The Quality in Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 52

The Quality in Healthcare - Essay Example The next step that was taken in order to solve the issue was close monitoring of the emergency department. This was done with the intention of improving the quality of care given to the patients. Another thing was to be taken care of was the waiting time of the patients and satisfaction of the patients in relation to the service delivered to them. A benchmark was set up where the timeliness of the treatments and the proportion of return of the patients was to be reported within 72 hours. Additional staffs were hired for the emergency department so that the patients coming in could be treated properly and taken care of. Triages were moved out to the waiting area in order to identify and move the serious patients faster. This would in return decrease the waiting time for the emergency patients. The registration process was streamlined with help of modern technology such as the installation of wireless computers. This process helped in giving the information of waiting time to the unregistered patients. The staffs were given proper training to take the accurate and timely decisions. The quality of service plays a major role in any healthcare organization. The patient's health and survival is the ultimate goal for all of them (Dixon-Woods, McNicol & Martin, 2012). The measures that were taken to improve the service were logical because the prime motive was to reduce the patient waiting time and to improve the quality of care. In this respect hiring extra staffs and use of advanced technology helped in the decrease of patient waiting time. In addition, the placement of triages in the waiting area ensured that the serious patients were identified and moved in for treatment faster. Quality tools help individuals comprehend and enhance forms. There are numerous distinctive tools, and the aptitude of quality experts lies in their capability to take an application from one field or industry.

Effect of Pornography on Violence Against Women

Effect of Pornography on Violence Against Women Critically assess the case that the products of the contemporary pornography industry are both a cause of violence and discrimination directed against women and also ‘intrinsically harmful’. ‘Everyone says: ‘Oh, women want sex soft and pretty, like a Harlequin novel’. It’s as if women are being protected†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Candida Royalle (2000:545) It is not the purpose of this essay to defend the contemporary pornography industry which to this day remains a ‘dirty’ and -to a large extent- a male-dominated, exploitative business, but rather to understand the reasons behind this sad reality. Pornography made its first prominent appearance in feminist discourse in the late 70s, when feminist groups such as ‘Women Against Violence in Pornography and the Media’ (WAVPM) embarked upon their anti-pornography campaign in the San Francisco Bay area[1]. The so-called ‘sex wars’ of the 1980s brought about an unprecedented division within the feminist movement. Anti-pornography writers, such as Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon -authors of the famous ‘Minneapolis and Indianapolis ordinances’[2] advocated the censorship of pornographic material, on account of its role as ‘a practice that is central to the subordination of women’[3]. Other feminists put forth a liberal leg al argument, invoking the First Amendment to the American Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. Two decades later, the pornography debate has retained its relevance in feminist discourse. There is still heated disagreement over three interrelated issues: what is the definition of pornography? Does pornography cause violence and discrimination against women? What is the best way to deal with pornography in the policy and legislation arenas? While critically assessing the anti-pornography thesis, I will argue in turn that most sexually explicit graphic material is not the cause but can mirror the misogyny and exploitation that characterizes modern societies; and that far from being ‘intrinsically harmful’ pornography can in fact be employed in the service of feminist ideas. A necessary starting point if we are to understand pornography would be an analytically helpful definition. But this is itself one of the main points of disagreement between feminists. The pro-censorship side has emulated traditional definitions of pornography[4] and equated sexual explicitness with violence and female subordination[5]. Dworkin understands pornography as the platform where sexist ideology thrives by exhibiting male supremacy, discernible in seven interwoven strains: the power of the self, physical power, the power of terror, the power of naming, the power of owning, the power of money and the power of sex’[6]. Contemporary porn depicts women as the helpless victims of men: bound, tortured, humiliated, battered, urinated upon or ‘merely taken and used’. Evoking the Greek etymology of the word, Dworkin (1990:24) defines pornography as the ‘graphic depiction of whores’, (‘porne’ being the Greek for a cheap prostitute or sex slave). Thus pornography is conceived as something sexist, violent and exploitative by definition; in other words, as an intrinsically harmful phenomenon. Even at this early stage, pro-censorship analysis seems to rest on shaky methodological grounds. First it involves a clearly circular argument which condemns pornography without trying to understand it, almost like arguing that ‘pornography is bad, because it is bad’. Second, the cross-cultural analysis of Ancient Greece is dubious, if not completely a-historical, since ‘pornography’ is not an ancient but a Victorian neologism, invented in the 19th century, thus reflecting Victorian sensitivities rather than ancient realities. Third, the definition of porn as a field of violence and sexism logically entails a distinction from other, sexually explicit material that is not violent, demeaning and exploitative, but is based on sentiments of mutuality and reciprocity. Defining this emerging category, usually referred to as ‘Erotica’, is a highly subjective endeavor and obviously unhelpful for an academic or a judge. Equating sexual explicitness to vi olence, misogyny and other value-judgments is not only counter productive to the search for a descriptive definition of pornography; it is also untrue, since it is often the case that ‘soft porn’ or even altogether non-sexual material can contain much more disturbing scenes of violence and sexism than pornography itself [7]. Fourth, most of the anti-porn literature has applied its definitions of pornography in a vague and inconsistent manner, jumping from the ‘graphic depiction of whores’ to the more mainstream concept of porn as cheaply produced ‘smut’ for instant consumption[8]; and sometimes to a more inclusive definition containing phenomena as diverse as fashion, TV commercials, sex toys and sex education[9]. Methodological concerns aside, anti-porn definitions of pornography entail positions that appear to contradict the very essence of feminism. Anti-porn pronouncements on ‘good, sensitive Erotica’ vis-à  -vis ‘bad, abusive porn’ are essentially pronouncements about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sexuality. At the risk of caricature, this entails restrictions on sexuality of Orwellian dimensions, and is contrary to the fights of the feminist, gay and lesbian movements for sexual liberation and diversity. One anti-porn author opines that ‘erotica is rooted in eros, or passionate love, and thus in the idea of positive choice, free will, the yearning for a particular person, whereas in pornography the subject is not love at all, but domination and violence against women’[10]. Statements like this one seem to imply an acceptance of old patriarchical stereotypes of the form ‘men are aggressive and polygamous by nature, while women are passive and monogamous’ and that women do not, cannot or should not enjoy sex in itself. Paradoxically, Dworkin’s (1990) synoptic treatment of the history of pornography exaggerates the passivity and helplessness of female victims and the violence of male domination to such an extent, that it unwittingly reinforces the very binary stereotypes that feminism has historically fought to uproot. Her presentation of women in pornography as ‘whores’, is at best patronizing, if not condescending and insulting towards female porn-workers, who often choose to follow that mode of subsistence. The choices of porn-workers deserve as much respect as those of women working in less stigmatized industries and, perhaps, even greater feminist solidarity[11]. Pro-censorship argumentation tends to revolve around two rhetorical devices. The first is the exaggeration of the amount and degree of violence contained in pornographic material, through the accumulation of undeniably disturbing images. The slide shows projected in WAVPM meetings and the material articulately described in Dworkin’s book have been handpicked for their shock-value and power to disturb. Drawn primarily from the underground cultures of Bizarre, Bestiality and SM, most of these images are largely unrepresentative of the mainstream market, which is both highly diversified and specialized. Specialization is a key-point because of the basic fact that different people have different ‘turn-ons’. Given that some people may find publicly disturbing, what others view as privately stimulating is no good reason to label porn in its entirety as intrinsically offensive. The second rhetorical device lies in the argument that pornography is not just a representatio n of imaginary violence but also a recorded reality or as put by MacKinnon, a ‘documentary of abuse’[12]. Again this argument misleadingly conflates reality with representational fantasy. To claim that every woman -or man- that appears to be abused in a porn-movie is actually abused, is almost as naà ¯ve as claiming that every man shot-dead in, say, ‘the Terminator’, is actually dead. The anti-porn argument fails to take into consideration factors such as artifice, acting and role-playing[13]. While genuine case of abuse are not absent from the porn industry, the vast majority of depictions of ‘violence’ occur in a role-playing context which carefully ensures the safety of the actors. My view is that understanding pornography requires a descriptive definition which, instead of passing judgments over the moral credentials and political consciousness of its participants, focuses on the realities of the porn industry. In this light, modern pornography, as we know it, is the graphic representation of sexually explicit material, mass-produced and mass-consumed with the purpose of sexual arousal. Although it is not ‘intrinsically evil’, this industry is morally no better than the society that produces it. The effect of sexually explicit material on its viewers and society at large is the second main component of the pornography debate. Anti-porn analysis has insisted on a theory of causality, whereby real rape, physical abuse and humiliation of women by men occur as a direct result of their exposure to the ‘hateful values’[14] of pornography. In Dworkin’s own words ‘at the heart of the female condition is pornography: it is the ideology that is the source of all the rest;’[15]. By equating the representation of violence with injurious action, Dworkin evokes what neo-Aristotelian theorists of representation have termed as the ‘Mimesis-model’. Derived from the Greek word ‘mimesis’, meaning ‘imitation’ or ‘reproduction’, the model positions the real both before and after its representation[16]. At a theoretical level the Mimesis-model can be sufficiently challenged by another Aristotelian concept, that of Catharsis. This would entail that far from reducing men to perpetrators of violence, exposure to the mock-violence of pornography -with all its artistic conventions and restrictions- would relieve them of the violent dispositions that lay ‘hidden’ in their psyche, in the same way that, say, a horror movie may give us pleasure without inciting violence and blood-thirst. The Catharsis-model fits particularly well to the very nature of pornography. Founded on a much-attested human desire for an occasional breach of taboo, porn tends to represent situations and feelings that may well be antisocial and very often remote from what the actual social practice is. Japan -a country with one of the lowest rape rates world-wide- sustains a huge pornographic industry that ‘specializes’ in violence and sexual domination[17]. The anti-pornography perceptive fail s to grasp this crucial distinction between social reality and harmless fantasy[18]. In terms of empirical evidence, psychological experiments on the alleged correlation between exposure to porn and violent activity are, at best, inconclusive[19]. Historical and cross-societal analysis is equally unpromising for the Mimesis-argument. Porn, in its modern sense, is a very recent creation[20]. And yet, the exploitation of women by men had predated it by thousands of years. At the same time, political systems that adhered to the systematic suppression of pornographic representations, such as the Soviet Union or modern Islamic states, had not been less exploitative or violent. And yet, many anti-porn thinkers have insisted on censorship, despite the fact that this insistence has produced an awkward alliance with moral traditionalists from the Right[21]. If passed, the 1984 Minneapolis ordinance would have reinvented ‘pornography’ as a criminal offence, distinct from ‘obscenity’. This would have allowed women to take civil action against anyone involved in the production, or distribution of pornography, on the grounds that they had been ‘harmed’ by its portrayal of women. In the passionate words of Andrea Dworkin (1990:224) ‘we will know that we are free when the pornography no longer exists. As long as it does exist, we must understand that we are the women in it: used by the same power, subject to the same valuation, as the vile whores who beg for more.’ If only, pornography was, indeed, the mother of all evil. Then sexism could be uprooted at one, simple, legislative stroke. But unfortunately, sexism, v iolence and exploitation are endemic to the economic structure of the modern society and pervasive of all our media. Pornography seems to have been singled out as a scapegoat for all forms of sexual prejudices in today’s world. The long-standing social stigma and visual honesty of the industry made it an easy target to right-wingers and left-wingers alike. Censorship has not worked in the past and there is no reason to believe that it will work in the future. I believe that the only viable solution to the pornography problem is the exact opposite of censorship, namely support for ‘the Politics of Representation[22]. Women should try to ‘capture’ pornography, as producers, script-writers and directors, in a manner consistent with earlier feminist ventures into other male-dominated fields, such as literature, politics, media, religion, education and science. ‘Going legit’, would not only mean that society as a whole will take a less hypocritical stance to the realities of pornography but also that regulation would guarantee better working conditions for female porn-workers (e.g. unionization, safe-sex, better security, health and cleanliness)[23]. Most importantly establishing a feminine perspective within the industry would counterbalance the male bias from which it now suffers. Following the example of v entures such as ‘Femme Productions’ -launched by former porn-worker Candida Royalle and targeting a couple market- sexually explicit material written and produced by women can celebrate women’s right to pleasure without complying to sexism and exploitation[24]. Pro-censorship feminists have been mistaken in defining pornography as problem. The explicit representation of sexual scenes is neither ‘intrinsically harmful’ nor a direct cause of violence. While men retain the reigns of an industry plagued with social stigma, porn will continue to be biased and exploitative. Yet, in the right hands, pornography can become an instrument for feminist action. BIBLIOGRAPHY Barker, I. V. (2000): ‘Editing Pornography’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 643- 652 Butler, J. (2000): ‘The Force of Fantasy: Feminism, Mapplethorpe, and Discursive Excess’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 487-508 Carter, A. (2000): ‘Polemical Preface: Pornography in the Service of Women’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 527-539 Cornell, D. (2000): ‘Pornography’s Temptation’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 551-68 Dworkin, A. (1990): ‘Pornography: Men Possessing Women’, London: The Women’s Press Ltd C. A. MacKinnon (1988): ‘Pornography and Civil Rights: A New Day’, Minneapolis: Organizing Against Pornography Kilmer, M.F. (1997): ‘Painters and Pederasts: Ancient Art, Sexuality, and Social History’,in M. Golden and P. Toohey [eds] Inventing Ancient Culture: Historicism, Periodization, and the Ancient World, London, pp 36-49. MacKinnon, C. A. (1993): ‘Only Words’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 94-120 Rodgerson, G. E. Wilson [ed] (1991): ‘Pornography and Feminism: the Case Against Censorship’, Feminists Against Censorship, London: Lawrence Wishart Royalle, C. (2000): ‘Porn in the USA’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 540-550 Rubin, G. (1992): ‘Misguided, Dangerous and Wrong: an Analysis of Anti-pornography Politics’, in A. Assiter and A. Carol [ed], Bad Girls and Dirty Pictures: the Challenge to Reclaim Feminism, London: Pluto Press, pp 18-40 Russell, D. E. H. (2000): ‘Pornography and Rape: A Causal Model’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 48-93 Sutton, R.F., Jr. (1992): ‘Pornography and Persuasion on Attic Pottery’, in A. Richlin [ed], Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome, New York, pp 3-35. Footnotes [1] Rubin (1992:18) [2] See Dworkin McKinnon (1988) [3] MacKinnon in the Minneapolis hearings, cited by Rodgerson Wilson (1991:11) [4] e.g. ‘the written, graphic or other forms of communication intended to excite lascivious feelings’, in the ‘American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language’, cited in Rubin (1992:25). [5] MacKinnon (1993:22) [6] Dworkin (1990:24) [7] Rubin (1992:24, 26) [8] e.g. compare pp 81 and 218 in Dworkin (1990) [9] Rubin (1992:28) [10] Gloria Steinem, cited in Rubin (1992:28) [11] Cornell (2000:551). For financial incentives for joining the porn industry see Royalle (2000:541-2) [12] cited in Rubin (1992:31) [13] For an excellent analysis of the difference between real violence and SM role-playing see Royalle (2000:545-6) [14] Dworkin (1990:24) [15] Dworkin, cited in Rubin (1992:34) [16] Butler (2000:448) [17] Sutton (1992:28) [18] Rubin (1992:19); Royalle (2000:546) [19] Rubin (1992:30) [20] Rodgerson Wilson (1991:67) [21] Barker (2000:643) [22] Cornell (2000:553) [23] Royalle (2000:548); Rubin (1992:33-4) Cornell(2000 :552-3) [24] Cornell (2000:564)

Social Class in A & P by John Updike :: essays research papers

In the story, â€Å"A&P† by John Updike, the student identifies the differences of social classes between Sammy, a checkout clerk and Queenie, a wealthy girl that visit’s the store. Though not from the same class structure, Sammy is compelled to interact with the girl, however fails in doing so because she is considered privileged. As the student begins his essay, he points out that Sammy is part of the lower class structure. He is an â€Å"eighteen-year-old boy who is working as a checkout clerk in an A&P in a small New England town five miles from the beach† (2191). While working an afternoon shift on Thursday, he notices â€Å"these girls in nothing but bathing suits† (2191) enter the store. It is in this scene that the student begins to identify the differences between the group of girls and Sammy. As the student develops his essay, Sammy begins to compare the girls to other customers in the store. From â€Å"houseslaves in pin curlers† to â€Å"an old party in baggy gray pants† (2192 ), Sammy negatively characterizes customers in contrast to the leader of the girls, Queenie. To Sammy, the girl is someone that is not from their town. She is everything that every girl envies and wants to be. In contrast to Sammy, she will spend her summer vacationing while he spends it working. It is clear to Sammy that their worlds are different, however it is also obvious that he would like to explore hers. The story unfolds when, â€Å"Lengel, the store’s manager† (2191) confronts the girls because they are dressed inappropriately. To Sammy, it is a moment of embarrassment and in defiance he quits his job. The student suggests that in quitting, â€Å"Sammy challenges social inequality and is a person who is trying to

The Kenya Flourspar

The fluorite (CaF2) deposits were discovered by prof. Al Amin in 1967 in the areas of Kimwarer, Choff and Kamnaon. He was searching for semi-precious stones, and initially mistook the purple fluorite for gemstone. He therefore collected the sample and took them for analysis in Mombasa. It was later found to be fluorite.A hand-mining operation was started and the fluorspar was supplied to the Bamburi Portland Cement Company in Mombasa. At its peak, the operation, which relied on donkeys to transport the fluorspar, produced around 400 tons per month of high grade fluorspar. In 1971 the Fluorspar Company of Kenya (FCK) was established, under the auspices of the Kenya government, to exploit the deposits on a larger scale. Crushing and jigging plants were later put up at mining site for large scale production of the metallurgical grade. Kenya fluorspar was a state parastatal upto 1996 when it was privatized.It is currently owned by local and foreign investors. The company has seven active mining sites available from which ore can be mined depending on the grade and quality required. In 2003 the company obtained made a major investment in earth-moving equipment and plant upgrading. The deposit has been commercially mined since 1971. Initially, metallurgical grade fluorspar was produced. In 1975 a 100,000 ton per annum acid grade fluorspar concentrator was commissioned and by 1979 metallurgical grade fluorspar was no longer produced as primary product, but can still be produced as secondary product for smaller consignments.The Kimwarer ore deposit has now been mined for over 35 years It is an EPZ (Export processing zone). LOCATION Kenya Fluorspar is a concern based in the Kerio Valley in the district of Eldoret and Iten. FORMATION OF FLOURITE (CaF2) The fluorite is an industrial mineral formed 150 to 200 million years ago. It is formed by replacement reaction known as mesomatism. The magma or hot water containing fluorine and other minerals was forced up from deep wit hin the Earth. When this brine reached the calcium rich, limestone bedrock (CaCO3), fluorite crystals formed along the walls of fractures and voids in the rock.Flat layers of fluorite also formed parallel to the limestone beds, replacing the host rock. The fluorine replaced the CO32- from the CaCO3 to form CaF2. The CO32- was dissipated as CO2 and water. This process is further elaborated in equation below: Ca2- + F22- CaF2 (fluorite) GEOLOGY AND OCURRENCE Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. Crystal twinning is common and adds complexity to the observed crystal.The fluorite deposits are believed to be of hydrothermal origin in the Post-Miocene era when lavas formed a protective cap over Precambrian rocks in the area. The main deposit of fluorite is located at Kimwarer and is exposed on a series of five hills, four of which have been mined. Two other minor deposits knows as Choff and Kamnaon are approximately 2 to 5 km north of the present mine site and have been partially mined in the past for the production of metallurgical-grade spar. The Kimwarer ore bodies contain by far the largest ore reserves. The ore body contacts are distinct due to the buff colour of the ore in contrast to he grey gneiss, white marbles or pegmatites. Typically the fluorite is finely crystalline and disseminated through a siliceous matrix. Zones of high grade ore are often purplish or creamy yellow in colour with cavities filled with distinct cubic crystals. The Choffs have two ore bodies running parallel to each other for more than 3 km. The Choffs are separated by ridges and dips. The ore body pinches and swells and its width varies between 4 metres and 26 metres. This ore is soft and friable hence easy liberation in the plant and provides a good yield. The phosphate in this vein is medium to high.The Kamnaon ore bod y has more than five partly parallel veins with varying dips of between 35-45 degrees. There are a number of other sites which are yet to be explored. The Fluorite at Kerio Valley occur as a vein deposit, especially associated with galena, sphalerite, barite, quartz, calcite and metallic minerals, where they often form part of the gangue (the surrounding â€Å"host-rock† in which valuable minerals occur). It is a common mineral in deposits of hydrothermal origin and has been noted as a primary mineral in granites and other igneous rocks and as a common minor constituent of dolostone and limestone.The deposit at Kerio Valley is steeply diping at 40o, with strike varying with mine: Mine| Strike| Percentage CaF2| No. of mines| mines operating| Cheberen| North-South| 37%| 1-6| 1and3| Kamnaum| North west-South east| 40%| 1-5| 1| Choff| East-West| 50%| 1-12| 6and9| The deposit is stratified from Kamnaum to Cheberen1. The fluorite is polychromous i. e occurs in different colours dep ending on the trace elements. The different colours include: * Colourless * Orange * Green * Purple * Base yellow. GRADES OF FLOURSPAR The fluorite can be processed into grades depending on the use: 1.Acid grade: This grade is used in the manufacture of Hydrofluoric acid (HF). 2. Metallurgical grade: This grade is used as flux in steel and cement industry. 3. Ceramic grade: This grade is used in the manufacture of ceramics. Only the acid grade is currently produced by Kenya Fluorspar. Metallurgical grade was also produced but stopped. MAJOR IMPURITIES AVAILABLE IN FLUORITE 1. Silica (silicon dioxide), SiO2 2. Calcite (calcium carbonate), CaCO3 3. Phosphorus pentaoxide , P2O5 4. Iron(III)oxide, Fe2O3 STAGES IN MINING AND PROCESSIG OF FLOURITE (CaF2) 1. Exploration 2. Overburden removal 3. Mining . Processing EXPLORATION This is normally done to obtain sufficient information about the deposit in order to enable a safe and economic design and to avoid difficulties during mining of the fluorite. The Kenya Fluorspar utilizes the diamond core drilling machine to obtain the drill cores. This machine can drill upto 140m-180m depth. The drill cores are then logged upto beyond the fluorite zones. The drill cores are then taken to laboratory for testing. The cores undergo through assessment, determination and classification. Diamond core drilling equipment. LAND CLEARING AND OVERBURDEN REMOVALLAND CLEARING This involves the removal of all the trees and stumps including the roots from the mining site. In Kenya Fluorspar, currently land clearing and overburden removal is done at choff 9. The main equipment used for land clearing at choff9 is a D355 Komatsu tractor-mounted dozer. The brush is disposed by dumping in gullies. D355 dozer. OVERBURDEN REMOVAL This involves the removal waste soil or rock that overlies the ore. At Kenya Fluorspar the overburden depth depends on the stripping ratio and dipping angle. Dozer is the main equipment used for stripping the overburden at choff 9.This equipment pushes the overburden over the high wall. After the overburden has been stripped by the dozer, it is loaded onto trucks by a hydraulic hoe excavator for dumping in gullies. The waste is then pushed into gullies by the D355 dozer. Overburden is removed at a ratio of 3:1 to 8:1 (waste to ore) depending on the ore body, with over 700,000 tons of waste being stripped per annum at current production levels. Overburden is normally trucked away using 25 ton trucks provided by contractors. Overburden stripping continues until the fluorite is exposed. ORE EXTRACTION (MINING) Mining is by open cast methods.The exposed ore is extracted by drilling and blasting. A total of approximately 360,000 tons of ore is mined annually. The geology has indicated that the ore body extends beneath the valley floor level and an open pit is being planned. Drilling and blasting The Kenya Fluorspar utilizes two types of drilling equipment (rig) to drill holes. These include: 1. Down the ho le hammer (DTH). This is mainly used in solid hard formations. The hammer is just behind the bit. 2. Top hammer drill rig (TH). This is mainly used in loose formations. The hammer is on top of the drill string (pipes).Crawler mounted DTHTop hammer drill rig The drill pattern to be applied depends on the: 1. Size of the drill bit to be used. 2. Geological condition of the area. All the bits are 102mm The drill pattern is square, 3m by 3m (burden by spacing) when there is a free face and staggered in absence of a free face. The depth of the drill holes differs, with most holes 10m and others 7m and 4m. Subdrilling is normally 3m. Both the DTH and TH are crawler mounted with TH complete with compressor mounted on it. Kenya Fluorspar has 3 operating crawler mounted drilling machines (2 DTH and 1 TH).BLASTING This operation involves the following stages: 1. Preparation of ANFO 2. Hole charging 3. Initiation of explosives PREPARATION OF ANFO This involves mixing the ammonium nitrate with fuel (diesel) in the ratio 0. 075ml of diesel for every 1kg of ammonium nitrate. This operation is done by an explosive mixer in Kenya Fluorspar. HOLE CHARGING This process involves placing booster/ primer at the bottom of the drilled hole. The boosters normally used include: cast booster, pentolite booster and gelignite. The Kenya fluorspar utilizes the pentolite booster for the priming purposes.Before placing the primer it is connected to a detonator. These detonators include: 1. Plain detonators 2. Instantaneous electric detonators. After placing the primer, ANFO is added depending on the hole depth as shown in the table below: Hole depth| Height of ANFO| Stemming| 10m| 7m| 3m| 7m| 5. 5m| 1. 5m| 4m| 3. 5m| 0. 5m| These holes charged are then connected by 25MS (millisecond) nonel shock tubes, short period detonating delay (SPDD) type. The rows are connected by 17MS surface trunk lines (also nonel shock tubes). The nonel shock tube has the following advantages: 1.Produces low noise and vibration 2. It has less fly rock. It is because of the above advantages that make it useful near factory where less vibration are required. The nonel shock tube is very expensive. INITIATION OF EXPLOSION Once charging is complete the explosion can be initiated depending on the detonator used. Initiation can be done using the following: 1. Safety fuse which burns at a rate of 2 minutes per metre. This is used incase of plain detonators 2. Blasting machine incase of electric detonators. Secondary blasting is also done incase large boulders are produced in the primary blasting.Large boulders can also be broken using the rock breakers. LOADING AND HAULAGE The blasted ore is loaded into trucks by an hydraulic excavator (Komatsu) hoe. The loaded ore is hauled a short distance of between 2 km and 7 km by contracted trucks to the crushing plant. These trucks range from 10tons to 20tons. The ore stock pilled separately depending on the source. PROCESSING OF FLOURITE (CaF2) The processi ng of fluorite at the processing plant involves the following stages: 1. Blending 2. Crushing 3. Grinding 4. Conditioning 5. Floatation 6. Thickening 7. filtration 8. Stock pillingBLENDING Blending in normally done at the primary crusher by a wheel loader before feeding into the crusher in ratio of: 2cheberen:1choff:1kamnaum This blending ratio ensures that the feed is 40% CaF2 CRUSHING Types of crushers 1. Primary crusher: Jaw crusher 2. Secondary crusher: cone crusher 3. Tertiary crusher: cone crusher PRIMARY CRUSHING The ore feed to the hopper through a 12in grizzly screen. It is then feed to the primary crusher through an apron feeder and belt conveyor. The ore is first crushed in a primary stage crushing plant from a feed of 350 mm to less than 30mm in size.The ore that is less than 60mm but more than 30mm is passed through the cone crusher where it is further reduced to less than 30mm. Any material that is more than 30mm is passed through the tertiary crusher. GRINDINGTypes mi lls used in Kenya Fluorspar 1. Rod mill 2. Ball mill 3. Re-grind mill. It is then conveyed to the grinding circuit where the material is added to a rod mill along with water to form slurry. The rod mill instantly grinds the ore after which it is sized using a hydrocyclone. Any oversized material is passed to the ball mill for a further grinding to the desired size of 80%.The ore is now ready for conditioning and flotation. CONDITIONINGThis process takes place in the conditioner. This where the depressants and collectors are added. 1. Depressants a) Sodium fluorite which depresses the P2O5 b) Sodium bifluorite which also depresses the P2O5 2. Collectors a) Betacol b) TapiocaThis process renders the fluorite hydrophobic by the addition of a surfactant or collector chemical. FLOATATIONFlotation is the process that concentrates the ore. This is done by agitating the ore slurry in cells with air bubbles.By adding a combination of fatty acid reagents, the fluorspar in the ore attaches its elf to the air bubble to float to the top of the cell. This product is skimmed off leaving the waste in the bottom of the cell. The process is conducted in a series of rougher, scavenger, and cleaner cells that successively concentrates the ore from 40% CaF2 in the feed material to a minimum of 97. 0% CaF2 in the final concentrate. The water in the final product is then removed in a thickener and a rotary drum filter. This produces a filter cake concentrate containing approximately 11. % moisture. The samples are analyzed in the company's assay and research laboratory. The waste product is pumped to the tailings dam and settled water is recycled to the plant for reuse. A FLOATATION CELLPERCENTAGE CaF2 CONCENTRATED PER SERIES OF FLOATATION CELL FLOATATION CELL| PERCENTAGE CaF2 CONCENTRATED| ROUGHER CELLS| 80%| SCAVANGER CELLS | 85%-87%| CLEANER CELLS| 97%| FLOATATION CIRCUITDEWATERINGThe water in the final product is then removed in a thickener and a rotary drum filter. This produces a filter cake concentrate containing approximately 11. % moistureTHICKENER ROTARY DRUM FILTEROperational Sequence * Cake Formation With the overflow weir set to a maximum the â€Å"apparent submergence† is normally 33-35% so the slurry levels between 0400 and 0800 hrs. Once a sector enters submergence vacuum is applied and a cake starts to form up to a point where the sector emerges from the slurry. The portion of the cycle available for formation is the â€Å"effective submergence† and its duration depends on the number of sectors, the slurry level in the tank and the bridge setting which controls the form to dry ratio. Cake Washing and Drying After emerging from submergence the drying portion of the cycle commences and for non-wash applications continues to about 0130 hrs where the vacuum is cut-off. If cake washing is required the wash manifolds will be located from about 1030 to 1130 hrs and the remaining time to vacuum cut-off at 0130 is the portion allocated to final cake drying. * Cake Discharge After vacuum for the entire sector is cut-off air blow commences at about 0200 hrs in order to facilitate cake discharge.The blow, depending on the position of the tip of the scraper blade, will cut-off at approximately 0300 hrs. Drum filters are normally operated with a low pressure blow but on certain applications a snap blow is applied and to avoid the snapping out of the caulking bars or ropes wire winding of the cloth is recommended . Blow is used on scraper and roll discharge mechanisms but on belt discharge filters vacuum cuts-off when the filter media leaves the drum. The final product has composition shown in the table below: PRODUCT| PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION| Fluorite, CaF2| More than 97%|Silica, SiO2| Less than 1%| Carbonate, CaCO3| Less than 1%| Iron III oxide, Fe2O3| Neglible| Phosphorus penta oxide, P2O5| Less than 0. 5%| TAILINGS DAMTailings, also called slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fluorite from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of the ore. These are the wastes from the floatation cells. Tailings are distinct from overburden or waste rock, which are the materials overlying an ore or mineral body that are displaced during mining without being processed.The tailing are pumped from the processing plant to the to tailings dam for disposal. The height is about 15m and dimensions are 150m by 30m. it is trapezoidal in shape. The dam also has drain pipes to remove the seepage water. Hydraulic cyclones are used to build the dam. The cyclones separate the tailings into fine and coarse material. The coarse materiel from the cyclone underflow is used to build the wall of the dam will the material and water is disposed into the dam. The water is recycled and pumped back for reuse into the factory. The will built until the dam touches the adjacent hill.LABORATORY QUALITY CONTROLL SECTIONThe company conducts two types of tests – chemi cal and metallurgical. The chemical section performs wet chemistry analysis (mainly titration) and operates 24 hrs a day throughout the year and each shift is headed by a qualified chemist. The metallurgical section mainly concentrates on research and development work. The sample (pellet) is subjected to an XRF machine which scans the sample imparting energy to it. The sample then radiates heat of various wavelengths. The wavelengths are analyzed by a computer program which displays the information instantly on the screen.Strict quality control of run-of-mine ore, exploration and final product analysis is maintained by sampling. KFC prides itself in the quality of its assays, which are always crosschecked with those of European laboratories, namely SGS (Netherlands), HOFF and BSI in the United States. Weight sampling and analysis:   All analyses are being performed by SGS Kenya Ltd (Swiss company) at the cost of the company. Apparatus in the laboratory: a) Two Jaw crushers (14in. and12in. ) b) Pulverizer c) Oven for drying d) Splitter e) XRF machine f) Analytical balance g)A pilot plantSample preparation i. Drying ii. Splitting iii. Crushing iv. Pulverizing. CARGO CONDITIONThe fluorite is Chemically inert, non-reactive, non-flammable, non-hazardous mineral sand. No hazard labelling required in accordance with IMO regulations. No special precautions for storage however, in order to maintain the purity of the material, it must not be allowed to be contaminated by any other material as it is used as the base product in sensitive chemical processes to produce other products and substances.TRANSPORT Once the acid spar is produced, the fluorspar is loaded into 10 ton trucks and hauled to the railway siding at Kaptagat, a distance of 37km. From here it is loaded into 36 ton rail wagons for the 860 km journey to the Mbaraki wharf at Mombasa. The wagons are offloaded at the wharf where the fluorspar is stockpiled and covered while awaiting shipment. The storage capac ity at Mbaraki is approximately 25,000 tons. The process of off-loading of wagons and trucks is labour intensive by means of manual labour.Loading of the vessels is conducted using an automatic Demag Ship Loader, owned and operated by Bamburi Portland Cement Company. An average rate of 2,500 tons per day can be loaded on a continuous basis even on public holidays. The quantity loaded and moisture analyses are conducted by an independent surveyor on a continuous basis to ensure a representative result of the product loaded. Since Mombasa is one of the main ports in East Africa, chartering of vessels to carry bulk cargoes to any destination in the world can be easily arranged. |

Networking in professional life Essay

Networking in professional life Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In computing terms, a network is a system of interconnected computers that share a characteristic of being autonomous and have the ability to share information through the interconnection peripherals. Moreover, it is a system of connected computer hardware that are linked by communication channels and protocols that provide a rapid method of sharing information (Tanenbaum, 2011). On the other hand, Network Interface controller (NIC) is a computer system that creates computer connections to a particular network. It is also known as Network Interface Card or network adapter. On the same perspective, a bandwidth refers to the ability of a computer network to send and receive information (data) and is expressed in bits per second (bps). Network Media Types   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In broad spectrum, network media refer to the actual path through which an electronic signal in a system of a computer or computers travels as it moves from one component in the system to another. There are several types of Network media such as; twisted pair cables, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable as well as wireless media (Ciccarelli, & Faulkner, 2006). A situation of network connection problem   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I mostly use network connection in most of my computerization endeavors, it comes a time when network connection becomes a major problem. For instance, this problems include; difficulties in connection to home networks, problems in accessing information from other interconnected networks as well as slow network connectivity among many other problems (Chen-guang, 2008). However, through the application of my computer skills, I normally manage to deal with such problems through the employment of troubleshooting mechanisms. However the most common problem that had severe impacts on my working is the issue of slow network connection but at the end, I was able to solve it by following several steps as follows; I first identified the active applications, the available users as well as the available conversations to determine where the congestion came from. This was followed by the generation of a purpose built report to determine the applicat ions in use, in order to determine the amount of bandwidth they were consuming. Finally, I was able to set a limit for the applications that were not significant in my place of operation. This eliminated the problem of slow network connection and after all my operations worked to perfection. How will networking Influence my professional life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In my future career, networking will be of great importance, as I will use all the learned skills to ensure that information flow is efficient by ensuring the use of the best network type considering speed, reliability, efficiency and cost too. It will be my area of strength. References Tanenbaum, A. S. (2011). Computer networks. Boston: Pearson Education. Ciccarelli, P., & Faulkner, C. (2006). Networking Foundations: Technology Fundamentals for IT Success. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Chen-guang, L. I. (2008). Implementation of netwok management model based on Linux System J]. Railway Computer Application, 6, 012. Source document