An Introduction to Poetry X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia Flashcard

An Introduction to Poetry: X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia

Anne Frank Research Paper Example

Anne Frank Research Paper Example Anne Frank Paper Anne Frank Paper Anne Franks Life Social Studies, Literature, Language Arts November 23, 2013 Introduction Born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany, Annelies Marie Frank was a Holocaust victim and a famous diarist. Judging from her diary, she was a outgoing, spirited child that got in trouble frequently. Her father, Otto Frank, was a businessman while her mother, Edith, stayed home taking care of Anne and her older sister, Margot. Her sister, Margot, was three years older than her. Anne Franks family lived a tranquil life before the Nazis pervaded the land in World War II. After the Dutch surrendered to the Nazis, the Nazis demanded the Margot was to go to a work camp. The family then hid in the empty space of Otto Franks business company called the secret annex for two years in Amsterdam . 0n August 4, 1944, a German secret police officer accompanied by four Dutch Nazis stormed into the Secret Annex, arresting everyone that was hiding there. Anne Franks family was betrayed by an anonymous tip, still anonymous to this day. Anne and her sister was sent to a concentration camp, and died of typhus in the early springtime of March 1945. Anne Frank was only fifteen when she died, and Otto frank was the only survivor of his family. Anne Franks Diary On her thirteenth birthday, Anne Frank received a red diary as a present from her parents. A majority of her entries were addressed to an imaginary friend named Kitty. While her family spent two years hiding in the cramp and dark, Anne wrote her hopes and dreams onto the diary. Anne filled a notebook with quotes from her favorite authors, original stories and the beginnings of a novel about her time in the Secret Annex. After Anne and her sister passed away, Otto Frank, her father, read the diary that was kept safe by Miep Gies and made her diary into a book because it deeply inspired him. Her diary was the story of faith, hope, and love when all was in despair. It has now been translated to sixty-seven languages, and read by millions. Below is a quote that she has wrote in her diary. Its utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, ill destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more. Fun fact Through a 2009 effort by the Anne Frank Center USA, saplings from a chestnut tree that Anne Frank loved were planted at 11 sites nationwide. Anne and Margot called their father by his nickname Pim. You can visit the Franks hideaway, the Secret Annex, in Amsterdam today. One of

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards - Essay Example the accumulation and evaluation of evidence regarding information to help determine and report on the degree of correspondence between information and established criteria (p. 4). Auditing requires that there must be verifiable information and certain standards by which the auditor can evaluate the information. The standards can vary depending on the nature of information. For instance, GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principle) is considered to be the criteria for auditing historical financial statements. Auditing requires evidence like written communication and oral testimony and auditors need to obtain sufficient quality of evidences. The final step in auditing is preparing the audit report (Arens, Elder and Beasley, 2006, p. 4). GAAS are auditing standards that suggest necessary qualifications and characteristics of auditors. The guidelines are 10 GAAP standards that have experienced minimal changes since these were first developed in 1947 (Arens, Elder and Beasley, 2006, p. 4). These GAAS standards remain the same through time and for all audits, even though auditing procedures may vary depending on the complexity of accounting systems. The 10 GAAS standards relate to the competence of auditor, his independence in both financial and managerial relations and the attitudes about professionalism (Louwers, Ramsay and Sinason, 2008. p. 39- 42). The GAAS elements also affect the standards at field that include detailed planning of the audit, risk assessment through internal control and collecting audit evidences. One of the major concerns of GAAS is regarding the standards in financial reporting and its contents. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed by George W Bush on July 2002, was intended to establish investor confidence by improving the quality of financial disclosures and audit reporting, to strengthen the independence of accounting firms and to increase the responsibilities of corporate officers (Hayes, Dassen and Schilder, 2005, p. 49). The

Kurdistan workers party Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kurdistan workers party - Research Paper Example It is significant to note that the focal operation of the Kurdistan Worker Party is in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Turkey. Further, the PKK has strong financial support and huge propaganda operations in some European countries, and it mostly relies on violent and bloody crime for financing. The group started out in the beginning of the 1970’s in Ankara comprising mainly of students. By 19978, the PKK had begun establishing a strong base since it targeted people from the Kurdish group. Days later, the group was named the Kurdistan Workers Party. It believed in a Marxist-Leninism ideology and it frequently engaged in violent and bloody conflicts as a part of its political operation in Turkey. The PKK holds that it is its role and responsibility in changing the lives of the Kurdish race in Southern Turkey. Therefore, its focus is to represent their ambitions and thoughts. The Marxist-Leninism propels the group to launch irresponsible struggle against people it calls the bourge ois (Anil, 2010). The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) has been linked to numerous attacks and bombings. For instance, PPK was accused of attacking and bombing of the Turkish embassy in Strasbourg. They collaborated with the ASALA (Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia), an Armenian radical group to launch the attack. In 1984, the organization took another structural formation. They changed into a paramilitary group. They used France as their base setting up training camps in different parts of France. All through to the late 1980’s, the organization became very dangerous as it continued to launch numerous terrorist activities. For instance, the extremist group attacked state institutions, military bases, and government agencies. Some of these were linked to the Anatolia project that was taking place in the Southern part of Turkey (Marcus, 2009). The organization further expanded their activities in multiple countries in the Middle East and Europe, especially France a nd Germany. This expansion made them to become less and less centralized and past containment. The radical grouped continued to inflict pain and suffering to the civilian through its attacks and bombings. For instance, the group is known to be responsible for the frequent attacks and bombings on civilian and military targets in countries such as Turkey, Iraq, Belgium, and France. In the mid 1990’s, Syria started from the radical group. This was because of a transformation of tactics in the PKK’s operations in that it had began using suicide attacks on innocent civilians. As an inevitable eventuality, it started losing the edge in its operations. Further, the group used women to launch these attacks something that Syria was not happy with. The groups’ founder Abdullah Ocalan, was captured in 1999 and was sentenced to death. However, this sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. Without its leader, the group somewhat lost direction and posed less security threat s to the people. This gave Turkish government initiative to bring down the group (Marcus, 2009). In 2004, the European Union named the group as a terrorist organization. The hit against the organization heightened later that year when the United States treasury froze resources of branches of the group claiming that it was propagating terrorism activities. The group retreated to the Iraqi mountains and formed base there, with

What Are The Problems Of Using Both Diesel Trains And Electric Trains, Essay

What Are The Problems Of Using Both Diesel Trains And Electric Trains, And Can These Problems Be Solved By Switching To Just One Or The Other - Essay Example But as, the world’s climate is changing, the technology regarding the trains is changing. Diesel fuel based trains are massively used in the world. On the electric trains have become the major sources of transportation (the Guardian, 2012). Some modals of electric trains are faster and consume a considerably low amount of energy as compared to the diesel as well as relative electric trains. In this paper, I will evaluate the problems of using both diesel trains and electric trains, and can these problems be solved by switching to just one or the other. Problems of Using diesel Trains As the diesel prices are raising, it became less feasible from economic point of view to utilize oil resources as the main source of energy. On the other hand, diesel fuel engines produce immense of green house emissions. The engine requires cooling, and thus the efficiency of a diesel fired engine is not more than 40% (the Guardian, 2012). The diesel power train engines require scheduled maintena nce. The maintenance cost remains to be high (Nearing, 2013). Problems with Electric Trains Consume a large amount of electricity energy. In case of electric failure, the train is unable to continue journey, as it requires constant supply. In case of thunder storm, the delicate electronics may no work properly. Sometimes, the hanging electric wires over the trains are considered to be less protective Comparison between Diesel and Electric Trains Electric trains are much efficient as compared to the diesel fired trains. On the other hand, the technological advancements in the electric trains made the electric power trains, the fastest trains. Electric trains convert electric energy to mechanical energy, the motors require less cooling as compared to the engines so less energy is wasted. At higher altitude diesel engines become less efficient due to the lack of oxygen but electric rains work properly in that situation. Electric trains are more environment friendly as compared to the d iesel trains. Electrical trains are equipped with backup systems in case if one motor fails, other motors support its weight. If electrical energy is from a renewable source, environmental impact of the transportation can be reduced. If electrical energy is generated from fossil fuel resources, electrical trains still generate 20-30% low green house emissions as compared to the diesel trains. Electrical trains are more economically feasible as compared to the diesel trains (Nearing, 2013). Solutions that can make diesel trains better In order to increase the efficient of the diesel trains, it is important to convert the heat energy from the exhaust to a useful form. One way of doing this, is to utilize the thermal energy recovery system. The heat recovery should be used to convert water into steam and then use steam to power the train. By doing this, the energy efficient can be increased to 80% or more. Instead of using the petroleum diesel, bio diesel can reduce the cost of the fue l and reduce the environmental impact of the diesel fired engines (Takeuchi, Goodman, & Sone, 2003). Solutions that can make electrical trains better The researches have researched much to make the electrical trains better and more secure but from general perspective, there is need to power the trains from more than one source, more than one sou

Construction Productivity Measurement Techniques

Construction Productivity Measurement Techniques The construction industry remains one of the few most labour intensive industries in the developed world. It is therefore imperative to understand the measure of construction labour productivity. Furthermore, recent institutional and industrial calls for an increase in productivity suggest a desperate need to get the measurement of productivity levels right. The research reported in this paper forms part of an ongoing Ph.D. study into the issue of construction labour productivity. An earlier study highlighted that less than 50% of the industry actually actively measure and monitor productivity levels, with a majority of those companies that claim to measure go about measuring on the basis of the intuition of key site management personnel. This may seem alarming, however, it was argued that productivity measurement techniques could be perceived as theoretical, arduous and expensive for construction companies to adopt. This paper reviews the methods of productivity measurement availabl e and describes two case studies conducted during this research, with a view of reporting the problems and issues faced when attempting to establish productivity levels at a project level. Lessons learnt are then drawn from the experience. INTRODUCTION The quest for productivity improvements in the UK construction industry has been an especially important agenda over the last decade (Latham, 1994; Egan, 1998). However, what is found baffling is the fact that the measure of productivity is often conflated with the measure of performance. One only needs to turn to the Construction Productivity Network (CPN) to seek an instance of such misapprehension. Indeed, the very name of the network is misleading since it deals with such far wider issues as risk management and knowledge management. Clearly, the network might be more suited to have adopted the term Construction Performance Network as compared to the use of the term productivity, which traditionally refers to the quantifiable ratio between inputs and outputs in physical terms. Indeed, the industrial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) rightly recognise the clear distinction by acknowledging the measure of productivity as a subset of the wider measure of business performance. However, in the pursuit of convincing the industry to take on board improvement programmes and initiatives, recommendations have tended to represent simplistically improvements through headline measures such as reduction in construction time, defects, accidents etc., for instance, in the case of the Movement for Innovation (M4I) demonstration projects. Productivity, interestingly, was measured by the M4I by taking the median of the company value added in monetary terms per employee. This value added approach mirrors the value-added approach conventionally applied at the industrial (macroeconomic) level (see e.g. Jonsson, 1996). While it is understandable, from a marketing perspective, to report headline indicators per se, given the fact that embarking on any initiative undoubtedly needs corporate buy-in by senior managers, it is felt that capturing productivity measurements at the strategic level may be insufficient to guarantee that improvements actually occur at the operational level. Therefore, it is firmly believed that going back to the basics of measuring productivity at the project site level would be necessary in facilitating improvements. This is because the construction industry is largely project-based. Groà ¡k, for instance, issued a stern warning that there is an inherent failure to recognise that the site was the defining locus of production organisation (1994: 288) for construction. However, there lies a problem here. Apart from the formal measures propounded by such initiatives as the M4I stated above, many construction companies just do not have formal measures in place at the project level. For example, Chan and Kaka (2003), in a questionnaire survey to 400 UK contractors, found that of the 77 respondents, more than half of them do not monitor productivity levels at the project level. Furthermore, a third of those who claim to do so base their judgement of productivity on gut feeling and experience of dealing with contract schedules. Similar findings were noted in a large study commissioned by the Investors in People in the UK, which was aimed at examining productivity measurements inter alia across sectors including manufacturing, transport, service and construction. The Investors in People (2001) noted that while 22% of the respondents did not measure productivity levels at all, 36% and 22% of the respondents used formal and informal techniques to establish productivity levels respectively. Yet, past research have shown that the very process of formalising on-site productivity measurements itself delivers project improvements. For example, Winch and Carr (2001) notably identified a growing competitive spirit among the workforce as they progressed in their study investigating the benchmarking of on-site productivity, thus reinforcing an earlier comment made about the importance of measuring productivity levels at the project site level. Nonetheless, Chans and Kakas (2003) and the Investors in People (2001) reports beg the question as to why there is reluctance for formal productivity measurements, and which forms the premise of this paper. The chief aim of this paper is to explore the pertinent issues that would explain some of the reasons behind what we would call industrial inertia towards productivity measurement at the project level. In so doing, we would tackle it from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The next section briefly reviews the key textbook approaches to measuring on-site productivity and highlights the limitations in terms of reliability and relevance of these approaches that restrict industrial adoption. Thereafter, we will report on the relevant findings of two live projects observed as part of a wider study into understanding the concept of construction labour productivity, revealing some of the practical issues encountered when measuring on-site productivity. Conclusions are then draw n from both the review and the case studies that lead to the recommendations for future research that would hopefully encourage the industry to measure on-site productivity. PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES Construction textbooks are awash with details of key productivity measurement techniques and it would be inappropriate to replicate the explanation of these techniques within the constraints of this paper. According to Noor (1998), productivity measurement techniques fall within a spectrum between two broad categories of observational methods, namely continuous observation (e.g. direct observation and work study) and intermittent observation (e.g. audio-visual methods, delay surveys and activity sampling). Noor recognised that while continuous observations such as direct observation and work study provide high levels of accuracy and detailed data for understanding productivity, these are often time-consuming, arduous and costly. Given the operational imperative of construction projects and the ever increasing time pressures exerted on project schedules, the cost of employing personnel to conduct such observations both in terms of the monetary cost of wages and the time value of observation that does not result in the physical growth of buildings (i.e. non value added) would deter companies from adopting such measurement techniques. Furthermore, the benefits of continuous observations are marred by the inexorable restriction of scope and thus, would make it difficult for large projects to pursue this approach. Where the use of technical equipment for audio-visual methods is concerned, Winch and Carr (2001) were especially cautious that the workers might feel that the surveillance was un necessarily intrusive. As such, they avoided the use of such methods to observe the workers and opted instead for direct observation where the researchers got to know the individual workers on a personal level. Therefore, while the absence of the workers uneasiness was achieved, the inability to observe the whole construction process became an evident trade-off. With respect to intermittent observations, Noor noted that these are prone to errors in determination since the data tends to be aggregated statistically through the observation of a representative sample. To add to this, Radosavljevic and Horner (2002) recently revisited formwork and masonry productivity data sets across eleven sites in the USA and the UK, only to confirm their suspicion that productivity is not normally distributed, thereby implying that some basic statistical diagnosticsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ may give misleading results and are not applicable (p. 3). Accordingly, this questions the dubious reliability of conventional productivity measurement techniques. Serendipitously, Radosavljevic and Horner made a brief comparison of the data with volatility studies in econometrics to reveal surprising similarity with Pareto distributions, which are typical of chaotic systems. They concluded therefore that using test statistics that rely on normality usually have been taken for grant ed, and consequently not much could have been done to achieve a better understanding of the ubiquitous complexity (p. 11) as they call for a paradigm shift to understand the complexities of construction labour productivity, possibly through chaos theory. However, it is felt that such complex methods of analysing productivity levels might further discourage companies to measure productivity since this would mean additional investment of statistical expertise. Another problem with many of the conventional productivity measurement techniques is the reductionistic approach in analysing work time (see e.g. Drewin, 1982). To put simply, much of the analysis of productivity data had been concerned with the binary relationship between productive (or value-adding) time and time loss. However, contenders such as Thomas et. al. (1990) challenged this underlying assumption the inverse relationship between productive and non-productive time, and that reducing time loss leads to productivity improvements as they claimed while these assumptions seem sensible and logical, they will be shown to be unsupportable for most construction operations (p. 712). In fact, a later study (Thomas, 1991) provided evidence that would cast doubts on the assumption of the binary relationship between productive and non-productive time, and hence on the productivity measurement techniques. A further limitation relates to the application of productivity measurement techniques in past research. A review of the literature revealed that measurement techniques were mainly concentrated, in past research, on a number of key construction operations: namely concrete works (Proverbs et. al., 1999; Winch and Carr, 2001), masonry projects (Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987; Olomolaiye, 1990), structural steel (Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987) and electrical works (Thomas, 2000). Evidently, with the exception of electrical works, much of the studies were concerned with the structural elements, i.e. elements that contribute to the structural frame of the building. This means there is an overwhelming lack of research aimed at studying such other aspects of the building process as architectural elements (e.g. plastering, internal fit-out, painting and decoration) or services installations (e.g. mechanical and sanitary installations). Indeed, the studies surrounding electrical works were related t o the effects of schedule acceleration, in part, due to the effects of productivity-related problems of the earlier structural phase of projects (see e.g. Noyce and Hanna, 1998; and Thomas, 2000). One of the possible reasons for this phenomenon is the lack of previous studies (unlike where areas such as bricklaying and concrete operations are concerned) or industrial productivity data for comparison. Notably, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) in the US has been deeply keen in examining productivity issues ever since the late 1960s (Thomas et. al., 1990) and have been actively developing labour consumption curves (NECA, 1983) to inform the industry for possible applications on different project types (Thomas, 2000), offering perhaps an explanation as to why productivity on electrical projects are examined. Olomolaiye (1990) is one of the few who explains his decision to focus on bricklaying as he attributed his preference to the predominance of bricks as one of the main construction materials in the UK. He added a bulk of construction manpower still goes into bricklaying as it remains highly labour-intensive (p. 302). On the decision to focus on concrete operations, Winch and Carr (2001) cited Horners and Zakiehs (1996) claim that studies of estimating have shown that the largest items in the bill can be used to determine overall outputs very closely. Furthermore, they expounded that data on concrete deliveries by ready-mix trucks for any given period are easily obtained from site records, and because concrete is perishable, we can infer that deliveries on a day have been poured that day (p. 581). It is argued, however, that concentrating on the predominant or largest activity results in a reductionistic approach, which fails to take into account the entire construction process. Intere stingly, Kazaz and Ulubeyli (2004) in a recent study aimed at reconciling governmental statistics and real project data on productivity rates in Turkey elected to examine only 82 work items deemed to be used most in practice, thus affirming the researchers observation, although they acknowledged that these only constitute 6.11% of all possible work items. In this respect, conclusions made in past studies are limited in their scope in offering plausible recommendations for implementation for the improvement of construction labour productivity. The limitations of productivity measurement techniques discussed hitherto, to some extent, help to explain the low industrial uptake within construction. These encompass the issues of reliability and relevance of existing techniques that would inhibit the ability of companies to meaningfully analyse their project productivity so as to bring about improvements to the entire construction process. Furthermore, there are the investment constraints of time and expertise in implementing the existing productivity techniques. These emerging issues from the brief review explains some of the general difficulties claimed by the participants of the Investors in People (2001) study, particularly the difficulties in obtaining accurate information, the varied nature of individual job roles and the complex nature of productivity that is dependent on several intervening factors (p. 6). CASE STUDIES AND PRELIMINARY FINDINGS Having briefly discussed the theoretical issues surrounding existing productivity measurement techniques, this section now turns to the two projects, hereinafter known as projects A and B, observed during the course of the study. The purpose of the case studies is to explore the issues faced by practitioners when measuring project productivity. The two projects were selected because project participants had either attempted to measure productivity (project A) or claimed to have a formal method of measuring productivity in place (project B). Each case will begin with a brief synopsis of how the researchers got involved with the projects and an account of the observational process. This will then be followed by a succinct report of the key issues involved in the implementation of the productivity measurement techniques in the two projects. Project A: Multi-storey Car Park Background to project A Project A is the construction of a multi-storey car park for a Scottish airport. This was initially selected as a pilot study at the onset on the basis of convenience, access and geographic proximity as instructed in Yin (1994: 75). It is perhaps worthwhile, at this point, to provide an insight into how and why access was given to this project in the first place. A marketing flyer accompanied by a cover letter was sent to companies to seek collaboration and access to projects, people, data etc. at the start of the research. A positive response from the main contractor executing project A then resulted from this initial call for participation. The contractor was a fast growing company at that time that aimed both to penetrate the Scottish construction market and to succeed in gaining repeat business with British Airports Authority (B.A.A.). Because the company had not undertaken any on-site productivity measurement, they were therefore keen for the researchers to assist in the develop ment of on-site productivity measures. And so, access to the project was granted on a two-days-a-week basis and the project quantity surveyor of the company was involved with the researchers in developing the measurement technique. To overcome the problems discussed in the previous section regarding the isolation of construction activities in measuring productivity, a decision was made to measure productivity levels using the existing company worker timesheets. Timesheets were found to be extremely useful mainly because timesheets were used for the purpose of calculation of hourly wages and linking this to productivity measurement would probably show meaningfully the notion of a fair wage. Furthermore, measuring productivity on a daily basis was considered to be the most appropriate technique as corrective action could be taken as quickly as possible. For data collection purposes, foremen were instructed to complete time inputs and physical outputs for each worker under their charge within a set time sheet on a daily basis. Table 1 below shows a simplified example of a recording on the activity of pouring concrete by a gang of concrete labourers. Based on the data presented in table 1, a total of 66 man-hours w ere used to produce 232m3 of concrete, yielding a productivity rate of à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ » 3.5m3 of concrete per man-hour. Emerging issues A number of issues arose whilst attempting to measure on-site productivity levels for project A in this way. The desire for a speedy construction process meant that many proprietary systems, e.g. in the case of formwork, were used as part of the construction techniques. These were undertaken by specialist subcontractors (with whom access was not granted). What was observed was that the core labourers used by the main contractor were general operatives who were often mobile in terms of the task they did. So, for example, an operative could be involved in general housekeeping on day n, shifting what is known as tables (a proprietary form of the conventional birdcage scaffolding that is on wheels to support the formwork) on day n + 1, and putting stop ends along the perimeter of a plot prior to concreting to prevent the concrete from spilling over on day n +2 and so on. Perhaps the only stable groups of workers were those who were relatively more skilled, e.g. concretors and steelfixers , who tended to stick within the task of their trades. Even so, these workers moved to other projects in the vicinity when their tasks were not scheduled for project A. Therefore, while measuring productivity levels in this way appear to be more holistic and probably closer to reality than the methods highlighted in the previous section, the mammoth task of tracking workers posed an immense challenge. Moreover, although the data was collected at the gang level (through the foremen), the boundaries of the gang were found to be arbitrary because of the volatile movement of the workers. This resulted in high variability of the productivity data obtained, which supports Radosavljevics and Horners (2002) observations, but which implies that discerning the factors affecting productivity especially those related to the workforce issues was particularly problematic. Administering the measurement was also not without problems. To start with, foremen were not akin to filling out forms and throughout its implementation, the project quantity surveyor discovered that there was a need to constantly explain to the foremen the mechanisms of recording. Two reasons accounted for this. The first relates to the inevitable problem with determining output quantities given that construction operations are often associated with work-in-progress that can be difficult to ascertain. Rules of credit (see e.g. Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987) may go some way to facilitate this process, although time and manpower is needed to maintain a database of such information for which the project quantity surveyor did not have. In fact, the project quantity surveyor resigned in the middle of the project and the measurement of productivity halted due to the absence of a willing successor. To exacerbate the problems of measurement, the project quantity surveyor had identified a compl ex list of more than 170 task descriptions, thus causing further confusion for the foremen in the recording process. This enormous list of task descriptions is believed to be due to the fact that many proprietary systems were used in the construction process. Still, as the predicted trend for the construction industry is towards greater outsourcing and use of innovative technology in the production of buildings (see e.g. CRISP, 2001), it would be sensible to take into account such complexities when measuring productivity. It is here that project B sheds some light. Project B: Headquarters of a Commercial Bank Background to project B Project B involves the construction of the headquarters of a commercial bank on a greenfield site just outside Edinburgh. Access was given to interview senior project managers and to conduct questionnaire surveys with the site operatives. During the interviews, the researchers were struck by the ability of the managers to report what they allege to be the precise number of man-hours expended on the project to date, a phenomenon that was non-existent in other projects observed during the study. Inquisitively, the researchers investigated how project participants captured this data through further probing during the interviews. According to the project managers, project B utilised what is known as The Last Planner system, a planning system that has gradually gained recognition and refinement since its inception in 1994. Much has been written about the system (see e.g. Ballard, 2000), although this is really related to planning and never intended to be used as a means of measuring on-site productivity. However, one of the KPIs resulting from this system, known as the Percent Plan Complete (PPC), was thought to be extremely valuable by the project participants for them to gain an informed view of the on-site productivity levels. Basically, the PPC refers to how much of the planned work on a weekly basis is actually completed. In a similar vein, this ostensibly is comparable to the earned value analysis used in project management (see Project Management Institute, 2000). Figure 1 above shows an extract from a weekly progress update, which enables project Bs participants to keep track of how productively the wo rk packages were performing to plan. To help improve the PPC, the progress meetings were used as a platform to understand what went wrong, i.e. what intervening events or factors resulted in a low PPC (e.g. weather, lack of materials etc.). Emerging issues While this paper is not aimed at analysing whether this system constitutes a credible means for measuring on-site productivity, it was felt that this system provided an effective way for managers to establish how progress was being made. Hence, this allowed project participants to get a feel of the productivity of the workers by complementing the measure of PPC with the number of man-hours expended. To show a simplistic example, using figure 1 above, let us assume that work package 1 utilises the same amount of man-hours throughout the project. Therefore, one can safely deduce that achieving 100% PPC in say week 13 and 76% PPC in week 14 would signify a dip in labour productivity. In other words, PPC can be viewed as an output in the productivity ratio and so alleviate the problems of complexities involved in construction operations and sub-contracted work packages experienced in project A above. Furthermore, such information should provide useful feedback to the workforce regarding their performance. Implementing this system for the project participants was also met with a number of challenges. For instance, the system is largely paper based and therefore archiving such information and managing it within a database would still require the deployment of manpower. Nonetheless, as compared with the attempts in project A, this is perceived to be relatively more straightforward. It would also be tempting to proclaim that running this system commenced from the first day of the project. In fact, the project managers had attempted to implement such a system on a previous project six years ago but faced immense resistance from the project workers as it was then thought to create a blame culture so that fault could be apportioned when things went wrong. Interestingly, another project observed, which involved the construction of an office block in central London and built by the same contractor running project B, had initially tried to adopt the system. However, it was abandoned as soon as it started on the same basis of resistance. Still, project B participants learnt from their previous experience from six years ago and thus, made a conscious effort to allay fears of a blame culture right from the very start of the project through constant reassurances given during early briefing sessions. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the paper raised the issue of the importance of, and lacklustre attitude of companies towards, measuring on-site productivity. Thereafter, a review of the limitations behind the key textbook approaches to measuring productivity was provided and these represent some of the problems, which contribute to the industrys reluctance to measuring productivity. We have then taken the reader on a journey through two projects observed and summarised here some of the practical issues faced in the implementation of an on-site productivity measurement system. These include the time and expertise needed in handling the complexities of productivity data and resistance from the workforce. In essence, the underlying theme throughout the experience is that a productivity measurement system has to be comprehensive enough to take into account the complexities of todays construction operations and ever increasing emphasis on sub-contract work packages as seen in project A; but simple enough to be effective as portrayed in The Last Planner system in project B. However, the reliability of using The Last Planner system to measure productivity was beyond the remit of this current study. Nonetheless, the experience of project participants in project B shows that it works in reality to help provide that informed view of on-site productivity levels needed to bring about improvements. Therefore, further work is required to establish the feasibility of using such a system in measuring productivity.

Canterbury Tales Essay - Anti-Feminist Rhetoric in The Wife Of Bath

Anti-Feminist Rhetoric in  The Wife Of Bath    In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath is a strong woman who loudly states her opinions about the antifeminist sentiments popular at the time. Chaucer, however, frequently discredits her arguments by making them unfounded and generally compromising her character. This brings into question Chaucer's political intent with the Wife of Bath. Is he supportive of her views, or is he making a mockery of woman who challenge the patriarchal society and its restriction and mistrust of women? The Wife's comedic character, frequent misquoting of authorities, marital infidelity, and her (as well as Chaucer's) own antifeminist sentiments weaken the argument that Chaucer supported of the Wife's opinions. Chaucer chooses to make a comedy of the Wife, putting into question the seriousness of her character. What opinion is the reader to make of a woman who rants about marriage and female domination when she is described as a clown prepared for battle in the General Prologue ? Her bright red stockings, bold scarlet face, shield-like hat and sharp spurs draw the picture of a silly, if not crazy, woman whose manner is larger than life. The Wife's comical 'larger than life' characteristics apply to her feminist beliefs as well. Equal coexistence is not enough; she says men "shall be bothe my dettour and my thral "-something likely unheard of when this piece was written. Much of what makes her comical is the plethora of sexual innuendoes dispersed throughout her dialogue. For instance, when she irrelevantly mentions in her tale the eager friars that have replaced the fairies of old: Wommen may go saufly up and down: In every bussh or under every tree, Ther is n... ... easily state Chaucer's support of the Wife's opinions, it is important to note the disabling of her arguments and credibility, as it brings into serious question Chaucer's intent with the Wife of Bath.    Footnotes: 458-60, 471-75 Wife's Prologue, 161 Wife's Tale, 884 Wife's Prologue, 585 M.H. Abrams, et al; ed., The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Sixth Edition, Volume I. W.W. Norton & Company, New York/London, 1993. Wife's Prologue, 149 Wife's Prologue, 186-9 463 Wife's Prologue, 4 General Prologue, 465-70 Wife's Prologue, 563 Wife's Prologue, 549-68 Wife's Prologue, 44-6 216-20 Wife's Prologue, 233-4 Wife's Prologue, 540-4 Works Cited: Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed Mack, Maynard et al. W. W. Norton and Co. New York, NY. 1992.

How Will Earning a Degree Change My Life

College- Is it worth it? In society today a college education isn’t an option, but rather a necessity. When thinking about college people usually think more about what they have to do to get through it when they should be thinking about what they want out of it and what they will gain from it. People often say that college isn’t worth the time and money, but getting a degree and brining the skills you gained to the real world will be very beneficial to you.Some people go to college for the title for being a college student for others it’s a way to leave home and become independent without completely losing the financial help of their parents. Most go because they have to, not because they want to. High school students are constantly being pressured not only by family members but also by guidance counselors to go to college because it’s the â€Å"right thing to do. † We all have an idea of what we want in life, but we end up doing the opposite and do ing what our â€Å"mentors† think is best for us, resulting in being miserable. The investment of time, money and energy is it really worth it?For some fields, a college degree is absolutely necessary. That doesn’t mean you will get a job right after graduation. Even if you do get a job, it is not usually what you have your degree in. College is a gamble most students will be in debt after graduating working any job just to pay those off. Some college graduates even end up back at home living with their parents due to the debt they are in. The competition for decent jobs is increasing. You can’t get a high paying job without at least a bachelor’s degree. Before jobs hired workers with only High school Diplomas but, now they require some college education.Every day the decision is being made to either construct a career or dropout. There are people out there who have never set foot in a college and are doing better than people with master’s degrees. But, those are the exceptions which are one out of a million even millions. So before you make this decision ask yourself; where do I see myself 5 or 10 years from today? Do I need higher education to where I want to be? The skills you gain while in college are skills you will need in the â€Å"real world. † Bills have to be paid, deadlines have to be met and you have to learn to manage time efficiently.It’s completely different from High school because not only are you dealing with school you’re also juggling your personal life and your financial state as well. College has its pros and cons like everything else in life. Your experience will be what you make. If you aren’t willing to put in your all into it, college isn’t for you. You may not get lucky and start your career right after graduating but with persistence and hard work in the long run a degree will help you get to where you want to go in life. Don’t think of as a waste of time a nd money think of it as exciting challenge that will help set up your future.

Dharma essays

Dharma essays Dharma is the world's most ancient culture and the religion of over one billion of the earth's inhabitants. It is often referred to as Hinduism, but more correctly know as the ancient vedic culture. The approximate meaning of Dharma is  ¡Natural Law. This term is not is open to alteration, just as the laws of gravity cannot be debated as it is an inherent law of nature regardless of whether one believes in the law of gravity or not, similarly the subtle laws of God transcend all worldly things. The Dharmic way of life has many facets. Dharma is a way of life that is deeply rooted in a sense of ethical concern. Among the many other virtues that Dharma seeks to instill in its followers is the principle of non-violence (ahimsa) towards all beings, and compassion for all life. This sense of love and compassion is directed toward animals and the Earth, as well as all of our fellow humans beings. As a result of these highly ethical standards, followers of Dharma are vegetarians and strongly pro-environment. The personal goal of every follower of Dharma is to live life in such a way that he or she harms none and benefits all whom he or she encounters. In addition, it is taught by Dharma that the spirit of service and selfless work for others (known as the principle of seva) bring one's consciousness closer to that of God. Consequently, it is quite common to witness Hindus engaging charitable activities. For the followers of Dharma, it is of paramount importance to study the anci ent Vedic scriptures (such as the famous Bhagavad Gita), temple worship (puja), ritual and personal purification (such as bathing in the ganges, the holy river). Yoga and Meditation are also essential aspects of Dharma- through these one can reach a higher state of consciousness. Being an Indian myself, I have been taught and experienced many of these teachings while growing up in Bombay. Most Indians are taught these principles when they are young so ...

Breif Biography of Elbridge Gerry

Breif Biography of Elbridge Gerry Free Online Research Papers Born on July 17, 1744 in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry was the third of twelve children. He grew up to study at Harvard to become a merchant and graduated in 1762. His father owned a ship-building business that Elbridge worked at. In 1786 he married Ann Thompson, the daughter of a wealthy New York merchant. She was 21 years his junior. Gerry opposed commerce taxes and was elected to the Massachusetts General Court on an anti-British campaign in May 1772. He was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature in 1773. In 1774 he was selected to attend the Provincial Congress. At the Continental Congress he did committee work on commercial and naval concerns. In 1798 he attended the Constitutional Convention, but he was opposed to the Federal Constitution. Though he had signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, Gerry was one of three to refuse to sign the Constitution. He represented Massachusetts in the first two Congresses as an Anti-Administration candidate, and after being elected into Congress, Gerry became a strong supporter of the new government and Alexander Hamilton’s reports on public credit. He also supported the Bank of the United States. In 1797 he was an envoy sent to France. After the other delegates of the envoy returned, Elbridge stayed in France, so he was accused of supporting the French. He served as governor of Massachusetts in 1780 and 1781. Gerry received a lot of criticism because he redistricted the state to the advantage of his own political party. In 1812 he was elected as Vice President under President Madison. On November 23, 1814, he died in Washington, D.C. Research Papers on Breif Biography of Elbridge GerryQuebec and CanadaAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Assess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeBringing Democracy to AfricaTwilight of the UAWNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationWhere Wild and West Meet19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug Use

About a memorable experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About a memorable experience - Essay Example These make me overlook the negative side of life, with all the bad experiences it presents. They always remind me that the bad experiences never last, and it is always a matter of time before I smile again. Among all the good experiences I have had, there is only one, which will remain embedded in my mind forever. This is one bittersweet, but memorable experience that has in many ways, influenced my life, especially the way I perceive the world today and the things therein. It all started as a joke, and little did I know that this could culminate into a life-changing experience. On this warm summer afternoon, I asked my friends for their opinions about what we would do for my birthday, as the normal house parties had become monotonous, and I wanted a different experience. â€Å"How about this time round you be the one giving out gifts? Give gifts to people on your birthday!† one of my friends suggested. â€Å"That sounds great . . . but how?† I wondered. â€Å"The homeless!† another friend quickly suggested. The six of us agreed to make it our project, and we started counting down days. Each person would start keeping stuff, which we would take as our gifts. Each one of us would also save little money to buy food and other stuff. With only one and a half months remaining to my birthday, everyone was committed to playing their role. When it was only two weeks remaining, we identified the homeless people we would visit and set everyt hing in order. Finally, it was the eve of my birthday. I invited my friends to our house so we could set all the stuff in order in preparation for the next day. Both my friends’ parents and my parents were happy with our plan and offered us a little more money and stuff to add up. When morning came, we all were happy and anticipated for the unfolding of events in that day. My mum offered to drive us to the designated place. In an hour’s time, we arrived at our destination. We unpacked our luggage and went ahead to

The War Against The White American Man Research Paper

The War Against The White American Man - Research Paper Example Racism against white people is one of the critical areas of concern. The country has undergone tremendous changes for many years and there are prospects of continual growth in the coming years in regards to the strong economic backbone. Therefore, all people need to get it through there minds that there will always be people out there that do not have similar looks as they do, and do not have the same reasoning capacity the way they do, won't die the way they do, do not have dietary perspectives a theirs and would not raise there kids the way they do. This characterizes complexities of life. Everything on this planet has to come to terms with its surrounding. Thus people have to either learn to adapt or face the wrath of being rigid to change. Do know how dull life would be if everyone was the same color? If you are a believer in God or any other form of a supreme creator, then the decision to make everyone to look the same would not have been a problem (Strong, 2008). Existence of d ifferent races is just analogous to the difference in Everything that comprise our environment such as birds, plants, and natural features. Therefore, it is inconceivable for any reasonable being to escalate racism among the white American man since they society holds him as the instigator of racism. Just like it is easier for the minority to receive public recognition, the white American man requires similar recognition in order to curb racism propagated against the group (Wise, 2012). White men have been blamed by many nationalities for every ill thing that has been infused into the society (Flemming, 2003). Worse of it all, is that their own women are league with other races in blaming them. In regards to these racism actions, the white man has become an endangered human species because the world is embracing thugs, drug dealers and their form of life, while those things pioneered by the white boys or males is shunned away due to memories of the slavery (The Telegraph, 2011). As a white American husband to a black woman, I experience prejudice from the male black and other ethnic groups but not from my white counterparts. According to my own understanding, white people do not have any advantage against the Indian, Chinese, colored, or black community because we are human beings subject to feelings, need to belong to a family, love, feeling and much greater need to live life. There are several forms of bigotry in the society that has received much support due to the entertainment aspect associated with it. To begin with, my evaluation of the Japanese donning themselves with bushy wigs or beards, large fake nose embellished with speaking in loud, broken, and poor English is a direct demeaning activity to the white population. The white communities that take note of these practices are left in the dilemma whether to perceive it as offensive or as a form of amusement meant for entertainment purposes (Morgan, 2008). Nevertheless, the white person is not allowed to stereotypically dress like the Japanese people in yellowish skin, â€Å"slanted eyes,† geeky glasses, and buck teeth because the world would immediately recognize that as an unpleasant negative typecast. Similarly, the black community has received much recognition through their comedy routines where they openly say almost every thing they wish about the