History of International Human Resource Management

History of International Human Resource Management Up until the 1960s, even firms operating internationally maintained organizational structures with centralised technical and managerial resources, manufacturing ability, and the access to and control of the capital (Doz Prahalad 1981). As exports increased, it was seen as more attractive to establish sales subsidiaries in other countries, often staffing them with skilled personnel from the home country. These expatriates had the necessary product knowledge, and could even initiate local manufacture, but also had a perceived primary loyalty to the home company and country culture. Unfortunately, this was also an era of convergence thinking (usually towards the dominant U.S. culture), with sometimes lamentably littleattention being given to national sensitivities and cultural beliefs and behaviours With the developing internationalisation of many firms in the late 1960s and early 1970s, companies established overseas plants and entered joint ventures with foreign affiliates. Firms sought commercial success through moving closer to their customers by employing more host-country nationals. In some situations, they aimed at being perceived more as local rather than foreign, for various reasons. In the 1990s, not only has the practice of IHRM become more sophisticated, but research into its policy and practice has become established. It has a developing body of research and practice which is regularly considered at dedicated conferences, and published in general management as well as HRM journals. Increasingly, international HRM is being taught in university faculties of business management courses, and management MBA graduates, as well as graduates in HRM, are now more frequently aware of the issues involved, and the functions of HRM in an international context. International human resource management What an HR manager does in a multinational corporation varies from firm to firm. It also depends on whether the manager is located in a global corporations headquarters or onsite in a foreign subsidiary. What is IHRM? Actually, it is not easy to provide a precise definition of international human resource management (IHRM) because the mission of an HR manger in a multinational corporation (MNC) varies on a large scale. Generally speaking, IHRM is the effective utilization of human resources in a corporation in an international environment. The term IHRM in most studies has traditionally focused on the area of expatriation (Brewster and Harris, 1999) Broadly defined, international human resource management (IHRM) is the process of procuring, allocating, and effectively utilising human resources in a multinational corporation. If the MNC is simply exporting its products, with only a few small offices in foreign locations, then the task of the international HR manager is relatively simple. However, in global firms human resource managers must achieve two somewhat conflicting strategic objectives. First, they must integrate human resource policies and practices across a number of subsidiaries in different countries so that overall corporate objectives can be achieved. At the same time, the approach to HRM must be sufficiently flexible to allow for significant differences in the type of HR policies and practices that are most effective in different business and cultural settings. This problem of balancing integration (control and coordination from HQ) and differentiation (flexibility in policies and practices at the local subsidiary level) have long been acknowledged as common dilemmas facing HR and other functional managers in global corporations. Although some argue that IHRM is not unlike HRM in a domestic setting, others point out that there  are significant differences. Specifically compared with domestic HRM, IHRM (I) encompasses more functions, (2) has more heterogeneous functions, (3) involves constantly changing perspectives, (4) requires more involvement in employees personal lives, (5) is influenced by more external sources, and (6) involves a greater level of risk than typical domestic HRM. When compared with domestic human resource management, IHRM requires a much broader perspective on even the most common HR activities. This is particularly so for HR managers operating from a MNCs headquarters (HQ). The number and variety of IHRM activities are daunting. International HR managers must deal with issues as varied as international taxation; international relocation and orientation; various other administrative services for expatriates; selecting, training and appraising local and international employees; and managing relations with host governments in a number of countries around the world. Even when dealing with one particular HR function area such as compensation, the international HR manager is faced with a great variety of national and international pay issues. For example, while dealing with pay issues, the HQ-based HR manager must coordinate pay systems in different countries with different currencies that may change in relative value to one another over time. An American expatriate in Tokyo who receives a salary of $100,000 may suddenly find the buying power of that salary dramatically diminished if the Japanese yen strengthens in value relative to the US dollar. A US dollar purchased 248 yen in 1985, but less than 110 yen in 2000. In the case of fringe benefits provided to host company employees, some interesting complications might arise. For instance, it is common in the United States to provide health insurance benefits to employees and the employees family, which usually means spouse and children. In some countries however, the term family may include a more extended group of relatives-multiple spouses, aunts, uncles, grandparents, nephews, and nieces. How does the firms benefit plan deal with these different definitions of family? A final aspect of the broader scope of IHRM is that the HQ-based manager deals with employee groups that have different cultural backgrounds. The HQ manager must coordinate policies and procedures to manage expatriates from the firms home country (parent country nationals, PNCs), host-country nationals (HCNs), as well as third country nationals (TCNs, e.g. a French manager working for an American MNC in the firms Nigerian subsidiary) in subsidiaries around the world. Although such issues are important for the HQ-based manager, they are also relevant to the HR manager located in a subsidiary. This manager must develop HR systems that are not only acceptable to the host country but also compatible with company-wide systems being developed by his or her HQ-based counterpart. These policies and practices must effectively balance the needs and desires of local employees, PCNs and TCNs. It is at the subsidiary level that the increased involvement of IHRM in the personal lives of employees becomes particularly apparent. It is not unusual for subsidiary HR managers to be involved in arranging housing, healthcare, transportation, education, and recreation activities for expatriate and local staff. IHRM activities are also influenced by a greater number of external forces than are domestic HR activities. The HQ-based manager may have to set equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies that meet the legal requirements of both the home country and a number of host countries. Because of the visibility that foreign firms tend to have in host countries (especially in developing countries), subsidiary HR managers may have to deal with ministers, other political figures, and a great variety of social and economic interest groups than would normally be encountered in a purely domestic HRM. Excerpt from Human Resource Management by Cynthia D Fisher, Lyle F Schoenfeldt, James B Shaw. Published by Biztantra

Classification Of Facility Layout Problems

Classification Of Facility Layout Problems The purpose of this literature review is to explore the general facility layout problem, the dynamic facility layout problem, the models that have been used to represent the facility layout problem and the algorithms that solve the models,. Classification of Facility Layout Problems Determining the most efficient arrangement of physical departments within a facility is defined as a facility layout problem (FLP) (SMTF Ghomi et al, 2011). Over the period of several couple of decades, FLP have been studied by several researchers to a significant extent for establishing optimum and universal method to solve the problem and a large variety of solution procedures based on algorithms have been proposed. Facility layout problems are classified into two categories, static facility layout problem (SFLP) and dynamic facility layout problem (DFLP). Static facility layout problem (SFLP) The static facility layout problem (SFLP) is the determination of the most efficient arrangement of departments within a facility with scope of improvement only within the layout boundary. The facility can be manufacturing plants, administrative office buildings, or service facilities,( Alan R, jin et al 2005). The static facility layout problem (SFLP) approach generally assumes that flow between machines, product demand, and levels of product mix are constant during the planning horizon. Dynamic facility layout problem (DFLP) When material flow assumes varied path between departments during the planning horizon, the problem becomes the dynamic facility layout problem (DFLP). Under a volatile environment, demand is not stable. It changes from one production period to another. To operate efficiently under such environments, the facilities must be adaptive to changes of production requirements. From a layout point of view, this situation requires the solution of the dynamic layout problem (DLP). (Adil, Turkay et al 2005) Tree representation of the layout problems Essential feature of layout problems are characterized in tree representation diagram as shown in fig. Tree representation of the layout problems (Amine,henri et al 2007) Algorithms for Solving facility layout problems There are two types of algorithms for solving facility layout problems. One is heuristic algorithm and another is optimal algorithm. Heuristic algorithms These algorithms provide a solution which possibly might not just be the best fit for the problem. A good heuristic approach usually produces the best solution for most of the small problems. A heuristic algorithm works towards an optimal solution but ends its search when it finds a good enough solution. As computation increases, these algorithms will approach the optimal solution. The purpose of the heuristic algorithm is not to find the best or optimal solution but to find an acceptable solution in an acceptable amount of time using an acceptable amount of computer memory. Heuristic algorithms can also be classified as construction algorithms and improvement algorithms. Construction algorithms In Construction algorithms layout is constructed from the beginning and facilities are assigned to a site, one at a time, until the complete layout is obtained. (andrew, et al 1987). The plant layout software using a construction type algorithm will first construct a solution in an open floor area from raw data. The algorithm basically takes relationships between activity areas into account and generates a block layout. Their basic approach is to find a starting point or initial activity placement and then add the remaining activity areas according to certain rules. In some algorithms the rules are similar to Muthers vowel letter sequencing (A-E-I-O-U-X) for closeness relationships. Three well known examples of construction algorithms are CORELAP, PLANET, and ALDEP. CORELAP Computerized Relationship Layout Planning (CORELAP) is a construction algorithm and was developed by Robert C. Lee. It is the oldest construction algorithm based on Richard Muthers manual procedure of converting the Relationship Chart into a layout. The basic inputs required by CORELAP are the relationship chart and the area requirements of each department. CORELAP begins by calculating the total closeness rating (TCR) for each department where TCR is the sum of the numerical values assigned to the closeness relationships (A=6, E=5, 1=4, etc.). A disadvantage of CORELAP is that it has problems when an attempt is made to fix departments in a certain location. CORELAP does not take into account the building and is dependent on the layout arrangement. It is useful for new plants where the objective is to determine new building design and not for buildings that are already in existence.( Altaf et al 1995) ALDEP Automated Layout Design Program (ALDEP) was developed within IBM and was presented by Jerrold Seehof and Wayne Evans. It was first published in 1967. ALDEP has the same basic data input requirements as CORELAP. It differs from CORELAP in using the Total Closeness Rating for placement of departments; ALDEP selects and places departments randomly. CORELAP attempts to construct the one best layout while ALDEP constructs many layouts and rates each layout and thus leaves the final decision of selecting the appropriate layout to the facility designer. Advantages of using ALDEP include rectangular or square layouts. It is also capable of handling facilities with up to three floors and provides the capability to fix departments in a certain location and to include docks, elevators and stairwells. The disadvantage of ALDEP is that it randomly picks departments for consideration in the layout process. Hence, ALDEP should be executed several times to assure that the layouts generated are the b est layouts. The best layout will eventually generated will be presented to the facility designer for selecting the most appropriate and feasible layout. PLANET Plant Layout Analysis and Evaluation Technique (PLANET) is another construction type algorithm. It uses the same input requirements as CRAFT. PLANET is flexible in that it will accept material flow data in three formats and that there are three different layout construction phases available. The three phases that are available to generate a layout are as follows: The first phase involves the translation of the input data so that it is useful to the algorithm in PLANET. The second phase involves the selection of the order in which the departments are to be considered in the layout. The third phase involves the determination of the placements of the departments when they are considered for the layout (placement priority from the highest to the lowest is 1 to 9). PLANET converts the materials flow information from either a from-to cost chart, a from-to chart or a penalty chart to a flow-between cost chart. This is done by adding the values in both directions between departments and then entering the sum for the flow in each direction. The basis for the PLANET selection algorithms are the flow-between cost chart and placement priorities The advantages of using PLANET are that it is very flexible in allowing inputs such as materials flow data to be entered in three formats and having three methods in constructing a layout. The disadvantages with PLANET are that in its conversion of inputs to a flow-between cost chart, it considers the closeness relationships between departments but conceals the direction of flow among departments. This may result in layouts that have a considerable amount of backtracking among the departments. Improvement algorithms An improvement algorithm always begins with an initial layout. The algorithm exchanges department locations until a layout is found that cannot be improved. The quality of the layout generated depends upon the initial layout and the ability of the algorithm to exchange multiple departments at a time. The basic approach of improvement algorithms is to minimize transportation cost or movement cost by reducing the distance on the most traveled routes. Popular examples of improvement type computer routines are COFAD, CRAFT and BLOCKPLAN. CRAFT Computerized Relative Allocation of Facilities Technique (CRAFT) was the first improvement type algorithm used in computerized facilities design. CRAFT was developed in 1964 by Armour and Buffa. CRAFT begins with an initial layout that is entered by the analyst. The layout is evaluated, and pair wise exchanges of departments are made to try to improve the layout. Layouts are evaluated on the minimization of material flow cost between departments. Pair wise exchanges are only made between departments that are of equal size or have common boundaries. CRAFT can handle up to 40 departments and is preferred by many over CORELAP and ALDEP due to its evaluation of layouts. CORELAP and ALDEP minimize the quantity of flow between departments and maximize closeness ratings, while CRAFT minimizes the cost of flow between departments. The initial layout utilized by CRAFT restricts the boundaries of all layouts generated from it. CRAFT does not work well with departments having unequal areas beca use it is unable to shift the layout to allow nonadjacent departments of unequal areas to be exchanged. (jin et al 1996) used CRAFT to solve the failure-to-fit problem by changing the size and/or shape of the departments in a systematic manner without the help of humans COFAD Computerized Facilities Design (COFAD) is a modification of CRAFT. COFADs algorithm first tries to improve the initially inputted layout by a procedure that Is similar to CRAFT except that COFAD is capable of considering straight line as well as rectilin2ar distances between departments being considered for interchange. This is useful for materials handling systems that use conveyors that do not have to follow aisles in a rectilinear fashion. COFAD then determines the cost of performing each move using the feasible materials handling system alternatives available. This is dependent on the type of material handling system chosen (ie. fixed path equipment such as conveyors or mobile equipment such as tote carts). COFADs next function is to use the above move costs to determine a minimal cost of materials handling system. The disadvantages of using COFAD are that the sensitivity analysis within COFAD only considers variations in the total flow volume for a predefined product mix and doe s not evaluate changes in product mix. (Vic Kichodhan et al 1990) BLOCKPLAN BLOPLAN stands for Block Layout Overview with Computerized Planning. A computer routine which allows the use of random, construction, and improvement type algorithms is BLOCPLAN. It was developed by Dr. Charles E. Donaghey, Chairman of the Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Houston. BLOCPLAN is an interactive program used to develop and improve both single and multi storey layout BLOCPLAN is a departmental location system that includes random, construction and improvement type algorithms for developing layouts It is a simple program which generates good initial layouts due to its flexibility based on several imbedded options. It uses both quantitative and qualitative data to generate several block layouts and their measure of fitness. ( Pinto, et al 2007). BLOCPLAN can display a layout graphically on the screen. The inputs that are required are: the no of department (maximum 18) The Names of the departments, their corresponding areas, and a relationship chart. The chart relationship format is the same as suggested by Mather in his Systematic Layout Planning procedures. Once the relationship chart has been entered, BLOCKPLAN then displays a relationship vector of Code equivalent Score. The purpose of this is to allow the facility designer to indicate the importance attached to the rating of the relationship chart, BLOCPLAN needs to use some quantifiable factor to rake decisions when it generates and scores layouts. It uses the CES vector to assign a numeric value relationship chart. The default CES vector values are 10, 5, 3, 2, 1, 0, and -10. This means that has A rating is worth 10, an E rating is worth 5 and so on. .An X rating is worth -10. The facility designer can also set his/her own values if desired. (Vic Kichodhan et al 1990) The procedure that BLOCPLAN uses to generate layouts is that it first determines an Importance Rating (IR) for each department in the layout. The rating is the sum of all the relationship scores for each department, using the CES vector values. Second, a menu for the facility designer is displayed. The options are: Random Layout. Layout Algorithm. Improvement Algorithm. Adjust Relationship Information. Manually Insert Departments. Review Saved Layouts. Stop. Save Problem Data Selecting option one, Random Layout, will cause layout to be developed without regard to the relationship chart. The Departments will be located randomly in one of the eighteen zones that the software has generated. BLOCPLAM divides the building layout in to three tiers, with three zones per tier. Each zone can be further divided into its left and right side giving the possible eighteen zones. BLOCPLAN randomly selects one of the eighteen locations for each department and assigns it to a particular location. After all the departments have been assigned a location, the software proceeds to draw the layout. It looks at the departments that are located in Tier 1 up to six departments can be located in Tier 1. The total required area of a tier is the sum of all the areas for the departments located in that particular tier. Each department is drawn in proportion to its area and the departments are rectangular in shape. If a department with a small area is the only one located in a tier, it will be drawn as a long narrow department stretching across the entire layout. BLOCPLAN continues with this procedure for all the tiers. The layout generated is scored by the scoring algorithm based on an adjacency criterion. The CES scores for departments that share a common boundary in the layout are summed and then divided by the sum of all the positive CES scores from the relationship chart. A score of 1.0 indicates that all good relationships in the relationship chart have been satisfied in the layout Selecting option two, Layout Algorithm, will cause the software to make available to the facility designer a layout algorithm. The algorithm places departments that have high IR scores in the center of the layout and then surrounds them with departments with high relationships. Departments with an X relationship are separated as much as possible. This method of locating the departments produces layouts that are better than the random process. Selecting option three, Improvement Algorithm, will cause the software to try to improve on a layout that has been saved in memory. The improvement algorithm interchanges each pair of departments in the layout and then displays its score before moving to the next interchange when the facility designer hits the Return Key. The number of interchanges is the combination of the number of departments taken two at a time. For example, for ten departments there will be forty five interchanges. The optimum layout can be obtained by using option two, Layout Algorithm, and then using this option, Improvement Algorithm, to improve on the previous saved layout. Selecting option four, Adjust Relationship Info, allows the relationship information to be changed. The facility designer can change the relationship information and the CES scores that were originally entered. This allows the effects of changes in the relationship chart to be evaluated Selecting option five, Manually Insert Departments, will allow the manual placement of departments in the layout. Each department can be manually placed in the desired tier and zone. This is the same as fixing a department in a layout The advantages of BLOCPLAN are that it is a useful tool to facility designers in that layouts can be generated or evaluated, the effects of changing the values in a relationship chart can be analyzed, and it only requires a microcomputer as opposed to a mainframe to operate. Although the processing time varies with the number of departments that have to be located, the limitation of BLOCPLAN being able to only handle eighteen departments limits the processing time to a reasonable amount. The disadvantages of BLOCPLAN are: BLOCPLAN can only handle layouts with eighteen departments or less. BLOCPLAN can only store twenty layouts in memory. All the layouts are displayed on the screen within a rectangular drawing that has a horizontal length of 6.75 inches and a vertical height of 4.75 inches regardless of the number of departments in the layout or their placement in the layout. Simulated Annealing Algorithms Simulated Annealing (SA) is a method based on Monte Carlo simulation, which solves difficult combinatorial optimization problems. The name comes from the analogy to the behavior of physical systems by melting a substance and lowering its temperature slowly until it reaches freezing point (physical annealing). Simulated annealing was first used for optimization by Kirkpatrick et al. (1983). In the numerical optimization framework, SA is a procedure that has the capability to move out of regions near local minima. SA is based on random evaluations of the objective function, in such a way that transitions out of a local minimum are possible. It does not guarantee, of course, to find the global minimum, but if the function has many good near-optimal solutions, it should find one (George D. et al 2002) Simulated annealing was also used in General Facility Layout Problems (GFLP) considering facilities areas, shapes and orientations or in Machine Layout problems (MLP) considering machines pick-up and drop-off points (Leonardo Chwif et al 1998). SA was also used for dynamic facility layout problems for solving the problems for arranging and rearranging (when there are changes between the flows of materials between departments) manufacturing facilities such that the sum of the material handling and rearrangement costs is minimized (Alan R et al 2006). Wang et al (2001) developed a model to solve the facility layout problem in cellular manufacturing system. In the model, they assumed that the demand rate varies over the product life cycle. The objective function was to minimize the total material handling cost and solve both inter and intra cell facility layout problems simultaneously. Simulated annealing heuristic for the DFLP with budget constraint, and show the effectiveness of this heuristic on a set of numerical experiments (Ramazan et al., 2010). Artificial Neural Networks Neural networks are a potent method of optimization which relies on developing systems that exhibits self organization and adaptation in a similar, though basic, manner to the way in which biological systems work. A kind of artificial neural network model has been implemented for computation to solve a wide variety of discrete combinatorial optimization problems. A neural expert system is an interactive classification system with justification capability. This system begins with the knowledge representatives from a set of training examples, learns through representatives, and then develops the capability to correctly classify new cases based on learned knowledge. This classification capability makes the proposed neural expert system generate a conceptual construction layout in the form of the learned symbolic knowledge resonant to the input layout requirements. ANN can be a system comprising N ÃÆ'- N neurons based on an artificial two-dimensional maximum neural network for an N-facility layout problem. ANN algorithm has given improved solutions for several benchmark problems over the best existing algorithms (Kazuhiro Tsuchiya et al 1996). The annealed neural network combines characteristics of the simulated annealing algorithm and the neural network for rapid convergence of the neural network, while preserving the solution quality afforded by simulated annealing (Yeh, 2006). This have also found implementation in solving the facility layout problem Genetic Algorithms GAs came to the fore in the 1960s, through the work of Holland for solving many industrial and service sector problems that proved extremely difficult to solve with the available methods known at that time. The main contribution of GAs is solving optimization and search problems by providing a solution which is not the optimal one but which is nevertheless a good approximation to the optimal one. As a result of the enormous increase in the capacity of computer technology, applying GAs, in recent years has become more and more well-known, since the problem of the cost of using computer facilities which might have arisen, is in reality only a minor one (A.Gomez et al 2003). With cyber technology gaining impetus software based on GA have been developed for problem solving. An improved hybrid genetic algorithm (IHGA) was developed to use a robust local improvement procedure as well as an effective restart mechanism that is based on so-called shift mutations and applied to the well-known combinatorial optimization problem and quadratic assignment problem (QAP) (Alfonsas Misevicius et al 2004). Extensive computational experiments for solving quadratic assignment problems using various variants of a hybrid genetic algorithm were carried out (Zvi Drezner et al 2008). Simple tabu and modified robust tabu as improvement algorithms in a hybrid genetic algorithm are superior than other tabu searches (concentric tabu, ring moves, all moves, robust tabu) (Jasmit singh kochher et al 1997) outline a GA based algorithm for solving the single floor facility layout problems for equal and unequal size department. (Ming-Jaan Wang et al 2005) is focus on the unequal areas department facilities layout problem, and implements analysis of variance (ANOVA) of statistics to find out the best site size of layout by genetic algorithm. The dynamic plant layout problem (DPLP deals with the design of multi-period layout plans Although an optimal solution method based on dynamic programming is available, it is not practical for large DPLPs and heuristics based on genetic algorithms can solve large DPLPs. (Jaydeep Balakrishnan et al 2003) extend and improve the use of genetic algorithms by creating a hybrid genetic algorithm and a computational study is carried out to compare the proposed algorithm with the existing genetic algorithms and a recent simulated annealing algorithm. An important methodology in facility layout problems that can be used to gauge current and emerging trends in new design objectives and methodologies that address combinatorial optimization aspects and presents a state-of-the-art review of the application of the Genetic Algorithm (GA)(Kundu A et al 2010) NP-hard problem of arranging a number of facilities on a line with minimum cost, known as the single row facility layout problem (SRFLP) and to solve this type of problems permutation-based genetic algorithm (GA) is used. (Dilip Datta et al 2011) Tabu Search Algorithm TS technique is a meta-heuristic search that is used to solve the combinatorial optimization problems TS, is usually dominated by neighborhood solutions in searching for an optimal solution. Unlike the GA, it is highly dependent on the values of the algorithms control parameters. TS is based on flexible memory structures in connection with strategic restrictions and aspiration levels as an approach for exploiting solutions. The search begins when the parameters are chosen and a feasible solution to the problem is generated. The main parameters of TS technique are the neighborhood size, the size of tabu list, the aspiration criteria and stopping criteria. The operator that can be altered in order to generate neighborhood solutions is move. This operator can place each element to move from its location to any other location in the solution. From move, a set of neighboring solutions is generated through a pre- defined change to the current solution. Then the best solution is selected from the current set of neighboring solutions and this becomes the new current solution. Again, a new set of neighboring solutions is generated from the new current solution and the process repeats itself until the stopping criteria are met. (Lou Y. Liang et al 2008). There are two new reaction strategies for the tabu search algorithm. The first strategy treats the tabu search algorithm as a target system to be controlled and uses a control-theoretic approach to adjust the algorithm parameters that affect search intensification. The second strategy is a flexible diversification strategy which can adjust the algorithms parameters based on the search history. These two strategies, combined with tabu search, form the Self Controlling Tabu Search (SC-Tabu) algorithm. The algorithm is implemented and tested on the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP). The results show that the self-controlling features of the algorithm make it possible to achieve good performance on different types of QAP instances. (Nilgun Fescioglu-Unver et al 2011) Two extensions were suggested and tested for concentric tabu search for the quadratic assignment problem to include more permissible moves (Zvi Drezner et al 2005). The optimal solution for special case of Single Row Facility Layout Problem (SRFLP) was proposed through a theorem by Hamed Samarghandi et al in 2010. He proposed a new algorithm based on tabu search for the SRFLP and suggest computational results of the proposed algorithm on benchmark problems show the greater efficiency of the algorithm compared to the other heuristics for solving the SRFLP. Slicing tree based tabu search heuristic for the rectangular, continual plane facility layout problem (FLP) had been designed with procedure to calculate the layout corresponding to a given slicing tree on the basis of bounding curves (Daniel Scholz et al 2009). These layouts are slicing structures which are able to contain empty spaces to guarantee that stringent shape restrictions of facilities are kept. Due to these features this approach is better suited for practical use than so far existing ones. Graph Theory Graph theory (Seppanen and Moore, 1970) can be used as a means to create good layouts based on the flow matrix. A relationship diagram can be drawn as a weighted graph with the nodes signifying the departments and the edges representing the flow between the department pairs. The dual of this graph is a block diagram layout. Graph theory approach, relationships (or flows) among facilities can be represented by a (relationship) graph in which vertices denote facilities and edges denote existence of flows or relationships between facilities. A requirement for existence of a block layout satisfying the relationships represented by a graph is that the graph be planar. A graph is planar if it can be drawn in the plane and each edge intersects no other edges and passes through no other vertices. The relationship graph may not be planar. A planar sub graph of a relationship graph is called a maximal planar graph (MPG) if no edges can be added without making the graph no planar. The dual of a (primal) planar graph can be constructed by placing a dual node in each face of the primal planar graph and by joining vertices corresponding to two faces (in the primal graph) that share an edge in their common boundary. (Here, faces are regions defined by a planar graph.) The dual of a planar graph is planar as well. (J-Y KIM et al 1995) Russell D. Meller et al 1996 tells about developing a layout in the graph-theoretic approach requiring the following three steps: (1) Developing an adjacency graph from department relationships (which departments are adjacent), (2) Constructing the dual graph of the adjacency graph (represent departments as adjacent regions having specific boundaries), (3) Converting the dual graph into a block layout (specifying departments with regular shapes and specific areas) Graph theoretic approaches were also used to handle the unequal area block plan. In these approaches a block plan is constructed as the dual of a planar graph where nodes represent spaces and links represent required adjacencies. While it is always possible to construct a block plan from a planar graph which meets the given adjacency requirements between spaces and between spaces and the outside area, the resulting plan may not meet size and shape requirements imposed on each space. Constructing a block plan that meets size and shape requirements is a nontrivial problem. (Robin S. Liggett et al 2000). Other industrial problems like furniture production line designing were also solved using graph (Wilsten and Shayan 2007). The main problem concerned with applying graph theory to facilities layout is the conversion of the dual graph to a block layout (S. A. IRVINE et al 2010) gives a new method of producing a planar orthogonal layout or floor plan of a set of facilities subject to adjacency and area constraints. It improves upon previous approaches by accepting any maximal planar graph representing the adjacencies as input. Simple selection criteria for choosing the next facility to be inserted into the floor plan are used. Further, any sensible orthogonal shape for the facilities in the resulting floor plan can be generated. Optimal algorithm During the 1960s considerable research was done in developing optimal algorithms. Optimal algorithms find the best solution. However they are not practical due to limitations on computer time and space. Some optimal algorithms are classified as given below. Quadratic Assignment Model The quadratic assignment model (Koopmans and Beckman 1957) represents the problem of locating numerous facilities that required material flow between them. The name QAP was given because the objective function is a second degree function of the variables and the constraints are linear functions of the variables. The objective function maximizes the revenue gained by assigning the departments to a location, less the cost of the material flow between the departments. The mathematical model of the quadratic assignment problem (QAP) is: The integer variable, Xij is equal to 1 if department i is assigned to location j, otherwise the variable is equal to 0. The constant aij is the area required for department i to location j and fik is the material flow between departments i and k, and Cjl is the cost of material flow between location j and l. The first constraint ensures that each location will be assigned exactly one department and second constraint ensures that each department will be assigned to exactly one location. Layouts generated using the quadratic assignment models are often used as a tool in formulating a final layout. The QAP takes into consideration the material flow between departments, however, the model operates under the assumption that all department areas are equal which in many cases is impractical to presume. For this reason, the layout generated by the quadratic assignment problem often serves as a starting point for developing a final layout. (Ekrem Duman et al 2007) used the quadratic assignment problem in the context of the printed circuit board assembly process. (A.S. Ramkumar et al 2008) concentrates on multi-row machine layout problems that can be accurat

From Rome to Columbia: A Comparison of Jesse Hall and The Pantheon Ess

For much of the last millennia many great architects have looked upon the Pantheon as a staple of classical architecture, as well as a model for many modern day buildings. Created by the Romans, the Pantheon would use many elements better than any other works of architecture to that time. No further than Columbia Missouri is this evident in the construction of what used to be known as the First Academic Building on the University of Missouri campus. The Architects Bell and Binder headed the creation of the new building after the First Academic Building burnt down in 1892. Known today as Jesse Hall, this modern day work of architecture pulls many elements from the Pantheon to create a unique work of public space. The most glaring comparison of both comes from the domes that top both buildings. Each building also shares similar characteristics in their front facades. Yet, while there are many similarities to both works, each contain unique differences in their layout and construction. One of the most defining features of both the Pantheon and Jesse Hall is the larges domes that sit atop their structures. When the Pantheon was created, there was no dome ever created to the scale or size of the one that tops the building to this day. The dome itself sits on a drum like structure that supports the structure. The top is not completely curved like many other domes today. A stepped dome is used near the bottom and begins to curve more towards the top where the oculus sits. This oculus allows any sort of element into the building including sunlight, rain, and snow. The Pantheon, being a space of religious worship when originally created used the dome for many different purposes. In Understanding Architecture, extra contributor David Wat... ...ssional work in Jesse Hall would render this oculus unnecessary if applied. The ways the spaces are used are key to the layout of the interiors of the Pantheon and Jesse Hall. With the Pantheon being built over 1700 years ago, it’s amazing that architects are still using features and techniques from this work of architecture in modern creations. The use of this type of classical architecture will continue to be used in works for public space due to its remarkable exterior appearance and it’s long lasting structural durability. When both Jesse hall and the Pantheon are compared it is possible to see their similarities from the types of domes that top each, their external facades, and their interior plan. While they share many similarities, the differences that Bell and Binder used in their creation make this work of architecture unique to many other public spaces.

You Should Volunteer to Tutor Essay example -- Argumentative Essay

The need for tutors is overwhelming. Tutors help fill the gap between the teachers and the students. With so many students in each classroom, the teacher can't give each student the one-on-one attention that some students need. This is where tutors come in to play. Tutors have been a key instrument ineducation since as far back as the 1500's (Gordon 9). Tutoring is almost as old as educating children. Tutoring younger students is also still going strong in the twentieth century. Today it is more~important than ever due to the increase in students and low budgets that some schools have. As stated by Edward E. Gordon in his book, Centuries of Tutoring" Schoolinghas dominated the twentieth century, but tutoring still holds an important role. Peertutors, after-school remedial programs, home-bound instruction and the 'home-schooling movement' are tutoring's modern expression"(329). We are fortunate enough to have many different tutoring programs at my school. The school has Peer tutoring , peer mentoring and peer helpers within their educational system, just to name a few. One of the writers, Stephanie, was involved in all three of these tutoring programsfor three years while attending High School. Stephanie found it very rewarding to be able to help these students and found it rewarding to help the community. "I felt like I had made a difference," said Stephanie, "and that is a wonderful feeling". Not only do the tutees get rewarded with better grades, the tutors also get many rewards for tutoring. "Studies document that people who participate in them (voluntary associations)generally report greater satisfaction and personal happiness, longer life, greater self esteem, more political effectiveness; and a greater sense of community (... ...udents. They need it and deserve it. Works Cited Booge, Stephanie. Personal Interview. 12 Feb. 1997. Brinkerkoff, Lynn K. White. Sociology . St. Paul: West, 1985. Carter, Gloria Dapper. School Volunteers:What They Do And How They Do It . New York: Citation,1970. Coe, Rick. Personal Interview. 15 Jan. 1997. Gartner, Mary Kohler, Frank Riessman. Children Teach Children . New York: Harper & Row,1971. Gordon, Edward E. Centuries of Tutoring . Lanham. UP. 1990. Lloyd, Dorothy. An Evaluation of a Cross-Age Tutoring Project For At Risk High School American Indian Students . Diss. Bemidji State University. Bemidji. 1991. Rosenthal, Nadine. Teach Someone To Read. Belmont. David S. Lake. 1987. Whelen, Dianne. Personal Interview. 5 Feb. 1997. ---"Youth Service: Minnesota's System Works, So Keep It. " Editoral. Star Tribune. 15 April 1995. IOA.

North Korea and the Nuclear Crisis: The Awkward US-DPRK-ROK Relations E

The recent turn of events in North Korea with its alleged admission to possessing nuclear weapon has created nervous tension in the Far East region. Specifically, North Korea has recently transformed the existing bilateral U.S.-ROK alliance into an awkward triangular ROK-U.S.-DPRK dynamic, significantly complicating the previous bilateral relationships amongst the three as well as making these relationships more difficult to manage. We will trace the development of these relations, to gain a better insight into this long standing conflict and to assess better the future implications surrounding these tensions. Background History of Korea At the turn of the century, Korea was annexed by the neighboring Japan, ending the rule of Korean dynasty and independence. Korea was under Japanese control for 35 years from 1910-1945 and the colonial rule was highly repressive and exploitative. Freedom of speech and press was non-existent, human rights were completely disregarded, farm lands were confiscated under various pretexts, economic and educational opportunities were extremely limited, and Korean workers and peasants alike were exploited under the repressive rule of the Japanese. Japanese surrendered to the Allies on August 15 1945, and the Cairo Declaration of December 1943 issued by the British and US leaders stated that "in due course Korea shall become free and independent". The USSR accepted the Cairo agreement, but proposals made by the USA in 1945 led to the division of Korea into two military zones: the area south of the 38th parallel line under US occupation and the northern area under the Soviet control. In 1948, after some quarrels over the type of state to be established in the Korean Peninsula, the two ... ...na.rpo.at/dprk.html Bibliography Cordesman, Anthony H. â€Å"Is There a Crisis in US and North Korean Relations?† http://www.csis.org/features/cord_nkorea.pdf 30 December 2002. Feffer, John. â€Å"Bush Policy Undermines Progress on Korean Peninsula.† Public Policy in Focus. March 2002. Oh, Kongdan. â€Å"Terroism Eclipses the Sunshine Policy: Inter-Korean Relations and the United States.† Asia Society, 2002. Robertson, Jeffrey. â€Å"New Dynamics in U.S.-Korean Relations.† Global Affairs Commentary. 7 January 2003. Robertson, Jeffrey. â€Å"The Anti-American Blowback from Bush’s Korea Policy.† Global Affairs Commentary. January 2003. Shorrock, Tim. â€Å"Roh’s Election Victory and the Widening Gap Between the U.S. and South Korea.† Global Affairs Commentary. 7 January 2003. The Europa world year book. London, England: Europa Publications Limited, 1989. 30th ed.

Analysis of “The Doctor in the House” by R.Gordon

The text under analysis is an extract from the book â€Å"Doctor in the house† written by a famous English-speaking writer Richard Gordon by name, who was born in 1921 .Richard Gordon is the pen name used by Gordon Ostlere, an English surgeon and anaesthetist.Richard Gordon has written numerous novels, screenplays for film and television and accounts of popular history, mostly dealing with the practice of medicine. He is most famous for a long series of comic novels on a medical theme starting with Doctor in the House. Gordon worked as anaesthetist at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and later as a ship's surgeon and as assistant editor of the British Medical Journal.In 1952, he left medical practice and took up writing full time. The text is devoted to the final examinations at the medical institutions and tells us about the condition of students before, during and after exams. This extract is constructed around the single theme -the procedure of the exams. Therefore, the theme of the text is examination time.The author uses numerous thematic words, such as: the student, the final examinations, the exams, to prepare, the examiners, cheating, textbooks, to swot up, the written papers, uniformed, examinees, knowledge, tripos, viva, marking, grading, to pass and so on.Besides the basic theme the text touches upon many very important secondary themes: the psychological types of students, cheating at the exams, students’ prejudice, disadvantage of women student at the exams, the psychological pressure of the process of the examination on the students.The main idea conveyed by the author may be expressed as: the examination is like a lottery(much depends upon luck). The plot structure is closed, because it contains all the components. From the exposition we learn general information about students’ attitude to the final examinations and the way of preparation for this important event, the condition of students before, during and after exams.It begins with the comparison the final exams with death; this image presents the students’ attitude to the event. The author  gives the description of preparation for the examinations. â€Å"To a medical student the final examinations are something like death: an unpleasant inevitability to be faced sooner or later†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The exposition ends with  Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦ and ran a final breathless sprint down the well-trodden paths of medicine.†The main character is medical student R. Gordon.( and the students themselves). Author tells us about him nothing, because he wants to say that Gordon is an ordinary student. Author uses indirect method of characterization, and we can learn something of him only through his feelings. And we see the exams through his own eyes. The story is told from first person narration. The place is a medical universityThe time is the examination timeThe atmosphere is tense and excitingThe story contains 2 logical parts . The narrator depicts the pro cedure of the exams which consists of two parts: written papers, after which one of the students gives a very specific theory of the way the tripos is marking at Cambridge; and the viva – the oral examination, before which he characterizes different types of candidates’ behavior anticipating it. The complication of the narration is showing the process of exam, candidates’ excitement and suspense of the results.This part of the text stretches from â€Å"The examination began with the written papers† to â€Å"†Number three oh six?† the Secretary whispered, without looking up from the book. â€Å"R. Gordon?† â€Å"Yes† I croaked.† The tension reaches its highest degree when poor Gordon almost believe in his fail. And the climax, when the Author describes how the Secretary of the Committee calls out Gordon’s name, because in that moment we become interested in his results, do he pass or fail.â€Å"The world stood still . The traffic stopped, the plants ceased growing, men were paralysed, the clouds hung in the air, the winds dropped, the tides disappeared, the sun halted in the sky. â€Å"Pass,† he muttered.† The author deliberately postpones the denouement keeping the reader in pressing anticipation. It comes in the last paragraph, after the moment when he heard the magic word â€Å"Pass†. It was a kind of liberation and the ending of suffering . â€Å"Blindly, like a man just hit by a blackjack, I stumbled upstairs.†This text is narration with elements of dialogues. The style of written prose is formal. The story deals with describing process of exams, difficulties provided by them and students feelings and thoughts before and after examination. The author tries to convey hard emotional state of the medical students in his novel. He manages to do it with the abundant use of stylistic devices.Similes: â€Å" To a medical student the final examinations are something lik e death† â€Å"I was shown to a tiny waiting-room furnished with hard chairs, a wooden table, and windows that wouldn't open, like the condemned cell.† â€Å"The days after the viva were black ones. It was like having a severe accident.† â€Å"The room had suddenly come to a frightening, unexpected silence and stillness, like an unexploded bomb.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"he goes at them like a prize-fighter†, â€Å"porters like the policemen†, â€Å"the god’s brow threatens like imminent thunderstorm† â€Å"my palms were as wet as sponges†, â€Å"blindly, like a man just hit by a blackjack†.The author brilliantly uses the allusion referring to the Bible’s Judgment day. We discover that final exams are death and the Secretary as an archangel corresponds where they would go to the paradise or to hell. â€Å"The candidate would step up closely to the Secretary, who would say simply â€Å"Pass† or â€Å"Failed†. Succ essful men would go upstairs to receive the congratulations and handshakes of the examiners and failures would slink miserably out of the exit to seek the opiate oblivion.†Metaphor: ‘a straight contest ’ â€Å"an examination is nothing more than an investigation† â€Å"the Old Stager, who treated the whole thing with the familiarity of a photographer at a wedding† â€Å"the well-trodden paths†.Some hyperboles create a great chasm between students and examiners:† But the viva is judgement day. A false answer, and the god's brow threatens like imminent thunderstorm.† The other ones reflect the influence of candidate’s fears on theirs health and perception of the world: â€Å"But the viva is judgement day. A false answer, and the god's brow threatens like imminent thunderstorm.†The following short parallels constructions help to reflect the tense during anticipation of the narrator’s result: â€Å"The world stood still. The traffic stopped, the plants ceased growing, men were paralysed, the clouds hung in the air, the winds dropped, the tides disappeared, thesun halted in the sky.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Whether these people were so brilliant they were able to complete the examination in an hour and a half or whether this was the time required for them to set down unhurriedly their entire knowledge of medicine was never apparent from the nonchalant air with which they left the room.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"The world stood still. The traffic stopped, the plants ceased growing, men were paralysed, the clouds hung in the air, the winds dropped, the tides disappeared, the sun halted in the sky.†Irony: â€Å"Whether these people were so brilliant they were able to complete the examination in an hour and a half or whether this was the time required for them to set down unhurriedly their entire knowledge of medicine was never apparent from the nonchalant air with which they left the room.†Inversion:â€Å" To a medical student the final examinations are something like death† â€Å"In the square outside the first person I recognized was Grimsdyke.† â€Å"Next to him, a man of the Frankly Worried class sat on the edge of his chair tearing little bits off his invitation card and jumping irritatingly every time the door opened. â€Å" â€Å" Blindly, like a man just hit by a blackjack, I stumbled upstairs.† Epithet:impressionable music despondently ticked flagrant cheating looked dispassionately down anonymous examinees tiny waiting room came solemnly down the stairs restless crowdOxymoron: â€Å"There is rarely any frank cheating in medical examinations† â€Å"to give the examiners the impression of frustrated brilliance.† â€Å"Some of them strode up for an extra answer book, with an awkward expression of self-consciousness and superiority in their faces.† Repetition:â€Å"Number one hundred and sixty-one,† he began. â€Å"Number three hundred and two. Number three hundred and six.† Grimsdyke punched me hard in the ribs, â€Å"Go on,† he hissed. â€Å"It's you!†Idioms: to keep an eye open for terrible displeasureMetonymy: â€Å"The room had suddenly come to a frightening, unexpected silence and stillness, like an unexplodedbomb.†Emotionally coloured verbs: Gaze,hiss,croak,stumbleGradation: â€Å"The world stood still. The traffic stopped, the plants ceased growing, men were paralysed, the clouds hung in the air, the winds dropped, the tides disappeared, the sun halted in the sky.†This story is rather interesting and attracts the reader’s attention. It makes us to experience the psychological state of the students .

Aristotle Versus Plato Essay

Abstract Plato and Aristotle argue that artist (Demiurge) and poet imitate nature, thus, a work of art is a reflection of nature. However, they have different views on the functions of imitation in art and literature. Plato believes in the existence of the ideal world, where exists a real form of every object found in nature. A work of art –which reflects nature is twice far from the reality it represents. Aristotle, on the other hand, does not deal with the ideal world, instead he analyses nature. He argues that a work of art does not imitate nature as it is, but as it should be. In this sense, an artist does not violate the truth but reflects the reality. Key Words: Imitation, art, literature, mimesis, etymology, ethic. Introduction Plato and Aristotle attribute different meanings to the term ‘mimesis’; Plato considers ‘mimesis’ in ethical and political context, Aristotle uses ‘mimesis’ as an aesthetic phenomenon. They both agree that poetry is mimetic but they have different idea about poetry and ‘mimesis’. The present paper aims first to define ‘mimesis’ and explain the historical and linguistic background of the term, then to analyze the concept of ‘mimesis’ in Plato and Aristotle. In literature the word ‘mimesis’ has two diverse applications; it is used â€Å"to define the nature of literature and other arts and to indicate the relation of one literary work, which serves as a model. † Plato and Aristotle take ‘mimesis’ to define the nature of art, yet they ascribe different meanings and value to it. Plato and Aristotle consider the historical and etymological background of the term, therefore, it is necessary to know about the linguistic and historical background of the term ‘mimesis’ to understand what kinds of meaning and value they attribute to the concept. Linguistically, the root word is ‘mimos’; mimesthia, mimesis, mimetes, mimetikos, and mimema are derived from ‘mimos’. Mimesthia denotes imitation, representation or portrayal; mimos and mimetes designate the person who imitates or represents, whereby ‘mimos’ originally refers to the recitation or dramatic performance in the context of dramatic action. The mime, which is a kind of banquets given by wealthy man, is most probably derived from mimos The noun ‘mimesis’ as well as corresponding verb mimeisthai refer to the re-enactment and dance through ritual and myth. In Athenian drama the re-enactment is equivalent to acting out the role of a mythical figure and ‘mimesis’ in such a context connotes the imitation of the earlier re-enactment of the myth and rituals. Historically, the word ‘mimesis’ as re-enactment first appears in such rituals, and the historical origin of the term, as located in Dionysian cult drama, coincides this meaning in that ‘mimesis’ in both cases refers to imitation, representation and expression. It is argued that myth, and divine symbols of the rituals are transformed to artistic-dramatic representation through which it became possible to represent the divinity and gods in drama. Tragedy, for instance is the transformation of the myth and rituals. In a different context ‘mimesis’ may refer to identification. People identify themselves by means of their mimetic ability when they see themselves in the other and perceive a state of mutual equality. In this sense, ‘mimesis’ is distinct from mimicry, which implies only a physical, and no mental relation. That is, a person regards the ‘Other’ as equal and assumes the ‘Other’ to be doing the same in reverse. Associated with the physical aspect of ‘mimesis’ is its performative aspect, as an actualization, a presentation of what has been mimetically indicated. Thus, the term ‘mimesis’ is combined with an action-oriented speaking. The term ‘mimesis’ may also refer the simile, similarity and representation; it may refer to the symbolization of the world when we take it as a transformation of myth. ‘Mimesis’ has also been cited since classical times in the exploration of relationships between art and reality. The meanings and applications of the term changes according to the context it is used. Therefore, Plato and Aristotle ascribes different meanings and value to ‘mimesis’ with respect to the contexts they use it. The Concept of Imitation in Plato takes the term ‘mimesis’ with several meanings and connotations in the dialogues and alters the meaning of the term according to the context in which he uses it. He uses ‘mimesis’ in the context of the education of the youth; he discusses the function of ‘mimesis’ as likening oneself to another in speech and bodily behaviour and as addressing the lower part of man’s soul; he also refers to the epistemology and metaphysics of the concept. He takes the word ‘mimesis’ with pedagogic attributes and uses it in educational and ethical context when he says ‘guardians of an ideal state should be educated to imitate only what is appropriate’. In the third book of the Republic, for instance, Plato provides further definitions of ‘mimesis’, centering on the relation between ‘mimesis’ and poetry, ‘mimesis’ and education and also poetry and education. ‘Since young people learn essentially through imitation, it is significant to select the models’. ‘Mimesis suggests unfavourable effect on the part of the young people’ and ‘poetry is one important source of the youth’s experience with examples and models’; therefore, if the world of models and examples ought to be controlled in the interest of education, poetry must be likewise subject to control. Plato argues the case in the Republic as follow: The youth cannot distinguish what is allegorical from what is not, and the belief they acquire at the age are hard to expunge and usually remain unchanged. That is important that the first stories they hear should be well told and dispose them to virtue. The contents, forms, and representational modes of poetry play an important ethical role in the education of guardians and should, because of the effects they exercise through mimetic process, be based on ethical principles. Young people should only imitate brave, sober, pious and noble men, which will increase their strength and will not infect them with weakness. In this sense, it is argued in the Republic that tragedy and comedy, as mimetic poetry, represent injustice among the gods in the assertion that gods are responsible for unhappiness among people. In the Platonic conception, gods cannot be evil; heroes cannot be weak. The poet’s representation violates the truth and by representing the deficiencies of gods and heroes, has negative effect on the community and the education of youth. Mimetic poetry not only misrepresents gods and heroes and leads young people to immoral behaviours but also appeals to and strengthens the lower, desiring part of the soul. According to Plato, poetry encourages short-term indulgence in our emotions when reason would forbid their gratification because it is useless or harmful for the citizen who considers life as a whole. ‘Reason is a capacity that enables moral quality and authorities. Poetry is intuitive and stirs up a part of a citizen that ought to be kept quiet and fosters the lower part of the soul against the rule of higher part, reason’ Poetry becomes a dangerous rival to morality, which ‘is able to corrupt even good man and is a very dangerous thing encouraging all the lower desires and making them hard to cope with suffering in the theatre, and taking pleasure in laughing at comedies tends to affect our attitudes in real life and make us cynical and unserious. Sex, anger, and all desires, pleasure and pains are fostered by poetic imitation, thus, Homer and tragic poets are not true example for a citizen’. Poetry, then, taking its theme as human emotion and human frailty, threatens to disturb the balance and rational disposition of the individual for the individual, by way of his mimetic abilities, is infected through poetry. Philosophy provides wisdom and truth in the education but poetry has a potential capacity to demoralize mind. For example, Homer’s poetry was drawn on for educational purposes as a collection of knowledge and wisdom and enter in to competition with philosophy, it should therefore, be censored. It is obvious that poetry endangers the ideal citizens who can control and manage their feelings and remain reasonable, thus should be censored. While being an aspect of misrepresentation and something used in a dangerous way for the education of young people, ‘mimesis’ may also come to mean re-enactment in Plato’s dialogue when it refers to the imitation of a man in action in drama. In the Republic, Plato uses the term to refer to the behaviour of the philosopher: â€Å"As he looks upon and contemplates things that are ordered and ever the same, that do no wrong, are not wronged by, each other, being all in rational order. He imitates them and tries to become like them as he can† A similar process occurs in tragedy, which is the artistic and dramatic re-enactment of ritual and myth and transformation of religion. Through tragedy it becomes possible for a man to represent the divinity and gods. For instance, the re-enactment, in Athenian drama, is equivalent to acting out the role of a mythical figure. ‘Mimesis’, in such a context, designates the imitation of earlier re-enactment, the instances of which is taken from myth and rituals. The nature of ritual is spiritual and pleasing and such primitive rituals serve communal interests, in that each member of community gets rid of self. A tragic play may lead to self alienation; and may lead to identification with the fallen character and with the hero. The process of re-enactment, then, leads one to enter into another’s feelings and suffering. Plato insists that no one of truly noble character could suffer as a tragic hero does, since one whose soul is in a state of harmony is not to be influenced and hurt. Therefore, he objects to the re-enactment of ritual. Mimetic behaviour should be avoided because it may lead to identification with fallen characters and with the hero. Plato in the Republic argues that ‘or have you not observed that imitations, if conditioned, settle down youth’s life, and turn into habits and become second nature in the body, the speech and the thought . Apart from this, people identify themselves by means of their mimetic ability when they see themselves in the other and perceive a state of mutual equality. In this sense ‘mimesis’ is distinct from mimicry, which implies only a physical and no mental, relation: a person regards the ‘Other’ as equal and assumes the ‘Other ‘ to be doing the same in reverse. In this respect, a person who imitates is doomed to self-sacrifice and lack of self-identity. Moreover, the process of mimetic identification becomes a source of pleasure in the form of tragedy, which correspondingly frames the myth or re-enacts to substitute the myth in the form of dramatic representation. In the seventh book of the Republic, which is about law, he states ‘we are ourselves authors of tragedy, and that the finest and the best we know how to make’. In fact, our whole polity has been constructed as a dramatization (mimetic) of noble and perfect life; that is what we hold to be truth in the most of real tragedies’. However, in art, ‘mimesis’ has a different function. Aesthetically, ‘mimesis’ refers to misrepresentation. Reality and truth can only be understood through reason. The artist works with inspiration and imagination: the two faculties don’t give us the true image of reality, and the end of tragedy is a partial loss of moral identity. On the one hand, there is ‘mimesis’ as a re-enactment of Dionysian rituals in the form of tragedy which leads to self-sacrifice and wrong identity and which addresses the lower part of the soul and corrupts the ethical development of the youth. On the other hand, there is ‘mimesis’ as an imitative, imperfect image of reality. In a sense, Plato’s resistance to ‘mimesis’ is not only due to the fact that tragedy (mimetic art) may lead the audiences back to the ritual and irrational mode of primitive society but also due to the fact that mimetic art is an imitation of objects (eidon), which are imitations themselves. He objects to ‘mimesis’ for the fact there is no relationship between what is imitated and what is real. ‘Mimesis’ designates the ability to create expression and representation on the part of poet, painter and actor, both in a general and specific sense. For example, the painter produces a relationship between an image he created and the object. If the relationship consists in the production of similarity, then, there arises a question of where the similarity between image and object lies. If the images he creates don’t make a reference to reality and real object, and if the relationship between object and image is on the level of similarity created by the poet through art, then, there appears a lack of link between true and false. But in Plato’s philosophy the relationship between objects and reality does not consist of likeness or similarity. According to Plato, Demiurge creates the idea and by beholding the idea Demiurge produces the object; his ability is exalted in the imitation of the Idea. The poet, on the other hand, creates the images neither by seeing the idea nor from more substantive knowledge of the object since he produces nothing but phenomena by holding up a mirror. In this sense, the artist produces appearance and his work cannot provide us with true insight. Then, when a poet writes about the bed, for instance, it is not a bed manufactured by the craftsman from the idea nor does it have any relation to the real bed; it is only simulation and phenomena. There is also a difference between the knowledge of the poet and the knowledge of the craftsman. Man makes things and makes images. The craftsman makes the things following the original copy or model; the poet follows the image of the model or copy; therefore he gives only a proportion of reality. The proportion of knowledge and opinion, truth and falsity plays a contrasting role in distinguishing imitation as proportion of being to appearance. Plato argues that to understand the image, one needs to know the reality and the path to reality is in philosophy and reason, not in poetry and emotion. Although Plato admits that every object in nature is a reflection of the Idea, he doesn’t object to the reflection of object in nature. Plato uses mirror and water as constant metaphors to clarify the relationship between reality and the reflection of eidon. Plato argues that the poet holds up mirror to nature and in his work we see the reflection of nature not reality. He objects to the reflection of objects in the mirror, since things are divided into two parts: visible and intelligible. The first of the visible things is the class of copies, which includes shadows and reflections in the mirror. The second class of visible things is that of which the previous is a likeliness or copy. Plato objects to the reflection of object in the mirror, since mirror (poet) imprisons and limits the image. And he also objects to the imitation, since the poet imitates without knowledge. Therefore, it is not its imitative character but its lack of truth and knowledge, which brings poetry to its low estate. Homer and all the poetic tribe are imitators of images of virtue and other things but they do not rely on truth. Poetry, after all, is a madness that seizes the soul when it contemplates in true knowledge of goods. Plato’s objection to ‘mimesis’ may also interpreted as a reaction to the sophistic thinking that aims to produce images that the listener will regard as real, all of which take place in the world of phenomena. Image, thought, and opinion combine into a world of appearance characterized by nonbeing, a phenomenal nature and similarity. And as long as illusion and reality are not distinguished, science, ignorance, and appearance merge together. Within the concept of ‘mimesis’, then, Plato creates an independent sphere of the aesthetic consisting of appearance, image and illusion and excludes it from the domain of philosophy. He insists that there are no phenomena without being, no images without reality, no ‘mimesis’ without a model. Yet reality and idea cannot be represented without knowledge and images are not part of reality. Plato, in the Republic, in Ion, and in Symposium uses the concept of ‘mimesis’ with several meanings. He refers to the education of the young in Book X of the Republic; in Ion he develops a metaphysical discourse on the concept of imitation, and in Book III of the Republic he objects to imitation because ‘mimesis’addresses and strengthens the lower part of the spirit. Plato refers to ethical aspects of ‘mimesis’ whenever he refers to the concept of imitation. That is, ‘mimesis’ is an ethical matter in Plato’s dialogues. He is not interested in the aesthetic aspect of ‘mimesis’; therefore, he does not pay attention to the form and matter of ‘mimesis’and art. Plato deals with the value of ‘mimesis’. Aristotle is the first to deal with ‘mimesis’ as a theory of art. He dwells on the concept of ‘mimesis’ as an aesthetic theory of art and ‘considers imitation in terms of the form in which it is embodied’. By imitation, ‘he means something like representation’ through which ‘mimesis’ becomes the equivalent of artistic and aesthetic enterprise’. Unlike Plato, Aristotle also argues that ‘mimesis’ is not morally destructive since reason controls art. II. The Concept of Imitation in Aristotle Aristotle states that all human actions are mimetic and that men learn through imitation. In particular, ‘mimesis’ is the distinguishing quality of an artist. He argues that ‘public classifies all those who write in meter as poets and completely misses the point that the capacity to produce an imitation is the essential quality of the poet’. The poet is distinguished from the rest of mankind with the ‘essential ability to produce imitation’. A poet may imitate in one of three styles in poetry; he may use pure narrative, in which he speaks in his own person without imitation, as in the dithyrambs, or he may use mimetic narrative and speaks in the person of his characters, as in comedy and tragedy. A poet may use mixed narrative, in which he speaks now in his own person and now in the person of his character, as in epic poetry. Mimetic poetry may also differ according to the object of imitation. In this respect, tragedy differs from comedy in that it makes its characters better rather than worse. ‘Mimesis’, particularly, becomes a central term when Aristotle discusses the nature and function of art. In the Poetics, he defines tragedy as: ‘as an imitation of human action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with every kind of artistic ornament, the various kinds being found in different parts of the play; it represents man in action rather than using narrative, through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotion’. Aristotle is interested in the form of imitation and goes on to consider plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle and song as constituting elements of a typical tragedy. The action of plot must be complete in itself with a proper beginning, middle and an end. All parts of action must be equally essential to the whole. Each part of the tragedy is imitation itself. Character in tragedy imitates the action of noble man who has to be a man of some social standing and personal reputation, but he has to be presented us in terms of his weaknesses because it is his weakness that will make his fall believable. Aristotle thinks that all types of art are mimetic but each may differ in the manner, means, and object of imitation. Music imitates in sound and rhythm, painting in color and poetry in action and word. Aristotle’s ‘mimesis’ does not refer to the imitation of Idea and appearances, like that of Plato. He argues that each area of knowledge is imitation in the sense that as a human being we all learn through imitation. However, he carefully makes a distinction between different kinds of knowledge. For instance, he claims that art and philosophy deal with different kind of truth; philosophy deals with concrete and absolute truth, whereas art deals with aesthetic and universal truth. The difference, for instance, between mimetic poetry and history is stated as ‘one writes about what has actually happened, while the other deals with what might happen’. Art, unlike science, doesn’t abstract universal form but imitates the form of individual things and unites the separate parts presenting what is universal and particular. Therefore, the function of poetry is not to portray what has happened but to portray what may have happened in accord with the principle of probability and necessity. Since poetry deals with universal truth, history considers only particular facts; poetry is more philosophical and deserves more serious attention. In addition, aesthetic representation of reality is not technical, factual, philosophical, and historical. Aristotle compares aesthetic process (mimesis) with the process that takes place in nature. While nature moves through internal principles, art moves through organic principles like plot, action, characters, diction, and there is a unity among them. In a sense, art imitates nature and the deficiencies of nature are supplemented in the process of imitation, and art follows the same method, as nature would have employed. Thus, ‘if a house were natural product, it would pass through the same stages that in fact it passes through when it is produced by art, they would move along the same lines the natural process actually takes’. Poets, like nature, are capable of creating matter and form. The origin of nature is nature itself and the origin of art is the artist and the defining characteristic of the artist is the ability to create, through imitation, as nature does. The artist constructs the plot as an organizing principle, character constitutes the relation and carries on the action and style gives pleasure. For instance, the plot of tragedy and Dionysian rituals display similar organization. The rituals begin with the spring, which is a striking and beautiful time of the year, and they represent the strength of gods and nature upon primitive society. Tragedy, like the image of spring, has a striking and fascinating beginning and, like ritual, a tragic play pervades and shapes the feelings of the audiences. Dionysian ritual is a sacrifice of human being for gods and nature in the hope for a better and peaceful beginning. Similarly, the tragic hero is symbolically sacrificed after which there appears a peace. Then, the poet takes tragedy, as a mimetic representation of myth, from the natural course of an event that takes place in nature and reorganizes it. In this sense, ‘mimesis’ designates the imitation and the manner in which, as in nature, creation takes place. Mimesis, as Aristotle takes it, is an active aesthetic process. He argues that ‘imitation is given us by nature and men are endowed with these gifts, gradually develop them and finally create the art of poetry’. The poet does not imitate reality but brings reality into existence through ‘mimesis’. The poet recreates and reorganizes already known facts and presents them in a fresh and attractive way; therefore, though audiences know the story of Sophocles’ Oedipus, they go and watch it. The reality as presented to us through ‘mimesis’ is superior and universal not only because we are pleased to learn through imitation but also because such reality is better. Homer, for instance, depicts Achilles not only as a bad character but also depicts his goodness. Mimesis is thus copying and changing. The poet creates something that previously did not exist and for which there are no available models. Even in dealing with historical materials, the poet needs to fashion it in accord with his art rising to a higher level than is found in reality. Art is fictitious but the mimetic and aesthetic nature of art pervades the fictitious deviation and a work of art forces the thing to appear as something more beautiful and better than that nature and human being posses in common, ‘for it is always writer’s duty to make world better’. It can be argued that Aristotle defines and argues about art with respect to ‘mimesis’, and the concept of imitation in Aristotle is an aesthetic matter. Mimesis is not only ‘origin of art but also a distinguishing quality of man, since imitation is natural to mankind from childhood on’; in addition ‘all men find pleasure in imitation’. He claims that there are ‘things that distress us when we see them in reality, but the most accurate representation of these same things we view with pleasure. In this sense, catharsis is not a moral and psychological matter but a natural end of the aesthetic act as Salkaver discusses below: Fear and pity are dangerous emotions: painful and troubled feelings arise from the imagination of an imminent evil and cause destruction and pain. Pity, in particular, is a kind of pain upon seeing deadly or painful evil happening to one who does not deserve. However, in the representation of such feelings one feels empathy and gets rid of them. So, a work of art gives a man an opportunity to get rid of painful and troubled feelings arising from the imagination of an imminent evil that may cause destruction and pain on the part of the citizen. Aristotle develops a consistent theory of art upon the concept of imitation. He begins saying that all human actions are imitation, then, he focuses on poetry and other areas of studies like history and philosophy. Lastly, he dwells on the poet and the concept of imitation as taken and practiced by playwrights. All his arguments upon ‘mimesis’ are, both in general and in specific sense, have aesthetics quality, since he does not take imitation as social, moral or political phenomena but as an activity of the artist. CONCLUSION Plato’s main concern is with the public recitation of dramatic and epic poetry and in Plato there is emulation between philosophy and poetry. The poet influences the character of the young in every way and has corruptive impact upon the education of the young mind. In addition, poets don’t have a true knowledge of the things. Plato suggests that the emotional appeal is a threat to reason, that mimetic art is remote from reality, that the poet is not serious and knows nothing about poetry and cannot give satisfactory information about his art. It is obvious that he resists the concept of imitation in the case of poetic composition. Tragedy, in particular, and poetry, in general are concerned with pleasure rather than instruction and since it is not possible to imitate a wise and quiet person in the play, since such a person does not fit the content of tragedy, ‘mimesis’ is ethically distracting. Therefore, the function of various discussions of mimetic art in the Republic is ethical: wherever he mentions art he discusses it in relation to education and ethics. Although Aristotle agrees with Plato that poetry has the power to stimulate emotions, he does not pay much attention to the ethical and epistemological aspects of ‘mimesis’. Yet he dwells on the pleasure that men take in learning and argues that tragedy discharges the feelings and spectators leave the play in a state of calm, free of passions. He does not restrict art and poetry and the concept of ‘mimesis’. Aristotle’s ‘mimesis’ is defined by mythos and praxis’, which brings the concept close to areas of time and action- in contrast to Platonic ‘mimesis’, which is closer to image, imagination and imitation. He argues that tragedy is the imitation (mimesis) of a man in action. Aristotle’s ‘mimesis’ is active and creative; and he gives a dynamic character to ‘mimesis’ by introducing mythos and praxis, thus, defines art as ‘mimesis’ and the artist as character. Plato worries about the moral effect of poetry, while Aristotle strikes to psychology and returns repeatedly to shuddering terror (phobos) and pity (eleos) that the tragedy is creating in the spectator, who therefore repeats or imitates what has already taken place on stage. Plato argues that there is a duality between art (mimesis and narrative art) and ethics. The more poetic the poems are the less suited are they to the ears of men. Artistically, the better the comedy is, the worst it is, since the more attractive and perfect the comedy is the more disastrous its effects are. For instance, Homer, in the â€Å"Iliad† tells us or narrates the story of cypresses, as he was himself a cypress. He tells the story as far as it makes the audience feel that not Homer is the speaker, but the priest, an old man. This manner of representation (impersonation), according to Plato, leads to the loss-of-self or transformation of identity and becomes a matter of moral destruction. Aristotle takes the same activity of impersonation in a different way. He praises Homer for not telling excessively in his own voice since, after a few words he immediately brings on stage a man or woman or some other characters that represent the action with larger perspective. As a conclusion, ‘mimesis’ has since the antiquity been discussed to refer to the relation between reality and representation. The nature of discussion upon the concept of ‘mimesis’ as a theory of art changes according to the person who discusses the term and the way he deals with the term. Auerbach, for instance, distinguishes the reality and ‘mimesis’ in literature with respect to the narrative techniques and argues that Homeric epic is not mimetic but realistic since; narration of the tales comprehends every detail and leaves no space for interpretation. Plato, on the other hand, agrees that reality cannot be represented; therefore, ‘mimesis’ is misrepresentation of truth. Aristotle becomes the defender of ‘mimesis’ against Plato and develops a theory of art with reference to ‘mimesis’ and claims that art (mimetic art) is superior to philosophy and histpry.