Color and Vans Essay Example for Free

Color and Vans Essay Vans and Converse are both brands of shoes. Vans and Converses have many similarities but they also both have many differences. Both brands come in many different colors and patterns. They also both come in many different styles. For example, they both come in slip-ons, lace-ups, and boots. Also both Converse and Vans make shoes for many different activities. For example, Converse makes shoes for Basketball and Cheerleading. Vans make shoes for surfing, skating, skateboarding, BMX, Moto X, and Snowboarding. Last but not least, they both make casual shoes. Some differences between Vans and Converse are sizing and pricing. The Converse sizes are smaller than the actual street shoe you wear. The pricing between Vans and Converse is also different. Converses are more expensive than Vans. Those are just some of the similarities and differences between vans and Converse. Vans vs converse Vans and Converse are both brands of shoes. Vans and Converses have many similarities but they also both have many differences. Both brands come in many different colors and patterns. They also both come in many different styles. For example, they both come in slip-ons, lace-ups, and boots. Also both Converse and Vans make shoes for many different activities. For example, Converse makes shoes for Basketball and Cheerleading. Vans make shoes for surfing, skating, skateboarding, BMX, Moto X, and Snowboarding. Last but not least, they both make casual shoes. Some differences between Vans and Converse are sizing and pricing. The Converse sizes are smaller than the actual street shoe you wear. The pricing between Vans and Converse is also different. Converses are more expensive than Vans. Those are just some of the similarities and differences between vans and Converse. Vans vs converse Vans and Converse are both brands of shoes. Vans and Converses have many similarities but they also both have many differences. Both brands come in many different colors and patterns. They also both come in many different styles. For example, they both come in slip-ons, lace-ups, and boots. Also both Converse and Vans make shoes for many different activities. For example, Converse makes shoes for Basketball and Cheerleading. Vans make shoes for surfing, skating, skateboarding, BMX, Moto X, and Snowboarding. Last but not least, they both make casual shoes. Some differences between Vans and Converse are sizing and pricing. The Converse sizes are smaller than the actual street shoe you wear. The pricing between Vans and Converse is also different. Converses are more expensive than Vans. Those are just some of the similarities and differences between vans and Converse. Vans vs converse Vans and Converse are both brands of shoes. Vans and Converses have many similarities but they also both have many differences. Both brands come in many different colors and patterns. They also both come in many different styles. For example, they both come in slip-ons, lace-ups, and boots. Also both Converse and Vans make shoes for many different activities. For example, Converse makes shoes for Basketball and Cheerleading. Vans make shoes for surfing, skating, skateboarding, BMX, Moto X, and Snowboarding. Last but not least, they both make casual shoes. Some differences between Vans and Converse are sizing and pricing. The Converse sizes are smaller than the actual street shoe you wear. The pricing between Vans and Converse is also different. Converses are more expensive than Vans. Those are just some of the similarities and differences between vans and Converse. Vans vs converse Vans and Converse are both brands of shoes. Vans and Converses have many similarities but they also both have many differences. Both brands come in many different colors and patterns. They also both come in many different styles. For example, they both come in slip-ons, lace-ups, and boots. Also both Converse and Vans make shoes for many different activities. For example, Converse makes shoes for Basketball and Cheerleading. Vans make shoes for surfing, skating, skateboarding, BMX, Moto X, and Snowboarding. Last but not least, they both make casual shoes. Some differences between Vans and Converse are sizing and pricing. The Converse sizes are smaller than the actual street shoe you wear. The pricing between Vans and Converse is also different. Converses are more expensive than Vans. Those are just some of the similarities and differences between vans and Converse.

Aseptic Technique And Cell Counting Biology Essay

Aseptic Technique And Cell Counting Biology Essay Introduction to Aseptic techniques In microbiological and biochemical engineering studies, one almost always deals with a pure culture or a mixture of known cultures, except perhaps in waste water treatment studies. Unless aseptic culture techniques are followed strictly, an originally pure culture will definitely become contaminated with other unwanted species. The use of a contaminated culture with unknown microorganisms will only lead to incredible results that are of little value. Thus, isolation and maintenance of a pure culture is of utmost importance in many microbiological studies. It is especially important to work with a well-characterised strain if the microorganism is used for a food preparation, as well as in antibiotic production where the product is to be taken internally. The need for a clean working environment in biological engineering studies is a must and cleanliness is the prerequisite for any meaningful work. The environment we live in is full of microorganisms capable of surviving in any condition. When working with microorganisms it is desirable to work with a pure culture. A pure culture is composed of only one kind of microorganism. Occasionally a mixed culture is used. In a mixed culture there are two or more organisms that have distinct characteristics and can be separated easily. In either situation the organisms can be identified. When unwanted organisms are introduced into the culture they are known as contaminants. Aseptic technique is a method that prevents the introduction of unwanted organisms into an environment. An example of using aseptic techniques is when growing bacteria; aseptic techniques are carried out to prevent the contamination of the culture. When working with microbial cultures aseptic technique is used to prevent introducing additional organisms into the culture. Microorganisms are everywhere in the environment. When dealing with microbial cultures it is necessary to handle them in such a way that environmental organisms do not get introduced into the culture. Microorganisms may be found on surfaces and floating in air currents. They may fall from objects suspended over a culture or swim in fluids. Aseptic technique prevents environmental organisms from entering a culture. Doors and windows are kept closed in the laboratory to prevent air currents which may cause microorganisms from surfaces to become airborne. Once these microbes are airborne they are more likely to get into cultures. Agar plates are held in a manner that minimizes the exposure of the surface to the environment. When removing lids from tubes, lids are held in the hand and not placed on the countertop during the transfer of materials from one tube to another. Introduction and aims of this report This report was based on two lab sessions; the reason for undertaking two lab sessions was to allow time for the culture to grow. In these sessions the objective was to learn basic aseptic techniques that are required in a lab, and also to learn how to count cells effectively using different methods. Another thing which was trying to be achieved was to be able to grow a colony of bacteria from a single cell by doing streak plating and serial dilution. Overview of practices and uses of aseptic techniques The laboratory session involved learning about the aseptic techniques. These aseptic techniques are important in a lab because they help keep the lab sterile, and sterility is vital in a lab because it allows the scientist to study and grow the bacteria they require accurately. Sterility is also important in preventing bacteria that are not required from replicating and growing on the sterile growth medium or the agar plate. There were a few aseptic techniques we had to follow while working with bacterias and sterile growth medium. To prevent the growth medium from being contaminated by air bore bacteria and other free floating matter, a Bunsen burner was set up near where the growth medium and bacteria samples were to be used. The Bunsen burner created a convection current that killed and destroyed most of the air borne bacteria and other free floating matter near the work station. This reduced the chance of the growth medium and bacteria samples from being contaminated. The Bunsen burner was also set up to allow the use of another technique called flaming. This technique involves passing through the flame of the burner anything that has come in to contact of any bacteria or anything that is about to come in to contact of the bacteria sample. The items that are flamed are lab equipment such as bacteriological loops, glass pipette and bottle or flask necks. The items must reach a temperature of over 100 oC for it to be sterilized. Another aseptic technique is called manipulation. In this technique the smallest finger is used to remove the lid of the bottle containing the bacteria; this allows the rest of the fingers to pick up anything else that is required. This technique also ensures the lid of the bottle is not placed down onto the bench where it is liable to contamination and thus contaminating the culture of bacteria in the bottle. The last but the most important aseptic technique is who someone prevents bacteria from themselves contaminating the lab and the equipment. Every person carries a large amount of bacteria inside and the outside of the body. When working with bacteria in a lab, we had to wearing a lab coat, this prevent bacteria from our clothes and bodies spreading out in the lab. Also we had to be careful that we dont cough or sneeze on the growth medium, as this would lead to the growth of the bacteria released by the body. Also after performing the experiment it was vital that hands were washed with antibacterial soap to help prevent cross contamination. If hands are not washed correctly and if bacteria are still left on hands they are able to multiply at an exponential rate and can cause bacterial infections. The first part of the experiment was to see the different variation and amount of bacteria on hands pre wash and after wash. This was done by placing the fingers in a Petri dish with nutrient agar. Nutrient agar is a microbiological growth medium commonly used for the routine cultivation of bacteria. The dish was separated in two and was labelled with one side of dish having prints from pre washed fingers and the other side after wash. The dish was then placed into incubation at 37 degrees as it is the optimum temperature where bacteria are able to multiply at an exponential rate depending on some factors an example being the amount of food available or space. The next part of the experiment consisted of doing a streak plate. This was done using the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. Small sample of the bacteria SA was taken and put on a on a sterile loop and streak an agar medium. An example of the streak plate which was carried out is shown on the diagram below: Diagram to show procedure of streak plating    1.   Flame the loop and wire and streak a loopful of broth as at A in the diagram.    2.   Reflame the loop and cool it.    3.   Streak as at B to spread the original bacteria over more of the agar.    4.   Reflame the loop and cool it.    5.   Streak as at C, D E and F following same procedure after each streak as quoted above.    6.   Label the plate and incubate it inverted. The next part of the first session was to do serial dilution. This allows you to determine the number of cells in a bacterial culture. Since bacterial cell numbers are usually very high in the original sample, plating out this sample in an undiluted fashion would just lead to the creation of a bacterial lawn (a smear of many, many individual bacteria colonies that are all growing next to or on top of one another). Bacterial cell numbers need to be reduced, which is done by repeatedly diluting the amount of bacteria in the sample. A small amount of bacteria sample is mixed with a diluent solution (such sterile broth), and then successive dilutions are made. A small amount of each of the diluted bacteria samples is then spread onto an agar plate. The numbers of bacteria colonies that grow on each plate are counted. By working backwards using multiplication with the dilution factor (the number of times that you have diluted the bacteria sample with the diluent solution), we were able to make a determination of the numbers of bacteria in the original sample. After the dilutions were created 100  µl of each dilution was transferred to an agar plate using a pipette, it was then spread around the agar plate with a spreader. These six agar plates were then put into incubation at 37  °C for 24 hours. When spreading the bacterial lawn the plate with the dilution level 10-5 was done first and then th e others 10-4, 10-3, 10-2 .this is because the spreader which was used was plastic so the lower concentrated bacterium was spread first as the plastic spreader could not be flamed to kill the bacteria. If this aseptic technique was not used and the highest concentration of bacteria was used first it would have meant that the bacterial dishes would have become contaminated and also single colonies of bacteria would not be gained. If a glass spreader was used then it could have done in ascending order as the glass could be flamed by placing ethanol on the surface killing the bacteria on the glass spreader before doing the next part of the serial dilution. The final part of the first lab sessions was to prepare smears of bacteria for gram staining. Gram staining is a common technique used to differentiate two large groups of bacteria based on their different cell wall constituents. The Gram stain procedure distinguishes between Gram positive and Gram negative groups by colouring these cells pink or purple. Gram positive bacteria stain purple due to the presence of a thick layer of peptidoglycan in their cell walls, which retains the crystal violet these cells are stained with. Alternatively, Gram negative bacteria stain pink, which is attributed to a thinner peptidoglycan wall, which does not retain the crystal violet during the decolouring process. Gram staining involves three processes: staining with a water-soluble dye called crystal violet, decolourisation, and counterstaining, usually with safanin. Due to differences in the thickness of a peptidoglycan layer in the cell membrane between Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, Gram positive bacteria (with a thicker peptidoglycan layer) retain crystal violet stain during the decolourisation process, while Gram negative bacteria lose the crystal violet stain and are instead stained by the safranin in the final staining process. The process involves three steps: 1. Cells are stained with crystal violet dye. Next, a Grams iodine solution (iodine and potassium iodide) is added to form a complex between the crystal violet and iodine. This complex is a larger molecule than the original crystal violet stain and iodine and is insoluble in water. 2. A decolouriser such as ethyl alcohol or acetone is added to the sample, which dehydrates the peptidoglycan layer, shrinking and tightening it. The large crystal violet-iodine complex is not able to penetrate this tightened peptidoglycan layer, and is thus trapped in the cell in Gram positive bacteria. Conversely, the outer membrane of Gram negative bacteria is degraded and the thinner peptidoglycan layer of Gram negative cells is unable to retain the crystal violet-iodine complex and the colour is lost. 3. A counter stain, such as the weakly water soluble safranin, is added to the sample, staining it pink. Since the safranin is lighter than crystal violet, it does not disrupt the purple coloration in Gram positive cells. However, the decolourised Gram negative cells are stained pink. (The descriptive methods are shown in the handbook for all experiments.) Results for the gram staining After following the method as stated in the handbook we examined the slides under a microscope using the oil immersion objective of 100x. We then noted the shape of the bacteria that could be seen and the colour being purple (Gram positive) or pink (Gram negative). Below are the traces of the bacteria which could be seen under the microscope. Figure 1 Staph aureus gram positive (purple) Description of what could be seen: Cocci shaped bacteria Irregular clusters of bacterial cells Figure 2 Bacillus cereus gram positive (purple) Description of what could be seen: Rod shaped bacterial cell Singular bacteria Figure 3 Saccharomyces cerevisiae gram positive (purple) Description of what could be seen: Cocci shaped bacteria Clusters of bacteria closely packed Smooth Figure 4 E-coli gram negative (pink) Description of what could be seen: Rod shaped bacteria cells Linked (string like, filamentous) Results of the experiments After 24 hours the agar plates with the bacteria were ready to be viewed. Firstly the agar dishes with the hand prints were viewed. Below is a diagram of the agar dish and the bacteria which was present: There are different bacteria which were present while observing the dish, they were the following A The first bacteria which were seen and labelled as A were the largest of the three visible colonies which are circle in shape and yellow in colour with smooth edges, they can be seen to have a slightly humped surface. B These are slightly smaller in size than the ones described above and are also circle in shape but are white in colour, again the edges are smooth and the surface is humped. C- These bacterium were only seen after washing hands they had no specific shape and were a lighter colour which was not very clear. They were flat with rough edges. Before wash After wash The next dish which was observed was the streak plating dish, this had been left to incubate for 24 hours also. The results are shown on the picture below: A sample of Staphylococcus aureus was inoculated onto an agar plate using the streak plate method. From this diagram it can be seen that part 1 shows a higher concentration of bacteria. Parts 2, 3 have fewer bacteria but still there are very few single colonies. Part 4 shows many different single colonies of Staphylococcus aeurus and are easily visible. The final dish which was viewed after 24 hours of incubation was the dish containing Staphylococcus aureus where it had been diluted to 10-5. These results can be seen below where there is diagram of the Petri dish including the bacterium. From counting the colonies on the dish the figure which was calculated was 486. The amount of colonies calculated was still quite high as the preferred number of colonies would have been from 30-300. This may have been achieved if the serial dilution was carried further. To calculate the amount of cells in this agar plate first the following was done: 0.1ml of solution = 4.8610-2 (486) 1ml of solution = 4.8610-3 so as it was the serial dilution of 10-5 the calculation was then multiplied by 5 to give the final answer number of bacterial cells = 4.8610-8 The last part of the lab session was to count cells using an Improved Neubauer Counting Chamber also sometimes known as a haemocytometer. The main objective of this session was to be able to calculate the total cells in the given sample. Below is a diagram of a haemocytometer with the slide placed over it: The haemocyometer contains 9 large squares under the microscope at the 40X lens. The area of the square can be measured at 1mm2. The way to distinguish these squares from one another is by the tripe dense lines. Within each large square there are smaller grids which can be used to help during counting. Also when the counting the bacteria cells there was a set way to do this as shown below in the diagram:- Bacterial cells So as can be seen in the diagram if the bacteria cells are at placed on the edge of the small squares then they will not be recorded. The orange lines representing cells will not be recorded as they are the end of the grid. 3 dense line separating each large square The way the cells were counted was to identify which squares were going to be used to observe and calculate the number of bacteria present. The way this was done was there were 9 squares and only 5 squares were chosen as shown in the diagram below: Squares 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 were the squares which were used to count the bacteria. Once the haemocytometer was set and the proposed samples were placed into the counting chambers and then placed under a microscope to view (extended method is described in the module handbook). The cell count was done for two different cell suspensions whole blood (ovine) and brewers yeast (Saccharomyces cervisiae) the samples were not diluted. They were then counted and the results are shown in the table below. Table to show cell count from haemocytometer for the whole blood Square Number Number Of Cells Present 1 50 2 48 3 47 4 48 5 44 Total 237 To calculate the total cell count in the neat solution a calculation was needed. Firstly the average number of cells was needed to be worked out. The sum was 237/5=47.4. To work out the cell number it was multiplied by 110-4=4.7410-5 So then finally to work out the cell yield the number of cells/ml was used which was 4.710-5 and was multiplied by the total volume of 10ml and thus the yield calculated was 4.7410-6. Table to show cell count from haemocytometer for the Brewers yeast Square Number Number Of Cells Present 1 22 2 20 3 15 4 9 5 15 total 81 The same steps were taken to work out the cell number and yield for the Brewers yeast. Cell number = 1.6210-5 Cell Yield = 1.6210-6 Table to show cell number and cell yield of both samples Brewers yeast Whole blood Cell number 4.7410-4 1.6210-5 Cell yield 4.7410-6 1.6210-6 Discussion of results In this part of the report I will refer to the results obtained and assess if they were accurate or not to the study of aseptic techniques. Firstly the practical which involved looking at bacteria on the skin showed that after washing there was fewer bacteria but another form of bacterial cells started to grow. The reason for this could have been that when closing the taps I may have used my hands. The taps in the lab are made o be closed by the wrist so the bacteria is unable to come in contact with the surface of your hands. The reason for this is because if you wash your hands and then close the taps with your hands again then you are just collecting the bacteria off the taps again. In some cases the amount of microbacterium on the skin can increase after washing, this is because by covering the skin with water you are making conditions for microrganisms more favourable and thus more will grow. It is therefore understandable that the growth of microorganisms will depend upon the c hemical composition of the skin, for example if it is dry or whether it has a low pH. Most microorganisms that are present on the skin are located near hair follicles or sweat glands this is because they provide the nutrients and the correct environment for there growth. Also another reason for the bacteria still being there after washing hands on the agar dish was because of the process of washing hands. The process of washing hands should be done surgically as there is not such thing as part sterile. So to make sure that all germs and bacteria are washed away from skin the procedure of hand washing should be followed correctly. There are over 100 different types of bacteria on hands. The most common types of bacteria found on hands are familiar household names: Propionobacterium (the bacteria responsible for acne), strep, and staph (of which the infamous methicillin resistant staph aureus, MRSA is a subtype). Not all these bacteria are harmful as skin infections do not arise because you have bacteria on your skin. Rather, they arise because the type of bacteria on infected skin is not healthy bacteria but aggressive pathogenic bacteria. Streak plating discussion From looking at the results obtained from the streak plating it can be seen that the streak plate was not very accurate as the intended result was not achieved. The aim of this experiment was to try and gain single colonies but the problem with the streak plate which I had carried out was that there was not enough room for the single colonies to advance. This was because the initial inoculation streaks were too thick and so took up too much space thus leaving little space in the middle of the plate for single colonies. It is therefore required that the initial streaks are made thinner and cover, as a rough estimate, the outer 2cm of the agar plate thus, leaving plentiful space at the centre of the plate for single colonies to grow. The problem with this procedure is that each colony may not represent the progeny from one cell, as two or more cells which are very close together could appear as one colony. Another problem which may have caused difficulty achieving single colonies may h ave been the concentration of the bacteria. If the bacteria were diluted it may have helped to achieve single colonies. The single colonies which were achieved were all similar to one another this shows that the bacterium which was present in them colonies was the same bacteria. This was achieved as the inoculating loop was sterilised each time so only the bacterium which was being used grew on the agar dish. Gram Staining In this part of the practical there were four different bacteria which were tested by using the gram staining process to see if they were gram positive or gram negative. The first bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae which were gram positive bacterium as after testing the bacteria under the microscope it showed that it was stained purple. The SA under the microscope was seen like a bunch of grapes as its names suggest as Staphyle in Greek terms meant grapes. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium, frequently living on the skin or in the nose of a healthy person that can cause illnesses ranging from minor skin infections and abscesses, to life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, endocarditis and septicemia. The Bacillus cereus is a facultative anaerobic bacterium associated with food poisoning in humans. The food poisoning is a result of ingesting toxins produced by the bacteria. B. cereus is widespread in the soil and the food industry in such foods as herbs, spices, milk, and vegetables. Transmission of this disease results not only from contaminated foods, but also from improper food handling/storage and improper cooling of cooked food. The bacteria seen under the microscope and as can be seen in the diagram (figure 2) shows the bacteria as rod shaped bacteria which do not cluster together and are separated around the slide, in different directions and are not in any particular order as they all in different angles. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae is also known better as yeast which could be used for baking or used while making alcohol. These cells where seen under the microscope as single cells which were rounded shaped cells and were closely packed together in groups. The last bacterium was the E. coli which was stained pink as this was a gram negative bacterium. This bacterium is found in animals and birds in the lower intestines it helps with the digestion of food. If E. coli is ingested it will cause the small intestine to become inflamed. People can contract an E. coli infection by drinking contaminated water, eating fruit or vegetables that have been watered with contaminated water, drinking unpasteurised milk, or eating undercooked ground meat. In Gram-positive cells, peptidoglycan makes up as much as 90% of the thick cell wall; more than 20 layers of this polymer stacked together. These peptidoglycan layers are the outermost cell wall structure of Gram positive cells, whereas in Gram negative cells, the thinner peptidoglycan component is covered by an external lipopolysaccharide (LPS) membrane. Serial dilution agar dish 10-5 This practical was done to see if individual colonies were able to be produced so the cells could be counted. The main aim was to reach from 30 -300 individual colonies. The amount of colonies which I produced in my agar dish was calculated and counted at 486. The method used was to try and calculate the number of cells in 1 ml solution of SA. This could only be done by serial dilution as it would be too difficult to count the cells if the bacterium solution was not diluted. The other dishes had too many colonies to count just by using the naked eye because it looked like a bacteria lawn. To try and achieve a better result and fewer colonies the experiment could have gone further and instead of having a concentration of 10-5 the solution could have been diluted further. By diluting down the solution it also allows the bacterium to grow in optimum conditions as they do not have problems such as less space or food. Cell counting using a haemocytometer In this part of the practical two solution were supplied and cells were counted by the use of a haemocytometer and a microscope. While counting the bacteria it may have been misjudged as some bacteria may not have been counting this is one reason why the number recorded were quite low as the solution was not diluted as well. Also when counting the bacteria its a total cell count so it is the living and dead bacteria so the results are not as accurate if only doing a live cell count. A better idea would be to do a serial dilution when doing a live cell count as only the living cells will grow into individual colonies. For the whole blood the amount of cells which were calculated was 237 and in the brewers yeast there were 81 cells. A reason for the brewers yeast having less amount of cells maybe that the cells form flocks of cells so it may be hard to visually see separate cells so when counting them a few cells may be counted as one cell. Also when counting these cells the same perso n was used to count the cells in both solution the reason for this being as different people have different judgments and by using the same person it will help gain fair and more accurate results.

Realibility Engineering and Asset Management

Realibility Engineering and Asset Management The Strategic Process Workload Seems excessive for available resources KPIs Actual against planned performance not always recorded Standards/Procedures Lubrication not being performed properly The Work System Planning Apparent failure of entire process Utilisation of Manpower Staff seem to be overworked and/or not used properly Reliability Critical machinery is failing Reporting Too much expected on job completion Work Completion Excessive backlog of PM and defects repair The Feedback System Root Cause Analysis Not being performed Work Order feedback   Rarely completed by fitters Job Completion reports Not being reviewed The Continuous Improvement Process New Technologies Condition monitoring probe request rejected New techniques Training for maintenance staff not pursued Innovation No development of maintenance practices Corrective action No improvements being made to maintenance strategy The Environmental Process Production Pressure Plant is being sweated Shortage of Resources Appears to be insufficient for current workload The Strategic Process Maintenance Strategy Derek is busy at organising this but to the detriment of his focus on everyday items at the plant. Workload there seems to be an excessive amount in relation to the available resources. Mick states that the fitters are struggling to complete PMs and fix machine defects. Harry mentions later that the situation is worse and that they are way behind on PMs and defects. Plant patrols, which are part of the strategy, are not being performed due to time shortages. There is a possibility that the initial allocation of resources was adequate when the plant was in a healthier state but since the state of machinery has deteriorated, the maintenance staff are now overworked due to the high number of breakdowns. I believe that a collapse of the planning process is at the root of the ever increasing workload. KPIs Derek is aghast when he learns from Harry that Dougie wants to be consulted on new requirements for reporting. Derek reminds Harry and Mick that the maintenance strategy has always had a requirement for feeding back actual against planned performance. The fitters received a letter detailing job completion report requirements but instead of motivating, it seems to have riled them up. Standards/Procedures When quizzed about the cause of the compressor bearings seizure, Harry informs him that it was likely due to improper lubrication. There is either a failure of Standards or Procedures here i.e. either the lubricating standard was not correct or the lubrication procedure was not followed. The Work System Planning There has been a complete collapse in the planning process. Charlie has been instructed to concentrate on shutdown planning with no ownership being taken of the corrective maintenance activities. The planning function also includes reviewing job completion reports with the Maintenance Manager, this has also being neglected due to the focus on shutdown planning. Utilisation of Manpower There are certainly concerns with the utilisation of resources. Mick states this in no uncertain terms to Derek. There is a significant backlog of works to be completed and Mick and Harry believe that too much time is being spent on reporting and planning thus reducing tool time. Reliability Plant reliability is suffering extreme adverse effects. A failure of a critical piece of equipment has resulted in a minimum of five days downtime for the entire manufacturing operation. Reporting Reporting on equipment condition is not consistent. A fault report was filled out by Mick for the compressor in advance of its failure. However job completion reports are not being completed by all fitters. Work Completion It is clear from the scenario, that non-completion of maintenance tasks is a serious concern. Lubrication of the compressor bearings was not performed (either at all or to the right degree). Harry states also that the team are behind with their PM routines and have a serious backlog on defects. The Feedback System Root Cause Analysis Not only is root cause analysis not being performed at ACME, the maintenance supervisors are not even aware of the meaning of the concept. Harry and Mick are keen to learn about it, which instigates the Dictaphone recorded conversation. Work Order /Job Completion reports Only some of the fitters are filling in job completion reports despite it being part of the maintenance strategy. Derek is quite stunned when he learns this from Mick. To make matters worse one of the few fitters, Eddie Condon, that completes the reports is fed up as he feels that his efforts are being ignored. Plant Patrol fault reporting This is not being performed by the fitters. Because of the backlog in PM workload and fixing defects, Mick states they would have to do overtime to carry out what he refers to as detective work. Fault reporting A report on the compressor fault was completed by Mick and submitted to the planning office. However it went unnoticed by Charlie due to prioritisation of shutdown planning. Disconnect with Maintenance Strategy From the above points it is clear that there is no action being taken with the feedback that is performed at ACME. Derek states that he is too busy organising the maintenance strategy but yet he has failed to notice the breakdown in this process. The Continuous Improvement Process New Technologies Mick has been asking Derek for months to purchase the hand held condition monitoring probe. He believes that its advanced technology could provide great assistance in solving the plants equipment issues. Derek dismisses the probe as fancy stuff and requests instead that the department get back to basics. New techniques Harry reminds Derek that he was promised he could attend a training course on compressors. Harry believes that, had this advanced training been attended, ACME may not have had the compressor breakdown. However Derek reneged on his promise stating that he could not lose Harry for three weeks. Innovation There seems to be an utter lack of innovation in how maintenance is practiced at ACME. Derek appears to be disconnected from his subordinates and perhaps this is why they are stuck in a rut when it comes to changing how they do things. Corrective Action Because the feedback and feed forward loops have been severed, there are no corrections to the maintenance strategy taking place. Derek appears to be asleep at the wheel and is not aware of the challenges facing his troops. In Dereks defence, Jim Gordon has insisted that ACME embark on a time consuming World Class Maintenance Program this could be significant factor in distracting Derek from introducing the required corrective actions to the maintenance strategy. The Environmental Process Production Pressure It is clear in the scenario that production pressure has been ratcheted up. Derek has been castigated by Jim Gordon, the managing director of ACME. The plant is not running, due to equipment failure, and will not be operating for at least five more days. Such is the managing directors anger with the situation that Derek believes that his life would be in danger if a suitable weapon were present. When Derek, Mick and Harry are discussing the root cause of the compressor bearings failure, it comes up that operations have been hammering the plant due to a big order from Korea. Derek confirms that the plant has been running fifteen percent above nameplate capacity. He also feels that it may have been a factor in the compressor breakdown. His concerns were mentioned in a management strategy meeting but he was told to find a way to work around operation requirements. Shortage of Resources Harry states to Derek that the maintenance department is probably understaffed. Mick feels that they are not using the fitters in the best way. As stated earlier, ACME either does not have enough maintenance staff or how they are using them has caused the current situation of excessive work backlog to develop. There could well be a combination of shortage of resources and not optimum utilisation of the resources they have. The Strategic Process Workload Reason for high priority There are mentions throughout the scenario of the mismatch between the work that requires completion and the resources available to action it. Specific adverse effect A build up in the backlog of PMs and correction of defects. Responsible person Derek Piper. As maintenance manager, he must own the strategy and ensure that it is fit for purpose. The Work System Planning Reason for high priority I believe poor or non-existent planning is at the root of the work systems issues and it has created knock-on effects in manpower utilisation, work completion and ultimately poor machine reliability. Specific adverse effect Compressor failed because the planner was not focussed on operations and completely missed the fault report prior to its failure. Responsible person Derek Piper. Although it is Charlies role, Derek has instructed him to shift his focus to shutdown activities. The Feedback System Plant Patrol Fault Reporting Reason for high priority It is imperative that potential equipment failures are reported to the planning office. Specific adverse effect Impending failures were not recorded for processing by the planner. Responsible person Harry Warner and Mick Brice. They only informed the maintenance manager that the fitters were not performing this activity after the compressor had failed. The Continuous Improvement Process Corrective Action Reason for high priority Corrective actions are required to align the maintenance strategy with the changing availability/reliability requirements of the plant. Specific adverse effect The maintenance strategy has stagnated and is not fit for purpose in the operating environment that ACME has moved to. Responsible person Derek Piper. He could plead some defence here based on the directive from Jim Gordon to pursue the World Class Maintenance Program which is consuming his time. But ultimately he must be held accountable as maintenance manager. The Environmental Process Production Pressure Reason for high priority ACME is running the plant twenty four seven and fifteen per cent above nameplate capacity. Specific adverse effect Operations are not releasing the equipment for necessary maintenance. Responsible person Jim Gordon. For the managing director to not listen to the concerns of the maintenance manager regarding the sweating of the plant is inexcusable. Of particular note is Jims instruction to Derek to simply stop moaning. The Strategic Process Workload Recommended change The strategy needs to be reviewed by the maintenance manager in terms of dealing with current and medium term workload. An assessment on this workload will help decide the required resources to complete it. ACME may have to consider hiring temporary or sub-contracted maintenance resources to clear the backlog. There is also a minimum of five days immediately available for opportunity maintenance due to the compressor failure bringing the plant down, ACME should endeavour to capitalise on this and add a silver lining to the cloud that hangs over operations. Estimated cost High. Especially if ACME hires additional maintenance staff to clear the backlog. Feasibility Medium. There will be some difficulty in planning terms to coordinate self-delivered and outsourced resources. The Work System Planning Recommended change Hire a specialist temporary resource to support Charlie in the planning department. This will allow corrective and shutdown work to be planned concurrently. As part of this change, the weekly job completion reports review meetings will have to be immediately reinstated. In the longer term, a review will have to be undertaken on the level of planning detail for minor works as Harry states that it is excessive. Estimated cost Medium. If the shutdown is less than two weeks duration, recruitment costs should not exceed  £10k. Feasibility Medium. The maintenance manager will need to make a case to senior management that justifies this course of action and associated cost. If this option proves to be a success, it can be built into the strategy for future shutdowns. The Feedback System Plant Patrol Fault Reporting Recommended change Plant patrol fault reporting must resume. ACME may have to wait until the maintenance backlog is cleared before re-implementation. One option would be to resume it at a reduced frequency e.g. if its currently a daily activity, move it to a weekly activity in the medium term. Estimated cost Low. No additional expense should be incurred. Feasibility High. The Continuous Improvement Process Corrective Action Recommended change The maintenance manager has to be receptive to both feedback and feed forward information. He must use these inputs to align the strategy with the needs of the company. Estimated cost Low. It is part of the maintenance managers job. Feasibility High. The Environmental Process Production Pressure Recommended change All stakeholders including the managing director, operations manager and the Chairman need to work with the maintenance manager in creating a medium to long term maintenance strategy. This will help facilitate achieving the required production targets. Estimated cost High. Equipment investment and additional maintenance staff recruitment is highly likely in order to increase and maintain the nameplate capacity of the plant. Feasibility Medium. If Jim Gordon is serious about keeping the plant running at all costs, then the investment funds should be made available. The compressor failure and resultant plant downtime seems like an accident that was waiting to happen. When we analyse the circumstances surrounding the event, its clear that the maintenance system had failed. Through all of this, Derek Piper was lost at sea and to clash metaphors had his head buried in the sand. As a consequence, the planning process collapsed, feedback was not acted on and the maintenance strategy became unfit for purpose. He can claim that external pressure from the managing director, with the demand of increased plant output and reduced windows for PM activities, caused the system to fail. Although there may be some validity in this claim, I believe that every manager has two high level challenges: the first is to lead subordinates, the second being to manage the expectations of superiors. Times will come when a manager has to push back and stand up to unreasonable demands of company bosses. If a manager does not display this inner strength and backbone, he will likely be trampled on at some stage. Its clear at ACME that Jim Gordon had subdued Derek Piper and I believe Derek would not have had the strength to resist when the decision was made to sweat the plant and run it above nameplate capacity. If I was to apply a percentage weighting of blame for the situation that ACME finds itself in, it would be 65/25/10 for the maintenance manager, managing director and maintenance supervisors respectively. Its interesting that the question states if you were appointed maintenance manager as I believe the only option that will rescue the situation is the replacement of Derek Piper in his role. A rebuilding process is required in the ACME maintenance department. This should start from the top down with a new manager. Derek is in the unenviable position that football mangers often find themselves in, he has lost the confidence of both senior management and the dressing room the dressing room equivalent being the shop floor fitters. He now very much remains an isolated figure at ACME. A carefully chosen new appointee to the role of maintenance manager would bring a fresh impetus. The candidate should come from outside the company as such a person would not carry any baggage from the current ACME situation. In the Recommendations section of this paper, I have deliberately avoided mentioning Derek Piper by name and referred to the role of maintenance manager instead. This is because I do no t see him as part of the solution. He may be required to get the compressor repaired and the plant back running but once this is achieved, his removal and succession should be planned. If I was appointed maintenance manager, I would look to introducing a new style of leadership to the maintenance department. My approach would be to lead from the front, engage with the fitters and regularly visit their turf to get a feel for their daily challenges. A strong focus would have to be applied to resuming the effectiveness and efficiency of the planning function. Feedback and feed forward lines would have to be reconnected and the maintenance strategy would require improvement action when necessary. Strength of character and assertiveness would be required to deal with Jim Gordon in order to explain to him both the limits of production equipment and the necessity for appropriate maintenance. As maintenance manager, I would also have to ready myself for battle in securing investment for new equipment and possible recruitment of additional maintenance staff. Immediate consideration needs to be given to introducing redundancy for critical equipment. If there was a spare compressor to switch over to, the plant would have kept running. If the expense of a standby compressor is not approved, contingency needs to be made can we roll in a temporary machine and connect it in the event of a breakdown? The challenge here is to convince ACME senior management of the benefits of investment and consequences of not spending i.e. a repeat of the last major equipment failure. I know its very easy to state these high level objectives and will be much harder to drive them through to implementation but the job can only be tackled with the confident belief in success. ACME seems to be in a good place regarding sales orders, all that is needed now is a companywide belief in the importance of a sustainable maintenance system.

Transformation in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Essay -- Movie

Transformation in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since Francis Ford Coppola’s   Apocalypse Now was based on Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, it is possible to draw many parallels between the two works. Both can be interpreted as metaphors for a journey through the inner self, and each has its own particular message to convey. In many ways they also appear to have similarities to Arthurian Legend, in particular the quest for the holy grail, and other allegorical journey narratives. The sum of the experiences of the protagonists, Marlow in Heart of Darkness and Willard in Apocalypse Now, reveal to them how the horrors and effects of war or conquest, can lead some people to madness, while other persons may discover the light and find absolute truth.    Traveling on a river is often used as a symbol for a journey of self-discovery in numerous literary works. For example, in works such as Dante's Inferno and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the protagonists journey down the River Styx, and the Mississippi, respectively;   encounter many challenges which provide them with opportunities to reach an understanding of themselves. In Heart of Darkness Marlow accepts his quest to journey up the long and dangerous Congo River to transport ivory from Kurtz's Inner Station back to the Outer Station. In Apocalypse Now Benjamin Willard who began as a special military recruit is sent on a mission up the Nung River to "exterminate with extreme prejudice, (Apocalypse Now)" Kurtz. In each work the protagonists witness and endure unspeakable hostilities along their journeys and in order to survive and accomplish their ultimate goals, both push themselves beyond their physical, spiritual, and mental limits to the point o... ...ard takes the role of a father and leads a young military away from the jungle, and Marlow returns to the pristine waters of the ocean.    Works Cited    Conrad, Joseph. Apocalypse Now. New York: Norton and Company, Inc. ,1988.  Ã‚      Heart of Darkness. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. with Marlon Brandon, Robert Duvall, and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Martin Sheen. Paramount, 2000.    Topic: Heart of Darkness vs Apocalypse Now. http://grassroots.mediacentre.com/csdsescalb1/unit5/heart_vs_apocalypse.htm. (19 May 2002).    Baxter, Gisà ¨le. "Notes on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness." The G.M. Baxter Page.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   28 October, 1999. http://www.interchange.ubc.ca/gmb/conrad.html. (20 May 2002).    Krall, Aaron, Aimee Lanoue, and Matthew Pavesich. What is the Heart of Darkness? http://www.stfrancis.edu/en/student/kurtzweb/darkness.htm. (19 May 2002).   

An Ounce Of Cure :: essays research papers

As the old saying goes, â€Å"an ounce of cure is worth a pound of prevention†. I believe that this is what the author thought of when choosing the title for this story. There is a lot of wisdom found in these words that is usually only realized after the fact. This reminds me of another old saying that I think also applies to this story – â€Å"Hindsight is twenty-twenty†. How many times have we thought, â€Å"if only I knew then what I know now†? Would we have made the same choices? This question is difficult to answer since we cannot change the past. This story is about a teenage girl, whose first heartbreak leads to some rather unfortunate events. She tells us about her first love and her first kiss. â€Å"Two months, and a few amatory stages later, he dropped† her for a girl who was performing opposite him in a school play. Watching him with the other girl was more than she could bear and the night she went to see the play was â€Å"the beginning of months of real, if more or less self-inflicted, misery† for her. While baby-sitting one night, she made the fatal mistake of getting drunk. She then calls her best friend, who shows up with another girl and several boys, to help her with her situation. Before she was able to cover up the ill-fated events, the couple returned home unexpectedly. She then had to explain what happened to her mother. Her mother then buys a bottle of Scotch and goes to see the couple to discuss her daughter’s actions. She was forbidden to date again until she turned sixteen and she ha d to pay for the bottle out of her baby-sitting money. Her reputation suffered greatly until the fall, when another girl did something even more scandalous and people forgot about her. In the end, she discovered that she was completely over the boy and she learned a valuable lesson about how actions have consequences. I found this story very enjoyable to read. I felt that the story was well written and conveyed a realistic insight into what some teenage girls experience. I, having once been a teenager, can relate to the girl in the story. Although I didn’t get drunk, I still recall my first love and the crushing heartache I felt when he broke up with me. People deal with rejection and disappointment in different ways, and sometimes we can use poor judgment. An Ounce Of Cure :: essays research papers As the old saying goes, â€Å"an ounce of cure is worth a pound of prevention†. I believe that this is what the author thought of when choosing the title for this story. There is a lot of wisdom found in these words that is usually only realized after the fact. This reminds me of another old saying that I think also applies to this story – â€Å"Hindsight is twenty-twenty†. How many times have we thought, â€Å"if only I knew then what I know now†? Would we have made the same choices? This question is difficult to answer since we cannot change the past. This story is about a teenage girl, whose first heartbreak leads to some rather unfortunate events. She tells us about her first love and her first kiss. â€Å"Two months, and a few amatory stages later, he dropped† her for a girl who was performing opposite him in a school play. Watching him with the other girl was more than she could bear and the night she went to see the play was â€Å"the beginning of months of real, if more or less self-inflicted, misery† for her. While baby-sitting one night, she made the fatal mistake of getting drunk. She then calls her best friend, who shows up with another girl and several boys, to help her with her situation. Before she was able to cover up the ill-fated events, the couple returned home unexpectedly. She then had to explain what happened to her mother. Her mother then buys a bottle of Scotch and goes to see the couple to discuss her daughter’s actions. She was forbidden to date again until she turned sixteen and she ha d to pay for the bottle out of her baby-sitting money. Her reputation suffered greatly until the fall, when another girl did something even more scandalous and people forgot about her. In the end, she discovered that she was completely over the boy and she learned a valuable lesson about how actions have consequences. I found this story very enjoyable to read. I felt that the story was well written and conveyed a realistic insight into what some teenage girls experience. I, having once been a teenager, can relate to the girl in the story. Although I didn’t get drunk, I still recall my first love and the crushing heartache I felt when he broke up with me. People deal with rejection and disappointment in different ways, and sometimes we can use poor judgment.

Victims law challenges and opportunities Essay -- Colombian Government

Victims law challenges and opportunities The argument of this paper is that in order to succeed in the process of land restitution the Colombian government must overcome the adverse conditions that both the inequitable agrarian structure and the widespread presence of paramilitary groups have generated for poor peasants’ livelihoods. In the previous chapters I have provided some arguments about how those factors have shaped an unfavorable institutional landscape for the land restitution process. This chapter aims to stress the interrelation of those factors, and accordingly providing some proposals that may contribute in implementing the law. The inequitable agrarian structure and the paramilitary phenomenon The agrarian structure and the paramilitary phenomenon are two intertwined elements. They are part of the mediating processes both internal and external that have affected people’s access to resources and the construction of livelihood strategies in particular rural contexts (Ellis, 2000). Since social actors have a differential capacity to influence the processes to access capitals therefore better off people may exclude others from access to resources (Haan and Zoomers, 2005). Following this argument it is evident that in the Colombian countryside those with the capacity to control state’s policies as well as the local social arrangements have established a social closure strategy in which the poor have been systematically excluded from opportunities to improve their livelihoods. In particular, the contradictory nature of land policies has consolidated an exclusionary agrarian structure that constrains poor peasants’ life conditions. This is evident through the numerous attempts and counter-attempts to broaden... ...venties and eighties the pressure exerted by urban middle sectors, leftist political parties, workers and peasants organizations and guerrilla groups as well as the political changes brought about by the decentralization and the political opening processes threatened the dominant position of landed elites in several regions. For this reason, the creation of paramilitary armies in the early eighties was the violent reaction of a landed elites group, whose power was declining, to the endogenous and exogenous factors that challenged their hegemony. Therefore, the paramilitary phenomenon must be understood as a reactionary extension of the latifundio structure. Its aim was to reestablish the rural social order through the annihilation of latifundio’s rivals in the competition for the control of the regional resources (land, local government, and means of violence). Victims law challenges and opportunities Essay -- Colombian Government Victims law challenges and opportunities The argument of this paper is that in order to succeed in the process of land restitution the Colombian government must overcome the adverse conditions that both the inequitable agrarian structure and the widespread presence of paramilitary groups have generated for poor peasants’ livelihoods. In the previous chapters I have provided some arguments about how those factors have shaped an unfavorable institutional landscape for the land restitution process. This chapter aims to stress the interrelation of those factors, and accordingly providing some proposals that may contribute in implementing the law. The inequitable agrarian structure and the paramilitary phenomenon The agrarian structure and the paramilitary phenomenon are two intertwined elements. They are part of the mediating processes both internal and external that have affected people’s access to resources and the construction of livelihood strategies in particular rural contexts (Ellis, 2000). Since social actors have a differential capacity to influence the processes to access capitals therefore better off people may exclude others from access to resources (Haan and Zoomers, 2005). Following this argument it is evident that in the Colombian countryside those with the capacity to control state’s policies as well as the local social arrangements have established a social closure strategy in which the poor have been systematically excluded from opportunities to improve their livelihoods. In particular, the contradictory nature of land policies has consolidated an exclusionary agrarian structure that constrains poor peasants’ life conditions. This is evident through the numerous attempts and counter-attempts to broaden... ...venties and eighties the pressure exerted by urban middle sectors, leftist political parties, workers and peasants organizations and guerrilla groups as well as the political changes brought about by the decentralization and the political opening processes threatened the dominant position of landed elites in several regions. For this reason, the creation of paramilitary armies in the early eighties was the violent reaction of a landed elites group, whose power was declining, to the endogenous and exogenous factors that challenged their hegemony. Therefore, the paramilitary phenomenon must be understood as a reactionary extension of the latifundio structure. Its aim was to reestablish the rural social order through the annihilation of latifundio’s rivals in the competition for the control of the regional resources (land, local government, and means of violence).

Beowulf Essay Essay

Throughout history there have been many stories about men who were considered to be a â€Å"hero. † The definition of a hero has changed throughout the evolution of society. In the days of Beowulf and the Vikings, a hero was a man who was strong, courageous, and willing to protect his land and provide for his people. In today’s world, a hero is someone who is known for their selflessness and bravery. Beowulf is described as an epic hero before he even speaks a word in the story. He is described as â€Å"mightiest man on earth†, â€Å"the noble warrior†, and â€Å"the man whose name was known for courage, the Great leader. † These opening quotes about Beowulf alone make it seem like he was not only a great warrior and leader, but also a great hero. Beowulf displays the most common traits of a hero throughout his journeys. A hero needs to display bravery, courage, loyalty, dedication and determination to be considered a â€Å"hero†. According to www. dictionary. com the definition of loyalty is having a strong feeling of support or allegiance to someone or something. Throughout the entire story of Beowulf he stays loyal to the people of Geatland. From the beginning of the story Beowulf showed loyalty when he sailed to Geatland for King Hrothgar just to repay the debt of Hrothgar saving his father in the earlier years. Beowulf pledged his allegiance to Hrothgar when he needed his most because he believes in the hero characteristic of loyalty to someone or something with importance to you. Even after Beowulf kills Grendel and has in some way repaid his debt to Hrothgar he still stays in Geatland and fights Grendel’s mother and at the end of the story he fights the dragon for the good of his people. Beowulf remained loyal to Hrothgar until he became king and then he stayed loyal to his people for the remaining years of his life. Throughout all of Beowulf’s life he has been dedicated to being remembered and to live on even after he has died. Beowulf did not want any type of reward or prize for doing the things he does, all he wanted was to have fame and be remembered by people. This dedication lead him into many difficult battles that risked his livelihood. This dedication to fame leads him through the battle with Grendel, Grendel’s mom, and the dragon. All of these battles were fought so Beowulf’s name would live on and he could die a â€Å"hero† to his people. The most important characteristic of a hero is bravery. Beowulf displays how much bravery he actually has in three different battles. The first battle was his main reason for going to Geatland, to stop the man eating monster Grendel. Grendel is feared by all of the Danes but Beowulf was eager to meet Grendel in battle. Grendel had killed many of Danes before Beowulf arrived yet still Beowulf shows no fear. Also Beowulf tells the men in the mead hall how he will not fight Grendel with any type of sword or knife because the monster doesn’t use anything like that either. Even though Beowulf makes the fight an even one for his own personal reasons this action displays an immense amount of bravery. Beowulf kills the monster with his bare hands and restores peace to the Danes even if only for a little while. Courage also is an important characteristic of Beowulf. After killing Grendel with his bare hands this is a courageous act in itself, Beowulf is summoned to kill Grendel’s mothers. It took courage just to be on the journey to get to Grendel’s mother. Beowulf ventures into her lake home eager to meet her in battle just as he was with Grendel. Despite the fact that the lake is filled with creatures and evil things Beowulf shows no hesitation in going straight in by himself to fight Grendel’s mother. Once inside Grendel’s mother senses Beowulf and immediately drags him into her home. It looks like Beowulf is about to be killed when he takes a sword and cuts the throat of Grendel’s mother, defeating her. Beowulf re-surfaces and is greeted by the remaining men outside the lake. This journey into the lake and into Grendel’s Mother’s home was nothing short of courage. Even after Beowulf is king for many years he never loses his courage. When Beowulf is an old warrior his land is attacked by a sleeping dragon awoken by treasure being stolen from its cave. Beowulf immediately went on a journey to slay this dragon. It was said that no man had entered into the dragons cave and lived. Even with information known Beowulf still lead his followers into the cave to fight this dragon. Although the dragon takes Beowulf’s life, this journey is extremely courageous. Beowulf helped in the killing of this dragon and in return gave his life just so his people would be safe. It could be argued that Beowulf is not hero because heroes don’t gloat about their fights or accomplishments. Although Beowulf tells people he is the strongest person alive and he bragged about his accomplishments, it doesn’t take away from the fact that he displayed more than one characteristic of a hero. His bravery and courageousness are more prominent in his life than his gloating. Also it could be argued that heroes don’t accept things such as money or gold in return for doing a heroic act. Beowulf did accept gold from the Danes but during this time period it was a common gift for someone like Beowulf to receive gifts and gold. In some cases it might have even been seen as rude or disrespectful for Beowulf not to accept their gold. These two arguments have valid points but overall when you compare the heroic traits to the non-heroic traits of Beowulf the heroic traits outnumber the non-heroic traits. All in all Beowulf was a great man who led a great life full of accomplishments and accomplished missions. Everything he did was for a purpose that benefitted not only himself but more importantly the people he was loyal to and that were loyal to him. Throughout the story of Beowulf he has proven himself to be not only a great man but also a hero. Beowulf fought three non-human opponents and still with no fear or doubt he rose above and defeated all three of his opponents. Beowulf is the definition of what a hero should be like and he does a great job of displaying the traits one needs to have in order to be considered a hero.