Reimbursement and Pay for Service Essay Example for Free

Reimbursement and Pay for Service Essay Introduction In this paper we will discuss what pay for performance is and explain what the reimbursement affect is. In this paper it will show how the system figures out cost reduction and the impact of the quality care patients receive. How does reimbursement and pay for performance affect the physicians? Does this affect us now and will it in the future? Health care has been changing dramatically because of history, political and social along with economical reasons. Reimbursement and pay for performance can and may even change the quality of care. Pay-for-performance because our current payment system we are using is not emphasizing preventive care for patients or consumers. Pay-for-Performance is payment used in the health care it is and has been based off of clinical information. The idea is to help tie the payment to what and how well providers help the cost of health care drop. The intent is for preventive care medicine to helping decrease and help with the management of chronic illness. (Pay-for-Performance Incentive Programs in Health Care ( N.D.) With in several months studies have shown that the studies show that the pay for performance works and others that say it does not work. Effect of Pay-for-Performance on Reimbursement Here are some examples of pay for performance is Bridges of Excellent, which is a nonprofit health care plan. Its major factor is patients with diabetes. They feel like over 60% of patients with diabetes don’t get the proper treatment and care. The American Diabetes Association has standards and the Bridges to excellent plan gives annual bonuses to physicians in specific areas such as Boston, Louisville and Cincinnati these cities could and have meet the requirements of this health care plan. On this plan Diabetic care calls for the patient being compliant with care and medications. In this plan the blood sugar test and kidney function and retinal exams would have  to be done on a consistent bases. In this plan compensation is up to and over $100.00 per patient for the providers that stick to the rules. Another plan is Anthem Indianapolis this plan started in 1999 that employed over 25 OBGYN providers in Ohio. This is the oldest plan within the US. This plan is done on and by patient satisfaction. Providers push generic drugs instead of name brand ones. Pay For Performance Pay for performance is a movement in health care field. Providers under this arrangement are rewarded for meeting pre-established target dates for specific health care services or procedures. This is also known as P4P or â€Å"value-based purchasing,† this rewards physicians, clinics, and rehabilitation centers, Surgical clinics, hospitals, medical groups, and other healthcare providers. They are rewarded for meeting certain performance measures, as well as quality and efficiency. (Wachter, Bob; (2012) Pay for performance does things such as eliminating payments for negative consequences of care. Which can be medical errors from all health care providers. Errors have increased costs. With increase of seasoned senior citizens and disability patients the high rising cost of health care has brought the P4P to the front of the line. Brought P4P to the forefront of health policy discussions. There have been some studies done by several large healthcare systems. With this it has shown improvements with specific outcomes. A little efficie ncy has taken effect, but at no cost savings. How much are they really saving because the cost of administrative services is still required. Explains how reimbursement is affected by the pay-for- performance approach. Within the last decade or years the economy has had many people becoming unemployed and finding jobs at a lower pay rate as to where they cannot afford insurance because they are to high. With being done more people are applying for Medicaid and with all the seasoned senior citizens retiring and receiving Medicare these two insurances are already participating in this service. Majority of health care systems are participating. Many believe  that for- profit and non-for-profit health care facilities believe in lower cost for providers that meet the standards of quality care. Care field. There is a perception that cost is driving up health care treatment. Cost reductions lowers cost of visits, emergence room visits, and urgent care visits. It also helps providers to promote preventive care to their patients. Making sure that all hospitals and providers are on the same scale of service. Preventive care helps prevent insurance premiums from rising at cost to the company and consumer. Effect of Pay-for-Performance health care Providers and their Patients This plan has the support of providers, hospitals and even patients. With this pay for providers must have and use good judgment for treatment and medication and test that maybe ran. The health care cannot be rated by race, ethnic background, or the patient’s social status. This plan should not judge by a patient’s location. This plan is and should be a relationship between patient and provider. The provider needs to understand the patients beliefs and it may help them to treat them and respond to certain myths and recommendations that the provider may suggest. Hospitala and providers and helat care workers are being encouraged to buy into the P4P by different agencies and tahe government. Individual health plans area chiming in also. It has pros and cons such as weakness that may or may not improve health care. It is suppose to help lower or slow down ER visits and physicians visits. Now if the providers give quality and efficent care they would and could get financial rewards if patient care improves. P4P measures performance and policy set up for putting this service in action. Discusses the effects pay-for-performance will have on the future of health care The P4P effects that will be seen in the future of health care is that the health care field will see it expand. Pay-for-Performance-defined a reimbursement service that will have links to payments for quality care, which will be an incentive to help improve health care quality of patients by physicians, and hospitals. In improving health care it is suppose to reduce the cost of It was expected that hospitals and providers would respond to P4P incentives. For future health care will based on quality health care and it will become a contract for reimbursement. Patients should feel like they have gotten the  value of their money. One effect of future health care is those physicians and hospitals that don’t participate will be at less to receive patients. Patients that have this health care plan will be more apt to seek physicians that participate. (Goldberg, L; (2006) Conclusion People in the health care field are getting interested in the pay for performance because the health care guidelines and regulations are changing in Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance. More hospitals and clinics and specialty facilities and rehab centers are loving receiving incentives for their participation and in the process they are saving cost to patients and insurance companies. P4P is working with insurance companies and providers for the quality of care for patients to be improved. Now managed care is now looking at pay for performance. Reimbursement being linked to pay for performance is like being paid to shop for the best bargain or the most person to fit your needs.

Enhanced Oil Recovery By In Situ Combustion Environmental Sciences Essay

Enhanced Oil Recovery By In Situ Combustion Environmental Sciences Essay Enhanced oil recovery is oil recovery by the injection of materials not normally present in the reservoir. In situ Combustion (ISC) is the process of an enhanced oil recovery process to improve the recovery of heavy crude oil. As it is the oldest thermal recovery technique, it has been used for over nine decades with many economically successful projects. Nevertheless, it is regarded as a high-risk process by many, primarily because of many failures of early field tests. Most of those failures came from application of a good process (ISC) to the wrong reservoirs or to the poorest prospects. This paper contains a description of ISC, a discussion of laboratory screening techniques, an illustration of how to apply laboratory results to field design, a discussion of operational practices and problems, and an analysis of field results. For complete review, the case study is done on Balol and Santhal fields in Mehsana. In-situ combustion has been known since 1888. Mendeleev was the first scientist to suggest the in-situ conversion of coal into combustible gases. Based on the earlier laboratory results, Sheinman and Dubrovai in 1934 proposed the processed the process of oil displacement by means of a moving underground fire-front. A number of field tests, were performed in various regions in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The results from these tests indicated that the heat losses were large, therefore the injected hot gases reached the formation zone with zero thermal energy. These studies however were followed by laboratory research field tests and development of mathematical models to simulate in-situ combustion as a result of which this process has been recognized and can be used as a promising method of recovering heavy oil from petroleum reservoirs. The principle of in-situ combustion is to achieve combustion within the pores of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir, burning part of the oil in place in order to improve the flow of the unburned part. Combustion is supported by the injection of air into the reservoir at one or more wells. The heat generated during combustion is sufficient to raise the rock to a high enough temperature to enable the combustion front to self propagate after initial ignition by increasing mobility of the fluid. Methodology The in-situ combustion process was applied to petroleum reservoirs depending on wide range of characteristics like Nature of formation, depth, temperature, reservoir thickness, permeability, porosity and oil saturation in order to recover oil. Pressure is also a factor but not much critical. The process was applied in reservoirs with average permeability ranging from 40 to 8000mD, whereas the oil saturation varied from 25 to 95%. In addition fuel content is one of the most important factors influencing the success of a fireflood process. The fuel content of the reservoir is the amount of coke available for combustion that is deposited on reservoir rock as a result of distillation and thermal cracking. If the fuel content is too low, the combustion process in the reservoir cannot be self sustained. Moreover, a high fuel content requires a large amount of air and high power cost which means low oil production. Gates and Ramey (1980) compared the estimated fuel content by various methods including laboratory results with that of field project data. It has been shown that fuel content determined experimentally in the laboratory by tube -run method can provide a reasonably good estimation of the fuel content obtained in the field. In situ combustion is basically injection of an oxidizing gas (air or oxygen-enriched air) to generate heat by burning a portion of the resident oil. Most of the oil is driven towards the producers by a combination of gas drive (from the combustion gases), steam and water drive. This process is also called fire flooding to describe the movement of a burning front inside the reservoir. Based on the respective directions of front propagation and air flow, the process can be forward, when the combustion front advances in the same direction as the air flow, or reverse, when the front moves against the air flow. Reverse Combustion This process has been studied extensively in laboratories and has been field tested. In brief, it has not been successful economically for two major reasons. First, combustion started at the producer results in hot produced fluids that often contain unreacted oxygen. These conditions require special, high-cost tubular to protect against high temperatures and corrosion. More oxygen is required to propagate the front compared to forward combustion, thus increasing the major cost of operating an in situ combustion project. Second, unreacted, coke-like heavy ends will remain in the burned portion of the reservoir. At some time in the process the coke will start to burn and the process will revert to forward combustion with considerable heat generation but little oil production. This has occurred even in carefully controlled laboratory experiments. In summary reverse combustion has been found difficult to apply and economically unattractive. Forward Combustion Forward combustion can be further characterized as dry when only air or enriched air are injected or wet when air and water are co-injected. Dry Forward Combustion The first step in dry forward ISC is to ignite the oil. In some cases auto-ignition occurs when air injection begins if the reservoir temperature is fairly high and the oil reasonably reactive. Artificial Ignition has been induced using down hole gas burners, electrical heaters, and/or injection of pyrophoric agents or steam injection. Figure : schematic illustration of the in-situ combustion process (Source) After ignition the combustion front is propagated by a continuous flow of air. As the front progresses into the reservoir, several zones exist between injector and producer as a result of heat and mass transport and the chemical reactions. The above figure is an idealized representation of the various zones and the resulting temperature and fluid saturation distributions. In the field there are transitions between zones. A. The burned zone is the volume already burned. This zone is filled with air and may contain small amounts of residual unburned organic solids. As it has been subjected to high temperatures, mineral alterations are possible. Because of the continuous airflow from the injector, the burned zone temperature increases from injected air temperature at the injector to combustion front temperature at the combustion front. B. The combustion front is the highest temperature zone. It is very thin, often no more than several inches thick. It is in this region that oxygen combines with the fuel and high temperature oxidation occurs. The products of the burning reactions are water and carbon oxides. The fuel is often misnamed coke. In fact it is not pure carbon but a hydrocarbon with H/C atomic ratios ranging from about 0.6 to 2.0. This fuel is formed in the thermal cracking zone just ahead of the front and is the product of cracking and pyrolisis which is deposited on the rock matrix. The amount of fuel burned is an important parameter because it determines how much air must be injected to burn a certain volume of reservoir. C/D. The cracking/vaporization zone is downstream of the front. The crude is modified in this zone by the high temperature of the combustion process. The light ends vaporize and are transported downstream where they condense and mix with the original crude. The heavy ends pyrolize, resulting in CO2 , CO, hydrocarbon gases and solid organic fuel deposited on the rock. E. The steam plateau. This is the zone where some of the hydrocarbon vapors condense. Most of those condense further downstream as the steam condenses. The steam plateau temperature depends on the partial pressure of the water in the gas phase. Depending on the temperature the original oil may undergo a mild thermal cracking, often named visbreaking that usually reduces oil viscosity. F. A water bank exists at the leading edge of the steam plateau where the temperature is less than steam saturation temperature. This water bank decreases in temperature and saturation downstream, with a resulting increase in oil saturation. G. The oil bank. This zone contains most of the displaced oil including most of the light ends that result from thermal cracking. H. Beyond these affected areas is the undisturbed original reservoir. Gas saturation will increase only slightly in this area because of the high mobility of combustion gases. Wet Forward Combustion A large amount of heat is stored in the burned zone during dry forward in situ combustion, because the low heat capacity of air cannot transfer that heat efficiently. Water injected with the air can capture and advance more heat stored in the burned zone. During wet combustion injected water absorbs the heat from the burned zone, vaporizes, moves through the burning front and condenses, expanding the steam plateau. This results in faster heat movement and oil displacement. Depending on the water/air ratio, wet combustion is classified as: (1) incomplete when the water is converted into superheated steam and recovers only part of the heat from the burned zone, (2) normal when all the heat from the burned zone is recovered, and (3) quenched or super wet when the front temperature declines as a result of the injected water. ISC requires particular attention to air compression, ignition, well design, completion, and production practices. Air compression causes high temperatures because of the high c p / cv ratio of air. Compressor design must consider these high temperatures to ensure continuous, sustained operations free from the corrosive effects of air and the explosion hazards of some lubricating fluids. Mineral oils are not recommended. Synthetic lubricants withstand the higher temperatures and offer lower volatility and flammability than conventional lubricants. In order to achieve the combustion in the petroleum reservoir, mainly Spontaneous ignition and Artificial ignition are the two methods that are used for heavy oil recovery. Ignition can occur spontaneously if the oil is reactive, the reservoir temperature high enough, and the reservoir is reasonably thick. Down hole gas-fired burners allow good control of the temperature of injected gases and may be operated at a greater depth than other methods. The disadvantages include the need to run multiple tubing strings in the injection wells. Catalytic heaters run at lower temperatures but are expensive. Electrical heaters can be lowered with a single cable, and can provide excellent temperature control. They can be reused repeatedly. There is, however, a depth limitation because of electrical power losses in the cable. Chemically enhanced ignition may require handling and storage of dangerous materials. Steam may be used to locally increase reservoir temperature and facilitate auto ignition . It suffers from depth limitation because of wellbore heat losses, but when the conditions are right it can be a very simple and effective method for ignition. Combustion process was also employed as primary and tertiary recovery processes. Applications In situ combustion can be applied to many different reservoirs. Some suggested screening guidelines are: Nature of the Formation : The rock type is not important provided that the matrix/oil system is reactive enough to sustain combustion. As in any drive process, high permeability streaks are detrimental. Swelling clays may be a problem in the steam plateau area. Depth: Depth should be large enough to ensure containment of the injected air in the reservoir. There is no depth limit, except that this may affect the injection pressure. Pressure: Pressure will affect the economics of the process, but does not affect the technical aspects of combustion. Temperature: Temperature will affect auto ignition but is otherwise not critical. Reservoir Thickness: Thickness should be greater than about 4m (15 ft) 2,3 to avoid excessive heat losses to surrounding formations. Very thick formations may present sweep efficiency problems because of gravity override. Permeability: This has to be sufficient to allow injection of air at the designed air flux. The air injectivity is especially important for heavy oil reservoirs. Conditions are favorable when kh /ÃŽÂ ¼ is greater than about 5md m/cp.3 Porosity and Oil Saturation: These have to be large enough to allow economic oil recovery. The product, à Ã¢â‚¬   So , needs to be greater than 0.08 for combustion to be economically successful. Oil Gravity: This parameter is not critical. Insitu viscosity has to be low enough to allow air injection and resulting oil production at the design rate. Oil Nature: In heavy oil projects the oil should be readily oxidizable at reservoir and rock matrix conditions. The laboratory experiments can also determine the amount of air needed to burn a given reservoir volume. This is key to the profitability of the process. Current Status of In-Situ Combustion The in-situ combustion process is attractive economically, provided it is applied to petroleum reservoirs containing approximately 50% oil saturation. The fuel content is one of the important parameters for combustion support at a relatively low air/oil ratio. Although laboratory experiments can provide some basic understanding of the process, the primary evaluation factor is a field application before the process is employed on a large scale. The present status of oil production by in-situ combustion in the United States is nearly 11,000 bbl/day. The commercial dry ISC project at Romania is the largest project of its kind and it has been in operation for more than 34 years. The Balol and Santhal projects in India have been in operation for more than seven years and have been applied in a wet mode. Currently, combined all these three projects produce approximately 2300m3 /day. It is likely that very little laboratory research can be performed to improve the displacement efficiency of this process. With continued improvement of the in-situ combustion technology, it is almost certain that some form of this process, such as dry, wet, and partially quenched combustion, will find greater application in the coming years. Currently, commercial In situ combustion projects are Economic Evaluation It is recognized that the success or failure of an enhanced oil recovery process depends on the economic evaluation. An economic study completed by Wilson and Root (1966), which is based on a modified form of two-dimensional model presented by Chu, compares the cost of heating a reservoir. The cost comparison was studied for a reservoir either in the presence of steam injection or forward combustion without oil production. The main consideration was to determine heating cost of the same dimensions of a reservoir by either steam injection or by forward combustion. The following conclusions were drawn from this study; (1) Combustion is favored over steam injection as the sand thickness decreases the pressure increase. (2) As the coke deposition increases, steam injection is favored over the combustion process. (3) As the heated distance in the reservoir increases, reservoir heating by combustion is more favorable as compared to steam injection. (4) Decreased injection rated favors the cost of steam injection relative to air. (5) Increased wellbore losses with increasing depth favor combustion. Conclusions It has been shown that in-situ combustion process is suitable to displace oils of gravities greater than 10 degree API. The average oil recovery by employing in-situ combustion is 50%. The major amount of oil is recovered before breakthrough of the combustion zone. For heavy oils, about 50% crude oil recovery occurs after breakthrough, whereas low-viscosity oil production declines very rapidly following breakthrough. The breakthrough of combustion zone can be recognized by an increase in gas production and its oxygen content. This is followed by a sharp increase ranging from 100 degree to 200 degree Fahrenheit in bottom hole temperature. In addition, the increase in water cut of the produced oil also indicates the breakthrough of the combustion zone. At the same time, pH of the produced water decreases, which is usually due to increase in the content of ions such as iron and sulphate. CASE STUDY IN-SITU COMBUSTION AT MEHSANA, GUJARAT. Mehsana asset, located in the northern part of Gujarat state in India is the highest oil producing onshore asset of ONGC with annual crude oil production of 2.35 MMT. Its having oil fields producing both heaviest crude and the lightest crude in India with API gravity ranging from 13ËÅ ¡ 42ËÅ ¡. Balol and Santhal fields form a part of this heavy oil belt with a API gravity 15ËÅ ¡-18ËÅ ¡. Balol and Santhal field encompass 22.17 MMT and 53.56 MMT of oil in place respectively. The crude is asphaltic in nature containing 6-8% asphaltene and the oil viscosity ranges from 50-450 cps at reservoir pressure of 100 kg/cm ² and 70ËÅ ¡ C temperature. Reservoirs have the permeability of the order of 3-8 darcies and are operating under active water drive. Subsequent Artificial lift methods resulted into high water production than oil. In many wells it became 95-100% and some wells had to be closed due to high water cut. The poor primary and secondary necessitated for In- Situ combustion technique in these fields. Exploitation of heavy oil from these heavy oil fields was a challenge for Mehsana asset. Based on results of laboratory studies, the In-situ combustion process was identified as the most suitable technique for enhancing the recovery from these fields. PILOT SCHEME A pilot test was designed and initiated in 5.5 acre area of southern part of Balol field in 1990-91. The first well CP#10 and thereafter Balol#171 were ignited with the help of foreign experts. The sustained combustion and production gain from nearby producers lead to conceptualization of the commercialization schemes in entire Balol field. In another attempt, a pilot scheme was also designed for Lanwa oil field and an inverted five slot pattern with four producer wells had been ignited in 1992. At present the commercialization of the scheme is in progress to enhance the production from the field. A pilot scheme is also running since 2002 in Bechraji field with four EOR injectors. COMMERCIAL SCHEMES Based on the techno-economic success of Balol Pilot project, commercial schemes were designed for entire Balol field for exploitation of heavy oil. Considering the similarities between the Balol and Santhal oil fields, this EOR technique has been implemented on a commercial scale in 1997 both at Balol and Santhal fields. Presently four commercial schemes viz. Balol Ph-1, Santhal Ph-1, Balol Main and Santhal Main are running successfully. Till date total 61 wells have been ignited in Balol and Santhal under these commercial schemes. More wells are in line for conversion into EOR injectors. For commercial exploitation of Balol and Santhal fields using In-situ combustion technique, four major air compressor plants, two, each in Balol and Santhal fields were set up. These plants supply compressed air to injector wells at reservoir conditions. Compressors except emergency air compressors at all the plants run on electricity. Combined installed capacity of these four plants is of compressing 4.9 NMm3/day air at maximum pressure of 123 Kg/cm2. Since water is required to be injected subsequently during wet phase, facilities for water treatment and injection are also installed in the respective plants. All these four plants are connected to each other with an integrated air grid network for better utilization of resources. A mobile unit called Ignition trailer is being used to initiate ignition process. Gas burners are used for artificial ignition in Mehsana. RESULTS After implementation of the technique, decline in production from Balol and Santhal fields was arrested. A number of wells have started flowing on self which were in artificial mode prior to in-situ combustion process. Production testing data of affected wells show the gradual increase in liquid production and decrease in water cut resulting increase in net oil production. Presently EOR gain from both the fields in the tune of 1200 TPD and air injection is in tune of 1.4MM Nm3/d. Production performance of these fields shows the gradual increase in oil production and decrease in W/C% with increasing number of injectors/air injection rate. It has not only given a new lease of life to Balol and Santhal fields but has also increased the oil recovery factor by 2-3 folds from 6-13% to 39-45%. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROJECT ONGC is one of the few organizations in the world, which has taken up In-situ combustion process on such a large scale. Total 68 wells have been converted in EOR injectors at Mehsana Asset so far. Most of the EOR injectors are old producer wells. They have been converted to injector wells after proper washing and cleaning of wells. Ignition is being done in the reservoir at an average depth of 990 meters, having 100 Kg/cm2 pressure and 70 degree Celsius temperature. Present Air-Oil ratio in these fields is about 1160 Nm3/m3 and Air-Oil ratio on cumulative basis it stands at 985 Nm3/m3, which indicates quite good efficiency of ISC process. Figure : Production profiles of Santhal and Balol fields (Source) MAJOR ISSUES Occurrence of Auto-Ignition: In Mehsana Gas burner is being used for artificial ignition. In this method air is injected through the annulus and natural gas through tubing. An aluminum plug fitted at the tip of burner prevents air and gas to mix. The plug pops out when gas injection pressure is more than air injection pressure and forms gas-air mixture at the bottom. A pyrophoric chemical is being used to initiate the flame. At well no. Balol # A on 1998 the burner caught fire without lowering pyrophoric liquid. Burner temperature shot up to 910 degree Celsius and was soon controlled by ignition tem members. There was no damage to thermocouple and down-hole assembly in this well. After this incidence auto ignition occurred successively in another three wells. In last two wells Santhal #B and Balol # C, thermocouple got damaged. Ignition experts were unable to establish the reason and remedy for auto ignition. Due to this failure, ONGC had completely suspended all the ignition operations fearing further auto igni tion and damage to thermocouple. A close study of all four cases of auto ignition revealed that gas injection was used to be done at full discharge rate of gas compressor. Due to this sudden release of huge amount of gas, a very rich mixture of air and gas forms making situation vulnerable for auto ignition. To overcome this problem, ignition team came up with an idea to put a cushion of an inert gas in the tubing before starting gas injection. At the time of plug pop up, now this inert gas release first afterwards natural gas comes in contact with air. This cushion provide ample time between plug pop up and release of natural gas which facilitate in regulating the gas injection rate to prevent formation of unwanted combustible mixture. The whole idea was put up before the management which was promptly agreed and broke the dead lock of suspended ignitions. After adoption of this technique till date no case of auto ignition encountered. EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF AIR COMPRESSOR Compression of air at high pressure is a costly affair because of huge consumption of electricity. To minimize this wastage of energy and for optimize the utilization of air compressors, it was thought to connect all the four plants with a common air grid. Subsequently the air grid was constructed using 6 and 4 dia pipelines as required. Now compressors are being run as per the total air requirement. By using this grid, on an average INR 2.0 Crores per month (USD 5.3 million per annum) are being saved as electricity charges. FAILURE OF AFTER COOLER OF AIR COMPRESSOR Running of large air compressor is difficult in India especially during summer due to high temperature. It may lead to explosion at compressed air piping due to accumulation of carryover lubricants and high discharge temperature. Two incidents of bursting of 3rd stage (Final stage) after coolers of HP compressor had taken place at a compressor plant of Santhal field. As a remedy synthetic lubricant has been introduced. Further regular chemical cleaning of the lines is being carried-out and monitoring of operational parameters has been intensified. OOZING OF AIR/FLUE GASES In Mehsana, mostly old wells were used for injection as well as for production. In some cases failure of casing or cementation have observed and has caused pressure built-up in outer casing and even in some cases oozing of gases/air from well site has also been observed. The remedies are 1) New additives for cementation (like thermal cements and calcium aluminates) have been introduced which help to withstand higher temperatures. 2) It is recommended to cement the casing to the full depth in case of new injector wells to prevent the risk of coming out of gas into overlying permeable layers. 3) It is suggested by IEOT (ONGC Institute) to have casing of API 5CT L-80 13 Cr steel in new injector wells and tubing in all wells. 4) New injector wells are being drilled to suit specially for in-situ combustion. 5) Regular monitoring of injection pressure, annulus pressure and outer casing pressure. Research Work Figure : showing the working model made in the laboratory The working model for the In situ combustion was made in laboratory. In this model Injection well and the production well is present on the left and right side respectively, gas injection at high pressure, igniter is taken as the kitchen lighter, test tube is made as an artificial reservoir and ignition zone near the artificial reservoir and also the temperature showing device at the bottom of the production well. This model can be compared to the real conditions with the help of the following diagram. Figure : In situ combustion process (source) There were many challenges during the modeling. These challenges were faced according to the need, economy and the factors available. For example reservoir simulation was not perfect, combustion zone was not able to be built exactly in the pores due to lack of oxygen supply. Hence I discover that this process is very economical as compared to other EOR processes but it is very risky as injection of gas should be done at correct place and ignition should be controlled then this process acts as magic recover the oil to 65%. I was successful in recovering the oil but the simulation problem was a main constraint of this working model as that requires a whole laboratory for its working. Hence according to my research heat loss should be minimum, combustion should be in controlled manner are the major challenges that should be overcome. And these can be overcome by calculating the area in which injection is to be done and what should be the ignition system use for ignition (whether a chemical can be used, artificial igniter at the combustion can be used or if the temperature of the bottom of the hole is very high that can give spontaneous ignition) should be preplanned according to the condition. The latest and important factor is the chemical injection to ignite the heavy crude oil, let us suppose the oil present there is very heavy oil that cannot be directly ignited; for that situation a chemical can be injected inside which will burn first and then increases the temperature of the respective zone to such an extent that the oil present there will ignite and the further process should start.

Gender Discrimination At Workplace Sociology Essay

Gender Discrimination At Workplace Sociology Essay The reason to conduct this research is to gain knowledge and insight about various factors which results in Gender Discrimination and the problems and hurdles which women face in todays work environment. Two sectors mainly public and private were taken in an account in order to know that in which sector Gender Discrimination greatly take place. Important factors sought include: organizational climate, society and attitude. I would like to know the perception of both men and women on the above mentioned factors and that how these factors influences Gender Discrimination. The mean of research, which I adopted for my research are research paper study, interviews and questionnaires from both men and women. I segregated the selected population according to eight socio-economic classes: GENDER AGE INCOME OCCUPATION SECTOR EDUCATION STATUS ORGANIZATION Male 20-60 10,000-above Public and Private Graduate, masters, M.phil, Phd Single, Divorced, Married Female 20-60 10,000-above Public and Private Graduate, masters, M.phil, Phd Single, Divorced, Married I have found out variety of answers from questionnaires and interviews under different circumstances. ABSTRACT: This paper presents the major factors which greatly influence and result in the Gender Discrimination at work place. To find out that, I have floated fifty questionnaire (30 women and 20 men) in both private and public sector as well as took three interviews from both high management and font line staff ( 2 females and 1 male) in order to know different perception of people in different sectors about Gender Discrimination. Further more, this paper talks about the impact of organizational norms and culture on the female employees performance, comfort at job and perceived growth. This study is focused on governmental organization, private organization, educational institute and public private hospitals. It is concluded that, there is a Gender Discrimination at workplace and women are treated unfairly at their jobs as compared to men. But this discrimination is because of the society in which we live in and because of the different family laws and perception which people have due to dif ferent backgrounds. Also organizational climate as a whole dont effectively influence gender discrimination. Its influence is less then the other two factors which are society and attitude. INTRODUCTION: In an age where we talk about equal rights for men and women, there are still occurrences of people being discriminated against because of their gender. Gender discrimination is not an issue, which one can ignore or tolerate silently. People should realize that gender discrimination at workplace is a serious form of employment discrimination, which should not be discharged. Gender based discrimination is defined as undesirable action or differential treatment against a person that would not have occurred if the person had been of another sex. Gender discrimination is considered as a serious form of injustice and is illegal in certain circumstances in most of the countries around the world. There is a need to develop organizational culture compatible to societal values that supports and motivates more women to participate in the economic and national development activities. There is a challenging task for the organization in future to retain and welcome the rapidly increasing womens participation in the work force both in public and private sector. . BACKGROUND INFORMATION: While some bias is open and overt, much more of it is hidden. We all have hidden biases about particular groups, places, and things. Hidden bias stems from our everyday sense of the way things are, which informs our everyday workplace interactions. Bias affects what we notice about people, how we interpret their behavior and what we remember about them. We tend to notice, interpret and remember behavior that reinforces our biases. These assumptions are pervasive: both men and women make them. The biases that result affect our interactions both with people we know and with people we dont know. Gender bias, specifically, is our assumptions about the characteristics of men and women. For example, men generally are assumed to be aggressive, reliable, and competent and committed to their careers. Every day each one of us makes small judgments about individuals based on everyday assumptions that arise automatically. Research has shown that men benefit more from their accomplishments than women, and even small inequity accumulate over time and cause women to advance at a slower rate then men. The following are the most common patterns of gender bias encountered in the workplace. Maternal wall The strongest and most explicit bias in todays workplace is against mothers. Generally, maternal wall bias is generating when motherhood becomes salient or obvious to managers and colleagues. This typically occurs when a woman announces that she is pregnant, returns from maternity leave, or adopts a part-time or flexible schedule. Maternal wall bias stems from assumptions that mothers are not as competent as others, are not as committed to their jobs, and belongs at home because they cant be both good mothers and good workers. Competency The truth of the common saying women must try twice as hard to achieve half as much is documented by more than a quarter century of social science. Women need to provide more evidence of job-related skills than their male counterparts before they are viewed as competent. Additionally, women are allowed fewer mistakes than men before they are judged incompetent. Role Reversal Behavior that is acceptable in men often is considered unacceptable in women. A woman in a traditionally masculine job may be called hard to work with or too ambitious for the same behavior that helps a man establish himself as assertive and having leadership potential. The unspoken view in such situations is that women should be helpful, warm, understanding, and kind. In some workplaces, women are seen either as likable, dependentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦traditional women who are nice but incompetent or as dominant, nontraditional women who are competent, but are disliked for violating unspoken norms that women should be inclusive and nurturing. The Gender Wars Workplaces create conflict among women when they evince approval of women who adhere to traditional feminine stereotypes (passive, nurturing, and allowing male supervisors to take the spotlight), but disapproval for women who buck such stereotypes. The most common workplace conflict among women is the generational conflict between older women who made it to the highest levels in their companies by closely following a traditional masculine career path and younger women who seek more flexible options, including part-time work. Because most gender bias is subtle rather than overt, policies and procedures that appear to be a facially neutral, objective, and job-related may be applied in ways that lead to fewer hiring and promotion opportunities, lower compensation, poor performance evaluations, more frequent disciplinary actions, and greater termination rates among women. These patterns result when managers base their employment decisions on biases rather than job performance. Decisions based on bias rather than legal job related reasons often will end up penalizing talented workers and rewarding less talented ones. As a result, such decisions may well expose productivity and negatively affect employee morale. In our research I have first begin by identifying gender bias, focusing on public and private sectors and then comparing and contrasting the working environments in both corporate cultures, and then analyzing how rampant gender bias against women is, in both scenarios. RESEARCH INTREST: This research is being conduct to know what the level of gender discrimination at work place. What problems are arising due to gender biasness and what are the consequences of this? How is it affecting the society, peoples life and business world? And the main reasons which lead to gender discrimination at work place. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY: I have conducted this research in order to know that to what extent there is a gender bias at workplace. What are the reasons and what problems are created due to this gender discrimination at work place? Through this research we can come up with the solution to the problem of gender discrimination. Also this can help to make people aware of this prevailing problem of gender biases and the reasons of its occurrence. And the negatives and positive affect of this on the business world and personal lives of men/women. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: The objective of this study is to Study gender bias in the workplace and focus on the distinction made between a man and woman in a working environment on the basis of professionalism, integrity, and respect, and gauging whether this phenomena has decreased with the passage of time and awareness, or if it has become worse. Study the problems which female employees go through in their job due to society, family pressure and work environment. Study that in which sector, discrimination mainly exists. LITERATURE REVIEW: Sex Discrimination in Hiring: The Influence of Organizational Climate and Need for Approval on Decision Making Katz (1987) conducted a research to find out that whether the organizational climate affects the hiring and decision making or not. He conducted an experiment in Northeastern University. One hundred and sixty males were taken as a sample of age 24- 25 years. He created two artificial organizational environments i.e. discriminatory and non-discriminatory. All the participants were divided into two and were given job descriptions of the organization along with resumes of both males and females. They were also given a scale on which they have to arrange their rà ©sumà ©s. That scale has four variables hiring, salary, fit and longevity. The participants who were taking part in that experiment had to act as a manger and take decisions accordingly. The result which was extracted from the study was that men were given high priority and value in discriminatory organization on hiring, salary, fit and longevity.Whereas, male and female both enjoy equal rights in non-discriminatory environment. The finding of the above mentioned research was all hypothetical and has internal validity. The participants who took part in the experiment were asked to imagine that they are mangers which can result in the real life findings. Sex discriminatio n is an on going process in today society and has to eliminate from a real life experiment which should have external validity and whose findings can be applied in further studies. Sexual Harassment at Workplace: Phillis (2000) in her research paper has reviewed three court cases studies on the respective topic sexual harassment at workplace. She, in her research with the reference of the court case studies wants to find out different forms and effects of sexual harassment women faces at their workplace. The court case study shows that the women are treated very badly at their workplace. They are asked for the physical favors as well as men find different ways and excuses to physically touch them. Females at their workplace are also exposed with bad sexual jokes and pictures which not make them uncomfortable while working but also have bad psychological effects on their minds which ultimately results in the choice between their job and security. Sexual harassment is a very serious problem which still practiced in todays society, government should laws and policies which prohibit this act in an organization. Sexual Harassment at Workplace: Experience of Women at Health Sectors Chaudhuri (2006) conducted a research to investigate the perspective of sexual harassment at health sector. For her research, she has done exploratory research and has under taken four hospitals, two governments and two private. The entire research was qualitative as this issue is quite sensitive. One hundred and forty one women employees take part in this research of age around 20-59. Three group interviews, forty informal interviews and one hundred and thirty five in-depth interviews ere taken from the participants of both public and private hospitals and from that it has been observed that females employees are not only experience verbal and psychological harassment but also male employees touch them physically. Mostly nurses and junior doctors experience sexual harassment. Complaints by them were not given any value and importance and hence no actions were taken against sexual harassment which shows the power disparity among men and women. No proper laws are made in this sector w hich eventually results in the fear and insecurity in the mind of females. Salary Structure Effects and Gender Pay Gap in Academia Barbezat and Hughes (2005) based their study of gender salary gap and discrimination on The National Faculty Survey Data (1999). National Faulty Survey conducted their research by taking in account nine hundred and sixty institutions both public and private of fifty different states and two thousand five hundred and seventy six full and part time employees both males and females associated with these institutions. Authors basic aim was to find out the salary gap between males and females who have similar responsibilities and work positions. From the survey, it has been concluded that men earns 20.7% more than that of women of the same post and responsibilities. The percentage is high at the professional institutions as compared to the art institutions. Men also enjoy more benefits and compensation then women. This issue has to be eliminated and need to be studied more. Gender Discrimination at the Labor Market Lissenburgh (2001) in his paper uses National Survey Data and Human Capital Theory to find out the degree and gender discrimination at the UK labor market (1990s). From the data of the National Survey, the part time female employees faces lot of salary and benefit issues as compared to full time female employees. According to the Human Capital Theory education, training and experience play a great impact on pay gap. There will be an increase of 10% in the women pays only if they pay more attention to the human capital factors. This is also one of the reason, part time female employees get less salary as compared to full time. Government should make such policies which should bound companies to pay all men and women equal pays. Determinate of Gender Based Wage Discrimination in Pakistan: a Confirmatory Factor Analysis Approach Yasin et.al(2010) conducted an empirical study to find out the two main points that wage difference among men and women and development in labor market (1999-2008) Pakistan while keeping socio-culture and individual factors in consideration. All the data and information was collected from secondary source mainly from Labor Force Survey [(2007-2008) conducted by Federal Bureau of Statistics], ministry of industry report. The sample which the Labor Force survey under took for their survey was eighteen thousand nine hundred and twelve household one million individuals from all the four provinces of Pakistan between the ages of 14-65 years. These samples contain both upper and lower level of employees. The results from the survey and from all the reports was that with the passage of time gender discrimination is increasing and the reason behind this is the level of education, experience and organization culture. They also show that gender discrimination mostly apply to those women who are married and have children because then ultimately they have to give more time to their family and children and less to their work. Also our society doesnt allow married women to work 9-5 job. Gender discrimination is an ongoing process and has to be eliminated for the better economic growth of the country. Government should make certa in policies which results in reduction of discrimination. Gender earning inequality and discrimination in Pakistani Labor Market Farooq in his research paper estimate the monthly wage/earning difference between men and women in Pakistani labor market on the findings of Pakistan Standard and Labor Market (PSLM) Survey (2004-2005). The purpose for which this survey was used to find out the Human and non-capital factors for the wage difference in Pakistan. This survey has all the relevant information needed to find out the gender pay gap. The sample which was used in the survey had ninety one thousand three hundred and nineteen household both males and females out of which 51.6% were males of mean age 36 and 48.4% were females of mean age 32. The results which was carried out by author with the help of PSLM survey was that the gender pay gap is increasing and the reason behind that is education and experience of females. Also he found out that males enjoy more benefits and incentives than females. An Analysis of Occupational Choice in Pakistan: a multinomial Approach Nasir (2005) conducted his research on the data of Pakistan Integrated Household Survey [PIHS (2001-2002)] and multinomial log model of occupation choice for males and females to find out the occupational structure and how different factors, human and individual factors, help individuals to choose their occupation. The sample of Pakistan Integrated Household Survey which was conducted by Federal Bureau of statistics was fourteen thousands eight hundred and twenty five house hold which was divided in to two categories that are regular wages and salaries worker and second was self employed and employer. One more sample which was taken by them was thirteen thousand seven hundred and ninety three individuals out of which eleven thousand five hundred and seventy three were males and tow thousand two hundred and twenty were females of ages 10-65. The information which was important for this sample was age, earning, marital status, occupation and education. From this survey and multinomial log model of occupation, the results which were carried out were that education play significant role in choosing the job. Men choose that job which pay good salary and give them more benefits. They mainly choose job on human capital factors rather than on human factors. Author also states that, there are certain factors which play great and important role while choosing of occupation but if there were no factors than there will be an efficiency in the economic growth and women will get chance to come in front to the market with their talents and skills. Occupational segregation results in lowering of the wages and benefits of female employees. Human capital factors (education, experience and training) play a significant role in choosing jobs. Occupational choice greatly impact women as they have to look for their family and children and because of that they have less opportunities then men. To eliminate this concept more job types for women have to open and also there should be equ ality in work place and married women should be given certain benefits so that they can manage their time and work both. As education is one of an important factor therefore women education should be promoted. Organizational Culture: Impact on Female Employees Job Performance Irfan et.al (2009) conducted a research to find out the impact of organizational culture and environment on the performance of female employee. According to author, organization should develop such environment which allows women to work comfortably and attractively and has to be free from biasness. He conducted a research in three services sectors i.e. education sector, banking sector and information technology sector. Stratified random sampling was used. Three hundred females were sampled, hundred from each sector. One hundred and seven questionnaires were distributed among them asking the question on how much organization culture has impact on female employee performance. The results which were extracted from the research were that organizational environment play an important role on the performance of female employment. Organizational environment can make the work place attractive and supportive. Also not only organizational environment but attitude of peers, work environment and support from the family also play a significant role on the female performance. Discrimination in the Health Care Industry: a Research on Public Hospital Ozcan et.al (2011) conducted a research to find out a discriminatory behavior in public hospitals and the reasons and way through which this behavior can be reduced. He conducted a research in public hospitals by distributing questionnaires among three hundred fifty one health care employees and by taking semi-structured interviews from five health care employees from each hospital. The result which was extracted from the research was that there are three types of discrimination mainly ideology, vocational and gender discrimination. Ideological and vocational discrimination mainly results from political and professional views whereas gender discrimination mainly occurs at piratical society where there is male dominance and they enjoy every benefits and advantage of life. Also gender discrimination take place because of societal and cultural factors which prohibits women to work outside and should take care of her home. Discrimination whether it is ideological, vocational or gender sh ould be eliminated in order to increase the economics growth and give platform to females to show their talents. THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK: Gender discrimination at work place Society Organizational climate Attitude Hiring Bias managerial decisions Salary Benefits Promotion Religion Culture Family law Social stigmata Women education Peer pressure Maternal wall Male dominance Mental capabilities Physical strength of women INDEPENTANT AND DEPENTANT VARIABLES: Dependant: gender discrimination at work place Independent: organizational climate, society and attitude. OPERATIONAL DEFINATION: Organizational climate: Organizational climate is the process of measure the culture of an organization. It is a set of properties of the work environment, perceived directly or indirectly by the employees, that is assumed to be a major force in influencing employee behavior. I have taken it as an independent variable as it directly results in gender discrimination at work place. Organizational climate have a great impact when hiring new employees or when setting their salaries or when giving them benefits. Also managers play a great role in an organization as in male dominating organization manager usually does bias decision with regards to women. This result in Dissatisfaction of women in working environment Large number of problems faced by women in an organization Less benefits given to women in an organization Mental stress Less importance and value given to women work and decisions Society: The norms and expectations a community has regarding a women role in society as a home worker. Society is also taken as an independent variable as it directly results in gender discrimination at work place. It is social stigmata that in Pakistan, working women are taken and seen in a bad way also women are not allowed to work outside their homes as it has been taken against their family law. Also religion is one of the factor which stop women to work outside their house. Women are given less importance in our society as well as there is a great discrimination in families to. Girls are given less value and importance in some families which ultimately effect their education and results in less experienced and educated women. Culture also plays a significant role in gender discrimination. This result in Less economic growth Less talent pool Less opportunities for women Attitude: Attitudes are probably one of the most important independent variables that lead to gender discrimination at the workplace. Peer pressure, male dominance all play a significant part in women feeling under pressure at the workplace. Their colleagues may act cold, or not deem them capable enough to handle projects and tasks that are essential to professional growth. Mothers, especially, are highly discriminated against, because of the reason that a mother will not be devoting full attention and focus to her work, instead she will be more focused on her children; hence they should not be hired, because it will cost the company. Also it is believed that women are physically and mentally less strong and capable then men. This result in Sexual harassment Less opportunists for married women Gender Discrimination: biases against women in terms of organizational decision. It encompasses salary, hiring, promotion etc. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: Relationship between organizational climate and gender discrimination, and how it affects the performance, salary, benefits and recruitment of women. How society, prohibits women to work outside and affect their personal and professional lives and result in gender discrimination? How women works and treated in male dominated society and how peer pressure effect women professional life? HYPOTHESIS: H1: culture in an organization is a cause of gender discrimination at workplace. Ho: culture in an organization is not a cause of gender discrimination at workplace. H2: society is a factor effecting gender discrimination at workplace. Ho: society is not a factor effecting gender discrimination at workplace. H3: attitude does results in gender discrimination at workplace. Ho: attitude doesnt results in gender discrimination at workplace. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Type of research: I have done both primary and secondary research. Primary Research: Primary research is very important as it give different perspective of people on one single issue thats gender discrimination at workplace in my case. I have interviewed from senior executives of organizations and frontline employees. Then I had also distributing questionnaires among the employees of selected organization to know the further information they have regarding the topic. Secondary Research: Secondary research is also very important as it give the supporting knowledge about respective topic and also help one to correct what has been done wrong previously. For secondary research I have taken in account ten published research papers of scholars which help me to find respective independent variables with I have used for both my interview and questionnaires questions. The research paper which I have taken mostly have either research done by scholars by them selves or they have base their research or theories or research done by special departments like world statistic bureau and world census bureau. Tool of Research: The tools of research which I have taken in account for my research paper are as follows: Research paper study: Different research papers written and published by different scholars are taken in account. From reading these papers I have also taken out important independent variables which help me to formulate my primary research. Questionnaires: Questionnaire is also one of the research tools for my researches which give me the approximate ratio of the different thinking of people both men and women. The type of scales which I have used in my questionnaires are as follows: Simple attitude rating: it is the most simple form of scale in which either respondent agrees or disagree with the question. Like YES or NO Category scale: it is a kind of scale which provide respondent different category of responses with alternative rating. Like NEVER, RARELY, SOMETIMES, OFTEN. Likert scale: this is a form of rating scale which allows respondents to indicate that how strongly they agree or disagree with any statement. Like STRONGLY DISAGREE à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦STRONGLY AGREE. Interviews: interviews will help me to get spontaneous and quick feed back from both executive level and frontline level employees. The types of interviews which I have taken are personal interviews, they are the one in which face to face questions has been asked. The questions are both in formal and in formal way. Target Population: Questionnaires: I have circulated fifty questionnaires among the employees of an organization. Out of sixty, thirty has been filed by women and twenty by men. The target population which I have selected is both from public and private sectors. Interviews: I have interviewed from the senior and frontline managers of an organization. The totally interview which I will be conducting will be three in number. Two form senior manager and one from frontline staff. Sampling: The type of sampling which I have used for my research is QUOTA SAMPLING; this is a non probability sampling procedure that ensures that the population which has been selected has some common features which researcher wants. I have used this type of sampling because I will be only taking interviews of those people and making my questionnaire filled from those people who are working in a particular organization. Interviews: I had taken three interviews, two from senior management and one from frontline staff. Ages ranges from 28-60. Two senior management are from SMEDA and BYCO PETROLEUM out of which one is male and one is female. Where as, I have interviewed women (front line staff) from PASSCO. For respondents responses look at appendix 2. Questionnaires: I had circulated fifty questionnaires, thirty from female employees ages ranges from 25-45 and twenty from male employees ages ranges from 25-60. All the participants whom I selected were from private (byco petroleum, LACAS and surgemaid) and public (PASSCO, SMEDA, CMH and Garrison school). For questionnaire look at appendix 1. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF DATA: I floated fifty questionnaires among fifty respondents, out of which thirty were female employees and twenty were male employees. I floated my questionnaires both in public and private sector. I did multiple regression using stat graphics on the data which I collected from the questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis includes any techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables, when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. More specifically, regression analysis helps one understand how the typical value of the dependent variable changes when any one of the independent variables is varied, while the other independent variables are held fixed. The results which I computed from regression are as follows: The above are the values which are commuted from multiple regression. Dependant variable in the above table is gender discrimination where as the independent variables are attitude, organizational climat

In The Heat Of The Night :: essays research papers

In the Heat of the Night Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my essay I have chosen to write about the topic about Tibbs and Gillespie understanding and respecting each other. In the beginning of this story Gillespie thought of Virgil as he would of thought of any other Negro, but soon he found out he was wrong, Virgil was a very gifted detective with lots of skills. When Tibbs was first taken in to see Gillespie, Gillespie was yelling and screaming at Tibbs for no reason but Virgil did not break down to the harassment and proved Gillespie wrong by showing him his ID card that proved he was a cop. I think that Virgil earned a little respect from Gillespie their by showing him that he was calm and mature. As the story unfolded Gillespie saw more and more of Virgil’s good qualities. Gillespie saw that Virgil was calm, educated, smart, payed attention to detail, and was qualified for his job. Every time that Gillespie would arrest some one Virgil proved them innocent, when Oberst was arrested Virgil proved Gillespie wrong by proving to him that Oberst was not the murderer. When Gillespie arrested Sam Wood Virgil also proved him innocent. Even though Gillespie didn’t like to be proven wrong by anyone (none less a Negro) he respected Virgil for his great detective work. At one point in the novel Gillespie and Tibbs shake hands and I think that was the high point of this mutual respect. Virgil didn’t respect Gillespie that much in the beginning and most of the middle of this story but in the end Virgil respected Gillespie. I think it was good that Virgil did not respect Gillespie because Gillespie was using Virgil for his scapegoat. At the end of this story Gillespie finally showed everyone that he respected Tibbs by telling every one the truth about the murder investigation, and giving most of the credit to Virgil.

Hard Times: Struggle Of Fact Vs Imagination And Struggle Between Two C :: essays research papers

Hard Times: Struggle of Fact vs Imagination and Struggle Between Two Classes Charles Dickens' novel, Hard Times, is a story of two struggles--the struggle of fact versus imagination and the struggle between two classes. It takes place in Coketown, and industrial-age English city. The novel is divided into two sections. One deals with the struggle of upper class members of society and their struggle to learn the value of imagination. The other involves a working class man who is trapped by those in that upper class who trap him in a dreary existence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thomas Gradgrind, the father of Louisa, Tom, and June not only stresses facts in the classroom in which he teaches, but also at home to his family. Thomas has brought up his children to know nothing but facts. Everything is black and white,right or wrong-- nothing in between. He discourages such fanciful motions as going to the circus or having flowered carpet. Everyone knows, one cannot have flowered carpet. One would trample all over them and they would end up dying.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Hard Times, two classes are relevant in Coketown. The upper class, which were few in numbers, are dominant over the middle class, which is larger in numbers. Stephen Blackpool represents the working class. He is a warm- hearted man trapped in thes run down society. He feels he deserves this mediocre lifestyle. Blackpool was originally employed under Bounderby, but is fired for standing up for his beliefs. This type of behavior was totally unacceptable during the period of time as it involved imagination and independance. Bounderby portrayed himself as a self-made man,when in fact, he had eveything handed to him with a silver spoon. His mother gave him the very best of everything, including a wonderful education. This demonstrates that the upper and middle classes were not just two different classes, but two different

A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction

How far can humor go? This question is often asked regarding ribald, lewd, or obscene humor. In these cases, critics often ask whether humor has gone far enough.Critics and questioners ask whether what the comedian presents as humor has crossed the line into the offensive and revolting. How far has a particular bit humor gone to the bottom of the barrel and how do we know if it has reached the bottom.How far can humor go? That same question may be asked for Jon Stewart’s 2004 humor book America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction. However, instead of asking how the degenerate the humor is, after reading Stewart’s book, we are forced to ask how enlightening humor can be?Can humor be a tool to scrutinize? To question? To criticize? The likelihood of these possibilities are astonishing, especially when you consider that Stewart’s book is about America and its government and political system.Jon Stewart is the host of the popular comedy program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Daily Show is a satire news program, complete with the familiar news program introduction, faux field reporters and even interviews with current newsmakers. Instead of glorifying news programs, The Daily Show takes pride in crucifying it and the political culture it inculcates.The late-night show is notorious for its no holds barred treatment of politicians and pundits from all sides of the political spectrum. The show prides itself as an equal opportunity offender as it makes fun of all political entities from all sides. This has resulted in great popularity for the show as well as for its host, even generating a spin off show from one of its faux pundits.That said, there are many parallels to be drawn between the Daily Show and America (The Book). While The Daily Show pretends to be a nightly news program, America (The Book) pretends to be a high school social studies textbook. In this regard, America (The Book) is successful as it really does look and feel like a social studies textbook. Its content and outline matches that of common high school textbooks.Its layout is also befitting that of a high school textbook, complete with margin notes, sidebars, interviews with â€Å"noted† individuals and numerous illustrations and figures. It is even complete with end of chapter questions and classroom activities.

The Grapes of Wrath

The movie â€Å"The Grapes of Wrath† I watched recently is the classic adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel written and published in 1939 only one year before the movie was released. When the movie production was approved the director John Ford and his crew were able to accomplish a major task and finish the project without getting involved in the conflict with labor unions what was very important since many members of the crew belonged to them. The script which is based on Steinbeck’s book adopted a very specific dialect, the language spoken by the villagers living in rural Oklahoma so the authenticity impression was preserved. The movie presents the times of the Great Depression in the American Mid West and West coasts. This was a tough era of American history that got the historically accurate documentation and John Ford’s movie shows us perfectly the experience of many people those days – farmers and their families, drifters and strikers. For many Americans who watched the movie in the theaters in the big cities it was not easy to find out how hard and stressful it was for the people living in the country to be forced out of the lands they were working on. Here the director introduces us to the family of poor farmers from Oklahoma Dust Bowl and their struggling during the tough times of the economic crisis. While watching the movie I observed the contrast between the representatives of the lower class and the wealthy landowners who take an advantage of the unfortunate circumstances. From the events presented I’ve learned that the economic crisis and the advancing technology which was used to farm the land were responsible for drastic and extreme changes which were imposed on thousands of people against their own will. All the farmers’ families which for many generations made the living out of their farms in the short period of time received the notifications demanding to move out and abandon the properties which they were residing at. Obviously it was not their choice and the decision was made on their behalf without giving them the alternative opportunities. The main characters in the movie are the members of Joad’s family who are not only dealing with the problems inside of their family but also with the basis of their existence which is endangered. Those poor people understand very well that when fighting all the odds the only solution is to stay together and rely on each other and when facing the unpleasant reality they decide to remain as a family while entering the new chapter of their lives. In order to find a solution to their problems Joad’s family decides to embark on the journey to California. They have high hopes and strong beliefs that if they will get there, their situation will change for better, they will be able to find jobs and as a result will settle in their new home. On the way to their destination they experience many unexpected events which they have to deal with as they appear. They loose two members of their family and while staying at the camps for the similar migrants they learn about the sad reality which was awaiting them. It appeared that all the information they have been provided before they left Oklahoma were not exactly true and the land owners were trying to earn profits by using the unfair labor practices. Being fully aware of the desperate conditions the owners of the large farms offer low wages jobs and exploit all those hired to work on their lands. The new comers were not welcomed and treated with very suspicious manners. The local residents who were afraid of losing their own source of income were acting very unfriendly and openly demonstrated their opposition. People like Joad’s family while forced to stay in the camps and awaiting the potential employment were treated by local authorities like trouble makers. All those who tried to stand up for their rights were considered difficult and wrongly accused of trouble causing. Rich and wealthy class representatives were simply misusing the power of the local authorities in order to protect their own interest and increase the potential profits. Whoever was brave enough to disagree with those kinds of methods was considered as a threat and forced to leave or had to face the mistreatment and abuse. While majority of migrating families were subjected to the hardship and constant struggling, the smaller number of this group were lucky enough to find the temporary accommodations provided by the Federal authorities as a form of social assistance during the economic depression. Once they were able to reach such facilities they were offered decent and reasonable housing with the basic sanitary installations. The life in those places was organized by the rules which campers could set up so all the residents were treated with respect and there was no tolerance for any form of abuse. However some of the local land owners did not like the situation and were trying to sabotage the camp. Quite often those government managed facilities were subjected to the organized attempts of purposely initiated disturbances which will give the arguments to the local authorities to act while â€Å"preserving law and order†. It should be noticed that even tough it was not the director’s intention the conditions showed and the form of management in those camps succeeded in building up the reputation of the Government and helped in recognizing efforts directed towards continuous improvement during the crisis. The democratic methods which were giving all the residents the right to protect their status were successfully maintaining the stabilized life while staying within the borders of the camp. Even the police authorities were not allowed to enter without the warrant. Many residents quickly realized how fragile and valuable it is for them to continue preventing the established order in the camp so they could organize the system of the comities which were overseeing all the key aspects of every day living conditions. Under those circumstances surviving the difficult times until the employment opportunities appear was much more acceptable and helped to build the confidence in the better future. The movie definitely proves that people while facing major difficulties have much higher chances of prevailing if they help each other and stay together instead of resisting and fighting those problems just on their own. Even the strongest and most determined attempts to resist and fighting the reality by one single person will not last long and at the end will not be considered successful. The Joad’s family proved to themselves that together they can manage to survive and use the difficulties which they went through as the learning experience. By using the combination of wisdom and wise assumptions together with good will and honest intentions they were able to help each other in the process of the decisions making. As we all now go through the inconveniences and carry the burden of struggling economy, while watching the movie we can relate in some certain way to the presented story. We are fully aware that unfortunately seventy years later there are many Americans who do have to find answers to resolve their problems and react to the drastic changes which the economy imposed on them. As Casy, the former preacher perfectly summarizes his view when performing the funeral rites by saying: â€Å"I wouldn’t pray just for an old man that’s dead, ‘cause he’s all right. If I was to pray, I’d pray for folks that’s alive and don’t know which way to turn†. The fact that the American Academy of Motion Pictures nominated John Ford’s movie was one of the reasons why even the President of the USA Franklin D. Roosevelt was present there and gave the speech which consisted of comments regarding the movie unique character. For someone like me whose knowledge of the United States modern history is not so deep I found the movie as being very educating and presenting Americans’ lives during the Great Depression from a different perspective. Comparing to the recent production, the â€Å"Cinderella Man† I found quite few similarities and issues which were particularly important however the director John Ford is not trying to create a fairy tale but instead is exposing the dark side in which both the rules of economy and human nature compete with each other in the most important fight as the only possible way of surviving without loosing the human values such a dignity and pride. We can say that the main characters, their interactions and behavior even if originated from the natural instincts of human beings slowly but steady helped them to built up the resistance and eventually made them stronger than they were ever before. Just like Russell Crowe in the â€Å"Cinderella Man† was given a second chance and did not waste it but succeeded in his journey to the victory on the boxing ring, Joad’s family under the spiritual leadership of Tom’s mother proudly emerged out of all difficulties and remained faithful about awaiting them much better future. In my opinion the history of this country taught us a very valuable lesson which proved that even the Great Depression was not able to destroy the strong American spirit and discourage people from using their skills and joined efforts to help each other in the times of need. People need to believe that the tough times will end and they will be able to enjoy living again. Nothing motivates people in need to take an action and engage in many long term efforts better than having hope and faith that the better future is in their hands, that nothing else can help them better than their own determination.