The Big Dig :: Tunnel Construction Essays

The Big Dig The Central Artery Tunnel Project, more commonly known as the Big Dig, is said to be the largest, most complex and technologically challenging highway project in American history. It is the culmination of decades of planning and forethought and is hoped to alleviate the traffic congestion that has plagued the Boston area since the invention of the automobile. The project incorporates a major underground highway system, a revolutionary cable-stayed bridge, and a series of impressive tunnel crossings, each a considerable feat on their own, all constructed in the midst of a bustling city. The idea for a Central Artery through Boston has been talked about since a 1909 special commission determined that a 100-foot wide road should be built through the center of downtown Boston. Little was done with the project until the 1940Ï€s when Boston city planners saw on the horizon a tremendous proliferation of automobiles and decided something must be done. The Massachusetts Department of Public Works eventually came up with a plan that called for an elevated highway 1.5 miles long through the heart of downtown Boston, accompanied by an Inner Belt that wrapped around downtown Boston to the west. In 1948 City and State officials approved a master plan, construction commenced in 1950. As soon as construction had started it became quite clear that the supposedly revolutionary highway had major flaws. The roadway devoured and divided neighborhoods, cut off the city from waterfront, and created confusing traffic situations below. In 1954, it was decided to sink the rest of the roadway underground. Once completed the artery was able to handle about 75,000 vehicles a day. However, a lack of breakdown lanes, an abundance of on and off ramps, and numerous sharp curves makes the artery a treacherous drive. Residents were so unhappy with the Central Artery that officials decided not to build the Inner Belt. That meant that the Central Artery had to handle all of the traffic that was meant to be split between the two. This only exacerbated the existing problems. By the 1980Ï€s conditions on the road had worsened so much that officials were forced to once again step in. Toda the Central Artery carries 190,000 vehicles a day. It has an accident rate four times the national average for urban highways, and is backed up bumper-to-bumper six to eight hours a day.

The Life Of Sigmund Freud and His Articulation Of Theories

Sigmund Freud; Probably the most influential activist in the realm of the study of the mind, Psychology; An influence so great that his works, ideologies and theories alike have imposed themselves upon the minds of many in this, the twentieth century, regardless of our acceptance or futile resistance. He was responsible for the articulation of theories and concepts of which everyday individuals do not even know he is the originator of. Ideologies such as the Unconscious, the relevance Sexual and Aggressive Drives under which Infantile Sexuality falls, and the â€Å"tri-partite† mind frame, consisting of the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. Since then, there are multiple manifestations of psychoanalysis in a variety of fields which may be traced directly back to Freud's Original work. Sigmund Freud was born on May 6th, 1856, in Freiberg, Austria (although it is disputed that he may have been born on March 6th instead). He was the first of eight children born to his mother. At age four, Freud and his family moved to Vienna, where he would live and work until he died. His impact and mark would remain there forever, as he was renown for founding the first Viennese school of psychoanalysis from which all aspects and development in this field then flowed. Freud's interest and professional training and experience were very broad. Although he was not particularly interested in becoming a physician, Freud saw medicine as a vehicle for engaging in scientific research. After being enrolled at the University of Vienna for eight years (from 1873), Freud graduated and was then engaged in 1882 later to be married in 1886. Many of his theories were based on clinical material documented while he operated a private practice to treat psychological disorders. Two individuals who played a significant role in his life were Jean Charcot and Josef Breuer. Charcot was a French neurologist who used hypnotism to treat psychologically ill patients. Freud attempted Charcot's methods but were unsuccessful. Breuer was an older Viennese colleague whose methods for treating neuroses, though unique, caught the interest of Freud. Breuer discovered that when he encouraged patients to talk freely without restrictions that he was able to get to the source of the problem causing the symptoms. Freud worked with Breuer and developed the idea that the source of a patient's problems was some hidden or unresolved conflict which occurred in their past life, and the â€Å"cure† was achieved by bringing that conflict to the client's â€Å"consciousness† in a manner in which he/she might intellectually and emotionally confront it. At the turn of the 20th Century, Freud, after a period of self-analysis, published works such as; â€Å"The Interpretation of Dreams† (1900), â€Å"The Psychopathology of Everyday Life† (1901), Three essays on the Theory of sexuality (1905) and â€Å"Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis† (1916). Freud's theories on Sexuality received the most resistance and caused many of his partnerships with other philosophers to deteriorate. The final and yet not any less significant of his works was his model of the mind, consisting of the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. After a life of remarkable vigour and creative productivity, he died of cancer while exiled in England in 1939. It is interesting to note that although he carried out many self-analytic tests, that he was unable to resolve his addiction to cigarette smoking; the very habit that eventually killed him. Although Freud was an original thinker, there were still influences which shaped the development of his thought. For instance, his relationship with Charcot and Breuer definitely impacted upon his thoughts but rather differently, Freud's self-analysis was probably the greatest impact of all on his life. In this period, several repulsive and yet real facts about Freud character and past were revealed to him. These â€Å"truths† were related to his emotions towards members of his family in the aspects of sexuality and hatred and the results thereof. This was to become the basis of his theory of the Oedipus complex. The Scientific climate in which Freud existed in also had great influence on his thought. For instance, Charles Darwin's perception of man, was a life shaking event for people of that time, now making it possible to treat humans as objects of Scientific investigation. Freud with his enormous esteem for science, accepted this implicitly. Another important aspect of Science that impacted on his thoughts was the principle of the conservation of energy – Helmholz stating that energy can neither be created or destroyed but only change in form. Freud then concluded that in parallel with this principle, humans consisted of psychic energy. Repression and Suppression are two examples of how Freud believed that this Psychic energy may be represented. Freud's works and ideas are vast, but among these there are some which the basis of many of his theories are grounded. This is based on Freud's idea that all human actions are a manifestation or a representation of some hidden desire or impulse. Events become conscious when â€Å"unconscious† matter arises into a level of awareness for an individual and then may sink into a state of unconsciousness again. This theory follows that whenever we make a decision, we are governed by a hidden mental process of which we are unaware and have no control. The question arises therefore, do people truly have free will? Freud deeply associated the unconscious with instincts and drives, categorizing those drives into Eros (the life instinct) and Thanatos (the death instinct). Sexuality (any pleasure which can be derived out of the body) is derived out of Eros while Thanatos is the opposite, the urge to destroy any source of sexuality. Freud determined that through satisfaction, or lack thereof, of sexual satisfaction through childhood stages, the individual would develop into a correspondingly appropriate adult. These stages are; â€Å"The Oral Stage† – satisfaction from sucking, â€Å"The Anal Stage† – satisfaction from releasing excrete or urine, â€Å"The Phallic Stage†- interest in genital region (Oedipus Complex may also develop here – hatred of a parent of the same sex), â€Å"Latency† – less pronounced sexual motivation and â€Å"The Genital stage†- genital region becomes focus of stimulation and satisfaction. Freud believed that (in)appropriate treatment is responsible for forming the resulting image of the individual's character and personality. Freud distinguished three structural elements which framed the mind. They are the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. The Id represents the instinctual sexual drives which acquire satisfaction. The Super-Ego represents the conscience which restricts us from satisfying the desires of the Id. The Super-Ego however is shaped by social influence, such as parents. The Ego is the â€Å"conscious† self-created as a balance between the ever struggling fight between the Id and Super-Ego for dominance. The Id and Super-Ego reside in the unconscious. Failure of the Id and Super-Ego to resolve conflict may later form neurosis resulting in the activation of â€Å"defense mechanisms† such as repression, sublimation, fixation and regression. The main purpose of this treatment was to bring harmony within the frame or structure of the human mind by resolving â€Å"unconscious repressed & unresolved conflicts†. Freud allowed clients to lay on a sofa and encouraged them to express themselves freely (through â€Å"free association†), hence to some degree disarming the Super-Ego. By analyzing slips of the tongue dreams and other means of expression Freud believed that one can discern the underlying/unconscious forces lying behind the expression. The next step was to bring the client to a point of self-understanding and assist them in dealing with their past and find a way curing themselves of some neuroses by suppressing it. Of this, I would now like to make special points in conclusion to all the materials which I have researched. Firstly, can these theories be proven to be strongly coherent? This issue has been one of great controversy but the truth is, there is no direct significant or proving link of any of Freud theories other than the â€Å"variable† behaviour patterns of individuals of which any other theories may be attributed. For instance, in science where a cause ‘Y' is unobservable (radio waves) there are still clear corresponding rules connecting the unobservable cause to an observable phenomenon. However, this is not the case with Freud's theories, and in truth the theories are exactly what I earlier declared them as, Ideologies, having absolutely no factual evidence to support them. More importantly however, is the impact of his ideologies on the world today. As Psychoanalytic therapy is in use today, the use of free association and revealing repressed conflicts for intellectual assistance and management seems to be further detrimental to certain relationships in the United States instead of positively influential. Many people have recovered memories of sexual abuse by parents and others which were actually untrue and were some form of a fantasy. Children and adults alike have sued their parents and the parents in turn sued their children and the conflicts continue to develop. Even when patients are â€Å"cured successfully†, statistics prove that these methods of therapy do not outperform other methods. So then is it really that efficient? Doesn't it seem fair also to say that their cure is non-existent and that they can only direct that Psychic energy to a different form? Why also is not possible for that form of energy to be reverted to it's previous state? It then appears that even if this form of therapy was plausible, it really cannot be proven to be steadfast or efficient. Regardless however, one cannot deny Freud's innovative and creative perceptions and thoughts and should in fact seek to see how we can abstract good and gain a greater understanding of behaviour; not only of others but most importantly, ourselves.

Attrition in Pharma Industry Essay

Insights of attrition rate of Medical representatives in Pharma companies and innovative ways to improve them. Overview: Attrition refers to the reduction in staff and employees of company by normal means. The primary focus is to present the high attrition rate seen in the pharmaceutical market industry, its causes and controlling strategy for retention of Pharma sales representatives. Though attrition is a natural phenomena in all industries, Indian Pharma marketing industries is worst plagued by it. After IT and BPO, Pharma marketing industries experience the greatest rate of employee leaving the company for various reasons. While global Pharma marketing attrition rate is 10-12% per annum, the rate of employees who leave the organization in India is 25 -30 %. The attrition is more prevalent in the middle and junior management level, due to which majority of the companies have understood the criticality of talent management. Retention is always a big challenge for any organization in today’s time frame. Indian Pharma companies have started paying attention towards the retainment and management of the Medical Representatives to gain key and valuable employees back into the company. High attrition rate of MR happens due to following reasons: 1) External factors – The demand of fresh talent is more. The companies are looking for fresh talent to incorporate new ideas but the supply is very less, career view point of many young people to join as MR is just to prevent the ‘Stop Gap’ in their career path. The demand-supply imbalance leads to significant efforts to retain and attract a skilled Medical Representative. This has led to higher salary hikes in the Pharma sector than most other sectors .This is clearly a challenge in an industry which is very knowledge and relationship driven. 2) Internal factors – It has been observed that many MR leave their job during the first 3 months itself due to the reasons like they were not serious about their job, They were overqualified and lost interest in their job, They might even be under-qualified and felt bogged down by the challenges of the job, They lack motivation, feel less growth in career path, Monotonous work, limited  training and development op portunities, working environment as well salary and compensation becomes an important issue in some cases etc. Now to meet the global competitiveness; Pharma companies have transformed their survival strategy to competitive strategy as a result there is huge pressures on the shoulder of medical representatives for higher secondary sales achievement and thereby constantly poking the field force which eventually leads to attrition. So the people change organizations frequently. Similarly poor management is also one of the key factors responsible for leaving the organizations. There is a popular saying â€Å"employee leaves the boss not the organizations. â€Å" Poor management includes lack of support to the employee, lack of transparent career growth ladder, adverse relation between the boss and subordinates, lack of motivation. Psychological relationship between leaders and employee is very crucial for sticking of employee in a particular organization. Thus, Organization culture also plays a significant role in sticking of Pharma sales representative in the same company for long run. Retention of the talented employees is always the most important agenda for any company to grow. Sometimes monetary benefits can help as by recent survey it was shown that more and more medical representatives are moving in insurance, telecommunications etc as they are paid double in those sectors but only monetary benefits are not sufficient to retain them it ultimately becomes a hygiene factor in talent management. Thus looking for new methods for attracting, motivating and retaining them becomes very important. Being the first line manager few suggestions to reduce attrition rate: 1. Treat employees as you like to be treated:  Treating and handling the employee with appreciation and care is most necessary. While addressing or pointing out their problems they shouldn’t be criticized and rather should be explained in a courteous manner. The sales representative undergoes a lot of pressures and tensions regarding the achievement of targeted sales so, they should be motivated continuously and should be dealt in same manner as the first line manager or other seniors would like to be treated. Incentives like give free monthly travelling passes, movie tickets, etc. can be given. 2. Ask employees for their opinions and implement the good ideas: Having equal contribution from the entire sales force representatives can have an impact over representative’s mind that their ideas and thoughts are valued and are taken into consideration when need arises. Having certain schemes for bringing about certain new ideas to increase the sales level should be implemented, this shall bring about a flow of innovative ideas and also execution of those ideas will bring about a sense of dignity among employee. 3. Reward those that go above and beyond the call of duty: Certain incentives can be granted when a particular sales representative works excellently and achieves sales beyond the targeted levels. There could also be certain cases when an employee performs or outdoes something which wasn’t achieved by any employee in the company before, for that he should be acknowledged well and should be awarded like salesman of the year, highest target achiever, fastest target achiever, etc. and they should be felicitated in front of the whole company instead of felicitating through emails. 4. Take very good care of your star performers or someone else will: Taking good care of star performers is very essential. Their qualities maybe unique and selling strategies might be very effective. Interacting and making them comfortable about their job shall retain the employee in the company and chances of him leaving the company for another might reduce to some extent. If they are performing really well incentives like foreign trips, etc. can be given. 5. Communicate with your staff: Sales peoples sometimes feel that the company doesn’t care enough for them. So, the higher level executives can make a point to interact with them at a time and get a knowhow about what problems they are facing on the field and other certain issues. First line manager should always communicate through all the sessions with each employee and have discussion regarding all the sales meet and problems related to those the sales rep might’ve had. 6. Hold skip level meetings to make sure that you’re Managers/Directors  are treating their staff correctly: Skip level meetings by higher ups can bring about more peachy feeling in the employee they might feel the concern and guardianship from top executives. This shall further charge and motivate them for the tasks they perform. 7. Build career planning for each employee: If employee wants to pursue further education the company can help by providing him admission in collaborated institutions- tailor made courses as well as sponsoring its education thus meeting the need of the employee which motivates him as well as help the company in retaining him. 8. Bring about job rotation and more growth opportunities: Giving growth opportunities like promotion and assigning certain new functionalities in the job shall increase the overall knowledge about the sales rep and also he won’t feel monotonous about the work he’s been performing. This shall give in-depth knowledge about other functions in the company and shall thereby increase the understanding of the employee about working of the other sectors in company. 9. Making them feel like family member: The employees of the company should be treated as the assets and they must be treated like a family member. Salesperson job is mostly to work out of the company, in such cases wishing them on their birthdays, anniversaries, etc. can be done. Also, paying visit or giving condolences to the MR on death of his family member can make him feel concerned and a part of family. 10. Optimizing target policies: Instead of having fixed monthly targets, the sales targets could be designed individually by looking through their past month performances. Depending on that each month the targeted sales could be increased or optimized depending upon past months performance. This shall bring about an upscale in sales level too. Conclusion: Thus for retaining MR the first line manager should focus on each and every step right from the recruitment, to training and development, rewards and appraisals even fulfilling the needs of MR as all of these steps play a crucial role in motivating and keeping him attracted towards his job.

Relationships in Atonement essays

Relationships in Atonement essays In Atonement, there are many things that are broken and never mended. The greatest tragedy of all these is Briony breaking Lola's silence thus sending Robbie to jail. Robbie and Cecilia's relationship is doomed from the beginning and they never get the chance to experience their love. Briony breaks Lola's silence and accuses Robbie of being the culprit of Lola's rape. Once the silence has been broken, Briony's lies cannot be withdrawn and Briony's words have an effect on the rest of Robbie's life. Briony tries to make amends in her fictionalised section of the novel by going to the solicitor and retracting her official statement. But as this is the fictionalised section of the novel, the retracting and clearing of Robbie's name never takes place. The vase plays a large role in the novel. It is the dispute over the vase that causes Robbie and Cecilia to realise how they feel about each other. During this dispute, the vase is actually broken. The vase is artificially fixed thus the vase is never mended properly. This is similar to Robbie and Cecilia's relationship. Briony's lies and Lola and Paul's silence cause Robbie and Cecilia's relationship to break and because of the war, it does not get the chance to mend. The vase is totally destroyed by the maid later in the novel and one could see this as Robbie and Cecilia's relationship being unfixable which is true because they die before they can continue with their relationship. Cecilia breaks all ties with her family after Robbie is arrested and accused of Lola's rape. Cecilia is certain that Robbie is innocent and that Danny Hardman is the culprit. Cecilia never mends her relationship with her family and never forgives Briony for the lies she tells. Lola's body is broken when Paul Marshall rapes her. Her virginity is broken and it can never be mended. Robbie's body is damaged when the shrapnel lodged into his leg. Robbie actually dies from the poisoning from the shrapnel. Lola a...

Definition and Examples of Word Salad

Definition and Examples of Word Salad The metaphorical expression  word salad  (or word-salad) refers to the practice of stringing together words that have no apparent connection to one another- an extreme case of jumbled speech  or disorderly  writing. Also called (in psychology)  paraphrasia. Psychiatric clinicians use the term word salad to refer to a rare form of disorganized speech: Campbells Psychiatric Dictionary...a group of neologisms, according to Robert Jean Campbell. They are meaningless until the patient discusses the neologisms at length, thus revealing their underlying significance. It is a coded language, not unlike dreams in principle; the patient holds the table to the code and only he can provide meanings to the otherwise incomprehensible dialect. Examples and Observations Manfred Spitzer[Psychiatrist Eugen] Bleuler described the relatively high frequency of indirect, oblique, or remote, associations in schizophrenic patients. This type of association, observed either in spontaneous speech or in the word-association test, goes from one word to another word via a not overtly spoken intermediate word. One of Bleulers examples is wood-dead cousin. At first glance, this association appears to be a complete word salad. However, if you know that a cousin of the patient had died recently and was buried in a wooden coffin, it becomes obvious that this was, in fact, an indirect association, from wood to wooden coffin to dead cousin.D. Frank Benson and Alfredo ArdilaNeologistic and semantic jargon are the primary components of a schizophrenic language output that has been termed word salad, an apt phrase for the mixture of misused linguistic features produced by the schizophrenic subject. Much more often, however, word salad is based on brain damage (Benson, 197 9a). Noam ChomskyColorless green ideas sleep furiously.Susan NevilleWhen there are recognizable words but no one else can make sense of them, they call it word salad. No one ever thinks to call it music.Gregory CorsoHow nice itd be to come home to herand sit by the fireplace and she in the kitchenaproned young and lovely wanting my babyand so happy about me she burns the roast beefand comes crying to me and I get up from my big papa chairsaying Christmas teeth! Radiant brains! Apple deaf!God what a husband Id make! Word Salads and Creative Writing Heather SellersThe next key characteristic of schizophrenia was the tendency toward word salad. There was an example, a rambling block quotation that strung together a grandmothers death, sunlight, dinner, and cats that didnt exist, interspersed with inappropriate laughter. Again not my mother. Again more like me. Word salad was the exact name of a writing exercise I gave my students at the beginning of the year. In a piece of writing, those moves from death to dinner could be crucial, heartbreaking.I opened a fat gray volume titled Schizophrenia. I found a chart that listed the warning signs of the disease: birth complications, separation from parents, withdrawn behavior, emotional unpredictability, poor peer relations, solo play. One could also consider this the recipe for becoming an artist, a writer. Word-Salad Poetry Nancy Bogen[Y]ou mustnt become so enamored of the sounds youre using as to lose sight of your meaning. To do so would be tantamount to creating word-salad, and even as a form of rebellion, that wont do, it simply wont. Why? Because its been done too many times already and by now its just plain boring, as boring as saying the same word or phrase over and over like a mantra. If people found it on a printed page, theyd simply shrug and move on; if they heard you reading it aloud, theyd just tune out. So what, some of you are saying? So plenty; youre supposed to be communicating- poetry is a special form of communication between yourself, the poet, and others who want to or may be persuaded to hear what you have to say in your language. Word-Salad Spam Pui-Wing TamWord-salad spam has become especially problematic in the last year, say antispam software companies. The technique of stringing together gibberish phrases was devised specifically to dodge a sophisticated type of screening technology, known as a Bayesian filter, which gained popularity in 2003.

Kidney infection, cystitis caused by Escherichia Coli (E-Coli) Research Paper - 1

Kidney infection, cystitis caused by Escherichia Coli (E-Coli) - Research Paper Example These infections are usually caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli). This bacteria is present in bowel and intestine. The infection takes place when this bacteria enters into urethra during intercourse or cleaning from back to front after excretion. Entering into urethra and reaching bladder results in cystitis. When this bacteria reaches kidneys, it causes kidney infection i.e. Pyelonephritis. The kidney infection can occur in one kidney or both at the same time. The statistics have shown that ratio of women suffering from these infections is higher than men since it is easier for bacteria to transfer to urethra from surrounding skin. Secondly, the length of urethra is lesser in women which make it easier for bacteria to reach bladder. The kidney infection due to E. Coli, can also take place without cystitis which usually happens when the kidney is blocked or the patient has other health disorders i.e. kidney stone, diabetes, low immunity etc (Gupta et al., 2011; Madappa et al., 2011). Kidney infection can result in further complications such as abscess, kidney inflammation and blood poisoning. In young male patients, posterior urethral valves are the main sites for uncomplicated urinary tract infection whereas older men with prostatic hypertrophy are more prone to it (Mayfield-Blak, 2012). Possible methods of examination may include urinalysis and urine culture where first one will help in examining blood components along with chemicals like nitrites in the urine sample, the later one is intended to examine the nature and content of bacteria for prescription of correct antibiotic. Cytoscopy and imaging tests can also be used (Gupta et al., 2011). Treatment mainly includes intake of antibiotics by mouth or direct insertion into urethra. The intake may continue up to 14 days depending on the nature and severity of the infections. It is important to

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Paraphrasing - Essay Example It was used because in order to make a solution more concentrated, absorption of more light is required. In order to measure the calculations in the form of a graph, Beer-Lambert Law was used after having done with the calculations. To conduct the experiment, four test tubes were used to collect four standard samples of . The measurements of concentration of the test tubes were 0.05M, 0.1M, 0.2M and 0.5M respectively. Along with this, four additional samples were also used. The measurement of concentration was different in each of the additional samples. To start the process, 8mL of water was added to the 0.5M concentrated sample for the purpose of producing a 0.2M solute. After this, 10mL of water was added to the sample for the purpose of producing the 0.1M solvent. After these two steps, 10mL of water was also added to the sample to produce the 0.05M solvent. As the next step in the process, a test tube that had distilled water present in it was placed in the Spec 20. The wavelength was also adjusted to know whether there is any problem in it or not. In the Spec 20, a 0.05M sample of was placed with the purpose of knowing its level of concentration, as well as percent transmittance. The process was repeated four times for the self-made solutions, as well as for the standard solutions after writing down the calculations. It was also repeated again for the last time for the unknown solution. The tables 1 and 2 show the values that were recorded from the screen. Having done with this, a graph was also developed to show the calculated absorption and concentration values. It is important to mention that the graph was developed on excel and it depended on concentration vs. absorbance (Graph 1). Using the excel graph and the Beer-Lambert Law, the equation generated for the given points is as follows: Table 6 was drawn to reflect the difference between the absorbance rate of standard and self-made solutions. The formula used for calculation of the percent