Does the World Still Care About American Culture Essay

Pells – Does the World Still Care About American Culture? What does Pells mean by the statement, â€Å"American culture used to be the elephant in everyone’s living room†? â€Å"Elephant in the room† is a term used for an obvious truth that is going unaddressed or being ignored. It also applies to an obvious problem that everyone is ignoring or no one wants to state it. In the article when Pells mentioned â€Å"American culture used to be the elephant in everyone’s living room.† he meant that the American culture is being forced on everyone whether they like it or not it. If we look back after WWII everyone wants to study in the US because the American culture was the dominant culture in the world whether you are fan of the culture or not, it will still affect you. Just like an elephant in the living room whether you are comfortable or not you still can not deny the existence of the elephant. (Pells has a very different perspective on globali sm when compared to O’Connor and Verdu and even Rice-Oxley. When we go back to O’Connor’s and Rice-Oxley’s article we can see that both authors main point is that America is forcing its culture to the world. Moreover, they both believe that American culture is the dominant culture of the world. In the other hand, Pells believe that the American culture used to be the dominant culture in the world back in the 20’s centuries. Furthermore, Pells states that we are living in an era where the American culture is one of many other competing cultures in the world, in other words we are living in a new world order and a globalization era where everyone have many options of cultures to adapt from. Rice-Oxley writes about a cultural backlash against America. What is Pells saying here that is different? Do you agree with Pells’s assessment? After reading Pells article I’ve realized that the author believes there is no backlash against american because nowadays the American culture is just another another item on the shelves of the global supermarket. Pells states that in the 90’s many people assumed that the emergence of what they called global culture is just another mechanism for Americanization, but the truth is that globalization has strengthened the culture of other nations. Now the American culture is competing against other culture in shaping people’s values and tastes. Furthermore, Pells strongly believe that the world we are living is not a hegemonic American culture, instead it is a multiple form of art and entertainment.

Separate components

One of the main religious books of Buddhism is â€Å"Tripitaka† (Pali language and Sanskrit – ‘tri’ = three and ‘pitaka’ = basket), which means â€Å"three baskets (of texts)† and also is know as â€Å"Tipitaka†, canonic texts of classical Buddhism schools, consisting of the Vinaya, the Sutta or Suttanata and the Abhidhamma.This three-part structure of canonic texts can be considered as line of demarcation between classical Buddhism (which some people call hinayana – narrow way or narrow chariot) and those reformative directions, which having desire to show its supremacy, gained an honorable title of mayanaya (wide way or wide chariot) and created another collections of holy texts, imitating to some extent works of â€Å"Tripitaka† (first of all these are dialogues of Sutta Pitaka), but didn’t follow principles of three-part canon.Separate components of â€Å"Tripitaka† were kept in memories of many sch ools of early Buddhism indifferent Indian languages, such as Sanskrit and hybrid Sanskrit and also in middle Indian languages.Some schools considered as holy all parts of Tripitaka, – except of theravaddine, vatsipuri or machishchasaka. The others focused accent at importance of separate parts in comparison with others: sthaviravadines respected the Sutta first of all; sarvastivadines respected the Abhidhamma and aparashayles and purvashayles recognized only the Vinaya. Some of the followers completed three-part canon with new ‘baskets’.So, machasanghiki added to three parts Samiukta-pitaka and Dharma-pitaka, and bachusrutii (who already recognized â€Å"transcendency† of some Buddhist studies) added also Bodhisattva-pitaka, whereas dharmaguptaki took from traditional three parts only the Vinaya and added together with three new ‘pitakas’ also Tsharani-pitaka (which was probably text of magical spells) (Thomas W. Rhys-Davids, p.103).Complete c anonic text of â€Å"Tripitaka† belongs to ‘orthodox’ school of theravadines. Canonic texts were collected, were reproduced and passed orally, modified by the teachers, preachers and missioners of Buddhist communities during many ages, so material of Pali â€Å"Tripitaka† belongs to wide time continuum from the Buddha à ©poque (according to modern date – 5 century BC), some speeches of whom, probably, were memorized immediately by followers of his communities, specialized on memorizing of holy texts (bhanaki) till time of their partial writing in Pali language in the 1 century BC.Process of canonization wasn’t finished yet. Texts of â€Å"Tripitaka† continued to be created, edited, wrote and re-wrote till the 5th century – time of creation of â€Å"complete† commentary to â€Å"Tripitaka†, which can be considered the Pali re-working of Singal commentaries by egzeget collegiums, managed by Buddaghossa. So, historic al origin of â€Å"Tripitaka† texts needs special examining in each separate case.Written form of â€Å"Tripitaka† was first written on palm leaves – alu – during the times of King Vatthugamini Abhay (101-77 BC) in Alu-Vihara, Matala near Kandi, Sri-Lanka.These works were collected one year after Buddha’s death by his three followers at the first Buddhist’s meeting in Radzhigire. During the next meetings those groups of studies were re-worked and written.First ‘basket’ consists of 3 parts and is dedicated to principles of organization of Buddhist monk community, principles of creation and demands to monks.The Vinaya regulates all monk life and their communications with civil people in details. The word â€Å"Vinaya† means â€Å"that, who dispels evil†. The first part, Suttavibhanga, is commentary to patimokkha – 227 discipline rules for monks in connection with definite actions of members of early-Buddhist m onk community-sangha and corresponding punishments – starting of admonitions and finished by expulsion from sangha. These rules reflect real practice of regular readings of patimokkha during fasting-days (uposatha) of new moon and full moon.The second part consists of Khandhakas – in two versions (Mahavagga in 10 chapters and Culavagga in 12 chapters), where detailed discipline rules (prescribing how to live during rain periods, which clothes they should wear, how they should prepare medicines, etc), are ‘diluted’ with didactic and historical legends (Frauwallner, E.,, p.53).The first contains stories which explain how separate people came to Buddhist community, the second contains information about partial stories of Buddha’s life (gaining â€Å"clarifying†, first travels and first followers) and stories about first two Buddhist meetings in Radzhagrych (soon after Buddha’s death) and in Vayshali. The third part, Parivaranapatha, consi sts of 19 text of catechism type, including questions and answers for discipline problems.The Sutta, the eldest and the main part of Tripitaka’s texts is collection of five big texts (nikaya), first four of which are thematically similar to some extent (statement by Buddha, sometimes by his followers, of separate topics in Dharma (Buddhist science), and the last part is collection of different materials, united a bit later.The first four collections of the Sutta are started with unchangeable words â€Å"So I heard†, which is given from the narrator (in order to show origin of text), which is followed by plotline of lesson and then after the lesson itself, which Buddha pronounces in dialogue with somebody or in monologue (http://www.dharmanet.org/).The words are â€Å"Tripitaka† words are charming, they open your eyes and bewilder with their wisdom; they sound like music which you want to hear again and over again, reading and re-reading its simple but wise words : â€Å"He walks without fear, stands without fear, sits without fear, lies down without fear. Why is that? Because he is out of the Evil One ‘ s range. †Thai is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One ‘ s words†. (â€Å"Tripitaka†) These four collections of texts differ not only in content, but in quantity and structure – by length of the Suttas and way of organization of their consequences. All five big collections of the Sutta’s texts include in different proportions prosaic and poem components.

African American Heritage Paper Essay

This paper explores the African American heritage and also identifies the significance of nurses being culturally aware, sensitive and competent when caring for people of African American heritage. Although these terms mentioned above are used interchangeably, they have different meanings. Cultural awareness is appreciating the external or material part of the culture, such as the music, arts, and physical characteristics, and dress. Cultural sensitivity is the personal attitudes toward the culture, such as not saying things that is offensive to someone from a different ethnic or cultural background (Purnell,2013, p. 4). Cultural competence is putting it all together; by using your knowledge to provide culturally congruent care and to be able to work effectively with people in cross- cultural situations. African Americans are the second largest ethnocultural groups in the United States; however, it is one of the most misunderstood cultures. This culture is so unique because they have mixed their cultures from their different homes of origin in Africa, along with American culture. This paper overviews the history, communications, family roles, workforce issues, biocultural ecology, high-risk behaviors, pregnancy and childbearing practices, spirituality, health care practices, nutrition, and death rituals in the African American culture. It is important that nurses see themselves as becoming culturally competent when caring for African Americans, and this involves incorporating cultural desire, cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, and cultural encounter with the people of African American heritage (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). 2 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE One of the largest minority groups in the United States, African Americans culture includes the various cultural traditions of different African ethnic groups. â€Å"Data from the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (2001) reveals that there are approximately 34,333,000 African Americans residing in the United States, representing 12. 1% of the total population† (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). They were forcibly imported into the United States as slaves from 1619 to 1860 (Purnell, 2013, p. 21). During slavery, they incorporated their culture from their homes of origin, and as a result, their culture included several cultural traditions of African ethnic groups. Many African Americans live in poverty due to discrimination and lack of proper education. Most families of African American heritage value education, but they still struggle to have equal representation in the workplace, and are more likely to work in a hazardous environment, resulting in job related diseases and illness. Due to the lower-level positions and the difficulty in achieving higher opportunities in the workplace, some African Americans continue to feel discouraged. Nurses need to address discrimination and also issues that create ethnic or racial tension in the workplace. English is the language spoken by African Americans, however, people of lower socio economical status communicate in an informal language known as African American English (AAE) (Purnell, 2013, p. 22). According to Campinha-Bacote (2009), the major problem that AAE speakers face is prejudice. Most people believe that AAE is inferior to Standard American English. As a result, African Americans who speak AAE are sometimes misinterpreted as being uneducated. Nurses should be aware not to stereotype African Americans as only speaking AAE, and also not to stereotype them as uneducated based on the way they communicate. African Americans are expressive when 3. A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE communicating and often use body languages to convey their feelings. Their expressive language and body movement can be misconstrued as anger or provocation. Nurses need to be familiar with these characteristics and not misinterpret them. As a nurse, when interacting with African Americans for the first time, be sure to address them formally, until given permission to use other names, such as their first name. The African-American family has evolved over the last two decades and still continues to evolve. A person that is brought up in a traditional nuclear family is more likely to continue that tradition. Whereas, a person that is brought up in a single parent home is more likely to continue that same tradition. Although these situations are more likely, they are not always so. To provide the most competent care, the best thing for the nurse to do would be to ask the patient in a non-judgmental way about family dynamics and also ask them what they would feel the most comfortable with when it comes to decision making for their care. The nurse should then accept this decision. Being knowledgeable about this cultural group’s family values and beliefs are crucial for providing care for the African American patient (Revell & McGhee, 2012). A high percentage of African American households are matriarchal and fall below poverty level. With that being said, it is wise for nurses to make a point of including women when discussing health care issues. Nurses also should take note when dealing with homosexual individuals in this ethnic group, not to break confidence by sharing their lifestyles with others. This information can jeopardize and cause conflicts within the family and ruin relationships. Romantic relationships of the same-sex are not totally acceptable within this culture. 4 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE As in many culture, social status is important in African American community. African Americans are often met with negative atmosphere and prejudice attitudes based on their cultural background and skin color. Assumptions are made based on AAE spoken by some as an indication of unintelligence and the lack of education. These assumptions sometimes affect employment opportunities and job promotions. Nurses should be cautious not to fall into the stereotyping African Americans based on these characteristics. African American skin color ranges from light to very dark due to the combination of a gene pool of more than 100 racial strains (Purnell, 2013, p. 25). When assessing for cyanosis in dark-skinned African Americans, be sure to pay attention to the oral mucosa or conjunctiva. When assessing for pallor, note the absence of the underlying red tones that give the skin it’s glow. Lastly, when observing for jaundice, be sure to look at the sclera of the eyes, the soles of the feet, and the palms of the hands for any yellow discoloration (25). Health care is a luxury that low socioeconomic African Americans may not be able to afford. Meeting their daily needs takes priority over what they believe to be minor health issues. Consequently, diseases that could be treatable might end up being a life- threatening situation. African Americans are family orientated, because of this; some tend to initially seek medical attention from family members rather than going to a health care professional. Health care professionals need to be aware of this and work toward teaching and distributing health information via church and community centers. Most African American women are against abortion due to religious, cultural, and moral beliefs. As a result, there is a delay in making a decision until it becomes too late. 5 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE Family support is crucial for pregnant African American women. Gichia (2000) studied and found out that African American women look for role models such as older female relatives, or if they have none, they look for someone who seemed like a mother to them, such as a neighbor. These role models can provide the pregnant woman and new mother with needed support. According to Abbyad & Robertson (2011), nurses caring for pregnant African American women need to be informed about the variety of ways in which childbirth preparation can occur, as in any other group of pregnant women. Moreover, nurses need to consider the ways in which their attitudes and behaviors send unwelcoming messages to African American women seeking prenatal care or childbirth classes. These attitudes can discourage the African American woman in seeking further care. â€Å"Culturally competent care for the childbearing African American woman includes addressing all components of care including the use of complementary and alternative medicine† (Revell, 2012). The childbirth nurse that is providing culturally competent care should be aware that the perceived norm is different for every family. African Americans are spiritual and are usually affiliated with some religious order. Historically, the church has played a major role in the life of African American culture. The church is a place where they can meet on common grounds. Faith and prayer is one of the most important attributes of Christian African Americans. They believe that God has the power to heal them, and he also has the power not to. They believe that whatever happens to them is according to God’s will. Food is very valuable in the African American culture. It symbolizes health and wealth. It is derived from African descent. When food is offered to someone, it means that the person is valued; and by offering food, they are given you something that is 6 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE valuable to them. When it comes to nutrition, some African American diets are high in cholesterol and fats. According to James (2004), â€Å"African Americans will need information on basic nutrition topics such as serving sizes and reading food labels†. Nurses that work in African American communities should be involved in programs that promote healthy food choices. These programs can specifically be developed for churches, neighborhood grocery stores, and local restaurants. â€Å"Health disparities among the African-American population include life expectancy, heart disease, hypertension, infant morality and morbidity rates, cancer, sickle cell diseases, HIV/AIDS, violence, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and asthma† (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). Unfortunately, they have the tendency to see a health care professional only when absolutely necessary. â€Å" Health is viewed as harmony with nature, whereas illness is seen as a disruption in this harmonic state due to demons† (Purnell,2013, p. 33). Recognize and support your patient cultural behaviors and believes to promote healthy interactions. In addition, always provide factual information about health practices that may not be understood due to their cultural believes and cultural differences. In conclusion, it is recommended that nurses familiarize themselves with cultural specific information in order to provide cultural competent care in African American community. Nurses should consider the following question: â€Å"In caring for African- American patients, have I asked myself the right questions. † It is important for nurses to be aware of their biases and prejudices toward African Americans. In addition, they should possess the needed skills to conduct a cultural assessment while possessing knowledge of this cultural group (Campinha-Bacote, 2009). Lastly, nurses should always 7 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE have the desire to become culturally competent not just with African American patients, but any patient that has been placed in their charge. 8 A NURSING METHOD TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE Resources Abbyad, C. , & Robertson, T. (2011). African American Women’s Preparation for Childbirth From the Perspective of African American Health-Care Providers. Journal Of Perinatal Education, 20(1), 45-53. doi:10. 1891/1058-1243. 20. 1. 45 Campinha-Bacote, J. (2009). Culture and diversity issues. A culturally competent model of care for African Americans. Urologic Nursing, 29(1), 49-54. Gichia, J. E, (2000), Mothers and others: African-American women’s preparation for motherhood. The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 25(2), 86-91, James, D. (2004). Factors influencing food choices, dietary intake, and nutrition-related attitudes among African Americans: application of a culturally sensitive model. Ethnicity & Health, 9(4), 349-367. Purnell, L. D. (2009). People of African American Heritage. Guide to culturally competent health care (2nd ed. , p. 21-35). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Co. Revell, M. A. , & McGhee, M. N. (2012). Evolution of the African American Family. International Journal Of Childbirth Education, 27(4), 44-48. Revell, M. A. (2012). Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the African American Culture. International Journal Of Childbirth Education, 27(3), 55-59.

Human Resource Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Human Resource Management - Assignment Example It will gradually evolve into a value adding area for any organization if proper research and education is provided in the field (Plessis et al., 2007, p. 279). Human resource management evolvement, relationship with the organisation and environment, and human resource planning i) The first record of HRM can be traced back to 1780s where the various handymen like carpenters and masons formed an alliance in England to increase their bargaining power and get standard wages for their work. The industrial revolution paved way for set up of huge factories. Various welfare workers who took care of both the men and women workers needs were appointed in the factories. A team led by Elton Mayo carried out the famous Hawthorne studies which serve as a major, pioneering research in HRM during the 1920s. Trade unions started to appear after the Second World War era. Separate departments with a group of people handling various activities related to workers welfare like payroll and grievance handl ing started to appear by the First World War. Contemporary Human Resource Management took its place as prominent department of a company by 1960s (Pravin, 2010). They gained much wider fame and importance in the next two decades as various MNC’s started to appear. (Pravin, 2010) Personnel management is considered as the forerunner of HRM as it involves recruiting, training and firing people. It is often viewed as a tool to organize the manpower in a company rather than a strategic management technique like HRM. Personnel management is different from HRM in the following ways. (Sreenath, 2009) ii) The evolution of any process leaves its mark significantly on the current version of the strategy. HRM as a discipline views people as an asset and its operative functions include procuring employees, developing their skills, providing proper compensation for them, integration, maintenance as well as separation or laying them off. The industrial revolution concepts paved way for a se parate department concerned to labour welfare. Personnel management streamlined the managerial functions of HRM like organizing the hiring process, directing the training and controlling the employees. HRM as a strategy paved way for various researches and well defined techniques to follow in hiring and training huge number of employees. Concepts like Michigan School Framework and Harvard Frame work paved way for smooth flow of employee management in huge MNC's with thousands of workers (Salaman et al., 2005). HRM will facilitate the growth of organizational competencies which will yield competitive advantage over other peers through strategic management of employees (Lado & Wilson, 1994). Companies started to see workers as an asset and harvesting their brain power as their major goal instead of training them to perform monotonous jobs as it was during the industrial revolution era using these frameworks. (Sreenath, 2009) (Sreenath, 2009) Line managers are quite important for TQB a s the concerned branches falls under their direct controls. If the HR department motivates them properly with promised perks in terms of power and money, they will serve as a very positive influence on the workers communicating directly with the customers in the new branches. TQB’s goal to attract potential customers in the new branches will become much easier if the HR manager maintains a good personal relationship with the line managers, heed ears to their personal issues, help them achieve their

Business Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Business Change Management - Essay Example Perhaps the space between the new organization design and implementing it into actuality is the whole coverage of organization change and development. People are adaptive to change. However, certain skills must be present from the initiators of change so as to successfully implement their project. Thus, managers need to have the necessary abilities not only in detecting what needs to be changed but also how to introduce the change effectively. According to Moran and Avergun (1997) "Change consists of a series of closer and closer approximation of increasingly ambiguous goals which are embraced by more and more members of the organization. For this reason, change often seems endless and confusing. Often those involved in the change process feel overwhelmed and powerless." This paper provides discussion of how change can be managed in order to avoid people from feeling overwhelmed and powerless. Arguments that claim differing statements regarding this notion of change management are likewise presented through the use of management concepts and theories that are relevant to the discussion. As such, the paper provides the (a) definition and importance of change management, (b) strategic implementation of change management, and (c) means and ways of coping and adapting effectively to changes in the management within the organization. Finally, a conclusion summarizing the highlights of the discussion and the reflexive analysis of the author is presented. Change Management Definition and importance. Change management is basically defined as the formulation and assimilation of change in a methodical process. The major objective of change management is the introduction of innovative means and systems in the work organization. Businesses must normally undergo change in order to evolve to a higher level of for instance, stability, management or production. Appointing a new head officer, for example, can greatly enhance his subordinates based on his management principles and personality. Adding a new member in the organization or reconstructing an old company program are called smaller versions of change and are significantly different from that of change management. The scope of organizational change is much wider as compared to minor company changes. This may include changing the company's mission, reforming business operations, application of new technologies, major group efforts, or adoption of new programs. Usually, the organization is encouraged on settling on change management due to external influences, usually termed as the environment (Nickols, 2004). Thus, change management can alternately be defined as the response of different business to changes brought about by environmental influences in which organizations have minimal or absolutely no control over. Organizational change is part of and a result of struggles between contradictory forces, also change management practice is related with endeavoring to manage their competing demands. To understand why and how to change organizations, it is first necessary to understand their structures, management and behaviour. According to Burnes (1996) these systems of ideas are crucial to change managemen

The Concepts of Advertising and Public Relations Essay

The Concepts of Advertising and Public Relations - Essay Example The targeted public is not necessarily part of any given consumer base. However, the practice of influence, encouragement, or influence still plays a fundamental role as far as public relations are concerned. In essence, public relations work towards effective and efficient management of the underlying communication between an organization and its targeted publics (Wilcox, Glen, Philip, & Warren, 2003). In light of the above definitions, advertising and public relations are essentially intertwined, but they still have their operational differences in actual practice. Advertising, which makes use of marketing communication, strives to influence consumer behaviour and perceptions towards given products and/or services (Chia & Synnott, 2012). In so doing, the result is to sell and at the same time convince the consumer to buy. While modes of advertising vary from one consumer target to another, the common denominator is that advertising is designed to influence consumer attitude. According to Chia and Synnott (2012), Clow and Baack, Means-End theory, and Leverage Points are critical models upon which advertising is practised. Before buying, consumers move through progressive steps of decision making before choosing a product or service.  

Introduction to Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Introduction to Management Accounting - Essay Example In this project the various motivational theories have been discussed. The impact of motivation on budgets has also been discussed with the help of empirical evidences. The concept of been budgeting and beyond budgeting has also been discussed in the light of motivation and its implication on the budgeting. Theories of motivation The term motivation was derived from the word mover which is a Latin word and means to move. Motivation can also be referred to the word motive which can be described as an objective which makes a person move on a particular direction. Motivation can be defined as a process by which a person directs all his efforts persistently to attain his goal. As per Robbins motivation includes three things they are intensity, persistence and direction. Intensity signifies the level of effort given, direction channelizes that effort into organizational benefit and persistence signifies the time period through which one gives the effort continuously (Robbins, Judge and Sa nghi, 2010, p.71). There are various theories of motivation among them the most important ones are mentioned below:- Maslow’s need hierarchy motivational theory: The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs motivational theory is the oldest motivational theory. ... The physiological needs and safety needs are considered as lower order needs and the need for self esteem, social and self actualization are known as higher order needs. The physiological needs include the basic needs which are required for survival like need for food, water, shelter etc. The safety need signifies the need for being protected from any type of physical or mental harm. Once these two needs are satisfied then the individual tries to satisfy the social needs. This type of need signifies the need of friendship, belongingness or being accepted by the society. This is the third need of the hierarchy. Once the social needs are satisfied the individuals strive for esteem needs which signifies the need to be respected, having recognition in the society, status etc. The last need of the hierarchy is the need for self actualization. The managers have to identify the level of need which the individual is having and then motivate the person to fulfil that need or the need beyond t hat level (Brooks, 2007, p.55). McGregor theory of X and Y: McGregor gave the motivational theory as the theory of X and Y. As per theory X the individual are classified as being lazy and unwilling to work on their own. These individuals are driven by the lower order need that is the needs of existence and the security needs. To make this type of individuals persons work coercion should be practiced. The theory X considers the negative trait of the individuals. On the other hand theory Y considers the positive traits of the individuals. As per theory Y individual are active and enjoys their work in the organization as any other work like their hobbies. These persons are driven

Iters 234 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Iters 234 - Essay Example She would first demonstrate stringing the beads to the children, then allow children to string beads on as they please. The teacher should make comments as the children play, such as "How many beads do you have so far?" or "What color beads did you use?". These questions are a good way to get an idea of a childs knowledge base. This activity meets the ITERS requirement because the stringing of the beads helps strengthen fine motor control and knowledge of colors and numbers is reinforced, which contributes to academic readiness. In this activity, the teacher would set out several knob puzzles on a table and allow children to come to the table as a free choice center. At first, the teacher should play with a puzzle, to model for the children. Then, she should let the children play with the puzzles. If children get frustrated, the teacher may show the child how to turn a puzzle piece around, but she should not do it for the child. This activity meets the ITERS requirement because it strengthens fine motor control and helps develop memory skills, which contributes to academic readiness. Before the activity, the teacher will need to make the dough and refrigerate it, so that it can be firm for the activity. This activity is best to do with individuals or small groups (2 to 3 children). The teacher should allow each child to make a sculpture, then put the sculptures on a baking sheet. Once the children have finished sculpting, their creations can be baked into tasty snacks at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-10 minutes. This activity meets ITERS standards because it is an open ended activity that allows them to express themselves creatively. This is a two part activity, best done with two children or one child at a time. In the first part, the teacher takes each childs handprint in green paint, on the bottom center of the white paper. In the second part of the activity, the teacher allows the child to finish

Leadership and change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership and change - Assignment Example I exhibit a high level of confidence in situations that require leadership. I have confidence in my ability to deliver exceptional results from any situation. My confidence complements my decision-making skills especially in situations that need quick and real-time decisions. I have the ability to use the available resources in any task to deliver outstanding outcomes. I show a high level of organization when accomplishing leadership roles. In all situations, I try to plan and to apply a high level of order during all tasks. When planning, I set ambitious yet achievable goals that help to create an optimal level of operation and diligence. As a leader, I display flexibility in all situations. Being flexible helps to change strategies and plans whenever unexpected problems or challenges crop up. Flexibility helps me to adapt to uncomfortable environments or situation. Being flexible is useful when using feedback and new information to improve or change processes or policies. I apply a high level of fairness and equality when handling the people I lead. I make sure that all people are treated with respect despite their roles or position. Finally, I have the ability to encourage and motivate other people to work towards a common goal. My weakness during situations of leadership is that I have poor negotiation skills. During negotiations, I usually fail to recognize some factors that have a huge bearing on the process and the final outcomes. I have problems handling presentations.

Same Sex Marriages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Same Sex Marriages - Essay Example This paper evaluates how same sex marriages have broken down the general patterns of the family unit. Same Sex Marriages A family is the basic unit of society and it comprises of individuals, related by blood or marriage. Basically family comprises of husband, wife and the children. However, changes in social dynamics such as death, divorce, different sexual preferences and remarriage has created different combinations of families, such as single parent, same sex and blended families. Consequently, the traditional nuclear family is just one of the many types of families in the society. Therefore, the definition of the family has changed and is amorphous, comprising of any group of people living together, protecting each other and supporting one another in life (Wilson 29) From time immemorial, a family, involving the marriage of woman and a man has been an institution that preserves social and cultural values associated with procreation (Wald 383). This implies that a marriage forms the foundation of the values or norms that ensures that human life is transmitted from one generation to the next successfully. In the process, it ensures that the life of the child is nurtured to maturity, inculcating the same values to ensure the perpetuation of the human race. Therefore, it is through heterosexual marriage that the society duly recognizes the association of two individuals charged with the responsibility of transmitting human life, nurturing and protecting it to mature and responsible individuals. It is therefore through institutionalization of heterosexual marriage that the present and future of human race is secured. Hence, heterosexual marriage is the epitome of life and it demonstrates the respect that humanity has for life. Same sex marriage undermines the ability of a relationship to procreate and perpetuate the human race and hence it changes the meaning of a family. In addition, same sex marriage undermines the very essence of the family of withholding an d transmitting family values along the generations. According to Meezan and Rauch (104), marriage entails the recognition of a couple’s relationship and their commitment to one another in the public domain. The recognition of heterosexual marriage in the public domain is intended to enforce the reproductive function of the union to protect and promote the well-being of the resulting family. Therefore, in a convectional society, a marriage is not recognized just because it entails a union of two consenting adults, but for the above-mentioned purposes. The recognition and institutionalization of the same sex marriage is primarily motivated by individualism or egoism of the concerned couples and society at large. It is the epitome of selfishness, where the future of human race is sacrificed at the altar of egoism, contrary to the very essence of family. Ordinarily, a family is founded on the purest form of commitment, love and dedication to each other’s welfare. Selfless sharing of both moral and material resources for the benefit of all people involved without reservation forms the foundation of successful family and humanity (Maria et al 1044). It is apparent that same sex marriage, with all its purported benefit of ensuring all people enjoy their happiness falls short of these fundamental requirements. Giving birth to children, parenting and providing for them until they become independent is one of the many ways that

Theory in Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Theory in - Research Paper Example In essence, the development of nursing theory relies on the amount and type of research that has been conducted in this field (Fitzpatrick & Wallace, 2006). In the nursing profession, there are many theories that help explain clinical occurrences, thus, helping nurses during practice. 2. Relationship between Nursing Theory and Research Hall’s theory of core, care, and cure is one of the theories that have contributed greatly towards successful nursing practice (Fitzpatrick & Wallace, 2006). Care is about the pro-active bodily care given to patients, which leads to good patient-nurse relationships. Core, on the other hand, involves the use of communication to get information from the patient about their health status. Finally, Fitzpatrick & Wallace (2006) state that the element of cure involves the administration of medicine and other forms of cure that are necessary for the patient’s wellbeing. In this theory, therefore, nursing is involved with attending to the person, through communication, taking care of the body through hands-on attention, and combating the disease through medical procedures involving drugs and other forms of treatment. ... Nursing theories are useful to practitioners in terms of providing descriptions, explanations, and predictions for clinical events. However, circumstances do not always allow people to exercise all these recommendations, causing diseases and injuries to occur. When this happens, nursing intervention is required to help the patient regain good health. In this theory, the nurse establishes a good relationship with the patient and helps them coordinate their daily activities so as to re-establish proper healthcare. Analyzing the contributions that the two theories make to nursing practice, it is evident that none of theories can provide the basis for research on its own. While Orem teaches about how nurses can facilitate self-care, Hall is more focused on how overall care should be provided by nursing professionals systematically. This goes to show that nursing should be based on a number of theories, in order to come up with comprehensive results. 3. Definition of Terms A case study is a methodological research conducted on particular entities, over a specific amount of time, with the aim of solving a problem and demonstrating a given hypothesis. Ethnography is a type of research conducted in order to investigate how human beings behave in their natural setting. It analyses such aspects as culture, behavior, and norms, which influence human behavior. As a research method, grounded theory deals with a study of how social interactions among people contribute to the formation of meaning to certain aspects of life. This theory aims at analyzing which particular processes within the society affect the majority, and what those processes are. Phenomenology is a study of

Evaluation for cake bases Essay Example for Free

Evaluation for cake bases Essay In this project my aim was to produce a gift cake that could be mass produced and sold in a supermarket, in order to do this I had to research novelty cakes that are currently been sold in supermarkets. From the research I found that the target audience were usually children and occasionally adults. The most commonly used cake base was Madeira sponge, and buttercream and jam where used as an adhesive. I also found that the cake shapes were usually simple shapes e. g. circular, square, and rectangular. The novelty cakes were mainly covered and decorated in fondant icing. Serving size for the gift cakes were normally 12 servings. The information I collected helped me to produce my gift cake because it gave me a guideline and indication of what my gift cake should be similar to. In class we then researched different cake bases, so we could find the best to fit our needs, in the test the Madeira sponge best fit our requirements because it was the strongest base out of the ones we tested, it also had the longest shelf life. The flavour and texture of the cake were appropriate for my cake base. From the research above I wrote a design specification stating what my cake should be similar to. In my design specification I decided my cake to be a Christmas theme; I chose to target my novelty cake at children. The decoration on my novelty cake was based on flat relief because if the cake were to be mass produced it would be difficult to manufacture 3D models, I made the decision to use fondant icing to cover and decorate my cake because I a lot more manageable then royal icing. The design I chose to use for the decoration on my gift cake fitted my specification of the Christmas theme and aiming it at children perfectly. My novelty cake was designed to serve between 3-4 people. If I were to sell my cake in a supermarket I would have priced it at about i 4. 98. Originally I was going to use a layer of marzipan because it is a traditional Christmas cake covering for fruit cake, however seen as my design was targeted at children I decided against using a fruit cake base and used a Madeira sponge base, which didnt need covering with marzipan. Once I had made my product I piped royal icing around the bottom of the cake to add detail to my design. Overall I think my design was successful due to the research and testing I carried out. Throughout the practical lesson I was extremely organised because I knew exactly what to do, I had planned everything accurately, the correct equipment, instructions on what to do in which order and how long it should take to do. The new skills I learnt were how to use the creaming method for a cake base, which is very useful. The covering of the cake was complicated, but I was careful and made sure no crumbs got on the fondant icing, I used the palm of my hands and lifting the icing and smoothing it down to get a clean, smooth finish. For the decoration on my gift cake I used my hands to roll and flatten objects, I also used a special cutter to cut out Christmas trees to stick around the edge of my cake. My gift cakes appearance was exactly how I had planned. My product was a circular cake with Christmas theme with a Rudolf face on the top, which fitted nicely with the target audience being children. The colour of the fondant icing I used matched the Christmas theme brilliantly. I decorated my cake very neatly so it looked professional. The cake was quite small I would have liked it to be bigger but unfortunately due to production restrictions. On the whole I think my cake looked like a great Christmas cake for children that you could defiantly mass produce and sell in a supermarket. My product looked very appetising so I sampled my cake I recorded its sensory qualities. I found that my gift cake was very sweet, slightly crumbly, rich in flavour, quite creamy and moist. The cake had a pale crumb with an even variation. In my opinion the cake tasted great and looked great. Success! If I made this cake again, I would improve my cake mixture, it was very nice, but I think it could have been improved slightly by adding more butter to the mixture. I would consider spending more time on covering my cake in buttercream to use as an adhesive because on my plan I didnt think it would take as long as it actually did take in the practical lesson. Despite that my cake was tasty and I did manage to complete the task in time. I think I was particularly good at icing the cake because I have some practice at it. I was very organised and I used the lesson time appropriately. The quality of my planning and research was quite good; however I would have liked to have spent more time on it to achieve a better grade. In the future I think I need to improve on my annotation skills and understand fully what the task in hand is. I have learnt a lot about gift cakes throughout this project, especially about different cake bases. In conclusion, my main aims for this project were to produce a Christmas gift cake targeted at children; I also aimed to complete my paper work to the highest standard possible. I feel I did not meet my aim to complete my work to my highest standard this was because sometimes I didnt have enough time to complete the work to the standard I would have liked because of having work to complete from other subjects, so I had to rush my work a bit in order to complete all my work. However my organisation skills are very good, and I put a lot of effort into this project. I believe I have met my design brief, and my cake certainly did.

In trinidad and tobago the spiraling crime situation

In trinidad and tobago the spiraling crime situation Introduction In Trinidad and Tobago the spiraling crime situation has been committed predominately by young males. This study focuses on the relationship between the violence in schools and the crime situation in the wider society in Trinidad. By curbing school violence it will greatly reduce the criminal activities occurring in society. Studies have shown that young minds are easier to mould rather than adult minds. This strategy is a proactive measure in the reduction in the level of crime in society. Violence in schools has been a reflection of on the level of crime in the society in Trinidad. Early research has shown that Trinidad was a crime free country, a paradise, where crime was not a concern. Today, crime is the number one problem which faces the government and people of Trinidad and Tobago. The escalating crime rate in the country affects the economy (investments, business, tourism), society well being and safety. Violence in school was not seen as a contributing factor for crime among male students. The point in focus is the supervision of young male secondary students from the age of twelve to seventeen (12-17) years which is lacking at their homes and at schools over the years. Review of literature School violence in Trinidad have become a serious problem with most recent out breaks of violence among rival schools in El Dorado especially where weapons such as guns or knives are involved. It incorporates violence among school students as well as physical attacks by students on the school staff members. The latest incident of school violence in Trinidad was in November where two secondary school students were stabbed to death by fellow students on separate occasions. Four students from the age of twelve to seventeen (12-17) years from secondary schools are in police custody at present for these murders. Due to the escalating crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago the Government seeks to identify and implement both proactive and reactive strategies in combating crime. By analyzing the lives of male criminals and their physiological development at the age of twelve to seventeen (12-17) years we can minimize the likelihood of them becoming criminals. By analyzing the students family situations, their discontentment with education, parental involvement, the physiological influence by violence in the media and effect of poverty we can determine the likelihood of students becoming violent. Many of them are from single parent families most often without fathers and with working mothers. A recent study suggest that Teens from single-parent or stepparent homes are more likely to commit a school crime (possess, use or distribute alcohol or drugs; possess a weapon; assault a teacher, administrator or another student) than teens from intact homes. (Orr 41) The current Euro-centric education system does not provide young people with the imperative paraphernalia, discipline and self awareness to survive in the world today. After many years, some children in the public schools are allowed to pass through the school system without gaining a proper education. However, these students find themselves as a social drain on the economy being unemployed, unaccepted and unsuited to society. These persons have a lack of self confidence and find themselves in a total failure syndrome with no way out and nowhere to turn. They in turn hate the education system that did this to them. In their limited reasoning capability they feel that revenge is the only way of curbing their downfall and resorts to violent behavior. Patricia Neufeld conducted an experiment proving that parent involvement causes the reduction of aggression in students to become violent. The experiment concluded that parental involvement was positively correlated with positive student attitudes towards schools and negatively correlated with problem behaviors such as school violence and aggression (Neufeld). Parents who are aware of how their children feel about school can assist them in solving the problems that they may be facing before these children become violent (Neufeld). A child whose parents are readily available for him/her is less likely to hold resentment towards their parents, and take their aggression out on classmates at school. Parents need to be more involved in their childrens lives and become familiar with their feelings to decrease the animosity that their children feel towards them, so that anger is not brought to school the environment. Violence in schools has risen from one-on-one hand fights for personal disagreements to all-out, deadly weapon assaults on innocent lives for no good reasons. This is due to the effects of the society, media content, video games and other factors, especially movies and television. The violence shown on recent movies portrays gruesome acts by criminal minds. This is in such detail that we feel and see all angles of the crime. The news media broadcast murders, serious crimes and other heinous activities on a daily basis. These broadcast has become commonplace in the everyday society as it is so frequent. Forty years ago a fist-fight between two individuals was an uncommon and extreme violent act in schools. However, at the present time extreme violence is shown so prominently and graphically every day, however, the escalation in school violence by the impressionable youth who look and copy from it should follow that direction. The effects of poverty on the student would enable them to commit acts of violence on order to appease the lack of financial stability at home. Students that generally grow up in repressed areas such as Betham Gardens in Trinidad may be likely to commit acts of violence. Studies have shown that the lower socioeconomic class is more likely to engage in criminal activity than those who are financially well-off. The economic inequality which exists in Trinidad is a major contributor to numerous criminal issues. Methodology This study would be based on the effects of violence among young male secondary school students from the age of twelve to seventeen (12-17) years in Trinidad and the tendency to commit crimes. It would involve a cross sectional survey. Eligible schools within the eight counties of Trinidad would form the sample frame. There are one hundred and four secondary schools with approximately twelve hundred children each, approximately half are males between the ages of twelve to seventeen (12-17) years. One in every three schools from each county would be chosen randomly. The police reports within the time frame of four years would be examined on the students that are being profiled. Preliminary Studies The Curepe Junior Secondary School was selected as the pilot test and of the survey. It was found that twenty six persons had violent conduct record at the school. Seven of them were arrested by the police custody two for serious crimes and the other five for petty crimes. County Number of Schools Number of Schools selected St. David St. George St. Andrew Caroni Nariva Mayaro Victoria St. Patrick 3 34 6 20 6 7 12 16 1 11 2 6 2 2 4 5 Total 104 33 The figures given above are used to illustrate the sampling method that would be applied. The thirty three schools (33) were chosen using the stratified random sampling method. The instrument that would be used for the survey is a questionnaire, police criminal records and schools records from the Ministry of Education. The questionnaire would contain questions on age, ethnicity, family status, area of residence, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, drug use, gang affiliation, educational status and potential aggression. All male secondary school students between the ages of twelve to seventeen (12-17) years old with records of violent conduct from January 2005 to January 2009 would be surveyed by way of questionnaire. These students names would be cross reference with that of the Police Criminal Records to indicate the number of persons involve in serious crimes. These students will be selected from the school records at the Ministry of Education with permission from the Minister of Education responsible for all schools in Trinidad, also from the Minister of National Security responsible for violence and crime. The ethical issues raised were that the privacy of students record was reviewed in order to carry out the exercise. The parents of students, students and principals of schools were assured that the information would be kept confidential by way of a sworn document. However, person who refused to take part in the survey and persons who do not return the questionnaire will simply not be considered. The information collected through the survey would be inputted into a computer system where the statistical analysis will be performed using a computer program (SPSS). This program would give the results which would show the relationship between violence among young male secondary students from the age of twelve to seventeen (12-17) years and the escalated crime situation present in Trinidad. The results obtained from this analysis would be use to see if the hypothesis stands of should be rejected. Recommendations and Conclusion Based on the results obtained from the study, conclusions can be made with respect to the relationship between violence among young male secondary students from the age of twelve to seventeen (12-17) years and the escalated crime situation present in Trinidad. This study can be extended to the wider Caribbean. Survey Questionnaire -Please tick the box corresponding to your response: -Please write on line space provided. Name of School†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Name†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Age:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date of Birth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Ethnicity: African Indian Chinese Mix Other How much quality time do your parents/ guardians spend with you? A lot Fair amount Minimal None Living With: Both Parents Single Parent (Father) Single Parent (Mother) Grandparents Step parents Living Standard: Rich Middleclass Poor Do you: Smoke Cigarettes Use Drugs Drink Alcohol Are you affiliated with a gang: Yes No Have you ever been arrested by the police Yes No Is there domestic violence at your home: Yes No What is your standard of school work: Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor How quickly do you become aggressive: Easily Moderate Rarely On a scale of 1 to 10 how do you rank the stress level experienced daily at home? On a scale of 1 to 10 how do you rank the stress level experienced daily at school? Have any of your parents or other family members been involved in serious crimes? Yes No Bibliography Donald Orr, Premature Sexual Activity as an Indicator of Psychosexual Risk, Pediatrics, 87:2, Feb. 1991, 141-7, as cited in Free Teens Deciding Your Future multi-media presentation. Neufeld, Patricia School Violence Finding Solutions. www.123HelpMe.com. 25 Nov 2009 Harris, Chyrise â€Å"Alternatives to Profiling in Preventing SchoolViolence. †http://writing.colostate.edu/gallery/talkingback/v2.1/harris.htm. 25 Nov 2009

Components Of Material Management Construction Essay

Components Of Material Management Construction Essay The decision to purchase starts with the decision to build or to produce depending on the type of product an organization produces. The construction industrys product is a tangible structure that can either be residential house, school, hospital, office building, recreation center, sport complex, or roads, bridges, dams, sewers, railways, airport runways, pipe lines, etc. To produce the end result of the effort to construct, different resources are required by an organization. These resources are manpower, money, machineries, and most importantly material. It is estimated that 60-70 percent of a project direct costs accounts for material cost. Therefore material procurement is an important aspect of every construction work, and worth planning earlier when the decision to construct starts. Planning material procurement starts with identifying and estimating the amount of materials needed, evaluating the availability of the material in market, selecting the reliable source for obtainin g the material, and answering questions on the problem of transportation and storage of the material on site throughout the construction period of the project. This is to avoid unwanted or extra cost incurred as a result of poor material management process. Material management function starts from office where likely constraints associated with every type of resource needed to build the prospective project can be sorted out. It further extends to construction site where practical implementation of the plans and schedules developed during the initial planning stage of the material procurement is needed. Construction site layout of temporary facilities such as office, staff canteen, security shed, material stores, position of crane, and temporary walkways largely affects the movement of workers and material delivery vehicles. And the proposed position of permanent structures within the project site cannot be affected because of temporary facilities. This put a challenge on the project manager who must study the activities likely to happen on site and provide solution to anticipated risk and inconveniences that arises due to poor arrangement of site temporary facilities. With careful positioning of temporary site facilities, material deliv ery can be easier, accident can be minimized, access to material of work can be faster and ultimately the speed of construction process can be increased. 2.0 Literature review on material management The procurement of material of work is the reason for which an organization should maintain a competent material procurement department. The primary function of this department is to plan the quantities of the materials needed at a particular time, identify the source of purchasing the materials and initiate the process, planning of inventory and control, ensures quality control measures are taken, and maintain a steady flow of material to avoid shortage during the construction period. Other function of the department includes coding and classification of material, maintaining good record of the movement of material right from delivery to storage and use, and observing the current trends in purchase system and market availability of construction materials. 2.1 Components of Material Management Contractors are bound to cut expenditures and make even more profit if adequate attention is given to material and equipment planning, scheduling and control. Therefore profitable contracting requires sound material management. It is found that bout 60-70 percent of a project direct cost is incurred on material and equipment. Construction projects are undertaken to finish within a specific time, cost, and quality. To this end number of people, material, machineries and equipment are needed collectively to tackle the individual activities that together make up the whole project. Although projects are classified into two; Infrastructure and Building projects both requires a common resource depending on the size and complexity of the project. On a large building project such as multi-storey building as well as highways construction, the typified equipment used are machine excavators, heavy bull dozer and number of trucks for carting away surplus excavated material, and transporting aggr egates, cement, blocks, reinforcement bars, timber, etc. to the project site. Other materials used in building type project are sanitary appliances, surface finishes such as marble, granite, ceramic tiles, plaster board, paints, etc. Material management is composed of series of activities that must be collectively identified, planned, organized, implemented, and monitored and controlled. These are:- Purchasing Handling and Transportation Receiving and Inspection Storage and Warehousing. Purchasing: When the need for material arises, the material procurement or purchasing department makes an inventory of the material, sometimes refer to as Material Indent and send to the selected supplier. This is termed as Purchase order/ Material Enquiry. Initially, the suppliers quotation had been received and reviewed by the purchasing department. It is also the sole responsibility of the department to negotiate price with suppliers and select the most reliable one in terms of quality of product, delivery time, and lowest purchase cost. Upon receiving purchase order from the contractor, the supplier makes available all the materials in the correct quantity and quality before transporting to the contractor who receives the goods in his own store. The materials supplied to the contractor are often accompanied by consignment notes indicating the types and quantity of the material loaded, and usually this happen within a short time having confirming before placing the order that the materials needed are available in the suppliers store. However in some cases, the contractor has to follow up order especially if time is against the project. This is known as Expediting by Contractor. Expediting can be done through phone calls, email, fax or any means of communication available. Material Handling and Transportation: Difficulties can be encountered with handling and transporting materials to the project site especially large fragile materials such as interior glass partitions. Handling materials should start from the point of uploading onto transporting vehicle through maneuvering of the vehicle around busy area to have to reach the project site, and downloading and storage. It further extends to proper positioning in the store till the period when the material can be incorporated into structure or component. Material handling and transportation procedures are not limited to fragile items only. Long and heavy materials such as steel column, galvanized steel angle iron for steel trusses, reinforcement bars, precast concrete components, bricks/blocks and cement bags are almost first line items needed onsite, and deserves careful handling both offsite and onsite. Some materials applicable to a particular trade may be required at a time when other trades are busy working. For example aggregates can arrive at the project site when steel fixers/iron benders are fabricating reinforcement bars. And the truck may have to pass across the iron workers before reaching the designated point of delivery. To avoid such an incident, the planners should take consideration of all materials likely to be required within the time other trade workers are working. This ensures smooth interaction between workers of different professionalism onsite. Receiving and Inspection: Different types of materials of work are being delivered on site prior to construction work begin or as the work proceeds. Some materials are fragile such as glass panel, asbestos, ceiling board, wooden and plastic door panels etc. while others are of metallic or aluminum nature e.g. door and window frames, steel columns, reinforcement bars, burglar proof etc. Other materials that are directly tipped onsite include aggregates, bricks/blocks, and cement. Whatever type of material needed onsite must be received and ascertained by site manager or the clerk of work upon arrival of delivery. Materials are prone to breakage and or damage in the cause of transportation. Similarly shortage can occur mistakenly as materials are being uploaded from the suppliers store. However, as a precaution to ensure quality control, proper record of the number of materials received and inspection of their qualities is necessary. This ensures security of expenditure since shortage and broken items are necessarily wastage. Efficient material record also documents the material movement in and out of store for use. It shows the material destination from the store including date and signature of the receiving person e.g. masonry foreman. Three important documents received by the store officer are copy of purchase order from the purchasing department, suppliers advice document, and consignment notes. This enables the store officer to organize and plan for clearances of material. Where materials received are from internal divisions e.g. from contractors central store to the site store the document involved are usually Material transfer and Return to store Notes. Storage and Warehousing: Competent and experience staffing is needed to perform the activities of storing materials. Although aggregate materials may not require warehousing, some materials such as sanitary appliances, glass panels, door and window frames, electrical equipment such as air conditions, ceiling fans, room heaters, water heaters, and interior finishing materials such as floor tiles, wall tiles, carpets and rugs etc. requires storage within an enclosed storeroom to safeguard the material against loss, theft or pilferage, damage, etc. Nevertheless, in some cases material deterioration may occur in the cause of keeping materials in store. For example heavy materials placed over a fragile material can result to breakage. Therefore a designated operation of store personnel that takes into account downloading deliverables, good positioning and proper arrangement in the store should be maintained. Also good storage practice ensures that materials to be used early are kept close r to the store entrance for ease of access to the material in order to avoid displacing other materials before reaching the needed item. And frequent rotation of materials around storeroom should be avoided as it leads to breakage or damage of materials. 2.2 Objectives of Material Management The goal of operating any business entity is to make profit over the goods or services it offers. In this respect, construction business is not an exception. The goal of the investment made on plants and machineries, expenditure on material of work and payment of staff and lobour wages is to make a reasonable profit at the end of every project work. At the inception of every project work, there is gradual absorption in the use of materials to form components. The components makes up a structure and the structure makes up the whole building. However the total quantity of all the materials needed to build a project must not be obtained at hand before work starts, rather the materials will be supplied daily or periodically as scheduled by the project management team. This requires efficient planning of inventories, effective buying and purchasing strategy, good storage and inventory control, timely supply and distribution of materials, and maintaining the harmonious relationship between the supplier and the customer. 2.3 Function of Material Management The function of material management can be divided broadly into primary and secondary functions. Primarily it aims at planning material of work required, purchasing which includes selecting the reliable supplier, ensuring the availability of material at the designated point, and ascertaining and maintaining the steady flow in material supply. The secondary function has to do with proper recording of material through coding and classifications of the materials to ensure proper record are kept both for receiving and using of material. The other secondary functions of the material management deals with the assessment of difficulties in handling and transportation of the material. This challenges the project management team with need to adopt systematic implementation of their plans at all level of the management organization. Ultimately it requires strict monitoring and control. 2.4 Problem of Material Management There are number of problem associated with material management. The problems may be associated with structure of an organization, storage space requirement, delivery problem, lack of security, market availability of materials, legislation etc. These problems are examined in details below: Organization Structure: Good organization structure that properly defines roles and responsibility of the individuals at all level is likely to support material management purpose. The coordination and communication between estimating department, research and development department, purchasing department, and plant and machineries department should be maintained at highest level. Where there is poor coordination and communication, internal memo/notes cannot reach an intended destination. For example when there is plant breakdown e.g. excavator is not working due to mechanical problem and the plant and machineries department did not alert engineering department about the problem until the time when soil excavation is needed. Or quantity of materials such as cement is low in the store without informing the purchasing department by the store officer. Storage Space: Large number of materials is required depending on the magnitude of the project. And the term storage space implies both enclosed and open space that can be used to keep materials of work safe until the need for it arise. All materials need protection against many threats such as pilferage, theft, damage or loss. Material such as aggregates, bricks/blocks may not require enclosed storage protection than proper outdoor positioning and stacking. However, other materials such as reinforcement bars, steel columns, timber, and galvanized steel for trusses must be protected against contact with water in order to avoid rust/corrosion. The size of proposed building may occupy 60% of the total project site, enabling the remaining 40% to be used for temporary access and site facilities. In such case, the planners must arrange for periodic delivery of certain materials to avoid cluttering the space, and maintain constant operation to keep the surrounding area clean. Problem of Delivery: Not withstanding material order is placed early, a situation exist in which material can not arrive on time. This may be due to a problem on the side of the supplier. And certain specialized materials may not be available within the proximity of the construction site. The material must be transported possibly from another city e.g. hot rolled or cold rolled materials. Eventually worker must be left redundant and time is being wasted. Security Problem: Security of materials onsite is of paramount importance. Gradual pilferage and theft are issues of concern to the project managers. Loss of materials through pilferage and theft represent financial lost to the project as a whole, and in the end it increases the cost of the project. Materials are prone to be stolen despite being in store. And some materials as earlier mentioned may not require indoor storage. Therefore, a well designated vigilante must be maintained 24 hours onsite. Availability of Materials on Market: Steady flow of materials throughout project duration is among the primary function of material management. However, this can be affected by market availability of the material of work. Occasionally manufacturers can run out of raw material or be affected by government policy to the extent that production may have to be slow or suspended. Unavailability of materials of work on market can affect material management by either increasing competition in material purchase or delay the general work progress. Legislation: Domestic manufactures are not likely capable to satisfy construction industrys need for raw materials. This is true no matter how develop a country is, certain products must be imported from another country. Example of these materials can be specialist hot rolled items, structural members such as steel I section columns, galvanized steel angle iron, air conditions, heaters, wall tiles, floor tiles, etc. and government policy on importation can affect the flow or availability of material on market. Another example can be seen in the price of labour to be used for government projects. Construction labour costs are divided into two; government price, and the price determined by other labour unions such as bricklayers union, steel fixers union, etc. All labour cost whether union cost or government cost can be influenced by the act of legislative committee who are responsible for monitoring and controlling the aspect in a particular country. 3.0 Relations of the Existing site layout to position of Material/Site facilities Construction sites are bound to face trouble not only technically related, also management related difficulties results into unwanted situation that affect time and cost. Site-based management can make a significant improvement in the cost and time saving during the construction process without involving mass of additional work. Among the important tasks of site management is the site layout planning. Without effective and systematic approach to site planning, extensive time loss and cost overruns could result especially in large projects, where the number of manpower, subcontractors, and equipment involved are high. A detailed planning of the site layout and location of temporary facilities can enable the management to make considerable improvement through minimizing travel time, waiting time, and increasing workers morale by showing better and safer work environment. Existing Site Layout: Contrary to the above idea, the existing site layout shows concrete batching plant, timber, materials 1, material 2, temporary building, waste materials, reinforcement, scaffold store, store 1, store 2, and temporary road with little information to fully identify the use of the facilities. It further located the concrete batching plant quite away from any storage facility. Waste material is situated behind the temporary office. And finally the project site does not contain security room and toilet. The major short coming of the existing site layout is lack of proper definition of the site facilities, whether the store is for cement or tools, what sort of material can be stored in the facilities named Material, as both do not convey ideal information that indicates the type of materials to be stored. Assuming the current position of the temporary facilities is to be maintained, the lead time of concrete work must be slow due to large distance between the concrete batching plant and stores. There is proposed two units of 2-storey building as shown on the site layout, however no provision for tower crane that hoist materials of work to high rise area. Waste material facility should not be too far from the center where most construction activities takes place, this is true in order to encourage the site sanitarians in keeping the site free of scraps that can cause injuries e.g. cut off pieces of metal or timber, broken asbestos, long span aluminum roofing sheet, etc. The temporary walk ways in the existing site layout does not lead up to the spaces between both semi-detached and double storey twin buildings. Following rainfall, the surrounding site area is likely to become bog and muddy, thus inconveniencing traffic around the site. 4.0 Anticipated problems to be encountered on the existing site layout Most engineers have the impression that site planning can be undertaken simultaneously as the work proceeds day by day. It is important to know that condition of project site will be the condition in which workers live for the duration of the project. Thus, careful pre-planning is imperative. Since construction labour cost constitutes 30-40 percent of project total cost, it is important to realize that significant cost saving will be achieved if the labour force moves freely and quickly within the project site. With free and quick progress of labour force, large amount of work will be done in a day. Conversely, lack of free movement slows rate of production by obstructing the cycle time of material delivery to workers. 4.1 Anticipated Problem Strictly speaking, the existing site layout contradicts the general site management idea. Construction projects are to start on a specific date and end on a specific date. Consequently, individual activities in the project are given expected starting and finishing time. Unless the activities are on schedule, the project will not finish on the time it is expected to finish. And unless production is maintained at highest speed level, the individual activities would not meet the schedule. To maintain production at highest speed level, access to material of work must be uninterrupted. Interruption to material access is caused by different reason including the distance through which the material must pass before reaching the final production point. The following problems should be anticipated by the site manager:- Laydown Space: The site layout does not consider simple laydown space for materials such as aggregates, bricks/blocks, etc. which do not require enclosed space for storage. Also for materials which are arranged to be periodically brought to site such as pile for foundation and precast concrete components. If bored pile foundation is to be used for the double-storey building and the scheduled work force is that only 80 piles can be driven into the soil per day. There bound to be problem for space to stack these items upon delivery before they are used. Plant Equipment Wrongly Located: The concrete batching plant located far away from any storage facility indicates how far workers need to travel in order to bring material of work to the batching plant. The batching plant and the material stores are located in two opposite sides of the project boundary. This apparently increases the cycle time for the production of wet concrete mix. The ideal procedure for casting wet concrete should not suggest any delay in the production cycle which can be achieved by keeping all the materials needed closer to the batching plant. When materials are closer to production point, the number of labourers needed to be supplying the materials can be reduced because of the short cycle distance than they otherwise have to cover assuming the material is far away. Consequently, the amount of money that must be paid for lobour is reduced. Poor Location of Temporary Building/ Site Office: It is important to locate temporary site office closer enough to be able to monitor the site activities probably by looking through the window. However, it is equally important to locate the office where noisy construction activities can be avoided as much as possible. The location of the temporary office as shown on this existing site plan seem to be too close to construction activities especially vibration and sound produced by jetting down pile into the ground. Large magnitude of vibration and sound is produced during hammering pile down into the ground, and dust flew up when drilling and chiseling holes on concrete or wooden components. Thus the office is also too close that dust may be entering into the building as a result of such activities. Inadequate Space between The Existing Site Facilities: The existing facilities such as temporary building, reinforcement, scaffold store, waste material, material, and store are located too close to one another. The effect of this can be manifested by the need for material delivery to the store between waste material and materials. Locating site facility in a confined space do not allow delivery vehicle to reach the location of the facility. And in the extreme it results into double handling of the material by having to off-load temporarily before arranging for workers to move the material to its final destination. Double handling should be avoided as much as possible as it waste time, and often attracts petty charges which when accumulated can make a reasonable amount of money. Insecurity: The major problem to be faced by the site manager comes from the complete omission of the provision for site security shed. Materials, plant and equipment are never to be taken home by workers nor always brought from high rise areas down to store and locked up, and the next morning they are taken up again. This is tedious. It is a good practice if small electric tools such as drilling machine, welding machines can be left where they have been used today for instance on 2nd floor, and tomorrow the work continues without need for taking it up again. However, this can only be proven good practice if constant day and night security of the material is maintained in the construction site. Material pilferage by labourers is another reason for maintaining security on site. Omission of Staff Canteen: Notwithstanding workers are always busy onsite, provisions should be made for location of temporary staff canteen. Omission of this facility on this project site may cause workers to travel some distance for need of water, cigarette, mints, cake, etc. and when this happens, automatically the work is retarded. Lack of Temporary Toilet: The provision of this seemingly less important site facility is almost necessary in every project site. Site management personnel, visitors, members of statutory agencies, and workers are bound to require toilet to ease themselves of their demand. It is impracticable while work is on progress for a worker to seek to go back home or anywhere away from the project site for the need of toilet. Therefore temporary site toilet should be among the site planners focus when design temporary site facilities. 5.0 Proposed New Site Layout The architectural drawings of a project indicate among other things, the proposed position of the individual structures within the scope of the project work. Invariably, this position must be maintained and never to be altered because of the need for temporary site facilities such as material stores, security shed, staff canteen and toilets, site office, position of crane, etc. It is the project managers responsibility to examine the activities that take place in the cause of construction work and provide viable alternative that maintain the proposed position of the structures as well as proper location for the temporary site facilities. In achieving this, number of factors deserves consideration. These are lead time of individual activities on the project, ease of access to material of work, activity cycle time, raw material delivery, safety of workers, types of materials, and space requirement for laydown purpose and free interaction. Site Security Shed: Among the important site facilities is security shed as it provides shelter for site security personnel against weather. It can be constructed of timber, metal/aluminum, tent leather, and even masonry materials such as brick/block, and stone defending on the decision of the project management team. Security shed is almost provided in every type of building project whether it is office building, commercial building, school, hospital, etc. therefore it is advantageous to build the facility once and for all. Building security shed using temporary material like timber, metal etc. can be considered as waste of money and time since the temporary one must be replaced by the permanent structure to serve the same purpose at the end of the project work. The most suitable position for locating security facility is always by the main entrance of the building, since security personnel are to monitor any movement in and out thereby looking after the properties in and around the building. In this respect, site security building is no exception. Its position has to be by the site main entrance. And it should be properly sited to allow clear coverage of reasonable locations both left and right. Specifically to this project, the security building should be by the right side of the entrance. This is because the left side is a proposed double-storey structure, and can block proper view of the semi-detached structures at the opposite side due to double-storey height of the building. Conversely, positioning the facility at the right hand side enhances proper viewing of the facade of the double-storey, as well as reasonable view of the semi-detached structures. Material Store: There can be number of stores on site defending on the type of material to be kept in the store. Site material stores do not need to be located all in one position. The location has to be based on the type of material in the store, distance between the store and the point of using the stored items, and accessibility by the delivery vehicle. All material stores must be accessible to the material delivery van, and be close enough to ease difficulty in removing items out of the store. Inaccessibility of store location result into double handling a situation where materials need to be temporarily off-loaded before moving the same into the store. This is time consuming and attracts expenses. Waste Material Store: Waste is being generated in the course of executing works onsite. Therefore daily waste management should be designed and maintained throughout the project duration. Site waste can be broken stones, blocks/bricks, empty cartons, cut-off pieces of metal, aluminum, timber, etc. which is no longer needed or seen as valuable. Defending on the site managers decision, waste can be stored as salvaged items which can subsequently be sold for recycle purpose. However, not all onsite waste can be salvaged for recycling. Waste such as paper cartons and polythene e.g. for tiles, sanitary and electric appliances are best disposed up by taken them away to any refuse collection point nearby, since it is not needed for recycle. This type of waste may not require enclosed storage facility. A simple laydown waste collection point can be satisfactory before they are disposed-off. Only solid non-combustible waste e.g. cut-off metal as piling material, steel angle iron, steel sectio ns, rebar etc. can be stored in waste material facility before they are removed for recycling. The best practice for onsite waste collection is to collect the generated waste on daily basis just at the point it occurs. Since different trades are working at different places around the project site, it can be difficult to set a single point for waste collection. The waste collected from all points can be taken to central waste collection facility from where the accumulated wastes from all the project activities are moved out of the project site. For example, waste can be generated at 2nd floor, 3rd floor, 4th floor, and ground floor respectively. The waste collected at each floor should be packed and brought down to the central waste collection point. Like material store, the proper location for central waste collection should always be accessible by both vehicle and workers to increase morale in dumping and subsequent removal away from the project site. Scaffold Store: There are different types of scaffold designed to serve different purpose. These are independent tie scaffold, bird cage, slung scaffold, mobile tower scaffold, and putlog scaffold. The independent tie and bird cage scaffolds are specially designed for external works, covering from ground floor up to high rise areas to enable painting, plastering, glazing, and external electric work. They are mounted immediately on arrival, and once mounted do not need to be dismantled until the end of the project. Such scaffold does not need to be kept on site; ideally they can

McDonalds: Evolution of the Food Industry Essay -- Management

McDonald's: Evolution of the Food Industry History McDonald's has had a global impact on the food industry. McDonald's developed a revolutionary idea known today as fast-food. This impact began in 1930 when Maurice and Richard McDonald left New Hampshire seeking to make a fortune in Hollywood, started up a drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino. Unlike so many other food-service operations at the time, McDonald's came up with new ideas that turned the usual slow paced dinner into a finely tuned engine. McDonald's offered only a nine-item menu with burgers, French fries, shakes, and pies. They also eliminated seating, and used paper and plastic utensils instead of glass and porcelain. Like Henry Fords assembly line, McDonald's incorporated this idea into their food service, letting them serve hamburgers in less then sixty seconds. The menu was extensively cheaper then competitors which due to the above changes. Although the McDonald's business was doing well, it wasn't until 1954 when Ray Kroc saw the operation that it started to develop into the McDonald's of today. Ray Kroc was a fifty-two year old milk-shake machine salesman at the time and decided to check out McDonalds due to their odd order of eight milk shake mixers for one restaurant. Most of Kroc's customers purchased only one milk shake mixer, and a max of two. Kroc was curious to see what kind of operation needed the capacity to churn so many milk shakes. What Kroc saw that day in 1954 when he pulled up to McDonald's was like nothing he had ever seen. Kroc is quoted as saying "This had to be the most amazing merchandising operation I'd ever seen." Although the McDonald brothers were content with their restaurant, Kroc saw the future and where this idea ... ...'s now knows how important cleanliness is to customers in deciding where to eat. Another interesting look into the future of McDonalds is the ability to bring your laptop into the restaurant and surf the internet while you eat. This new technology brought by McDonald's is in hope of attracting new customers and building customer loyalty. The target of this move is aimed at the younger generation, and the business person on the go. McDonald's has already built a few of these innovative restaurants in early 2003. McDonald's has also opened a few of the innovative restaurants called McCafe. These new cafà © type shops will not resemble that of any other normal McDonalds. The customers will get to choose from premium coffees, muffins, pastries, bagels, and McMuffins. McDonalds believes that the McCafe will do well because of the popularity of McDonald's breakfast.

Taiwan Earthquake - The 9-21 Earthquake (September 21 1999) :: essays research papers

Taiwan Earthquake - The 9-21 Earthquake (September 21 1999) CNN: A special news report-This morning, there was an earthquake registering 7.6 on the Richter scale shaked Taiwan at 1:45am on September 21,1999. The epicenter is a mile under the ground in Nantou near Puli. There are many buildings crushed, and even a twelve floor-high rise building suddenly became a two floor- high rise building (the first to the sixth floors dipped into the underground, and the seventh to the twelfth floors went diagonally down and damaged the road.) As of press time the Disaster Management Center said 2,034 people were confirmed dead. Another 6,536 were injured and 2,308 were trapped, while 208 were still listed as missing. The number still increases, Taiwan has many earthquakes, and although most are centered under the sea and cause no damage. Some have brought disaster to the island, but this time is the biggest earthquake in Taiwanese history. Taiwanese call it the 9-21 earthquake because it happened on September 21 1999. I was at my work place, I had heard the news: there was a building crushed in Taipei because of a serious earthquake was registering 7.6 happened in Taiwan about an hour ago. I was so happy and careless because my entire family dose not live close to Taipei and I did not have any bad information about central Taiwan. During my lunch break, there was updating news from CNN station: the epicenter of this earthquake is in Nantou near Puli. My heart was stony and cold, after I knew the epicenter was in my grandmother’s hometown-Puli. Nantou County is approximately 200km south of Taipei, and it is the only place not around the ocean in Taiwan. There are only mountains around Nantou, and Puli is a small town in Nantou County. There are about two thousand people in Puli, and its wine, rice noodles, and beauty are the most famous things in Taiwan because Puli has very good and clean spring water, and the air quality is the top of the line- no pollution. Moreover Puli is a small town, and all the people in Puli are like a big family. People know everything in the town, and they knew me since I was born. It is a very different environment and experience in Puli than in America, and I love it very much. It was hard to believe that Mother Nature punished Puli and Taiwan so badly.

Lady Liberty

It was 1885 in New York City. A little boy named Frederick Bloomsmen was hurrying down the streets to get to his master's shop. â€Å"Mayhap if I hurry, I'll get to see Lady Liberty,† Frederick thought. But as he ran along, he heard the town clock strike 6:00. â€Å"Oh no! I've got to make haste!† Frederick said desperately. Frederick had been delivering a saddle to the cart builder and had spent too long talking to the cart builder's son. Slam! The door to his master's store opened and shut as Frederick ran in. â€Å"Where have you been† Mr. Ezra (for that was Frederick's master's name) roared. â€Å"Delivering the saddle, sir, just as you asked me to,† Frederick answered timidly. â€Å"Well, you're late!† Mr. Ezra boomed. It was finally Saturday, Frederick's day off. He ran down the streets, as if racing the wind to see who could get to Lady Liberty skeleton first. Suddenly, he stopped still, for in a shop window sat the loveliest carved figure of Lady Liberty herself! His eyebrows slid up. He ran into the shop. â€Å"Excuse me, sir, how much money is that figure of Lady Liberty?† Frederick asked. â€Å"Well laddie, it's worth 15 cents but I'm lowering the price to 10 cents.† â€Å"Ten cents,† Frederick's head rang out as he ran home, â€Å"Where can I get such a fortune?† The next Monday, Frederick had almost forgotten the figurine. â€Å"Mr. Ezra, sir, may I please have my wages?† â€Å"All right, lad, but only because you haven't been sassin' me.† He opened the cash register and dropped a nickle into Frederick's outstretched palm. Halfway there! Frederick's head seemed to yell out with joy. Now he thought about how pretty that figure would look on Mama's mantle. † I'll give it to her for her next birthday,† he said aloud. â€Å"What was that, boy?† Mr. Ezra said. â€Å"Nothing,† Frederick said quickly, blushing bright red. The next morning after his chores were done, Frederick ran to the shop where the figure of Lady Liberty sat, to see if she was still there. Phew! There it was, looking as gorgeous as ever. The next week, Frederick got his wages. Another nickle! He finally had 10 cents. But as he walked down the roads he thought, â€Å"What if they need just 10 more cents to finish the Statue of Liberty?† And so silently he headed for the donation box. He listened to the cling as the coins dropped into the box. As the months flew by, Frederick's birthday was drawing nearer. One day, as he was running down the streets to see the Statue of Liberty, a shopkeeper (actually the very one that carried the figurine of Lady Liberty) called out from his shop. â€Å"Frederick! Wait! I've got a birthday present for you!† So Frederick stopped and went inside the shop. The shopkeeper handed him a small box. â€Å"Open it,† he urged. As Frederick did so, his eyebrows slid up as his mouth went down. For there, beautifully arranged in a pile of white tissue paper, sat the figurine of Lady Liberty! Frederick felt dizzy with happiness as he left the shop. Mama's birthday came just as quickly as Frederick's had. Frederick re-wrapped Mama's birthday present. When the time came for her to open it, her mouth dropped in surprise. â€Å"Why Frederick, where did you get this?† she asked in bewilderment, â€Å"It's beautiful! I absolutely love it! I'll put it on the mantle.† Frederick had to tell her the entire story, which was similar to the one I have just finished telling you now.