Monday, September 30, 2019

Energy drink lab Essay

Questions: 1. When we say that something gives us â€Å"energy,† what does that mean? What is a biological definition of energy? When we say that something gives us â€Å"energy† it means that, that drink gave us power to get up and do things. It energizes us so we can accomplish something. The biological definition of energy is the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity. 2. What is the physiological role of each of the molecules in your table? The role of each of the molecules in my table is to 1. Which ingredients provide energy? How do they do that? Caffeine, sugars and many more provide energy by stimulating the central nervous system giving the body a sense of alertness. It can raise heart rate and blood pressure while dehydrating the body. 2. Which ingredients contribute to body repair, I.e., which help build or rebuild muscle tissue? Glucose (sugar) to provide energy quickly to the muscles. Because sugar is short-lasting, the resulting energy burst is also short-lasting. Ingredients with protein repairs, and Folic Acid, since it helps with DNA synthesis which makes protein. In our case the amino acid group help build muscle tissue in the drink Nos. 3. In what ways might the one that does not have a metabolic energy source provide the perception of increased energy after consumption? The main purpose of an energy drink is to increase stamina and physical performance. With the consumption of caffeine the person will increase performance. 4. How are the ingredients in these drinks helpful to someone expending a lot energy a runner? I believe the ingredients in these drinks are not helpful to someone expending a lot of energy because it’s not healthy and the energy that’s given off these energy drinks do not last long. Therefore it’s unreasonable to drink energy drink when you can drink water and maybe Gatorade or Powerade. 5. Does your analysis substantiate the claim that this is an â€Å"energy drink†? If so, what molecules are the sources of energy? 6. Yes the claim substantiate that Nos is an energy drink. The sources of ener gy in are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, being burned in the presence of oxygen. But the chemical reactions required to consume this energy do require water. 7. Could you drink serve different  purposes for different consumers? Explain. Nos energy drink could be used to provide energy to those who play sports and need the energy, those who need the energy because of lack of sleep, or those who simply enjoy the taste of it. 7. What is the normal physiological response to increased intake of sugars? To increased intake of caffeine? The glucose levels in the blood increase and cause and increase in insulin production with and increased amount of sugar intake. With an increase of caffeine intake the heart rate increases and cause anxiety, insomnia, and the blood vessels to expand. 8. Is there such a thing as â€Å"sugar high†? Explain your answer. No, there is no such thing as sugar high. Many people believe sugar makes people hyper but that is a myth. It is because some people are low sugar tolerant and some have a higher toleration for sugar. 9. Evaluate, in terms of basic physiology and biochemistry, the statement: A lack of sleep causes a lack of energy. Sleeping is essential for everyone and we at least need 6 hours of sleep a day to let our body rest after it has been active for many hours. One lacks energy because your body and brain did not have enough time to fuel up again so therefore one feels tired. 10. Are the product claims legitimate? Why? No, they are off because the amount of caffeine listed is much lower then what it actually has 11. Should you simply buy a can of coke rather than one of these energy drinks? Why/ why not? Yes, but then again no because coke products are honest about what the drink has in so therefore you know what you are consuming and how much but then again it can still affect your health. Coke is a better then Nos but not the healthiest choice. Assessment: Claims: Enhances mental focus High performance Fuels gamers Natural caffeine People should really think about the things they put in their bodies. Many are not aware of the risks that one put themselves in because of the products they consume. Energy drinks are an example of beverages that many  people drink but not everyone knows the risks. A lot of young adolescents enjoy drinking these type of beverages. Energy drinks have high caffeine but the product does not inform you of how much caffeine one is actually consuming. High levels of caffeine cause the heart rate to increase and it could cause death if people are not careful. The claims say that it enhances the mental focus; however the drink cause anxiety problems and insomnia. The high levels of caffeine cause these side effects and increase the consumers heart rate. The claims also state that it is high performance, which is partially true. The caffeine makes one feel wide awake and have more energy but deep down their body is forcefully being told to act that way. The Nos Energy drink tries to catch the eye of adolescents by the logos on the drinks such as â€Å"Nos fuels gamers.† The drink states that it has natural caffeine and even though it may be natural, it has 260 mg of caffeine. A girl in Missouri drank 2 Nos drinks and passed out which caused her to be hospitalized according to EnergyFiend.com. This is why consumers need to be careful when buying these types of beverages because they could end up hospitalized or possibly dead. It clear states on the can that it is only recommended for adults, but yet anyone is allowed to buy not matter what age they are which is unbelievable. Sources of Energy Amino Acids Stimulants & Vitamins Other-Please Categorize Caffeine Citric Acid Acesulfame Potassium Fructose Glucose Glucuronolactone Inisotol Pyridoxine HCL Sucralose Sucrose Aspartame (Carnitine) 1-Glutamine (B12) (B6) (Taurine) (Guarana) Cyanocobalamin Folic Acid Niacin Niacinamide Pantothenic Acid (Potassium Sorbate)- Salt of sorbic acid Water

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Nursing Care Plan and Specimens Essay

Quality is a broad term that encompasses various aspects of nursing care (Montolvo, 2007). The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators [NDNQI] is the only national nursing database that provides quarterly and annual reporting of structure, process, and outcome indicators to evaluate nursing care at the unit level (Montolvo, 2007). Nursing’s foundational principles and guidelines identify that as a profession, nursing has a responsibility to measure, evaluate, and improve practice (Montolvo, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ‘mislabeled specimen’ indicator for an inpatient rehab unit and devise an action plan based on best practices to decrease the incidence of mislabeled specimens. Analysis of the data According to Dock, (2005) accurate specimen identification is a challenge in all hospitals and medical facilities. Ensuring that specimens are correctly identified at the point of collection is essential for accurate diagnostic information (Dock, 2005). A mislabeled specimen can lead to devastating consequences for a patient (Dock, 2005). Specimen misidentification can be serious, resulting in misdiagnosis and mistreatment (Dock, 2005). For the second quarter of FY09, the rehab unit met their target of zero mislabeled specimens. The third quarter yielded two actual mislabeled specimens with a variance of two. The fourth quarter actual was one with a variance of one. The first quarter FY10 showed an actual of one and variance of one. For the FY09 the rehab had a total of four mislabeled specimens. This indicator was chosen because of the magnitude of this medical error. Nurses, administrators and laboratory personnel must collaborate and create ways to decrease the mislabeling of spec imens. Nursing plan Nursing interventions to decrease the number of mislabeled specimens and improve actual indicator scores are: 1) Ensuring proper identification of patient 2) The use of electronic technology and 3) Bedside labeling. Each of these interventions will positively impact patient outcomes and reduce errors. According to The Joint Commission [TJC], proper patient identification is best practice for decreasing mislabeled specimens (The Joint Commission as cited by Sims, 2010). National Patient Safety Goal [NPSG], 01.01.01 states that healthcare providers should use at least two identifiers to identify patients. For example, the patient’s full name and date of birth is used to properly identify a patient (The Joint Commission, 2014). According to Kim et al., (2013), developing a standardized specimen handling system has the potential to reduce errors. Figure 1. Steps to properly identifying a patient for specimen collection. Figure 1. Essential specimen handling steps. Blue items are physician-specific responsibilities; pink items are nursing staff-specific responsibilities. Adapted from â€Å"Standardized Patient Identification and Specimen Labeling: A Retrospective Analysis on Improving Patient Safety,† by Kim JK; Dotson B; Thomas S; Nelson KC; Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2013 Jan; 68 (1): 53-6. The strongest intervention to reduce labeling errors is the addition of barcode technology (Brown, Smith & Sherfy, 2011). The use of automated patient identification and specimen collection techniques can be an additional safety net for routines that are vulnerable to error, especially when coupled with strong systems designs (Brown et al., 2011). Brown et al (2011), found that the clinical applications of electronic and information technology support can assist in the identification, control, and reduction of error rates throughout the process. According to the World Health Organization [WHO] healthcare providers should encourage the labeling containers used for blood and other specimens in the presence of the patient (World Health Organization, 2007). This would suggest labeling specimens at the patient’s bedside or before leaving the room. Nurses should never label specimens before collection as this could lead to serious errors. Summary In summary, NDNQI indicators serve as a schoolmaster that holds nursing accountable to practice. An analysis of ‘mislabeled specimens’, found that an inpatient unit had a total of four incidents for FY09. While this does not seem like a great deal of errors, any one error could have detrimental consequences. The plan of action based on best practices is to properly identify the patient, using electronic technology, and labeling specimens at the bedside. References Brown, J.E., Smith, N., Sherfy, B.R., (2011). Decreasing mislabeled laboratory specimens using barcode technology and bedside printers. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, (26)1, 13-21. Retrieved from http://sfxhosted.exlibrisgroup.com/waldenu?genre=article&issn=10573631&title=Journal%20of%20Nursing%20Care%20Quality&volume=26&issue=1&date=201101 Dock, B. (2005). Improving the accuracy of specimen labeling. Clinical Laboratory Science, 18(4), 210-2. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204803914?accountid=14872 Kim J.K., Dotson B; Thomas S; Nelson KC; Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2013 Jan; 68 (1): 53-6. Retrieved from ent%20identification%20and%20specimen%20labeling%3A%20A%20retrospective%20analysis%20on%20improving%20patient%20safety.&spage=53&sid=EBSCO:rzh&pid= Montalvo, I. (2007). The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI). Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing, 12(3). Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=50&sid=909dc60d-9c0d-474c-a02e-2e8f9df097e1%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4104&bdata Sims, M. (2010). The Joint Commission clarifies key compliance issues. MLO: Medical Laboratory Observer, 42(4), 72. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=54&sid=909dc60d-9c0d-474c-a02e-2e8f9df097e1%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4104 The Joint Commission, (2014). National patient safety goals. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/2014_HAP_NPSG_E.pdf World Health Organization. (2007). Patient safety solutions. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/patientsafety/solutions/patientsafety/PS-Solution2.pdf

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Write an essay in response to the passage from Roger Schank that

Write an in response to the passage from Roger Schank that appears at the bottom - Essay Example te to us hence we can describe best what we pass through rather than what other people pass through thus experience becomes the best teacher of what we are to narrate to others. The following examples are to support my argument that experience is the best teacher. Interest towards something can assist us in telling a very interesting story about our history. Having the interest in what we like doing helps in focusing on the things we look after and ignore the things we are not prepared to deal with. Therefore, our mind is not ever occupied by irrelevant things hence can easily remember our history more easily. Additionally, since we can easily understand things that relate to our experience, it is actually very different to bear things that people say to us that are not interpretive via the incidences (experiences) we go through. Of course, interest develops the ability to recall whatever we have passed through to get to the point we are in the present (Roger, 2005). We cannot forget to pinpoint that a man is to an error and most of the time we tend to forget our past once we get to a new beginning. Therefore, when we get an opportunity of a remainder, we can understand better in the course of what we are being told about some things experienced. Having backups affect the way we understand events. For example, different people learn the same story differently precisely because the story they already know is different. It will take a broader historical view to developing a creative process to literary come up with someone else story and narrate it fluently without skipping any detail about the people we opt to talk about their history. Therefore, having a backup either in computers, phones or disks will help to tell others a history of someone they need to know. Overall, it becomes difficult to learn from these backups because the degree of accuracy is in doubt. For example, we do not understand how actual the history is framed. Therefore, it wil l only become

Friday, September 27, 2019

Mobile Technology Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mobile Technology - Annotated Bibliography Example It is meant to assist educators in the decision-making process especially when using mobile devices. The book also presents the advantages and disadvantages of mobile learning in a school context. Various polices that can be used in education are presented to facilitate decision making in mobile learning. Chinnery introduces Language Learning using mobile devices. The paper presents details on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), as well as its capabilities in language learning and teaching. MALL is an amalgamation language teaching approach which can successfully incorporate reading, listening, and speaking activities. The paper can be used to develop critical thinking and research skills. Use of the MALL software is common in most schools and the soft where is readily available from the internet. The paper explores the theoretic basics and functions of mobile instruction in the literature and examines the achievability of using this universal technology in learning the Iranian EFL language. Furthermore, he conducted a survey on the state of learning languages through mobile devices. He reported technical problems experienced while giving students assignments and their feedbacks. Many of the projects conducted using these mobile devices affected lessons due to technical challenges. Other language projects were seriously affected by lack of internet connection or slow internet connection. He noted that, in order to supplement language teaching, tablets and mobile devices are increasingly being used in the education system. They act as effective ways to monitor students’ performance and feedback presentation. Mobile devices are ideal because one is in apposition to choose the kind of Apps to use during classroom interactions. He asserts that MALL can easily be found in different mobile devices such as iPhones, tablets, and they have started modifying their products to fit the current technological development. Finally,

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Critical Literature Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critical - Literature review Example The way to behave was more readily mapped, and people knew what to do in the various phases of their lives from childhood through teenage years, work, marriage, parenthood, retirement and preparing for death of loved ones and of one’s own self. The modern industrialised, capitalist world, he argues, is fluid and contains many more uncharted areas and this requires that our self-identity should form a trajectory, requiring that we make day to day adjustments depending on what happens in our lives. (Giddens: 1991, p. 14). Incessant streams of new information result in a process of what Giddens calls â€Å"chronic revision† (Giddens: 1991, p. 20) and the complexity of modern capitalist society requires people to place their trust in increasingly opaque systems and organisations, many of which are subject to quite spectacular failures and radical transformations. Crossley partly agrees with this analysis and adds the observation that modern societies consist of overlapping networks, and that embodiment is reflexive, and imposed upon individials from many souces (Crossley: 2006, p. 112) Giddens describes the way that all human beings put on â€Å"performances† of their self in different social situations. ... 57. Bourdieu’s influential work on human judgement and taste proposes that all human culture is structured in a hierarchical way and that people access this culture through the family that they are born in and then via all the opportunities that they meet in later life (Bourdieu: 1984, pp. 1-5) This theory implies a structuralist view whereby social patterns tend to repeat themselves again and again through the generations. Bourdieu uses the concept of habitus, which is the partly unconscious way in which people deal with the society around them. (Bourdieu: 1984, pp. 169-174) He argues that people learn how to see the world, and consume all it has to offer, in their early childhood, and that they are conditioned by their family background to approach things in certain habitual ways: â€Å"The manner in which culture is acquired lives on in the manner of using it.†(Bourdieu: 1984, p. 1) The foods people eat, the clothes that they wear, the music and films they like, the values they place on educational achievement and all the other products of the modern world are therefore embodied in each person in stratified ways, and this explains the differences between social classes and the tendency for people to remain within their original social class. When this insight is applied to inborn qualities like race and gender it also helps to explain why people from ethnic minorities, women and people from lower social classes still suffer exclusion and unequal access to promotions in work even when educational barriers have been removed. Bourdieu’s point is that how people learn things is just as important, as what they learn because this

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

World History Galileo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

World History Galileo - Essay Example World History – Galileo During his work in astronomy, Galileo found many things that supported the view of the Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus that the earth was not the center of the universe, but a heavenly body that orbited the sun. This was against the belief that the earth was the center of the universe as put forward by Ptolemy and taken as true by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church declared the Copernican Theory as false. Thus Galileo’s support for the Copernican Theory was against the doctrines of the Church (3). Galileo did not want to oppose the Church, but some of his writings were against Church held views and his opponents made brought these to the notice of the Church to draw the support of the powerful Church in harming Galileo. It is against this background that Galileo wrote the letter to the Grand Duchess Christina. (4). In this letter Galileo defends his position on the support of the Copernican theory, as it is based on his own observations. His opponents are unable to prove otherwise and have fallen back on the support of philosophy and the sayings in the Bible to prove him wrong. Galileo takes the position that a true interpretation of the Bible would enable the world to understand that there is nothing unacceptable with his views on the Copernican theory. â€Å"I think in the first place that it is very pious to say and prudent to affirm that the holy Bible can never speak untruth-whenever its true meaning is understood†.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The great depression(conditions leading to the depression) Assignment

The great depression(conditions leading to the depression) - Assignment Example In the early-mid 1920s, production by farmers was far more than the population consumed. Mechanization in production techniques meant there was an increase in output that was expensive thereby putting firms in debts. Falling food production and reduction in land prices resulted in agricultural losses leaving vast populations poor and unemployed. With the demand dropping and supply increasing, the price of products reduced leaving the over-expanded firms short-changed leading to closure (Saint-Etienne, 2013). Top workers had their income rising by 75% while the bottom workers only enjoyed a 9% rise in wages. With industrial production growing by 50% in 1920s, there was wide a gap between high-income earners and those struggling in poverty leading to a reduction in disposable income to purchase the produce. With extensive unemployment, the poor required aid from the already cash-strapped authorities further deepening the financial problems. Explosion of stock markets built on speculation as seen in modern capitalist economy caused investors to buy stock believing it was going to rise quickly so that they could sell their stocks later. Most stock purchases were on credit as investors were required to have 5% of the stock’s value with the rest being supplied by a loan ‘buying on margin’. Speculation together with the short-term outlook of the investors did not offer consistency and stability for the system to yield economic benefits. The resulting tension led to selling of the stock causing a mini crash resulting in mass panic as the middle and upper classes lost money. The presence of numerous small banks with insufficient resources to handle the high demand for their money in conjunction with increasing nervousness about the state of the stock market played a major part in initiating the Great Depression. For this reason, they had to sell assets, borrow off other banks or shut down. Drying up of credit and reduction in lending

Monday, September 23, 2019

REVIEW THIESIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

REVIEW THIESIS - Essay Example Additionally, the study also discusses past research findings pertaining to the connection between education and creativity, particularly on how it contributed to success in business education. Moreover, the study will discuss the role of creativity in real life situations and the challenges of incorporating creativity within education with special emphasis on the business sector (Fasko, 2001, p.321). The twenty-first century is an age of globalization, telecommunication and digitalization of various forms of technologies. Therefore, this rapidly changing world demands people to multi-task and have the relevant skills in order to adapt. People need to have the ability to be flexible and process information quickly and efficiently. To succeed in the twenty-first century workforce, it is important for an individual to have certain skills: for example, problems, solving, goal setting and creative thinking skills. According to Jeffrey and Woods (2003, p. 122), an education system can develop these skills by raising and encouraging creativity among students. Education can encourage flexibility, innovation and positive creative thinking among students. Unfortunately, the education system in most institutions also contributes to avoidance of creativity among students. Despite the importance of formal education in the lives of people, most educational systems are failing to recognize the importance of developing creativity among the students. As Shaheen and Robinson (2010) argue, the education system is limiting the extent to which students can discover their creative potential. This is because creativity is not the main objective of the learning and assessment process in education. Most educational systems put more emphasis on the importance of meeting the objectives and goals of the school program but fail to address the importance of creativity among the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Women were second-class citizens in the year 1900 Essay Example for Free

Women were second-class citizens in the year 1900 Essay Women were second-class citizens in the year 1900. How far is this a true assessment of women at the beginning of the Twentieth century? This is difficult to answer as it is hard to determine whether all women had the same problem or whether some were better treated than others. There are many views as to whether women were second-class citizens and it is a widely speculated point as many different people have many different answers. There is much evidence that women were second-class citizens in the year 1900, but there is also evidence that they were not treated too badly and some even liked the way things were. In spite of this, some campaigned for more equality in many areas such as political rights and marriage. This is shown in many ways. There were limited job opportunities and women were only allowed to do domestic service, nursing, teaching, factory work, shop work or living at home and working there. Despite this, women seemed happy with most of the jobs available to them and did not really want new jobs. Women also had limited education opportunities. Women, like men, had a compulsory primary education and occasional secondary education, and a few even went on to study at Cambridge. However, few were allowed to do degrees in university and the quality of the education women got was lower than that of the boys. Also girls were generally taught things that only women do such as needlework and housework as well as letters and arithmetic etc but the boys were taught how to do farming and office work instead. This meant that women had few job opportunities due to the limit in their knowledge and education. The women in 1900 had quite good right when it came to marriage, due to campaigns in the late 1800s. Even though the church saw women as subordinates, they managed to get many new rights for themselves due to hard work and campaigning. There was a Custody of Infants Act passed which meant that women who were divorced were able to keep their children. The Married Womens Property Acts in 1870 and 1882 meant that they were able to keep any land they owned before they got married as their own and not their husbands. The Guardianship of Infants Act and Married Womens Act in 1886 allowed women even more freedom when it came to marriage and divorce. This shows that in 1900 women were not too badly treated when it came to marriage. Working-class and Middle-class women had life very differently. Working-class women generally worked all day and came home to housework, cooking, cleaning etc. In contrast to this, most middle-class women did not have to work as their husband supported the family. Despite this it meant that the middle-class women had very little freedom and although they were not tied down to working life it gave them very little to do and therefore they were probably treated more like second-class citizens than the working-class because of their limited opportunities. Women had very little freedom when it came to the vote. They were almost certainly classed as second-class citizens when it came to political rights. This is evident because, although women were allowed to vote in all kinds of local council elections, they were not allowed to vote in parliamentary elections. This meant that they were classed with criminals and the infirm of mind. Some women objected very strongly to this. Women in 1900 had very little political power, if any at all and this is an indication that they were viewed as second-class citizens. In conclusion I think that women in 1900 were not completely viewed as second-class citizens in many respects because, as is shown above, they had previously gained a lot of rights not open to them before the 1850s. This meant that, although in some areas such as the vote, political rights and many job respects they were treated as less than the men, they were not completely treated as second-class citizens. The fact that they were viewed as second-class citizens in some respects shows, in my opinion, nothing but human nature as every being looks down on something, in this case, the men looked down on the women and the women looked down on the children who had even less rights than they. This is still true nowadays as humans, even though we are now largely equal, look down on people of different nationalities, race, religion, colour etc and also humans look down on animals which in turn look down on each other for example; the lion is the king of the jungle so it probably looks down on the tigers etc. This is just the nature of living creatures so in my opinion, women were not treated too badly in 1900 and have come a long way since then.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Oedipal Complex in the Tragedy of Hamlet Essay Example for Free

Oedipal Complex in the Tragedy of Hamlet Essay How might the Oedipal complex factor into the tragedy of Hamlet? Oedipal complex Freud’s theory of stages of development for boys To describe a boy’s feelings of desire for his mother and jealously and anger towards his father Also thought boys felt they were in a completion with their father for possession of his mother His father is looked at as a rival They boy is observing his father in hopes of being like him or even better Those that carry on these feelings into adulthood are considered to have an Oedipus Complex During the Gibson movie Hamlet hates his uncle/step father; Claudius which Freud says is alright. Claudius is now the new king of Denmark We guess Hamlet would have taken the throne eventually if Queen Gertrude had not remarried. It seems like Claudius and Hamlet have built a rivalry and are in a competition for Gertrude. Because Hamlet feels like Claudius has taken his place next to Gertrude. One of the most controversial scenes in the Gibson movie is when Hamlet goes into Gertrude’s bedroom and confronts her about Claudius. He tells her not to have sex with Claudius (jealousy) He’s obsessed with the thought of his mother in bed During this confrontation there is a lot of sexual tension between the two The movie shows them passionately kissing What other comparisons can we draw between Hamlet and Oedipus? Similarities Differences Oedipus earned the trust of his people Oedipus acts on his actions How could one make the argument that the mother figure is the root of all problems in the play? What is the role of King Hamlet’s ghost in the play? How do you know that it is not a figment of Hamlet’s imagination? Why can’t Gertrude see it? Does Hamlet love Ophelia? How does one obtain power in Hamlet? Explain the importance or lack of importance of thinking and action. How do the Id, Ego, and Superego emerge in the play? At what point in the movie do you believe Hamlet crossed â€Å"a line of madness†? Does he come back? When? How is Hamlet being portrayed in the Gibson movie, the other movie, and the play? What other dramatic differences can you identity among the play’s text, the Gibson version, and the third version that you viewed? The biggest difference between the play and the Gibson version is that Fortinbus isn’t mentioned.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Conveyor Based Sorting System: Overview Detection Approach

Conveyor Based Sorting System: Overview Detection Approach Abstract: When the objects move on the conveyor belt, they fall into the receptacle at the end of the belt. Once the bin is filled the conveyor belt must stop in order not to overfill the bin. To make this possible we could use some sensors in the receptacle and link the belt and the weighing scale (on which the bin is placed) through programming so that when the receptacle reaches to certain weight the belt automatically stops. Some of the weighing sensors and level detectors are discussed in this report to reach a conclusion to decide the right method of approach to stop the overflowing of objects into the bin. Weight measuring sensors: There are various types of sensors used in measuring the weight of objects with different sizes and shapes. Strain gauges, load cells (of different types and shapes) and force sensors are some of the measuring sensors which are used in electronically weight measuring equipment. These sensors are installed in devices that measures the changes of force applied on them or the change of pressure on the particular spot of object or even the tension of the object. Our aim is to choose an approach for an overflow detection system when at the end of conveyor belt, the coloured objects are collected in a large bin. That is placed on the weighing device which accurately measures the weight of the bin/receptacle with the objects, and once its filled the conveyor belt/PLC stops and prevents the bins from overflowing. In this concept, to measure the weight, we could use different sensors like load cells of different types and strain gauges. 1.  Strain gauges: It is a device with varying resistance when certain amount of force or pressure, tension and weight is applied. It also converts them into measurable electrical resistance. This is the reason most of the load cells and electronically weight measuring scales are based on this strain gauge principle. Strain is a physical property of a material when it undergoes external displacement or deformation. Thus, this types of sensors can be used to measure both expansion and contraction. Strain gauge model The image1 above shows a typical metal-foil strain gauge which is widely available in the market. Strain gauges are mounted or glued to the surface of a solid material and when the material is compressed or stretched, the electrical resistance increases or decreases respectively. Generally, a Wheatstone bridge is used to change the varying resistance into varying voltage as the change in resistance is relatively small when using strain gauges to measure the weight of an object. Still, the output analogue signals are amplified further as this output signals from the Wheatstone bridge is still smaller when compared to the PLC in the design which is expected to be around 0 to 10V. The picture below shows the typical circuit of a strain gauge connected to the Wheatstone bridge (also known as Quarter bridge strain gauge circuit). The resulting output voltage is always a millivolt unit. Depending on the use of whole structure, the number of strain gauges connected to the Wheatstone bridge varies. Lets assume that, the weighing device below the receptacle/bin is fitted with the strain gauge, then every time an object falls into the bin causes a change in the tension in the gauge resulting a change in resistance. The picture2 below shows the typical assembly of strain gauge and Wheatstone bridge. The output voltage is normally measured using a voltmeter connected in circuit but can also be calculated using the following equation, The receptacle is assumed to be placed on the weighing scale which tends to be wider and a bit spacious which makes, using a single strain gauge to cover the whole space is not ideal. To improve the accuracy, we could use more than one strain gauge to cover the space on weighing scale. Advantages of strain gauge: Using strain gauges in the design have some pros and cons. Some of the advantages include, In a strain gauge, there are no moving parts but only a strip It is very small and easy to use on a piece of solid object When it comes to cost, its very inexpensive and easily available In our design, using more than one strain gauge to cover the weighing scale improves the accuracy. Disadvantages of strain gauge: The strain gauges need to be calibrated for it to work per desired design Overloading can be a problem; the strain gauges measure the stress on the scale in micro strain. Therefore, if the bin is slightly overfilled or even the load in it is beyond the limit then the results may be degraded. Just for a reference the limit normally be  ±3000 micro strain. If the wires of the get wet or not protected against humidity, the resulting electrical resistance might lead to parasitic results. If the design was to be open and wires are exposed to spillage which may cause errors in the result. 2.  Load cells: A load cell is a device which uses one or more strain gauges in its design to measure the force applied on the surface and change it into an electrical signal. Load cells can be in various types like hydraulic, pneumatic load cells, piezoelectric and capacitive load cells. Since it uses more strain gauges in the design which increases the accuracy of the model. Generally, Copper (Cu) and Nickel (Ni) alloys are used in the construction of the strain gauge load cells. When the length changes in the electrical conductor due to the stress applied on the free end, the resistance of electrical conductor also changes. in strain gauge load cells, use of Cu and Ni in this model is beneficial as the applied strain is virtually proportional to the change in resistance. This change in resistance is used to measure the strain applied if its connected to appropriate measuring circuit. This is a model image3 of a binocular beam strain gauge load cell which is more than one strain gauge and when theres stress applied on the free end, stretch in the gauge causes change in electrical resistance and thus the weight of the bin is measured. Hydraulic load cells are also known as force balance devices, one of the types of load cells which measures the weight of an object as pressure changes in internal filling fluid. As the force or pressure changes on the loading surface, pressure of the fluid inside the cell is also increases. The image4 above is a simple design of hydraulic load cell with the hydraulic fluid inside. Advantages of load cells Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the load cells are discussed below. It comes in various shapes and sizes like rugged shape and its in compact construction Load cells doesnt have any moving parts inside the structural design Since they have wide surface area which also has wide range of measurement Since our design (assumed concept) has a static weighing machine below the receptacle, load cells can be used and they also be used in dynamic loading Load cells are highly accurate since the loading surface is solid and wide area which covers the loading surface of the weighing machine. Disadvantages of load cells Compared to the strain gauges, load cells are solid and larger in size and shape As they have a solid structure and of different shapes, it may be hard to mount on any surface Just like a strain gauge model, calibration with these load cells is also essential in the process of measuring the weight of the objects fall into the receptacle They are slightly expensive and a very costly signal conditioning 3.Force sensor resistor: Force sensor resistor which is also known as force sensitive resistor (FSR), is a resistor material where the resistance changes whenever the force or pressure changes on the surface. When compared to the strain gauges and load cells, FSR measures the compressing force or weight differently by directly correlating the strain of the beam to the applied force on the surface. Piezo-resistive force sensor is one of these types of force sensors. It is a strip of layers with different form of inks which can detect the applied force or stress on the material where the strip is attached to. The image5 blow shows the simple construction of a special FSR called Piezo resistive force sensor. Every time each object falls into the receptacle or bin, the force is applied on the surface of the weighing scale which then compresses two layers of pressure sensitive ink within the flexible and adhesive substrate layers in the sensor. This pressure creates the tension in the layers converts them into electrical signals which then can be calibrated just like the load cells with the help of programming with engineering force units. This is an image6 of a Round Force Sensitive Resistor (Model: Interlink 402 with  ½ the diameter sensing region from the measuring surface). Advantages of Force resistive sensor FSR are generally very small and thin (about 0.2mm) and very flexible in construction which allows them for unobtrusive measurements to be taken in practical application These types of sensors are programable and customizable per the specification of the design concept These sensors are very cost effective and readily available in the market They are also inexpensive in programming or signal conditioning in electronics They only consume very low power and its light weight as its very thin in structure Disadvantages In measuring weight or pressure applied these sensors are very inaccurate with the results like  ±5% of full scale than a load cell They are calibrated by us, the users, which can lead to manual errors whereas load cells are programmed by the manufacturers if ordered directly Different approach than programming: Level detectors: Other than using just weight sensors to detect the weight of the receptacle and stop the overflow when the objects are filled, we could also use some level detectors at the top of the bin to detect whether the objects have reached the top while the object fall into the bin from the conveyor belt. For an effective way of stopping the overflow, mix use of both level detectors and weight sensors would improve the accuracy to stop the overflow. A typical level detector is used to detect once the material is at the determined point within the receptacle which is also known as Point Level Sensor (PLS). These sensors can be used to detect the levels of the objects at high, low and intermediate levels of the bin. These also must be programmed or calibrated to the desired level in the bin for the accurate results. Image7 below shows the typical model of Rod pointing level sensor which can be used to measure the liquid, slurry materials, powders or solid objects levels in a vessel. This sensor has a self-built alarm and LED indicator which can be activated when the objects in the vessel reaches the desired indication point. It has no moving parts in the assembly and since its simple design which makes it easily mountable on any part of the receptacle to our desired level. This image8 shows the ways of mounting the sensors in various levels of the bin. Conclusion: Weighing scale and conveyor belt are linked through the program so that when the receptacle is filled and desired weight is reached, which then signals the conveyor belt to stop filling the bins. This is the assumed concept for which we were using weighting sensors to detect the weight of the bin and stop overflowing. For this we cant just use programming to stop the overflow we would also need some additional sensor to detect the weight or the maximum level that the objects can reach. Therefore, to achieve the higher accuracy we could use both level detecting sensors and weighing sensors in the concept to stop the overflow of objects. Load cells are preferable means of sensing the weight of the receptacle to stop the overflow. Load cells are the sensors with the solid base where more than one strain gauges are mounted which improves the accuracy of measuring the weight of the bin. If we use strain gauges to measure the weight, we would be using more and more strain gauges to cover the wide area where the bin is placed. This could increase the cost of the project and using more gauges may result to find the average value between them to detect the weight which not be accurate. Using more strain gauges may also result in massive circuits and lots of wires hanging all over the places. So, if theres any faults in the circuits, it may be hard to find it. Load cells are the right choice since they have no moving parts in them which makes them more easily mounted under the receptacles. Use of both load cells and Level detectors in the design may benefit the approach to stop the overflow of the objects from the receptacle. References: Appmeas.co.uk. (2017). Load Cells | Force Sensors | Force Transducers | Load Measurement. [online] Available at: http://www.appmeas.co.uk/load-cells-and-force-sensors.html?gclid=CLSe34mxzNICFQsR0wodQu8Nmw [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017]. Binocular load cell. (2017). [image] Available at: http://www.instrumentationengineers.org/2013/07/load-cell-working-types-advantages-and.html [Accessed 10 Mar. 2017]. En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Wheatstone bridge. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatstone_bridge [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017]. Force sensor Construction. (2017). [image] Available at: https://www.tekscan.com/resources/ebook/load-cell-vs-force-sensor [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017]. Hydraulic load cell model. (2017). [image] Available at: http://www.instrumentationengineers.org/2013/07/load-cell-working-types-advantages-and.html [Accessed 10 Mar. 2017]. Level detector. (2017). [image] Available at: http://www.blueleveltechnologies.com/products/modelVHS.html [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017]. Round FSR model 402. (2017). [image] Available at: https://www.adafruit.com/product/166 [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017]. Strain gauge. (2017). [image] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/mac899/strain-gauge-23842407 [Accessed 9 Mar. 2017]. Tekscan. (2017). Load Cell Vs. Force Sensor. [online] Available at: https://www.tekscan.com/resources/ebook/load-cell-vs-force-sensor [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017]. Us, C. (2017). Load cell working, types advantages and disadvantages. [online] Instrumentation Engineering. Available at: http://www.instrumentationengineers.org/2013/07/load-cell-working-types-advantages-and.html [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017].

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay example --

I. INTRODUCTION T HE WAY in which the quality of manufactured view stones are analyzed in this paper is to conduct a designed experiment considering the different factors that is thought would influence their appearance, mechanical and technical performances. Natural stones, especially granite, have been used for flooring, view and also as countertop material in houses for their beauty and elegance. However, even though they are very durable, scratch and heat resistant, it has other inherent less desirable characteristics. They contain tiny pits and natural fissures that may appear to be cracks, although these are inherent features. Besides, they are subject to tone variation and it is not easy to achieve smooth transition in the range of shades when it is used in large areas. The high price is the other disadvantage of the natural stones. An alternative is engineered stones which are also durable to some extent but without the less-desirable characteristics of natural stone. Different techniques have been applied to produce the artificial stones with proper characteristics such as reconstituted or re-composed stones. Among these different techniques the polymer based stones are gaining more attention and popularity due to their lower pri ce, diversity and fair mechanical and apparent performances. Also, the materials can be fabricated in large sizes, resulting in less joints and better aesthetics. Fabrication of simulated stone to withstand loads from wind, gravity, movement of building structure, and thermally induced movement, as well as to resist deterioration under conditions of normal use including exposure to weather, without failure. On the other hand since the main use of them is in buildings’ view applications, beauty an... ...the best results are achieved due to optimization of all response variables and the faulty products are avoided. Following the DOE analysis, another study is conducted to find the best parameter setting of manufacturing process. This problem is a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problem due to different response variables. Some of the key features of engineered view stones are qualitative features. Therefore, fuzzy TOPSIS tool is used. Using the proposed method to build a model of the process to efficiently adjust the controllable parameters the proper responses are experimentally achieved. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Manufacturing and parameters’ selection are discussed in Section II. Section III describes the DOE method which is applied. Fuzzy TOPSIS method is briefly introduced in section IV. The concluding remarks are drawn in Section V.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Diabetes Mellitus Essay -- Health, Disease, Medicine

This paper deals about the study of diabetes mellitus, the pathology, types of diabetes, further complications if not controlled and management for the prevention of this disease. Diabetes refers to a set of several different diseases. All types of diabetes result in too much sugar, or glucose, in the blood. To understand why this happens it helps to understand how the body usually works. When you eat, your body breaks down your food into simpler forms such as glucose. The glucose goes into your bloodstream, where it travels to all the cells in your body. Your cells use glucose for energy. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps move the glucose from bloodstream to the cells. Pathophysiology of Diabetes Mellitus further explain the concept how this disease works. Pancreas plays an important role of the metabolism of glucose by means of secreting the hormones insulin and glucagon. These hormones where then secreted by Islets of Langerhans directly to the blood. Inadequate secretion of insulin results on im- paired metabolism of glucose, carbohydrates, proteins and fats which then result to hyperglycemia and glycosuria. Hyperglycemia is the most frequently observed sign of diabetes and is considered the etiologic source of diabetic complications both in the body and in the eye. On the other hand, glucagon is the hormone that opposes the act of insulin. It is secreted when blood glucose levels fall. This is also further explained in the handbook of the Disease Management of Pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus which states the following: â€Å"Glucagon increases blood glucose concentration partly by breaking down glycogen in the liver. Following a meal, glucose is absorbed into the blood. In response to increased blood glucos... ...ss the importance of taking nutritious foods and multivitamins, try to drinking coffee for two or three days. Eating regular well balanced meals. Avoid fast-food lifestyle that can cause great fluctuation in blood sugar. Lastly, the patient will be able to describe the benefits of regular exercise and how regular exercise can improve blood glucose control. They should know the importance of relaxation and exercises, deep breathing which are popular ways to relieve stress and to avoid strenuous physical activity. Meditations, yoga are good ways of relieving stress. Therefore, learning about the concept of diabetes in general is very important to prevent further complications of other critical diseases. It is best to understand and to stress out the importance of good nutrition, exercise, diet, healthy active lifestyle to the improvement for someone’s well being.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Islamic Country Business Practice Are Differ from Us Essay

Do I thing business practices in Islamic country are likely to differ from business practices in the United States? If so how? Yes, I agree with this statement that business practices in Islamic country are differ from business practices in the United States. When a business organization is capable and qualified enough to meet up the national demand then they can operate business crossing to the border. When a company operates is business activities more than one country having its own branch office in the host countries then it can be called international business. As multinational business is operated in more than one country so there must be an influence of the several host countries to operation and functional activities of the business. When business practices are doing between Islamic country and United States that time we faces some different between those countries. And those are as follows: Language is the first and foremost aspects of international business. As every country has its own language. They obviously prefer that their language is highly evaluated. Moreover to make them understand it is better to express them in their own language. For Islamic country their local language is Arabic, Hebrew etc. and on the other hand English is the local language in U.S. if they each other language then as a result their profitability will be increased and the growth of the business practices is ensured. Laws are based on the Muslim Holy Book, the Quran. The system is often known as â€Å"Sharia† but their business rules and regulation are not so strict. In United states their laws are very strict for export their product in other countries for this strict rules and regulation it decreased other countries to import product from them. It make difficult to business practices between Islamic country and United States. Religion is also an essential part of a country’s culture which influences business. Islamic countries people are Muslim religious and U.S. people are as Christians, Jews religious. If we want to express it in the way of fashion like western fashion and eastern fashion. Muslim countries like to weal long veil or covered dress whether the western countries like to wear short dress pattern. Islamic countries people are pray five times in a day, they doing fast a whole month of Ramadan, and they follow Friday as holiday. But in U.S. countries celebrate Christmas day and they follow Sunday as holiday. And those different make critical to business practices between Islamic countries and United States. Education also plays a vital role in their purchasing power as well as their attitude and consumption patterns too. If they people are educated in a country the income level and quality awareness must be higher. They will not be price biased rather than they would be quality biased. This thing also differ business practices between Islamic country and United States. The Islamic countries people are tend to be very hospitable and regard treating guests with generosity and warmth as a point of personal honor. The common practice in Islamic country is to shake hand at first meeting and again upon leaving. In Islamic country people maintain closer physical proximity while taking and conversation often involve more physical contact than is common in the United States. When a guest in an Arab person’s home, avoid giving gifts of food or drink. Through this may be common practice in the United States, in the Middle East such gifts imply that the host is inadequate. Product acceptability is also a major point for business practices in different country. Like hard drinks and poke types of product are not allowed in Muslim country but those types of product are available and allow in United States. So it’s also being a different between Islamic country and United States business practices. The weather pattern is also an important aspect of international business practices. For example the clothing pattern of cold country and the high temperature country will not be same. As well as the cosmetics pattern of the clod and hot weather country will not be same. Most of the Islamic country weather is hot so when U.S. goes for their business practices those countries they must match the weather. Business practices are also differing by population, income rate, economic growth rate, heritage so many things are related with business. In fine it can be said that to operate international business efficiently we must have sufficient knowledge of their cultural pattern, their attitude, buying pattern, behavior, response to a decision, sensitive issues of their culture, their belief, and always be prepared to handle any sorts of uncertainty to overcome them. Then we can hope the growth of the business firm in the foreign country in competitive environment and their changing pattern as well durability.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Wembley vs Emirates Football Stadiums

Construction of Wembley stadium was supposed to be completed by May 2006, but completed in March 2007. There were several controversial between client, contractor, sub contractor, designer etc. and some cases end up in the court. The causes for these controversial were identified mainly due to adversarial contracts, unreasonable risk allocation, cash-flow problems, design changes, poor performance, poor site management and litigations.Several reasons were adduced for the successful delivery of the Emirates football stadium but the most overarching and notable of the reasons was the effective and selective supply chain created by the main contractor (Exceptional Performer, 2007). In both case studies one can clearly see good and bad practices demonstrated. While both cased had the same procurement routes, with only slight modifications to allow client to have greater input in design, they both had different outcomes. In all respects the Emirates Stadium is surely the winner as the mos t successfully executed project of the two.In both cases there were many challenges as well but it is how they were met with that determined their fate. The Wembley Stadium case was clearly a disaster in planning, financing and execution. This may be attributed to the lack of knowledge and experience on the part of the contractor, Mutliplex about the UK construction industry, which is why they possibly formed a consortium with Bovis in the beginning. Due to lack of a firm establishment in the UK industry, Multiplex was faced with much distrust from locally well established firms.The fact that so many disputes arose in terms of payments and court proceedings did not help much either. The Emirates Stadium on the other hand was a perfect example of best practice. They incorporated sustainability, collaborative working, and effective and selective supply chain management. The supply chain was a crucial ingredient that Sir Robert McAlpine had established through experience in the UK indu stry while working with various subcontractors and forming strong ties with them. This strong ties and trust between contractor and subcontractors was lacking in the Wembley case.However, contractors alone are not to bare the blame the construction clients have a role in the success of a project as well. In the Wembley case the construction client mismanaged money by expending too much in investigations and reviews. They also pointlessly hired management consultants and did not heed their advice. Therefore, the client’s attitude towards contractor selection is imperative and can lead to project failure if not done properly. This was the case in the Wembley Stadium where the Australian contractor was rushed into agreement.In the end collaborative working and an effective supply chain coupled with a proper decision making client are vital ingredients for a project to be executed effectively and efficiently. From the literature review found that, projects suited to GMP had the f ollowing characteristics; †¢ Cost certainty was a primary objective †¢ Time was a primary objective †¢ The scope was fully defined †¢ The project was simple †¢ It was a development project †¢ The parties had previous experience in GMP contracts †¢ There was a good team based relationship between the parties †¢ The personalities were appropriate (fair, reasonable and empathetic)

Sunday, September 15, 2019

An Interview with the Elderly

Gillian Howard was only 7 when the Second World War started; it was a chain of events that didn't just wreck her childhood but many others. The observer got the chance to interview her as part of our elderly season. I came into the warm living room for this interview and my surrounding are of ornaments and glass statues. This is because my grandmother, Gillian, is an antique collector, so to start this interview I nuzzle myself into the infamous black leather sofa ready for the interview. My grandmother entered, I immediately stand up for this is how you treat the elder generation, with respect. I greet her and I sit back down ready to question her. I firstly ask her to just say a few interesting points that are important. She says she was born 1932 so was only 7 when the war started; Gillian lived in London at the time. Gillian still lives in London today and that is where we are now. When the blitz started in 1941 Gillian was evacuated from London and went on a train to Bristol. After that brief summary I proceed to ask her of when she felt most sad. Naturally it was when she   was separated from her parents and evacuated. She was crying and a group of soldiers came up to her and comforted her they were at the station too and were on the train to Bristol to go to the port to go onto a battleship. They sang to her the wartime songs all the way from London to Bristol she learnt them all. â€Å"But there is another event that really was sad and it just shows how the war tears families to shreds,† she said. I ask what this event is; she says â€Å"It was of course when my brother died in world war two, you see he was torpedoed by a German U-boat 4 people survived. He was one of them and he was on a chunk of metal torn away form the ship. After 4 days without food in the scorching heat of Africa the U-Boat surfaced and left them there they took photographs and used them as propaganda saying they were actually good people for they had rescued 4 dying men. 3 days later my brother died and 1 day later the rest of the crew were rescued he was just one day to short.† It is a story I have heard many times before, but it still makes me feel awfully sorry for my grandmother and her family. I then ask what happened when she arrived at Bristol. She says the she and her other brother were to be taken to a boarding school. But wasn't as easy as it seemed for it was an only boys boarding school. Gillian got up to much mischief â€Å"in one event there was a sudden uproar of mice in the school, every single pupil had one and we hid them underneath the fold up old fashioned desks.† In another event Gillian describes the useless French teacher. She explains in this episode of how pathetic the teacher was and how all the children decided to trick her. She recalls the event, â€Å"You see the week before we had tricked another teacher by putting thin string all around the corridor and it tripped her up. All the teachers were on red alert so before class I went outside the classroom of the French teacher she was marking homework in the room and I pretended to tie up all these pieces of string outside. So we went into the lesson that is our class and pretended to jump over the strings. So when the teacher left the classroom she was crawling over the floor, she thought there was string. If we had cameras back then that would be the time to use it!† I ask her if she ever saw the bombing. She then says that they only stayed at Bristol for one day before they were whisked away to the countryside. But in that night she saw the bombing. She says â€Å"In the night I was with my brother it was the most terrifying thing and all you could hear was the screeching of the bombs and huge explosions.† I ask, â€Å"When the war was over was there a huge sense of relief.† â€Å"When the war ended everybody was so cheerful I was in London on victory day but before this whole experience I was 7 now I was 13 a whole chunk of my childhood was torn out,† says Gillian. So were many other children's childhood I think to myself. â€Å"So after that I grew up in London and I met your grandfather Theo, at the age of 22, Theo was 29. So many people got married young in those days,† says Gillian. Gillian and Theo now live in a large Victorian, house in Chelsea London. I ask if they both go out much. â€Å"I go out with our dog Bosie on a walk every day to keep him healthy,† she explains. Bosie is the puppy born in august. He is very lively and is active so they go on a walk every day. â€Å"Do you have any hobbies?† I ask. She says that she collects antiques and has a very large collection of jewellery. Whenever we visit her she always shows my sisters her latest addition to the collection. At 76 Gillian still doesn't have the same athletic ability she used to have but is still very fit for her age. When we go to the park she will be joining in with the football. I therefore sum up this interview part of are elderly season with the same message as other articles of the elderly season week. They are elderly people must have respect they have come from a completely different world compared to us and therefore needed to be treated like that. The elderly are not boring, slow, dull people as depicted in stereotypical pictures they are full of years of wisdom and can tell you lots of good stories. Don't fall for what those stereotypical pictures say†¦ THINK!

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Excessive Happiness with Patch Adams Essay

â€Å"Patch Adams† is one brilliant movie that touches the hearts of those who watch it and also has this very strong force that attracts the viewer’s attention to continue indulging into every scene, to listen in every line spoken by each actor, for in each line hides a deeper meaning. Lastly, this movie truly affects the lives of the people watching, young and old alike. Patch Adams is truthfully a very heartwarming story that makes one person think and focus on one’s own purpose and plan in life. It thought me to enjoy every moment of my life and to keep on pursuing what my heart truly desires. As Arthur Mendelson said, â€Å"If you focus on the problem, you can’t see the solution. Never focus on the problem! See what no one else sees. See what everyone chooses not to see†¦ out of fear, conformity or laziness. See the whole world anew each day!† This movie is also packed with humor, sorrow, love, but most of all hope. It is a one of a kind story that lifts the spirit of all who are depressed, of those who feel as if they’re all alone in life, and those people who are battling with sickness. It teaches us that death is a natural phenomenon which we can’t avoid and escape from, and at the same time it instill in our minds that as long as we live, we should make the most out of our lives, fix all the misunderstandings, communicate to the person we haven’t talked for a long time, and above all, continue serving the people and God. I could not say anything negative against the movie because in the first place, it has excellently portrayed the beauty of life. Also, the story imparted a lesson that what matters most is the happiness and feeling of fulfillment in ourselves as we take care of the others and not just the payment that comes for the service offered. When we do service wholeheartedly, we touch lives, we change perception, and we are able to be appreciated by the people whose lives we were able to transform. To end this reaction paper, all I can say is that God works amazingly and that each one of us has a purpose in life. The realization of this purpose depends on the person if he will accept this unreservedly and will commit to it ready to face all the hurdles that will block his way. We must never be afraid to take risks and when we do things, when we make a decision, we must always offer it to God that He may guide us along the right path. When we do this, we are assured of not only extreme happiness, but also ETERNAL AND EVERLASTING SERENITY with God.

Ideal Student Essay

Quote: I realized that the only purpose to revolution is to be able to love who you want, how you want, when you want and where you want†¦ Idle student: An ideal student is someone who is thirsty for knowledge. Such a student will not be distracted in class. After all that is what every teacher desires. This thirst for knowledge will ensure that she is attentive and is committed to learn all that she can about a particular subject so that she can understand it fully. An ideal student will also have certain other distinguishing qualities. She will have well – defined goals in life and her effort will be to do whatever it takes to achieve these goals. For instance, if you ask her what she aspires to be, she will have a ready answer. And she will have a good reason for what she aspires to be. She will also have a clear vision of what is necessary to attain her goal. An ideal student will respect her teachers but will not be afraid of them. She will have the courage to admit her ignorance and ask for advice and direction if she needs it. She will not be the kind of person who accepts  things blindly and learns by rote. She will try to grasp concepts and if she finds it difficult, will have the confidence to approach her teachers for more information. She will be active in many things for she understands that one should have a well – rounded personality. She will have character more than anything else for it is character that makes a person’s destiny. She will compete only with herself and if someone seeks her help in class, will show no hesitation in giving it. An ideal student will observe discipline. She will be punctual and properly dressed. She will not absent herself from class for silly reasons and will do her homework daily. She will be neat and tidy and observe decorum in class. Children are the wealth of a nation. A Nation that produces a generation of talented and hardworking youth marches ahead on the path of progress. However creating quality citizens is no easy task and cannot be achieved overnight. The first step for that is to produce ideal students in our schools. These ideal students would go on to become ideal citizens. Who is an ideal student.? There isn’t one definite answer to that because there are many qualities that together define an ideal student. The most important quality of an ideal student is that for him. the foremost duty of his school life is to study. He studies regularly and works hard to improve his performance in each exam. But his objective of studying is not to only score good marks or secure a high rank. Beyond that he has a thirst for knowledge , an interest to learn more about everything he observes. Apart from studies, an ideal student actively gets involves in other activities. He is good in arts and sports and regularly participates in intra and inter school events. He is an active member of various clubs in the school and helps in organizing events. But participating in competitions and winning events is not the only big thing in life, and an ideal student knows that very well. Virtues like kindness, compassion,respect , sincerity, honesty, politeness are equally important in todays world, and these qualities are found in abundance in an ideal student. He treats his parents, teachers and elders with respect, and speaks politely to everybody. In times of crisis for his friends, he is the first person to stand by them. He never boasts of his achievements and never gets depressed by his failures. He is always cheerful and maintains a positive approach to life. He spreads hope and happiness wherever he goes. In short his conduct is admired by everyone. An ideal student is a voracious reader. He reads the newspaper regularly and is well aware about the events and happenings in various parts of the world. He also reads magazines, noels and short stories. he has an excellent grasp of the language and is very good at  communicating things to others. Last but not the least, an ideal student loves his parents and family members very much and does as much as he can to help them and to keep them happy. He never wastes his parents’ hard-earned money and believes that knowledge is the biggest wealth he can acquire. An ideal students grows up to be an asset to his family, his society and the country. If only all our schools couls produce more and more ideal students, our country could achieve tremendous progress and become the envy of the whole world..

Friday, September 13, 2019

Elements of a Statement of Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Elements of a Statement of Work - Essay Example Most of the resources recommend that a good SOW document should tell clients a story starting with â€Å"why†, then â€Å"how† and â€Å"what† and finally â€Å"when† and â€Å"how much† in a logical order to make a follow up an easy task. A statement of works comprises of various elements with some formats omitting some particularly the ones that do not have much importance. This paper will discuss the most critical components of a statement of works and explain what Breakdown Structure (WBS) accomplishes. Under this section, vendors are required to define the â€Å"why† by stating the marketing or the objective of the business with respect to the project, as well as state a high-level overview of the resolution. This ensures that the vendor has clarity as to why he or she is undertaking the work (project) and hence can now start weaving the story. Under this section of SOW, a vendor is required to define the â€Å"what† and â€Å"how† of the weaved story in attempt to fully define the work being performed and outline a concise process that explains how the work will be done. It involves the following tasks that must be written in a chronological order Any assumption relating to the tasks that has been made while preparing SOW must be included in this part since assumptions are inevitable in any SOW document. It is also highly advisable that preparers should start precisely the deliverables produced while clearly describing them with regard to size which can be approximated, but expressed using words like â€Å"up to† so that if the supplier produces less can still be fulfilling the contract (Lessard & Lessard, 2007). Tasks should never be listed under deliverables since deliverables are items handed off to clients for review and approval. Moreover, it is advisable to avoid giving clients options under this section since all decisions ought to be made by this stage. Schedule section defines the

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Fair trade provides no significant benefits. To what extent do you Essay - 3

Fair trade provides no significant benefits. To what extent do you agree - Essay Example mplishments, the structure by which Fair Trade aspires to attain its objectives is severely weak, restricting its market opportunities and the value it gives to workers and farmers. As such, some claim that fair trade provides no significant benefits. This essay argues that Fair Trade does suffer from internal and external problems, but that does not mean that it provides no significant benefits. There is a wide array of criticisms about whether Fair Trade accomplishes its objectives of raising living standards for the most underprivileged producers and other players in global trade. Basically, there is a major problem at the core of the present development and achievement of Fair Trade (Cole & Brown, 2014). So as to achieve dominant presence and significantly influence the market, Fair Trade advocates have to collaborate with major corporate players. These corporate traders usually pursue clearly different objectives and usually reluctant or unable to totally commit themselves to Fair Trade principles (Smith, 2013). For instance, Starbucks’s dedication to Fair Trade principles has been criticised. A small percentage of Starbucks coffee was fairly traded in 2007, but its brand image or corporate reputation became known as socially responsible immediately after declaring its involvement in the Fair Trade system (Cole & Brown, 2014). Since Starbucks is the biggest global coffee retailer, it is in charge of buying larger volumes of Fair Trade coffee than any other vendor. Nevertheless, a meagre portion of its overall coffee is Fair Trade. The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO), tasked to give Fair Trade authorisation, was also criticised for not obliging major multinational companies (MNCs) to pursue or maintain higher ideals before granting them certification (Cole & Brown, 2014). Simply put, the increasing incorporation of the Fair Trade stamp without completely implemented Fair Trade ideals undermines the general objectives of Fair Trade principles and

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Benjamin Franklin Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Benjamin Franklin - Assignment Example He helped James create pamphlets. He wrote letters under the name of a fictional widow named Dogood. He used to write particularly about how women were being treated. It was an instant hit in the market. And everyone wanted to know the real name of Silence Dogood. During those times, Smallpox was a deadly disease which according to Mr. Benjamin could be cured only by inoculation. But while people liked this idea, they didn’t like the way Mr. Benjamin made fun of clergy. Hence Mr. Benjamin was jailed. After his release from jail, James and Mr. Benjamin had a fight which forced him to run away to Philadelphia (Isaacson, 2003). One of his main accomplishments during the period was launching of the Library Company in 1731. This led to the birth of first subscription library. He also helped launching of American Philosophy Society, which was the first learned society in America. In 1751 he also formed the Pennsylvania Hospital after recognizing the need to treat the sick people in a better way. He founded Philadelphia’s Union Fire Company to help people from the problem of fire, which was the first in the city. Sometimes individual’s house was damaged by fire leading to irreversible loss. In 1752, he founded the Philadelphia Contribution for Insurance Against Loss by fire (Morse, 2007). Benjamin Franklin started to take active interest in Politics in 1750s. He even went to England representing Pennsylvania to fight against the Penn family to find out who would control the Colony. During his time abroad, he thought of himself as a loyal Englishman. At that time England had many amenities which Americans lacked. England also had fine theatre, thinkers and witty conversation. Mr. Franklin was surprised to find out strong opposition by Americans against the Stamp Act. He gave testimony in front of Parliament to persuade the members to repeal the Act. Mr. Franklin was growing sick of the large amount of corruption

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

'Going global, acting local - communicating global brands to global Assignment

'Going global, acting local - communicating global brands to global markets' - Assignment Example For instance the issues related to the differences in the cultural, political, social and economical factors. This report highlights on the Global, Local and Glocal Strategies followed by various brands. Global, Local and Glocal Strategies The theory of standardization for the marketing activities works on a marketing level but is often seen to lack richness of details that is needed to act at a tactical and operative level. Marketers of multinational organizations are facing difficulties in creating products and advertising programs that can communicate effectively with the diversified target markets. To provide a solution to this problem and assist in this task various frameworks have been developed that would determine the degree of effort required and which effort to follow global, local or mixed. Globalization Robertson (1992, cited by Waters, 2002) stated that globalization can be defined as a concept that leads to compression of the world and at the same time intensifies consc iousness. Speaking broadly two complementary disciplines namely sociology and political economy are seen to make significant contribution to the study of globalization (Coca-Stefaniak & Parker, 2010). From the political economic point of view globalization is defined as an integration of nation economies with the global economies through investment and trade further advanced by technology, â€Å"the process is driven by the theory of comparative advantage, the goal of international competitiveness and the growth model† (Hines, 2000, p. 4). A more diverse viewpoint has been presented from the sociology view point. Ritzer (2004) and Giddens (1991) has seen globalization as standardised and homogenised phenomenon and finally construed by Albrow (1992, p. 248) as â€Å"the process whereby the population of the world is increasingly bonded into a single society†. Hence globalization addresses the business issue by taking a product to the global market (Pym, 2009). While des igning marketing strategy the whole world is viewed as a single entity and standardised products are developed and marketed in the same way everywhere (Vignali, 2001). Zara is a leading international fashion clothing retailer and one of the successful and fastest growing companies in Spain (Hill & Jones, 2009). The designers at Zara create approximately 40,000 new designs every year from which only 10,000 are selected. Zara offers clothing for men (about 22% of sales), women (about 58%) and children (about 20%) (Torun, 2007). It is well known for its fashion sensitive product being manufactured internally. The products offered by Zara are designed as such that it matches with the climatic, cultural and physical differences of the country like small size cloths for people of Japan, cloths matching to the different seasons of South America and special cloths for women in the Arab countries. However 85% to 90% of the basic designs available at Zara are common for all the countries in w hich it serves (Ghemawat And Nueno, 2006). This commonality is due to the regular interaction between La Coruna, the creative team and the local store managers. About 10%-15% of the product offered by Zara does not differ from country to country; they are retrieved from the same menu of products. The products

Monday, September 9, 2019

Internal and External Factors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Internal and External Factors - Essay Example In order to understand the importance of management functions, it is vital to consider a specific organization in today’s business environment. The organization of choice is Walmart. This organization operates retail stores around the world. Retail markets are dynamic in nature, an aspect that makes it essential to examine how management in this organization undertakes its functions. On the same note, the fact that Walmart operates retail stores globally makes management a critical factor in the global business setting. Planning is the first major function of management. The formulation and realization of an organization’s goals depend on this role of management. In Walmart, planning encompasses the process of strategizing on how to achieve the firm’s short-term and long-term goals. The successful positioning of the retailer in both domestic and international markets is driven by the implementation of strategies that inform the realization of the set goals. The management decides on their retailing approach and the best ways to meet consumer needs. In this respect, planning is an ongoing practice that requires change or alterations if need be. In planning, Walmart’s management engages vibrant advertising and feedback collection practices that solely focus on the customer. This practice takes into account the firm’s marketing, sales, and supply chain management needs. In addition, the organization runs promotional projects that seek to capture consumer attention and convince them to buy. In essence, planning seeks to mobilize organizational processes and strategies that best address the goals and objectives set by the organization. The management cannot achieve the desired organizational outcomes without being organized. In the organizational context, organizing encompasses the mobilization of resources and personnel to ensure that the firm remains in the right business path. Organizing requires the management to allocate

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Client's Brief Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Client's Brief - Assignment Example In the recent times, the number of civilian arrests that has been made on the lines of substance abuse is increasing. As of the year 2011, the first 6 months of the year witnessed an increase of drug abusers arrest by 20% as compared to that of the previous year. Also, the number of first time drug users has also gone up over the years on a steady basis since the year 2008 (Kirkland, 2011). The charity based organization, The Turning Point, which has its financial funding and support from the local government, provides the female victims of substance abuse the opportunity to recover by making them stay and participate in its indoor program for a period of 6 months. The last 3 months of the abuse removal program enables the respondents to participate in working and studying outdoors. The service offering of the charity comprises of residential rehabilitation programs as well as counselling services to the affected victims. Internal environment – TOWS analysis The TOWS analysis is often used to analyse the competitive position and advantage of the company. It is of considerable importance to mention that the TOWS matrix is a conceptualized framework that helps in a great way in matching the external opportunities and threats with the factors of company or organization specific strengths and weaknesses. Threats Old residents might contact new outdoor residents for selling of drugs. Competition with other organizations in regards to staff availability and volunteers Donor organizations moving to fund other non profit organizations. Opportunities Expanding the charity based organization in to new locations. Increasing awareness among schools and universities in regards to the problems of drug abuse Create union ship with other non profits organization for fund raising activities. Weakness Re-entering of completely healed patients in the world of drug abuse Problem of arranging education and sustainable lifestyle for the cured residents Difficulty in arranging for shelter for the resident females after their exit from Turning Point. Strengths Highly empowered staff and large number of volunteers. Stringent laws to take care and prevent the possibility of running away of residents. Exemption of tax by the corporate of around 2.5 times to the amount donated to Turning Point External environment The external environment comprises of stakeholders, competitors as well as macro and micro based factors of political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal. Stakeholders Talking about the stakeholders associated with the charity based organization, it can be said that in general lines the entire society is the stakeholder. The reason behind making that statement is the fact that The Turning Point is non profit government funded charity and hence the entire society of Singapore is bound to benefit from a drug addict free environment developed by

Saturday, September 7, 2019

See inside Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

See inside - Assignment Example A company will come up with a strategy to achieving a particular goal or a set of goals set out as planned. Then a means or a tactic by which the strategy will be carried out. A sound strategy will succeed by using facts and assumptions, analysis, previous conclusions, and previous recommendations. However, a strategic outline plan begins with a vision that should be futuristic, specific, and promises a better outlook than the current state of affairs. To achieve a vision, a company should have a mission statement that is in line with its objectives. A mission statement should identify core competencies and philosophies while explaining why it is possible to achieve a vision. SWOT analysis is a crucial part when a company is laying out a strategic plan. SWOT analysis simply means identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that a company possesses and faces. It is through SWOT analysis that a company gets to learn about its competitive advantages and disadvantages. From the article, it is clear that Duke Energy Company has an ambitious vision that it wants to achieve by the year 2050. The vision that Duke Energy Company has is to modernize its grid and make its communities the most energy efficient communities in the world. This vision is in line with our current text since it is both futuristic, and it promises a bright future. However, according to the President and CEO of Duke Energy Company, this vision can be achieved without factoring in facts and data analyses since he believes numbers do not necessarily connect to the vision. According to our current text, it is tactically crucial to use facts and analysis in-order to be able to achieve a vision that has been set out. Using SWOT analysis on Duke Energy Company, it is easy to identify its competitive advantage. According to the CEO, the fact that they have already experimented with different technologies gives them an

Friday, September 6, 2019

A Definition of Collaborative vs Cooperative Learning Essay Example for Free

A Definition of Collaborative vs Cooperative Learning Essay I have been searching for many years for the Holy Grail of interactive learning, a distinction between collaborative and cooperative learning definitions. I am getting closer to my elusive goal all the time but I am still not completely satisfied with my perception of the two concepts. I believe my confusion arises when I look at processes associated with each concept and see some overlap or inter-concept usage. I will make a humble attempt to clarify this question by presenting my definitions and reviewing those of other authors who have helped clarify my thinking. Collaboration is a philosophy of interaction and personal lifestyle whereas cooperation is a structure of interaction designed to facilitate the accomplishment of an end product or goal. Collaborative learning (CL) is a personal philosophy, not just a classroom technique. In all situations where people come together in groups, it suggests a way of dealing with people which respects and highlights individual group members abilities and contributions. There is a sharing of authority and acceptance of responsibility among group members for the groups actions. The underlying premise of collaborative learning is based upon consensus building through cooperation by group members, in contrast to competition in which individuals best other group members. CL practitioners apply this philosophy in the classroom, at committee meetings, with community groups, within their families and generally as a way of living with and dealing with other people. Cooperative learning is defined by a set of processes which help people interact together in order to accomplish a specific goal or develop an end product which is usually content specific. It is more directive than a collaboratve system of governance and closely controlled by the teacher. While there are many mechanisms for group analysis and introspection the fundamental approach is teacher centered whereas collaborative learning is more student centered. Spencer Kagan in an article in Educational Leadership (Dec/Jan 1989/1990) provides an excellent definition of cooperative learning by looking at general structures which can be applied to any situation. His definition provides an unbrella for the work cooperative learning specialists including he Johnsons, Slavin, Cooper, Graves and Graves, Millis, etc. It follows below: The structural approach to cooperative learning is based on the creation, analysis and systematic application of structures, or content-free ways of organizing social interaction in the classroom. Structures usually involve a series of steps, with proscribed behavior at each step. An important cornerstone of the approach is the distinction between st ructures and activities. To illustrate, teachers can design many excellent cooperative activities, such as making a team mural or a quilt. Such activities almost always have a specific content-bound objective and thus cannot be used to deliver a range of academic content. Structures may be used repeatedly with almost any subject matter, at a wide range of grade levels and at various points in a lesson plan. John Myers (Cooperative Learning vol 11 #4 July 1991) points out that the dictionary definitions of collaboration, derived from its Latin root, focus on the process of working together; the root word for cooperation stresses the product of such work. Co-operative learning has largely American roots from the philosophical writings of John Dewey stressing the social nature of learning and the work on group dynamics by Kurt Lewin. Collaborative learning has British roots, based on the work of English teachers exploring ways to help students respond to literature by taking a more active role in their own learning. The cooperative learning tradition tends to use quantitative methods which look at achievement: i. e. , the product of learning. The collaborative tradition takes a more qualitative approach, analyzing student talk in response to a piece of literature or a primary source in history. Myers points out some differences between the two concepts: Supporters of co-operative learning tend to be more teacher-centered, for example when forming heterogeneous groups, structuring positive inter- dependence, and teaching co-operative skills. Collaborative learning advocates distrust structure and allow students more say if forming friendhip and interest groups. Student talk is stressed as a means for working things out. Discovery and contextural approaches are used to teach interpersonal skills. Such differences can lead to disagreements. I contend the dispute is not about research, but more about the morality of what should happen in the schools. Beliefs as to whast should happen in the schools can be viewed as a continuum of orientations toward curriculum from transmission to transaction to transmission. At one end is the transmission position. As the name suggests, the aim of this orientation is to transmit knowledge to students in the form of facts, skills and values. The transformation position at the other end of the continuum stresses personal and social change in which the person is said to be interrelated with the environment rather than having control over it. The aim of this orientation is self-actualization, personal or organizational change. Rocky Rockwood (National Teaching and Learning Forum vol 4 #6, 1995 part 1) describes the differences by acknowledging the parallels they both have in that they both use groups, both assign specific tasks, and both have the groups share and compare their procedures and conclusions in plenary class sessions. The major difference lies in the fact that cooperative deals exclusively with traditional (canonical) knowledge while collaborative ties into the social constructivist movement, asserting that both knowledge and authority of knowledge have changed dramatically in the last century. The result has been a transition from foundational (cognitive) understanding of knowledge, to a nonfoundational ground where we understand knowledge to be a social construct and learning a social process (Brufee, Collaborative learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge, 1993). Rockwood states: In the ideal collaborative environment, the authority for testing and determining the appropriateness of the group product rests with, first, the small group, second, the plenary group (the whole class) and finally (but always understood to be subject to challenge and revision) the requisite knowledge community (i. e. the discipline: geography, history, biology etc. ) The concept of non- foundational knowledge challenges not only the product acquired, but also the process employed in the acquisition of foundational knowledge. Most importantly, in cooperative, the authority remains with the instructor, who retains ownership of the task, which involves either a closed or a closable (that is to say foundational) problem ( the instructor knows or can predict the answer). In collaborative, the instructoronce the task is set transfers all authority to the group. In the ideal, the groups task is always open ended. Seen from this perspective, cooperative does not empower st udents. It employs them to serve the instructors ends and produces a right or acceptable answer. Collaborative does truly empower and braves all the risks of empowerment (for example, having the group or class agree to an embarrassingly simplistic or unconvincing position or produce a solution in conflict with the instructors). Every person, Brufee holds, belongs to several interpretative or knowledge communities that share vocabularies, points of view, histories, values, conventions and interests. The job of the instructor id to help students learn to negotiate the boundaries between the communities they already belong to and the community represented by the teachers academic discipline, which the students want to join. Every knowledge community has a core of foundational knowledge that its members consider as given (but not necessarily absolute). To function independently within a knowledge community, the fledgling scholar must master enough material to become conversant with the community. Rockwood concludes: In my teaching experience, cooperative represents the best means to approach mastery of foundational knowledge. Once students become reasonably conversant, they are ready for collaborative, ready to discuss and assess,. Myers suggests use of the transaction orientation as a compromise between taking hard positions advocating either methodology. This orientation views education as a dialogue between the student and the curriculum. Students are viewed as problem solvers. Problem solving and inquiry approaches stressing cognitive skills and the ideas of Vygotsky, Piaget, Kohlberg and Bruner are linked to transaction. This perspective views teaching as a conversation in which teachers and students learn together through a process of negotiation with the curriculum to develop a shared view of the world. It is clear to me that in undertaking the exercize of defining differences between the two ideas we run the risk of polarizing the educational community into a we versus them mentality. There are so many benefits which acrue from both ideas that it would be a shame to lose any advantage gained from the student-student-teacher interactions created by both methods. We must be careful to avoid a one-size-fits-all mentality when it comes to education paradigms. As a final thought, I think it behooves teachers to educate themselves about the myriad of techniques and philosophies which create interactive environments where students take more responsibility for their own learning and that of their peers. Then it will become possible to pick and chose those methods which best fit a particular educational goal or community of learners.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Parties Involved In The Project Completion Construction Essay

Parties Involved In The Project Completion Construction Essay In a construction project there are several parties involved in the completion of the project. These parties can be from either the public sector or the private sector. The key parties are the owner/client, the architect/engineer and the general contractor. Between these parties there are business agreements in the form of contracts to complete the work in the project, such as: design, engineering, construction, management and maintenance. A construction project is ready for execution after the client/owner accumulates the required funds and has obtained the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities. Upon meeting the above mentioned criteria for establishing a project, the client will approach a general contractor or an architect to complete the project. In medium to large size projects the client can execute the work by employing the work force directly (trade contract), entrusting a select portion of the work to general contractors and executing the remaining work directly (main contract) or entrusting the entire work to general contractors (turnkey contract). In a main contract, the client contracts with an architect whom is responsible for the design of the project and a general contractor who is responsible for the construction, which results in two separate contracts: the client-architect contract and the client-contractor contract. Subject to the clients involvement in decision making, the architect is able to act as the clients representative. In a turnkey contract the general contractor is responsible for both the design and construction of the project; there is a single contract between the two parties: the client-contractor contract. The client-contractor contract maintains the contractual relationship between the two parties in both main and turnkey contracts. Theoretically speaking, the turnkey contractor is responsible for a main contractors and consultants (architect/engineer) work within a project, in other words the turnkey contractor is also acting as the main contractor. It is important to consider the potential for change in this contractual relationship, it is important to consider the idea that a main contractor can also act as a turnkey contractor within the project. Problem Statement How can a general contractor act as both a main contractor and a turnkey contractor within a single project? Research Questions What form of project will allow the general contractor to change their role in the projects organisational structure? How is the general contractor allowed to change roles? Delimitation This study will be written from a practical perspective, not from a legal perspective. This study will focus on the relationship between the client and general contractor in a building construction project to identify the parameters in which the general contractor is able to be both a main contractor and a turnkey contractor within a single project. This study will not cover the legal issues pertaining to liability, insurance, and risk management etc. Research Method The research conducted is through qualitative and analytical methods, to answer the research questions raised in this study. The research will be from primary and secondary sources such as: interviews, articles, books, websites, published documents from websites (electronic books, archived documents etc.), reports, publicly available legal documents (sample contracts). Chapter 1 Section 1 Prior to analysing how a general contractor acts as both a main and turnkey contractor, there is necessary to outline what their contractual roles and responsibilities are within a project. By identifying their contractual responsibilities, it allows for a more accurate analysis to answer the research questions presented in the problem statement section of this study. What is a Main Contract? In the initial stage of the project, the client awards an architect with a consultant contract, where the architect is responsible for preparing drawings, specifications, and contract documents for general contractors to bid on. The winning general contractor is awarded the main contract for the project. The main contract is a business agreement between the general contractor and the client, where the general contractor agrees to carry out the main construction works in the project. The general contractor (now main contractor) may subcontract one or more trade contractors to carry out specific works in the main contract. The main contract is a result of the Design-Bid-Build (DBB) project delivery system. The DBB project delivery system is the method the client gets the project from start to finish. DBB consists of three parties: the design party, the construction party and the client. The design party includes the architect, specification writers (consultants), engineers (structural, services, mechanical), interior designers, quantity surveyors and other participants the architect considers necessary for completing the project. Depending on the clients involvement in the decision making, the architect is able to act as the clients representative and also for reviewing contract documents. The construction party consists of the main contractor who is responsible for providing the labour, material, equipment, machinery and professional expertise to complete the project in accordance with the contractual documents which are provided by the architects. The client is responsible for providing the location of a project (the site) and the contract documents to the main contractor, providing the architect with the budget, and funding the project (paying the main contractor and the architect). The budget is an important part of the project as it allows the architect to design a building that meets the clients requirements and it determines the scope of the project. What is a Turnkey Contract? A turnkey contract is a business arrangement between the client and the general contractor. To commence the project, a client awards the general contractor a turnkey contract, where the general contractor (now turnkey contractor) is responsible for the design, engineering, construction and management of the project. The construction industry refers to the turnkey contractor as a single point of responsibility, a phrase that reflects the turnkey contractors contractual obligations. Note: The client can award the turnkey contract to either the architect or a general contractor, however the researcher will continue on the premise that the contractor is awarded the turnkey contract to remain consistent with the research for this part of the study. The turnkey contract is a product of the Design-Build (DB) project delivery system i.e. it is another method the client gets the project from start to finish. In a DB project, the turnkey contractor may award an architect/engineer a consultant contract to perform the design work. The turnkey contractor is also able to subcontract trade contractors to perform specific works in the turnkey contract. A turnkey contract can also be used in a Design-Build-Operate (DBO) project delivery strategy. In DBO the client awards a general contractor a turnkey contract, and the general contractor (now turnkey contractor) is again responsible for providing design, engineering, construction and management services, however with Operate the turnkey contractor is obligated to also provide the building to the client once it is fully operational. The purpose of DBO is to manage the client and general contractor in a multidisciplinary contract: to design, build and operate as opposed to individual agreements to govern the different facets of a project (Sunna, 2009). In a DBB project the client has a direct relationship with the architect and the main contractor (where the architect and contractor have an indirect relationship) shown in Figure 1, whereas in the DB project the client has a direct relationship with the turnkey contractor. Figure Section 2 Based on the research on project delivery systems and procurement methods, the private finance initiative involves both the public sector and the private sector working in collaboration to develop a project. This section focuses on the private finance initiative in an effort to answer the first research question: What form of project will allow the general contractor to change their role in the projects organisational structure? What is the Private Finance Initiative? The private finance initiative (PFI) is a procurement method where a private party or private parties provide funds to finance public services or projects; to partially privatise the service or project. The objective of a PFI project is to provide infrastructure to the public sector with additional services like maintenance (with PFI the private sector both operates and finances the project). Theoretically, the government (public sector) bids on a project, which includes construction work, services and maintenance. Because these projects require a variety of skills, in PFI the government and a group of private companies place a combined bid on the project, and work in collaboration to execute the project. The concept of PFI is to involve the private sector in public sector services or projects, because private companies are considered to be better at project management and budgeting/finance management. When a project is awarded, the public and private parties (in this case the government and private companies) create a new private company to manage and exchange funds for the project. These funds are used to initiate and run the project. For a construction project after the building is fully operational, if the private companies made an agreement for the maintenance of the building over a period of for example, 25 years; the government will reimburse the cost of the project (including interest) over time. Contract Process A public party (government) signs a contract with a private party (a company or a group of companies) creating a public-private partnership (PPP). A PPP is a contract between a public party and a private party. Before the PPP is created a private company creates a new company in collaboration with other private companies, this is referred to as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The SPV is made up of private investors, a construction company, a maintenance company and a bank lender/s. SPV contracts with the government creating a PPP, and also with general contractors responsible for constructing and maintaining the building. The banks funding PFI projects are repaid by SPV, from payments received from the government over the duration of the PFI contract. The repayments are based on the SPVs ability to meet the requirements specified in the contract. PFI Project Organisation Structure Refer to Figure 2; the SPV is divided into subgroups: A holding company (Com A), private investors/bank lenders (Com B) and a services or operating company (Com C). The primary contract is between the government and the SPV, and the requirements in the specification transmit from the SPV to Com A, Com B and Com C through secondary contracts, and then filter down to the trade contractors. Figure What form of project will allow the general contractor to change their role in the projects organisational structure? According to the concept of PFI procurement, once a PPP contract is signed a new company is formed to finance the project. Referring to Figure 2, the SPV is considered as the client in this project because the government requires additional funding for the service or building project and is allowing the private party (Com A, Com B and Com C) to partially privatise the project. However, the government is still part owner; the SPV can also be a general contractor. In Figure 2 the SPV is both financing and operating the project, depending on how the SPV wants deliver the project, Figure 2 assumes that the general contractor (in the project environment) is a main contractor, therefore the SPV will have a client-contractor relationship. But the government is still a part client to the project therefore the SPV is also considered as the turnkey contractor to the project. A PFI project created through the partnership of the government and the SPV allows for a general contractor to change their role in the projects organisation structure. As shown in Figure 2, the SPV is a part client, turnkey contractor from the governments perspective and main contractor from the SPVs perspective. Section 3 According to research regarding contracts and contractual relationships, Novation allows the parties involved in the project to change the project organisational structure by transferring their rights and responsibilities to the works specified in the contracts. The purpose of this section is to identify Novation in an effort to answer the second research question: How is the general contractor allowed to change roles? What is Novation? The business dictionary defines novation as the substitution of an original party to a contract with a new party, or substitution of an original contract with a new contract. To expand on that definition, novation is the process of replacing the original contract with a new contract between the original parties involved. Alternatively novation is also used to replace an original party with a new party under the original contract. Once the original party is replaced, the original partys obligations are discharged, and the new party is responsible for the replaced partys obligations. Novation can only occur when all the parties involved agree to replacing a party or replacing a contract. By replacing the obligations of the original party the main contractor all the parties involved (client, architect/engineer, and main contractor) in the original contract must agree for the replacing to take place. If the agreement to replace comes into effect, the new party will take over the responsibilities and obligations of the replaced party, i.e. the new general contractor will become a replacement to the original main contractor. Novation is used when the parties find that payments or performance are impossible under the terms of the original agreement, or the debtor will be forced to default or go into bankruptcy unless the debt is restructured. (Sahil, 2010) According to Rowlinson (2010), if the main contractor is being replaced with a new general contractor the clients role in the project remains unchanged (the client being the contracting party). Figure 3 illustrates how novation affects the projects organisation. The Client (A) awards a consultant contract with an architect (B) and a construction contract with a general contractor (C). However, the client wants to create a single point of responsibility for both design and construction. For this to occur, the client (A) can novate their rights and obligations (under the consultant contract) to the contractor. Figure In the pre novation phase; the client will first award an architect/engineer the consultant contract to conduct the design work for the project, through which the potential general contractor will place their bid. In the post novation phase; the consultant contract between the client and the architect/engineer is novated to the general contractor (after the general contractor is employed). This novation results in the original consultant contract between the client and architect/engineer being completely replaced with a new consultant contract between the general contractor and the architect/engineer. By novating the contract, the client transferred the architect/engineers rights and responsibilities to the general contractor, therefore the general contractor is now responsible for both the design and construction works of the project. How is the general contractor allowed to change roles? Based on the concept of novation presented in section 3, the client is able to contract with an architect/engineer making them responsible for the design work in the project. After this stage the client awards a general contractor with a main contract for the construction work in the project. If the client wants to make the general contractor (now main contractor) responsible for the post tender design work, and all the parties agree to this contract change, then the client novates the contract thus making the main contractor a turnkey contractor. Through novation a general contractor is allowed to change roles, however all parties must be in agreement. Alternatively, novation can also be used to change a turnkey contractor into a main contractor, on the basis that all parties agree. Chapter 2 Empirical Data The purpose of the empirical data section of this study is to verify the practice of the PFI procurement method as well as identify the relationship of the parties involved. An article published in The Observer section of the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom (UK), by Graham Norwood (2010) titled Self-build homes face a new set of obstacles is about the UK governments planning and housing policy. The articles primary focus is the effect of the policy on self-builders (owner-builders) and rural authorities, with emphasis on financing. It appears that the article is part of a debate regarding the positive and negative effects, from the owner-builders perspective as it depicts the UK government in a negative context. Extract 1 Housing minister Grant Shapps says the coalition will instruct councils to create registers of potential self-builders and allocate them land, including some private plots donated by volume house-builders, as a condition of receiving planning consent to construct large schemes. In return, at least some self-builders, chiefly in high-priced rural areas, would have to agree that their completed homes would be classified as local social housing and not be sold-on privately. Extract 1 outlines the policy and the governments intentions to provide owner-builders with properties to construct dwellings to increase housing in the UKs rural regions (by coalition the author is referring to the government). Extract 2 Orme is also critical of the abolition of house-building targets, which are to be replaced with more power for councils and community groups to decide on schemes for local homes. In some cases, 90% of locals may have to support a proposal before it can go ahead, a level of support currently achieved by very few planning applications. Orme is a reference to Jason Orme, an owner-builder and editor of Homebuilding Renovating magazine. According to Extract 2 an owner-builder requires the approval of both the local authorities and the community for the design of the building. Extract 3 The fear of many, including volume developers, surveyors and planners, is that by devolving decision-making to communities, most plans for homes will be thrown out. Until now, self-builders have been treated benevolently by planners. Before the recession there were 20,000 self-built homes in the UK annually, about 12.5% of the total, compared with 40% in Scandinavia and central Europe. Extract 3 summarises the possible issues that can slow or stop the progress of the project. Based on the first sentence by devolving decision making to communities, most planswill be thrown out the author is saying the potential effect of including local communities in the design approval process, from the consultants perspective. In this portion of the empirical section scrutinizes extracts from the UK governments Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing June 2010 discussed in the article by Norwood (2010). Extract 4 Paragraph 11 of Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing June 2010 Collaborative Working Key to the success of this new approach will be collaborative working between Local Planning Authorities and Regional Planning Bodies, as well as early engagement with local communities, stakeholders and infrastructure providers. Local Planning Authorities will need to work closely with the private sector, particularly developers and housebuilders, to achieve the Governments strategic housing objectives. In Extract 4, private sector in refers to the private party that the government will provide properties to. Through this information the researcher is able to confirm the relationship between the public and private parties. Extract 5 Paragraph 29 of Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing June 2010 Set out the approach to seeking developer contributions to facilitate the provision of affordable housing. In seeking developer contributions, the presumption is that affordable housing will be provided on the application site so that it contributes towards creating a mix of housing. Extract 6 Paragraph 36 of Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing June 2010 In support of its objective of creating mixed and sustainable communities, the Governments policy is to ensure that housing is developed in suitable locations which offer a range of community facilities and with good access to jobs, key services and infrastructure. This should be achieved by making effective use of land, existing infrastructure and available public and private investment, and include consideration of the opportunity for housing provision on surplus public sector land (including land owned by Central Government and its bodies or Local Authorities) to create mixed use developments. The statement in Extract 5: approach to seeking developer contributions to facilitate the provision of affordable housing, and Extract 6: making effective use of land, existing infrastructure and available public and private investment, together both these statements confirm that the government (public party) is going to work in collaboration with the owner-builder (private party), because the developer refers to the general contractor, and public and private investment refers to the combined funds of both the public and private parties. When the government is going to work with the owner-builder, the government is entering a PPP with the owner-builder. In Extract 1 Norwood (2010) writes their completed homes would be classified as local social housing and not be sold-on privately. The government is going to allow the owner-builder to partially privatise the completed building, particularly at the end classified as local social housing refers to a public service. The PPP between the government and the owner-builder is not the same as the PFI procurement discussed in Chapter 1, Section 2. According to that discussion, the government collaborates with a private party to jointly bid on a project and exchange funds to develop the project, here the government is providing the property/site for construction without financing the project. By comparing both the discussion of PFI in Chapter 1, Section 2, and extracts 1 to 6, the following information has been verified: the government is the public party; the owner-builder is the private party and the SPV. The relationship between the two parties is a public-private relationship, in other words the public sector is involving the private sector in public service or projects, which (as discussed previously) the concept of PFI.