Financial Management of the National Health Service (NHS)

Financial Management of the National Health Service (NHS) Introduction This academic paper described a public sector in health care particularly on its financial management. The chosen public sector is the National Health Service (NHS). A description of the sources of funds and expenditures of NHS is provided. Financial decision-making, control and monitoring in public sectors are analysed within the context of this organisation. Specifically, a discussion of financial accountability and budgeting in public sector are explained. At the end of the paper, the tender process and specification for NHS England was provided and a criteria for selection was devised. The National Health Service (NHS) The National Health Service (NHS) is a publicly funded organisation that provides health care services to residents of United Kingdom. It was established in 1948 and currently provides a wide array of services including antenatal screening, treatment of chronic diseases, emergency care, transplantations, preventive care and end-of-life care (NHS, 2013). The Washington Commonwealth Fund, this organisation is the best health care system in the world in 2014 (NHS Confederation, 2014). With the exception of some prescription, optical and dental services, all health care services by NHS are free for all the 63.2 million residents of United Kingdom (NHS, 2013). Health services being provided are determined by the Secretary of State for Health (England), the Minister for Health and Community Care (Scotland), the Minister for Health and Social Services (Wales) and the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Northern Ireland) (Harker, 2012). Funding Harker (2012) released vital information on the way the NHS gets its fund. The funds of the NHS are being given by the Department of Health and come from the taxes collected from the people. For 2012/2013, the latest published fund was  £108.9 billion (NHS, 2013). An estimated 80% of NHS funds go to the 151 existing Primary Care Trusts and the amount they receive would depend on the serviceable population and their need (Harker, 2012). In addition, the money primary care trusts are getting can be dispensed by commissioning health services from NHS, independent and voluntary sectors they deemed most needed by their local residents (Harker, 2012). For prescription charging in England, patients pay an amount of  £7.20 while Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland charge none (Harker, 2012). The Department of Health Resource Accounts for 2010/11 estimated that  £450 million were raised from prescription charging in England. For dental treatment, on the other hand, the amount being paid by patients cost around  £17.50- £209 depending on the dental case in England,  £12 to  £177 in Wales, up to  £384 in Northern Ireland and Scotland (Harker, 2012). The amounts of funds raised were estimated to  £614.3 million in England and  £27.3 million in Wales for 2009/10 (Harker, 2012). Other sources of funds would overseas patient charging, treatment of private patients and hospital parking and telephone use fees (Harker, 2012). The funding and expenditures of the NHS per year is made known to public through the government’s annual reports. NHS Public Accountability Maybin et al (2011: 7) defined accountability as the â€Å"relationship involving answerability, an obligation to report, to give account of, actions and non-actions†. Primary care trusts who are the main recipient of most of the NHS funds and the commissioners of health services are held accountable in terms of: 1) management by the strategic health authority and the Secretary of State for Health; 2) regulation on the quality of commissioning by the Care Quality Commission; 3) scrutiny for financial management and disbursement of resources by the Audit Commission, local overview and scrutiny committees, non-executive directors of the boards and patient and public representatives of local involvement networks (Maybin et al, 2011). In the future, commissioners will likewise be held accountable by the new national NHS Commissioning Board, standing rules of the Secretary of State, Monitor, new health and well-being boards, local HealthWatch, and the National Audit Office’s consolidated annual accounts (Maybin et al, 2011). The NHS Trust are accountable to primary care trusts, Care Quality Commission, local involvement networks, Audit commission, local overview and scrutiny committees, and externally appointed non-executive directors of the boards (Maybin et al, 2011). For the NHS Foundation Trust are likewise monitored the same as that of NHS Trust with the addition of the governor and Monitor (Maybin et al, 2011). In addition, independent sector providers are held accountable only by the primary care trusts, Care Quality Commission and local involvement networks (Maybin et al, 2011). Financial Control and Monitoring Good financial control and monitoring are keys to effective financial management in the health care sector (Cichon, 1999). A formal management control system includes the following processes: 1) programming, 2) budgeting, 3) operating measurement, 4) reporting and evaluation, and 5) feedback and correction (Finkler et al, 2007). Programming involves selecting the programmes that the organisation wants to engage at in the future (Finkler et al, 2007). Control of the future programmes will ensure that adding these to current programmes can meet the mission, vision and objectives of the organisation. Next is setting the budget. The budget is used to compare the budgeted amount with the actual amounts used by the organisation in a fiscal year and would mainly tell if the organisation has met its targeted operating and financial performance (McLean, 2002). Moreover, the management must be able to produce reports of its operating finances for evaluation, feedback and correction (Finkler et al, 2011). In the NHS, the chief executive is the one responsible for the organisational finances and he/she is held answerable to the Permanent Secretary or the Chief Executive of NHS (Audit Commission, 2004). Meanwhile, the director of finance is tasked to ensure that all practises and procedures related to the organisation’s finances are sound and in place (Audit Commission, 2004). The Audit Commission (2004) explicitly suggests way to improve financial management especially in controlling and monitoring. The first step is financial planning. A financial plan should be able to project the revenue and the capital needed in a particular period of time while placing consideration on possible shifts in capital spending. NHS bodies are suggested to consider extra investments that can improve the services such as spending for technology and research. In the long run, these may lessen capital costs and provide more revenues. After the financial planning, the budget must be set and prepared to ensure proper allocation. The budget must be created consistent with the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the organisation. In NHS, a combination of zero-based budgeting and incremental budgeting are being used. In zero-budgeting, the organisation starts from none while in incremental budgeting, the budgets are carried forward and adjusted yearly. Budget reporting and mon itoring comes next wherein the budget is reported to budgetholders especially the variances so that corrective actions can be applied. Board reporting comes next wherein financial information is relayed to NHS boards so that they can take corrective actions as early as possible whenever necessary. Financial reports are also produced as part of the statutory obligation of NHS bodies. Through financial reports produced annually, the NHS is able to inform the public where their taxes for health go. Treasury management, on the other hand, ensures the sufficiency of cash through receipt and payment management, borrowings and investments, and cashflow monitoring. The Department of Health sets the amount of cash expenditures that NHS bodies are allowed to spend. The NHS also implements system for financial control to ensure public accountability. This is signified by the chief executive’s annual statement on internal control. Lastly, the NHS must ensure value for money by fostering learning, transparency and openness in using new resources. Financial Information and Decision Making Decision-making is a process of selecting course of actions from a pool of actions that may be feasible or applicable (Cleverly et al, 2010). In terms of finances, the management must be able to utilise financial information in aid of decision-making. The information must then be accurate, timely and relevant in order to arrive at an effective and high quality decisions (Cleverly et al, 2010). For example, a financial forecast of a new technology serves as the information for the NHS. Based on the forecast, the decision question now is to whether the new technology must be purchased or not. Supposing that the decision was to purchase the technology and the result was significant earnings for the NHS, then the financial information was successfully utilised to aid in making the right decision. Khan and Jain (2007) suggests that to arrive at financial decisions, the finance manage must be able to determine sources of short-term and long-term financing and their alternatives at a given point in time. In the case of the NHS for example, short-term financing could be the dental charges from patients while long-term financing would be the tax funds coming from the government. Supposing that there is a shortage of funds for the coming fiscal year, the finance manager must ask what could be a good source of readily available short-term and long-term financing at the moment to meet the first quarter needs. Tender Process and Documentation The tender process may be used by organisations which need a particular service (Oakley, 2008). The organisation is expected to release a tender specification which provides the details of the type of services they need, volume of work, locations and costs (Oakley, 2008). In the NHS, there are five stages in the tender process namely: 1) assessing sustainability; 2) submission of the pre-qualification questionnaire; 3) invitation to tender; 4) final interview and presentation; and 5) contract award (Royal College of Nursing, 2005). Assessing sustainability includes performing pre-tender checks, finding a tender notice, obtaining a copy of the tender and evaluating it, providing an expression of interest and completing subsequent forms (Royal College of Nursing, 2005). The next step would be to submit the pre-qualification questionnaire which is then decided by the Commissioner. Once the Commissioner gave a favourable decision, an invitation to tender will be issued to which a respons e would be needed for final evaluation of the Commissioner (Royal College of Nursing, 2005). A final interview will be conducted together with the Commissioner and a positive response would end with the awarding of the contract (Royal College of Nursing, 2005). Based on the NHS process, tender criteria have been devised (Morledge and Smith, 2013; Ward, 2008). The scoring will be based on organisation details (10%), workforce information (10%) , financial standing (10%), relevant experience and technical ability (15%) , health and safety (15%) , insurances (5%) , references (5%), quality assurance (15%), equal opportunity declaration (5%), and evidence of registration with the regulatory bodies (5%) (Royal College of Nursing, 2005). A corresponding score will be given which range from 0=failed to 5= very high standard. The score will be multiplied with the percentages per item to get the weighted score. The weighted score will be totaled. The total weighted score will serve as basis for ranking (Ward, 2008). Summary and Conclusion They say that the health of the people reflects the richness of a nation. Health care is a fundamental right and a public concern. Thus, a public organisation such as NHS must be able to exercise effective financial management, control and decision-making so that more citizens can be given the right quality care that they pledged to provide for free. Since most of the funding of the NHS come from the money of the people, accountability must be observed by those in-charge of handling the organisational finances. A system of check and balance through transparency in financial auditing and reports and vigilance of the public are necessary in ensuring that the people’s money are spent rightly on where it is needed the most. In public sectors, the tender process is usually applied in evaluating and selecting suitable suppliers. Before one can enter into public contracts, the tender process is usually observed as a means to determine the quality of the services being procured by the government. It also ensures that every purchase has clean documentation and has gone through a thorough process of screening. For public organisations, the tender process is usually followed since the money being allocated are in huge amounts and most of all from the people who pay their taxes.

The Temptation of Eve in Milton’s Paradise Lost Essay -- Paradise Lost

The Temptation of Eve in Milton’s Paradise Lost â€Å"Dream not of other worlds,† the angel Raphael warns Adam in Miltons’s Paradise Lost (VIII.175). Eve, however, dreams of another world in which she will gain knowledge and power, a wish that is superficially fulfilled when she succumbs to Satan’s temptation and eats from the Tree of Knowledge. Awakening in the Garden of Eden as though from a dream, Eve searches for her identity and her place in Paradise. Satan provides Eve with a chance to gain knowledge and to become god-like. As Eve is not an equal companion for Adam, she seeks independence from her husband. Shifting her loyalty away from God and Adam and towards Satan and the Tree of Knowledge, Eve strives to find her identity in the Garden of Eden, gain knowledge and godliness, and obtain independence from her unequal partnership with Adam. In Book IV, Eve recalls awakening to consciousness but she is uncertain of her identity and of her place in the Garden of Eden. Eve's first thoughts are of â€Å"where and what [she] was, whence thither brought, and how† (Paradise Lost, IV.451-52), and it is this curiosity about her identity that leads Eve to disobey God eventually. From the moment of her conception, Eve is already distant from God because she awakens in the shade and not in God’s light. Throughout Paradise Lost, Eve is identified with reflections, shadows, and dreams. Representing the â€Å"otherness† of Eden, Eve is an outcast and she seeks to find meaning in her life. At the moment of her awakening, Eve is engrossed by her reflection in the water, which she thinks is another being. This watery, wavering image of Eve extends throughout Milton’s poem, and this further puts Eve in a weak position, for Eve is merely a ref... ...to this seduction because she wishes for an alternate world, a world where she would understand her identity, shed her naà ¯vetà ©, and gain independence from Adam. God and Adam try to conquer Eve by imposing rules and ownership upon her, but this does not work. The mother of all mankind falls from her state of grace and innocence when she perceives that she will gain from her seduction by Satan and by disobeying God and Adam. Works and Sorces Cited Frye, Roland Mushat. God, Man, and Satan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1960. Langford, Larry L. â€Å"Adam and the subversion of paradise.† Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 34: 1 (1994): 119-135. Milton, John. ‘Paradise Lost.’ 1674. Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 2000, 1: 1817-2044. Wright, B.A. Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1962.

The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf Essay -- Virginia Woolf Death

‘The Death of the Moth† by Virginia Woolf   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Death is a difficult subject for anyone to speak of, although it is a part of everyday life. In Virginia Woolf’s â€Å"The Death of the Moth†, she writes about a moth flying about a windowpane, its world constrained by the boundaries of the wood holding the glass. The moth flew, first from one side, to the other, and then back as the rest of life continued ignorant of its movements. At first indifferent, Woolf was eventually moved to pity the moth. This story shows that life is as strange and familiar as death to us all. I believe this story was well written and will critique the symbolism, characters, and the setting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Woolf uses symbolism in her essay when she speaks of the moth and its journey towards death. Eventually the moth settles on the windowsill and Woolf forgets it until she notices it trying to move again, but this time its movements are slow and awkward. It attempts to fly but fails, and falls back down to the sill, landing on its back, tiny feet clawing at the air as it tries to right itself. Woolf reaches out to help when she realizes that it is dying stating â€Å"the helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death† and she was reluctant to interfere with this natura... The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf Essay -- Virginia Woolf Death ‘The Death of the Moth† by Virginia Woolf   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Death is a difficult subject for anyone to speak of, although it is a part of everyday life. In Virginia Woolf’s â€Å"The Death of the Moth†, she writes about a moth flying about a windowpane, its world constrained by the boundaries of the wood holding the glass. The moth flew, first from one side, to the other, and then back as the rest of life continued ignorant of its movements. At first indifferent, Woolf was eventually moved to pity the moth. This story shows that life is as strange and familiar as death to us all. I believe this story was well written and will critique the symbolism, characters, and the setting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Woolf uses symbolism in her essay when she speaks of the moth and its journey towards death. Eventually the moth settles on the windowsill and Woolf forgets it until she notices it trying to move again, but this time its movements are slow and awkward. It attempts to fly but fails, and falls back down to the sill, landing on its back, tiny feet clawing at the air as it tries to right itself. Woolf reaches out to help when she realizes that it is dying stating â€Å"the helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death† and she was reluctant to interfere with this natura...

Effects of World War 2 Essay

â€Å"Economic effects was the most important effect of World War 2.† To what extent do you agree? World War 2 (WW2) was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945 and it originated from early conflict within Europe. It involved many of the leading powers of the World including the great powers and became the most widespread war in history. The ending of WW2 led to three very important effects: social, political and economic; that greatly shaped the post-war world. I disagree that economic effects was the most important effect of WW2 because it did not last very long and did not affect a large scope of people as compared to other factors. The criteria used to evaluate the social, political and economic effects of WW2 is the duration of which the effect lasted for, the scope of people it affected and its magnitude. Economic effects did meet the magnitude and duration criteria. However, it did not fulfil the other criteria and it is ultimately political effects that is determine d as the main effect of WW2 because it fulfilled all the criteria and largely impacted the post-war world. The first criteria will be the duration of which the effect lasted for. Economic effects did not meet this criteria because the effects of financial aid that the US and USSR provided lasted for a long time. For example, the International Monetary Fund created in 1944 still exists and has lent money to countries to protect their currencies in times of difficulty. The financial aid was only provided for a short period of time just to help Europe recover from the consequences of the disastrous war. However, the effects of this still exists today and therefore economic effects fulfilled this criteria. Social effects of WW2 included a change in gender roles and family structure, more importantly, the role of women in post-war world. There was a wider range of jobs that women could take on after WW2, however, women were still treated badly as compared to the men. After WW2, women became more confident and they decided to create more feminist movements and campaigns for equal pay and rights. As of today, feminist movements are still being conducted and this shows us how these campaigns are being influence by wartime experience. The recent HeforShe campaign created by the United Nations (UN) ne wly appointed Ambassador Emma Watson serves as an example of a feminist movement influenced by the other campaigns that were sparked up because of WW2. This is why social effects fulfils this criteria  as it still impacts the world today and therefore, is a long-term effect. Political effects included the nuclear age and the development of atomic weapons after WW2. The atomic bombing of Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki had a profound effect on the pot-war world. Between 1945 and 2000, 128,000 nuclear weapons were built. The nuclear escalation after WW2 started as more countries other than the US and USSR started to build nuclear weapons. The consequences of political effects still exists because countries are still building nuclear weapons as it is seen as a display of power and therefore political effects fulfils this criteria. Therefore, all these factors fulfil this criteria. The second criteria will be the scope of people the effect affected. Economic effects did not meet this criteria because world trade, a result of economic effects actually only affected Europe and the US only and had not direct impact on the world internationally. For example, when the US pressed for freer trade, Western Europe began to co-operate economically and tried to lower i ts tariffs. Economic effects did not meet this criteria because it only majorly impacted Europe and the US and not the rest of the world. Social effects also did not meet this criteria because it only affected the minorities in society like the blacks and women. In the Southern states, black labour increased and this gave black people more job opportunities which gave the blacks a wider experience of the world. Evidently, social effects only affected minor groups of people and does not fulfil this criteria. Political effects included greater unity and international co-operation. The large scale defence organisations like the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation of 1949 and regional pacts like the South East Asia Treaty Organisation set a precedent for the many international organisations that started. All these measures are taken so that countries can resolve conflicts using negotiations instead of war and this allowed the maintenance of peace amongst most of the world. Political effects is the only factor that fulfilled this criteria. The third criteria will be the magnitude of the effect and how large its impact was on post-war world. Even though financial help from the US lasted only for a short period of time, it caused the greatest economic impact on Europe. By 1952, Europe not only recovered from its initial poverty but was also on the edge of its greatest economic boom in history. Econ omic effects had a large impact of Europe and this is why it fulfils this criteria. Social effects did not cause as large  of a magnitude because its effects were mediocre. It is indeed true that women were more confident and freer from demands at home but there were no drastic changed to social systems as women were still considered beneath men. Even today, there is no gender equality as men in most parts of the world still receive more pay and rights than women. This is why social effects does not fulfil this criteria. Political effects caused the development of the cold war which was considered one of the most significant consequences of WW2. It greatly impacted Europe, making Western and Eastern Europe more divided. The cold war was a battle over ideology, making the distinction between the US and USSR even clearer. The cold war was also the closest the world ever came to another atomic war. The two superpowers of that time possessed nuclear weapons that would have been extremely detrimental to the world if launched. Political effects impacted the world to a great magnitude because the cold war included the two superpowers during that time and it caused a greater division between Western and Eastern Europe. Economic effects and political effects fulfilled this criteria. After comparing the different factors with this set of criteria, I still disagree that economic effects was the most significant effect of WW2. Economic effects only fulfilled the magnitude and scope criteria and therefore is not the most important effect. I believe that political effects is the main effect of WW2 because it fulfilled the most criteria. It was a long-term effect of war and affected large amounts of people. It also impacted the post-war world to a great extent and this is why it should be considered as the most important effect of WW2. Economic effects did pull Europe out of poverty and it also lasted very long but it did not affect the world internationally. It was only limited to Europe and the US. Social effects only satisfied the duration criteria as feminist movements still exist in the modern world today and were influenced by the WW2. On the other hand, political effects lasted very long and also pushed for better international relations that strongly impacted post-war world. Therefore, political effects is the most important effect of WW2.

How useful are the following sources in arriving at an accurate understanding of Dartford high street in the mid nineteenth century?

There has been much development and change in Dartford after the eighteenth century. One of the many reasons for this is the growth of industry and the manufacture of the railway, this town has gone from being solely from being a market-town and coaching post to developing more towards industry. The High Street has changed a lot since the nineteenth century in terms of functions, shops, conditions, etc. There are many ways of finding out what it used to be like, including sources, the census, and the existing buildings. There are six main buildings in Dartford high street which I am studying. These buildings are generally quite simple to put a rough date to them. The rough date that we can confidently give these buildings is that they are from the Georgian era, with a couple also being from the Victorian era. Some of these buildings, such as the Bull's Head yard building have certain features about it which can help give details about the actual street and its functions, not just the building. The Bulls Head yard building has a pulley system attached to it, which could suggest a warehouse and cart way on the other hand this does not necessarily mean that the street had many carts going over it. Although, source C (the engraving of Dartford high street), suggests that carts were common in Dartford high street. Moreover, the Bull and Victoria Hotel gives some evidence to suggest that coaches were popular in Dartford as well. We can see this because the entrance is fairly wider than it would normally be for an ordinary building or hotel, therefore suggesting that this building could have been a coach house. So overall, although the buildings show individual purpose and use, they in themselves, do not necessarily show what the high street was like in the 1800s. The strengths of this source are that this report gives detailed information on the conditions of Dartford High Street concerning matters of hygiene and sanitation. It is an official enquiry by the General Board of Health and written by William Ranger; therefore, it must have some reliability. It was also written in the nineteenth century so Ranger would have known exactly what it was like. The report implies that Dartford is not a very prosperous town, saying things like ‘The general character of this place is such that humans ought not to be allowed to occupy it. This tells us that the area being described has very poor sanitary conditions. The report therefore contrasts with Dunkin's description of a wealthy, aesthetically-pleasing town. There are also weaknesses to the report. Firstly, it only focuses on Clark's alley rather than the High Street itself and therefore it does not directly tell us about the High Street. Furthermore, only the conditions are described, rather th an other aspects such as its function and people. Also, as the report was written for the Board of health, it describes the worst case scenario of the conditions of the High Street so that the Board of Health would know where to improve-due to the government Public Health Act of 1848, people were hired to report on the sanitary conditions of places. Dunkin's history of Dartford is a detailed description of Dartford. It was written in 1844. Due to the fact that it is a book, it could be said that there were bias motives for writing it, as there is an advertising side to it, not just an informative side. This is because the source comes across a bit like a brochure, which means that Dunkin could be promoting Dartford and its shops in particular since he himself owned one. So this could be seen as not very helpful in gaining an understanding of Dartford High Street. Although, Dunkin was a local man which means that he should know what he is talking about. Moreover, he was also a historian, which also means that he uses factual information, and has researched what he was writing. The reliability of the source could be questionable, as it doesn't actually tell us a lot of information about the function or look of the buildings themselves. The report to the general board of health was an official document which means that the likeliness of the report being bias is very low. This source contradicts Dunkin's view of the appearance and prosperity of the high street saying how it may be incorrect. It gives information on what life may have been like for the ordinary working people in Dartford. However, it is a limited discussion regarding the appearance of the high street itself. It refers more to the alleys and side streets than the high streets. Peter Boreham was a historian who relatively recently wrote an overview of Dartford for the book ‘Dartford Through Time'. The strengths of Boreham's account are that the fact that Boreham was a historian gives this source reliability due to the fact that his aim would have been to report the truth, as that was his job. He also has the advantage of hindsight and neutrality, as he was not there at the time. Boreham describes the function of the High Street in his account when he talks of â€Å"Dartford's role as a shopping centre†; this tells us that shopping was one of the High Street's major functions. This is supported by the evidence from the census which says that 30% of all of the jobs in the High Street were as shopkeepers. In fact, Boreham probably used the census in order to obtain this information. We can tell from Boreham's account that he has used other sources, including the census as mentioned previously, when writing this. For example, he says: â€Å"Housing conditions†¦ were atrocious. † This is probably based on Ranger's report to the Board of Health which states a similar thing. He also writes how the shop windows are â€Å"tightly packed with as many goods as possible† which could refer to when Dunkin writes about â€Å"handsome shops, well stocked with a choice assortment of goods tastefully displayed†; as well as referring to the photographs mentioned. The wide range of sources used adds reliability to the account, as it means that he has not just used a narrow perspective of the High Street but has considered many points of view. The book Boreham wrote was written for schoolchildren in 1990. Therefore, in order to provide the right information to the children, he would have had to have made it as accurate as possible. However, the weaknesses are that Boreham was not there at the time and therefore did not know for sure exactly what the High Street was like. In addition to this, the book was published by Dartford Borough Council and therefore they might have edited it in favour of Dartford. Also, Boreham's account was aimed at secondary school pupils so it might not include all of the information in order to make it more interesting or easier to understand. Furthermore, Boreham's source lacks detail and can only give us an approximate overview of the function of Dartford, rather than a detailed description. Although Boreham used some sources, there are some which he did not use. For example, the engraving was probably not used, as he does not describe the appearance of the High Street. Therefore, we do not know what other important information he has left out. Overall, Peter Boreham's source gives a reasonably reliable overview of Dartford High Street in the mid-nineteenth century, which uses a wide range of sources to help give us an idea of some of the functions and buildings of Dartford High Street at that time. The engraving of Dartford high street was done in 1860. It is a Detailed engraving which gives a clear and complete view of the high street itself, and also a large range of buildings. It gives great detail on the appearance of the buildings, showing all the architectural styles of the buildings, such as Tudor, Georgian, and early Victorian architectural styles are all visible. Although it gives great detail on the appearance of the buildings and the high street, it doesn't give a lot of detail towards the actual functions of the high street in the mid nineteenth century. However, it does show some basic information which can help us gain an understanding of what Dartford high street was like, such as in the engraving, we can clearly see carts and carriages in the street. This shows, as mentioned in previous sections, that carts and coaches were popular in the high street, which is backed up by the image of the Bull and Victoria Hotel. Also, some other functions are visible, these include: trade, shopping, and transport. From this engraving, we can also see evidence of prosperity in Dartford. This is made apparent by the obvious wide open ‘airy' streets', the fashion, street lighting, and it is obviously clean. We don't, however, know who drew this engraving, which means that it could actually be very unreliable, or it could be reliable. Overall, although it doesn't give detailed evidence of the high street, it does give sufficient evidence of the functions, appearance and prosperity of the high street to give us a rough understanding of what Dartford high street was like in the mid nineteenth century.

Abrasive Flow Machining Essay

1. Introduction Abrasive flow machining (AFM) was firstly developed fifty years ago by Extrude Hone Corporation, USA. By using the liquid viscoelastic material with easy flowability made of polymer and abrasive grains, AFM can be used to polish, deburr and radius for the workpiece. There are three kinds of AFM: one-way AFM, two-way AFM and orbital AFM [1]. In this case to manufacture the cylinder heads, consider of two-way AFM is much more widely used and its technology is more mature, we also choose the two-way AFM to do the surface finishing. Schematic of two-way flow shows in figure below. Figure 1 principle of material removal mechanism in two-way AFM process [1] Prior to machining, liquid abrasive will be put into the lower medium cylinder, the designed fixture which clamping the workpiece will be fixed between two cylinders. The upper medium, lower medium cylinder and fixture will form a confined space. After heat the whole system to working temperature, by forcing the lower piston (usually by hydraulic), the liquid abrasive will be pressed into the channel formed by clamp and workpiece, then flow into the upper medium cylinder. After the stroke of lower piston finished, the upper piston will force the liquid abrasive back into lower cylinder [2], an operating cycle will be finished. See more: Beowulf essay essay 2. Three key elements of AFM 1) Machine tool Use to fasten the workpiece and fixture, and control the pressure applied on the workpiece, to adjust the degree of abrasive accuracy. 2) Liquid Abrasive Liquid abrasive is abrasive tool in the AFM, it should has following properties, a) Non-corroding and don’t adhere to the workpiece and human skin. b) Good adhesive properties between different abrasive grains. c) Be able to maintain the viscoelasticity for a long time d) Non-volatile and non-deteriorate after a long time preservation. e) Strong cohesion. For these properties, the conventional liquid abrasive is made from Semi-solid carrier which has viscoelasticity, flexibility and cutting property mixed with abrasive grains. Different intrinsic viscosities of different carriers, different types and size of abrasive grains can affect the final tolerance and roughness [2]. The most frequently used abrasives are silicon carbide, carborundum, Cubic Boron Nitride(CBN), aluminum oxide, the size of grain vary from 0.005mm to 1.5mm. Abrasive with high viscosity is mainly used to polish the walls of workpiece and large through-hole while low viscosity abrasive is primarily for radiusing the edge and polishing the small through-hole. 3) Fixture The function of fixture, a) Positioning and fixing the workpiece. b) Bearing clamping force for some workpiece. c) Constitute a channel for liquid abrasive with some machined surface of workpiece in suitable size and section. d) Realizing simultaneous machine multiple workpiece in one device. 3. Advantage of AFM, Abrasive flow machining has accuracy, stability and flexibility. It uses liquid abrasive to remove the metal material infinitesimally, deburr and radius the internal intersections of workpiece. At present, AFM is widely used in automotive industry and other manufacturing. The fundamental advantage of AFM is the liquid abrasive can reach the positions which are not easily be machined by tradition surface finish methods since the complexity of workpiece, polished surface evenly and in integrity, batch processing has the same result. These characteristics improve the performance of part, extend the working life, avoid the multifarious manual labour, and lower the intensity of labor. For example, when polish the intake-tube of vehicle by traditional process, the tube need to be cut into half, then welding after polishing, but using the AFM, cut and welding can be avoided [3]. 4. Geometrical and thermal effects. Viscosity of liquid abrasive will decrease when the working temperature enhances [3], and working ability of abrasive depends on its viscosity as the figure 2 shown. Figure 2 the machining effects of different viscosity of abrasive materials [5] Since cutting force is proportional to viscosity, so higher viscosity means stronger grinding ability, as a result abrasive with higher viscosity will get a better surface. In conclusion, temperature is a very important factor during the process. While the abrasive grains polish the surface, it will generate heat, enhancing the temperature as the figure 3 shown. Figure 3 Variation of rise in temperature of workpiece with number of cycles [4] The rise of temperature will make the working ability reduce. So cooling system is need during the process to ensure the best machined surface. Geometry of cylinder head also affects the result of surface finishing. Many small through-holes exist in the cylinder head, flow rate of abrasive is much bigger in these through-holes according to fluid mechanics, even these accelerations enhance grinding ability, but due to shearing force generated by abrasive being extrusion at narrow pass, it is evident that temperature will rise rapidly, lower the grinding ability. So geometrical effect need to consider when design a cylinder head. 1. Rhoades L.J., Kohut T.A., Reversible Unidirectional AFM, US patent number 5,070,652, Dec 10th, 1991. 2 Szulczynski, Hubert, Uhlmann, Eckart, MATERIAL REMOVAL MECHANISMS IN ABRASIVE FLOW MACHINING 3 Guizhen Song, THEORETICAL ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ON ABRASIVE FLOW MACHINING 4 Rajendra K. Jain, V. K. Jain. Specific energy and temperature determination in abrasive flow machining process[J]. International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, 2001(41):1689-1704 5 Tang Yong, Zhou De-ming, Yang Gang, Machinability of Abrasive Flowing Machining. Journal of south china university of technology, 2001-9

Smoking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Smoking - Research Paper Example To understand and minimize the number of smokers, it is relevant to reduce the number of new smokers (Lindson et al., 2011). Studies show that people who smoke acquire the habit from close friends or parents. Generally, having a close person who is a smoker significantly increases the chances of a person ending up smoking. Mohammed, a cigarette addict confesses, â€Å"I got this bad habit from old brother.† He also got the urge to start smoking from his father and his best friends (Mohammed, 2013). The continued exposure to smokers was the main reason why Mohammed was compelled to start smoking. For this reason, the focus group in prevention measures has to be the closest people (Lindson et al., 2011). According to Mohammed, most people who smoke regret ever starting to smoke because they are unable to stop. Their biggest problem is that due to addiction, they are imprisoned by the vice and are unable to pull out. Mohammed claims â€Å"Smoking almost two packs a day has caused different heal problems to me.† In his statement, it is clear that he attributes deteriorating health to his habit of smoking. He enjoys swimming, but due to the effect of smoking on his lungs, he easily gets tired and his attempts are labored (Mohammed, 2013). Khalid is another smoking addict. He started smoking when he was 14 years old. The main reason that compelled him to start smoking was his older cousin. He attributed his ‘coolness’ to smoke and therefore tried it to be cool (Khalid, 2013). This demonstrates that peer pressure plays a big role in introducing people to smoke. The pressure originates from the people around them. Like Mohamed, Khalid had health issues; he is unable to engage in physical exercises. He easily tires and the effects affect his social life because his family has to deal with medical issues that result from his smoking Khalid says, â€Å"I regret every