Human Resource Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example Human Resource Management Unionization can be defined as the act of forming groups among the workers and staff members. Originally the concept of unionization within the organization initiated during the early 18th century. But with the course of time the system became prominent in different parts of the world. Historically the concept of unionization was welcomed by several eminent scholars around the globe, but scholars such as Paul Smith an economist of the 18th century stated that labor union has been an illegal practice. A union is an agency of personnel’s that have collaborated together to improve the condition of its members in context with pay packages and other benefits (Libcom, n.d.). The organization can be made up of individual professional, past working staffs, trainees, students and unemployed persons. The common aims are generally demands for higher pay packages, increase in the number of employees for a particular job, to improve the condition of working, demand for various facilities, rules and regulations pertaining to hiring and firing, promotion of workers, procedures of lodging complaints, safety within the workplace and about the different policies of the organization. A union also relies on the fact that joint efforts are superior to individual effort and also aid in achieving the goals more flexibly. This has also led to the concept of collective bargaining. Collective bargaining can be defined as the process by which a group of employee’s demands for something from the employers regarding different issues related to the job.

Effect of Whipped Egg Whites on Soufflé Volume

Effect of Whipped Egg Whites on Soufflà © Volume R. Ardura THE EFFECT OF WHIPPING EGG WHITES OVER ITS LEAVENING CAPACITY IN SOUFFLES INTRODUCTION We may all agree with the grand statement Nicholas Kurti said over his presentation â€Å"The Physicist in the Kitchenâ€Å": â€Å"It is a sad reflection on our civilization that while we can and do measure the temperature in the atmosphere of Venus, we do not know what goes on inside our soufflà ©s† (Barham, 2001). Soufflà ©s, sponge cakes, meringues, and bread are some examples of baked foams. Foams â€Å"allow [the diner] a better perception of the texture of a dense mass in the mouth and enhance the perception of odors† (This, 2009). Understanding how foams work under dynamic conditions is crucial for any chef to achieve a better end product and give the consumer a greater enjoyment. Egg whites are commonly used as an aerating agent because of its foaming properties. Their foam assists in the leavening process, although the actual leavening agent is air. Foam simply allows air to be incorporated into baked goods (Figoni, 2011). The end goal is to capture and retain as much air inside the soufflà © to achieve an airy, light and delicate end product. Foams are a colloidal system of a gas dispersed into a liquid continuous phase (Pawel et al, 2014). In the case of soufflà ©s, the continuous phase is water with egg white proteins, lipids and carbohydrates dissolved in it—which will strengthen the dispersing medium—, and the dispersed phase is air (McWilliams, 2012). Oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and some of the other components of air are mostly hydrophobic. In other words, air can dissolve in water but only in tiny amounts (MyHrvold, 2011). The mechanical action of beating pushes air bubbles into the continuous phase of the forming foam while the protein of the egg whites unfold to form a monolayer film at the surface of the air pushed inside. This stage of foam forming is called absorption (Cherry, 1981). The hydrophilic part of the egg white proteins will be attracted and bound with water and any hydrophilic component present in the solution, while the hydrophobic end will be oriented inwards surrounding the gas phase and stabilizing the bubble (MyHrvold, 2011). When talking about foams in food products, it is of interest to know the foam’s stability and volume. Any solids, such as sugar, present in the continuous phase of foam add viscosity to the liquid base. Different levels of viscosity, or resistance that a fluid poses to shear forces, changes the mouth-feel of the product and duration of the foam. In general, the more viscous a liquid is, the longer its bubbles last (Pugh, 1996). We should also keep in mind that a greater resistance to shear forces means a smaller increase of volume from air expansion. Therefore, the recipe used in this study has minimal foaming agents and foaming stabilizers to ensure that the outcome truly reflects the impact of the whipping stage on the increased volume and stability of the soufflà ©. The rate and extent in which albumin unfolds to form a film at the surface of the gas, also called the absorption rate, increases as shear force is applied to the egg white when beaten (Damodaran and Song, 1988). As protein unfolds and entraps gas to form new bubbles the overall volume of the solution grows. Foam becomes opaque and can be pulled into soft peaks. While some bubbles collapse, others are surrounded with a second monolayer. The second film covers any coagulated regions, caused by over beaten proteins, from the first monolayer (Cherry, 1891). The bubbles progressively become smaller and foam gets tighter until stiff peaks are formed (McWilliams, 2012). This is usually the stage egg whites are brought to for making soufflà ©s. It is a common belief that bringing the egg white foam to this stage will make a more stable soufflà ©. The normal pH value for egg whites is from 7-8, but as they age their pH goes up. However, the rate and area to which proteins unfold and reposition at the interface is conditional to the protein’s intermolecular limitation to form new bonds. The overall egg white foam stability is optimal at or near the isoelectric pH of albumin—pH5.5 (Cherry, 1981). This is due the convex shape bubbles take near the pI of albumin, which exhibit a slower liquid drainage rate than decay from gas diffusion and disproportionation (Damodaran, 1994). As a result of less liquid drainage the foam films remain thick enabling dry foams of high stability to be formed (Malysa and Lunkenheimer, 2007). Furthermore, the addition of an acid boosts the number of free-floating hydrogen ions in the egg white slowing down disulfide bonding and exposing hydrophobic regions that result in further adsorption sites (Murray, 2007). In order to generate the same variables for this study, all egg whites were ti trated to pH 5.5 creating a more suitable protein conformation for entrapping and holding air dispersions. Foam will start to form when the number of new and accumulated bubbles exceeds the number of rupturing ones. The stability of foam does not only depend on the solution’s composition but also the state of the bubble’s adsorption layers (Malysa and Lunkenheimer, 2007). Most studies focus on the stability of foams under static conditions where a tight bubble network and high stability are formed. Considering that in the soufflà © production process foam is subject under dynamic conditions, surface elasticity may become of significant importance when analyzing foam expansion and stability on such systems. In addition, even though it would seem logical that a highly flexible unfolded protein would cover a greater surface area than a compact folded protein, Damodaran and Song found that one of albumin’s folded intermediates occupies a greater surface area (Damodaran and Song, 1988). Therefore, in order for a protein to entrap the maximum amount of gas in foam and exert the most favorable reduction of the surface tension, it should be processed (whipped) until an optimum degree of unfolded and folded coils are achieved (Damodaran, 1989). The physical law that animates the phenomenon occurring in a soufflà © was discovered by the French scientist and balloonist J. A. C. Charles. Charles’ law states, â€Å"†¦the volume occupied by a given weight of a given gas is proportional to its temperature† (McGee, 2004). Some may conclude that the greater amount of air bubbles trapped the greater the volume will raise as the soufflà © is baked. Others may believe that it does not matter the stage the egg white has been whipped to because gas will always expand a fixed amount. However, bearing in mind Damodaran and Song’s discovery and the assumption that surface elasticity could play a determining roll on foams expansion and stability under dynamic conditions, there might be the possibility to believe that stiff peak is not the optimum stage at which the egg white must be whipped to achieve the maximum final volume in soufflà ©s. This study will focus on the effects different stages of whipped egg white foams have on the final volume of soufflà ©s. After this study a chef will know the best possible utilization of egg whites for soufflà ©s and other food preparations where egg whites act as a leavening agent. Learning about egg white’s surface rheology through measurements recollected over a range of timescales will help to understand how the protein structure on whipped egg whites relate to the final volume of soufflà ©s. It may also suggest a better way to produce other backed foam products as sponge cakes, meringues and bread. WORKS CITED Barham, P. (2001). The Science of Cooking. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag GmbH. Figoni, P. (2011). How Baking Works (3rd ed, pp. 258, 267, 300 303) Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (1st ed.), Egg Foams (pp.109-113). New York, NY: Scribner. McWilliams, Margaret (2012). Foods: Experimental Perspectives. (Seventh ed., pp. 113, 114, 116, 384-387, 412). New Jersey: Pretince Hall. MyHrvold, N., Young, C. Bilet, M. (2011).The Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking(1st ed., Vol 4, pp. 74, 240-255). Bellvue, WA: The Cooking Lab. This, H. (2009), Science of the Oven. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Pawel, P., et al. (2014). The Physical and Linear Viscoelastic Properties of Fresh Wet Foams Based on Egg White Proteins and Selected Hydrocolloids. Food Biophysics, 9:76-87 Cherry, J. P. (1981). Whipping and Aeration. In Cherry McMaters (Eds.), Protein Functionality in Foods (pp. 150-153). American Chemical Society: USA. Damodaran, S (1994). Protein functionality in food systems. In N. S. Hettiarachchy G. R. Zeigler (Eds.), Structure-Function Relationship of Food Proteins (pp. 15-17). Chicago, IL: Institute of Food Technologists. Damodoran, S. (1989) Interrelationship of molecular and functional properties of food proteins. In J. E. Kinsella W. G. Soucie (Eds.), Food Proteins (pp. 21-22). Champaign, IL: The American Oil Chemists’ Society. Damodoran, S. and Song, K. B. (1988). Kinetics of absoption of proteins at interfaces: Role of protein conformation in diffusional adsorption. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 954:253. Malysa, K. and Lunkenheimer, K. (2007). Foams under dynamic conditions. Current Opinion in Colloid Interface Science, 13 (2008), 150-162. doi:10.1016/j.cocis.2007.11.008 Murray, B. S. (2007) Stabilization of bubbles and foams. Current Opinion in Colloid Interface Science. 12 (2007), 232-241. doi:10.1016/j.cocis.2007.07.009

Essay example --

History / Educational Influences Marina City, as a modernist urban solution, was possible by Bertrand Goldberg because of his formal architectural training as well as his early practice and interaction with key architects. Exposure to architectural, socioeconomic, and cultural context that shaped modernist architecture developed him as an architect. Influence began early on from his physics teacher, George Vaubel, which inspired him with a lifelong love for logic and â€Å"reasoning backwards† and finding evidence for what was taught to him. Goldberg studied at the Cambridge School of Architecture and Landscape then at the Bauhaus in Berlin, Germany and lastly, at the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago. He discovered architecture while studying at Harvard in 1930. The dean, Henry Frost, allowed Goldberg to study with his graduate studio as an undergraduate. During the Great Depression, Goldberg was studying at Harvard where debates with professors and fellow students centered on the political and soc ial problem, dealing with poverty. It unleashed and influenced his lifelong consciousness of social and political factors because he took social and political problems into consideration when designing. Harvard exposed Goldberg to the Beaux-Arts architecture and he desired to go to Paris to study but instead went to the Bauhaus after being advised. The Bauhaus introduced Goldberg to the new ideals of art and architecture. The Bauhaus emphasized on vision and spatial skills. Goldberg was greatly influenced by Mies van de Rohe and Josef Albers. Goldberg embraced â€Å"less is more† and was disciplined to work out details of the total design by creating an aesthetic out of structure and seeking alliance with an industrial world. At the B... ... solution of a central core and columns made the structure safe and efficient. The concrete also acted provided security against uplift because of concrete nature of heaviness. Mechanical systems were engineered within the floors which allowed for more spatial freedom. The efficient solution to the foundation was also achieved through engineering and the use of caissons. Construction initiated after structural issues were resolved. Machine and hand became the medium to create the building. While the tower crane allowed for the fast construction of Marina City, artisanship was also required. The use of formwork to create the petals require of artisanship while being mass produce implied machine. The hand work can be seen in the uneven surfaces were molding was required. Marina City became the biggest structural and residential building at the time of its completion.

Alternative Scenarios/Future Analysis & Delphi Technique

The way word ‘dynamic’ has qualified itself, to describe current affairs, implies that future is getting more uncertain now. Radical changes in the past have made present more autonomous; and future more unpredictable. Need to understand and define the future have made it more demanding for the analysts to outline different trends curtailing to specific events, wonder what might happen next, and make strategies to control the future. Before stepping into the world ‘about to come’, it is important to understand that future is not prediction, there’s nothing rationale known about future, and tomorrow would not be like today.Studying future needs a systematic approach that involves identification of past trends, study of current scenarios, and exploring possible alternatives, given possible scenarios. Alternative Future Alternative future analysis is critically an assessment approach that provides large scale long term perspective of a problem that could be divided into different alternative, each curtailing to any one sub-perspective. It helps translate different visions and goals into alternatives, which could be assessed by the experts/analysts. It provides the policy makers with a ‘vision’ to follow, in case any scenario/alternative is realized.As all these alternatives are critically evaluated socio-economically, ecologically and rationally, chances of their sustenance is far better than many other future predicting techniques. There are two main ways the alternative future analysis process operates (Steinitz 2003 and Theobald & Hobbs 2002). Firstly, it is the formation of numerous alternative plans, assessing their consequences, and then following the most desirable one. It involves geometrical, pre-dominant and political interests of people. This approach is simple, but, simplicity is also a limitation (Steinitz 2003).Secondly, it is the identification of ‘most’ important issues, pertaining to polic y and decision making. Concluded scenario reflects the inputs of different people, reflected from the choices made for it (Steinitz 2003). Scenario Analysis Scenario analysis is a strategic tool, designed impeccably to design strategies, based on multiple outcomes or complex competitive situations (Sandmore, 2005). Selection of scenarios/outcomes is based upon the probabilities assigned to them, in response to values attained from different related factors. These responses help analysts develop contingency plan that covers many different possibilities.Moreover, they can identify potential threats, and can evaluate current strategy, working under the similar model. The analysis starts with the assumption that some future state has been achieved; now the work starts backwards. It helps identify all those factors and their probable affect, until a ‘base case’ is prepared. Now those variables are altered to consider the changes in the output. So it gives analysts more contr ol over the variables, and helps decision makers identify different variables, with respect to their impact and urgency. It is important to understand that it does not predict future, it just gives a possibility.Its success is very much dependent upon the level of details or factors involved are identified by the analysts, and how correctly they have related those factors to the scenario. Those factors could be political, technological, economical or social in nature. It also helps analysts understand different scenarios, and make best use of it by controlling most effective variable. Consequently, it increases the decision making time, that could result in change of some factors or scenarios over time. Moreover, external impacts could not be controlled, and their happening is not easily predictable.It also increases the chances of errors, and questions the dependability of analysis. Delphi Technique Derived from a Greek’s oracle, Delphi is the best known qualitative, structu red and indirect future prediction method in use today (Woudenberg, 1991). It consists of a sequence of steps adopted for provoking and refining opinions of different experts (Brown, 1968). This technique was adopted by multiple disciplines and each altered it to its use; hence we have three different techniques in use today. Conventional Delphi is used for forecasting and estimating unknown parameters up to a level of consensus.Policy Delphi is used to generate most opposite ideas or opinions to identify the two extremes (Bjil, 1992). Decision Delphi, on the other hand, is utilized to reach decisions amongst experts, with all contributing in the solution. While following Delphi approach, firstly, all the participants are informed, informally, about issues to be discussed. Secondly, a questionnaire regarding issue is distributed. This part includes great involvement of monitoring team, as this must elicit convergent and divergent points. Thirdly, more questionnaires are distributed, each with the knowledge about the previous one.This helps them refine their opinions, and could mold the respondents’ answers to a particular direction. It is repeated, until and unless a final consensus is achieved. Finally, the coordinating team pulls together all the responses and consensus into a final report (Masini, 1993). The most unfortunate development in the end of nineteenth century was the formation of Al-Qaida that has threatened most of the developed economies, especially United States of America and United Kingdom. In 1998, Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaida, announced that his league will be in pursuit of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).Since then, many American and European countries have put hands together to fight against the increasing influence of these terrorists. After the most drastic terrorist attack of 9/11, US forces, in support of many European forces, attacked Afghanistan, the biggest suspect of Al-Qaida home-base. Later, in 2003, US force s invaded Iraq. Here the culprit was Saddam Hussein, who was declared an agent of Al-Qaida. Since then, North Korea, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan have been the targets of US in its war against terrorism. This war, one way or the other, is weakening both Al-Qaida and US economy.In retaliation to US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, Al-Qaida’s race to get hold of WMD have intensified. What this war has in stored for our future is a big question mark for us. To understand what different experts have to say about it, a project is initiated, in which diplomats, critics, politicians, journalists and policy makers will be surveyed, using Delphi technique. First of all, through emails, letters and visitors, all these participants will be selected, based upon their availability, level of involvement in current affairs, especially war against terrorism, critical insight and reputation amongst the colleagues.Once their participation will be confirmed, all of them will be officially communic ated about the issue to be discussed, which is the sensitivity of WMD, and possible targets of Al-Qaida attacks in US. Major research will carry around: the importance of WMD; whether or not Al-Qaida has one of it; possible target of Al-Qaida’s attacks in US; security levels in US; and response of US nation towards US policy of war against terrorism. Major assumptions will be taken based on the trend analysis, by monitoring team.Major targets will be nominated based upon following factors: Location (geographically and strategically); Importance (economic and defense); Security (national and nominal); Population (distribution and class); Impact (economically and socially); and Urgency. These factors will further be classified based upon the response from the experts. All the participants will be allowed to make any assumptions, which should be communicated before the submission of questionnaire. Major questions for the first round will be: 1. Is Al-Qaida a threat to US, or a t icket to failing states?2. Are Weapons of Mass Destruction in safe hands? 3. Does Al-Qaida have Weapons of Mass Destruction? 4. Are Al-Qaida attacks consequences of US policies? 5. What could be the purpose of Al-Qaida’s attack in US? 6. Can US sustain Al-Qaida’s attacks? 7. What could be the possible target of Al-Qaida? 8. Is US national strong enough to stop Al-Qaida’s attack? 9. How concern is US nation about terrorism? 10. Is Al-Qaida making its roots in Americans? References Bjil R (1992). â€Å"Delphi in a future scenario study on mental health and mental health care† in Futures Vol 24, No 3, pp 232-250Brown B (1968). Delphi Process: A Methodology Used for the Elicitation of Opinions of Experts Santa Monica: The RAND Corporation Foreign Policy (2010, January 25th). Al-Qaida’s pursuit of Weapons of Mass Destruction. August 9, 2010, from http://www. foreignpolicy. com/articles/2010/01/25/al_qaedas_pursuit_of_weapons_of_mass_destruction Masini, E (1993). Why Futures Studies? London: Grey Seal Steinitz, Carl (2003) Alternative futures for changing landscapes. USA: Island Press Woudenberg F (1991). â€Å"An Evaluation of Delphi† in Technological Forecasting and Social Change Vol 40, pp 131-150

Toward a Typology of Food Security in Developing Countries,Governance Division, and International Food Policy Research Institute. Essay

Global Food Supplies Introduction Question 1                   Globalization and technology enable food producers to access a wider market, increase opportunities, and competition with food supply and consumption. Countries and agricultural multinationals position their supply systems, according tothe global market. Food supply requires a systematic analysis of the food production processes and strategies for ensuring consistency in production and supply chain. Collaboration and partnerships at various levels has been adopted to facilitate in large-scale production, processing, and supply. The following study will discuss the problems with global food supplies, possible solutions, and the implicationsof the suggested solutions. Discussion                   According to Bingxin et al. (2010),availability of food, its accessibility, utility of food, and stability are vital in global food supply.These are the conceptual factors of food supply and food security. Availability of food in one part of the world does not guarantee supply to the parts with scarcity. Accessibility of food is dependent on international relations between countries and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Utility of food affects supply of food because of the cultural orientation towards certain types of food. Other than the conceptual aspects, Thomsett (2011) and Olson (2012) believed that problems in the food supply could stem from the product value chain and the supply chain. The food process chain may comprise of production at the farm level, storage, processing facilities, transportation of the processed foodstuff, distributors, and retailers. Farmers require modern technology and machines to handl e the produce into the form that can be exported. Lack of processing mills and plants limit the food supply into the developed economies (Bingxin et al., 2010). Inadequate storage facilities affect the global food supply because of food wastageat the production level. Perishable foodstuff requires quick transportation and modern preservation methods such as the use of refrigerators (Frankenberger et al., 2014).                   Geopolitical interests andsanctions affect global food supply. Countries that face sanctions may be limited in terms of the types of food they can import or export. For instance,sanctions have affected food supply Europe to Russia in the current sanctions between the some of the countries in Europe and Russia. North Korea also faces challenges in the food supplybecause of sanctions (Thomsett, 2011).Olson (2012) indicated that terrorism affects food supply because of the disruption of the food production and supply chain. Terrorism also affects the farming system because the farmers take alternatives that suit the prevailing conditions in the regions that are prone to terrorism.Agricultural terrorism affects global food supply. Agricultural terrorism is a form of bioterrorism where terrorists introduce animal and plant disease in the region in order to destabilize food production (Olson, 2012). Climate change and natural disasters cause problems in global food supply. Climate change affects the agricultural systems by causing shortages in water supply, flooding, and general inconstancies in weather conditions. Uncertainties in weather make prediction and planning difficult for farmers a factor that eventually affects global food supply (Thomsett, M, 2011; Bingxin et al., 2010).                   Carpenter et al. (2013) held the view that decentralization of food production would help in reducing the challenges of global food supply. Decentralization augments the conceptual aspects of food supply such as accessibility and stability. In this case,the logistics of ensuring the food reaches the consumer are less complicated because the food is within the locality of the user. Adoption of better food production methods and technologies can also help in dealing with the threats of global food supply. Mechanized farming and research in drought tolerant crops are some of the modern approaches that ensure consistency in food supply(Frankenberger et al., 2014).                   Improved international relations with the trade partners and collaboration in research and food production will enhance global food supply. Countries and food producers may sign trade agreements that facilitate food supply. Negotiations on specific food processing and quality can improveworld food supply. Farmers and food processing multinational may share technologies and intelligence on bioterrorism to reduce agricultural terrorism (Carpenter et al., 2013; Olson, 2012).                   Decentralization of food production affects the management of production and product copyrights.Different countries and regions have unique approaches to food production. The climatic and physical conditions differ from one country to another. Decentralization of production will require a strategy of aligning the processes, policies, and objectives of all the stakeholders.High costs of adoption and mitigation measures for climate change and natural disasters affect food supply. Research on crops, animals, and farming systems that are tolerant to climate change requires long terms strategies and resources(Carpenter et al., 2013; Olson, 2012). Conclusion                   Stability in global food supply requires a multidimensional approach. Olson (2012) showed that dealing with bioterrorism involves researchers in agricultural biotechnology and the security agencies. According toFrankenberger (2014) sustainable food supply, depends on sharing technical information on climate change. Capacity building at the production level affects the consistency of food supply. Technical information on greenhouse emissions at the local level and on a global scale can help in formulating policies on sustainability of the supply chain. Food supply also relies on the co-operation of food supply multinationals, Non-Governmental organizations, and trade organizations. References Bingxin, Y et al. 2010, Toward a Typology of Food Security in Developing Countries,Governance Division, and International Food Policy Research Institute. Carpenter, J, Moore, M, Alexander, N, & Doherty, M 2013, ‘Consumer demographics, Ethno centralism, cultural values, and consumer culture in a retail perspective’, Journal of marketing management, 29, 4, pp. 271- 291. Business source complete, EBSCOHost, viewed 13 December 2014. Frankenberger, T, Costas, M, Nelson, S, & Starr, L 2014, Building resilience for food and nutrition. Washington, DC: International food Policy research Institute. Olson, D 2012, Agroterrorism: threats to America’s economy and food supply, FBI law enforcement bulletin, Business source complete, EBSCOHost, viewed 13 December 2014. Thomsett, M 2011, ‘Global supply chain risk management: Viewing the past to manage today’s risk from an historical perspective’, Review of management innovation and creativity, 4, 9, pp.44-64, Business source complete, EBSCOHost, viewed 13 December 2014. Source document