. The conflicts ranged from children fighting to the more serious domestic violence. Accordingly, the students who considered themselves as egotistic were found to accept violence as a way of solving conflicts (Harris, N. d. ). It would then be correct to state that these college students would grow up with the mentality that violence and aggressiveness is a normal part of life. As adults they may take it upon themselves to use violence to get their way. It would be not surprising if the same students were to then use violence to settle their domestic squabbles. They may engage domestic violence, a truly deviant and criminal behavior. In another cross-sectional study, some 2300 high school students were asked to list their favorite television programs and also provide a checklist of activities that ranged from fighting to serious delinquent behaviors. The programs were then analyzed for their violent content. Researchers found that the students whose favorite programs were violent also tended to exhibit violence. Hence, their checklists also reported aggressive and delinquent behaviors. It would then be correct to state these children frequently the violent television programs. Otherwise, how else the deviant behavior could be explained (TV Violence, 2003). It was then probable that these children would copy what they may have watched on television for some particular purposes. Maybe, use violence and aggressiveness to rob others and use the loot to buy drugs. In Summary The three studies above had one primal purpose. To determine how media violence affects deviant behavior. From the studies, it is clear that increased exposure to television media violence also leads to increased deviant behavior. To most people, aggressiveness and hostility are examples of deviant behaviors. In the three studies after exposure to television media violence the subjects were either openly hostile or aggressive. This is would be correct to conclude that indeed television media violence does influence deviant behavior in that individuals after exposure to television media violence engage more in behaviors that could be considered as deviant behavior. References. Bryant, C. (1989). Deviant behavior: Readings in the sociology of norm violations. London: Taylor & Francis. Defining media violence: It’s not so easy! (2007). Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved 17 April 2009 from http://www. medialit. org/reading_room/article23. html Harris, S. (N. d. ). Some violent movies can increase violent responses to provocation and acceptance of violence in real life. Retrieved 17 April 2009 from http://www. research. vt. edu/resmag/sc99/media_violence. html TV violence. (2003). Retrieved 17 April 2009 from http://www. kff. org/entmedia/upload/Key-Facts-TV-Violence. pdf