Manufacturing Beauty and the Truth behind Cindy Jackson Essay

Manufacturing Beauty and the Truth behind Cindy Jackson Essay.

Cindy Jackson earned her title in the Guinness Book of Records as the one that had the most number of plastic surgeries in the world. According to source, she spent almost US$100,000 in plastic surgery since 1988. As being reflected in her life, it appears that the theme of manufacturing beauty centers on having a self that lingers on the concept that hope creates dreams, and dreams creates the absolute pursuit of these that center more on the purpose of giving joy to oneself instead of other people.

Thus, giving joy to others requires joy from within that, when it bursts, reaches other people in the community that, in turn, solidifies the manufacturing beauty that goes back again to hope. It follows a cycling pattern. Manufacturing Beauty and the Truth behind Cindy Jackson Cindy Jackson earned her title in the Guinness Book of World Records as the one that had the most number of plastic surgeries in the world (Cindy Jackson, 2005). According to source, she spent almost US$100,000 since the year 1988 (Cindy Jackson, 2005), which means that she started taking plastic surgery when she was at the age of 33.

Born in Ohio the year 1955 (Cindy Jackson, 2005), she later on focused more on reinventing her face—specifically the eyelids, lips, nose, cheek, teeth, jaw-line, and chin—as well as her knees, thighs, abdomen, waist, breast, plus a number of hair transplantation, partial dermabrasions, chemical peels, laser resurfacings, facial thread vein removal, mole removal, scar revision, semi-permanent and permanent make-up, as well as the use of temporary filler injections (Cindy Jackson, 2005). By 2003, her 48-year-old image looked like twenty years younger. But who is Cindy Jackson?

What constitutes her social self? What is her self-concept? And what goes beneath her marvelous self-esteem and self-presentation? In the world of the manufacturing beauty, how does public image affect her? These are the topics that would be presented in the following pages. Main Body: Social Self, Attractiveness, and the Mass Media Cindy’s sense of social self Cindy’s sense of social self started with the concept that, behind her small and sheltered life, there was another life waiting for her away from the Midwest. As she narrated, I grew up in a small Ohio farming community.

My father was a farmer-turned- inventor from Indiana and my mother was a Kentucky coal-miner’s daughter… In addition to our extremely unusual home life, we had a very sheltered and isolated upbringing. Feeling like a complete misfit, I always knew there was another life waiting for me far away from the cornfields of the Midwest. (Jackson, 2008) She did not lose hope despite her simple life but continued to pursue her dreams, even when she was a teenager and was never popular in school. She turned her attention to art and photography and pursued to know more about them during her college years.

From here it is evident that Cindy’s self-concept was to pursue what would best make her happy, which became her cornerstone to a social self that was extravagantly vibrant, with high self-esteem. Nowadays, she proclaims that she has had such an extraordinary life (Jackson, 2008) Cindy’s physical attractiveness The seeds of physical attractiveness started when Cindy was only six years old and her parents bought her a Barbie doll that, according to her, “… served to fuel [her] escapist fantasies” (Jackson, 2008). She mentioned that, while she played, in her imagination was a life that was gorgeously happy and glamorous.

Cindy mentioned that, “Through Barbie I could glimpse an alternative destiny” (Jackson, 2008). Through her sense of physical attractiveness and the need to improve and revitalize it, her self-presentation improved all the more, especially when she became a band member and began to sing rock songs with a bohemian appearance that attracted countless eyes in London. Interpersonal attraction played a key role in her pursuit of her living dream, making her see and live the physical attractiveness stereotype, which revealed to her the conclusion that women ought to have beautiful, finely-shaped face and body.

Thus, she created a plan on improving the following areas of her body: (1) eyes that are larger, less tired-looking; (2) nose that is small and feminine; (3) cheekbones that are high; (4) lips that are fuller and better-shaped; (5) teeth that are perfect and white; (6) jaw and chin that are smaller, more delicate; (7) complexion that is flawless; (8) stomach that is flat and defined; as well as (9) thighs and knees that are thinner and slimmer, among others (Jackson, 2008). This image she tried her best to pursue to enhance interpersonal attraction starting the age 33. Cindy and the mass media

Mass media for Cindy became her ladder to success. From her rock band during the ‘80s, little by little she became more popular in her acting and modeling career, with pictures of her posing next to country legend Rhinestone Cowboy or Beach Boy Glen Campbell. She had pictures with friends in the movie, music, and modeling industries, such as Hollywood star Stefanie Powers, Michael Jackson, and Ursula Andress. She also starred in the Howard Stern Show, spent time with pals Charlie Harper of the UK Subs and Knox of The Vibrators, and even with politicians like Mayor Boris Johnson in London.

Only this year, she was being featured in newspapers and magazines, as the Guinness World Records 2009 launched her in London as the one with the “Most Cosmetic Procedures” (Jackson, 2008). These basically show that Cindy’s life, since the start of her career, revolved around the mass media. Conclusion: Manufacturing Beauty As being reflected in the life of Cindy Jackson, it appears that the theme of manufacturing beauty centers on having a self that lingers on the concept that hope creates dreams, and dreams creates the absolute pursuit of these that center more on the purpose of giving joy to oneself instead of other people.

Thus, giving joy to others requires joy from within that, when it bursts, reaches other people in the community that, in turn, solidifies the manufacturing beauty that goes back again to hope. It follows a cycling pattern. As final cliche, Jen Chamberlain wrote what manufacturing beauty really means: Realistically, there is probably no one reason why people reconstruct their bodies to fit the ideal image of each age… The fact that this phenomenon is getting more national attention today is a wonderful and necessary step towards helping people see the beauty within. (Chamberlain, 2002)


Chamberlain, J. (2002). Manufacturing beauty: a sojourn into the history of body modification. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://www. ithaca. edu/buzzsaw/0402beauty. htm. Cindy Jackson. (2005). Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://www. nationmaster. com/encyclopedia/Cindy-Jackson. Jackson, C. (2008). Cindy Jackson. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://www. cindyjackson. com/index. html.

Manufacturing Beauty and the Truth behind Cindy Jackson Essay

Airbus vs. Boeing Essay

Airbus vs. Boeing Essay.

Airbus and Boeing both compete in the highly competitive industry of manufacturing commercial aircraft. Over the years they have each controlled the market at differing times due to competitive advantages – an ability to create value through a company’s strategies and operations that its competitors cannot (ref – Strategic Management textbook , pg 22)

Boeing, formed in 1916 by William Boeing and George Westervelt, dominated the industry until the 1970’s, when Airbus was organized through a collaboration between Britain, France and West Germany.

Airbus began manufacturing the A-300 series which enabled them to capture 10% of the market share by 1975 (ref article), no small feat considering they were competing against the giant Boeing.

Airbus’s ability to compete with Boeing and gain market share will be analyzed using the following business models: PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, VRINE Analysis and Porter’s Model of Competitive Advantage.


Political – Airbus was a product of a merger between three European countries; Britain, France and West Germany. In the 1970’s the political climates of all three were relatively stable. The three countries worked together in order to compete with the US. They did have to adhere to international trading policies and agreements (NAFTA, GATT). Economic – As they were competing largely in the US market, Airbus needed to constantly keep an eye on interest rates; their aircraft were manufactured in Europe but sold primarily to US airline companies. They had to focus on macroeconomics (international) as well as microeconomics (national issues).

Also, any economic downturns could sharply affect demand. Sociocultural Factors – There were a great deal of social and cultural issues at work within Airbus’ structure; three countries were involved in design, production, manufacturing and financial issues and at times this proved to be a hindrance in decision making. Technological Factors – From a technological standpoint, Airbus established a competitive advantage over Boeing as they frequently implemented the use of computers in the design and manufacturing of their airplanes. Environmental Factors – Environmental issues affecting Airbus would include high energy costs in the manufacturing process, minimizing aircraft and manufacturing site emissions and waste. Legal Factors – Legal implications involved adhering to international trade policies and worker’s rights.


Strengths: Airbus’s strengths included their superior design and manufacturing processes; their ability to produce more fuel efficient aircraft which allows airlines a cost per seat savings; their avoidance of union issues within their workforce and the cost savings benefit of having four exploitable partners. Weaknesses: Airbus’ weaknesses included an inability to obtain financing for every project; the high costs of implementing new products, Opportunities: Opportunities which exist to increase market share for Airbus include new products that Boeing may be unable to compete with.

Also designing more fuel efficient planes could produce a lower cost per seat for the airlines. Threats: Airbus’ main competitor is Boeing who has shared market lead with Airbus on and off over the past decade or so. Threats could also come in the form of another competitor emerging (not highly likely due to the extremely high entrance costs into the aerospace industry), threats could also come from changes in economic conditions which could decrease air travel and lead to less orders for new products from airlines.


Threat of New Entrants – The scale of investment that is required to enter the aircraft manufacturing industry, as well as proprietary technology, makes the threat of new entrants quite minimal. Threat of Substitutes – Threat of substitution exists in competition designing a superior model. Buyer Power – The buyers in the commercial aircraft industry are the airline companies. They have a great deal of power as they comprise the majority of purchasers in the industry. Airbus and Boeing must manufacture planes the airlines will be able to profit from; this gives the airlines negotiating strength. Supplier Power – As Boeing and Airbus are the two main manufacturers of aircraft they maintain some power, but as the airlines have a choice as to which firm to purchase from, the balance of negotiating power lies with them.


An industry competitive advantage exists when a firm is able to manufacture or produce its product more cost efficiently than its rival(s) or produces a product that is superior through differentiation. In the article “Airbus – From Challenger to Leader”, Airbus maintained a competitive advantage over Boeing through a superior and more sophisticated production process that allowed them to assemble aircraft in fewer hours and with less workers. The company also maintained a competitive advantage through a superior design process that utilized computers and by offering a wider variety of models that were more on par with airline demand.


One of Airbus’ capabilities that provided them a competitive advantage was their design and manufacturing process. It was valuable because it allowed them to incorporate technology and efficient production through their use of computer design and a line-manufacturing method of assembling aircraft. This advantage was rare because it was unique to the company and not readily available to competitors. Due to the extremely high costs involved in creating Airbus’ design and manufacturing process, it was not easy to imitate or substitute. Airbus effectively exploited these capabilities which allowed them to gain market share against Boeing.

Airbus vs. Boeing Essay

Types of Cutting Motion in Machine Tools Essay

Types of Cutting Motion in Machine Tools Essay.

A machine tool is a machine for making components of a given shape, size and accuracy as per the requirements by removing material from the workpiece by using a cutting tool to operate upon the workpiece. Machine tools are capable of producing themselves therefore the machine tools are quite often referred to as mother machine. In the manufacturing processes, machine tools are the most versatile and almost any product can be produced with them. The machine tools should able to fulfill the following requirements:

•The machine tool should be able to produce consistently the components (or parts) of specified shape and size, dimensional accuracy and surface finish.

These features depend upon the rigidity of the machine elements.

•Machine tool should be able to provide the flexibility of machining (or cutting) the material at various cutting speeds and at different material removal rates.

•The machine tools should be ergonomically designed so as to enable the operator to setup and control the machine without any problems.

The parts of the required shape and size can be obtained on a machine tool by imparting coordinated motions to its working member i.e., the cutting tool should move in a particular manner with respect to the workpiece. The cutting motions are of two types:

•Primary motion. It includes the cutting motion and the feed motion. The primary motion is the main motion provided by a machine tool or manually to cause relative motion between the tool and workpiece so that the face of the tool approaches the workpiece material. The primary motion absorbs most of the power required to perform a machining operation.

Primary motion has the purpose of removing the metal (chip) from the workpiece. The feed motion is a motion that may be provided to a tool or workpiece by a machine tool which, when added to the primary motion, leads to a repeated or continuous chip removal and the creation of a machined surface of desired geometry. This motion may proceed in steps or continuously, in either case it usually absorbs a small proportion of the total power required to perform a machining operation. The speed of the cutting motion is determined by the optimum cutting speed, while the speeds of the feed movement depend on the required degree of surface finish.

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Types of Cutting Motion in Machine Tools Essay

Porter’s Value Chain Essay

Porter’s Value Chain Essay.

Support activities assist the primary activities in helping the organisation achieve its competitive advantage. They include: Procurement: This department must source raw materials for the business and obtain the best price for doing so. The challenge for procurement is to obtain the best possible quality available (on the market) for their budget. Technology development: The use of technology to obtain a competitive advantage is very important in today’s technological driven environment.

Technology can be used in many ways including production to reduce cost thus add value, research and development to develop new products and the internet so customers have 24/7 access to the firm.

Human resource management: The organisation will have to recruit, train and develop the correct people for the organisation to be successful. Staff will have to be motivated and paid the ‘market rate’ if they are to stay with the organisation and add value. Within the service sector such as the airline industry, employees are the competitive advantage as customers are purchasing a service, which is provided by employees; there isn’t a product for the customer to take away with them.

Firm infrastructure: Every organisations needs to ensure that their finances, legal structure and management structure work efficiently and helps drive the organisation forward. Ineffiecient infrastructure is waste resources, could affect the firm’s reputation and even leave it open to fines and sanctions.


Inbound logistics : Refers to goods being obtained from the organisation’s suppliers and to be used for producing the end product. Operations : Raw materials and goods are manufactured into the final product. Value is added to the product at this stage as it moves through the production line. Outbound logistics : Once the products have been manufactured they are ready to be distributed to distribution centres, wholesalers, retailers or customers. Distribution of finished goods is known as outbound logistics.

Marketing and Sales: Marketing must make sure that the product is targeted towards the correct customer group. The marketing mix is used to establish an effective strategy, any competitive advantage is clearly communicated to the target group through the promotional mix. Services: After the product/service has been sold what support services does the organisation offer customers?. This may come in the form of after sales training, guarantees and warranties. With the above activities, any or a combination of them are essential if the firm are to develop the “competitive advantage” which Porter talks about in his book.

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Porter’s Value Chain Essay

Basic Introduction of Cement Production Process Essay

Basic Introduction of Cement Production Process Essay.

Cement manufacturing as a procedure and as a big production line has undergone many phases of makeover in current times. An integrated cement manufacturing process is that prepares the raw mix, feeds it to the pyro-processing system (kiln), and then grinds the clinker from the kiln system into various cement products. Finished cement is stored in large silos on site or bagged for small quantity use. The coarse crushing China mobile crushers can crush the material in the first-line of the jobsite and avoid the middle link of transporting the material to other places and then crushing.

It saves the transportation fee greatly. Besides, the lengthening machine frame can send the material directly to the transferring truck wagon box and then leave the jobsite easily. Crushing process: The raw materials mainly limestone, clay, coke are crushed in the separate crushers and stored automatically into the respective silos. Storage and Proportioning: The different raw materials are extracted from the silos in the desired proportion through table feeders and conveyed to raw mill.

Raw Milling: The raw mix is ground into a ballgrinder at desired fineness to produce Raw Meal, and transported for Homogenizing. Blending & Homogenization: The raw meal is homogenized in the blending silos, and is stored automatically into a storage silo for feeding to the kiln. The coarse crushing movable crushing station can operate independently and can also work together with other machines aiming at the coarse crushing and fine screening.

The side-discharging of discharge hopper supplies multimode configuration of screening and transporting materials. The integrative diesel generator can supply power to the machine frame itself as well as the process system configurations. Palletizing & Burning: The nodules are made into a nodulous and charged into the kiln for burning. The clinker after discharge is stored in the clinker yard through deep Bucket Elevator. The coarse crushing movable portable crusher includes the PE series jaw crusher.

This jaw crusher has the high-efficiency, multi-function, excellent crushing product quality as well as the reasonable structure design and prominent crushing characteristics. It has the strong adoption ability for the transporting quantity, material particle size and abrasiveness. It brings long wear time and higher work efficiency. The reliable and stable quality establishes the perfect reputation among all the users domestic or abroad.

Basic Introduction of Cement Production Process Essay

Flinder Valves Essay

Flinder Valves Essay.

1.How do you see FVC’s situation? What are the strengths and weaknesses of FVC and RSE? Why should the two companies want to negotiate? 2.What is FVC worth? What are the key value drivers? 3.What opening price do you think Flinder should offer to sell the company to RSE? At what price should he walk away from the negotiation? How did you estimate those values? 4.Do you recommend that RSE pays in cash or stock? If stock, what exchange ratio do you recommend?

W.B. Bill Flinder, the president of Flinder Valves and Controls Inc. (FVC), and Tom Eliot, the Chairman and CEO of RSE supranational are currently in the midst of negotiating a nuclear fusion of FVC and RSE. Both companies are aware of the benefits, but alike outride apprehensive due to the risks of completing an acquisition in the seek economy. Prior to 2008, the U.S. manufacturing industry had experience a decrease in consumer demand because of tighter borrowing standards and a weak housing field in the past year, according to a recent analyst.

However, forward May 2008, the U.S. began to experience go economic conditions, which provided FVC a better environment to introduce its new, hydraulic-controls system called the widening gyre, which can be used in the military industry.

With this expensive program mollify under development, Bill Flinder realized the importance of merging with another(prenominal) company that was pecuniaryly stable. Other factors contributed the negotiation. In addition to nearing retirement, Flinder also believe a merger with RSE would help the transition days for his employees. FVC and RSE should follow-through and complete the negotiation because one companys strengths make up for the others weaknesses. Tom Eliot had deep proposed to the board of RSE to focus on diversification.

FVC would help diversify RSE; they had the disposition of opening up opportunities for companies looking to diversify, plant capacity, management efficiency, financial resources, or to even counter the effect of a rotary business. Also, FVC is in a position that would require financial stability. In addition to the required funds for the widening gyre program, the increment in the consolidation trend posed as authorisation problem for FVC because it would give away the companys combative advantage. FVC is a small company and could be pushed out of the manufacturing market place if their competition learns

Flinder Valves Essay

Quality Assurance Case Study Essay

Quality Assurance Case Study Essay.


This case involves a man named Hank Kolb who has recently taken on a role as the Director of Quality Assurance as a manufacturing plant. He has been brought in to ensure quality in a place that is known for have a lax attitude about quality and safety. The product described in the case is Greasex, which consists of solvents packed in cans for decreasing. The company has experience some trouble with the filling equipment

The problems in the case are related to several areas.

They include personal such as the machine operator having no formal job training. Also included in plant maintenance in that the equipment was not designed specifically for Greasex in addition they are only running at 70% capacity. There are also purchasing problems. The plastic nozzle heads used in production have slight blurs on the rims, which causes fitting problems.


Hank has come in to put some structure around the quality process, which will be a challenge due to the fact that there is a very low accountability on quality.

There is really no concern for quality as long as the job got done. Schedule is the main priority and quality is just a secondary thought. There main concern is getting their product out the door, even if there are flaws and potential defects. The company doesn’t appear to have any concern with how to fix their problems and improve their process and product. They are only concerned with the short-term fix needed to get the immediate work done.

Hank Kolb should begin by getting buy in from plant senior leadership team on the need to focus on quality and laying out the benefits of pursuing a robust program. Given the support of the General Manager, Hank needs to ensure that he has support from the plant manager as well. * Quality Program, Initiatives, and Procedures to be defined / refined * Set Quality goals for the department and communicate to the plant * Standard work instructions for factory taking quality defects into consideration

Case 1: Hank Kolb, Director Quality Assurance

Question1. All the various causes of the quality problems on the Greasex line, depicting the answer on a cause-effect (or fishbone) diagram. Answer 1. The problem which occurred in the Hank Kolb Case can be attributed to the following listed reasons 1. Low accountability on quality: Everyone was rushing through the work. No one was really concerned about the quality of their deliverable. 2. Schedule vs Quality: Quality took a backseat when schedule was to be met. It shows the hurry for keeping the product on the rack as soon as possible. 3. Focus on short term: Focus was always on how to get the fix done to get the immediate work done. Focus was never to fix the problem. 4. No prequalification of process :

5. Quality Dept. not taken seriously 6. Absence / Non adherence to Standard Operating Procedures 7. Quality and other dept too friendly: Quality dept was too friendly with other dept to the fact that they never thought as to why their work was always being compromised. They were not able to realize that they were not doing what was expected out of them 8. Lack of total approach to product development: There was a lack to approach leading to product development. Fish Bone Diagram of the root cause of Hank Kolb case

Question2. The general steps for setting up a company-wide continuous quality improvement program which Hank could propose for the company, for consideration by the general manager, Morganthal. Answer 2. General Company wise improvements on quality

1. They could start with senior management to manage the company by a visible quality philosophy and take a long term view of their company where they empower the Quality director to institute quality programs that infiltrate the attitudes of all employees across the company. 2. Quality should be of utmost importance.

3. Start collecting data on why and how the machine breaks down… * Mandatory formal training regarding operation of all factory machinery * Flow chart completed of the Grease-X manufacturing processes done by multi-functional team of quality, maintenance, purchasing, design engineering, packaging, &manufacturing * Look into ordering equipment to produce the product properly, try and get used equipment first and then purchase new equipment (Equipment not very good at making the product). * Purchasing needs to hold suppliers accountable for delivering quality products. Set up Supplier DPPM measure and set goals to be achieved to produce the product efficiently * Design Engineer needs to look at can design to see if it could be causing some of the problems with the pressure

* Manufacturing needs to understand quality function important throughout the production of the product and training needs to happen on the floor around working with the other departments once flow chart is completed from multi-functional team * Plant Manager needs to reach out to the marketing team and let them know site needs to fix quality issues so the product coming out may be down temporarily while the issues are being fixed. Stress that once it is done, they should see more product that is correct coming out of the plant Use Histogram over time to evaluate if the defects are going down. Institute Control Charts with strict upper and lower limits that need to be met for the pressure of the Grease-X line

* The requirement of leadership from upper management to change an organization’s view about quality and to implement a quality improvement initiative. In order to setup a successful continuous improvement program Hank will have first to study very carefully the fundamental problems that caused the lack of quality from the first place. Once this is accomplished he will need to make sure that the senior management be involved in order to provide a clear support for a quality philosophy that will change the attitudes across the company. To follow up on the change of attitude in the entire company, Mr. Kolb will then need to start an awareness campaign in which it will provide the workers a clear unde.

Quality Assurance Case Study Essay

Decoding the Dna of the Toyota Production System Essay

Decoding the Dna of the Toyota Production System Essay.

Many manufacturing industries such as aerospace, consumer products, metals processing and industrial products had tried to adopt the TPS in their factories. But they have failed and get frustrated. The essence of the TPS could be in the system itself, the connections, activities and production flows. Also the great flexibility of their operations and this push the system to innovate and improve. The scientific method plays an important role inside the improvements and creation of any new methodology.

Toyota uses a rigorous problem-solving process that integrates the sm.

The system simulates workers ad managers to engage in the kind of experimentation that is widely recognized as the cornerstone of a learning organization. The four rules guide the design, operation and improvement of every activity, connections, and pathway for every product and service. The output of an ideal person, group of people, or machine is very specifically and clear. This kind of knowledge helps Toyota to reduce batches.

The rules make workers capable and responsible for doing and improving their own work, by standardizing connections between individual customers and suppliers.

The flow problem must be push to the lowest possible level of the organization. What did you learn? The first factor I learned is that we can’t copy o try to implement any system, no matter how success is it; we have to know the essence of the methodology and then try to apply it to another industry sector. In other case, we could fail as the article mention.

The second factor I learned was the concept of the four rules that could have the essence of the success of the TPS system. These rules complement the entire philosophy of kanban, poka yoke, wastes, TPS house, etc. The problem is that many observers (managers, workers, teachers…) may forget to study the rules. The third and last important concept was the implementation of the scientific method in order to design new improvements that push the company to a higher level of quality, innovation and profit. It is the first time that I heard about a real application (outside a laboratory) of the scientific method.

How can you apply them into your professional career? As I have told in other articles, the TPS is part of any Industrial Engineer but more in those who will specialize or work on the manufacturing industry. Also, the article mentions that today many industries want to try this methodology in order to success. So it’s important to understand the four rules or the whole Toyota system to make an improvement on our workstations, any working area or entire industry. It will depend in the position or level of organization we are.

Conclusions The Toyota’s system success is based on the way of managing, how rules are followed and implemented, the specified and rigid methodology, the connection between the levels of the organization, and of course the high variety of tools and techniques that TPS has. But what makes this system effective is the four rules that other companies hadn’t did at all. These rules make the production system more flexible with a high variety of products at low cost. The great benefit of nested, modular organizations is that people can implement design changes in one part without unduly affecting other parts.

Decoding the Dna of the Toyota Production System Essay

The Legend of Samuel Colt Essay

The Legend of Samuel Colt Essay.

Who was Samuel Colt? He was a legendary inventor from Hartford, Connecticut that helped revolutionize the way the world produced firearms. Colt was born to a family of farmers, his father Christopher Colt was a farmer, however he later stopped farming and became a business man. Meanwhile Colt’s mother Sarah Colt passed when he was just six years old. His father remarried two years later and overall there would be six siblings in the Colt family. Despite being part of a big family Samuel Colt was destined to become successful and stand out above his other siblings.

Colt began to engineer when he was very young.

This was because his father had a silk mill factory in Massachusetts. His father Christopher trained the young Samuel in chemistry; he encouraged him to become a business man and to have his own company one day. By giving personal training sessions to his son in engineering and allowing him to work at his company he secured a bright future for Samuel Colt in the manufacturing industry.

One of Colt’s first factories was the Patent Arms Company in Paterson, New Jersey. That’s where Colt produced his first revolvers; however it was not a successful company and soon the business failed.

The primary reason why the business failed was due to some malfunctions in the machinery. “There were several parts in the revolver that tend to break when shooting” (Wilson, 1985). Regardless of the misfortunes of his first company Samuel Colt was not going to give up on his revolver invention. Instead he started a new factory in Hartford, Connecticut called Colt’s Patent-Firearms Manufacturing Company. The company was founded with the help of his cousin Elisha Colt who was a banker; she gave Colt a loan for him to be able to open his new factory.

Despite the failures of his previous factories this one was going to be successful and would revolutionize the way of manufacturing firearms. Colt’s new revolvers were smaller than his previous ones and were more reliable unlike the first revolvers that had exploding malfunctions when firing. In fact the new revolvers became so popular that “people began to refer to the revolver as the Colt” (Wilson, 1985). The popularity of these revolvers led to a new way of mass producing firearms by creating interchangeable parts and soon Colt had the largest private armament factory which manufactured ne hundred and fifty weapons per day.

At the height of his success Colt unexpectedly passed at the age of forty-seven. His death shocked many and his brother in law Richard Jarvis assumed the factory’s responsibilities. Richard would run the company for years and would contribute in keeping the Colt’s Manufacturing Company legacy alive. In the outbreak of the American Civil War the future of America was being decided in a battle between the North and South. During this exact time Hartford played an important role in manufacturing weapons for the North.

As a matter of fact Colt’s company signed a government contract during the Civil War “Colt’s company signed the very first government contract for producing rifles” (Warshauer, 2011). This gave Hartford an important key role in mass producing firearms for the North. During the Civil War Colt’s Manufacturing Company designed a new revolver called the Model 1862 Pocket Navy; a total of nineteen thousand of these revolvers were produced within the first year. Colt’s Manufacturing Company also came up with a new idea of improving the production of the revolver by matching steel of the frame, cylinder, and barrel which made the gun less heavy.

These new ideas of mass production were now being utilized by other firearms companies in Connecticut. For instance, another company in Hartford called Sharp’s Rifle started using the same production techniques that Colt’s company invented. Eventually everyone would copy the Colt’s Manufacturing Company inventions placing it as one of the most successful firearms companies of its time. As the American Civil War came to an end it was obvious that Colt’s invention of the revolver and his ideas of mass producing firearms had made him into a legendary inventor.

Because of Colt’s inventions and his company’s contributions to the Nation the Union Army managed to have advanced revolvers during the war. Overall “Its output for the entire Civil War period totaled 378,000 revolvers and 114,000 muskets” (Grant, 1982). The role that his company played in producing firearms for the Union Army placed Colt as a historic figure in American history. Today Samuel Colt is looked at as the man who revolutionized the firearm industry and the man who created the first mass producing firearms company in the world. He was recently honored in 2006 as he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

With manufacturing moving overseas in the past several decades and America currently having a trade deficit it would be difficult for Hartford to redevelop itself as one of the most important manufacturing cities in America. On the contrary, Hartford can use its past to place itself as one of the most important manufacturing cities in America. For instance, it can argue the fact that Colt came up with the idea of mass production and started running his business out of Hartford, that it was the city of Hartford who was the first to place itself as an industrial city in America.

As the United States also faces challenges in regaining some of its success in the past back in manufacturing, it must end the habit of companies shipping all of the manufacturing jobs overseas and restore the jobs on American soil. At this time American democracy is at risk due to overspending and a high debt. During the era of Colt, America produced all of its weapons and the majority of its products. I don’t see why we can’t do that in today’s age. Unfortunately, I don’t think that American companies are likely to stop shipping their manufacturing jobs overseas.

The Legend of Samuel Colt Essay

Japanese Obon Festival Essay

Japanese Obon Festival Essay.

A Buddhist monk, able to see the dead, saw his mother struggling in the afterworld of Hungry Ghosts, the Hell of Starvation. Horrified by his clairvoyant vision, the Buddhist monk, Mokuren, ran to Buddha and was instructed to give each Buddhist monk offerings on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Doing so and seeing his mother’s release, Mokuren realized how much she had sacrificed for him and danced in great joy and gratitude. Much like the story of Mokuren, the Japanese Obon (pronounced o-bone) festival is a family oriented celebration which appreciates the sacrifices of one’s ancestors.

Japan’s fashion of celebrating their ancestor’s sacrifices has its origins steeped in Buddhist culture. Obon has been celebrated annually since its introduction by the Chinese in the seventh century (more accurately 657 A. D. ). Abbreviated from Urabon (the Japanese transliteration of the Sanskrit word “Ullambana”), Obon means “to hang upside down,” which communicates the retched suffering of either body or spirit, literally or metaphorically, of being hung upside down.

Obon is a ritual, which operates according to Sakyamuni Buddha’s Urabon Sutra, the story of Mokuren.

This ritual was practiced the same way Sakyamuni Buddha instructed Mokuren to do, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. This tradition changed over the centuries and is now more commonly practiced August 13-16th, though most places in Okinawa (southern Japan) still celebrate Obon on the Lunar Calendar’s seventh month. Like the story implies, Obon is not a mournful celebration and is known as the Festival of Light or the Festival of Joy. For the three days of Obon, people may dance, eat good food, play games, and pray to show the joy they have for what their ancestors had to give up when they were alive.

These celebratory features however, must be prepared for to adequately honor the ancestor’s spirits. Before the Obon festival begins, families gather and prepare their homes and the family’s shrine in order to show thanks to their ancestors. Once the family has gathered, the home first must be cleaned, which functions to purify the area for the arrival of the ancestor’s sprits. To feed the spirits, food offerings, mostly vegetables, fruits, and rice are placed at the butsudan throughout the three days of Obon.

The butsudan (a Buddhist altar) is an essential part to a traditional Japanese home, especially during Obon, being that it is the center of spiritual faith of the house. Positioned at the butsudan altar to help direct the spirits home are Lanterns, called chochin, and flower arrangements, called ikebana. Incense sticks are placed at the altar, which is thought to sooth and please the family’s ancestors and chase away malignant spirits. Praying at the butsudan alter is also done at this time, sometimes asking a Buddhist or Shinto priest to invite the spirits home.

It isn’t uncommon to also position a lantern with the family’s crest at the doorway (referred to as mukae-bi), to guide the souls to the right home. The family then will set out to their family’s shrine and do much of the same thing; using chochin lanterns to bring the spirits home (the term for this being mukae-bon). This work is implemented to show how grateful the family is for what their ancestors have given up and sacrificed during the time they were alive. Once the set up is accomplished, fun gatherings take place so the people may show their appreciation to their family’s ancestors.

Due to the sweltering summer heat in Japan, yukata or cotton Kimonos are worn to the carnival-like celebration. Takoyaki (rounded fried dough often containing octopus), fried squid and chicken, sushi, dango (tofu and rice dessert), manju (Japanese confectionary), chocolate-dipped bananas, and snow cones with red beans are just some of the common food items of the Obon festival. A variety of games are also a large feature of the celebration. These games vary anywhere from catching fish from a kiddy pool using a small net, to throwing rings at bottles for prizes.

Although the food and games have a significant role to play, the bon odori (Obon folk dance) is the pinnacle of the Obon gala. The bon odori dancing is done to welcome the spirits of the dead back to the living world. Different areas in Japan have different dances as well as unique songs to match them. Some songs have a pertinent spiritual significance to them and thusly, the bon odori will too. Hokkaido, far north of Japan, entertains with the folk song “Soran Bushi,” where in Kagoshima, the far south, uses the song “Ohara Bushi. Anyone may participate in this special dance, allowing those who do the ability to show thanks and joy to their ancestors. The Buddhist teachings, which has soaked Japan in its colours, preaches not the joy of getting what you want, but rather the bliss of awareness. Completing the celebratory festival, the souls must be sent back to the afterworld to rest peacefully. Toro nagashi, meaning floating lanterns, is the final tradition of the Japanese Obon. Once the sun begins to set, the people will take their family in-crested chochin lanterns to the water’s edge.

Lighting the lanterns, they send them off floating to the other side. The fire lit in these lanterns are said to guide the spirits wherever they go and here, they guide them back to the afterworld. Families that live by the coast, use the ocean as the sending place for toro nagashi, but for those not near the ocean will often use rivers or lakes to send off their ancestors. Regardless of which is used, this process of Obon is beautiful, but melancholy. Sending off the spirits of grandmothers, grandfathers, parents, wives, husbands, and children is often a very emotional process for the Japanese.

Each family, on land or on boat, will watch as their lanterns float farther and farther away. The glow of each lantern causing the water to look much like the starry sky, spotted with many warm lights. Those who participated in toro nagashi have a heightened awareness of the challenges and sacrifices their ancestors had to take. For centuries Obon has been a sacred gathering for the dead and the living to teach and celebrate the awareness appreciating another’s sacrifice brings.

Japanese Obon Festival Essay