Saturday, August 31, 2019

America’s rising white collar crime Essay

Senior citizens especially, have proved to be particular targets of identity theft and credit card fraud. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation web site, senior citizens are often targeted for five common reasons. The first is because older citizens usually have a â€Å"nest egg† hidden away or excellent credit ratings that the thieves may tap into. Second, people born in the 30’s or 40’s particularly the women, are generally used to being polite and trusting of whatever they are told. Third is that senior citizens generally do not recognize fraud in its earlier stages and even if they did, would not know who to report it to. Usually, they also feel hesitant at admitting the fraud for fear that relatives will just chalk it up to diminished mental capacity and incapability to handle their own finances. ( â€Å"Fraud Target: Senior Citizens,† para. 1-6. ) Fraudsters also count on the elderly citizens making poor witnesses even if the fraud is discovered and the perpetrator caught. The elderly are also susceptible to scams and often end up giving credit card and financial information in the belief that they are purchasing health aids and the like. 15. Some credit card transactions issue carbon copies of the charges along with the sales receipt. Destroy these carbon copies as they also carry credit card information that fraudsters and counterfeiters may use. 16. Never write credit card information in public places especially where there is glass. The glass or mirror may very well reflect what you are writing down to the person standing behind you. 17. Never lend your credit or identification cards to anyone not even family. They may not cheat you but you never know how careful they will be of your cards. It takes just a few minutes to copy information off of a card and a few seconds to take photos of these for duplication. 18. In shopping online, make sure that you are dealing with legitimate companies only. Check their privacy and security policies. When possible, do a research on the company’s background through the Better Business Bureau of well-known consumer protection offices. Make sure that there is an email or working phone number for a customer service department that you can contact for any issues that may arise. Customers may also want to check the site’s browser security. Check the URL address on pages where you are required to give personal or financial information. Secure browsers will start wit https:// rather that the usual http://. (Jackson) The ease by which unscrupulous identity thieves and credit card fraudsters can ruin their victim’s reputation and credit line can be horrifying. It is a crime that does not discriminate and has targeted victims both from all classes. In a May 2001 congressional hearing on the joint investigation done by the Secret Service and the New York Police Department (NYPD), the US Secret Service revealed that even wealth and influence does not deter thievery and fraud. The well-protected financial and credit card accounts of some of the nation’s richest and most influential men have been compromised by identity thieves and credit card fraudsters. (Dutta 290) With the use of mobile technology such as mobile phones and the Internet, the fraudsters were able to obtain their victims’ credit card numbers and by creating fictitious addresses and bank accounts, attempted to transfer around $22million from brokerage firms and banks handling their victim’s finances. (290) One such fraudster was caught in October 2002. The 32-year old restaurant workers confessed to obtaining and breaking into the â€Å"bank, brokerage and credit card accounts belonging to the richest Americans, including billionaire Warren Buffet, in his scheme to steal over $80million. † (290) Identity theft is not limited to purposes of financial gain either. Illegal immigrants have been known to use fraudulent and stolen identification cards and documents so they may obtain work and residency. The past years of terrorist threats reveal that this ease in stealing and counterfeiting identification papers and financial documents have been employed by terrorists as well. One of the defendants for the World Trade Center bombing was found with a number of counterfeit identification documents that included among which â€Å"†bank documents, medical histories and education records from which numerous false identities could have been created. â€Å"† (290) Even the FBI admits that the stolen credit cards may well be used in funding terrorist activities. Today’s modern and computerized lifestyles and services have made everything so convenient. People would well be guided however in remembering that this convenience comes with a price. No matter how many consumer help lines, specialized police agencies or consumer advocacy groups there are, taking care of one’s self and possessions still rest largely on individuals themselves. How often is it that pure carelessness can amount to a multitude of troubles? It is easy enough to think that â€Å"that sort of thing will never happen to me† until the next moment when you’re kicking yourself for not having taken more care and diligence in safeguarding your identification papers and financial documents. To believe that it is â€Å"better to be safe than sorry† is not a bad thing. In fact, it can very well be the most sensible thing to remember in everyday life. Bankruptcy and credit cards are expensive. Common sense is free. Bankruptcy and the sorrows and problems of being victimized by unscrupulous people may very well have been avoided and forestalled if people would apply a measure of old-fashioned common sense and careful judgment in their daily lives and transactions. In a bid to protect the citizenry from the relatively new spate of cyber based crimes the U. S. Congress has passed several laws meant to prevent identity theft. One of these laws is the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which compels credit reporting agencies to disclose to people the contents of their own records and to correct mistakes if any. Another law meant to prevent credit card fraud is the Fair Credit Billing Act which grants cardholders the right to dispute credit card charges. Under this law, cardholders cannot be compelled to pay any portion of a disputed amount till the matter has been resolved within 30 days. The only requirement is for cardholders to notify the card issuer in writing within 60 days. Another protective law is the Federal electronic fund transfer act, which regulates the use of plastic cards and other access devices such as credit cards and ATMs. The act also gives the Federal Reserve Board the power to regulate the liability of customers for unauthorized transfer of funds. Directly hitting the problem of Identity Theft is the law Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. This law punishes the act of â€Å"‘knowingly transfer[ing], possess[ing] or us[ing], without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, †¦ any unlawful activity'†(Howard).

Friday, August 30, 2019

PlayStation 3 Case †Planning and Strategy Essay

There is very little Sony can do to turn around the sales of the PlayStation 3. It has been nearly six years since its launch, the full lifetime of most gaming consoles. While the Nintendo Wii and Micrsoft Xbox360 have drastically lowered their prices to move existing stock, Sony has only dropped their price in the last 2 years. Now priced at $300, the PS3 is still over $100 more expensive than the competitors. At this point in time, it would be wise for Sony to discontinue the manufacture the sale of the PS3 and focus on its next game console. Sony’s strategic approach to new product development has always been to be a market leader in new, innovative technology. This approach has brought them huge success, but also some notable failures. For instance, the Sony Betamax, which was introduced in 1975, was supposed to be a direct competitor to VHS. It provided higher quality images, but did not offer the longer playtime of VHS. Sony stubbornly refused to change its format for eight years, but eventually switched over to the far more popular and cheaper VHS. Despite this notable failure, the Sony Walkman was one of its greatest successes, with 100 million units sold within its first decade. The key success factors in the video gaming industry today are content, price, availability, and compatibility. These have remained factors since consoles first began emerging in the late 70s. For gamers around the world â€Å"Content is King. † It doesn’t matter how crisp and beautiful the quality of the images if there are only fifteen games, which, coincidently was the number of games with which the PS3 launched. Gamers who rushed out to buy the PS3 quickly realized that the limited number of games made the PS3 little more than an expensive TV attachment. Sony tried to counter this by touting the Blu-Ray capability of the PS3, but gamers weren’t interested in watching movies on their PS3, they wanted to play new games. Another factor in the success in video gaming is the price. At $600, the PS3 was, and still is, the most expensive gaming console ever sold. While the original PlayStation and the PS2 were priced at $299, the PS3 nearly priced itself out of the market. With the Xbox and Wii selling for around $300, the ludicrously expensive PS3 couldn’t possibly hope to live up to the expectations its price was promising. When gamers realized that the PS3 was not better than the Xbox in gaming quality, they quickly rushed back to stores to return them. By 2007, more PS3s were being returned than were being sold. The last two factors in video gaming success, availability and compatibility, are also weaknesses in the launch of the PS3. Initially Sony planning on manufacturing one million consoles. On November 7, 2006, North American retailers had fewer than 200,000 units. By the time retailers had enough units to meet demand; gamers had begun to return their units at an alarming rate. With compatibility, the PS3 initially promised backwards compatibility with the PS2 games. This seemed to vary per unit, with some units, like the upgraded unit being able to play Sony Platform games like Final Fantasy, but the base model not being able to play any PS2 games. The launch of the PS3 was one of the largest in video gaming history. Sony spent over $150 million in advertising that aimed to convince gamers to hold off purchasing an Xbox 360 and wait for the PS3. IN 2006, they developed the slogan â€Å"Play Beyond† for the Electronic Entertaiment Expo . Unfortunately, people soon because spoofing the slogan and replacing it with â€Å"Pay Beyond,† protesting the high cost of the console. The competitive advantage of the PS3 was supposed to be in its superior gaming quality. IT was supposed to be the most advanced, the most practical and the most visually stunning video game platform in history. The PS3 promised free online play, Blu-Ray capability, online surfing ability, and using the PS3 for pictures, videos and music storage. The weaknesses in the PlayStation3 were numerous. There were only 15 games available initially, of which, only about five were interesting to avid gamers. The video quality was equal to the much cheaper Xbox360. The free online play had limited and fairly useless content. The online surfing was cumbersome and useless for users who already owned computers. This was also true of the music, video, and picture storage, which customers could already use on their computers or even their iPods. With their limited initial availability, and spotty backwards compatibility, the PS3 was too much money for too little content. When compared with the marketing program of the Nintendo Wii, the PS3 seemed to target the avid gamer. Traditionally men aged 15-35; these men were interested in serious gaming. They want high quality content and high quality visuals. The Nintendo Wii chose another market, the family. While the PS3 touted its amazing video quality, the Wii emphasized fun and togetherness. They offered fun games for multiple players of all ages who could enjoy the physical activity of using the Wii controller. They put of silly, colorful, low-resolution games at a reasonable price or bundled in with new Wii consoles. Nintendo also had the advantage of two major game legacies, Mario and Zelda, which had been favorites of serious gamers and children alike. While Wii was selling fun, the PS3 was selling serious. Families were much more willing to buy a Wii that the whole family could use for less than $400, than spend over $600 on a gaming system that did not offer a range of games for all ages.

Linear Technology Essay

Linear Technology is a technology company that focuses on the different elements of semiconductors. The company mostly focuses on analog products within the semiconductor portion of the electronic industry. Linear Technology was unique in their payout policy in the sense that they started with announcing dividends and then continued onto repurchasing. Linear started dividends to gain the respect of investors as well as show that buying shares in the company of Linear was less risky than all the other technology companies. Additionally, they repurchase stocks to offset the employee stock options that the company had as a large component of the employee compensation, which helped Linear in the years of low or slow sales. As stated in the case description, Linear has a strong cash flow as a company. In the basis of the financial needs for Linear Company, as a whole they need to make sure they are able to cover the executive stock option costs, as well as their capital investment in the fabrications facilities. In the case it is stated that Linear spent $200 million for new analog fabrication facilities, so therefore that expense would be a large and important financial need. Additionally, they need to keep some money set aside for expansion in the future. Since they don’t appear to be focusing on acquisitions at this point in time, they do not need to consider that in the financial needs, however if acquisitions do appear in the future they will be needed to take under consideration. Companies are supposed to drive value by growing the value of the company and the stock or by returning cash to shareholders. In the case of returning case to shareholders, it would be recommended as long as it is in line with the future strategic growth plan. As far as this particular case, there is nothing that indicates a specific growth plan in the near future but it can be presumed to have some expansion in the future. Overall, it would be a good recommendation to return cash to shareholders as long as the executive stock options, fabrication investments, and strategic growth plans for the future have all be met. A benefit to paying out cash to shareholders is th at it shows strength in the company as a whole. By showing strength in the company, share prices in turn with will increase because investors seek higher dividends. Companies with higher dividends are seen are more valuable. A disadvantage to returning  cash to shareholders is if Linear is unable to meet their dividend rate, they will be greatly punished and penalized causing their stock price to rapidly decrease. Additionally higher dividend means less cash in the business for future growth, which limits possible expansions in the future. In the terms of tax consequences, they should be relatively minimal since most of their investments are short-term investments. Typically, in the business world, short-term investments usually only have a tax of 1-3% which is nominal compared to others. Linear would only be paying taxes on the cash on the interest earned, which again will be relatively small. If Linear Technology were to pay out its entire cash balance as a special dividend, they would increase their risk of financial distress costs by greatly tightening their financial flexibility; which may also create extra transaction costs for the company. The firm’s value would greatly decrease because by paying out the entire cash balance the company would be significantly diminishing their asset value. As shown in Exhibit A, the overall value of this action would decrease the firm’s value by the total cash times the rate of interest: $1,565,200,000 * (1+3%) = $1,612,156,000. With the special dividend, Linear’s share price will increase by the amount of the dividend paid out. Therefore, with the number of shares outstanding at 312.4 million, there will be an increase of $5.01/share as shown in Exhibit A. The current share price is $30.87, so with the special dividend, share price will increase by $5.10 to $35.97/share. Although share price and the value incurs changes with the payout of the entire cash balance, earnings and earnings per share remain the same. Earnings and earnings per share are not affected by the dividend payout. Another option Linear Technology has to exercise its excess cash balance, they can repurchase shares to increase the value of the firm. This repurchase option is beneficial to the company and shareholders because in an open market share repurchase has no effect on the stock price. In addition, by repurchasing shares the firm’s earnings and earnings per share will increase. As shown in Exhibit B, by calculating the total numbers of shares repurchased (total cash balance/price per share) and subtracting it from the number of shares outstanding will give us the number of shares left outstanding after the repurchase to be 261,703,052. Exhibit B shows how this decrease in the number of shares drove up the earnings per share value by $0.10 from $0.55 to $0.65. When the company repurchases shares instead of paying out in special dividends, the firm’s value will increase and it also allows the firm to retain its cash reserves within the company. In general, companies pay dividends for a number of reasons. Dividends provide certainty about the company’s financial well being. Many investors prefer the steady and secure income that comes with dividends and see dividends as strength in the company and a sign of future positive earnings. Dividend initiators tend to be large and stable firms with low growth rates but emit high profitability ratings. Typically a company is at the mature stage of their business cycles and in turn causes the company to generate a large amount of money in cash. Paul Coghlan should recommend to not raise the dividends but to initiate buybacks. Linear already as higher dividends rates than all of its competitors. As a whole, the company 5 cents while Intel was only at 2 cents per share after the dividends were diluted. Also, if the company were to raise dividends, it would have to be at a level in which they could maintain for a long period of time and Linear does not have the extended amount of cash that Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco have and none of those companies have dividends at the level of Linear. Overall, Linear should do another stock buyback because earnings per share would increase since there will be fewer shares which will bump up the value of the stock.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Take-home exam for Mindfulness and Meditations class Essay

Take-home exam for Mindfulness and Meditations class - Essay Example This quality enables any mindful person to freely interact with their environment. From such free interactions, the person gets to learn more on the ideal response strategies to specific common scenario. Thirdly, mindfulness is characterized with acceptance (Baer 130). In this respect, the person is ready to accept fate and influences of the environment. This dictates that one makes various observations but remains non-judgmental. It is only through acceptance of various uncontrollable developments that one is able to enjoy their lives to the fullest. Finally, Mindfulness is characterized by love. This can be love for oneself or for others and the environment. This aspect of love promotes the acceptability of the mindful person to a wide range of audience. According to Baer, mindfulness involves remaining non-judgmental. In this regard, one is to be a keen observer of occurrences in the environment, but avoid forming stereotyped opinions on the occurrences. Rather, one should accept things as they are, only looking for ideal ways to make the situation better. Further, mindfulness should be present-oriented. This enables the person to tackle and respond to issues in real-time. Such present orientation also enables the person to maintain self-consciousness. Baer further notes the need of mindfulness to involve capacity for self observation, a property that is essential in alleviating over-reliance on secondary data sources. The fourth facet of mindfulness is the association of different scenarios with the intentions behind them. This labeling of words and occurrences is important in creating better understanding of the world. Finally, mindfulness involves non-reactivity. This dictates that one makes critical observations, but exhibits n o negative reactions towards such developments. a. Knowing what is happening while it is happening (Awareness): this aspect is promoted by the focus of mindfulness on present setting. Through such present- centered

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The impact of social media on public relations profession worldwide Research Paper

The impact of social media on public relations profession worldwide - Research Paper Example Public relation main priority is to provide goodwill to induce the public perception towards them (Noor & Hendricks, 2012). It is estimated that the number of individuals using the social media has been increasing over the years and that in the year 2012; the number was 1.43 billion people. Before the advent of social media, usernets were being used as alternatives of social media. They were first invented in the 1979 by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis. They were used in permitting persons to posts articles for people to read on the internet. Secondly, were the BBSs (Bulleting Board Systems) which were invented in the late seventy century. They allowed users to log in and interact with the other although it had limitations. Thirdly, were the online services which were made the internet more universal to individuals in the United States. Fourthly, was the IRC,ICQ and instant messaging which was developed in the 1989 and allowed for sharing and keeping in touch with others within the societ y. Then there were the earliest forms of social networks which were the dating sites. They were invented when people migrated to the online world. It was then followed by forums which acted as a precursor to the social web. They came with a user friendly interface making it easier for users to use. Six degrees then followed the forums in 1997and it was the first modern social network. It permitted consumers to create profiles and make friends with others in the society. This was then followed by AsianAvenue which was created between 1997 and 2001. They permitted users to create their profiles and add new friends. However, they had few innovations features imbedded in them. Live Journal was the next in line. It was invented in 1999 and allowed users to create static profiles and was build around blogs. Last to mark these developments and usher in the major social advances was world of warcraft. The period that followed this was marked by major advances in social networking and they w ere friendster, Hi5, linkedIn, MySpace, Face book among others. The Users of Social Media There are numerous social media users who register for the different available sites under different names and profiles. The breed of social media personalities varies depending with the reasons on which they join the sites. There are those users known as the ultras who have addiction of checking new feeds dozen times a day. Secondly, the dippers are known to have social media accounts but check their pages irregularly and go for days or weeks without even posting a comment or replying to a post (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, 2012). Thirdly, are the deniers who think that social media do not control their lives, but becomes anxious when they are not able to access the internet. Fourthly, are the virgins who are known to take first cautious steps to the social media. Fifthly, are the Lurkers who are always keen on what others are sharing or saying, but rarely responds to the talks. They normal ly hide in the shadows of cyberspace as they do not want their identity revealed or noticed by those who actively participate in the social media. Sixthly, the peacocks are users of social media who have a high number of followers or fan and are known to actively participate in social media conversation through their re-tweets and likes (Deuze, 2011). Seventhly, are the ranters who

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Outline.This is only an outline for a research paper that is going to

Outline.This is only an outline for a that is going to be written latter,so the topic is outline - Research Paper Example One major argument on the matter is with relation to scientology. Scientology has grown in contemporary years and has seen many people join the particular movement (Barth, 2007). With the absence of religion, people would grow further believing in the movement. Religion exists in current days and people still carry out heinous crimes on a daily basis. It is only right to state that with absence of religion, these crimes would increase significantly. People would invade other’s privacy stealing and committing murders. (Matlock, 2008) Society would have no rubrics and humans would lack personal rules by which to abide. Without religion, people in society would lack common grounds (Ryan, 2007). Getting together in prayer and worship is one factor that unites people of different backgrounds and social stature. Lack thereof would lead to judgment and condescending among people. Atheists portray this when looking at the manner in which most of them live their lives. People would lack a sense of unity and this would act as a sign for the beginning of societal and humanity’s

Monday, August 26, 2019

Effective Information Dissemination Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Effective Information Dissemination - Assignment Example A simple intranet access management infrastructure that assimilates applications and platforms can generate vital and significant benefits for organisations trying to improve or enhance the use and management of their communication channels and digital identities. As a classic example, the use of a standard set of security protocols and the elimination of redundant identity stores can simplify infrastructure, reduce management efforts, enable single sign on (SSO), and make security auditing easier. Introduction Effective communication and efficient information dissemination are the approaches through which business firms and organisations synchronise their pursuits and accomplish their short- and long-term objectives. Perceptibly, technologies for managing and distributing information have changed over time, but its purpose and meaning required for human organisation have remained considerably coherent and dependable. The initiative to seek for ways to authenticate electronic requests and submissions is merely an attempt to meet the same needs that seals, signature comparison, and notary publics met in the paper world. As it is, the need to secure information on networks is exactly the same need that led to sealing wax and armed guards in previous eras using paper media. However, security requirements are not the only reasons that motivate and drive organisations to manage their information. If the information does not facilitate some further use that provides value, then ther e is no need to secure it. Basically, organisational information carries with it content that leads to action which either means a gain or a loss of resources. Customarily, an organisation strengthens its capacity to organise and direct these resources by dividing among numerous individuals the work necessary to achieve its objective. For the organisation to be effective, activities and its progress must synchronised and highly coordinated. As it is, a vital justification for the distribution and allotment of information within organisations is the conformity and management of these objectives and divergent tasks. Consistency of information is a crucial necessity for successful coordination. It is not a positive development if the existence and location of vital information stays unknown to those who need it, likewise, it is not very helpful and efficient if a team tries to reach and consensus when every member is operating from a different information base that may be conflicting or irreconcilable with the others on the team. It is a fact that data more often than not gets stale that keeping it current is an imperative necessity. At present, most organisational structures and processes have been made sophisticated to solve the problems intrinsic with paper-based information. Information currency and integrity are much simpler problems when the content does not change often, activities being coordinated are not that big or complicated and the information is centrally collected and distributed. However, these are not common characteristics of most businesses today. The distributed environments more commonly found at present need to be able to synchronise information in a distinct and novel way which requires a different set of management structures and processes than most organisations have inherited. Intranet Among the most recent catchphrases

Sunday, August 25, 2019

How the Industrial Revolution, post 1865, influenced migration and Research Paper

How the Industrial Revolution, post 1865, influenced migration and expanded civilization - Research Paper Example In this second industrial revolution, discovery and invention, acting as the catalysts played a major role in industrial and economic growth of the nation. These developments coupled with the developments in transportation and communications were responsible for the formation of organized industries with the emergence of big business empires in various industrial sectors such as steel and oil. Consequently the markets grew deep and wide for catering to the needs of the suppliers and consumers. These developments resulted into migration of people from different parts of the country to the urban industrial centers and different parts of the world to the US with the urban growth taking place at a rapid pace. These migrations were responsible for the diverse cultural background in the society. Industrial development The growth of industries was very fast during this period. The consumption of steel is an indicator for industrial development. The consumption of steel in the industrial and construction sector increased during this period and fuelled the growth of steel industry. The mass production of steel through innovative methods introduced by Carnegie made it cheaper and the demand for steel increased exponentially. This has accelerated construction of railroads across the country which stimulated the growth of business and industries by rendering mobility to the goods manufactured for reaching the customers throughout the country. Similarly, the growth of oil industry has changed the way the people were living in the US as its consumption was closely linked to general industrial growth, transportation and social life. Invention of telephone and telegraph aided industrial and economic growth further. â€Å"†¦the most dramatic improvement in the speed, breadth and reliability of news cov erage came with Samuel Morse's invention of the telegraph. Newspapers became the major customers of the telegraph companies, and the cost of telegraph transmissions led to the formation of wire services like the Associated Press, which was founded as a cooperative venture by New York newspapers in 1848† (Stephens). Freedoms to press, free market economy and the capitalist system of the country encouraged entrepreneurship, and it attracted people from all over the world to the US. The opportunities available in the industrial centers for employment, profession or education caused migration of people to urban areas. The new techniques used in agriculture have increased productivity. The proportion of people employed in agriculture has come down. The agricultural laborers from rural areas migrated to cities in search of employment. Steckel states, â€Å"The importance of migration to urban growth is also indisputable. Because birth rates were low but death rates were high, migra tion fueled urban growth during the 19th century. Indeed, many cities and towns would have declined in size without an inflow of people that replaced the excess of deaths over births† (p. 1). Capital formation and emergence of corporate companies Referring to New York Stock Exchange, Teweles & Bradley says, â€Å"The vast development of the railroads was particularly important to the Exchange since those corporations were the chief issuers of securities in the trading market. About 70,000

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Materials & Technology 112 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Materials & Technology 112 - Coursework Example Crystallization markedly enhances strength, rigidity, and opacity of a polymer. High density polyethylene, then, is the stiffest of all types of polyethylene due to its high degree of crystallinity. Thereby, high density polyethylene has a greater tensile strength than low density polyethylene. Branching tend to impede crystallization, making a polymer less rigid, more easily to deform, and weaker4. Thus, a 95% crystalline and linear polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has a greater tensile strength than a 95% crystalline and branched PTFE. Molecular weight data for some polymer are tabulated below. Compute (a) the number-average molecular weight, and (b) the weight-average molecular weight. (c) If it is known that this material’s degree of polymerisation is 477, which one of the polymers listed in Table 14.3 of the lecture notes is this polymer? Why? Carbon dioxide diffuses through a high density polyethylene (HDPE) sheet 50 mm thick at a rate of 2.2 ïÆ'  10-8 (cm3 STP)/cm2-s at 325 K. The pressures of carbon dioxide at the two faces are 4000 kPa and 2500 kPa, which are maintained constant. Assuming conditions of steady state, what is the permeability coefficient at 325

Friday, August 23, 2019

Language and News discourse of Turkish Radio and Television(TRT) Research Paper

Language and News discourse of Turkish Radio and Television(TRT) - Research Paper Example They include, TRT 1 (general), TRT 2 (culture and art) and TRT 3 (youth channel with sports and music programs and live broadcasts from the Turkish National Grand Assembly at definite hours). All together the paper focuses on the television news power discourse that is state-owned, significantly presenting an essentialist image of identity which does not echo the complexity of the members of the public it claims to describe. This research addresses the power of the media, through a number of practices in the selected 3 recent television news broadcast in TRT which clearly shows that TRT is not an objective television, it is serving for the power not public, not free from bias. This is for the purposes of expanding the boundaries for enclosure of the members of the public. Introduction In the present day, there is need to gather, formulate information on the regulation, ownership, accessibility, performance in addition to projections for creating broadcast amendments. The significant factor for undertaking this research is to contribute to the Turkish consolidation. Many nations have made significant achievements in creating democratic systems of governance based on popular control of the media and whereby members of the public are provided with information without bias. ... Such amendments arise from developing global standards on the subject of media and news media particularly. In its straightforward definition of public broadcasting service is a broadcaster that provides services to the members of the public entirely and is responsible to the members of the public in general. In spite of that, in most scenarios the term public broadcaster is in actual fact regarded as a state broadcaster. This research targets to enable the process of giving support to turning of TRT (Turkish Radyo and Television) into public broadcasters worthy of the name. The research on Language and News discourse of Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) begins from the hypothesis that growth and democracy cannot succeed devoid of open and free public space where all factors concerning lives of the members of an audience can be made public and debated. This means that the members of the public can get a chance to play a role in making decisions in the society and the country at larg e via TRT. According to Amartya Sen, a Nobel Prize Laureate, democracy is â€Å"governance by dialogue†. Sen describes democracy as implemented by the media as governing by means of dialogue where broadcasters are ideally placed to make this dialogue process possible by offering the space for it. This is based on whether their services are available, self-regulating, and reliable and open to the complete range of varying views (Hampton & Roemer, 21). Subsequent to this hypothesis, the significant goal of this research is to find out whether and to what extent news broadcasting on TRT can and do create this kind of free public space with distinctive focus given to the selected 3 recent

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Hillary Clinton Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hillary Clinton Campaign - Essay Example An excellent writing skill must be employed for an intelligent idea could be senseless without it being well-expressed. Though base on his/her opinion, the writer must be very careful with such strong emotions or personal bias as that could be a hinder in presenting a rational explanation. Prior to writing, the author must first check his own view specially if it was from an incoherent source or was formed many years ago. Faludi, on the first part of her article had made a concise yet substantial view of the current politics in America as she creatively relates it to the gender issue using the masculine myth as she expound on Boone's "Rescue" tableau. Her struggle to convince her reader to adhere to her strong preference towards McCain has been made very obvious as she presents the facts in a very explicit manner that displays McCain's masculinity in contrast to Obama's femininity. She needs not to make a last statement her conclusion because it has been clear in every part of her text. This discrimination, however, could possibly elicit the danger of appearing so biased that the reader would not want to continue reading knowing that they would be presented with the same presentation of the same argument. She has a great tendency to persuade her audience of her perspective that were based upon agreed-upon facts and shared values between McCain supporters and Obama's detractors. Her argument would be effective in aggravating McCain's supporters' admiration towards the politician, but for those on the opposite view as well as those in the middle, the article should have been inconspicuously partial. Collins' has concisely yet completely defined his own position early in his text as he dealt with a distinct, contentious issue. He skillfully states his stance without distorting any information. This he had done by having a profound knowledge on the issue beforehand thus he managed to create a logical explanation that have the power to convince even Clinton's supporter. He quoted reliable authorities like the person of Muriel Fox who was one of National Organization for Women's founder to back-up his idea. As using the first person weakens argument (Jordan-Henley, 2008), he need not to pronounce his text using such. He had refrained from presenting any bias by pointing out the bad side, "Her campaign was messy, and it made some fatal tactical errors" (Collins, 2008) as well as the good side, "But nobody who sent her a donation could accuse her of not giving them their money's worth" (Collins, 2008) of his opposing points. Allowing this type of compromise and portrayal of justice ha d been one of his effective tactics that had surely won neural readers' approval. Speaking adeptly, his discreet words and reasonable details have the power to move skeptics. Among the three authors, Herbert was apparently the only one who had backed up his idea using a considerably acceptable source, quoting from national poll by Lifetime television as well as nonpartisan campaign. He had been very clear with his topic as he creates an actual picture of the current gender issue that U.S. was experiencing at the very moment. He's introduction had been nonetheless factual and the rest of the text was

Physical - Circuit Essay Example for Free

Physical Circuit Essay Length (centimetres) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps)Length (centimetres) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Resistance (? )Â   As the table shows above, the resistance of the length 5cm and 10cm were equal, and then it suddenly decreases. This shows theres an error; I think it happened because we didnt set our circuit in the correct positon. Table 5: This table shows the details about normal wires used in the experiment, Constantan wire with diameter of 0. 90mm, however is longer than the one before, retry. First Tried Second Tried Third Tried Length (centimetres) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Length (centimetres) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Resistance (? ). This seems to be nice results as it shows; the resistance were rising up slowly as the length grows. It proved this is a nice experiment, and let us understand this wire could be use for transferring the current through. Table 6: This table gives the results about the different kind of wires used in the experiment, Nichrome wire with diameter of 0. 90mm. First Tried Second Tried Third Tried Length (centimetres) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps)Â   Â  Length (centimetres) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Resistance (? )Â   This graph shows a very clear results, the increase of resistance were easy to see, from the positive correlation shown. This means that this is quiet a good test, it dont seems to have any error in this experiment. Table 7: This table gives the details about the third wires used in the experiment, Copper wire with diameter of 0. 90mm. First Tried Second Tried Third Tried Length (centimetres) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Length (centimetres) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Resistance (? ) This result shows the metal which can transfer the least resistance through by the differences of the length. It was mostly under , this means that we cant use this much as the time were transferring a large amount of currents. Table 8: This table have the results which copper wires were heated in the beaker of water. Wire length equals to 100cm long. Room temperature were 24Ci. First Tried Second Tried Third Tried Temperature (Ci ) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Temperature (Ci) Voltage (Volts) Current (amps) Resistance (? )Â   The last experiment we done, by putting a wire with length 100cm, diameter of 90mm into boiling water. Our result shows more clear on the table than the graph. As we can see, the resistance only raise a bit as the temperature goes up. But the difference from 30 Ci to 50 Ci were higher than what I expect, I think this is because of the temperature were not fix while we were recording our results down to our table. Compare and Contrast. This is the averages of the 3 wires. By showing this on a graph we could be able to tell which wire has the highest resistance. Constantan Wire Copper Wire Nichrome Wire Length (centimetres) Resistance (? ) Length (centimetres) Resistance (? ) Length (centimetres) Resistance (? ) By reading the graph, we could see that Nicrhome Wire have the highest resistance out of the three wires, so we could tell that it can allows least current flow through each time compare to the rest of them. If one day we have to choose a wire from this three to pass current through, the best is using the Copper Wire, it got the lowest resistance which means it have a high amount of current can pass through per second. If we dont want the electricity to flow through easily, we will choose the Nichrome Wire, because it only allows small amount of current to pass through each time. Constantan Wire was a normal wire, it cant be use for high resistance flowing, but it can allow more current flow at each time compare to the Nichrome Wire. However, we could see that the resistance were rising up no matter which materials of wire we have chosen, so that means they still conduct electricity, so we shouldnt touch it while having this kind of experiment. Compare and Contrast 2 This is the averages of the 3 different diameters of wires. By showing this on a graph we could be able to tell that which diameters can allows the most resistance to pass through. Wire with 0. 45mm Wire with 0. 9mm Wire with 1. 25mm Length (centimetres) Resistance (? ) Length (centimetres) Resistance (? ) Length (centimetres) Resistance (? ). By looking at the graph, we could see that Constantan Wire with 0. 45mm of diameter have the highest resistance out of all. So we could tell that it can allow high amount of resistance but low amount of current flow through each time compare to the rest of them. The wire with diameter of 1. 25mm can allows the lowest resistance, that means it could have highest current to flow through each time. However, we could see that the resistance were rising up no matter which diameter of wire we have chosen, so that means they still conduct electricity, so we can use it to let current pass through. Evaluation In my experiment, Ive found out theres some error occurs. In my first results, by using the length of 15cm, the resistance seems to be a little bit different from the rest, so it didnt showed as a straight line. This might because my circuit werent set correctly, so this error occurred. For the second experiment I did, theres seems to be a error at the second try of length 10cm, the number seems to be too high compare to the rest of them, I believe this happened because we accidentally crash the variable resistor. Then in Table 3 we got an error again, the current of the wire seems to be a lot more higher, Im sure this occurs because the resistor is not working well, and also the circuit were kind of messy, might affect the results we got. Then we got an error results shows at Table 4, none of the results can fit with Table 3, there were the same wire, same diameter, only the length we tested is different, but the results we got were too out of range, so I can say that this is a failed try out. So we re-do the experiment using this wire again. I think that this happened because the ammeter is down, the current were keep increasing by every few seconds. In Table 8, for testing the temperature, it seems to be a nice results, however the different of 50Ci and 30Ci were larger than what I have expect, so I could tell that the temperature of the water might not be as accurate as the time we measured. Also it might because some water spread out of the beaker, onto the wires; this should be changing my normal results. Also, Im not really sure about how the resistor works with ammeter; therefore by accidentally move it might decrease the accuracy of my results as well. The results of resistance might be different because the circuit we set werent exactly the same, therefore it might also be some differences compare to the first time, the first results we got. So, maybe next time we should have used the same circuit, and do all of the experiment in same time, and it might have a better results in future. Conclusion. In my own opinion, I believe this is quiet a nice experiment, and I also get some good results as well. Ive found out that my prediction was correct, about the copper wire with a diameter of 90mm will transfer the least energy compare to the rest of the two. I also learned about the circuit of electricity, I could now tell how the current flowing was, and how it could be measured. By looking at the results Ive got, I was really please, even though some mistakes happened in the experiment, but we still success to finish our experiment in the time limit, which is such a great thing to celebrate. Resistor can be use to protect the ammeter, this is a very useful apparatus; I know the ammeter was an important character in the circuit while measuring the resistance. So if the ammeter were damage cause of the flowing current were too high, this will be a very bad news for us. So take care of the equipment is another important thing I learn from this experiment. If I have a chance to repeat the experiment, I would be likely to set my circuit up just like this time, because there shall be less problems. And I might use the copper wire more often in the circuit, using copper wires it allows more current to pass through compare to the Nicrhome and Constantan wires, which might help in my future life. Bibliography: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Series_and_parallel_circuits http://www. circuitcity. com/ccd/home. do Science Investigation Report Daniel F5D 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Electricity and Magnetism section.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Preventing Cardiovascular, Diabetes, and Cancer (CDC) Strips

Preventing Cardiovascular, Diabetes, and Cancer (CDC) Strips Novel Strategies Halt Cardiovascular, Diabetes, and Cancer Strips Summary Since the authors found firstly there are cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers (CDC) strips and disclosed their mechanisms, classifications and clinical significances, there is an arising problem how to prevent and halt CDC strips. Fortunately, the authors had already developed new strategies which based previous works for the prevention of coronary heart disease (CVD), cardiovascular events (CVEs) and healthcare, etc. These novel strategies, which including sleep, emotion, exercise and diet intervention (SEEDi), E (e)nvironment + SEED intervention [E (e)SEEDi] and even Hu’s healthy lifestyles[E (e)SEED-BasED ones] intervention (HHLi), also called â€Å"Chinese vaccine† or â€Å"hero for human health (H.H.H)†, as the core elements of â€Å"Grade 210 prevention†, play an important role in the prevention and management of human chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) when combined with RT-ABCDEF strategy, for example, obesity-OSA-hypertension (OOH) sy ndrome, C-type hypertension (CtH) and sudden cardiac death (SCD), and especially in halting CDC strips the authors discovered. Keywords: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, prevention, healthy lifestyles Since the authors found firstly there are cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and cancers strips and named them CDC strips, and disclosed further their mechanisms, classifications and clinical significances,1 there is an arising problem how to prevent and halt CDC strips. In this article, with several conceptual and technical breakthrough, the authors will introduce several novel strategies which were developed based on previous work for effectively preventing and halting CDC strips.2-6 The authors have already developed new strategies in previous works for the prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD), cardiovascular events (CVEs) and healthcare (http://www.chinagene.cn/CN/news/news370.shtml).3 These novel strategies, which based on sleep, emotion, exercise and diet (SEED) intervention, was also called â€Å"Chinese vaccine† or â€Å"hero for human health (H.H.H)†. As the core elements of â€Å"Grade 210 prevention†, they play an important role in the prevention and management of human non-infectious chronic disease (NCD) when combined with RT-ABCDEF strategy,5 for example, sudden cardiac death (SCD) and obesity-OSA-hypertension (OOH) syndrome Dr. Chun-Song Hu and Prof. Da-Yi Hu discovered and first named,7 especially in halting CDC strips. Introduction of Novel strategies Since healthy â€Å"SEED† rulers were developed in 2005 according to great clinical experiences, authors conducted positively these novel strategies in clinical for primary and secondary preventions of CVD, CVEs and healthcare, and cited the related article,2, 3, 6 then developed further into â€Å"E (e)SEED† due to the important role of environment. Together with Prof. Sheng-Shou Hu, these new strategies were still developed into more novel â€Å"E (e)SEED-BasED† healthy lifestyles by innovated idea, and named â€Å"Hu’s healthy lifestyles (HHL)† in 2009. The key tips of these strategies for NCDs, especially CDC strips are showed as follows (Table 1). 2. Novel strategies for the early evaluation of RFs CVD is the number one killer and a leading cause of death in the world. There was 17.5 million death cases every year, which bring a big burden and great challenge for public health. Moreover, it plays a key role in the development of CDC strips. Single gene defects, target diseases have now come to include multi-genetic and multi-factorial diseases, such as CVD, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons disease, T2DM or T1DM, and human cancer, especially CDC strips. Therefore, to screen and evaluate early CV status is very important to the prediction and prevention of CVEs and CDC strips. Both previous experimental and clinical studies confirmed the role of single factor in the development of human disease. However, little is known about multi-factors’ role (more than 5 to10, even 20 or more). The authors developed Chinese E (e)SEED-BasED score (CEBS) according to â€Å"E (e)SEED-BasED† healthy lifestyle. These healthy elements and related RFs play a very important role in human health. That is to say, if people intervene early with these RFs, they can keep effectively from CDC strips. As showed in last table, the authors have already developed these new strategies for better healthcare. In Round 3 application of GCE project (http://www.grandchallenges.org), authors further developed a novel strategy that was based on a QA list and CEBS (Table 2). According to CEBS, people can determine CDC strips hazard levels from low, moderate to high, thus, adopt effective measures including follow-up, and intervention with SEED, E (e)SEED or HHL, these are SEEDi, E (e)SEEDi, or HHLi. The authors believe CEBS will be better for the early evaluation of NCDs, especially CDC strips based on previous work and this creative idea. Here, the authors may compare easily with other scores, such as QRISK a new CVD risk score for the United Kingdom,8-11 Framingham CVD algorithm (FA) and Scottish score (ASSIGN) (Table 2). These scores focus on standard, common, classic, multiple modifiable or non-modifiable (eg. positive family history) RFs, but the authors think that CEBS is advantaged, validated, global with 15 classifications of core RFs. 3. RT-ABCDEF strategy and Grade 210 prevention for NCDs or CDC strips RT-ABCDEF strategy developed in previous work is very suitable for the management and prevention of human disease,5 especially NCDs or CDC strips. The key tips as follows (Table 3): As we all known, early prevention is the best choice of treatment. Efforts to achieve the ambitious goals of Healthy China or World 2020 require new synthetic strategies for delivering healthy policy, primary and secondary prevention. Here the authors named it â€Å"Grade 210 prevention†. Due to HHL containing preventive and care strategies for these core RFs, it’s core elements of â€Å"Grade 210 prevention†. Therefore, it’s worthy of conducting and application in the global nations, not just healthcare providers and medical organizations. Of course, collaborative efforts among governments, private healthcare providers, insurers, policymakers, nonprofit organizations, and the global public are necessary for â€Å"Grade 210 prevention†. Generally speaking, it’s a synthetic core strategy of healthcare for everyone or anyone and from birth to death. 4. SEEDi, E (e)SEEDi or HHLi for CDC strips Most of patients with NCDs, including chronic heart failure (CHF), particularly those with more severe HF, and T2DM or T1DM, need the option of palliative care as assessed by symptom burden, depression, and spiritual well-being just as advanced cancer patients do.12 That is to say, palliative care is effective on most of CDC strips. The development of CDC strips results from the shared many RFs related to lifestyles according to the authors’ â€Å"Bad SEED† +/- â€Å"bad soil† Theory or Doctrine.1 Thus, it needs synthetic strategies to prevent and control the development of CDC strips. Therapeutic lifestyles interventions, such as SEEDi, E (e)SEEDi or HHLi , which based on E (e)SEED-BasED lifestyles, eg. HHLi related rational drug interventions (Table 4), can significantly improve nutrition and physical activity behavior and can reduce many of the RFs associated with common NCDs, especially CDC strips. The authors think that it was very useful and effective to most of CDC strips in the global. Therefore, people may call it â€Å"Chinese vaccine† or â€Å"hero for human health (H.H.H)†. It may help reducing in morbidity and mortality of CDC strips. For example, among 74,607 men and women, aged 60 or more, without CHD, stroke, or cancer at enrolment, the Mediterranean diet, modified so as to apply across Europe, was associated with increased survival among older people and is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans.13 These results also help explain the role of SEEDi, E (e)SEEDi or HHLi. â€Å"Rainbow diet† we conducted in HHL is also very helpful due to balanced nutrition. For example, coffee consumption was verified to be helpful in the prevention of NCDs,14 including CDC strips. Besides, green tea and grape are also useful foods as interventional choice of diets, because increasing consumption of vegetables and fruits may elevate the levels of anti-oxidative components.15 According to updated study in Nature,16 diet is the main factor which linked with gut microbial ecology and health because unbalanced dietary nutrients can cause intestinal inflammation, and induce human aged. Another clinical t rial showed that both walking and vigorous exercise are associated with substantial reductions in the incidence of cardiovascular events among postmenopausal women.17 Yuga, Chinese Taiji and Qigong are also useful physical activity for the prevention of CDC strips. As a part of HHLi, rational drug choice also plays an important role in initiation, progression, treatment and prevention of NCDs, especially in effectively halting the development of CDC strips. These drugs include aspirin (ASA),18, 19 ACEI/ARB, CCB, cannabidiol (CBD)20 and coenzyme Q-10,21 as well as others. Several animal experiments and clinical trials showed, as chemo protective agents, statins (pravastatin, rosuvastatin) did not only prevent and decrease CHD and CVEs,22, 23 and not indicate an increase in over all cancer risk (simvastatin, pravastatin),24, 25 but also be protective against the development of DM and various cancers (lung cancer,26 pancreatic cancer,27 RCC,28 colon cancer29) , and PCOS (atorvastatin) (Table 4).30 That is to say, statins may help preventing and halting CDC strips. Glutathione (GSH) plays important roles in antioxidant defense, nutrient metabolism, and regulation of cellular events, and its deficiency contributes to oxidative stress, aging and the pathogenesis of many diseases,31 of course, including NCDs, especially CDC strips. Thus, the authors think that GSH is an effective cytoprotective chemo agent for treating NCD,32, 33 such as CDC strips (Table 4). As essential and critical trace elements and antioxidants, studies have indicated that selenium and zinc may play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and be useful for secondary prevention of CHD.34-36 However, their deficiency associated with numerous diseases including CVD, DM, and cancer.37, 38 Hence, these antioxidants may be useful as therapeutic agents for CDC strips. Besides, Vit D and n-3 fatty acids,39 and Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM),40-45 eg. Ginseng, Barbary Wolfberry fruit, Cordyceps militaris, Ganoderma lucidum, SR10 and Astragalus are also very helpful in the preventive of CDC strips (Table 4). Of course, when people dedicated to reducing morbidity and mortality from CDC strips, enhanced collaboration is critical because CDC strips share many RFs and opportunities for prevention, eg, by assessing and regularly updating an individual’s family history. As to a positive history of family, eg, patients with CHD and T2DM or cancer, just like successful gene therapies,46, 47 RNAi or knockout technology is a new choice when all strategies are no use, but need to evaluate its early and late effects as our trials.48, 49 At the same time, it still need to make sure the protection of some genes,50-52 not just medical hypotheses. Moreover, it’s necessary to identifies susceptibility loci when began RNAi or knockout technology.53, 54 An updated research showed that an intensive lifestyle intervention focusing on weight loss did not reduce the rate of CVEs in overweight or obese adults with T2DM.55 This confirmed that it needs comprehensive strategies, just like SEEDi, E (e )SEEDi, or HHLi, for CVD, T2DM, cancers, of course, including CDC strips, not just focusing on weight loss. Some times, it even needs RNAi. One of the authors’ goals is to stimulate substantial improvements in Grade 210 prevention, and early detection through collaboration between key organizations, greater public awareness about HHL, legislative action that results in funding and staff for and access to China Center of Research and Development for Hu’s Healthy Lifestyles (CCRDHHL, a preparatory organization we expect and an effective platform for prevention, early detection, and treatment of NCDs, especially CDC strips, http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=71966do=blogid=491168) programs and research, and emphasis of a series of new concepts authors conducted, and meets the need for curriculum-based health education regarding â€Å"the Grade 210 prevention† and motivation of people to incorporate HHL practices into their daily lives. 5. Clinical practice in CDC strips OOH syndrome the authors found and first named in 2006 is one of classic NCD and a synthetic killer which including 3 independent risk factors and characterized by â€Å"a shaped and sounded killer at night, but a shaped and no sounded killer at day†. According to the authors’ preliminary clinical data (manuscript not published yet), it’s high risk to occur T2DM, CHF and various acute CVEs, even cancers, eg. prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. That is to say, it’s a status of pre-CDC strips, or already met a branch (Type A) of CDC strips. Recently, the authors found that a group of patients with hypertension which related to â€Å"new type stress† due to bad lifestyles, and named it for â€Å"C-type Hypertension (CtH)†. Its main clinical features are on that there is temporary absolutely increase or continuously slowly increase levels of human cortisol, a biomarker of CtH, and it often appears among young or middle aged subjects and is a new ignored killer due to easy to suffer from AMI, CHF, Stroke or SCD. Thus, CtH results from bad â€Å"SEED† bad lifestyle, not bad â€Å"Soil†Ã¢â‚¬â€genetic factors. Some patients with hypertension among OOH syndrome may diagnose as CtH because here obesity resulted from bad lifestyles. OOH syndrome and CtH are easy to develop to CDC strips if there are long-term lasting co-RFs which would lead to T2DM and cancers. SCD as an acute CVE, often occurs in patients with CHD, younger or older, especially in patients with OOH syndrome, CtH or CDC strips (Type A or B). And SCD often occurs as the endpoint event of CDC strips. Because both OOH syndrome or CtH and various SCD have the common RFs, that is to say, â€Å"Bad SEED† +/- â€Å"bad soil†, therefore, SEEDi, E (e)SEEDi, or HHLi is a good choice for halting the development of CDC strips in OOH syndrome or CtH and for removing RFs induced SCD. All in all, OOH syndrome, CtH, CDC strips, and SCD are highly linked, they need urgently SEEDi, E (e)SEEDi, or HHLi to enhance quality of life (QOL) and life expectancy, and the earlier, the better. Maybe people can call this â€Å"OCS status† (OOH-CDCs-SCD). Update, the authors developed general formula for management of human disease, especially NCDs, which including OOH syndrome and CDC Strips as follows: General Formula = 3Ãâ€"RT-ABCDEF + E (e)SEED-BasED + 210. As to detailed explanation of this formula, people may easy to know from above.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Business Level Strategy In The Market Commerce Essay

Business Level Strategy In The Market Commerce Essay Business level strategy concentrates on developing a firm specific model that will allow the firm to gain competitive advantage over its rivals in the industry such as in which it operates. Business strategy would focus on improving its competitive position of a companys or business units products within the specific industry or market segment that the company and/ or its business units serve. The question explored in business level strategy is: How a company can best be competed in the industry that they are in? For an example Honda motors, Japan has a domestic market for its products and also it operates internationally. Thus business strategy should be crafted focussing on the ways of how it out beat the domestic competitors who operates both in the domestic market and as well as the in the international market like Mazda, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu, Suzuki, Toyota and Nissan and competitors in the international market like General motors, Chrysler, Ford Motors etc. In formulating business level strategies, firm should consider how best it can compete in each of the industries it operates in. Thus business level strategies require crafting the strategy and positioning the firm in each of its business. For an example Honda should formulate a separate business strategy for its motor cycle production section that attempts to add build competitive advantage over rival, motorcycle manufacturers. And there should be another business level strategy for its auto mobile manufacturing division that addresses the ways and means of competing against rival automobile manufacturers and a separate strategy for power products (engines, portable generators, lawnmowers, outbound motors) manufacturing division that attempts to build competitive advantage over power product manufacturers in the industry. Corporate Level Strategy Corporate strategy is to a firms survival and success and it is largely about the choice of the direction for the firm as a whole. I.e. Corporate level strategy describes companys overall direction in terms of its general attitude towards growth and the management of its various business and product lines. Corporate strategy is concerned with two key questions, What business should the company be in to maximize the long term profitability of the organisation? What strategies should it use to enter into and exist from the business area? This is true whether the firm is a small, one product company or a large multi national corporation. Corporate strategy in a multinational company is all about managing various product lines and business units for maximum value. In this instance, corporate head quarters must play the role of the organisational Parent in that it must deal with various products and business unit Children. Even though each product line or business unit has its own competitive or corporative strategy that it uses to obtain its competitive advantage in the market place, the corporation must coordinate these different business strategies in order to be succeeded. For an example Honda Motors, even though there are various competitive or corporative business strategies at various business unit levels, it is the top management that decides the overall direction and goals for the entire organisation. i.e. even though there are several business segments as motor cycle manufacturing, auto mobile manufacturing and power product manufacturing and different competitive or corporative strategies adopted by each of these segments at business level, corporate level strategy for each of these segments all the same. Critically evaluate the process of reconciling dichotomies at Honda Motors with reference to the product-related core competencies versus process -related core capabilities dichotomy. Hondas underlying innovative strategic management process is described as reconciling dichotomies There can be seen number of dichotomies that encompasses management thinking and pass through all the functions and as well as aspects such as buyer supplier relations (e.g. Vertical integration and market relations), work organisation, (efficient and humane), product development processes (simultaneous and sequential development), business strategy (cost and differentiation) etc. These are concerned as paradoxes that should be solved implicitly by the west where as Hondas way of thinking is very different. A dichotomy reconciliation approach exemplifies both the philosophy behind the actual product design and the mental process of technology research. When considering about the product related core competencies in Honda, its adherence to the principle of build in quality has brings forth the competitive advantage to Honda. The build-in quality principle focuses on ensuring the effectiveness of the performance outcome of sub transformation activities. The measure of effectiveness is customer defined standards of performance that can be achieved by breaking down the total standard of performance measures as expected by the customers to number of sub activities where value adding can be realized at every stage of the process in a way that it gives a bigger accrued value by the time of operations process reaches its end. This leads to a reduction in costs and as well as exceed expectations of the customers. In that sense build in quality principle highly emphasis regarding product related capabilities which are measured by the customers eventually. The advance internal combustion engines which power the entire range of Honda products is being regarded as a core competency, which is also a successful reconciliation of dichotomies, deliver direct and immediate competitive advantage for Honda. The right-the-first principle constitute that the result of any process should be free of errors. An error occurred in a particular task necessitate re-working on it before it passed on to next stage of the production process, which may resulted in delaying the entire production process and as well as increasing the operational costs, costs of lost opportunities of sales earned from customers who prefer not to wait and switch to other brands. As such right- the- first principle adopted by Honda, will enhance its operational efficiency by not wasting time and other resources by increasing productivity. More over its introduction of Just In Time production and logistic system leads to more accurate inventory control that save cost further. It can be pointed out as a dichotomy reconciliation that permits both product variety and productive efficiency. Western flawed assumption of management thinking was that the right-first time and the build-in quality is only a dichotomy that takes places only if a substitution of getting the benefits from one at the disbursement of the other is assumed as it is viewed only from a manufacturers perspective, which has to be at least concentrated from a dual perspective, the manufacturer and the customer. If it should be considered from a multiple perspective, taking all partners in the supply chain in to account. Doing things right the first time is a cost savings approach as it helps to eliminate waste and reduce the necessity of reworking. Lower operating costs can transform into higher margins, which will be helpful in attracting customers by offering them the products at a reasonable price and it too will avoid customers from switching to rival brands. Customers not judged a product by concerning only on its quality, but its entire combination that brings forth the benefits and there fore value to them. Thus the features and attributes like delivery time and cost of purchase and ownership are too considered up on. Quality is there fore both process and product dependent. For an example the value of high product quality because of its superior features, characteristics and attributes can be ignored by slow delivery times if things are not done right the first time. Through its wide array of management strategies Honda has shown that the notice of right- first time and build- in quality is not different in nature and does not exist in isolation but are rather similar and complementary processes if the pull strategy is adopted placing customers ahead of else. Question Two: Global Mergers and Acquisitions (MA) Too much Debt and Risk of Bankruptcy Mergers and acquisitions have been the focus of corporate strategies over the last few decades, with an increasing number of mergers across the globe, especially in the automobile industry. A merger or acquisition is a combination of two companies where one corporation is completely absorbed by another corporation. The less important company loses its identity and becomes part of the more important corporation, which retains its identity. Mergers and acquisitions can occur for number of reasons. One such is to overcome too much debt or to avoid bankruptcy situations. Supplier bankruptcies make up the first wave of restructuring and the rate of bankruptcy fillings will continue to accelerate in the near term. As credit becomes more widely available and companies are able to safe and sound liquidity, there will be a wave of Mergers and acquisitions. If a particular company is undergoing enormous debts and finds it difficult to beat competition or even to survive in the industry, management may make a decision to go for a divesture. As a result company may sell out to another corporation or may go for a merger. If a company is suffering from a bankruptcy situation, perhaps it may come to a decision to move for a sell out strategy. Financially viable competitors in the same industry may interested in merging with or acquiring another corporation in the same industry even with huge debts or under a bankruptcy state if there is any potential advantage of merging or acquiring is witnessed. Some times it may be because of the companys ability to produce goods efficiently if they combined their efforts and facilities. These efficiency gains may come simply by virtue of the size of the combined company; it may be cheaper to produce goods on a large scale. Collaborating or sharing expertise may achieve gains in efficiency, or a company might have underutilize assets that the other company can better use or else because of the technology or the brand image or any other unique attribute available to the bankrupt company. Through such merger or an acquisition, the company which suffered from financial difficulties will lessen its burden as it has the ability to overcome its debts as the change in the management may make the company more profitable Potential Product Synergies Automotive mergers and acquisitions act as means of increasing market share, improving reach attaining economies of scale and augmenting product ranges. Automotive mergers are turning into a strategic option for companies looking to accelerate growth. Through mergers or acquisitions companies intended to maximize synergies through their complementary strengths in product line-up, procurement, RD, marketing and personal training which would result in cost reductions, greater global market penetration and other benefits through corporation. As a result of a merger or an acquisition a corporation would get the access to up to the minute technology, a worldwide network and advanced managerial expertise. In addition substantial cost savings have been achieved through a common purchasing strategy and by setting up a common supplier base. Common platforms will be developed to reduce time for new product introduction. Achieving of synergies is the ideal sought in corporate mergers and acquisitions. Synergy refers to an increase in the level of performance of a combined enterprise that will exceed the previous individual performance when it was operated separately. For an example managerial economies such as the increased opportunity of managerial specialisation, technical economies such as technical know how, purchasing economies due to increased order size and associated bulk buying discounts. In automobile industry there are several synergies that can be achieved through mergers and acquisitions. For an example in 1990 Honda entered in to an agreement with Rover under which Honda acquired minority shareholding in Rover in order to begin European production of Honda Accord. And also once Honda rewind its formal relationships had with Rover, BMW acquired Rover Company from its parent company with the expectation of expanding its capacity from 600,000 to 800,000 by 1999 with 150,000 of these vehicles exported. Access to New Technologies and Emerging Markets Mergers and acquisitions bring forth several technology and platform sharing agreements, enabling companies to reduce product development time and costs. Further it will be helpful in stepping in to new markets Through mergers and acquisitions corporations will be able to obtain technology economies. I.e. Mergers and acquisitions will result in enhancing the level of technology sharing and utilisation than earlier. As such in automobile industry there can be seen major acquisitions or mergers. For an example in 1979 Honda Motor company signed technical collaboration with British Leyland (Now Rover Group), covering British Leyland production of Triumph Acclaim cars in the United Kingdom. It was a step taken to enter in to the European market and also to obtain the technology of Rover Group. As mentioned earlier, mergers and acquisitions can be seen as a way of entering into strange, emerging markets. Some countries in the emerging markets such as India, China, and Thailand are growing at a spectacular rate. Thus this amazing growth rates are attracting global automotive majors to these markets in increasing numbers. Companies are resorting to acquisitions or mergers to gain foothold in these markets due to certain cultural reasons or to accommodate differences in two cultures. Question Three: Corporate Social responsibilities Competitiveness Using information from relevant literature on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and appropriate examples from global automotive makers and suppliers; explain the impact of CSR on organisational performance in both financial and non-financial areas Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has permeated management practice and theory up to a point where CSR can be referred to as the latest management fad (Guthey, Langer Morsing, 2006). However, so far CSR integration in to business processes has been very uneven. (Hockerts, 2008) CSR is also known as Corporate Citizenship, Responsible Business, Sustainable Responsible Business (SRB), or Corporate Social Performance. The concept of social responsibility proposes that a private corporation has responsibilities to society and also to the environment that extended beyond making a profit. It is a form of corporate self regulation integrated in to a business model that functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Further more, CSR focused business would proactively uphold the public interest by heartening community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality. Essentially, CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest in to corporate decision making and the honouring of a triple bottom line; People, Planet, Profit. Where as People and Planet in the triple bottom line concept represents the non financial aspects that a firm should concentrates on when carrying out its business in addition to the financial aspect of making profits. The automobile industry at present faces challenges that extend beyond the framework of automotive technology, such as the prevention of global warming by committing to zero emissions as part of a concentrated effort toward issues concerning the global environment, eradication of wasted resources and environmental degradation through mass production, sales and disposal and the realization of fail safe transportation system. It is necessary for an organization, specially an automobile maker to be focused on preventing environmental destruction and damage when establishing its plants and as well as carrying out its manufacturing activities. A new evolution is required, where lean production can be implemented beyond the sphere of technological innovation to contribute to reforming distribution, logistics, recycling and as well as social systems. As such consumers expect automotive corporations to take an active role in the economic and social development of their country. Consumers across the world are very likely to accept or reject a corporation based on its reputation for social and environmental responsibility. CSR surveys indicate that consumers are more likely to purchase a product or a service from a corporation with responsible business practices and they would refrain from purchasing a product or service if the corporation failed to follow environmentally friendly or ethical business practices. Among the global automotive corporations BMW, Honda, Toyota and Volvo trucks ranked highest for corporate social responsibility. BMW rated highest in the Spain and as well as in Italy; Honda for United States, United Kingdom and Indonesia, Toyota for Japan, Korea and Thailand and Volvo trucks for Sweden and Netherlands. Remy Pothet, Global Director TNS Automotive, comments that Large corporations are increasingly aware that their social responsibility directly affects their image and brand equity and consequently, their business success. As such heavy investments in CSR can be seen in the markets where they are focusing on expansion. The result of our study highlights the publics growing interest in the field of CSR, and makes a direct link between this and their purchasing behaviour. Bonsi concludes, The general public is a very important stake holder for the automotive industry as a corporations reputation is often judged in the court of public opinion. Corporations that fail to engage society often suffer serious consequences when there is a crisis. However corporations that develop a strong public goodwill can use it as a social insurance to tide them over during difficult periods. The CSR champions identified by this study are already seeing the value in their investment; now other companies need to take notice. b) Compare and Contrast Japanese and Western strategic leadership models by reference to table 5 in the Honda case study. Explain which of the two models you prefer, and why? According to the management literature, there is a grand distinction between the western management style and Japanese management style in terms of overall description work processes, production organisation and logistic management techniques, organisation and labour relations etc. When concerning about the overall description western management model, Ford system of mass production which leads to standardisation and mass marketing is the fundamental paradigm for production systems in western countries that pays high attention on large lot , just in case production. Where as Japanese developed a different production system called Japanese production system or Just In Time (JIT), which is a flexible manufacturing system. A further development of this is also known as lean manufacturing. They adhered to the Pull strategy of marketing their products as oppose to the Push strategy of marketing adopted by the western countries. The significance of the Japanese manufacturing is it identified the ill effects of mass production with high volume of manufacturing that focuses sole attention towards economy of scale rather than cost reduction through elimination of wasted resources through streamlined production. JIT production and synchronized manufacturing that manufactured what, when, and how much was necessary and eliminated wasteful processes and stock. This was resulted in ending up of cycle of stockpiles and dissolved the rigidity of production where only existing products continued to be manufactured with existing technology. When concentrating the peculiarities between western and Japanese work processes, most of the western work processes were builds upon taylorism theory which emphasis the necessity of breaking down of every action, job or task in to small and simple segments that can be easily analyzed and taught. Accordingly western employees are deemed to be Do workers and most of them are unskilled thus they are expected to be performed in a way they thought, and merely the jobs or tasks assigned to them. But Japanese employees are deemed to be Think workers where they are expected to be innovative, polyvalent and flexible rather than merely executing an assigned job or a task. As such Japanese management model is more appropriate and suitable to todays complex business context due to above mentioned grounds. Conclusion First and fore mostly the report discussed about the business level strategy and the corporate level strategy in the global business context. It was compared and contrasted the business level strategies and the corporate strategies in the global automobile industry. Then it evaluated the process of reconciling dichotomies at Honda Motors with reference to the product-related core competencies versus process -related core capabilities dichotomy. Secondly it evaluated critically the impact of certain factors such as too much debt and risk of bankruptcy, potential product synergies, access to new technologies and emerging markets on Mergers and Acquisitions (MA) in the global automobile industry, using appropriate illustrations from the global automotive industry. In current business context Corporate Social Responsibility bears an important place. As such latter part of this report focuses on the corporate social responsibility and the competitiveness, using information from relevant literature on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and appropriate examples from global automotive makers and suppliers. Further it discussed the impact of CSR on organisational performance in both financial and non-financial areas. Finally it was compared and contrasted the Japanese and Western strategic leadership models and suggested the Japanese strategic leadership model as the most appropriate model owing to the unique features and strengths identified in it with compared to Western strategic leadership model.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Neurobiology of Mental Retardation: Fragile X Syndrome Essay

The Neurobiology of Mental Retardation: Fragile X Syndrome In my previous paper, I wrote on the topic of the nature-nurture debate and the ways it related to the brain-equals-behavior dilemma. In this paper, I will continue this investigation into the link between genes and neurobiology, but I will focus in on a particular aspect of the relationship: neurological disease caused by genetic aberration. There are many well studied and well documented (thought not necessarily well understood) disorders associated with the X chromosome, and a large number of these have neurobiological roots and behavioral manifestations. One such disease is fragile X syndrome. Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited form of learning disabilities and mental retardation known (1). The disease shows an x-linked inheritance pattern and is characterized by a host of symptoms ranging from impaired learning abilities to severe retardation and autistic behaviors (1). An understanding of the disease is vital on several levels. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) not only bea rs scientific significance for the fields of molecular genetics, transmission genetics, neurophysiology, and abnormal psychology. It also provides one with a vantage point from which to view the particular set of behaviors known as mental retardation as well as those afflicted by retardation who are too often stigmatized and marginalized in our society. Before analyzing the neurobiological basis of FXS, it is pertinent to examine the genetics underlying the disease. As stated before, FXS is known to be x-linked which means that the disease will appear roughly in twice as many male cases as female. This is because males, who have only a single copy of x-linked genes which they inherit on... ... syndrome and Downs Syndrome are also forms of mental retardation, the latter of which is not even an inborn error of metabolism- it is a chromosomal disorder. And yet the particular subset of behaviors in question is all called mental retardation. Thus, more cytological and neuro-imaging research must be conducted to fully elucidate the complexities of FXS. For the time being, I think, it is safe to assume that the link between a single gene and a complex class of behaviors is strong for fragile X syndrome. WWW Sources 1)National Fragil X Foundation http://www.fragilex.org/ 2)Neurosciences on the Internet http://www.neuroguide.com/cgi-bin/pdistoc.pl?file=fragile 3)Genetic Causes of Mental Retardation http://specialed.freeyellow.com/YAdaptUse.html 4)Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi?id=309550

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Free Epic of Gilgamesh Essays: Defining Humanity in Gilgamesh :: Epic Gilgamesh essays

Defining Humanity in The Epic of Gilgamesh Fifteen Works Cited Stories do not need to inform us of anything. They do inform us of things. From The Epic of Gilgamesh, for example, we know something of the people who lived in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the second and third millenniums BCE. We know they celebrated a king named Gilgamesh; we know they believed in many gods; we know they were self-conscious of their own cultivation of the natural world; and we know they were literate. These things we can fix -- or establish definitely. But stories also remind us of things we cannot fix -- of what it means to be human. They reflect our will to understand what we cannot understand, and reconcile us to mortality. We read The Epic of Gilgamesh, four thousand years after it was written, in part because we are scholars, or pseudo-scholars, and wish to learn something about human history. We read it as well because we want to know the meaning of life. The meaning of life, however, is not something we can wrap up and walk away with. Discussing the philosophy of the Tao, Alan Watts explains what he believes Lao-tzu means by the line, "The five colours will blind a man's sight." "[T]he eye's sensitivity to color," Watts writes, "is impaired by the fixed idea that there are just five true colors. There is an infinite continuity of shading, and breaking it down into divisions with names distracts the attention from its subtlety" (27). Similarly, the mind's sensitivity to the meaning of life is impaired by fixed notions or perspectives on what it means to be human. There is an infinite continuity of meaning that can be comprehended only by seeing again, for ourselves. We read stories -- and reading is a kind of re-telling -- not to learn what is known but to know what cannot be known, for it is ongoing and we are in the middle of it. To see for ourselves the meaning of a story, we need, first of all, to look carefully at what happens in the story; that is, we need to look at it as if the actions and people it describes actually took place or existed. We can articulate the questions raised by a character's actions and discuss the implications of their consequences.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Effective Communication Essay

For the past six weeks being back in the classroom has help me to shift my focus when it comes to communicating. There was a point and time when I felt like what I said and how I said it was the only thing that mattered. However, I have learned throughout this course that Communicating an authentic self requires consistency between your presentation of self and your self – concept. Our presentation of self depends on whom we are communicating with and is called facework (Dobkin (2006). Communication in a Changing World). In this essay, I am prepared to show evidence of how I have learned to communicate better as well as the things that I need to improve within my methods of communication. After reviewing my Personal Skills Inventory Chart, I am not where I want to be but I am better than what I use to be six weeks ago. These changes will not happen overnight but, I am bound to improve them prior to me advancing to my next level as a student of Walden University. My grandmothers always use to tell us that there are three sides to every story, your story, the other person story and then the truth. This old age theory still holds truth when communicating whether, it’s online or face-to-face. I have learned that in order for me to be effective in communicating that I have to be face-to-face with an individual so that the other person would be able to see and notice the sincerity that I pose within the conversation. While communicating face-to-face, I can feel assured that my point is being communicated with validity as well as the other person(s) can know that I have received their message as well. I have notice that when online I can hide my true feelings, emotions and persona. The hidden quadrant represents those things that you know about yourself but that others do not (Dobkin (2006). Communication in a Changing World) is what I find that I am able to hide behind when communication online. When communicating online whether if it is in an email or chat communication for me personally is rather difficult because there are time that the message you are typing could not be received in the manner that you intended to say it. I often communicate with my wife throughout the day via email and depending on the nature of the conversation she tries to read between the lines of the email to find my emotion in what I am saying. When she or other persons do this they tend to think that I feel a certain type of way about the conversation and most likely that is not the case. When communicating online I am also able to hide behind those emotions and not say what I really would like to say to the person. However, when communicating face-to-face that emotion cannot go unnoticed and the receiving party would have to respect your stance. As I plan to move ahead within my course of degree work, I am hoping to improve my writing skills. For some time I have always struggled with grammar and writing to be proficient and professional whether if it was an email or a paper due for class. While in seminary, we were taught to write our sermons as we would be speaking to someone so therefore you conversation style would not always match your grammar. To help me to improve in my writing I am going to continue using the tools provided for me as a student of Walden such as Grammarly. Grammarly (formerly Sentenceworks) is an automated grammar and writing revision tool for academic writing (Walden Writing Center. (2009). Scholarly writing). I have started to use this tool since week 3 of this course and I have found it to be a great help prior to submitting papers to be graded. There is another source that I would continue to use which is turnitin  . This tool has become a valuable tool for me because it assures that I am submitting my assignments to the highest degree of academic integrity that is expected of me as a student of Walden. Lastly, I would continue to employ the help of my wife who has looked over majority of my assignments to assure that I am writing with clarity and my grammar is in order. In the next term I have been enrolled in an English Composition course that I am certain is going to challenge not only my thinking but, my writing as well. I am looking forward to challenge as this is one of my main goals and focal point at this time. While Walden University offer persons like me who have a very busy personal, family and career life the opportunity to learn from home and at your time schedule it can still be a change. Therefore, going forward I plan to improve my Time Management Skills. Since this was my first time back in the classroom in 12 years, I found it hard in the beginning balance my job, family, church and other social outlets that I belong to while trying to complete assignments. My enrollment advisor was very effective in helping me manage getting assignments in on time. Going forward, I plan on working ahead, reading the material and having an understanding of the assignment prior to the due date. Now that my children are back in school that would help me out a lot as well because we can all sit down at a designated time to complete assignments instead of me trying to complete mine and entertain them while they were on summer break. In my household we have a standard of Academic Excellence that everyone who is in class is upheld to. So with this charge to my children I plan to lead by example which would help me to improve in the area of time management. Even though this course only lasted for six weeks, I am very grateful for the knowledge and information that I have learned about communication. I am now more aware of verbal and non-verbal communication and also how other people can perceive information just by â€Å"judging a book by its cover. † The challenge has presented itself in completing assignments on time while trying to manage other areas of life but for the most part I have adhered to those deadlines but look forward to improving in that area as well. Lastly, I am excited about using the tools and methods that are provided to me to help me along the way with my writing skills. I recall one the first couple days of class and looking at some other classmates discussions, at first I felt bad because I thought my writing was horrible but, then I realize I wasn’t alone. However, in due time I plan to be very proficient in my writing skills that I would only produce scholarly work.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Basement

3 – basement 3 – Basement 1 Quick Revision 1. 1 Problems arising from basement construction a. Excavation method. b. Surface and ground water control c. Lateral stability of basement excavation. d. Stability of adjoining building. 1. 2 Ground water control – dewatering a. Open Sump Pumping b. Wellpoint System. c. Shallow-Bored Well System d. Deep-Bored Well System 1. 3 Basement Excavation a. Open excavation b. Sheet pile cofferdam Supported with raking struts Supported with struts and walings Supported with ground anchors Ground support and ground water control for deep excavationCut off wallings: c. Thin grouted diaphrage d. Mixed in place wall e. Ground treatment f. Circular cofferdam g. Diaphrage wall 1/11 3 – basement 2. Cut-off wallings 2. 1 Thin grouted diaphragm A series of touching universal beams or columns are driven into the ground to the required depth. A grout injection pipe is fixed to the web the section and this is connected to a group pump at the ground. As the sections are withdrawn the void created is filled with cement grout to form the thin membrane. This is a non-structural wall and services only as a cut-off wall. It is uitable subsoil of silt, sand and gravel. 2. 2 Thin grouted diaphragm (Source: R. Chudley) Mixed-in-place wall A hollow churn drill is drilled into the ground. Intrusion grout is pumped through the hollow kelly bar during the drilling operation. When the required depth is reached, the auger rotation is reversed and withdrawn while grout injection continues. The grout is thus mixed with the existing soil to form a mixed-in-place pile. The above process is repeated with the piles being cast against each other until the whole wall is formed. Mixed-in-place pile (Source: Jufri & Wellmen) /11 3 – basement 2. 3 Ground treatment The major disadvantage of pumping is causing settlement of surrounding ground. In urban areas, settlement would serious affect the stability of adjacent properties. In t his situation, grouting method can be used to control ground water. The basic method is to inject the soil or rock with fluids which, on setting, seal or reduce the permeability of the material. There are various types of grouts. The choice of grouts, the pattern and spacing of the injection pipes will depend upon the particle sizes of the soil or the size of fissures in the rock.Cement Grouting (Source: R. Chudley) 2. 3. 1 Cement grouting Cement grout is suitable for injecting into coarse materials which have a high permeability. This method not only can form an impermeable barrier to ground water but also solidify loose soils which prevents from collapsing during excavation. It is usual to commence grouting with a batch of thin grout and then to increase the viscosity of the grout as the process continues, by reducing the water-cement ratio. The grout used may be composed of neat cement grout, or a mixture of cement and 3/11 3 – basement sand in the ratio of 1 : 4.The addin g of sand reduces the cost of material but it also reduces the workability. On the other hand, pulverized fuel ash (PFA) may be used to replace part of the cement (up to 50%) to reduce the cost of the material. The spherical particle shape of PFA improves the flow quality of the grout without reducing its strength. 2. 3. 2 Bentonite grouting Bentonite grouting is used in ground conditions where the particles of the soil are too small for cement grouting. While bentonite grout adds little strength to the soil, it has a high resistance to water flow and therefore produces an excellent barrier.Bentonite is produced from montmorillionite clay, which has thixotropic properties: when it coagulates it forms a gel, and if mixed with certain additives, such as Portland cement or soluble silicates, the barrier formed will be permanent. 2. 3. 3 Chemical grouting There are two main processes of chemical grouting: ‘one-shot’ and ‘two shot’. In the ‘two-shotâ€℠¢ process, pipes are driven into the ground at about 600 mm centres, and the first chemical, normally sodium silicate, is injected. This is followed immediately by the injection of the second chemical, calcium chloride.The reaction between the two chemicals is immediate, resulting in a tough, insoluble ‘silica-gel’. The process gives considerable strength to the soil and greatly reduces its permeability. Two-shot process for chemical grouting 4/11 3 – basement The ‘two-shot’ process has been largely superseded by the ‘one-shot’ process, which consists of mixing together prior to injection two chemicals whose gel time can be sufficiently delayed to allow full penetration of the soil before gel occurs. The extent of the delay can be accurately controlled by varying the proportions of the two chemicals.The extra time available for placing this grout allows wider spacing of the boreholes. 4. 2. 6 Circular cofferdam Steel sheet pile cofferdam s may be arranged in circular shape in plan. Circular cofferdams may be supported with ring walings. The walings are subject to tangential thrust and act as a continuous arch. Thus transverse struts are not required. Large diameter circular cofferdams may be formed of concrete diaphragm wall and reinforced with ring concrete beam. The advantage of this method is that it provides a clear excavation un-hampered by struts. However, the method is restricted to circular shape.Circular cofferdam support with ring walings Basement construction of IFC 5/11 3 – basement 5 Diaphragm Walls Diaphragm walling describes the construction of continuous concrete walls into the ground. The process, sometimes called the slurry trench method, involves the excavation of a narrow trench to the required depth which supported with bentonite slurry. The trench is then filled with concrete to form the wall. Construction of diaphragm wall 5. 1 Advantages of using diaphragm walls for basement constructi on 1. The process of constructing the wall is relatively quiet and has little vibration. . The wall can be constructed to a great depth. 3. The wall provides temporary ground supports during excavation hence expensive steelwork is eliminated or minimized. 4. The wall provides a good water cut-off; no dewatering is required and hence has little effects on adjacent structure. 5. The wall serves both as external wall for the basement and the foundation for the superstructure. 6. For deep basement, diaphragm walling is more economical than using steel sheeting cofferdam. 6/11 3 – basement 5. 2 Method of construction of concrete diaphragm wall 1. A perimeter trench, 1 to 1. m deep and with a width equal to the wall thickness plus 300 mm is excavated. 2. The trench is lined on both sides with 150 mm thick in-situ concrete. (The linings provide a guide for the grab and protect the top of the excavation from collapse. ) 3. The wall is divided into to panels. The width of each panel i s about 4. 5 to 7 m. The sequence of construction for the panels is in an alternatively way. That is, an intermediate panel is excavated after panels on its both sides have been cast. 4. The trench is then filled with bentonite slurry from a large storage tank before excavation.Excavation is done by a grab. During excavation, it is important to maintain the slurry level at about 0. 5 m below the top of the trench. (The function of the bentonite is to prevent the ingress of water and soil into the trench. ) Excavation is continued until the founding is reached. 5. Stop end pipes of diameter equal the wall thickness are placed at both ends of the panel. A reinforcement cage is lowered through the bentonite and panel is cast with tremie concrete. The displaced bentonite is recovered, strained to remove the soil particles and then stored for future use. 6.When the concrete has set, the stop end pipes are removed. Semi-circular sockets are formed which provide key for the adjacent panels . 7. Further panels of the diaphragm wall are then formed in a similar manner until the wall is completed. 5. 3 Precast Concrete Diaphragm Walls Diaphragm walls can also be formed with precast concrete panels. The construction sequence is: 1. A perimeter trench, lined on both sides with concrete walls, is prepared. 7/11 3 – basement 2. The trench is filled with bentonite slurry and excavated with a grab. During excavation, the slurry level is maintained at about 0. m below the top of the trench. Excavation is continued until the founding is reached. 3. Cement grout is introduced to the bottom of the trench with a spreader. The displaced bentonite is recovered, strained to remove the soil particles and then stored for future use. 4. Precast posts or panels are inserted into the trench to form the wall 5. When the grout has set, it seals the joints of the precast panels effectively, and the diaphragm wall is formed. Precast Concrete Diaphragm Wall Precast Concrete Diaphragm Wal l (Source: R. Holmes) (Source: R. Holmes) 8/11 3 – basement 6 Soldier pile wallSince the wall of a basement must be watertight, if a soldier pile wall is used as a basement wall, the piles of the wall will be constructed to overlap with each other. This type of wall is also called secant pile wall. The overlapping is about 120 to 200 mm. It is cut by a hydraulic actuated casing fitted with a cutting ring at the lower end. The cutting must be done within one or two days after the concrete has been cast to prevent it become to hard. Secant pile wall Alternatively, the piles of the wall are cast contiguous. Boreholes are drill at the joints of the piles which cut the edges of the piles. The boreholes are then filled ith bentonite-cement grout to seal the joints. Secant pile wall (Source: R. Chudley) 9/11 3 – basement 7 Top-Down Basement Construction It is to construct the basement in the downward direction to the final levels of the basement. The sequence of work is as fo llows:1. Construct the permanent basement wall using diaphragm wall or soldier piles wall. 2. Construct bored piles with temporary steel casings as the foundation of the basement. The cut-off level of the piles is at the final basement level. 3. Place steel columns inside the steel casings of the bore piles from the foundation level up to the ground level. . Backfill the shafts with granular material to hold the steel columns. 5. Construct the ground floor slab supported on the steel columns and the diaphragm walls. (This slab provides a working platform for superstructure construction and acts as the lateral support for the basement excavation. ) Access opening in this slab shall be provided for further excavation. 6. Excavate beneath the ground floor slab down to next basement floor soffit. 7. Cut the steel casing, remove the gravel and expose the steel column. 8. Cast the second basement slab. The slab is connected to the columns with shear studs and connected the diaphragm wall with dowels) 9. Repeat the process for the successive basement floors until down to the final basement slab. The top-down method provides the following main advantages:1. Superstructure can be constructed at the same time as the basement construction takes place and therefore the overall construction time is reduced. 2. Temporary and permanent works are combined and therefore there is no need for extensive steel temporary works. 3. Stiff rigid walls allow an almost watertight construction and basement construction to great depth.These stiff walls provide at the same time a limitation to ground movement. 10/11 3 – basement Steel casing infilled with granular material Steel column on top of bored pile Reference: Control of groundwater for temporary works (1986), S. H. Somerville, CIRCA Construction Technology (1987), R. Chudley, Longman Building Construction Handbook (1992), R. Chudley, Newnes Introduction to Civil Engineering Construction (1985), R. Holmes, College of Estate M anagement Civil Engineering Construction IV (1991), S. A. R. Jufri & R. J. Wellmen, Hong Kong Polytechnic 11/11