Record Russian river discharge in 2007 and the limits of analysis

The Arctic water cycle has experienced an unprecedented degree of change which may have planetary-scale impacts. The year 2007 in particular not only was unique in terms of minimum sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean but also was a record breaking year for Eurasian river inflow to the Arctic Ocean. Over the observational period from 1936 to 2006, the mean annual river discharge for the six largest Russian rivers was 1796 km3 y−1, with the previous record high being 2080 km3 y−1, in 2002. The year 2007 showed a massive flux of fresh water from these six drainage basins of 2254 km3 y−1. We investigated the hydroclimatological conditions for such extreme river discharge and found that while that year\u27s flow was unusually high, the overall spatial patterns were consistent with the hydroclimatic trends since 1980, indicating that 2007 was not an aberration but a part of the general trend. We wanted to extend our hydroclimatological analysis of river discharge anomalies to seasonal and monthly time steps; however, there were limits to such analyses due to the direct human impact on the river systems. Using reconstructions of the naturalized hydrographs over the Yenisey basin we defined the limits to analysis due to the effect of reservoirs on river discharge. For annual time steps the trends are less impacted by dam construction, whereas for seasonal and monthly time steps these data are confounded by the two sources of change, and the climate change signals were overwhelmed by the human-induced river impoundments. We offer two solutions to this problem; first, we recommend wider use of algorithms to \u27naturalize\u27 the river discharge data and, second, we suggest the identification of a network of existing and stable river monitoring sites to be used for climate change analysis

Driving a lean transformation using a six sigma improvement process

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-74).Successive transformations within manufacturing have brought great efficiencies to producers and lower costs to consumers. With the advents of interchangeable parts between 1800 and 1850 in small arms manufacturing (Hounshell, 1984, pp. 3-4), mass production in the early 1900s in automobile manufacturing (Hounshell, 1984, pp. 9-10), and lean production in the early 1950s in automobile manufacturing (Womack, Jones, & Roos, 1990, p. 52), the state of manufacturing has continued to evolve. Each time, the visionaries that catalyzed the transformations were forced to overcome the inertia of the status quo. After convincing stakeholders of the need for change, these change agents: 1. Established a vision for the future 2. Committed resources to attain that vision 3. Studied the root causes for current methods 4. Proposed a new solution 5. Implemented the new solution 6. Quantified the results and sought future improvements. This basic process to implementing change is remarkably simple yet incredibly powerful. By explicitly emphasizing the need for root cause analysis, the process recognizes that improvements will be transient if the root causes of prior problems are not fully understood and resolved. When deploying a lean production system, an understanding of lean principles and tools is necessary but therefore not sufficient. Rather, implementing a lean production system should follow: 1. An analysis mapping the root causes of current production methods back to technical issues and the organization's strategic design, culture, and political landscape. Only by fixing the problems that led to the current production system can a lean transformation be sustained. 2. A detailed plan which achieves a transformation in both the organization(cont.) production system.by Satish Krishnan.S.M.M.B.A

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF AN ORIGINAL AND A POST-HOC APPLICATION OF LEAN SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY

Current society develops faster and faster every day with customers\u27 demands increasing rapidly. Decreasing time for product development and enhancing customer satisfaction are becoming more significant. In the business world, there is no industry that could exist without an efficient supply chain. In the fierce competitive environment of today, the supply chain must address potential problems and risks that may exist and assure continuous improvement. One common supply chain management practice in many industries is to apply lean methodology to the supply chain model in order to maximize the customers\u27 value and eliminate waste. By eliminating waste, the process can be expedited, a company\u27s costs reduced and profitability improved. Today, in many industries, applying other principles to the supply chain is very popular. Information Technology software flow synchronizes the physical flow with the data flow and in order to expedite the supply chain process. Application of information technology and Six Sigma philosophy has also become a part of supply chain management. Lean Six Sigma principles utilize analytical methods to optimize each link of the supply chain to promote a winning customer/supplier model. Poor supply chain management will harm the health of any business process and could lead to high losses while a well managed and structured supply chain will support a positive direction furthering a company\u27s success. This study analyzes Lean and Six Sigma support of the Supply Chain from multiple angles and addresses certain issues that potentially exist. It is based on an original case study to reduce package Engineering Change lead time and details the revisions the author has taken to improve on that work. The corresponding data analysis from the refined project results show how the package EC process could be improved, the value add based upon the post hoc analysis and the methodology used to benefit the high technology supply chain and overall business performance

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation: Transforming a Public Safety Net Delivery System to Achieve Higher Performance

Describes the results of the public benefit corporation's improvement initiatives -- a common clinical information system for continuity, coordination on chronic disease management, teamwork and continuous innovation, and access to appropriate care

Digital Transitions: Nonprofit Investigative Journalism: Evaluation Report on the Center for Public Integrity

Summarizes outcomes of a one-year grant to CPI to transform itself into a leader in digital nonprofit journalism. Examines CPI's track record, use of new tools and methods, capacity as an effective and credible online presence, and areas for improvement

Agile: From Software to Mission System

The Resource Prospector (RP) is an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology demonstration mission, designed to search for volatiles at the Lunar South Pole. This is NASA's first near real time tele-operated rover on the Moon. The primary objective is to search for volatiles at one of the Lunar Poles. The combination of short mission duration, a solar powered rover, and the requirement to explore shadowed regions makes for an operationally challenging mission. To maximize efficiency and flexibility in Mission System design and thus to improve the performance and reliability of the resulting Mission System, we are tailoring Agile principles that we have used effectively in ground data system software development and applying those principles to the design of elements of the mission operations system

Oceanus.

v. 39, no. 2 (1996

Analysis of Lean Six Sigma in the Army contracting process

Joint Applied ProjectThe purpose of this MBA Project is to investigate Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as it pertains to contracting processes. This project will analyze whether or not LSS is an efficient and effective process to achieve the Army's goal of successful Business Transformation. The project will discuss the vision of the Defense (DoD) and the Army for Business Transformation and what is being done to achieve their goals. Research will focus on whether LSS is working and what, if anything can be done to supplement progress. The DoD is one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world. Transforming the Department's business operations and aligning its strategy, controls, people, processes and technology to truly effect this transformation is an enormous challengehttp://archive.org/details/analysisoflesixs109451058

Restructuring the English Working Class for Global Competitiveness

This paper considers the latest developments in an ongoing attempt to restructure the English working class. It divides this project into two distinct phases. The first is associated with destructive policies to undermine the political, social and institutional structures of the working class embedded in the post- War social democratic and compromise. The paper then goes on to show how New Labour initially sought to rebuild the working class in the image of global competitiveness, at the outset of the second phase to restructure the English working class. The paper argues that the present moment in policy development represents a watershed in this second-phase. The aim now is to contain and overcome some of the contradictions thrown up by New Labour’s early policies and to raise the raise the workforce in terms of its position in the Global Division of Labour. To do so, there is a need to move up those sections of the working class currently working in, and competing for, low-value and low paid ‘entry-level’ work, in order to create space for largely inactive elements of the latent workforce to move into. The project is pre-figured by a wholesale acceptance of the politics of global competitiveness. The discussion is undertaken via an analysis of three key sets of policy documents associated with the Harker Review of Child Poverty, the Leitch Review of Skills and the Freud Review of Welfare