SABMIller's Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

SABMIller's - Case Study Example Some of these tools are explained in detail in the appendix given below. In view of the above assertion, it is significant to carry out a SWOT analysis of the above mentioned brewery in an attempt to establish if there is any correlation between its strategic position with its business strategy. â€Å"A SWOT analysis is a useful instrument for helping managers to identify internal strengths and weaknesses of a business and external opportunities and threats facing it,† (Strydom J. p 31). Basically, SWOT stands for strengths (S), weaknesses (W) while on the other hand the external environmental factors are regarded as either opportunities (O) or threats (T). This analysis is very important to managers as it allows them to focus on key strategic issues based on the notion that an effective strategy fully utilises the strengths and opportunities of a business and strives to minimise the weaknesses and threats. One main strength of SAB is that it is a force to reckon with in the market of alcohol brewing. Its ability to merge with other brewers is a big advantage since it would only need to specialise on nurturing premium segments rather than launching a new brand altogether. Local people often prefer to have a product which they can happily identify with hence there would be need to streamline the production to meet such needs. A close analysis of the case study shows that this is one of the major strengths of SAB since it is able to merge with established breweries. Weaknesses include the fact that it mainly relied on soft currencies for its profit in different breweries across the globe. A loss of confidence in emerging markets would badly damage its reputation. In some instance as highlighted in the case, devaluation of the local currency in developing economies may have negative impacts such as the reduction of profitability. It can also be noted that there have been a shift in the behaviour of customers in the market where the emergence of wine as another

Romeo and Juliet - Lurhman and Zeffreli Comparison Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet Lurhman and Zeffreli Comparison Essay Romeo and Juliet. Over the past 500 years there have been numerous adaptations for stage, musicals and films based and interpreted from the original tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet. Written by Shakespeare in 1500’s and Juliet is undeniably Shakespeare’s most successful and well known play. The tragic story line filled with unfortunate events and heartbreaks are something that appealed to the Elizabethan era audience. The two most well known movie interpretations would have to be the version done by Baz Luherman and Zeherelli. Zeffireli’s version of Romeo and Juliet was a very traditional one and was set in Verona where the original play was located. It was written and directed by Franco Zeffireli and starred Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. Released in 1968 the film was the most financially successful film made up to that time because of the young teenage audience it had attracted. Although it may not be appealing to the teenagers in this century. It followed the Original storyline very clearly and the costumes were very much like those it the time it was made. Baz Luherman;s version of Romeo + Juliet and starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Claire Danes was a modernization of William Shakespeare’s play. It still had the original Shakespearean dialogue but the Montague’s and Capulet’s were represented as opposing business empires. Very much unlike the original storyline there were guns, cars, and very modern sense of clothing. Filmed in Mexico and Miami It was set in the fictional Verona Beach. This was a very successful version of the story and many viewers around the world loved the great difference in the interpretation. This film was released in 1996 and grossed $11. 1 million in its opening week, ranking #1 at the box office. Act 1 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet is a very essential part in understanding the tragedy of the story. It is where they first meet and fall in love at the Capulet’s masquerade ball. Towards to the end of the scene they realize their love would not be allowed because of the history of their feuding families. Juliet being a Capulet and Romeo being a Montague creates confusion and disbelief for the audience. In my opinion the film that portrays this in a better way is Luhermans version. Compared to Zeferellhis traditional movie it keeps the audience interested in what is happening. Some things that contribute to this is the mi –sen –scene music, lighting, camera angles and costumes. The music in Zeherellis movie is very traditional, when Romeo and Juliet meet eyes for the first time in the movie the music becomes soft and sweet, the typical love-song music of Shakespeares time. The setting is at Capulets masquarde ball and in an old castle made from stone and has candle lit lighting. Just like the music, lighting and location the costumes stay very true to the Elizabethan era. There is not much of a variety in the camera angles and it usually focuses on the actors facial expression. This movie would have been more of what Shakespeare intended. Luhermans version on the other hand has a very different atmosphere. This modernized adaptation has much more up tempo and disco music. Although when Romeo and Juliet first meet the slow song ‘Kissing you’ is playing in the background adding an addition of romance to the scene. The lyrics reflect their relationship and is ended with the kissing. The setting is very modern and instead of a masquerade ball there is a costume party. The start of this scene is very upbeat and lively. The lighting is much brighter than Zeherelli’s version and at the beginning there is flashing lights. Luherman was more experimental with his camera angles using medium shots, long shots, tilted angles, and spinning effects making the audience feel more involved in the scene. These two movies have given more of a great depth to the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet without taking away the beauty of the language. In my opinion Baz Luherman was more successful in appealing his movie to the audience of Australia. It’s was easily more relatable than the older 1968 Franco Zeherelli movie. However he did a great job creating a movie just the wal William Shaksepare would have intende however along with most people of my age I enjoyed and found the Luherman version more enetertainging.

goals :: essays research papers

Aspiring to Achieve   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I firmly believe that if one plans on achieving his aspirations, setting goals is a very important step. Having goals not only gives you a clear focus on things, it also helps you to organize your plans by allowing you to give yourself time limits and boundaries. That is why I try to set goals for myself routinely, whether it is just for one day, or for the rest of my life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One goal that I work hard at daily is to try to do well in high school. I try to involve myself in any activity that I can, both academically and socially, so that I can graduate with honors. The reason why I do this is because I plan on going to college, and I would like to be able to get accepted into any school that I apply to. Going to college alone would be a major achievement for my family and I, because I will be the first person in my family to attend college. Immediately after I graduate, I want to start my career as police investigator/detective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By age 25, after gaining some experience as a policewoman, I would like to make a career switch to become an FBI agent. This is because being an FBI agent has been a dream of mine since I was a child, and to be good at what I do, I need some familiarity in that line of work, among other things. After becoming settled into my second career, I would like to begin a family. By this time, I plan on already being married to my current boyfriend, and preparing to have another child. I will also be ready to buy my first car, and then, my first home. My intentions are to live in Philadelphia, in a beautiful four bedroom house in the suburbs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before I turn fifty, one of my major goals is to own a private investigator business, as well as a computer store with my husband. My children will be put through college and out of my house, and my husband and I will be on our way to retirement, after we sell our businesses. By then, I plan on being very well off, if not rich. Either way, I will be able to donate money and give back to my community what they have given to me.

Kants Fundamental Principles Of The Metaphysics Of Moral Essay

Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Moral The central concept of Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals is the categorical imperative. â€Å"The conception of an objective principle, in so far as it is obligatory for a will, is called a command (of reason), and the formula of the command is called an Imperative.† (Abbott, 30) An imperative is something that a will ought or shall do because the will is obligated to act in the manner in which it conforms with moral law. The categorical imperative is an obligation by the will to act so that the action can be classified as a universal law. When one acts in conformity with the universal law at all times, they are following out the categorical imperative. This differs from the hypothetical imperative in that the hypothetical imperative acts on the basis that the will in the end will gain something (not a means to an end). The categorical imperative is a means to an end, and the action to obtain the end must have moral worth. Stipulations of the categorical imperative are that all actions should act only on the maxim, that actions have moral worth, and the end is necessary. From these stipulations, it can be derived that the categorical imperative should be followed in order to live morally. â€Å"If an action is conceived as good in itself and consequently as being necessarily the principle of a will which of itself conforms to reason, then it is categorical.† (Abbott, 32) â€Å"There is therefore but one ca... Kants Fundamental Principles Of The Metaphysics Of Moral Essay Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Moral The central concept of Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals is the categorical imperative. â€Å"The conception of an objective principle, in so far as it is obligatory for a will, is called a command (of reason), and the formula of the command is called an Imperative.† (Abbott, 30) An imperative is something that a will ought or shall do because the will is obligated to act in the manner in which it conforms with moral law. The categorical imperative is an obligation by the will to act so that the action can be classified as a universal law. When one acts in conformity with the universal law at all times, they are following out the categorical imperative. This differs from the hypothetical imperative in that the hypothetical imperative acts on the basis that the will in the end will gain something (not a means to an end). The categorical imperative is a means to an end, and the action to obtain the end must have moral worth. Stipulations of the categorical imperative are that all actions should act only on the maxim, that actions have moral worth, and the end is necessary. From these stipulations, it can be derived that the categorical imperative should be followed in order to live morally. â€Å"If an action is conceived as good in itself and consequently as being necessarily the principle of a will which of itself conforms to reason, then it is categorical.† (Abbott, 32) â€Å"There is therefore but one ca...

Case Study: Organisational Development Essay

As a means of accurately comprehending the issues in this case it is essential that analysis takes place using a range of managerial perspectives in relation to the implementation of change in order to understand the deficiencies in BA management’s implementation of change. A classical Organisational Development (OD) approach is focuses on changing attitudes and behaviour whereas in this case focus was solely upon improving effectiveness of organisation. According to this perspective BA disregarded several key steps in implementing this change as no feedback was gathered from staff. The OD practitioners in this case have ineffective intrapersonal and interpersonal skills as management have failed to gain the trust of its employees and do not display personal integrity. In relation to a sense making perspective BA did not understand that the change they intended to implement needed to have plausibility in the eyes of employees. Hence management’s approach to abandon talks over the introduction of smart cards and announce their forced implementation at just five days notice [ (Palmer, Dunford and Akin 2009) ]. BA did not effectively convey to positive plausible aspects of this change as employees still thought that the system would be used to make staff alter their working hours at little notice [ (Palmer, Dunford and Akin 2009) ]. Common to various change management approaches are that they highlight the need for communication to be not just about passing on information but allowing different voices to be heard. BA by abandoning talks with unions and employees and also in the lack of provision of appropriate information to their American customers during the strike demonstrates an inherent incapability of BA management to convey information effectively [ (Palmer, Dunford and Akin 2009) ]. Also apparent in this case is the lacking of one strong leader of multiple leaders not one person in BA’s management structure took control of the situation and it seems that BA management participated in groupthink to the detriment of the organisation namely its loss of 40 million pounds. According to this perspective it is argued that the style of change will depend on the scale of change and the receptivity of organisational members [ (Palmer, Dunford and Akin 2009) ]. In the case of BA the style of change was not matched to the needs of the organisation. The situation called for a collaborative style of change drawing upon input from a range of sources including employees, unions and management but instead drew upon a coercive approach thus adding further fuel to an already flamed situation, the layoff of 13000 employees. Viewing this case from a processual perspective this approach highlights a number of stages in engaging in the management of change. The third stage of this approach involves gaining acknowledgement and understanding of the importance of the problem. In relation to the BA case study example BA management fail to effectively understand the problem at hand, instead they made the choice to ignore underlying cultural issues within the organisation and proceed ahead with what they considered as the best course of action from an efficiency perspective. Evidence is found through CEO Rod Eddington’s comment that he was unaware that there was even a respect deficit to be plugged [ (Palmer, Dunford and Akin 2009) ]. In order to address the issues relating to the implementation of change in this case analysis of why BA has failed should take place. In doing this BA management should attempt to understand why their method of implementing change failed from a range of perspectives. From this BA can develop new strategies for implementing change for example using a particular change management perspective and moulding it to fit the needs of the organisation. A solution to the problem encountered by BA in this case would be to be more proactive in their change management strategies. If BA are continuously working toward change making use of employee opinions and feedback within the organisation, large scale changes such as the implementation of smart card technologies in this circumstance would encounter less resistance to change as BA would gain the trust and support of its employees due to their participation in the design and implementation of change within the organisation. In conclusion it can be identified that BA in this case have managed their implementation of change very poorly from analysis of a range of approaches relating to implementation of change and it is proposed that BA being more proactive and making use of a participative approach would be beneficial to the continued organisational development of this business. Bibliography Palmer, Ian, Richard Dunford, and Gib Akin. Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Joan of Arc essays

Joan of Arc essays In 1412, Joan of Arc was born to Jacques Darc and his wife Isabelle de Vouthon, in the town of Domremy, France. Her childhood was spent attending her father's herds in the fields and learning religion and housekeeping skills from her mother. At the age of twelve, she started hearing voices in her head that belonged to St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. Joan thought that they were bringing her messages from God. These voices told her that it was her divine mission to free her country from the English and help the dauphin, or eldest son of the king, gain the French throne. They told her to cut her hair, dress in man's uniform and to pick up the arms. In 1429, the English had occupied Paris and all of France north of the Loire, which is Frances longest river. This capturing was due in most part to the lack of leadership within the French. It was a total sense of hopelessness among them. Joan then convinced the captain of the dauphin, and then the dauphin himself, of her calli ng from a higher power. After passing an examination, she was given the title of captain. At the battle of Orleans in May of 1429, Joan led the troops to a miraculous triumph over the English. She continued fighting the English in other locations along the Loire. The fear of the troops under her leadership was so formidable that when she approached Lord Talbot's army at Patay, most of the English troops, including a commander, fled the battlefield. Even with a good portion of her troops fleeing, she still went on to win this battle, capturing the Lord and killing 1800 of his soldiers. Charles VII was then crowned king of France, and at the coronation, Joan was given a place of honor next to the king. Later, she was ennobled for her services to the country. In 1430, Joan was captured by the Burgundy forces while defending Compiegne near Paris, and then sold to the English. The English then turned her over to the court, where she would be ...

Free Essays on Spain

Culture There are exhibitions, concerts, plays, films, conferences, and musical performances of almost anything in Madrid. The most fascinating among them are the International Theatre Festival, the International Film Festival, the International Opera Festival, the festival called â€Å"The Summers of the City†, and the Autumn Festival together with the seasons performances at the theater La Zarzuela and the Jazz, Pop and Rock Festivals not forgetting the Fair for Contemporary Art called â€Å"Arco†. Attractions Madrid has a large number of museums, where the great masters of Spanish and universal paintings are found. There are also museums for sculpture, archaeology, science, and much much more. Such as the Museum of the Romantic Period, Natural Science Museum, City Museum, or the Royal Arsenal. Special Events There are many special events in Spain one of which is the book fair, which brings together the most important national publishers. Other festival occasions that are important to Spain and Spain’s surrounding that are officially considered of interest to tourists are: Corpus Christi in Toledo and the celebrations at Atienza (Guadalajara), Camunas (Toledo), Mora (Toledo), Zamarramala (Segovia), Hita (Guadalajara), Candeleda (Avila). Finally, there is the festival excursion to the shrine of the Virgin of Hontanares, an excursion called â€Å"Romeria† in Spanish, Which takes place at Riaza, and the â€Å"Romeria† of El Cristo del Caloco. Just to name some. Holiday In the second half of May, Madrid celebrates in honor of San Isidro. The celebration is accompanied by typical Madrid folklore, including Fairs and Dances that are organized on the meadow of San Isidro, where the people of Madrid sing, dance and enjoy themselves next to the Hermitage of their Patrol Saint. At the same time, there are ballet and opera performances as well as the traditional bull fights at the bullring of Las Ventas. There are many holidays, ... Free Essays on Spain Free Essays on Spain Culture There are exhibitions, concerts, plays, films, conferences, and musical performances of almost anything in Madrid. The most fascinating among them are the International Theatre Festival, the International Film Festival, the International Opera Festival, the festival called â€Å"The Summers of the City†, and the Autumn Festival together with the seasons performances at the theater La Zarzuela and the Jazz, Pop and Rock Festivals not forgetting the Fair for Contemporary Art called â€Å"Arco†. Attractions Madrid has a large number of museums, where the great masters of Spanish and universal paintings are found. There are also museums for sculpture, archaeology, science, and much much more. Such as the Museum of the Romantic Period, Natural Science Museum, City Museum, or the Royal Arsenal. Special Events There are many special events in Spain one of which is the book fair, which brings together the most important national publishers. Other festival occasions that are important to Spain and Spain’s surrounding that are officially considered of interest to tourists are: Corpus Christi in Toledo and the celebrations at Atienza (Guadalajara), Camunas (Toledo), Mora (Toledo), Zamarramala (Segovia), Hita (Guadalajara), Candeleda (Avila). Finally, there is the festival excursion to the shrine of the Virgin of Hontanares, an excursion called â€Å"Romeria† in Spanish, Which takes place at Riaza, and the â€Å"Romeria† of El Cristo del Caloco. Just to name some. Holiday In the second half of May, Madrid celebrates in honor of San Isidro. The celebration is accompanied by typical Madrid folklore, including Fairs and Dances that are organized on the meadow of San Isidro, where the people of Madrid sing, dance and enjoy themselves next to the Hermitage of their Patrol Saint. At the same time, there are ballet and opera performances as well as the traditional bull fights at the bullring of Las Ventas. There are many holidays, ... Free Essays on Spain Spain occupies about 85 percent of the Iberian Peninsula and is bounded by water for about 88 percent of its periphery; its Mediterranean coast is 1,660 km long, and its Atlantic coast is 710 km long. The long, unbroken mountain chain of the Pyrenes, extending 435 km from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea, forms the border with France on the north; in the extreme south the Strait of Gibraltar, less than 13 km wide at its narrowest extent, separates Spain from Africa. The most important topographical feature of Spain is the great, almost treeless, central plateau, called the Meseta Central, sloping generally downward from north to south and from east to west, and with an average elevation of 600 m above sea level. The tableland is divided into northern and southern sections by irregular mountain ranges, or sierras, of which the most important are the Sierra de Guadarrama, the Sierra de Gredos, and the Montes de Toledo. Between many of the mountains are narrow valleys, drained by rapid rivers. The coastal plain is narrow, rarely as much as 30 km wide and, in many areas, broken by mountains that descend to the sea to form rocky headlands, particularly along the Mediterranean coast, where the sole excellent harbor is Barcelona. The northwestern coastal area has several good harbors, particularly along the Galician coast. The six principal mountain chains have elevations greater than 3,300 m. The highest peaks are the Pico de Aneto 3,404 m in the Pyrenees and Mulhacà ©n 3,477 m in the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain. The highest point in Spain and its insular territories is Pico de Teide 3,715 m on Tenerife Island in the Canary Islands. The lowest point is sea level along the coast. The principal rivers of Spain flow west and south to the Atlantic Ocean, generally along deep, rocky courses that they have cut through the mountain valleys. The Duero (Douro), Mià ±o, Tajo (Tagus), and Guadiana rivers rise in Spain and flow through Portug...

Effects of sexual media essays

Effects of sexual media essays In order to analyze the effects the sexual media has on an individual, one must understand social cognitive theory, cultivation theory, and priming theory. These theories provide those who attempt to study the sexual media, the tools needed to uncover the ways in which the sexual media affects our behavior, beliefs, attitudes and emotions. In looking at these theories, one must consider the type of effect the theory is concerned with, the process that leads to these effects, and the features of the sexual media that enhances these effects. The social cognitive theory, which stems from the observational learning theory, is concerned with explaining behavior. More specifically, in terms of the sexual media, this theory outlines the steps by which an individual models their own behavior after the sexual media they are exposed to. For example, the number of sexual partners and individual chooses to have, the age at which they decide to have sex, or whether or not one chooses to practice safe sex are all behaviors that could possibly be learned or altered through sexual media exposure. There are four steps in the observational learning-attention, retention, production, and motivation. If one is able to carry out all four steps this will lead to matching the behavior exhibited in the sexual media. The social cognitive view on observational learning, "is more concerned with the process involved in the representational guidance of action than with the particular medium by which response information is conveyed. The theory seeks to explain how or why the cognitive processes in our mind take representations of behavior in the sexual media and convert them into behavior. Learning occurs when an individual is exposed to modeled events before any responses have been preformed and does not necessarily require intrinsic reward. Not all behavior that an individual is exposed to is necessarily modeled. The specific behavior m...

Human Infections in the Year 2009 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Human Infections in the Year 2009 - Essay Example These impacts could range from just interfering to the normal metabolic functions of the host organisms to the instant cause of death to the host. There are many types of infection in the human contexts such as parasitic, bacterial, or viral infections. Many of these infections caused many human lives throughout the ages. From the bubonic plague to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome, infections played an important involvement in humans' history, religion, and evolution. The breakthrough of the microscope gave way to the discovery of microorganisms. There are two types of cell that could be found in the living world, the prokaryotic and the eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells are primarily characterized by the absence of nuclear membrane within the cell while eukaryotic cells have nuclear membrane that separates the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from the other organelles in the cytoplasm of the cell. Bacteria are microorganisms believed to be the first life forms on earth. Prokaryotes could be eubacteria or true bacteria, or archaebacteria. The difference between eubacteria and archaebacteria are the absence of muramic acid in the cell wall of archaebacteria, the presence of ester linkage between lipids in eubacterial cell membrane and ether linkage in archaebacteria, the different structural types of ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase present between the two, the resistance of archaebacteria to chloramphenicol, streptomycin, and kanamycin, and the hig h tolerance of archaebacteria to strive in extreme physico-chemical factors of environments such as hot or cold temperature, high salinity, and others as compared to eubacteria. Furthermore, some other differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes are the presence of cell wall in most prokaryotes which is composed of mucopeptide, and polysaccharide protein, while, most eukaryotic cell wall is polysaccharide. The absence of mitochondria and chloroplast organelle in prokaryotes is also observed. The presence of plasmids- a circular extra-chromosomal double stranded DNA capable of self replicating and could transfer genetic information to nuclear DNA for the cellular survival- in prokaryotes is commonly observed although some eukaryotes could have plasmids, the occurrences are very rare. The ability of prokaryotes to reduce sulfur, fix atmospheric nitrogen to N2, produce their own food with the utilization of inorganic nutrients, and the ability to store poly-B-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is detected (Pandolfi et al. 2007). Among the infections known to science, the bacterial infections are the most common. Different kinds of diseases are caused by different kinds of bacteria. Eubacteria or true bacteria or simply bacteria could be classified into groups through their shapes, sizes and staining technique used to view them. There are six basis of classifying bacteria. These are shape, Gram reaction, atmosphere, spores, biochemistry, and serology test. Bacterial shape could be cocci, spiral, or bacilli. Cocci are spherical, bacilli are long and thin shape, and spiral could vary in wavelength and curve. On the other hand, classifying bacteria through Gram reaction is based on its cell wall properties. The Gram reaction could result to Gram-negative or

An Experience Related to Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

An Experience Related to Crime - Essay Example It was a busy intersection on a week-end with lots of bystanders and people inadvertently crossing the busy crossroads. The actual hit and run incident was not actually observed but the man sprawled just near the middle island of two busy streets was a disturbing sight – especially when people just looked and no one dared to find out if assistance could still be provided. No police officer was on the premises. The initial reaction was to try to bring the victim to the nearest hospital, with the plan of reporting the hit and run incident leading to vehicular manslaughter in the hospital desk. The impact of the criminal incident had unexpected repercussions that could not be forgotten. A vehicular manslaughter has been defined by Hill and Hill (2005) as â€Å"the crime of causing the death of a human being due to illegal driving of an automobile, including gross negligence, drunk driving, reckless driving, or speeding† (par. 1). In this particular case, it was reported by various bystanders who witnessed the crime as due to reckless driving, in conjunction with speeding. The vehicle was identified as a cargo truck. Through the assistance of witnesses, who willingly provided their names and contact numbers, the information was likewise relayed to the hospital to be forwarded to criminal investigators and police officers, as required. T

Preditory Business Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Preditory Business Practice - Essay Example The bad thing with predatory lending that the borrower is left at a very big economic disadvantage, and this in most cases ends up disrupting their financial and economic stability. The fact that these bad loans are given to so many people mean that when these people are financially disrupted, the economy at the end will suffer (Moses, 2010). There is a debate of who should carry the blame and bear the responsibility with regard to such loans. The truth is that the loan originators use very aggressive and sometimes methods that border the illegal practices to be able to lure the borrowers. Most people do not have an inside understanding of how finances work and if the lenders refuse to disclose all the implications of the contract that a customer enters into when taking such a loan the borrower can end up entering into a predatory relationship. The loan may look attractive to the borrower while the truth is that it is very harmful and it will eventually place them at a point of disadvantage. However, both the borrower and the lender can be seen has bearing some level of reasonability when such a loan turns out to be a predatory loan. The lenders or the originators of these types of loans should bear some responsibility in that they cheat the customer to think that the loan is going to be simple to pay off and that it will leave them at an advantage. Most of these subprime lenders do not consider the customer’s interest when giving such loans but instead only look for ways to benefit them. In most cases, it is the loan brokers who benefit the most, sometimes even more that even the lenders themselves. In such a case, they have to bear the responsibility for not carrying out fair business activities. If a relationship between a lender (or a loan originator) can be said to be a contract, then the lenders may need to bear some of the

The ban on smoking in public places Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The ban on smoking in public places - Essay Example Even then researchers had concerns about the hazards of smoking as they pertained to second hand smoke and people who inhaled it(Comfort pp 14). Commonly referred to as passive smoke, those who were around smoke without actually smoking themselves soon proved to have several definitive health risks associated with being near the smoke and inhaling it through passive (second hand methods). â€Å"Medical concerns about the dangers of passive smoking--inhaling other peoples tobacco smoke--can be traced back to the 1920s, and there is also now a widespread consensus that such passive smoking can cause disease. Other peoples tobacco smoke, either from the burning tip of a cigarette or the smoke that is exhaled by the smoker, is classed as a known human carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency(Comfort pp 14). â€Å" For the most part public place for the purpose of legislative ban incorporated any â€Å"enclosed or semi-enclosed area that members of the public have access to which provides a business or a service including workplaces, buildings and public transport(Comfort pp 14). â€Å" â€Å"Direct benefits revolve mainly about respiratory health, and regular exposure to smoke may trigger asthma in infants and young children. The indirect benefits to young peoples health associated with smoke-free policies is seen to relate to the general reinforcement of the messages that non-smoking is now increasingly the norm within the community and would thus help to promote non-smoking lifestyles in future adult generations(Comfort pp 14).†

Welfare Law (See below for details of the question) Essay

Welfare Law (See below for details of the question) - Essay Example al., 2005, pgh. 1). It was determined that, â€Å"In Street v. Mountford [1985] A.C. 809 [the] House decided that where residential accommodation is granted for a term, at a rent with exclusive possession, the landlord providing neither attention nor services, the grant is a tenancy notwithstanding the fact that the agreement professes an intention by both parties to create a mere licence† (â€Å"Bruton v. London & Quadrant Housing Trust 1999, House of Lords,† 2009). Housing in the UK is rather expensive when one compares prices there to the rest of Europe. Speaking frankly, â€Å"†¦in terms of their impact on the disposable incomes of families, housing in the UK is substantially more expensive than in the rest of the European Union. This generates real affordability problems, especially given strong inflationary pressures within the owner-occupied sector. This aspect of home ownership needs to be emphasised, for other housing tenures have lost favour† (Gallent, et. al., 2002, pp. 153). In fact, it is probably not a good idea to buy property in the UK unless one is absolutely certain one wants to. â€Å"Many foreign markets are without a doubt more risky than investing in property in the UK market†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Barrow, 2008, pp. 387). â€Å"Unlike fixed-term tenancies, periodic tenancies have no initial limit on how long they will last, since they automatically continue from one period until the next until brought to an end by the appropriate period of notice. A periodic tenancy can arise expressly, but it may also arise by implication†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Clements, et. al., 1996, pp. 9). In addition, this implication â€Å"†¦may arise when a person has been allowed into occupation of property with the intention of creating a tenancy and rent is thereafter paid on a periodic basis. Payment of a weekly rent in such circumstances may create the inference of

The ban on smoking in public places Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The ban on smoking in public places - Essay Example Even then researchers had concerns about the hazards of smoking as they pertained to second hand smoke and people who inhaled it(Comfort pp 14). Commonly referred to as passive smoke, those who were around smoke without actually smoking themselves soon proved to have several definitive health risks associated with being near the smoke and inhaling it through passive (second hand methods). â€Å"Medical concerns about the dangers of passive smoking--inhaling other peoples tobacco smoke--can be traced back to the 1920s, and there is also now a widespread consensus that such passive smoking can cause disease. Other peoples tobacco smoke, either from the burning tip of a cigarette or the smoke that is exhaled by the smoker, is classed as a known human carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency(Comfort pp 14). â€Å" For the most part public place for the purpose of legislative ban incorporated any â€Å"enclosed or semi-enclosed area that members of the public have access to which provides a business or a service including workplaces, buildings and public transport(Comfort pp 14). â€Å" â€Å"Direct benefits revolve mainly about respiratory health, and regular exposure to smoke may trigger asthma in infants and young children. The indirect benefits to young peoples health associated with smoke-free policies is seen to relate to the general reinforcement of the messages that non-smoking is now increasingly the norm within the community and would thus help to promote non-smoking lifestyles in future adult generations(Comfort pp 14).†

Debate about the true market value of Telstra shares and about the Essay

Debate about the true market value of Telstra shares and about the financial management of the company - Essay Example Aside from the aforementioned services, it is also involved in the provision of cable distribution and management of business information technology or telecommunication services. The company also provides wholesale services to other carriers, carriage service providers, and Internet service providers (Telstra Corporation Limited 1). The company has made its IPO (initial public offering) in 1991. Currently, the company is under joint public/private ownership, with the Australian government holding 51.8% of its share as of the mid-2005 (Telstra 1). The privatization of Telstra has begun in the late 1990’s by the coalition government. However, full privatization which would mean divesting all the government’s shares had been blocked until the 14th of September 2005. The true value of the company’s stock is currently under hot speculation from the different industry players. Experts assert that the company’s stock is overvalued as some financial information were revealed to the government, the company’s largest stakeholder yet remained concealed to the remaining 1.6 million shareholders. The company had allegedly borrowed US$500 million from its reserves to cover its dividend payout in 2005 and another US$2.5 billion for its dividend obligations in 2006. It was also reported that the company needs a minimum of US$3 billion cash outlay in order to rehabilitate its faulty lines. This investment is necessary as Telstra Limited Corporation had not been making investments to maintain its lines (Haynes 20-21). This information significantly affected the value of the telecommunication giant as investors become wary of the true performance of the company and its future directions. During the first week of September, the market value of its stocks plunged to its lowest in two years. Stock prices further dipped reaching $4.00. After its IPO in 1997, Telstra Corporation Limited has become a profitable investment in security, giving healthy

Focus on the Learner Essay Example for Free

Focus on the Learner Essay Student Background Veronica is a 31 year old elementary level student. She is originally from Ecuador and is currently residing in Birmingham and has been for the past 3 months. She is University level educated, as a graduate in Dentistry, and a native speaker of Spanish and is also fluent in Italian. Veronica has worked as a dentist in her families practice; she has learned English at a basic level and is able to converse in English at an elementary level. Her motivation for studying English is to increase her level of English language so that she may work as a dentist in England. She has been encouraged by her sister to move to the United Kingdom as the rate of pay in her home country she could not earn enough money. She is very motivated to learn English as she will be able to provide a better life for herself financially and will also be able to better communicate and therefore socialise with her friends from different cultures. Linguistic and Skills: Strengths and Weaknesses 1. Listening It is difficult to grade listening skills without actually setting a listening task. For the purpose of this report I will analyse the understanding of questions set in the interview as well as class observation of the learner. Veronica seems to understand what is said and did not stall in answering the questions. She is able to understand most task set in class with the teacher’s explanation, without requiring further help. However when she doesn’t understand an exercise, she will not respond to the task set and will check with classmates in order to complete the task. 2. Speaking Strengths Veronica is able to present her message in a relatively clear manner. She is a fast speaker, often the case with Spanish native speakers. She uses simple short sentences mainly in the present tense. (Lines 10/14). Weaknesses Veronica has difficulty with pronunciation, often not using stresses. She pronounces the word noisy as nosy as seen in line 13-14. However when I repeated the word in the correct manner, she quickly adopted the correct pronunciation. She uses the past simple to explain future plans as seen in line 20 and line 25.This is a grammar error also noted in her writing and reading task. Veronica uses ‘is’ instead of it ‘it is’ and makes the error of using in instead of at (as seen in line 20) to state future plan of studying at University, she also made the error of putting the before the lexical verb university Grammar Tense Veronica struggles with the future tenses. She uses ‘is’ to explain future plans as seen in line 20. Vocabulary Veronica displays a relatively good level of vocabulary, illustrated by words such a professional, principle and University (lines8/20/21). However at times she struggles to find the words she wants to explain which results in her mumbling ’inaudible’. Pronunciation Veronica struggles with pronunciation. This may be seen in words such as noisy, seen in line 13-14, and principle, line 8/20 Reading Strengths Veronica was able to complete the reading task without any prompt, in other words independently. She was able to read for the specific information, and seemed to be familiar with have and haven’t. She showed particular strength in writing full sentences with correct capital letters as well as an ability to recognise the correct punctuation and contractions making only a few errors. Weaknesses Veronica has made a few errors in the reading exercise. This may be seen through her answering, ‘it is’ instead of ‘it has’, when asked whether an individual has internet on their mobile phone. This perhaps illustrate that she may struggle with grammar. Veronica has also made a few mistakes in writing the correct punctuation, often rewriting the wrong sentence instead of correcting it as well as failing to put a full stop at the end of the sentence, as well as not using enough commas. This illustrates that Veronica who is although familiar with capital letters, punctuation, and contractions needs more support in this area. Writing Strengths Veronica is able to present her message relatively well; she is able to spell most word correctly. She illustrates a variety of words, therefore can be seen to have a good vocabulary for a learner at elementary level. She presents her ideas in logical manner, she states for example that her life in England is interesting and is able explain in more detail why she has written this. Her handwriting is very legible. She is able to use correct punctuation such as full stops and comma’s as well as contractions. Weaknesses Veronica has made a few spelling mistakes, often when words are difficult to spell such as profession which even native speaker struggle with. However even more importantly Veronica has struggled to use the capital letters in the correct manner, for example she writes Favourite instead of favourite and uses full stops to frequently instead of commas. She also struggles with the difference between is, has are and often makes errors in word order. Some of these mistakes such as wrong use of capital letter could also seen in reading task. Rationale for choice of Language area I have chosen to focus on grammar, most specifically on future tenses and future plans. In order to help improve Veronica’s improve her language skills in the area of tenses, as this is an area which is problematic for Veronica. Rationale for chosen skills area I have chosen to focus on speaking as this is an area which Veronica displays difficulty in as illustrated through the recording and may be seen in the transcript.

ICT Developments In The Construction Industry

ICT Developments In The Construction Industry The use of ICT has over the years in different ways influenced and to a certain degree also changed roles and processes within the building project. A better understanding and overview of how ICT affect on the complex mechanisms in construction industry within the early stages of the planning process can be seen as central to achieve project success in this chapter. This chapter will touch on the general ICT development and application in construction industry whether in Malaysia or foreign countries such as United Kingdom, Australia, etc. but more focus on QS, architectural and engineering firms. Current software developments in construction industry which separate into three main types: design software, QS software and management software will be briefly described and discussed in this chapter too. Besides, this chapter will present a framework for exploring the positive or negative impacts of ICT developments in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (hereinafter referred to as AEC) sector of construction industry. Few survey analyses will be provided to briefly explain the impacts of ICT developments in practice. The strategies related to ICT implementation such as self-motivation, training, etc. will be discussed in the following section. After that, the final section presents a summary to this chapter of this research. 2.2 ICT Developments in Construction Industry The developments of ICT such as internet, email, e-tendering, software etc. in the AEC sector have evolved over several years. Emerging ICT introduces opportunities for improving communication to enhance effectiveness of many construction processes at each project phase as well as creating new business opportunities (Peansupap and Walker, 2005). The average annual growth rate of ICT investment in the construction industry is increasing every year and constitutes now a significant part of the total project cost. According to Woksepp and Olofsson (2007), some studies indicate that the ICT utilization ratio is still relatively low in the construction industry. In Malaysia, Public Works Department director which is Datuk Seri Prof Judin Abdul Karim hastened the construction companies to adopt ICT to enhance their capability during the two-day Infrastructure Construction Asias Building Information Modelling Sustainable Architecture 2009 conference in August 2009. He said that the awareness of using ICT was there but the cost of investment prohibited companies from adopting the technology and upgrading the system especially for the small companies. He also emphasized on the importance to have an integrated software system as a lot of professionals such as architects and engineers within the same companies were using different kinds of software. Standardisation is important in obtaining effective workflow for the project development and implementation (The Star, 20 August 2009). In parallel with the developments in academia and the software industry, organisations in the AEC industry have adopted new technologies in support of their business and the implementation of ICT is becoming significantly important now. Most industrially developed countries such as United Kingdom believe the need for implementing and using new technologies for gaining competitive advantage but are reluctant to invest in these technologies. The financial return appears to form the basis for IT investment related decisions. Besides, the results of previous research on measuring the ICT use and trends in Turkey (Sarshar and Isikdag, 2004) suggested that the Turkish AEC industry has been facing difficulties related to inefficient communication and loss of information due to fragmentation in the industry. However, developments of ICT in construction industry are still lacking. 2.2.1 QS Firms According to Smith (2004), the QS profession in Australia has experienced significant change over the past decade in terms of the scope of services provided both within and outside of the construction industry. These changes have occurred primarily in response to changing industry or client demands, ICT developments and increased levels of competition for services. As information flows increasingly become electronic QS computing facilities, software and databases will need to develop in a compatible manner. Compatibility with and the utilization of ICT developments is just the beginning and it is inevitable that documentation and date will be increasingly automated to the point where measurement and other technical processes will require minimal human intervention. It advancement provides the QS profession with enormous opportunity to strengthen its position in the industry. Thus, quantity surveyors are well placed to become the major information handlers on construction projects as the majority of information flow revolves around quantities and cost. Actually, no profession can legitimately lay claim to being best suited to take control of information management. It is likely that current opportunities will be taken up by others if the profession adopts a wait and see approach. In Malaysia, QS practice plays an important role in any construction development projects. The environments for QS practice have changed along with the countrys rapid economic development. Future development prospects and changes will have implications on the development of the profession. On the other hand, there have been concerns in the past few years on the role and future of the QS profession. The QS Think Tank Report of RICS has noted that many clients are critical of traditional QS services and are demanding a different and more comprehensive range of services (Page, Pearson and Pryke, 2004). Although there is a general lack of published data on the development and current scenario of the QS practice in Malaysia, anecdotal evidence suggests that the scenario in Malaysia parallels the findings by RICS. Hence, a reliable understanding of the present situation as well as the future perceptions of the QS practice is required in order to aspire to future challenges and needs (Abdul lah and Haron, 2006). 2.2.2 Architectural and Engineering Firms In accordance with the survey of Rivard (2000), ICT are an integral part of the day to day business within the most of the AEC industry nowadays. Almost every single employee in architectural and engineering firms do works on a desktop computer. Many business processes such as bookkeeping, invoicing and specification writing are now almost completely computerised and the tendency is toward a greater computerisation of the remaining processes. The firms have adopted the internet and are using emails and the World-Wide Web on a daily basis. However, even though ICT has been adopted by most firms because it provides quick and efficient means of exchanging information digitally, the majority of AEC professionals still exchange design information by means of paper drawings and specifications ad they used to do prior to the advent of computers. The AEC industry was a little slower in adopting ICT than other service industries that are more information intensive such as the communications industry and business services., but this is understandable since the AEC industry tends to be risk avert and prefers to adopt a technology that has been proven. 2.3 Current Software Developments in Construction Industry Software development is a highly dynamic field that heavily relies on the experience of experts when it comes to learning, applying, evaluating, disseminating and improving its methods, tools and techniques (Acuna and Sanshez-Segura, eds, 2006). The use of IT to transform and upgrade the construction industry is an objective requirement for the development of construction industry. At present, software quality and practical application level lags far behind developed countries. Thus, there is some great practical significance like summing up the status quo, looking for gaps, to explore a path of development, to promote in-depth practical application for improving the project standards, and achieve industry information, industrial advancement. There are three main types of software developments which are design software, QS software and management software in construction industry to enhance effectiveness of many construction processes at each project phase as well as creating new bus iness opportunities. 2.3.1 Design Software The use of CAD-technique in building design has increased rapidly during the last ten years and it is the standard technique for producing building documentation nowadays. International Organization for Standardization (hereinafter referred to as ISO) has defined a draft international standard, ISO/DIS 13567 recently, in order to increase interoperability between different CAD applications for building design (Bo-Christer, Kurt and Arto, 1997). CAD has several related technologies, two of which are geographic information systems and rendering packages. A geographic information system is an integrated software application devised to capture, store, edit, analyse and display geographic information and is typically used in land use planning, infrastructure management, environmental engineering, natural resources planning and management. A rendering package is a software application used to create, edit and render a realistic 3-D image of an architectural or engineered effort and typical ly includes lighting effects, camera setup and the application of materials on surfaces (Rivard, 2000). With the advent of ISO 9000, the quality management and quality assurance standard, more and more firms are adopting quality assurance in their processes to ensure that their firms can time and time again deliver the product or services that satisfy given requirements for quality. 2.3.2 QS Software Throughout history there have been numerous medians used to quantify construction materials. From the ruler, scale, and measuring tape to the planimeter and the digitizer, QS tools have changed with the technology of the time. There is no exception presently with the invention of fast-paced computer generated design applications and fast-track more efficient construction practices. In the market today, there are a plethora of computer-based QS software programs such as On-screen Take-off by on Center Software Inc, Computer-Aided Design (hereinafter referred to as CAD) Based Measurement Software (hereinafter referred to as CBMS), etc. On-screen Take-off On-screen Take-off software has been around since 1995. It is a valuable tool in the cost estimating process. McElreath (2010) implementing this software whenever digital copies of drawings are available in the market. He also mentioned that the speed and accuracy of this software has increased nearly 50 percent because of the functions and features of this product. One of the basic advantages of On-screen Take-off is the ability to zoom in and out of the drawings. This takes the place of a magnifying glass needed for full size drawings and save the estimators eyes. It also has an integrated magnification tool that can zoom in certain sections of the drawings without zooming in on the whole document. This is especially helpful when reading key notes, but it still allows the user to see the whole floor plan. However, one of the biggest advantages to using this product is that the software allows the user to verify and defend quantity takeoffs quickly and easily when performing an esti mate. CBMS The usage of CBMS would basically perform directs measurement of quantities from the object models produced by the designers for building elements to support tendering and contract administrative activities. Quantity surveyor can use CBMS to obtain certain quantities or calculations. For example, components such as windows, doors and sanitary fittings are easily designed or taken from the library of the software and it also can be counted easily using scheduling (Ong, Lim and Aziz, 2005). Thus, quantity surveyors are able to produce work description details and quantities for such items easily. Based on the preliminary experiment which conducted by Ong, Lim and Aziz (2005), the CAD software is able to generate the quantities easily for certain elements in a building while problems are encountered in taking-off quantities for other elements. Hence, there is a need for cooperation between the designers and quantity surveyors to ensure that there is a seamless flow of information from t he designers to the quantity surveyors especially with respect to the information contains in CAD drawings. 2.3.3 Project Management Software According to Walker (ed, 2007), construction project management is defined as the planning, coordination and control of a project from conception to completion including commissioning on behalf of a client requiring the identification of the clients objectives in terms of utility, function, quality, time and cost, and the establishment of relationships between resources, integrating, monitoring and controlling the contributors to the project and their output, and evaluating and selecting alternatives in pursuit of the clients satisfaction with the project outcome. The industry needs to be concerned with identifying and studying the process of managing construction projects and with structuring its organisations and implementing techniques and procedures that make the project management process more effective. Project management software consists of five main functional modules which are progress program management capabilities, resource management, cost management capabilities, report generation and output functions, and auxiliary functions which mainly refer to the interface with other software, secondary development, data confidentiality and the like. This concept stems from the analysis of similar products abroad such as Primavera Software, Microsoft Project, etc. Primavera Software Primavera offers best-in-class solutions focused on the mission critical Project Portfolio Management requirements of key vertical industries including engineering and construction, IT and services and the like. Primavera P6 Professional Project Management which is one of the products gives todays project managers and schedulers the one thing they value most: control. It is the recognised standard for high-performance project management software and designed to handle large-scale, highly sophisticated and multifaceted projects. It can be used to organise projects up to 100,000 activities and provides unlimited resources and an unlimited number of target plans. On the other hand, Primavera P6 Professional Project Management can balance resource capacity, plan, schedule, and control complex projects, allocate best resources and track progress, monitor and visualise project performance versus, conduct what-if-analysis and analyse alternative project plans (Oracle, 2010). Microsoft Project 2010 Project 2010 offers easier and more intuitive experiences to help the client simply be more productive and realise amazing results from meeting crucial deadlines to selecting the right resources and empowering your teams (Microsoft Project 2010). Microsoft Project 2010 builds on the Microsoft Office project 2007 foundation with flexible work management solutions and the right collaboration tools for occasional and professional project managers and includes a pathway to more advanced project and portfolio management capabilities as business needs evolve. Through a dramatically enhanced user experience, it also drives team productivity with integration across familiar Microsoft technologies including Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft Exchange Server. This integration allows a powerful business collaboration platform, proven project and portfolio management to result in a familiar, connected environment for customers to manage the simplest or the most complex projects (Phoenix, 2009). 2.4 Impacts of ICT Developments on Construction Industry The advent of ICT development has been both beneficial and detrimental. According to the respondents of the survey (Rivard, 2000), ICT developments have raised productivity in most business processes and particularly in general administration, design and project management. The main benefits achieved by the use of ICT is an increase in the speed of work, a better financial control, better communications, simpler and faster access to common data as well as a decrease in the number of mistakes in documentation. However, the benefits of ICT developments come at a cost since the complexity of work, the administrative needs, the proportion of new operations and the costs of doing business have all increased. Figure 1 attempt to show the changes caused by the introduction of ICT in construction industry. Figure 1: Changes caused by the introduction of ICT (Rivard, 2000) Furthermore, to explore the impacts of ICT developments on the architectural design process, Moum (2006) developed a framework to support the exploration and analysis of the multiple and complex amounts of information collected from both theory and practice. Based on the four selected design process aspects: generation of design solution, communication, evaluation of design solution, and decision making within the design process, and the three hierarchical levels: macro, meso and micro, an ICT impact matrix is conducted as a tool to summarizing and giving overview the key points explored by Moum (2006). Table 1 summarize some of the explored and discussed ICT related benefits and challenges within generation of the four selected design process aspects. The ICT systems used within the design process, support drafting and modelling rather than special design attributes and analytical capabilities, and have not changed the task of drafting or modelling. ICT also would develop from being a tool to becoming a design partner with having a design agent to make a designer aware of inconsistency regarding building legislation such as the minimum height of a staircase handrail (Kalay, 2004). Other than that, network technologies such as email and the internet have contributed to the most radical changes within the average working day for the building process participants as they support information exchange independent of geographical and organisational borders in communication stage within design process. ICT also offer a most powerful support of evaluation. Unrecognised problems can be identified, uncertainty reduced and errors avoided already at an early stage of the building project. It is easier to make a decision if every uncertainty i s eliminated within the architectural design process (Moum, 2006). Obviously, ICT developments have these far definitely brought benefits. Table 1: The ICT impact matrix summarizing the key points of the literature review (Moum, 2006) In the same time, CIRIA (1996) reviewed the procedures used by seven major construction organisations for their internal assessment of potential investments in IT in a study of United Kingdom construction organisations. These organizations included building and civil engineering contractors, civil engineering consultants and one large joint venture construction project. CIRIA concluded that, in the construction industry, formal cost-benefit analysis is not widely used to assess possible investments in IT. Even the simplest form of analysis of costs and benefits of smaller items can cost more staff time than the item itself and advancement of IT within organisations appears to be almost cyclical, alternatively evolutionary and revolutionary with periods of consolidation and evolution following radical assessments of IT strategy. This is a classic IT problem. For instance when Project Management software is introduced the software and hardware is a small part of the total cost-benefit equation. Staff training often costs more than the system, but the benefits of the training generally outweigh the costs (cited by Andresen, Baldwin, Betts, Carter, Hamilton, Stokes, and Thorpe, 2000). As a result of this industry-based debate of this issue, a framework of construction of construction IT benefits was colligated by academic perspectives reflecting perspectives reflecting the literature review conducted (Andresen et al. 2000). Table 2 shows a summary of the typical, process-based benefits that arise from IT investments that was colligated. Three categories: typical efficiency benefits, typical effectiveness benefits and typical performance benefits. Table 2: Typical IT benefits (Andresen et al. 2000) 2.5 Strategies Related to ICT Implementation There are three aspects which are self-motivation, training and environment for workplace support to understand how to encourage and manage the process of actual implementation of ICT diffusion within construction organisations. 2.5.1 Self-motivation ICT use remains dependent upon the individuals decisions whether to accept or reject the application. This is in turn affected by the degree of motivation. One motivation behind an individuals ICT application use is their characteristics such as self-confidence, enjoyment of learning and their previous foundation ICT skills. Peansupap and Walker (2005) indicated that users with high self-confidence levels are more likely to use and adopt ICT applications than users with low self-confidence. Igbaria, Iivari and Maragahh (1995) found that previous experience has a direct influence on the use and adoption of ICT. Individuals are able to use their existing ICT skills to perform the task. They found that computer experience is likely to improve a persons perceptions and belief of the usefulness of the ICT by enhancing their beliefs in their ability to master the challenges and to reduce any fears (cited by Peansupap and Walker, 2005). 2.5.2 Training Training is a primary organisational ICT diffusion factor because it helps users understand how to use and adopt ICT applications effectively. Likewise, Peansupap and Walker (2005) noted that many construction case studies found that lack of training is a key barrier to adopting and using ICT applications. So it is important to assess users training requirements to reduce the knowledge gap between what they already know and what they need to know to best perform their job through undertaking a personalised user needs analysis. Due to the threat of free-market and globalise competition has been view with serious concern by the various professional bodies, they believe their members will be able to better perceive the professions activity in a wider context and addressing this threat through Continuing Professional Development (hereinafter referred as CPD) programme. CPD is important for people and organisations need to continually learn and re-learn to sustain in this rapid changing business environment. Houle (1980) defines CPD as the ways in which professionals try, through their own knowledge and ability and build a sense of collective responsibility to society. Madden and Mitchell (1993) identifies CPS as the maintenance and enhancement of the knowledge, expertise and competence of professionals throughout their careers according to a plan formulated with regard to the needs of professional, the employer, the profession and society. (Adnan, Hashim, Janipha Hassan, and Ismail, 2009, p. 21) CPD is a requirement for members of most professional associations and the construction industry is no exception. Rather than relying solely on their employees, practitioners need to also take responsibility for their own professional development. ICT is a classic area for CPD due to regularity and speed of change and such personal development can significantly enhance an individuals value to a firm (Smith, 2004). 2.5.3 A Supportive Environment Workplace It can be argued that workplace environment characteristics such as commitment, open discussion, personal anxiety, and frustration also affect ICT implementation. The ICT diffusion process can be seen as a process of change within an organisation, so we need commitment from both users and their organisation. Individual commitment focuses on end-users who devote themselves to using ICT whereas organisational commitment focuses on top manager who support end-user to use ICT. Basic requirements of ICT adoption is the need to directly or indirectly persuade users to commit to support and allocate adequate resources for ICT technology investment (Peansupap and Walker, 2005). Open discussion helps to improve work productivity via the reporting of system difficulties. In addition, Senge et al. (1999) open discussion helps managers better understand problems or difficulties experienced by those operating ICT applications so that strategies can be devised to address deficiencies. Frustration or anxiety might develop from a negative users response when using computers. Igbaria and Parasuraman (1989) found that computer anxiety has a negative impact on users attitude toward microcomputers, especially when it is difficult to use ICT systems o r they can only be partially used (cited by Peansupap and Walker, 2005). Therefore, adequate ICT systems might be chosen for the companies to prevent users feel frustrated when faced the problems of insufficient or restricted their use of ICT systems. 2.6 Summary This chapter provides the general ICT developments information which focuses on QS firms and architectural engineering firms. Datuk Seri Prof Judin emphasized that the importance of ICT investment in construction industry and noted that standardisation is essential in obtaining workflow of the project development and implementation effectively. The development of design software, QS software and project management software can facilitate the exchange and management of information and has lot potentials for the information process component of the construction industry. This research found that CAD software is widely utilized in the current construction industry through all these surveys. These recent ICT developments undoubtedly have a profound impact whether is positive or negative on how organisations operate on a daily basis. Normally, benefits will be discovered much more than problems or barriers of ICT developments in AEC sector. The ICT developments in construction industry will improve the productivity and quality of output with the lesser time such as the increased speed in architectural design process. But, this research shows that the organisation and functions of each construction company will influence the impacts from ICT software developments. Lack of understanding of how to implement ICT into a construction organisation will be a significant problem too. Therefore, many construction organisations have found that the ICT investment has failed to meet their expectations. Continuing industry change and ICT developments will present the profession with many challenges, threats and opportunities. Hence, strategies of self-motivation, training provides and workplace environment may lead to efficient ICT implementation in a construction organisation.

The Life of Paul Gauguin Essay -- Painter Gauguin Biography Papers

The Life of Paul Gauguin Paul Gauguin was born in Paris on June 7th, 1848. His childhood was filled with radical beliefs and a libertarian lifestyle. In fact, his own father Clovis Gauguin was a republican journalist by trade, whose own writings were criticized for their radicalism and eventually forced the family into exile in 1849. With no stable source of income due to his father’s death, the family established residency in Peru, a decision made in accordance to his mother’s Peruvian descent. At age seventeen, Gauguin decided to enter into the French merchant navy. After a six year stint on the seas, Gauguin returned to Peru. His mother then died in 1867, and he was sent to live with Gustave Arosa, a wealthy art collector, who sparked his interest in art. It was Arosa who led Gauguin to eventually devote his time to painting. However, he did not begin his business career in the realm of art; rather, he succeeded as a stockbroker in Paris. It is there in Paris that he me t and married Mette Sofie Gad, and together they had five children. Despite the draw of finance and promise of substantial wealth, he could not temper his desire to paint. His attempts to paint and collect impressionist paintings frustrated Gauguin as he could only devote a meager amount of time and resources. Thus, he determined that he needed to focus his time solely to his lifelong passion: painting. To do so, Gauguin felt the need to sever all personal ties; consequently, he abandoned his family in 1883 without adequate funding. He died in Atuana, Marquesas on May 9th, 1903, a renowned painter, alone with the exception of his works. However, despite his attachment to an eclectic and hermit lifestyle, his contributions to art c... ... Biography. Nov. 12, 2002. http://www.expo-gauguin.com/2.cfm This site gave a brief overview of the life of Gauguin. It did not go into great detail on any given part of his life, but rather included the major points and influences throughout. Encarta Online. Paul Gauguin. Nov. 12, 2002. http://www.renoirinc.com/biography/artists/gauguin.htm This site also gave an overview of Gauguin’s life, but also included more descriptions of the changes in his art throughout his life. It provided the paintings that represented these changes. Works Consulted Paul Gauguin Biography. Nov. 13, 2002. http://www.repropaint.com/Gauguin/gauguin.htm This site was almost identical to the second listed in works cited. It gave a very broad listing of the events in Gauguin’s life, but also gave a few more names involved in shaping his life and painting.

Could Have Been Different :: essays research papers

Could Have Been Different   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I had a situation once when I wished that I could have re run it. If only I had thought about what was happening and the power that I actually had, I would have had an entirely different situation at hand. I could have prevented the whole thing a lot sooner.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The whole thing started when I was working at an auto shop called Car Quest. My friend Tammy had just gotten me the job starting as a cashier. Even in the few days that I worked there, I loved my job and everyone I worked with. . I really liked my boss because he was always so cool to me, letting me do my homework with my free time when no customers were around and letting me just mess around with the guys I worked with. Soon, I was beginning to close the store alone with my boss, a lot. He would make weird comments and things but I never really questioned them. I thought that maybe he was just kidding around as everyone there always did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One night when I was finished closing my drawer with my boss Lonnie, we were heading to the front of the store when he told me he had something to say but it could wait until the next time I worked with him. I insisted that he tell me then. He pulled me to the side and started telling me how beautiful I was and what a great personality I had. I didn’t know what to say so I just said â€Å"thanks†. Ever since then he started to ask if I would kiss him and all these offensive things. I guess I just never knew what to say to him. I mean I was 16 and he was like 50. That was like him being my dad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I went through this for a long time before I got the nerve to tell my other boss at work Kathy. I guess she wasn’t really my other boss; she was just the only other woman I worked with that could help me out. I told her the entire situation and that I was getting sick of Lonnie’s comments. Once I had told her this she told me that Lonnie was married and had two sons. I thought that was worse. I was beginning to get scared that something more would happen.

Meaningful Social Studies Essay

The democratic principles and ideals of citizenship reinforces effective social studies. By focusing on rights, responsibilities, and respect, a solid base of social studies knowledge and skills develops civic competence. The foundation of four core disciplines, or strands, from the social sciences are: geography, civics, economics, and history. They are the Louisiana framework for social studies. Each of these disciplines offers a distinct perspective for examining the world. Within these strands, other social sciences, such as anthropology and sociology, are incorporated.  §103. Louisiana Content Standards Foundation Skills The Louisiana Content Standards Task Force has developed the following foundational skills which should apply to all students in all disciplines: Communication, Problem Solving, Resource Access and Utilization, and Linking and Generating Knowledge. Through research, activities, discussions, and real-life experiences, children can and will learn that diversity can be positive and socially enriching. A pluralistic perspective involves students’ building unbiased, open-minded views towards diversity among their fellow human beings. Teachers of this generation have the combined blessing and challenge of helping students make the most of a world that is rapidly changing. Students must develop the perspective that cultural and philosophical differences are necessary and desirable qualities of a democratic community (NCSS, 1994). I chose the concept of â€Å"Problem Solving† for Grade 6-8th in which I will be teaching in the near future. Problem solving identify an obstacle or challenge and uses the application of knowledge and thinking processes which include reasoning, decision making, and inquiry in order to reach a solution using multiple pathways, even when no routine path is apparent. Bringing students into contact with other people’s various views and conflicting values is very important. In the school and local community, therefore, problem solving/inquiry problems are most often found. Questioning and cooperative learning are two strategies that are frequently used to support meaningful learning. Questioning. This is where all learning begins. The types of questions teachers use guide students’ engagement in the lesson (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000). The amount of time a teacher waits between asking questions and calling on students for responses, or responding to answers, affects student responses (Rowe, 1996). On average, teachers wait less than a second before calling on a student or responding to a student’s comment, this has been proven by classroom research. If the teacher wait 3 or more seconds before calling on a student or acknowledging a response, this can increase the length of student responses, the number of appropriate responses, and the cognitive level of the responses. Questions should be planned in advance, relate to the lesson activities, and are written into lesson plans. The Learning cycle lessons begin with questions that all students have a chance to answer. All answers are accepted by the teacher even though some answers may explain more than others. In the class such questions engaged by all of the students. In every learning cycle a central key question is planned for the exploratory phase. In a lesson focusing on the concept of presidential elections, for example, the teacher may ask the key question â€Å"What do you have to do to be elected president?† This is an open question that involves each student in thinking about the main idea of the lesson. Development phase, questions focusing student inquiry on the main concepts, skills, and attitudes of the lesson is done during the lesson. During the lesson development, many questions are narrow or closed. Questions are used to help students apply the concept in a new context, during the expansion phase of the lesson. On open questions, the emphasis is greater although some closed questions may be used. Effects of Emphasizing Student Control What students learn is influenced by how they are taught, the quality of individual and social processes occurring in the classroom, and the perceptions and understanding of social studies as a subject to be taught and learned (NCSS, 1994b). Matching Instructional Strategies to Student Needs One aim of education is to help students be self-directing (NCSS, 1994a, pp. 11–12). The amount of student control during the learning process, is a key factor. The categories, in order from least to greatest student control, are expository, guided discovery, and inquiry and problem solving/decision making. An appropriate instructional strategy is chosen by the teacher that matches the student’s level of social studies content, skill, attitudinal objectives, and developmental needs. These instructional methods are very effective and appropriate in helping students attain a particular level of learning objective. Expository, or Direct, Instructional Methods: Lower Student Control Students are provided with little control over the direction or extent of the learning process using the Expository instructional methods, or direct instruction method. Activity lessons using expository methods include the following characteristics: * The teacher controls the situation, providing adequate directions and motivation. The teacher provides ample opportunities to practice the skill in a wide variety of situations. * The teacher supplies immediate and continuous feedback focusing on correct answers. * The teacher uses lecture and closed, narrow questions to control the learning situation but must provide extensive and adequate directions for the student. Expository Guided Inquiry/Problem Solving Discovery and Decision Making Expository methods require external motivation and careful classroom management. Only lower levels of learning: recall and memorization are produced by these methods. Development of the affective areas of attending and willingness to receive information is facilitated by Expository methods. These methods are occasionally useful in the lesson development phase of the learning cycle in which the teacher explains the key idea of the lesson and the lesson focus involves the need for recall (Rosenshine, 1986). Guided Discovery Instructional Methods: Mixed Teacher and Student Control Students are involved in activities related to a concept and form an understanding of them when using guided discovery instructional methods before they are offered or explained by the teacher. A problem to investigate is created by the teacher and he/or she determines procedures and materials needed, but students collect and analyze data and evaluate the results as they relate to the problem. Guided discovery has four characteristics. 1. Students are provided with the time and opportunity to study relationships in data and form a new idea. 2. Students use several activities focusing on one concept, generalization, value, or skill. 3. Students’ main role is to investigate and discover answers to the questions posed, discussing and displaying data to do so. 4. The teacher provides directions and asks questions that help students begin activities with the learned resources selected. From data students can learn inquiry skills such as inferring, predicting, organizing, interpreting, and draw conclusions. Inquiry and Problem-Solving/Decision-Making Instructional Methods: Greater Student Control Inquiry involving significant student control over the direction the lesson takes, is the third social studies instructional method. The Students create a problem to investigate, determine procedures and materials needed, collect and analyze data, and evaluate results. These lessons have five characteristics: 1. Students are competent in basic social studies inquiry skills. 2. Students select problem areas to investigate. 3. Students work in groups, orally reporting the results of investigations. 4. The teacher guides students in defining the problem to investigate and in helping to identify resources. 5. A safe and supportive classroom environment is maintained. Activities using the Inquiry method are intrinsically motivating because students direct their own learning. A first-grader even is likely to use higher thought processes during an inquiry. For example, a young student’s social studies project could involve making a drawing showing where items in her personal materials basket (scissors, glue stick, crayons, etc.) should be placed. After the student lists three or more problems with the basket, such as the glue stick always falling over, the drawing is made. This allows the student to ask questions, communicate information, make inferences, and build prediction. Facts may form the basic content of the narrative, when writing stories about the experience, but students also often make inferences and construct generalizations. In inquiry and problem-solving/decision-making method activities, students are involved in practicing the full range of inquiry skills. Key social studies ideas and skills are carefully selected and is needed because inquiry methods reduce the amount of material covered to a greater extent than other instructional methods. Meaningful learning of generalizations and higher-order inquiry skills, as well as improved long-term memory and transfer of learning, occurs. Problem solving and decision making is what inquiry focuses on mainly. Students plan how they can participate and work together (Dunfee & Sagl, 1967; Meyerson & Secules, 2001). Conclusion By building on a core of effective practices in teaching and by designing activities and lessons with learning objectives in place, teachers encourage students to use their strengths and to respond successfully to challenges. They support students as active learners in meaningful activities. Focusing on helping young students identify multiple perspectives on issues and problems is a major learning outcome related to global issues. So also is discussing what are good and positive actions, moral positions, and appropriate behaviors. References Research & Evaluation Strategies for Early Childhood Education. Research In Early Childhood Education in Handbook Research on the Education of Younger Children. Springer (2007). Retrieved from http://ww.library.gcu.edu.2048/login?qurl.http$3A2F%2F% www.credoreference.com/entry/sprihsei/table_of_contents. Social Studies Content Standards – Division of Adminstration www.doc.louisiana.gov/osr/28v121/28v121.pdf Sunal-Szymanski, C. & Haas, M.E. Social Studies for the Elementary & Middle Grades: A Constructive Approach, (4th Ed.). Published by Allyn & Bacon copyright (2011) by Pearson Education, Inc. The Evolving Role of Teachers In Effective Schools in Springer International Handbooks of Education: International Handbooks of School Effectiveness and Improvement.

Counselor Role in Special Education Essay

My perception of the school counselor’s role in special education is that it largely mirrors the role embodied for all students, but with some added considerations and collaborations for the special needs student. My understanding is that a school counselor should be available to all students for personal, ethical, academic, career, and social advice; to listen to a student’s point of view; to deal with any mental health issues that may arise for a student; to help a student prepare for transitions; to advocate for a student in a given situation, and to whatever degree possible, teach the student to advocate for himself. A counselor must be committed to helping all students reach their full potential; but for students with disabilities and other special needs, a school counselor needs to accomplish this in the face of extra challenges. These tasks and trials are not limited to those presented by the varying disabilities of a child, but include the demands of satisfying the administrative and legal requirements of a counselor serving students with special needs. Today’s school counselor is likely to be involved in a student’s individualized education program (IEP) when one is warranted. According to the Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children, at least one of the IEP team members needs to be an individual who has knowledge or special expertise regarding the child. This person is in addition to the child’s regular and special education teachers, a principal/assistant principal or other senior staff member, the parents, the school psychologist, and the child (if appropriate) required to participate on the team. The school counselor, at the discretion of the parent or the school district, may be included as a member of the IEP team if they have special insight regarding the child. A school counselor will work as part of a multidisciplinary team within the school and community in aligning and providing services for the special needs student. Without yet having been exposed to a practicum or internship experience as a school counselor, I perceive this piece of the workload to be potentially delicate and complex. A parent may have a viewpoint divergent from that which is covered in the Evaluation Team Report (ETR), resulting in an extended identification process. School staff members may have contrasting opinions as to whether a child is in need of special education and an IEP, or just accommodations covered under a 504 Plan. The bottom line is that the identification team must work collaboratively, with a lack of ego, in assessing and determining what measures are in the best interests of helping the child to be successful in school. It seems that the most difficult aspect of a school counselor’s job is to find a balance in managing so many responsibilities in each given day. Responding to the unique challenges of special needs students can both intensify and complement the workload. I think much can be gained professionally, personally, and emotionally by embracing that responsibility. A good counselor should teach the special education students attending her school about resiliency, inner strength, positive identity, and a sense of purpose. In the general terms of the professional school counselor’s role, I believe that the most valuable services to be provided in the special education realm are: †¢ Individual Student Planning – communicate high expectations and help disabled students establish personal goals for each school year and their future success. Familiarize oneself with the varying learning styles of the students who have disabilities, and work consultatively with teachers to improve their performance behaviorally and academically. Be a staunch advocate for these students and their post-secondary options; help create opportunities for them. †¢ Responsive Services – implement prevention and/or intervention activities like individual and group counseling, provide referrals, facilitate better peer relations, and advocate for them. Conduct needs assessments to identify potential systematic, programmatic, and attitudinal areas for change in order to create positive environments for their learning. Assist teachers in staying on top of 504 and IEP accommodations/interventions, being prepared to troubleshoot if certain measures are not enabling student to perform optimally. †¢ School Guidance Curriculum – developing and delivering a curriculum of structured lessons to help each identified student achieve desired social and academic outcomes. A counselor could implement a student development curriculum aimed to improve typical students’ understanding of and sensitivity to their special needs’ peers. By communicating high expectations and providing support, school counselors can help students with disabilities understand that their disabilities should not be reason to limit their aspirations.

Ethical principles that you personally believe that reflect natural Essay

Ethical principles that you personally believe that reflect natural laws that are self -evident and that all people ought to ascribe to - Essay Example The ethical principles guided by natural law all pertain to the common good of all. They are the set of principles generally accepted by al. An example of an ethic dictated by natural law and generally accepted is morality. People from all cultures, religion and races agree that everyone should uphold morality in all aspects. According to Cheryl things that people should not do include, taking someone’s life, blasphemy, lying all these are ethics the humanity should uphold. All these ethics are known by all humanity; it is also given by god and directed towards the greater good of the society. These are some of the vices that the human law terms as natural law. Even with the ethics being set people may choose not to follow them, the consequences’ of such actions will be enacted by human law (Cheryl, 67). Ethics dictated by natural law instructs the people on the use of our liberty. The ethics under natural law guides the code of conduct we as humans should uphold collectively. It is a form of social configuration that will allow the community to pursue peace, contentment and success (Cheryl,

A Curriculum Development Issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Curriculum Development Issue - Research Paper Example A social policy statement which was established in 1980 and amended in 1995. The statement explains the meaning of nursing, diagnosis requirement of a nurse and the main purpose of nursing activities. It clearly explains the requirement of a competent nurse in the health sector. It talks about the basic knowledge which is required of a qualified nurse. The statement specifies the main components required in the definition of nursing role and competent in the health sector. As observed by Fasoli (2006), nurses’ schools and faculties are supposed to comply fully with the Nursing: A social policy statement. The policy does not give room for immediate advancement of the training methodology. The strictness of the policy statement limits the advancement of the nursing curriculum. The curriculum is delimited by the policy to act immediately to the emerging technological and health changes. On the other hand, the policy restricts the nursing training schools from advancing the circular without the approval of the concerned health body. Health schools are expected to train what is speculated in the policy. Health policy on the other hand, is very useful in the nursing profession and most specifically in the training process. It clarifies the requirement for a credible nurse. It provides a guideline of what should be taught in the healthcare school. Its strictness is very essential in maintaining the quality of nurse activities in the health sector. ... The policy does not give room for immediate advancement of the training methodology. The strictness of the policy statement limits the advancement of the nursing curriculum. The curriculum is delimited by the policy to act immediately to the emerging technological and health changes. On the other hand, the policy restricts the nursing training schools from advancing the circular without the approval of the concerned health body. Health schools are expected to train what is speculated in the policy. Health policy on the other hand, is very useful in the nursing profession and most specifically in the training process. It clarifies the requirement for a credible nurse. It provides a guideline of what should be taught in the healthcare school. Its strictness is very essential in maintaining the quality of nurse activities in the health sector. Nursing school are limited the power of including irrelevant contents in their curriculum. Any additional in the curriculum must be approved by t he entire health sector. Nurses have the capability of working everywhere in the world due to the universality of the health policy. The policy has also helped nurses in specifying their position in the health sector. The role of the nurse in health sector is clearly explained in the policy. This reduces role confusion in health sector. Curriculum Development Strategies Development of nursing curriculum as a process has neither beginning nor an end. Once it has been developed, the curriculum undergoes modifications and refinements as it becomes evaluated and implemented. This modifications and refinements are performed because a nursing curriculum that is perfect cannot be finalized and achieved when the context within which the

Discussion paper on New actors in international and global health Essay - 1

Discussion paper on New actors in international and global health focuse on NGOs - Essay Example piece of discussion I will also put light on all kinds of loop holes present in current and emerging NGOs and would end up with number of suitable suggestions and recommendations for the improvement of these supporting bodies within a country. NGOs plays a significant role in improving the struggling masses present in the third world countries and in developing nations to an extent for which, I would use various references from books based on facts and figures to make this discussion qualitative and reasonable for the reader to understand the original essence of the topic. This paper analysis and discusses about the issues raise in Non Governmental Organizations which are non- profitable at the same time around the globe. In this era, where communication is not an issue and distances are no more a deal, all the NGOs have worked together and settled down together with civil society organizations to make a remarkable difference. Some of the facts which are eye catching, as it is getting into power rapidly. â€Å"Nationally, the non-profit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year:   $63.1 billion in  spending by organizations and an additional $103.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences†. Non-profit sectors/non-governmental organizations work in every community which includes rebuilding cities, schools for primary education, supporting the workforce,  medical assistance, old age masses, elevating the arts, mentoring our youth, protecting natural resources, and much more. In this deal, many new names of business industry and actors are coming up with great deals to offer. They are working for humanity not in a particular region but throughout and around the globe. All these points will be discussed in detail later in this paper. As the masses of the globe situated at different corners were dipping more and more into crises like Health, lack of education, insecurity, poverty and hunger, and when these issues