Applying the Lessons of “Lean Now” to Transform the US Aerospace Enterprise

Lean is common sense and good business sense. As organizations grow and become more successful, they begin to lose insight into the basic truths of what made them successful. Organizations have to deal with more and more issues that may not have anything to do with directly providing products or services to their customers. Lean is a holistic management approach that brings the focus of the organization back to providing value to the customer. In August 2002, Mrs. Darleen Druyun, the Principal Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition and government co-chairperson of the Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI), decided it was time for Air Force acquisitions to embrace the concepts of lean. At her request, the LAI Executive Board developed a concept and methodology to employ lean into the Air Force’s acquisition culture and processes. This was the birth of the “Lean Now” initiative. An enterprise-wide approach was used, involving Air Force System Program Offices (SPOs), aerospace industry, and several Department of Defense agencies. The aim of Lean Now was to focus on the process interfaces between these “enterprise” stakeholders to eliminate barriers that impede progress. Any best practices developed would be institutionalized throughout the Air Force and the Department of Defense (DoD). The industry members of LAI agreed to help accelerate the government-industry transformation by donating lean Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to mentor, train, and facilitate the lean events of each enterprise. Currently, the industry SMEs and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working together to help the Air Force develop its own lean infrastructure of training courses and Air Force lean SMEs. The first Lean Now programs were the F/A-22, Global Hawk, and F-16. Each program focused on specific acquisition processes. The F/A-22 focused on the Test and Evaluation process; the Global Hawk focused on Evolutionary Acquisitions; and the F-16 focused on improving the Contract Closeout process. Through lean, each enterprise made many significant improvements. The F/A-22 was able to reduce its Operational Flight Plan (OFP) Preparation and Load process time of 2 to 3 months down to 7 hours. The Global Hawk developed a new production plan that increases the annual production of its Integrated Sensor Suite from 3 per year to 6 per year. The F-16 enterprise generated and is working 12 initiatives that could result in a contract closeout cycle time reduction of 3 to 7 years. Each enterprise continues to generate more lean initiatives that focus on other areas and processes within their respective enterprises.

“Ciudad”: probabilidad emergente de un organismo vivo. Una aproximación epistemológica a la relación universidad-ciudad en tanto problema filosófico contemporáneo

En este artículo* se repiensa el concepto de “ciudad” mediante una aproximación epistemológica a la relación universidad-ciudad en tanto problema filosófico contemporáneo con el propósito de identificar aquellos aspectos provenientes de las teorías urbanas que permitan responder crítica y creativamente a las siguientes preguntas: ¿cómo repensar con rigor teórico-metodológico la relación universidad-ciudad en tanto problema filosófico contemporáneo? y ¿cómo producir, justificar y usar conocimiento para repensar el sentido y el contenido de la relación entre los conceptos de campus universitario y de lo social?En respuesta a la primera pregunta se abordan, en primer lugar, los conceptos de ciudad moderna y de metrópoli contemporánea señalando elementos generales de la relación universidad-ciudad en los orígenes de la ciudad moderna y elementos específicos de esa misma relación en las transformaciones de la metrópoli contemporánea. En segundo lugar, se destacan las connotaciones del concepto de ciudad moderna, entendido como la operación de reunir agrupaciones de operaciones diferenciadas, y las connotaciones del concepto de metrópoli contemporánea, entendido como territorialidad de la aberración del sentido común de la modernidad en su actual fase escotósica de globalización informatizada. En tercer lugar, se presenta el concepto de campus universitario desagregado en los modelos de ciudad universitaria y de universidad ciudadana, destacando las lógicas de las territorialidades de la ciudad moderna y de la metrópoli contemporánea para mostrar la falsa dualidad existente entre tales modelos y entre tales lógicas.Como respuesta a la segunda pregunta se presenta el método de la tematización metafórica, mediante cuya aplicación se propone: i) repensar el concepto de “ciudad”, re-entendiéndolo como probabilidad emergente de un organismo vivo; ii) repensar el concepto de “lo social”, re-concibiéndolo como campo relacional entre manifestaciones conscientes del ser en proceso de totalización inacabado y iii) repensar el concepto de “región”, re-entendiéndolo como categoría de análisis espacio-temporal, territorial, jurisdiccional y funcional del campo relacional de lo social.Finalmente, se plantea un nuevo interrogante en torno a si, acaso, desde el sentido de trascendencia del intercambio orgánico de energía entre manifestaciones conscientes del ser, sea posible proponer un enfoque regional para la alternatividad al desarrollo desde teorías de complejidad como un paso siguiente a esta aproximación epistemológica de la relación universidad-ciudad en tanto problema filosófico contemporáneo.* Artículo basado en el ensayo titulado ¿“CIUDAD”?: REGIÓN. Una aproximación epistemológica a la relación universidad-ciudad como problema filosófico contemporáneo, elaborado en el curso sobre Historia de la Filosofía Contemporánea ofrecido por el profesor Francisco Sierra Gutiérrez en la Facultad de Filosofía de la Pontificia Universidad Javeriana durante el semestre II de 2004. Este artículo hace parte del Programa Docente Individualizado del autor con miras a la propuesta de un “Enfoque regional para la alternatividad al desarrollo ERPAD: una aproximación epistemológica desde las teorías de complejidad”, en el marco del Programa de Doctorado en Urbanismo ofrecido por la Universidad Central de Venezuela en convenio con la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.-----This article reviews the concept of “city” through an epistemological approach to the contemporary philosophical problem of the university-city relationship, with the purpose of identifying those elements of urban theories that can help to provide a critical and creative answer to the following questions: How can the contemporary philosophical problem of the university-city relationship be reviewed with scientific rigor, that is, by using theories and methods thoroughly? How to produce, justify and use knowledge to review the meaning and content of the relationship between the concepts of university campus and social sphere?In order to answer the first question, the concepts of ‘modern city’ and ‘contemporary metropolis’ are initially discussed; general elements of the relationship university-city can be found in the origins of modern cities, whereas more specific ones can be identified in the transformations of contemporary metropolis. Secondly, the author highlights the connotations of the concept of ‘modern city’ –the act of gathering groups which perform different operations—, as well as those of the concept of ‘contemporary metropolis’ –a territory where common sense becomes aberrant in the current stage of computerized globalization. Thirdly, the concept of ‘university campus’ is disintegrated into the models of a city for university students and a university for citizens; the logic behind territoriality in modern cities and contemporary metropolis is pointed out in order to show the false duality between such models and such logic.To answer the second question, the metaphoric thematization method is introduced with the purpose of: i) reviewing the concept of ‘city’, so that it is understood as a new possibility for living organisms; ii) reviewing the concept of ‘social sphere’, so as to conceive it as the arena where man’s conscious manifestations relate to each other in an unfinished process of totalization; and iii) reviewing the concept of ‘region’, so that it can be seen as a type of spatial, time, territorial, jurisdictional and functional analysis of the arena where social matters relate.Finally, a new question is raised as to whether, in fact, from the transcendence of the organic exchange of energy between man’s conscious manifestations, it is possible to put forward a regional approach from the complexity of theories as an alternative for development, as the next step to be taken after this epistemological approach to the contemporary philosophical problem of the university-city relationship.

Corrupción y delitos contra la administración pública especial referencia a los delitos cometidos en la contratación

La corrupción sigue siendo uno de los principales problemas del Estado de Derecho en el siglo XXI. Su incidencia reduce la eficacia de la inversión, aumenta el valor de los bienes y servicios, reduce la competitividad de las empresas, vulnera la confianza de los ciudadanos en el ordenamiento jurídico y sobre todo condena a la miseria a quienes deben ser destinatarios de las políticas públicas.Sin embrago, la lucha que han realizado muchos gobiernos y funcionarios judiciales contra este fenómeno ha modificado sus formas de aparición, pues es cada vez menos frecuente la apropiación directa de los caudales públicos o la entrega de sobornos a los funcionarios, prefiriéndose métodos mucho más sutiles como los sobrecostos, la subcontratación masiva o la constitución de complicadas sociedades, en las cuales tienen participación los funcionarios públicos o sus familias.Este libro constituye un esfuerzo por el estudio jurídico y criminológico de la corrupción y los delitos contra la administración pública en Europa y Latinoamérica y reúne la selección de los temas penales más relevantes de la tesis doctoral del profesor Carlos Guillermo Castro Cuenca, denominada Aproximación a la Corrupción en la contratación pública y defendida en la universidad de Salamanca en febrero de 2008, con lo cual obtuvo la calificación de sobresaliente por unanimidad.

Jano y las caras opuestas de los derechos humanos de los pueblos indígenas

Este libro busca presentar a la comunidad académica nacional e internacional uno de los productos de trabajo de investigación del Observatorio de Redes y Acción Colectiva (ORAC) en su línea de trabajo sobre procesos transnacionales y derechos de los pueblos indígenas. Sus páginas ponen a disposición del lector un conocimiento sustantivo, fundado en investigaciones sociales, sobre la participación de representantes indígenas y especialistas en derecho de los pueblos indígenas en la promoción de causas relativas a los derechos humanos de estos pueblos. En la primera parte del volumen se presenta el proceso de internacionalización del campo de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas.

Actitudes hacia el VIH/SIDA, el cáncer y la enfermedad de Alzheimer

Esta revisión de la literatura tuvo como objetivo describir las actitudes hacia el VIH/SIDA, el cáncer y la Enfermedad de Alzheimer desde el modelo tripartito. Se revisaron 109 artículos publicados entre 2005 y 2015 en algunas bases de datos especializadas y herramientas de análisis de impacto. También se incluyeron fuentes secundarias ampliándose la búsqueda a los últimos 20 años (1995-2015). Los resultados mostraron que la mayoría de los estudios realizados sobre las actitudes hacia estas tres enfermedades son de tipo cuantitativo y la información se analizó con base en los componentes del modelo tripartito. Algunos aspectos sociodemográficos como el sexo y la edad están asociados con las actitudes hacia las tres enfermedades y predominan las creencias erróneas sobre ellas respecto a sus causas, curso y tratamiento. También predominan actitudes negativas hacia las tres enfermedades y las conductas e intenciones conductuales son diversas hacia cada una de ellas. No se hallaron antecedentes empíricos del estudio de la estructura de las actitudes propuesta por el modelo tripartito hacia las tres enfermedades. La Salud Pública ha liderado la investigación con base en el modelo de conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas propuesto por la OMS.

Ramon Martí d'Eixalà: un exponent de l'Escola Jurídica Catalana del segle XIX

L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi doctoral és analitzar el llegat jurídic de Ramon Martí d'Eixalà, especialment els seus manuals de dret mercantil i dret civil. En aquest sentit, cal recordar que Ramon Martí d'Eixalà va viure en el segle XIX, moment en el qual s'havien iniciat una sèrie de canvis econòmics i socials profunds. El seu manual de dret mercantil, Instituciones de derecho mercantil de España fou molt més reconegut que el Tratado elementar del derecho civil romano y español. Doncs, el manual de dret mercantil fou recomanat com a llibre de text pels estudis de Jurisprudència durant varis anys, mentre que el manual de dret civil mai va formar part del llistat de manuals elaborat pel govern. A més, la filosofia britànica ocupa una part important de la investigació, ja que Ramon Martí d'Eixalà coneixia el pensament britànic i va introduir la filosofia del sentit comú a Catalunya.

Anotaciones sobre los discursos en torno a la frontera colombo-ecuatoriana (Otros Temas)

En el artículo se presentan y analizan algunos de los principales elementos que han hecho parte del imaginario sobre la frontera. Dentro de este imaginario, señala el autor, se inscriben por lo menos tres tópicos que circulan y se resignifican: se trata de zonas en las que impera el desorden y cuyo referente es jurídico, son regiones en donde la democracia está poco consolidada y su referente es político, y son án1bitos en donde es posible que reditúe la guerra y el referente es militar. Estos tópicos fueron la base a partir de la cual se entendió y describió la zona de frontera por parte de algunos intelectuales a finales de los años 80, llegando a convertir de esta forma, a la frontera, en depositaria de inseguridad. De acuerdo con el autor, el manejo de este tipo de discurso no ha permitido realizar un análisis real de la situación de las sociedades de frontera y se tiende a caer en lugares comunes propios de este discurso.

Preparation of consistent soil data sets for modelling purposes: Secondary SOTER data for four case study areas

The common GIS-based approach to regional analyses of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and changes is to define geographic layers for which unique sets of driving variables are derived, which include land use, climate, and soils. These GIS layers, with their associated attribute data, can then be fed into a range of empirical and dynamic models. Common methodologies for collating and formatting regional data sets on land use, climate, and soils were adopted for the project Assessment of Soil Organic Carbon Stocks and Changes at National Scale (GEFSOC). This permitted the development of a uniform protocol for handling the various input for the dynamic GEFSOC Modelling System. Consistent soil data sets for Amazon-Brazil, the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India, Jordan and Kenya, the case study areas considered in the GEFSOC project, were prepared using methodologies developed for the World Soils and Terrain Database (SOTER). The approach involved three main stages: (1) compiling new soil geographic and attribute data in SOTER format; (2) using expert estimates and common sense to fill selected gaps in the measured or primary data; (3) using a scheme of taxonomy-based pedotransfer rules and expert-rules to derive soil parameter estimates for similar soil units with missing soil analytical data. The most appropriate approach varied from country to country, depending largely on the overall accessibility and quality of the primary soil data available in the case study areas. The secondary SOTER data sets discussed here are appropriate for a wide range of environmental applications at national scale. These include agro-ecological zoning, land evaluation, modelling of soil C stocks and changes, and studies of soil vulnerability to pollution. Estimates of national-scale stocks of SOC, calculated using SOTER methods, are presented as a first example of database application. Independent estimates of SOC stocks are needed to evaluate the outcome of the GEFSOC Modelling System for current conditions of land use and climate. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Re-engineering construction: going against the grain

An overtly critical perspective on 're-engineering construction' is presented. It is contended that re-engineering is impossible to define in terms of its substantive content and is best understood as a rhetorical label. In recent years, the language of re-engineering has heavily shaped the construction research agenda. The declared goals are to lower costs and improve value for the customer. The discourse is persuasive because it reflects the ideology of the 'enterprise culture' and the associated rhetoric of customer responsiveness. Re-engineering is especially attractive to the construction industry because it reflects and reinforces the existing dominant way of thinking. The overriding tendency is to reduce organizational complexities to a mechanistic quest for efficiency. Labour is treated as a commodity. Within this context, the objectives of re-engineering become 'common sense'. Knowledge becomes subordinate to the dominant ideology of neo-liberalism. The accepted research agenda for re-engineering construction exacerbates the industry's problems and directly contributes to the casualization of the workforce. The continued adherence to machine metaphors by the construction industry's top management has directly contributed to the 'bad attitudes' and 'adversarial culture' that they repeatedly decry. Supposedly neutral topics such as pre-assembly, partnering, supply chain management and lean thinking serve only to justify the shift towards bogus labour-only subcontracting and the associated reduction of employment rights. The continued casualization of the workforce raises real questions about the industry's future capacity to deliver high-quality construction. In order to appear 'relevant' to the needs of industry, it seems that the research community is doomed to perpetuate this regressive cycle.

Assumption of knowledge and the Chinese Room in Turing test interrogation

Whilst common sense knowledge has been well researched in terms of intelligence and (in particular) artificial intelligence, specific, factual knowledge also plays a critical part in practice. When it comes to testing for intelligence, testing for factual knowledge is, in every-day life, frequently used as a front line tool. This paper presents new results which were the outcome of a series of practical Turing tests held on 23rd June 2012 at Bletchley Park, England. The focus of this paper is on the employment of specific knowledge testing by interrogators. Of interest are prejudiced assumptions made by interrogators as to what they believe should be widely known and subsequently the conclusions drawn if an entity does or does not appear to know a particular fact known to the interrogator. The paper is not at all about the performance of machines or hidden humans but rather the strategies based on assumptions of Turing test interrogators. Full, unedited transcripts from the tests are shown for the reader as working examples. As a result, it might be possible to draw critical conclusions with regard to the nature of human concepts of intelligence, in terms of the role played by specific, factual knowledge in our understanding of intelligence, whether this is exhibited by a human or a machine. This is specifically intended as a position paper, firstly by claiming that practicalising Turing's test is a useful exercise throwing light on how we humans think, and secondly, by taking a potentially controversial stance, because some interrogators adopt a solipsist questioning style of hidden entities with a view that it is a thinking intelligent human if it thinks like them and knows what they know. The paper is aimed at opening discussion with regard to the different aspects considered.

Introducing Undergraduate Students to Science

Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is useful for all citizens and mandatory for science students. A 60-h course was created to offer undergraduate students a framework in which to learn the procedures of scientific production and publication. The course`s main focus was biochemistry, and it was comprised of two modules. Module I dealt with scientific articles, and Module II with research project writing. Module I covered the topics: 1) the difference between scientific knowledge and common sense, 2) different conceptions of science, 3) scientific methodology, 4) scientific publishing categories, 5) logical principles, 6) deductive and inductive approaches, and 7) critical reading of scientific articles. Module II dealt with 1) selection of an experimental problem for investigation, 2) bibliographic revision, 3) materials and methods, 4) project writing and presentation, 5) funding agencies, and 6) critical analysis of experimental results. The course adopted a collaborative learning strategy, and each topic was studied through activities performed by the students. Qualitative and quantitative course evaluations with Likert questionnaires were carried out at each stage, and the results showed the students` high approval of the course. The staff responsible for course planning and development also evaluated it positively. The Biochemistry Department of the Chemistry Institute of the University of Sao Paulo has offered the course four times.

Meningen och innebörden i det goda mötet för vårdgivaren : En fenomenologisk intervjustudie med kvalitativ ansats

The purpose with this qualitative interview-study was to try, from the carer´s point of view, to describe the meaning and the essence of the good meeting. The participants were selectively chosen and were all women of varying life- and professional experience. They were interviewed with four interrogative forms that dealt with the experiences of the meaning and the essence of the good meeting. The analysis of the contents of the four interviews produced five themes: the meaning and the essence of aware presence in the good meeting, the meaning and the essence of the personal alliance, the carer's need of being seen and getting appreciation, the courage to bring up insulting behaviors while still preserving the relationship, personal qualities of the care. Aware presence was to be a main theme through out the meeting. Mutual satisfaction and attention to personal boundaries was emphasized primarily in the personal alliance and trust and confidence was important. It was considered difficult, sharing your personality while still stake out boundaries. The carer also had the need to feel seen and to receive appreciation. The carer as a reward for a work, well done, took positive signals from the person in receipt of care. In close relationships and meetings, the carer sometimes felt insulted by the persons in receipt of care and their relatives. The informants to create the good meeting used personal qualities like courage, sensitivity, flair and common sense.

Utanförskapets ”frustrerade ungdom” : Talet om de ”problematiska” förorterna i svensk kvällspress under augusti- september månad 2009

Uppsatsen är en innehållsanalytisk studie av kvällstidningarna Expressen och Aftonbladet under augusti- september 2009. Syftet är att undersöka hur s.k. ”invandrartäta områden”/förorter framställs i kvällstidningarna under nämnda period samt att ge exempel på hur detta kan analyseras ur ett sociologiskt perspektiv. Urvalet av artiklar tillåter sig avgränsas genom att se till vad som skrivs om de förortsområden som under aktuell period tillåtit sig förknippas med ”problem”. Frågeställningarna vill således belysa vad som under aktuell period skrivs om dessa områden: hur kan dessa kan budskap tolkas, och hur kan de tolkas med sociologiska teorier? ”Invandrartäta områden” har länge varit föremål för negativ stereotypisering bl.a. i media. Varför uppsatsen använder sig av teorier som kan förklara hur mediediskursen kan vara möjlig, och i vilket Elias teori om figurationer bildar en yttre ram. Analysen av resultatet uppvisar att flertalet artiklar ger utrymme åt reproduktion av ”moralisk differentiering” och ”illusorisk korrelation”, och med detta en förstärkning av ”common sense” uppfattningar hos läsaren. En uppfattning där förorten och dess invånare alltjämt tillskrivs rollen som de ”Andra”. Emellertid är inte endast sådana artiklar häri förekomna. En rimlig hypotes är dock att; hur artiklarna påverkar läsaren är avhängigt dennes befintliga attityd, samt hur artiklarna är utformade, och där det ges mer eller mindre utrymme för attitydförändringar.

"La leyenda tiene una base real" : Análisis crítico del discurso de un artículo de El País

This paper carries out a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the article "¿Chinofobia?” published by the Spanish newspaper El País. It applies the theory of racist discourse in the media as formulated by Teun A. van Dijk. Its hypothesis is that the article, which supposedly analyses discrimination against the Chinese minority in Spain, covertly blames the Chinese minority itself for the discrimination. Applying CDA methodology as exemplified in previous studies by van Dijk, the paper analyses the article on global and local levels, and delineates its mental model. The global level analysis describes the article in terms of macropropositions and proposes a macrostructure: the self-alienation of the Chinese minority. The paper then analyses how the macrostructure is reinforced on the local level through micropropositions by examining 1) how vocabulary serves the negative presentation and othering of the Chinese minority, 2) how strategies of mitigation minimise discrimination by employing imprecise and vague language, 3) how quotes are used to give coherence and force to the macrostructure, 4) how implications associate the Chinese minority with criminality, and 5) how stereotyped beliefs about the Chinese minority are presented as common sense (presuppositions) and fallaciously argued. Finally, the paper delineates the mental model: the presuppositions about integration, and the implicit warning that minorities should integrate or they will be discriminated against.

Föreställningar om klass och kön i Arbetsförmedlingens yrkesbeskrivningar?

Notions of Class and Gender in the Employment Service Job Descriptions This article examines whether job descriptions emphasize different characteristics and competences depending on the occupations’ social class and gender relations. The study is partly a replication of a similar analysis conducted by Gesser in the 1970s. The purpose is to examine the prevalence of stereotypes in occupational descriptions provided by the Swedish state, and if the descriptions contribute to class and gender labeling of occupations and, by extension, its practitioners. Previous research has shown that career guiding materials are characterized by notions of the appropriate practitioner’s class and gender. In this study we depart from the concept of doxa and argue that stereotypical images of occupations are based on common sense that remains unquestioned. The study draws on a quantitative content analysis of 420 job descriptions analyzed by various statistical methods. The overall results show that there are systematic differences. In general, social class seems to have greater impact than gender on what kind of competences that are emphasized in the descriptions. Social skills are emphasized in female dominated occupations, while physical abilities are highlighted in male-dominated occupations. To some extent, these results are uncontroversial, as it also portraits abilities necessary to do the work in different kind of occupations